The gate of the Garden Hotel was worn and dilapidated, with a hole in the wall beside it. Anyone slender enough could slip through effortlessly.
As a celebrity, Lin Muxi was naturally thin, as was Ming Li, who had been worn down by years of searching for her missing daughter.
Lin Xi, of average height and weight, gritted her teeth and finally squeezed through, scraping her arm in the process. Wincing in pain, she touched the broken skin before hurrying forward, following the path Ming Li had taken. At the same time, she asked Xu Huanhuan for a sedative.
After receiving the drug from Xu Huanhuan, Lin Xi quickly swallowed an antidote and sped ahead. The Garden Hotel had seen few visitors over the years, its surroundings overgrown with weeds, the path littered with piled bricks, stones, and soil washed out by rain.
Before long, Lin Xi spotted Ming Li hiding behind a rockery. Afraid of being noticed, she ducked behind a nearby tree.
Just ahead, Actress Lin stood waiting anxiously, glancing repeatedly at her phone before pacing in agitation.
Lin Xi watched as Ming Li calmly raised her phone and opened the video recording interface.
"Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling…" An old-fashioned ringtone pierced the silence. Actress Lin stiffened before hastily answering the call.
"Hello, Mr. Fu." Her voice carried a barely perceptible tremor. In her nervousness, she accidentally hit the speakerphone button, amplifying the voice on the other end in the quiet night.
"Lin Muxi, you’ve grown quite disobedient. How dare you secretly contact Ming Shu’s mother? Are you betraying me?" The voice on the phone was deep, suggesting a man in his forties or fifties.
Lin Muxi shivered involuntarily. "No, Mr. Fu, I haven’t. You know that ever since Ming Shu disappeared, no matter where I go, Auntie Ming follows. My fan club already announced my filming schedule in Wufeng Town. Isn’t it normal for her to come?"
"Hmph. Lin Muxi, don’t think I haven’t noticed your little schemes. All these years, you’ve meticulously shared your travel plans with fans—just so she’d chase after you, wasn’t it? Afraid I’d harm her?"
"No!" Actress Lin denied it instantly, but her haste only confirmed Mr. Fu’s words.
Lin Xi saw Ming Li’s hand tremble as she held the phone.
The conversation continued. Mr. Fu said, "Lin Muxi, I’ve long been aware of your tricks. The only reason I’ve tolerated them is because you still have your uses."
"But lately, you’ve been acting out. Who arranged that schedule in Wufeng Town? What are you planning?" His voice turned icy.
Lin Muxi’s grip on the phone faltered, her shaking unmistakable even in the darkness.
She didn’t answer, but Mr. Fu chuckled. "Lin Muxi. It’s been nearly eight years since we first met. Remember what you promised back then? You begged me to save Ming Shu, swore you’d work like a dog for me in return."
"What, now that you’re famous, you want to renege? Your dear friend is still lying unconscious in my rehabilitation center. Have you forgotten her?"
"Have your wings grown too strong? Do you really think you can defy me? Listen well, Lin Muxi—no matter how many fans you have, crushing you would be as easy as squashing an ant to me."
"You’re nothing but a performer in my eyes. A smart one, though. I trust you’ll make the right choice."
With a sharp click, Mr. Fu ended the call. Actress Lin hurled her phone to the ground, shattering it. She collapsed, burying her face in her hands as sobs wracked her body.
Ming Li could no longer hold back. She rushed forward, and Actress Lin looked up at the sound of footsteps. "Auntie?"
Ming Li’s voice was strained with barely contained fury. "You knew where Ming Shu was all along. Seven and a half years—over two thousand days and nights! Do you have any idea what I’ve endured? Why didn’t you tell me?"
Her last words came out as a raw scream. Actress Lin gazed at her distorted expression and suddenly smiled. "Auntie, you’ve always wanted to know what really happened back then, haven’t you? Since you’ve found out, I’ll tell you everything."
Exhausted, she slumped to the ground.
"You knew Ming Shu and I were both signed by Douchuang Media. She showed you our contracts—you even had a lawyer review them to confirm there were no traps before we signed."
"But did you know, Auntie? Douchuang Media has a shadowy backer, an overseas tycoon involved in scams, organ trafficking, and human trafficking." Lin Muxi’s eyes turned hollow.
"You see me as this glamorous star, but in truth, I’m just Douchuang’s public ‘face’—a tool to launder their dirty money." The words spilled out, secrets buried for years.
"Back then, Douchuang scouts toured art schools nationwide under the guise of casting actors. They picked Ming Shu and me. Their original plan was to make us both their ‘faces.’"
"But men are lustful creatures. Fu Congsheng wanted to exploit us both. Back then, Ming Shu and I were naive, completely unaware of the darkness in the industry. It never occurred to us why two nobodies like us were taken off-set and put up in this luxurious garden hotel." Lin Muxi’s gaze wandered as she spoke.
The place had been breathtakingly beautiful back then. She and Ming Shu had been mesmerized, snapping countless photos. On their way back to their room, they’d gushed about how lucky they were to have such a generous company.
"We returned to our room, where two bottles of mineral water were placed on the table. Ming Shu and I had been busy with the film crew all day, and after wandering outside for so long, we were parched. Without a second thought, we picked up the bottles and drank."
"Who could have guessed? The water had already been laced with sedatives meant for us. Completely unsuspecting, we collapsed after drinking. I even passed out before Ming Shu did. Later, I woke up, but Ming Shu, unable to tolerate the drugs, remained unconscious. To this day, she still hasn’t woken up."
"Fu Congsheng knew how close we were and used her to blackmail me into doing his bidding. Auntie, I’m sorry—it wasn’t that I didn’t want to tell you, but everyone around me was one of them. If I had breathed even a word to you, we’d both be dead." Lin Muxi clutched Ming Li’s hand with her own, covered in dirt.
It was almost laughable. She had both parents, siblings—everything one could ask for—yet if they were to die right before her eyes, she wouldn’t bat an eyelash. But Ming Shu was different.
She could never forget the door Ming Shu opened for her when she was locked in the bathroom. She could never forget the time Ming Shu pulled her up from kneeling on the ground, saying one should only kneel to heaven, earth, parents, or wealth—but never to school bullies.
Ming Shu’s defiance earned them both a brutal beating, but even now, Lin Muxi didn’t remember the pain. She adored Ming Li too—the woman who would take her home when she had nowhere to go, cook for her, and brew her a cup of brown sugar water when she was on her period.
"Auntie, I was afraid they’d hurt you. I also knew you’d keep following me to find Ming Shu, so I deliberately leaked my schedule. I know you suspect me. I know you hate me. But I needed to make sure you were safe." Lin Muxi was well aware of the rumors swirling in the entertainment industry about Ming Shu’s disappearance.
But she couldn’t refute them—didn’t dare. She was too powerless, so much so that she couldn’t even manage her own blog. The only thing she could do was post her itinerary in fan groups.
Ming Li could always tell when someone was lying. It was why she had fixated on Lin Muxi in the first place—she sensed the deception in her words.
She had imagined countless scenarios about what really happened that year, but never this.
Stunned into silence, she opened and closed her mouth several times before finding her voice. "How do I know you’re telling the truth?"
Lin Muxi laughed, tears streaming down with her smile. She pulled out her phone and tapped on a video. "This is from when I visited her this morning."
Ming Li’s hands trembled as she took the phone. The frail figure lying in the hospital bed, barely breathing, was unmistakably her daughter. She was so thin she was almost unrecognizable—but what mother wouldn’t know her own child?
"Auntie, is it Ming Shu?"
Before Ming Li could answer, Lin Muxi coughed and continued, "Auntie, I might look glamorous, but inside, I’m ruined. You don’t know—they forced me to film so many things. Those kinds of... adult films."
"If I showed even the slightest resistance, they’d release another batch. In the early years, I fought back a few times. I lost a kidney, and several rounds of those videos leaked."
"Those films circulate widely in high society. Anyone with enough money to pay my company can have me. That’s another reason I couldn’t tell you."
"I didn’t want to become internet fodder." Lin Muxi wiped her face, smearing dirt across her delicate features.
Ming Li’s grip on the phone tightened, then loosened, over and over. Finally, she grabbed Lin Muxi’s hand and pulled her toward the door. "Come on, we’re going to the police. They’ll protect us."
Ming Li had never imagined the humiliation Lin Muxi had endured in silence. Tears poured down her face. Ming Shu was important to her—but so was Lin Muxi. Before Ming Shu disappeared, she had been urging Ming Li to adopt Lin Muxi as her goddaughter.
Back then, Ming Li had agreed. All these years, she hadn’t dared to consider Lin Muxi’s role in her daughter’s disappearance. She had hounded her for the truth.
But now that the truth was here, Ming Li couldn’t bear it. She wanted Ming Shu safe—but she didn’t want Lin Muxi to suffer either.
Lin Muxi shook her head. "It’s no use, Auntie. They’re too careful. There’s no evidence. If there were, the police would’ve found something by now."
"Auntie, just let this go. I went to the hospital the other day... I might have AIDS." She let out a bitter laugh.
She had been so careful, yet it still happened. When she got the test results that morning, Lin Muxi had already decided to burn everything down.
That was why she was acting so recklessly now. "Auntie, Ming Shu is in a sanatorium in the mountains of Wufeng Town. Take people to save her. Go now—if you’re late, they’ll move her."
Lin Muxi had visited Ming Shu yesterday. After years in a coma, her body was failing. She probably didn’t have much time left.
In a way, Lin Muxi thought it was fitting. She and Ming Shu had been inseparable in school—if they died now, it would be one after the other. In the afterlife, she’d still want to be her sister.
She just hoped Ming Shu could forgive her for everything she’d done.
Clutching Ming Li’s hand, she said, "Auntie, I’ve been depositing money into Ming Shu’s account every month. It’s enough to buy me a burial plot. Please put me next to her."
"Ming Shu was the kindest person in my life. In my next life, I still want to be her sister."
Those words sounded like a will. Ming Li was terrified. As desperate as she was to see Ming Shu, she couldn’t leave now. What if she saved her daughter, only to return and find Lin Muxi dead?
"Child, there must be another way. Don’t do anything reckless. If the police in Yunnan can’t help, we’ll go to Beijing—the capital. They’re more capable there, okay?"
Hearing this, Lin Muxi smiled, genuinely happy. If these were her last moments, at least she’d heard something that made her life feel worthwhile.
She pushed Ming Li away: "Alright, Auntie, you go pick up Ming Shu. I'll wait here for you. Ming Shu has been in a vegetative state for years now. If you don’t go soon and her tubes are removed, it’ll be too late to save her."
Ming Li was torn. It had been over seven years since she last saw Ming Shu, and she missed her so much it drove her mad. The fact that Ming Shu was still alive, even as a vegetable, was the best outcome Ming Li could have hoped for.
As long as she was breathing, as long as she remained in this world, Ming Li would be grateful to the heavens. But she couldn’t bring herself to abandon Lin Muxi either.
She knew that if she left now, Lin Muxi wouldn’t survive. Giving up on Ming Shu would shatter her heart, but abandoning Lin Muxi would condemn her to a lifetime of torment.
"Clap, clap, clap…" A slow, mocking applause echoed from the darkness nearby. Ming Li, Lin Muxi, and Lin Xi, who had been hiding in the shadows, turned to see a group of men emerging from a dilapidated building.
At the front was a bald man—the one clapping.
Lin Muxi’s face instantly drained of color.
"What a touching show," the man sneered. "So, Lin Muxi, this is why you suddenly grew a spine? Because you’re already sick and want to drag us down with you?" His voice alone was enough for Lin Xi and Ming Li to recognize him.
This was the man who had threatened Lin Muxi over the phone—Fu Congsheng.
He took slow, deliberate steps toward Lin Muxi, who had managed to stand with Ming Li’s support.
Lin Xi quietly pulled a packet of sedative powder from her pocket.
Fu Congsheng raised his hand, but before he could strike, Ming Li shoved Lin Muxi behind her and stood in front of her, eyes squeezed shut.
The slap never came. Instead, Fu Congsheng laughed. Lin Xi finally got a clear look at him—a heavyset man with a thick neck and the unmistakable air of a nouveau riche thug.
"You know, I never understood why Lin Muxi was so stupid—risking everything for a so-called 'best friend.' But now, I think I get it."
"Color me surprised, Lin Muxi. You’ve got decent taste in friends. Too bad your luck runs out everywhere else." Fu Congsheng smirked. "Enough talk. You’re coming with us. And you, Ms. Ming, you’ll join us too. Perfect timing—you can finally reunite with the daughter you’ve been searching for all these years."
He leered at Ming Li. "Tsk, tsk. I always knew you were a looker. A little older, but still plenty of charm left. You’re exactly my type. I only held back before because I needed leverage over Lin Muxi. But now? You’ve walked right into my hands."
Ming Li clenched her jaw, refusing to speak. Fu Congsheng chuckled darkly before turning back to Lin Muxi, his expression hardening.
"Seems I’ve been too soft on you. Made you think you could actually defy me. Guess my last warning wasn’t clear enough. No matter—you won’t need it anymore. Like I said, every act of rebellion comes with a heavier punishment."
"First, I took one of your kidneys. Now? I’ll take your life. At least you’ll have company on the road to hell—your little vegetable friend can join you."
With a wave of his hand, the hulking men behind him advanced toward Ming Li and Lin Muxi.
Lin Xi couldn’t just watch. She stepped out from behind the tree.
"Hey, losers."
Fu Congsheng whipped around, startled. Ming Li and Lin Muxi stared in shock—Lin Muxi didn’t recognize her, but Ming Li’s eyes widened in recognition.
Lin Xi tore open the paper packet and flung its contents into the air. The powder billowed like ash, swirling into a thick cloud that engulfed Fu Congsheng and his men.
"Who the hell—" Fu Congsheng’s words cut off as he collapsed. His fall was the signal—one by one, the men dropped like flies.
Lin Xi pulled out a small porcelain vial and pressed two pills into the mouths of the unconscious Lin Muxi and Ming Li.
The antidote dissolved instantly. The moment it touched their tongues, their eyes flew open. Ming Li sat up, taking in the scene—the unconscious bodies, the strange girl.
"Who are you?" Lin Muxi demanded, scrambling away and dragging Ming Li with her. "What do you want? Why help us?"
Years of betrayal had stripped her of any trust in strangers.
Ming Li studied Lin Xi closely. "I’ve seen you before. Yesterday noon, outside my apartment complex."
Years of searching for her daughter had sharpened Ming Li’s memory for faces. She recognized Lin Xi instantly.
"You followed me? What’s your game?" Tonight had already felt like a twisted drama—absurd, surreal. At this point, being stalked by a stranger didn’t even surprise her.
Lin Xi knew Ming Li was on edge. Convincing her of pure goodwill would be hard. "Believe it or not, I mean you no harm. I’m here because someone sent me."
"But right now, you need to call the police."
The words snapped Lin Muxi back to reality. Ming Li, still clutching Lin Muxi’s phone, dialed with trembling fingers.
Lin Xi didn’t leave. She knew the police would find her regardless.
The Wufeng police arrived within ten minutes. They kicked open the garden gate, weapons drawn.
At the scene, they found Lin Xi standing apart, Lin Muxi and Ming Li clinging to each other, and Fu Congsheng’s men sprawled unconscious.
"Who called it in?"
"I did." Ming Li was a familiar face at the Wufeng precinct. She pulled out her phone. "Officer, I have proof now. I’ve found my daughter."
Her phone had been recording the entire time—every word from Fu Congsheng, every plea from Lin Muxi.
The lead officer took the phone, noting the forty-minute recording that had left the device scorching. He stopped the playback. "Take them all in."
Fu Congsheng and his men were dragged away like carcasses. The officer turned to the three women. "You’re coming too."
It was already one or two in the morning, and there wasn’t a soul outside. Even in the southwest, winter nights were cold. Lin Xi tucked her hands into her pockets.
She got into the police car.
The Wufeng Town police station wasn’t far, and they arrived in just a few minutes. As Lin Xi followed Ming Li inside, the lead officer glanced at her and asked, "How do we wake those guys up?"
Lin Xi recalled what Xu Huanhuan had said about forcefully counteracting the sedative and replied, "Whoever has the smelliest feet here—just let them take a whiff, and they’ll snap out of it."
Xu Huanhuan’s world was truly fascinating—even sedatives had to be countered with foul odors.
The officer fell silent for a second before one of them, a man in his thirties, walked further inside. A female officer led Lin Xi into an interrogation room. "Miss Lin, right? Wait here for a bit. Someone will come to speak with you shortly."
Lin Xi thanked her and sat on the stool, lowering her head in thought.
Something felt off to her. Why was the officer so calm about Fu Congsheng and the others being unconscious? It was as if them collapsing from sedatives was completely normal.
They hadn’t even asked how Fu Congsheng and the others had passed out in the first place.
