After Redeeming the Female Lead, I Faked My Death and Escaped - Chapter 26.1

“Qingzhu.”

Under the scorching sun, the asphalt of the playground radiated heat. Beneath the shade of the trees, Gu Qingzhu paced back and forth until she heard a familiar voice. Only then did she turn her head with a smile. “Xu Ying!”

The girl walking toward her was tall and long-legged, carrying a bag adorned with pink decorations in one hand. Yet she was exceptionally careful not to let the shoulder strap drag on the ground.

“Don’t skip class,” Xu Ying said bluntly, handing the bag to her. “Class is about to start. Let’s go back.”

“No,” Gu Qingzhu replied. “I finally managed to sneak out. Let’s go have some fun, okay? I bought tickets, we can go to the neighboring city to see the ocean and be back by the afternoon.”

She blinked, her eyes brimming with anticipation. But Xu Ying remained unmoved and repeated, “Class is about to start. Let’s go back.”

Gu Qingzhu mimicked her tone, “No!”

She fell silent, though traces of resentment lingered on her face.

The Beta hesitated for a few seconds before saying, “Next time. I have a class this afternoon that I can’t skip.”

“There have been too many ‘next times,'” Gu Qingzhu said, visibly agitated. “When exactly is your ‘next time’? Are you really that busy? Auntie Wei didn’t schedule that many classes for you I already asked her last time!”

Still, there was no response.

Gu Qingzhu finally realized that today’s trip to the ocean was never going to happen.

As her anger spilled out, she immediately regretted her outburst. In the silence that followed, her gaze toward Xu Ying wavered uncertainly.

Before Xu Ying could repeat “Let’s go back” for the third time, Gu Qingzhu unzipped her bag and pulled out an exquisitely wrapped rose.

Even this simple motion caused her bare forearm to flush red with an allergic reaction. Despite that, she still wore a smile. “Last night, I picked the prettiest one just for you. Do you like it?”

“If you don’t, it’s okay. Next time, I’ll pick you an even better one.”

“Why aren’t you answering? Are you still mad at me for skipping class? If you really can’t forgive me, I’ll just say sorry! I’m sorry”

“Xu Ying!”

Before her stood rows of tombstones, the memorial portrait bearing Xu Ying’s face, with the Beta’s name inscribed below.

Gu Qingzhu heard herself open her lips and ask, “Why won’t you speak to me?”

Then, Xu Ying’s face in the portrait blurred. She lifted her head and saw only the clear blue sky.

The next second, Gu Qingzhu abruptly opened her eyes.

“Qingzhu!”

Almost instantly, a cacophony of noise flooded her mind. The surroundings were blindingly white, and in that moment, Gu Qingzhu felt pain searing through her entire body.

Her bones ached as if being ground, her arms and calves tightly bound to the edges of the bed. Both her hands were heavily bandaged, so thickly wrapped that she could barely lift them.

The source of the voice, Assistant Lu, stood not far away.

The woman looked at Gu Qingzhu with unmistakable timidity. No further words were needed, the scene before her was enough for Gu Qingzhu to realize that she had failed.

Her plan had failed.

Why?

She had arranged everything perfectly. Who had ruined it?

Who had barged into her room? Had the servants acted on their own, or had Shan Qiaoyun overstepped her bounds again?

The moment Gu Qingzhu regained consciousness, she was so furious that her head throbbed violently.

“Untie me! Let me go!”

She roared instantly, on the verge of breaking down. “Where’s Shan Qiaoyun? Tell her to get over here! Who dares to let her treat me like this? Is she out of her mind?”

A madwoman tied to the bed, calling the sane one insane.

Assistant Lu was too terrified to speak, only able to watch Gu Qingzhu helplessly as she pleaded, “Qingzhu, you need to calm down first”

Outside the window, a man took in the scene with his own eyes. He sighed helplessly at the doctor beside him. “Director Chen, I’ll handle this matter. I hope your side will maintain confidentiality as well.”

“Of course, of course,” the beta replied meekly, bowing his head. “President Sheng is absolutely right. I’ll remind the staff.”

Inside the ward, Gu Qingzhu’s emotions remained out of control.

She knew full well that this madness was pointless it wouldn’t solve anything.

But she couldn’t stop herself.

This loss of emotional control was what Gu Qingzhu found most unbearable.

Her voice was loud and shrill, grating on the ears. Just as Assistant Lu couldn’t take it anymore and was about to leave, the door was finally pushed open.

Sheng Changming, impeccably dressed in a suit, stepped in, his face a mask of shock. “Qingzhu, how could you”

Behind him, a doctor stood ready with a sedative, prepared to administer it to Gu Qingzhu at any moment.

A man in a suit, a woman in a hospital gown bound to the bed, an obsequious doctor, and the cold, sterile ward.

Gu Qingzhu’s head throbbed with pain.

But in front of Sheng Changming, she still struggled to maintain a semblance of “normalcy.” “President Sheng, tell the doctor to release me. Don’t make me repeat myself, you know my temper. Unless you want Qinghong, you, and your son to die together, untie me now”

Everything before Gu Qingzhu’s eyes had shattered into fragments. She couldn’t even form a complete thought, her mind constantly contradicted itself, replacing the words she originally meant to say.

She couldn’t even string together a full sentence, her speech rapid and disjointed.

Sheng Changming waved his hand, and the doctor immediately stepped forward. But at that moment, Gu Qingzhu slammed her already bandaged right wrist against the bed.

She didn’t hesitate, striking it again and again, as if determined to shatter her own bones with her bare hands. Blood instantly soaked through the bandages, making even the doctor’s hands tremble.

Yet after the injection took effect, the woman’s movements gradually slowed.

The sedative forced her into a state of artificial calm. Within seconds, Gu Qingzhu lost all strength to resist.

At the same time, the pain in her body became increasingly unbearable. Her lips turned pale, and she nearly lost her voice.

“After all the effort to bandage it, why do this?” Sheng Changming shook his head. “Qingzhu, I’ve told you before don’t speak recklessly. Someone who’s cruel to themselves won’t be kind to others either. Don’t you agree?”

A nurse approached with medication, and the doctor gestured toward the anesthetic, asking if they should administer it to Gu Qingzhu.

But Sheng Changming merely pointed at the bandages.

Layer by layer, the gauze was peeled away, soaked in blood and flesh, each piece carefully removed as it brushed against bone.

The excruciating pain stripped away all thought. Gu Qingzhu’s back was drenched in sweat, yet she didn’t utter a single word.

Sheng Changming observed her closely for a while before finally speaking with feigned pity. “No anesthetic at all, how painful that must be, Qingzhu.”

Fake.

So disgustingly fake.

But when the pain was finally suppressed by another dose of medication, the relief still brought Gu Qingzhu a fleeting sense of release.

The next second, she felt nauseated by her own thoughts.

“Apologies.” It wasn’t until long after the doctor had left that Gu Qingzhu finally regained some strength.

“I spoke out of turn earlier. I hope President Sheng won’t take it to heart.”

“Of course I know.” Despite being pointed at and told to drop dead, Sheng Changming still wore a concerned smile. “I don’t mind this, but in front of outsiders, Qingzhu, you should still be careful. The injury is on your body, but the pain is in your fans’ hearts. Not to mention, there’s someone who cares about you so much.”

His words carried an implication. Gu Qingzhu fell silent for a few seconds before turning to Assistant Lu: “Where’s Ying Xu?”

The staff at the mansion wouldn’t dare disobey her orders. The chance of Shan Qiaoyun barging in was practically zero.

There was only one person who could make them make an exception.

Ying Xu.

After the live-streamed apology, all of the Alpha’s information was plastered online. She quickly changed all her social media accounts, cutting off Gu Qingzhu’s access to her life entirely.

Though, to be honest, Gu Qingzhu had never cared to understand any of it before. But there’s a stark difference between unwillingness to understand and being unable to.

The backlash was too severe. That very night, after the initial shock of Ying Xu leaving her, Gu Qingzhu contacted Qinghong to arrange PR for Ying Xu. But this time, it wasn’t just Shan Qiaoyun who refused several shareholders joined in.

The matter was already settled. Trying to reverse it now would only damage the company’s credibility.

With such a lofty excuse in place, no matter how much Gu Qingzhu insisted, it was futile.

She could only try reaching out to others, but after years of collaboration, her network in the entertainment industry was entirely tied to Qinghong. Before she could even speak up, someone stopped her.

But Gu Qingzhu knew deep down, none of these were the real reasons. At the core, even now, she remained indifferent, unwilling to face the truth.

That was all.

So, if it really was Ying Xu, why would she still save her?

Gu Qingzhu didn’t believe it. She couldn’t possibly not hate her.

There was no such person in this world. Even Xu Ying would never forgive those who hurt her, no matter the reason.

“Xiao Lu, just tell the truth,” Sheng Changming said with a smile.

Under the intense gaze of both, Assistant Lu felt as if she were being strangled by a venomous snake, suffocating.

Her voice trembled, but she mustered her courage: “M-Miss Ying”

“She’s undergoing emergency treatment upstairs.”