The people downstairs dispersed. Hearing footsteps approaching, Liu Zhixi quickly returned to the hospital bed and lay down, feigning sleep.
Soon, the ward door opened, revealing Liu Peilin. She tiptoed into the room, looking at her daughter "sleeping soundly." Her heart felt as if it were being repeatedly fried in hot oil.
"Xixi, Mom is so sorry. If only... maybe you would have had a different life, maybe you wouldn't have gotten hurt. Xixi, what should I do? The doctors all say your face can't be healed. My heart is breaking..."
"What?" Liu Zhixi could no longer pretend. Her eyes widened, and she asked blankly, "Mom, what did you say? What do you mean my face can't be healed? Second Brother said my face can be restored to its original state. He hired the best doctor from abroad. Who are you listening to, Mom?"
Liu Peilin, thinking she was asleep, was startled when Liu Zhixi woke up. She quickly tried to comfort her, "Xixi, you misheard. Mom didn't say your face can't be healed. Mom was... was saying that your old appearance was more familiar. Now that your face is ruined, even if it's repaired, it definitely won't be the same as before. Mom is a little sad."
"No, Mom, that's not what you said." Liu Zhixi's mood suddenly shifted. She sat up abruptly, gripping Liu Peilin's wrist tightly, her eyes wide as saucers. She touched the gauze on her face with one hand.
"My face, it can't be healed? Did the doctor say that? Why? Aren't we very rich? Is there anything money can't solve? Are you reluctant to spend it? It's okay, I have savings, I'll pay for it myself, alright? You just need to find me the best doctor. That's not too much to ask, is it? Huh?"
She stared intently at Liu Peilin, her eyes flashing with madness.
Liu Peilin choked back a sob, "Child, I raised you myself. How could Mom be reluctant to spend a little money? I wish I could give you the skin from my face..."
"Then give it to me. I don't mind," Liu Zhixi said, her eyes wide, each word laced with venom. "I'm your daughter. What can't you give me? If you truly love me, then give it to me. Let my face be restored to its original state. Otherwise, how can you say you love me?"
Liu Peilin never expected her usually obedient daughter to say such heartless words. Her heart ached, but she knew her daughter must have been overwhelmed by the shock. So, she spoke gently, "Xixi, don't get agitated. Your wound might reopen. Don't worry, no matter the cost, Mom will do her best to restore your face to its original state."
"Do her best? I don't want 'do her best,' I want absolute certainty," Liu Zhixi yelled angrily.
"Xixi..." Liu Peilin dared not make a promise, nor could she bear to see her daughter suffer alone. In the end, all she could do was sigh, tears streaming down her face.
Liu Zhixi's dreams were shattered. Her imagined high nose bridge, new eye corners, and V-shaped chin were all gone. At this moment, she even wanted to tear off the bandages on her face. The rage in her heart was even greater than when she had just learned that Quan Jiu was the biological daughter of the Quan family.
"Watching me become disfigured, watching me never be able to marry, becoming an ugly monster, never daring to leave the house, are you happy now? Huh?" she screamed wildly.
She hadn't broken down until now because she believed her face could be healed, and not only healed, but even made more beautiful. But now, knowing the truth, she felt like dying.
She clawed and tore at her face, ripping off the bandages to reveal a bloody, mangled mess. The uneven texture sent her into complete madness.
"My face, my face! You owe me my face! All of you, die! You all deserve to die! Get out, get out!"
"Xixi, don't do this. Don't get agitated. Your wound has split open, Xixi. Mom is sorry. Blame Mom if you must." Liu Peilin grabbed Liu Zhixi's hands, crying and trying to persuade her.
"What's wrong?" Quan Tianxi, hearing the commotion downstairs, rushed upstairs to inquire.
Seeing Liu Zhixi tear off the bandages, he quickly shouted for a doctor. Soon, over a dozen doctors and nurses hurried over.
"Xixi, don't get agitated. It will get better. Brother will find you a better doctor. If you get too agitated, it will affect the wound's healing," Quan Tianxi stepped forward and held down the agitated Liu Zhixi.
Liu Zhixi cried until she was breathless, tears streaming down her bloody cheeks, carrying a foul-smelling blood, and a searing pain.
"You all deserve to die! My face! Mom, Second Brother, what about my face? I don't want to be like this! I don't want this!" The more it hurt, the more she cried, and the more she cried, the more it hurt.
Quan Tianxi watched, his heart aching. Liu Peilin was so distressed she fainted and had to be helped to a side room by the servants.
The doctors, while trying to calm her, applied medicine, cleaned the wound, and removed necrotic tissue. During this process, Liu Zhixi screamed in agony.
Quan Tianxi did not dare to stay and hid in the adjacent room to comfort his mother. After more than ten minutes, the screams gradually subsided, finally falling silent.
Liu Peilin, rubbing her throbbing temples, was helped by her son into the ward.
On the hospital bed, Liu Zhixi's face was once again wrapped in bandages. However, it seemed that her struggle had reopened the wound, as blood stains were faintly visible beneath the bandages.
"Xixi..." Liu Peilin choked, unable to utter a word. Finally, all that came out were sobs.
Liu Zhixi seemed to have calmed down. She looked blankly at Liu Peilin. After a long while, her voice hoarse, she said, "Mom, Second Brother, I won't make trouble anymore. I'll be good. Please, change my doctor. There are so many doctors in the world, and medicine is so advanced now. I don't believe it's completely incurable."
Liu Peilin nodded quickly.
Quan Tianxi also promised, "Okay, we'll change doctors. If this one isn't good enough, we'll find another. We'll definitely find a skilled doctor."
Liu Zhixi nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes. So many doctors. If it doesn't work, we'll change. If it doesn't work, we'll change. If it doesn't work, we'll change..."
She mumbled continuously. Seeing her emotional instability, Liu Peilin felt heartbroken and quietly asked the doctor to prescribe some sedatives to prevent further agitation.
After everyone had left, Liu Zhixi's dazed expression gradually turned sinister. She stared at the photo on her phone. That face, so radiant and beautiful. Thinking of her own face, she wished she could devour the owner of that face alive, drink her blood, and eat her flesh.
Quan Jiu, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been injured. My status in the Quan family wouldn't be shaken. Since we were swapped, it means you don't deserve to be a Quan family member. Why, after twenty-seven years, do you still want to intrude into my life, steal my parents, my brothers, and all the glory that belongs to me?
You deserve to die.
"Ming Hao Ge, we have no fate in this life. I hope we can meet again in the next life. At that time, I will definitely marry you."
Liu Zhixi, with a dark expression, sent a message.
Soon, a number with the contact name "Zhuang Ming Hao" called.
Liu Zhixi hung up directly, but the call came again. After repeating this three times, she finally answered. She didn't speak, only sobbed softly.
Zhuang Ming Hao's voice on the other end was filled with nervousness and excitement. "Xixi, what did you mean by the message you just sent me? What do you mean we have no fate in this life and you'll marry me in the next? Xixi, have you changed your mind? I knew it..."
"I'm disfigured," Liu Zhixi felt annoyed but said with feigned grievance, "I was harmed and disfigured. How can I marry you now? I've always liked you. You were too foolish to realize I was testing you. But now, even if I want to marry you, I can't. I don't want to live anymore. How can I live with this face?"
Zhuang Ming Hao became anxious. "Xixi, don't get agitated. Tell me slowly, what happened? Who harmed you?"