After nine lifetimes of reincarnation, the yandere villainous heroine descends.

In the suburbs of Qing City, the night fell heavily, like a piece of velvet soaked in ink.

Far from the hustle and bustle of the city center, there are only a few old streetlights on the alley.

The dim, yellowish light cast dappled shadows on the ground, elongating the girl's graceful figure.

She wrapped her coat tighter around herself, carrying a plastic bag of medicine in one hand, with the corners of several white medicine boxes peeking out from the bag's opening.

The insulated bag in his other hand was still emitting a faint warmth; it contained wontons he had just bought from a snack stall near the convenience store, perfect for his mother's late-night snack.

It has been a long time since I left Suzhou with my mother and moved to Qingdao.

During this period, she found a job at a convenience store, where she worked until late at night every day.

This kind of busyness is good; at least it allows her to temporarily forget about the people and things in Suzhou.

But there are always moments when a figure will uncontrollably appear in my mind.

That person was a crease hidden in her heart, and no matter how she tried to smooth it out, a faint mark remained.

She had so many questions to ask, so many things to understand, and had even imagined the scene of their reunion countless times in her mind.

But her mother's illness, like an invisible thread, firmly bound her to this city.

Every day when I get home from get off work and see my mother's increasingly haggard face, the thought of seeing her quietly fades away.

She never complained, but would occasionally space out to herself.

Perhaps, this is just how fate works.

Shao Miao let out a soft sigh and slowed her pace.

Her connection with that person may have truly only lasted for that brief period in Suzhou, like a pebble thrown into a lake, creating ripples before returning to calm.

The warmth from the insulated bag seeped through her fingertips, and she tightened the bag and quickened her pace.

Not far ahead was the old residential building where they rented a place, with a dim yellow light shining in the window.

The residential buildings in this community are very old and don't even have elevators.

Shao Miao carried her things and climbed the five-story building step by step. By the time she reached the door, she was already panting.

Just as she was about to reach for the doorknob, a deep, magnetic male voice suddenly came from inside the room, causing her to stop abruptly, her fingertips hovering over the doorknob.

"How much longer are you planning to stay here?"

As the male voice faded, his mother Li Ming's voice followed, and Shao Miao's heart clenched instantly.

Her mother's tone was not weak at all; instead, it carried a coldness and sharpness she had never heard before.

"Who sent you?"

"You've been away from the organization for all these years, do you really think the organization doesn't know where you are?"

Another voice responded calmly.

"I'm no longer a member of the organization."

The soft screech of a chair scraping against the floor came from inside. Li Ming's voice grew even colder, "What do you mean by coming here now?"

"The organization wants you to return."

The middle-aged man's voice remained calm.

"impossible!"

Li Ming's voice suddenly rose in pitch.

Shao Miao, standing outside the door, held her breath, her fingertips trembling slightly.

She had never heard her mother mention any "organization" before; the unfamiliar term made her uneasy.

Being rejected outright didn't surprise the middle-aged man. He calmly said, "The great era is approaching, and the organization urgently needs manpower. You are indispensable. If you insist on refusing, the organization will no longer let you stay peacefully outside. This time it was me who came, but next time, it won't be so easy to talk to."

Upon hearing this, Li Ming's face instantly darkened.

Are you threatening me?

Li Ming's voice turned completely cold.

"Just a reminder."

The man said calmly, "Do you intend to keep pretending to be sick here indefinitely?"

The words "faking illness" exploded in Shao Miao's ears like a thunderclap.

She was startled, her eyes widening in disbelief.

The next sentence spoken in the room completely froze Shao Miao, leaving her utterly shocked.

"Even if you don't think about yourself, you should at least think about Shao Miao. After all, I am this child's father. Let me see her."

"You don't deserve it!"

Li Ming angrily rebuked him.

Shao Miao, standing outside the door, froze, her mind blank. The bag slipped from her hand, scattering its contents all over the floor.

A faint sound drifted out, and the conversation inside the room abruptly stopped.

Immediately afterwards, footsteps came from inside the door, approaching step by step.

Shao Miao subconsciously took a step back, her palms sweating, and watched helplessly as the doorknob slowly turned.

She had no idea what truth would be revealed behind the door.

All he knew was that everything he had believed in for the past ten years or so—his mother's frail health, his stable life, and his uneventful past—seemed to shatter into unrecoverable shards of glass at this moment.

After standing there in a daze for an unknown amount of time, Shao Miao walked into the house with her head down, her mind blank.

Li Ming sat opposite her, silently watching her; the middle-aged man's figure had long since disappeared.

"Miaomiao, are you tired?"

Li Ming tentatively spoke up.

"Mom...who is that person? Is everything he said true?"

Shao Miao slowly raised her head, her eyes reddening, as if she was desperately suppressing her surging emotions.

Li Ming said calmly, "There's no one here. Miaomiao, are you too tired today? Go and get some rest."

As she spoke, she stepped forward to take the medicine bag that Shao Miao was clutching in her hand.

"Don't come any closer."

Just as Li Ming took a step, Shao Miao's hoarse voice rang out.

She slowly stood up, her reddened eyes fixed on Li Ming, and said, word by word, "Mom, I've always been a good girl by your side all these years. If you say one, I'll never say two."

As Li Ming listened to her daughter's words, her eyes instantly became incredibly complex, filled with guilt, pain, and an unspeakable struggle.

"For you, I gave up my studies and stayed by your side; for you, I was willing to leave Suzhou and live in this small place with you."

As Shao Miao continued speaking, her long-suppressed emotions finally broke down, and tears streamed down her face.

"For you, I didn't even dare to see or pursue the people I liked. I've been really tired all these years, but I've never complained, because in my heart, my mother will always be the most important person."

Li Ming felt a tightness in her chest. Looking at her daughter, whose face was streaked with tears, she opened her mouth but couldn't utter a single word.

"I'm often afraid, afraid that one day you really won't be able to hold on anymore, afraid that I'll wake up in the morning and never see you again..."

Shao Miao's shoulders trembled slightly: "But now you're telling me that all of this is fake? You've been lying to me all along?"

"That's not how it is, Miaomiao, let me explain..."

Li Ming finally found her voice and eagerly wanted to step forward.

"Stand there, don't come any closer!"

Shao Miao suddenly took a step back, her eyes filled with resistance and a hint of unfamiliar estrangement.

"I...don't want to hear you talk anymore."

She turned around, staggered towards her small bedroom, and slammed the door shut behind her.

The door blocked the mother and daughter's view, but it couldn't block the tense atmosphere that filled the air.

Li Ming stood frozen in place, her outstretched hand hanging in mid-air.