Chapter 133: Jiali

Jiali has always been introverted, and in a way, she’s quite like Marya—both are the type who are shy and easily bullied.

And both have oppressive families.

But there are subtle differences: Marya does resist; she even considered smoking during her rebellious phase, actively sought friends, and sometimes had a quiet, hidden streak.

But Jiali is different—she barely resists at all, even weaker than Marya, yet comparatively, Jiali is also kinder.

The weak Jiali never calls Emma voluntarily; now that she’s suddenly called, she must be truly desperate.

But a moving doll?

Emma: “Don’t panic yet, speak slowly.”

“A new doll shop opened near the street, so I went in to look. I saw it tossed in the corner, looking so pitiful, so I bought it. But after I brought it home, it started moving—it looked perfectly normal before!”

“Mom hasn’t come back yet, so I’m hiding in my room. I don’t know if it’ll come in—Emma, what should I do?”

“Ah! It—it’s knocking on the door!”

Thud!

The call ended.

Emma stared at the phone in shock, then turned to Louis.

Louis was right beside her; his enhanced senses had clearly heard everything inside, without a moment’s hesitation.

“Let’s go—it’s right next to our house.”

Saying this, he grabbed Emma and headed out.

Marya instinctively wanted to follow, but Louis said nothing, so she stopped. Beside her, Madison rolled her eyes, grabbed Marya’s arm, and pulled her out, saying to Yulunca, “We’re going to the bathroom.”

In an instant, only Yulunca remained at the table.

Yulunca finished the last bite of fried chicken, calmly wiped her mouth with a napkin, glanced at Marya and Madison heading toward the school gate, and sneered, shaking her head slightly.

Then she picked up her book and went to find other grade representatives—only she could be student council president!

At the school gate, Marya kept shouting “Let go!” as she was dragged, but couldn’t break free. Madison’s lips twitched, then suddenly stopped.

Marya nearly stumbled forward from the abrupt halt.

“Marya, I’ve noticed you’ve become increasingly dishonest,” Madison said, arms crossed, furious.

Marya gave a nervous laugh. “Really?”

“You tell me—your strength’s clearly increased now, so why does one tug from me make you walk?” Madison sneered.

“I was just afraid I’d hurt you,” Marya’s eyes darted away.

“Oh? Really? Then fine—I suppose I can tolerate the teachers’ endless rambling. Let’s go back. No need to follow.”

Madison pulled Marya’s hand to turn back, but found she couldn’t move her at all.

Instantly, anger turned to bitter laughter.

Marya smiled sheepishly, but her feet were rooted—completely unmoving.

“Madison, I’m sorry, I… um…”

Madison sighed, rolled her eyes. “So my best friend is just an excuse for you, huh?”

“Forget it, let’s go—Louis is already far ahead. If we don’t hurry, we’ll lose him.”

“Actually, no need to rush—I know where Louis lives,” Marya said.

???

You two are already this close behind my back?

How did I not know?

Madison was still stunned when Marya grabbed her hand and started walking.

“Tell me honestly—have you done it with him?”

“Done what? Oh! No, no!”

“Tsk. Looks like you’re not up to it either.”

“Madison, have you?”

“Me? Of course—I’ve had ten or twenty guys. Men aren’t rare at all.”

“Heh, don’t brag—you forgot how you blushed last time…”

“Tsk, you little traitor. So what if I’ve had them? I’m this beautiful—I’ll conquer man after man. What about you? You can’t even handle Louis. Little waste.”

“Madison!!”

“Hahaha!”

“…”

Bold, blushing remarks scattered with the wind as the two ran to catch up with Louis and Emma, who had just gotten into the car.

Seeing them, Louis wasn’t surprised—his sharp senses had already noticed them, and he’d even caught fragments of their earlier conversation.

Hmm. Quite bold.

Emma pouted and leaned closer to Louis.

Madison sat voluntarily in the front passenger seat, winked at Marya to encourage her, and Marya lowered her head and sat in the back.

Louis: “Drive.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

Vrrrm.

The car started.

They began returning.

…

At Jiali’s house.

Jiali, huddled against the storage cabinet in the corner, stared nervously at the wooden door as knock after knock echoed—thump, thump, thump.

The sound was light, not like a person knocking, but like wood striking wood—and indeed, it was wood.

Jiali trembled all over.

She regretted it deeply—why had she softened at the sight of that wooden doll in the corner, thinking it resembled her, just another marginalized, unwanted trash like herself? In a moment of impulse, she’d bought it.

And indeed, it was trash—she’d bought it for just one dollar.

After bringing it home, she cleaned it thoroughly, wrapped it in old rags to make a tiny outfit, hoping it would look cleaner. Then she found a note inside its clothes, with the name “Finley” written on it.

She unconsciously whispered the name—and saw its eyes shift.

She was certain—she hadn’t imagined it.

She screamed and ran into her room to call Emma.

Why call Emma? Because Emma was her best friend; the second-best was Su, so she’d instinctively called Emma.

In truth, she wanted to call Louis—but unfortunately, she didn’t have his number.

At this moment, she felt she was doomed—Emma wouldn’t arrive in time.

Trembling, Jiali made a cross with her hands on her chest. She didn’t believe in religion; her mother forbade it. But now, she desperately needed some spiritual anchor.

Creak.

The wooden door groaned unpleasantly.

Jiali’s tension peaked.

Flashbacks flooded her mind.

Her life… seemed to have been nothing but two things: obeying her mother and enduring bullying.

At school, she was always alone. Her mother forbade her from any social activities; she rarely understood what her peers said.

Everyone at school was cruel—they held inexplicable malice toward her, yet she had no one to confide in. Even her mother wouldn’t listen to her complaints, only insisting it was her due.

Sometimes her mother said, “I am evil. All women carry original sin—especially you. Giving birth to you was a mistake. I forbid you to believe in religion because you are a child of sin.”

Oh, Mother, how can I ever satisfy you?

As she recalled her brief life before death, Jiali realized she felt no attachment at all. Perhaps death was a release?

But then, her gaze fell on something—a bottle wrapped in cloth, placed inside the storage cabinet. Her eyes froze.

Bang!

The wooden door opened.

The doll’s jaw clicked up and down as if laughing, holding a short knife that looked old and worn.

It stepped closer.

A moving doll. A knife ready to draw blood.

An inexplicable atmosphere of terror rose.

Jiali watched the doll approach, her breathing quickened, eyes wide, darting constantly toward the bottle above. Her trembling hand reached out to block it.

The doll stopped directly before Jiali.

“Click!”

Its mouth opened and closed with the sound of wood striking wood; the knife swung down.

“No!!”

Vrrrm!

With Jiali’s scream, an inexplicable force erupted—like a cannonball, instantly blasting the doll flying.

But the knife still struck Jiali’s head.

Thud!

Her forehead ached—but she was still alive?

Jiali slowly opened her eyes.

She saw the short knife lying beside her, touched her head, and found no blood; trembling, she picked up the knife and examined it closely.

???

A toy?!

Jiali’s eyes widened, an indescribable feeling filling her heart.

Shock, relief, anger, disbelief…

That puppet named Fenli used a toy knife? Can this even kill? Did he grab the wrong one? Or is he mocking me?

Wait, that puppet.

Jiali quickly looked up but saw no trace of it; she stood cautiously and glanced around, immediately spotting a gap in her door.

She stepped closer and peered through the hole.

There, the puppet Fenli was propped up on one leg, using his right hand to reattach his left arm; his left leg lay scattered nearby, wood shavings covered the floor, and his clothing was torn and ragged, as if he had endured a violent impact.

Fenli reattached his hand, waved it twice—it moved as fluidly as before—then clicked and clacked, as if cursing and protesting, his eyes blazing with human-like fury: he would seek revenge! Revenge!

He hopped to reattach his left leg and prepare for revenge, when he noticed a moving shadow on the ground and instinctively looked up.

He saw Jiali peering in from the doorway.

Aaa!!

Click-click-click-click-click…

A silent scream, audible terror.

Fear visibly spread across Fenli’s puppet face; he snatched up his left leg and hopped away in panic.

Jiali stared blankly.

That puppet… just ran away?

What on earth just happened?

Regardless, it seemed she had survived.

Jiali exhaled deeply, then returned to the storage cabinet, pulled out the bottled items inside, and tucked them into her chest.

Next, she picked up the toy knife and cautiously stepped toward the door—she couldn’t stay in her room and wait to die; now that the puppet was damaged, she had to seize the chance and escape.

At that moment.

The knocking came again.

But this time, it wasn’t the knock on her room door—it was the knock on the house’s front door.

(End of Chapter)