Chapter 197 New Life

"Drip, drip!"

Fresh blood dripped from Qiuqiu's cheek in a stream onto the clean floor.

Father You stood beside her, watching his daughter with heartbreaking pain, a feeling only a parent could truly understand.

"I told you to sit down." An Qiqi sat to one side, her pretty face calm, her voice without a ripple.

Father You's face flushed red, and he slammed his hand heavily on the table before slumping back into his chair.

An Qiqi turned her head to look at Qiuqiu, her eyes sharp.

Qiuqiu gripped the knife, her voice trembling as she said, "Isn't that enough?!"

An Qiqi didn't reply.

"Fine, you just want to vent, right? I'll indulge you!" Qiuqiu's expression was both terrified and crazed as she gripped the knife in her right hand and stabbed it at her cheek again.

"Thump!"

In her agitated state, Qiuqiu slashed open her left cheek with the knife, the flesh flipped open, and the tip of the knife deformed her nose.

"Is that okay?!" Qiuqiu roared.

An Qiqi still didn't respond.

"Stab!"

Qiuqiu closed her eyes and stabbed herself for the third time. The left side of her cheek was completely festered, blood seeping from her nostrils, and inside the visible bloody hole, a tooth could vaguely be seen.

Blood flowed across the floor, and Qiuqiu collapsed, slumping onto the ground. "I was wrong... please spare me! I beg you, I really don't know what to do... Or, you tell me, how many times do I have to stab myself for you to be satisfied, for you to vent your anger? Just name a number, okay?!"

Qiuqiu's emotions had truly collapsed. She no longer had the courage to stab herself again.

An Qiqi looked at her and slowly stood up. "Do you think I hate you?"

"N-no... isn't that it?" Qiuqiu said, her hair disheveled and her eyes bloodshot.

An Qiqi looked at her and said, her voice trembling, "I've known you and Wang Ying for almost twenty years. We grew up together, shared our joys and sorrows. I naively thought that besides my family, you were the closest people to me. Even when I suffered setbacks in society, I could tell you things I couldn't tell my parents. So, for me, just talking about hate is too shallow. I regret that I lived my life very unsuccessfully. In almost a month, I lost everything I cared about. It wasn't until Wang Ying tried to kill me, until you framed me at the Joint Police Department, that I truly grew up."

Qiuqiu stared blankly at her, her bloodshot eyes filled with tears.

"Do you think I'm retaliating against you?" An Qiqi looked at her. "I really wish I could still have that emotion, but unfortunately, my mind is now full of rationality."

Qiuqiu's eyes were shocked, as if she didn't understand the meaning of the words at all.

An Qiqi paused for a moment. "Watching you stab yourself these three times has nothing to do with hate, venting anger, or revenge. I am An Zecheng's daughter, and my family situation is very complicated. Today, if you stabbed me once and said a few nice words, and I had no reaction, then tomorrow any Tom, Dick, or Harry would dare to use me to threaten my parents! You are my best friend. The more miserable your ending, the more afraid those people who are watching us covetously will be! They will know that once they fail, they will pay an unimaginable price!!"

Qiuqiu stared blankly at An Qiqi, speechless.

"When I was in Bana City, I had a dozen guns pointed at my head. Having experienced all that, would I still talk about hate?" An Qiqi picked up her backpack. "I stopped hating a long time ago...."

After speaking, An Qiqi pointed at Father You. "I've assessed your family's assets. I want ten million. You pay, and your daughter won't have to spend the rest of her life in prison. This amount won't bankrupt you; it will just hurt a little."

Father You clenched his fists tightly and, after holding it in for a long time, replied, "Okay, I'll give it!"

An Qiqi turned and left, not looking at Qiuqiu, who was still slumped on the ground.

...

Afternoon.

An Qiqi rode in a military vehicle to the entrance of a barbershop in the Longkou District.

The barbershop wasn't large, only about sixty or seventy square meters inside and out. The barbers were a father and son who had followed the Zhou faction troops during the Great Migration from Nanhu to Dragon City.

The barbershop didn't have many customers, and the decor had the flavor of old Shanghai from the Republican era.

This place held some memories for An Qiqi. When she was dating Gou Liuzi, he often came here to get a buzz cut.

At that time, An Qiqi would eat snacks, sit next to Liuzi, look at her phone, and bicker with him. Life was carefree, happy, and warm.

"Boss, haircut," An Qiqi said with a smile.

"Please, have a seat!" The old barber walked out and greeted her softly.

Bright sunlight shone in from outside. After washing her hair, An Qiqi sat obediently in the chair, quietly looking at herself in the mirror.

The old barber walked over with his freshly sharpened scissors and slowly began to groom her hair.

...

Evening, a little after five o'clock.

An Zecheng sat at home smoking, and after listening to the guard's account of what happened, he frowned and said, "She deserved it! There's no right or wrong in this, only consequences! You can go."

"Yes!"

The guard left and turned to go outside.

An Zecheng flicked his cigarette ash, turned his head, and looked at his wife beside him, asking, "What do you think we should do with Qiqi?"

"I'm a little confused about her too." Yu Zhen shook her head. "The situation is so tense right now that we definitely can't let her go back to the Huafu. Originally, I was planning to have her find a school in Dragon City to study at and kill some time, but she doesn't seem willing, and she doesn't want to talk about it."

An Zecheng sighed. "Alas, I've affected the child."

"There's nothing we can do about it." Yu Zhen took a sip of tea. "What I mean is...."

"Dad, Mom, I'm back!"

An Qiqi's clear voice rang out as she walked in from outside, her pretty face full of smiles.

An Zecheng looked up, stunned. He saw that his daughter's long black hair had been cut short... into a bob that reached her ears.

A breeze blew in from outside, causing An Qiqi's hair to dance. She asked with a smile, "Dad, Mom, what do you think? Does it look good? Doesn't it look a lot more refreshing?"

An Zecheng was silent, his eyes full of heartache.

"It looks pretty good." Yu Zhen replied with a smile. "It's easier to manage this way."

"Hehe, I think so too." An Qiqi ran to her parents, put down her backpack, and said, "I have something I want to discuss with you."

"What is it?" An Zecheng asked, looking at her.

An Qiqi pursed her lips. "I want to join the army and apply to a formal military academy."

The couple was stunned when they heard this.

The cruel experiences in a short period of time had allowed An Qiqi to be reborn from the ashes, like a phoenix chick that had to undergo the hottest flames and endure all kinds of pain before it could finally spread its wings in the blue sky....