Chapter 123: How Many Years Must Pass Before I Can See You?
Ye Fuli had no idea how long she'd been sitting in the garage.
She couldn't even recall if she had agreed, at the end of the call, to claim those skeletal remains.
She had no choice but to call the person in charge again.
"Ah, I just asked if you wanted to come claim it, and you said you wouldn't be coming." The attendant's tone was weak.
Serving this unpredictable boss was no easy task.
Everything depended on the money.
Ye Fuli pressed her fingers hard against her temples and exhaled softly: "Yeah, I won't be coming."
She simply didn't have the courage to face the scene.
Even seeing photographs would shatter her composure.
She instructed the person in charge to gather the skeletal remains, prepare them for burial, and transport them back as soon as possible.
Ye Fuli sat in the car, dazed and confused.
She always took an eternity to prove an answer she already knew.
She had been trapped in the cage Ye Zhen had woven for her for a year now.
Not finding the remains allowed her to console herself that one day she would get the key from Ye Zhen's hands, as long as she did enough, did well enough…
But now?
Ye Fuli covered her face and wept uncontrollably.
She thought her tears had long since dried up, yet now she wept uncontrollably.
"Ye Zhen, you said you're just a stray ghost who got lucky. So those bones shouldn't be able to hold you, right?"
"Ye Zhen, answer me."
"Answer me…"
"Give me even a shred of hope…"
Ye Fuli was a pragmatic person. She believed in herself fiercely and harbored no expectations for fairy tales or mysticism.
Her rational mind told her that death was the end—dust to dust, ashes to ashes.
Yet her emotions whispered that if she could get a second chance, Ye Zhen surely could too.
A whirlwind of conflicting thoughts raged within her mind.
Thump, thump, thump—
The sound of tapping on the window glass snapped Ye Fuli back to reality.
She looked out the window.
It was He Ying's assistant.
"How did you know I was here?"
Ye Fuli swiftly grabbed her sunglasses, covering her red, swollen eyes.
She struggled to maintain her public image.
The assistant trembled inwardly, thinking: You were crying so loudly half the garage could hear you—how could I not know?
I'd rather not have known, damn it.
"Well, I just happened to be passing by," the assistant replied respectfully, wiping away cold sweat.
"Hmm, you can go now." Ye Fuli's voice was already hoarse.
"I came to tell you something."
The assistant stroked her conscience, hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "Third Young Miss might have found Miss Ye Zhen. She left for South City overnight, heading to that Mond Academy."
Ye Fuli's face darkened.
The mere mention of Ye Zhen's name sent an invisible chill coursing through her body.
The young assistant trembled in fear but steeled herself to continue, "That… that's all. Nothing else…"
"How much do you want?"
"I don't want money."
"Then what do you want?"
"Nothing at all."
The young assistant took a deep breath.
Consider it repayment for Ye Fuli's kindness in taking me under her wing!
Without that money, she couldn't establish herself in this city or escape her dysfunctional family.
Everyone thought Ye Fuli was a villain.
The young assistant thought so too.
But the favor was real, and she couldn't just ignore it.
In an even weaker voice, she added, "If you find Miss Ye Zhen, please don't bully her anymore, okay? If… if you do, next time… I'll call the police to arrest you too…"
Ye Fuli stared at her with a dark expression.
Silence hung heavy for a moment.
Ye Fuli closed her eyes, and the malevolence radiating from her body dissipated instantly.
Her fingernails raked across her arm, leaving deep, bloody scratches.
"Fine."
…
Ye Fuli didn't rush to South City.
The young assistant hurried away, her heart heavy with guilt.
She had worked for He Ying for many years, handling countless matters for her, and the two shared a close bond.
Now, knowing full well that He Ying and Ye Fuli were like oil and water, she had still revealed such a crucial piece of information to Ye Fuli.
She just wanted to go back and confess to He Ying, then accept whatever punishment came her way.
As for Ye Fuli, she drove out to the suburbs.
Here, she had purchased a burial plot for herself and Ye Zhen.
Soon, those white bones would be buried here.
"How many years must I wait before I can see you again?"
"Ye Zhen…"
"How long do you plan to keep me locked away?"
Ye Fuli sat atop the grave, gently tracing the photograph on the headstone.
This was Ye Zhen's middle school ID photo—no smile, but her eyes were clear, as if filled with hope for everything.
But now, only despair remained.
"You're too cruel."
Ye Fuli sat here from daylight until nightfall, then from nightfall until dawn.
Nearby was a vast cemetery that felt eerily foreboding after dark, utterly terrifying.
Yet for Ye Fuli, such a place strangely calmed her spirit.
She even ordered a coffin for herself and had it delivered to the villa where she lived alone.
In the bedroom, that soft, expensive bed had been banished to the storage room, replaced by the massive coffin.
Hmm…
She certainly doesn't shy away from bad luck.
Fortunately, no one ever visited her home.
……
…
South City.
Near Mondstadt Academy, inside a five-star hotel.
He Ying had booked the presidential suite here, determined to wage a protracted battle.
After all, money was the only thing she had now!
As long as she didn't start a business, she could spend freely, indulge recklessly—it would never run out, absolutely never.
He Ying had no entrepreneurial ambitions whatsoever. She knew full well she was a spendthrift through and through, not a single cell in her body understood business.
She'd just stick to the family business, follow the rules, and coast along until she kicked the bucket.
"Ah, found it! Found it!"
Her subordinate, who had been working overtime reviewing documents, suddenly exclaimed excitedly.
"Miss He, look—is this the person?"
He Ying hurried over and glanced at the screen.
The photo displayed a girl with visible burn scarring on her face, whose facial structure bore a certain resemblance to Ye Zhen.
"Name: Jiang Zao. Height: 1.55 meters. Weight: 45 kilograms…"
"Height 1.55 meters?"
"My little sister isn't that tall!"
Her subordinate piped up timidly, "With modern bone grafting surgery, it's not entirely unrealistic."
"Hmph."
He Ying scrutinized the girl's photo again, carefully.
Before she could make sense of it, another subordinate shouted from the other side, "Found it! Found it! Third Young Miss, come see!"
He Ying hurried over.
When she saw the photo on the screen, she visibly froze.
The person in the photo did bear a striking resemblance to Ye Zhen.
But to be fair, Ye Zhen wasn't as beautiful as the girl in the photo.
"Name: Ye Zhen. Height: 1.5 meters. Weight: 43 kilograms…"
He Ying immediately protested, "That's impossible."
"What's impossible about it?"
That impossibly beautiful face was the problem.
Ye Zhen had suffered severe facial burns that disfigured her!
Experts both domestically and internationally had examined her case and concluded it was impossible to restore her appearance to its original state.
If restoring her to her original state was impossible, how could she possibly become this beautiful? Unless magic existed in this world.
"Then, the only two who roughly meet the criteria are these two."
They had already reviewed all the files.
Their eyes were bloodshot from pulling all-nighters.
If it weren't for the money, no one would push themselves this hard.
He Ying clapped her hands together, making her decision.
"Bring them both in. I'll interview them personally… Everyone's worked hard lately. This month's bonuses will be doubled, and next week you'll all get paid time off. Dismissed!"