An Tingjun clutched his chest, gasping for breath as he woke up. For a moment, it felt like he couldn’t breathe at all.
He covered his eyes, tears streaming down the sides of his face. Thank goodness… it was just a dream.
His phone buzzed on the bedside table. It was a call from the police station. They informed him that An Tongtong had attempted to throw sulfuric acid at Ye Shaohua’s face and was now in custody.
“Brother, you used to love me the most. Please, save me! I didn’t even manage to splash the acid on Ye Shaohua. How can they arrest me for that? I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong, brother!” An Tongtong cried when she saw An Tingjun, as if he were her last hope.
An Tingjun had always doted on her, never letting her suffer even the slightest harm. She was sure he would help her.
“Just because you didn’t succeed doesn’t erase the fact that you’re malicious,” An Tingjun said coldly. If this had happened before, he might have felt a shred of pity for her. But after last night’s nightmare, even that shred was gone. “An Tongtong, you’ll spend the rest of your life here, suffering.”
He wanted to erase An Tongtong’s existence more than anyone else. He was genuinely afraid that the events of his dream might come true.
As An Tingjun left the hospital, before he could even feel the warmth of the sun, he received a call from An Liguo.
At the same time, news of Ye Shaohua’s sudden death from a heart attack spread across the globe. Medical professionals were thrown into panic, and people around the world mourned her passing.
“A year ago, she already knew her heart was far beyond its limits. We repeatedly urged her to undergo surgery, but she refused. Yesterday, she suffered a heart attack during an emergency. She left behind three documents: the first on the future of cardiac research, the second on anti-allergens, and the third on artificial hearts.”
“We’ve lost a great medical expert. In the end, she belonged to the stars and the sea.”
The An family never saw Ye Shaohua again, nor did they see Mo Yunchen.
Only the name “Ye Shaohua” was immortalized in textbooks, her contributions adding a profound chapter to the history of the world.
As for An Tongtong, the internet was abuzz with her attempt to throw sulfuric acid at Ye Shaohua, which had triggered Ye Shaohua’s heart attack. Everyone condemned her, demanding her punishment—not just a death sentence, but a lifetime imprisonment with no chance of parole.
Her crime of intentionally harming a national treasure was confirmed, and she was sentenced to life imprisonment, never to see the light of day again.
**
[Ding! Main quest completed beyond expectations! System rewards 550 points! Congratulations, host, on receiving 550 points!]
[Ding! System 008 at your service. 550 points have been credited. Please choose your departure method: 1. Leave behind a replica of the host. 2. Depart directly!]
Ye Shaohua paused for a moment. “Depart directly.”
“Have you thought this through?” A gentle voice reached her ears as she woke up.
She blinked and saw a young man dressed in white standing before her. He had sea-blue eyes and a strikingly handsome face.
“Shaohua, are you okay?” Someone beside her asked with concern.
Another voice, laced with sarcasm, chimed in, “Kali, why are you even bothering to care about her? As the eldest daughter of the Ye family’s main branch, her spiritual power is only F-rank—worse than even an ordinary guard. Now that she’s been exiled to the border, do you still think she’s the precious jewel of Duke Ye?”
Ye Shaohua was slowly absorbing the plot. This was a magical world, with four great duchies and eight major powers.
She was originally the daughter of the Ye family, a mid-tier family in Cangyun City, part of the Wolf Duchy. Her father was a genius with B-rank spiritual power.
She had been groomed as a prodigy since childhood and was even engaged to Lance, the heir of Cangyun City.
But when she was fifteen, her spiritual power was tested, and it turned out to be F-rank—utterly useless!
Overnight, countless people were disappointed, and Ye Shaohua was exiled to the border of the empire, a place almost devoid of magical elements.
Meanwhile, a genius girl from a branch of the Ye family, Ye Jin, rose to prominence. With her A-rank talent, she caught the attention of the Wolf Duchy. By the time Ye Shaohua was sent to the border, Ye Jin was already an apprentice mage, capable of conjuring fireballs.
Many outstanding young men were drawn to her, including Lance. He personally went to the border to publicly break off his engagement with Ye Shaohua, making her the laughingstock of everyone.
Ye Jin became the pride of Cangyun City, creating miracles along the way. By the age of twenty-five, she had become a high-level mage, elevating Cangyun City to a first-tier city within the Wolf Duchy.
Not just in Cangyun City, but even in the Wolf Duchy, her talent was highly valued. She was directly admitted to the prestigious Balor Academy on the continent.
In the end, she married Gu Hong, the genius heir of the Wolf Duchy, and even persuaded Lance to marry Ye Shaohua. After breaking off the engagement, Ye Shaohua struggled to master magic, only to be taken back by Lance without any formal ceremony, announcing their marriage as if it were a done deal.
But Lance didn’t love Ye Shaohua. He only married her to ensure Ye Jin could marry Gu Hong without worry, reducing Ye Shaohua to a mere afterthought, someone even servants could look down on.
When the demon beasts attacked the city, Lance, worried about Ye Jin and Gu Hong, went to great lengths to protect Ye Jin. Ye Shaohua, a practically magicless ordinary person, was trampled to death by the beasts. By the end of her life, no one remembered her.
Ye Shaohua had arrived at an unfortunate time—right after the original host had undergone her spiritual power test and been exiled to the border town.
The young man who had just asked if she had thought things through was her fiancé, Lance.
Seeing Ye Shaohua remain silent, the red-dressed girl beside Lance looked at her with disgust. She had no patience for Ye Shaohua’s hesitation and said bluntly, “Ye Shaohua, what will it take for you to return the engagement jade to my brother? You know you’re only F-rank. My brother has already been accepted into Balor Academy. Do you know what that means? Graduates become high-level mages at the very least! With your F-rank, you’ll never be more than an apprentice mage. How about this: if you return the jade, I’ll talk to the Ye family head and let you return to Cangyun City. How does that sound?”