♪♫ Crying out to this crowded world, ♪♫
♪♫ from behind the aquarium glass ♪♫
♪♫ You think I'm begging for your approval? ♪♫
♪♫ You think I'm feeding on your attention? ♪♫
♪♫ Drowning, drowning, drowning, ♪♫
♪♫ I just wanna breathe my own air. ♪♫
♪♫ Reaching out to this crowded world, ♪♫
♪♫ from behind the aquarium glass, ♪♫
♪♫ I see the tainted air, ♪♫
♪♫ filthy with your breath. ♪♫
♪♫ Before I start to sink, ♪♫
♪♫ before I suffocate, ♪♫
♪♫ I adapt to this watery home, ♪♫
♪♫ exchanging my lungs for gills, ♪♫
♪♫ for I found my fortress, ♪♫
♪♫ behind the aquarium glass. ♪♫
♪♫ Laughing at this crowded world, ♪♫
♪♫ from behind the aquarium glass, ♪♫
♪♫ season me with your eyes, ♪♫
♪♫ make me sweet, make me spicy, ♪♫
♪♫ I won't appease your appetite, ♪♫
♪♫ for I found my fortress,♪♫
♪♫behind the aquarium glass.♪♫
Everyone thought that Silvia's song articulated the effects of lost faith and finding a new path in life. The expected love song narrative for her hubby was nowhere to be seen.
Taking off the shark hoodie, Bing Shi grabbed a water bottle, "Today's donations are going to Fish Welfare Initiative."
"..." Some coughed up blood at the unexpected but clearly obvious twist. So it wasn't a song for her haters, nor her hubby, but for animal charity?! If there were something she was good at, it would be dealing with hate, objectification, and sēxual harassment.
One time, she went along with the rumors about being kept by a sugar daddy! With a backer, it was to be expected that she was no short of money, so she had been donating most of her income right and left, worrying everyone about her mental situation!
Most of Silika's funds came from males, but many females joined the fandom, becoming her little stalking trolls. They first went for her content, curious about what the hoax was about, and ended up staying for her personality.
Millions of people could sing and play just like Silika, or better. She wasn't unique. She wasn't revolutionizing the movie and music industry. But she sure made it very easy for others to connect with her.
Bing Shi continued to train her vocals until it was time to sleep. Thinking about it, in these last two worlds, she always had a fanbase of some kind. Turning off her laptop, she walked towards her bed and lay down next to the neglected Lu Kai.
Lu Kai slipped his hand under her clothes, pressing her back against his chest, "I want a lullaby."
"A deathly lullaby?"
"No, I want my favorite lullaby," Lu Kai kissed her neck, closing his eyes with an anticipating smile. In the past, they had tried all kinds of ways to put him to sleep, and singing wasn't an exception.
"It's cringy," Bing Shi shook her head.
"Please, please, please," Lu Kai didn't back down, "Please?"
"Alright, alright." Giggling, Bing Shi sighed helplessly as she took a deep breath, "♪♫ You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey. You never know dear, how much I love you. Please, don't take my sunshine away ♪♫."
Instead of laughing as usual, Lu Kai bit his bottom lip when he saw their hopeless situation in the past. If someone could make him emotional, it would be her. Bing Shi's serious side was not for the faint of heart. The strength needed to listen to her actual singing without feeling sad couldn't be avoided.
He didn't know how much pain he could bear, but he knew that without her, he would break forever.
Lu Kai glanced at the night lamp that illuminated Li Jie's posters around the room and switched it off. "Sweet dreams, " he said.
"It's late. Where are you going?" Bing Shi asked, switching on the lamp.
"The hospital," Lu Kai tugged her under the covers, "Aoi Hong can't take three men at the same time."
"Need my help?" Bing Shi wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
"It's okay. Aren't you tired?" Lu Kai shook Bing Shi off.
"I'm tired... just like you," Bing Shi said, jumping off her bed and putting on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. "Let's finish this fast."
· · ───────── · ⊱❈⊰· ───────── · ·
The Pujing Hospital...
When Su Min woke up, a man was standing by her sickbed. Li Jie was her senior, and he had saved her again.
They attended an art school together before she switched her major to help Mo Luwei's company as a journalist, "Senior Li, why is it you again?"
Li Jie looked at her with concern, stretching his hand to touch her shoulder, "Why don't you come to me? Why do you choose to suffer?"
Li Jie's gentle movements made Su Min cry. How long had it been since she was cared for by others like this? Her family was gone, and Mo Luwei's ruthless behavior killed her day by day.
She fell into Li Jie's arms and cried out her grievances and sufferings. At that moment, she hated Mo Luwei; her love for him was breaking her down.
Suddenly, Mo Luwei, who had just appeared in the ward, dragged Li Jie out of the room. Then came over to Su Min and grabbed her shoulders, "You bitch, you hit Su Luqin with your car. Do you think I won't kill you?"
Bam!
Bam!
Bam!
The locked-out Li Jie hit the door in an attempt to get inside, "Mo Luwei, if you kill her, I'll make you regret it!"
Su Min yelled at Mo Luwei, "Just kill me! Come on! I don't care anymore!" There was no point in telling Mo Luwei that she was innocent. He would always believe her step-sister. "The moment you killed my father, all my love for you disappeared! From thereupon, we will treat each other as strangers!"
"Strangers?" Mo Luwei pinched Su Min's chin, "So you could be with Li Jie and my child?! Forget about it! If you want to leave, get an abortion first!"
"You bastard! Don't touch me!" Su Min hit Mo Luwei in resentment, but the next moment, he tore down her gown and entered her body without any foreplay.
Mo Luwei forced her down. His cold voice stabbed her like a knife, "You don't deserve my child!"
"No!" Su Min closed her eyes, letting him vent his anger and desire. Lying like a corpse, her consciousness waned into a short coma. 'Su Luqin is back, and he is still taking out his desires on me. Why?'
Did his feelings change? Did he come to like her just a little bit? Would things be different if she hadn't fainted that year and hadn't let Su Luqin steal her spot?
Bam!
Bam!
Bam!
"Kick it down, for god's sake!" Bing Shi kicked down the ward door, "Oh my goodness!" Retracting her staff out of habit, she rushed towards Mo Luwei and hit his ribcage, making him fall out of the bed.
It wasn't her first time separating a rapist from a victim. During the war, besides poverty, rāpe and torture were a normal occurrence.
"Who are you?!" There was no way for Mo Luwei to stay calm. He pulled up his pants and started to fight back.
Accepting the fact that she messed up, Bing Shi targeted Mo Luwei's mouth, refusing to exchange any words with this man. She was here to act as Li Jie's stalker, not a matchmaker, but how could she stay back and do nothing when someone was being rāped right next door?
Li Jie picked up the quilt and covered Su Min's humiliated body, glancing at his crazy fan. Goosebumps appeared on his arms as he thought about how she stalked him to the hospital.
"I'll be right back," Bing Shi tied Mo Luwei down, taping his mouth and eyes. Grabbing him by the suit, she dragged him out like a dirty rag.
Mo Luwei restricted everyone from getting near the VVIP ward and took down the cameras. Nobody was allowed to pass through unless an emergency signal was sent out.
It didn't matter if someone recorded the previous scene or not. It would be easy to put dirt on a small corporate CEO, but not someone who would respond to one's threat with a bigger one.
No matter how many proofs one had, Mo Luwei could kill, steal, and do everything he pleased. The easiest path for a regular victim was to let bygones be bygones and try not to wake up this sleeping dragon.
Bing Shi didn't plan to go against the male lead as nobody, with no backing and no name, so early. But it looked like she'd have to. At least give her a family with a powerful background!
What about her hubby? His existence would mess up with her mission more, ah! She was here to obtain the world's heart, not to reveal her hidden card and sell dog food. Hubby also had to avoid becoming a new male lead at all costs.
Change of plans needed!
Her footsteps echoed in the empty hallway when another pair appeared shortly after.
"You wasted no time," Lu Kai, who returned from Su Luqin's ward, walked beside Bing Shi towards the next room. Taking her baggage, he threw Mo Luwei inside an empty room, face down.
Ru Quan put his wife through thousands of deadly fights with different opponents. The current Bing Shi could take down the previous Xuan Mu, not speaking about a businessman who knew some self-defense.
"I learned from the best," said Bing Shi, continuing to follow her hubby. "How did it go?"
"I'd say... pissed off at first sight, infuriated at second," Lu Kai opened another room for Bing Shi. Once inside, he pressed her against the doors, isolating them from the outside world. He locked their lips, "I need CPR."