Give Me Another Smile

Autumn Dubbing Club.

Tap Water [Lead Actor] Has Tang-Tang not contacted you yet?

Silent Rain [Planner] Not yet. I can't get in touch with her for some reason.

Ding Ding Dang Dang [Post Production] What should we do? The live broadcast room has already exploded. Good Medicine is about to crumble to the pressure.

Ah Cha [Qin He] Someone's already started to spread rumors about Sweet Sugar! Look, quickly!

Subsequently, Ah Cha sent a screenshot into the group chat, the image showing a barrage of heated comments.

Lord Changling's Baseball Cap: I'm betting Sweet Sugar is getting arrogant after playing a role in a few big IPs. So many of us have taken time out of our day to come here, yet she decides not to show up just because she feels like it.

Little Dolphin: That's right, that's right. What does she think of us hundreds of thousands of fans? Does she think she's the main heroine of a novel? Does she think we'll spoil her?

Warm Cup of Sugar: You guys shut up. Something must have come up for Lord Sugar. Also, stop including other fans in your words. Not everybody's like you.

Silent Rain sat silently in front of her computer and rubbed her face irritably, her originally pinkish cheeks ravaged to the point of becoming red.

At this time, a message notification appeared at the bottom right corner of the screen. It was a message from Good Medicine.

Good Medicine: Still nothing, Little Rain? I've sung four songs already. At this rate, wouldn't this broadcast end up as my one-man performance?

Silent Rain: Sorry, sorry. I still can't get in touch with Sweet Sugar. She's already half an hour late. I'm guessing tonight's birthday party is a no-go…

Good Medicine: Let's wait a little longer, then. We'll have the guests come on first.

Silent Rain: I guess we have no other choice.

…

Yin Zhao-an sat on the sofa in a daze. It was raining heavily outside, the dampness of the weather chilling her body.

Yin Zhao-an hadn't eaten lunch yet, so she ordered a food delivery. However, even though the food looked delicious, she didn't have an appetite, packing the food and throwing it aside after taking only two bites. She originally thought Tang Yu would come home to make dinner, but Tang Yu never came home even until eight in the evening.

Yin Zhao-an was greatly confused. Even if Tang Yu was throwing a tantrum, shouldn't this be enough already? She was neither coming home nor picking up her phone. Since when did Tang Yu become so rebellious?

The doorbell rang. Yin Zhao-an sprang out of the sofa without even putting on her house slippers and dashed for the door.

When Yin Zhao-an opened the door, a delivery guy covered in rainwater and wearing a customary smile entered her view. While holding up the exquisite box, the delivery guy said, "Hello. Are you Miss Tang? Here is the cake you ordered. Please sign for it!"

Ca-Cake…

After signing the receipt and accepting the cake with trembling hands, Yin Zhao-an stood frozen as she watched the delivery guy leave. The cake in her hands felt heavy, just like her mood.

Yin Zhao-an sat on the sofa and stared at the cake emanating a tantalizing smell of milk with her bloodshot eyes. In a daze, she picked up her phone and dialed a number.

"Hello, I want to make a police report…"

…

The combination of late evening and a thunderstorm drastically reduced traffic. Apart from the occasional car, no other pedestrians could be seen on the street.

At this time, though, a person wearing a raincoat hastily ran along a certain sidewalk, disregarding the heavy downpour as she scanned every corner of the street in a panic.

The ringing of a phone was particularly harsh on this rainy night. After wiping away the rainwater on her hand, Yin Zhao-an pulled out her phone from her pocket.

"Hello? An-An? It's Little Yu's birthday today. Did you two go out for a meal?"

A familiar solemn voice came from the phone, the voice bringing a little warmth back to her chilled body. Unable to hold back her desperation any longer, Yin Zhao-an said in a sobbing voice, "Dad… Tang-Tang… Tang-Tang is missing…"

…

The sky was bright, and the unpleasant smell of wet earth filled the air after the rain. An abandoned factory welcomed guests for the first time in a long while. There were crows perched on the power lines next to the factory, and reflected in their round eyes were uniforms of dark blue.

Yin Zhao-an could no longer hear what the people around her were saying. The only thing in her mind right now was the bruised and battered corpse in front of her, the sight stabbing her heart countless times.

Yin Changcheng's eyes were bloodshot, fatigue coloring his face as he communicated with the police. At the same time, he was also holding onto his crying wife, carefully soothing her.

Wounds made by a sharp object covered Tang Yu's deathly pale face. Her originally rosy lips had turned white, and a layer of dead skin covered them. Every part of her exposed skin was either bruised or swollen. Her long and thick eyelashes were drooped, no longer could anyone see her star-like eyes.

The forensic doctor and his assistant moved Tang Yu's corpse onto a stretcher. However, before they could stabilize the stretcher, a powerful force pressed down on it. Fortunately, the assistant was a muscular man, so he managed to stabilize the stretcher despite the unexpected development and prevent the deceased from suffering harm a second time.

Yin Zhao-an's eyes were misted. Even when she had broken her arm in fights in the past, never did she cry even once. However, the panic and despair she currently experienced felt as if someone was running a knife through her one time after another. She couldn't let her go. She couldn't…

"Tang-Tang… I was wrong. Please wake up, okay? You must be playing a joke on me, right…" Yin Zhao-an forced herself to smile, tears rolling down her face and landing on Tang Yu's cold and lifeless hand. "I kept the cake in the fridge. Once you wake up, I'll celebrate your birthday with you, okay?"

Slap!

Yin Zhao-an's tears silently fell to the ground, her face feeling like it had just been scalded. Then, her father's angry voice entered her ears: "Is this how you take care of Little Yu? Do you have no shame?! How am I supposed to face your Uncle Tang down below?!"

The forensic doctor tactfully kept quiet and signaled for his assistant to carry the stretcher away. While leaving, he couldn't help but sigh and shake his head, thinking to himself, Young people nowadays…

Yin Changcheng wiped away the tears in his eyes in annoyance. Then, he turned his back to his daughter and watched the ambulance disappear into the distance with bloodshot eyes.

......

Yin Zhao-an clutched the forensic report tightly to the point her fingers had turned white.

How is this possible… How can she have stomach cancer… Impossible… Yin Zhao-an scratched her head in agony and despair. Why didn't I know this… Why… Why didn't I know anything…

Yin Changcheng closed his eyes for a long while. When he opened his eyes again, a flash of ruthlessness appeared in his eyes for a fleeting moment.

"Please return for now. We will try to find the murderer and give you an account as soon as possible."

"Okay. Thank you."

When Yin Changcheng and Yin Zhao-an walked out of the police station, Yin Zhao-an's body was already devoid of life, behaving as if she were a wandering soul.

Yin Changcheng glared at her daughter, his expression cold as he said, "You were the one who promised to protect Little Yu at the beginning. It is also because you have kept to your promise that I agreed to let you two move out together. If you truly feel guilty for your actions, do something practical."

Yin Zhao-an fell into thought as she watched her father's departing back, the man's sturdy posture overlapping with the image of a military man in her childhood memories.

Then, realization dawned on Yin Zhao-an.

Her father used to be a soldier, but he retired after a leg injury. Even so, he used to be a fearless and tenacious youth. He was nothing like her current self, helpless and incapable of accomplishing anything…

The confusion in Yin Zhao-an's eyes gradually faded, killing intent appearing in her dark pupils. A passing wind blew the front of her hair aside, revealing a crimson scar…