Chapter 218: Turned to Ashes
Ling Hanmu tilted his head back and closed his eyes, and in an instant, it was heaven and hell!
He knew the girl in front of him hadn’t lied to him: Xia Chenge from the apocalypse was truly gone, and what remained was the Xia Chenge of this era.
The last shred of hope turned to ashes.
Then, Xia Chenge suddenly felt her body sink, and a blurry peripheral vision caught Ling Hanmu collapsing onto her.
“Young Master Ling!” she gritted her teeth, holding him up and shaking him, but he remained motionless.
Xia Chenge was filled with anxiety. She used all her strength to help him lie down on the hospital bed, noticing his complexion was terrifyingly pale. She quickly called the doctor, afraid he might also encounter some accident.
Fortunately, the doctor’s diagnosis was that he was overworked and had experienced extreme emotional highs and lows, which caused him to faint. He would be fine with some rest.
After the doctor left, Xia Chenge sat by the bedside, gazing intently at Ling Hanmu.
In the past, she would never have dared to look directly at such a young man.
He must have really liked that girl with the same name from the apocalypse, right? That girl was so powerful and confident, as if she had a spotlight following her wherever she went, becoming the center of everyone’s attention.
Her past self was withdrawn and cowardly. Forget about revenge; she didn’t even have the courage to stand up straight.
If fate hadn’t brought that girl here, let alone reclaiming the Xia family and helping her grandparents stand up, she might have even implicated her grandparents…
“I thought I was dead; it turns out you just suppressed my soul. As soon as you left, I woke up. Miss, didn’t we make an agreement back then?”
“You were supposed to be the Xia Chenge of this era; why did you break your promise? I shouldn’t have lived in this world, yet you made me come back.”
“Someone as useless as me is just a waste of resources alive.”
Xia Chenge muttered to herself, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.
Unfortunately, no one answered her. In the hospital room, there was only her whisper and Ling Hanmu’s steady breathing.
——
Four days later, Ling Hanmu brought Xia Chenge back to Haicheng.
He took Xia Chenge back to the Xia family.
Before getting out of the car, Xia Chenge turned her head to look at Ling Hanmu, mustered her courage, and said what she had been brewing for the past few days: “Young Master Ling, can I ask to break off the marriage contract?”
At this moment, Ling Hanmu’s gaze was calm, and the sadness from that day was no longer visible. However, his face was devoid of its usual lively expression: “Why?”
“I don’t want to tarnish Miss’s feelings for you, and she is a goddess in my heart,” Xia Chenge clenched her fist.
Ling Hanmu loved the Xia Chenge from the apocalypse, and although she had the same face, her soul was different.
These words came from the bottom of her heart. She could fall in love with anyone, but not Ling Hanmu!
“Alright,” Ling Hanmu agreed.
“Then I’ll be going now.” Xia Chenge’s heart ached. If only she were still here.
Ling Hanmu watched her figure walk into the Xia family gate and disappear behind the trellis in the courtyard.
Ling Hanmu closed his eyes, the boundless pain suffocating him.
She was gone, and would never return.
He suddenly opened his eyes, stomped on the accelerator, and the car shot forward like an arrow.
Xia Chenge emerged from behind the trellis again, sighing as she looked at the gate.
She slowly walked back into the house, where Wei En stepped forward, his face full of concern: “Little Miss, where have you been these past few days? Why were you so quiet? The Old Master and Old Madam are worried sick.”
Xia Chenge looked at the old man in front of her. She remembered how he used to secretly visit her and slip her money. At that time, she refused to communicate with anyone and never knew that there were people in this world who cared about her.
Her nose suddenly stung, and she impulsively hugged Wei En: “I’m sorry, Grandpa Wei.”
Wei En was startled and stood stiffly, not moving.
Xia Chenge quickly let go of him, smiling with teary eyes: “I’m fine, I just wanted to sneak out and play.”
Wei En patted his chest: “Still so mischievous. Fortunately, the Ling family told us you were out with Young Master Ling, otherwise the Old Master would have been searching for you everywhere.”
Mentioning Ling Hanmu immediately brought back thoughts of that girl, and her mood turned heavy.
“I know I was wrong, and I won’t dare to do it again! Can I go upstairs now?” Xia Chenge said, then fled upstairs as if escaping.
Wei En watched her, his brow furrowed. For some reason, he felt that the Little Miss today was very different from before, but he couldn’t pinpoint how.
Xia Chenge returned to her room. As soon as she closed the door, she looked at the familiar yet strange furnishings and could no longer control herself, squatting down and bursting into tears.
Miss, why did you leave like this?
After an unknown amount of time, Xia Chenge stood up and walked around the room, touching things.
Finally, she sat down at the desk, found the computer’s power button with some difficulty, and pressed it.
After booting up, the screen immediately displayed a document titled 《Little Chenge’s Gift》:
Dear Little Chenge, if you can see this document, it means I am dead. We share the same name and even the same appearance. The only difference is that you were born in a peaceful era, while I came from a chaotic apocalypse.
What a wonderful fate it must be that brought us together, separated by hundreds of years!
I had forgotten many things about myself before, but when I suddenly remembered everything that day, I knew that I would eventually disappear from this world.
I traveled back in time from the future solely to change the history of humanity’s encounter with the apocalypse. Once history is changed, I, who came from the future, will cease to exist.
The Xia family today is no longer the Xia family that was once at the mercy of others.
I have no parents or relatives, but here I have felt family affection. Please don’t mind that I also call them Grandpa and Grandma; I love them very much.
Your father is still alive. Will you be happy to see him?
I envy you so much for having so many relatives around. You are no longer an orphan with no one to rely on. You have them, so you must live on, understand?
Sigh, I’ve said so much, and I haven’t even mentioned Ling Hanmu yet.
As you know, I used your body to have a relationship with Ling Hanmu. Although it wasn’t for long, it was enough to add color to my brief life.
I hope Ling Hanmu forgets me, yet selfishly, I want him to remember me forever. But more than anything, I want him to be happy. I’m afraid he’ll just foolishly wait for me and grow old alone.
I don’t want him to be lonely, so I secretly froze egg cells containing my genes. If Ling Hanmu never wishes to marry, please tell him about this. Although I am young and the success rate is not high, this is the only thing I can leave him.
Having a child to accompany him will make him less lonely.
Alright, I’ve rambled on for so long, so I’ll leave it at that.
Little Chenge, be happy!
……
After reading this letter, Xia Chenge was already in tears.
So she had known she would die long ago and had arranged everything in advance.
“You knew how to arrange things for others, why didn’t you save yourself?” Xia Chenge cried out loudly, “You’re so mean, do you know that? I’m not some Little Chenge!”
“Miss, please come back, okay?”
