​​Chapter 89: South Street Apartments​

Li Zhi smiled faintly. "That wasn't too hard to guess."

Qu Rong: "…………"

Audience: "…………"

Did she just look down on us?!

Qu Rong stared at her for a moment, then, seeing no malice in those sincere eyes, finally stepped aside. "Fine, come in."

She closed the door behind them. For the first time, Li Zhi stepped into this single room. On the floral-clothed dining table, a glass vase held a single perfumed lily, still blooming beautifully. The tablecloth was identical to the one at Chen Meixi's place—undoubtedly bought by her.

She had bought flowers for Qu Rong, given her the same floral tablecloth, even replaced her lightbulb. In her own way, she was thanking the woman who had pulled her from the abyss.

Even if she wasn't human.

So what? The ones who had hurt her were always humans. When despair had gripped her, it was a monster that saved her.

Seeing Li Zhi enter, Chen Meixi's eyes flickered with tension, but she stepped in front of Qu Rong and clenched her teeth. "I killed Chu Guangyan. She had nothing to do with it."

Li Zhi studied her. "Did you stab him in the neck with scissors?"

Chen Meixi froze. "How did you know—" She hesitated, then gave a bitter laugh. "Yes. He pinned me to the sofa and beat me. Before he came back, I was sewing a button—the needle and thread were on the sofa."

Stones couldn't have been harder than the fists that rained down. The gentle, refined face he wore outside twisted into something monstrous at home.

"Were you talking to those women again? Did you go out today?!" He choked her, pressing her face into the sofa, his blood-red eyes like a demon's. "When I came upstairs, those gossips were asking about kids again. What did you tell them?!"

She cried, shaking her head frantically. "No... I didn't say anything..."

"Did you want a child that badly? Then go have one with those stray men outside!" His voice dripped with venom as he glared at her abdomen, then drove his knee upward as if to crush an imaginary fetus. "Were you already pregnant?!"

Pain exploded through her, and she screamed, begging, explaining—but it was useless.

It hurt too much.

She hadn't done anything wrong. The sick one was him, the one unable to conceive was him—yet in the end, she was the one paying for his shattered pride.

As she thrashed and wept, her fingers closed around the scissors. By the time she realized what she was doing, the blade had already plunged into Chu Guangyan's neck.

Warm blood splattered across her terrified face. Chu Guangyan's eyes bulged in disbelief as he clutched his throat, convulsed, and collapsed onto her.

She had killed him.

A laugh suddenly echoed from the doorway. "So you turned the tables."

Chen Meixi shoved the corpse off her with trembling hands, scrambling to her feet as she stared at the entrance. Qu Rong, the reporter from the third floor, leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching the scene like a spectator at a play.

Chen Meixi's legs gave out, and she sank to the sofa, sobbing in terror.

She had killed someone.

She was a murderer now.

Qu Rong clicked her tongue and sauntered forward. As she reached Chen Meixi, she bent slightly, her fingers brushing the blood from her cheek as she smiled. "How interesting. I thought you'd kill yourself. I could smell it on you."

Chen Meixi lifted her head, hair wild, face streaked with tears and blood, staring blankly at her.

Qu Rong tilted her head, considering, then brightened. "Tell you what—how about we make a deal? From now on, you and I can wear new clothes together, hmm?"

In that moment, light flooded back into Chen Meixi's dark, hopeless eyes.

...

"That's how it happened," Chen Meixi said, her voice trembling the entire time, but her gaze remained resolute. "I killed him. I skinned him. She just... told me how."

One was the wife who had murdered and flayed her own husband, the other the smiling accomplice who had guided her through it. No wonder Chu Guangyan avoided the sixth and third floors. In his mind, the woman who had taught his wife to skin him was far more terrifying than the wife herself.

Li Zhi turned to the "Qu Rong" beside her. "Is Qu Rong still alive?"

"Qu Rong" smiled and twirled in place, arms spread wide. "How is this not living?"

Li Zhi asked, "Did you skin her?"

"Qu Rong" raised an eyebrow. "It was a willing trade. She didn't want to live anyway. Instead of just dying, she gave me her skin so I could help her achieve what she couldn't—like restoring that corrupted surveillance footage of the harassment and bringing her boss to justice."

Would suicide have helped? No.

Especially since Qu Rong had been revived—the ridicule and scorn would've only grown worse.

"Using suicide for sympathy? If she really wanted to die, why didn't she succeed?"
"Getting promoted so young and being pretty too—no way she didn't play dirty."
"That boss was scum, but this woman's no saint either. Let's call it even!"

...

Those words had cut deeper than knives, each one flaying away a piece of her flesh. Doctors could save her life, but not her will to die.

When she ripped out her IV and climbed back onto the hospital rooftop, it appeared.

It appeared beside every woman on the brink of suicide, offering a deal.

Just dying like this, doing nothing... what a waste. Give me your skin, and I'll help you live. I'll make your wishes come true.

And so it collected skin after skin. It had no soul, no form—just an endless patchwork of human flesh, peeling one away only to reveal another, infinite and unending. Because in this world, there would always be women suffering in despair.

"What about Xiao Ke?" Li Zhi asked.

"Qu Rong" smiled, then suddenly grabbed the wrist of her self-inflicted cut and began peeling away the skin.

Qu Rong vanished, replaced by the shy, delicate Xiao Ke. She stepped forward, pressing a finger to Li Zhi's forehead.

Reality blurred.

In the vision, Li Zhi became Xiao Ke, hunched in a cramped, dimly lit study, fingers flying across her keyboard. A crushing weight pressed against her chest, suffocating her with every breath.

Each line of text demanded a deep breath, as if without it, she would suffocate entirely.

Then, the door burst open.

Li Zhi shuddered instinctively, soul-deep fear and revulsion making her vision swim.

"Write, write, write!! You just hide in here all day with no social life!! You're worthless!!"

"Look at everyone else your age—23 and still single?! The neighbor's daughter just had her baby's first month party, and I can't even show my face outside!! All that education, and for what?! You're a disgrace!!"

"You've shamed your father and me!! And now you try to kill yourself?! Do you know what people are saying about us?! Next time, do it somewhere far away!!"

"You're 23!! If you don't marry soon, who'll want you later?! A woman's prime is short—unlike men!! Mom's just thinking of you!! Those blind dates I set up—what's wrong with them? Just someone to settle down with!! You're too picky, and in the end, you'll be the one left behind!!"

"After all we've done for you, is this how you repay us?! You're driving us to our graves!! How dare you kill yourself?! How could you be so unfilial?!"

...

The suffocation closed in, and no matter how wide she opened her mouth, she couldn't breathe. The scene shifted—she stood at the edge of a quiet river, icy water up to her waist, as a whisper urged, "Drown far away, where no one will find you."

A cheerful voice chuckled behind her. "Too late—I already did."

Li Zhi turned to see a middle-aged woman grinning at the riverbank. "Since you're dying anyway... how about a deal?"

"Sure."

Xiao Ke smiled, no hesitation.

"What's your wish?"

"I don't have wishes. If anything... it's that I never finished my novel. It was my best work."

"Deal." It grinned. "I can finish it for you."

Her finger lifted from Li Zhi's forehead, and she gasped back into reality.

The "Xiao Ke" before her smiled brightly.

Li Zhi chuckled. "Finished the novel yet?"

"Xiao Ke" sighed. "Not yet. It's hard." She studied Li Zhi, interest flickering across her face. "The skin I trade for can't go to her—only skin she peels herself works."

"Where am I supposed to find another skin for her?" It grinned. "Yours looks nice. How about we take yours instead?"

Li Zhi remained calm. "No thanks."

"Xiao Ke" pouted. "Why not?"

Li Zhi: "You can't beat me. Before you get my skin, I'll rip yours off first."

"Xiao Ke": "…………"

Li Zhi smiled. "Actually, I have a win-win solution. No one has to lose their skin, and Miss Chen can live openly in the sunlight."

Chen Meixi blurted, "What is it?!"

Li Zhi pointed at "Xiao Ke." "Let it wear Chu Guangyan's skin and take you away."

Chen Meixi blinked in shock.

Li Zhi turned to "Xiao Ke." "What do you think? Pretty good plan, huh?"

"Xiao Ke" scrunched up its face. "Men's skin smells awful... but fine. For you, I'll suffer through it. You're my first friend, after all."

Tears welled in Chen Meixi's eyes.

"Xiao Ke" studied Li Zhi, then suddenly leaned in, sniffing her neck.

Grinning, it said, "You've smelled of despair too. If you ever need to make a deal with me... I'll be there. I love your skin."

Li Zhi smiled politely. "No thanks. That won't be necessary."

Bored, "Xiao Ke" pouted, then slipped back into Qu Rong's skin and plopped onto the bed. "Alright, go fetch Chu Guangyan's stinky skin. We're moving out at dawn."

Returning this skin should clear the instance.

Li Zhi nodded and opened the door, heading downstairs.

Chu Guangyan's skin was still in Room 104, guarded by the other players. Night had fallen, and the second-floor lanterns glowed eerily. She quickened her pace, but as she reached the landing, Qiao Junyuan stood in the hallway, smiling at her.

The red lantern light painted his youthful face in an unsettling glow.