272 Our Choices and the Grays

He Xinlan was a cruel person.

She was selfish and ruthless, and she would not hesitate to kill anyone that she deemed a nuisance or as being  capable of hindering her goals. As someone who had worked in the medical profession for years, He Xinlan was almost immune to seeing people suffer and die, but then she never expected that she would one day see her daughter suffer to this extent.

He Xinlan's tears burst forth like an unstoppable dam as she watched her own daughter being tortured. Her chin trembled as she tried to touch the screen of the TV, then she tried shutting her eyes and covering her ears in an attempt to block all of her senses. He Xinlan sobbed unceasingly.

She could feel it.

She could feel what Mu Lihua was going through. "Stop it!" she yelled, hoping that someone was listening to her. "Stop!!! Please stop!"

He Xinlan's desolate crying continued. Her shoulders shook, the despair and hopelessness apparent in her eyes.  She sank to her knees as she continued to beg. "Please… stop," her desperate cries echoed inside the room. She could feel her heart bleeding and her limbs shaking every time she heard Mu Lihua scream.

Nevertheless, who could she blame other than herself? No one. She was the one who brought this upon herself… upon her daughter.

Until now, He Xinlan could not believe that her best friend would trick her. Zhang Yifei was a kind woman who always had a gentle smile gracing her face. She was the one who never failed to  help her every time she encountered a problem. However, she also could not forget the look in Lily's eyes as she looked at her. There was not an ounce of pity or ruthlessness in Lily's eyes.

All she could see was her looking down on He Xinlan. Lily must have thought she was truly stupid for believing something that she did not witness herself. How could Lily look at her that way? Did she have a friend whom she had been with for years? He Xinlan, He Yuyan and Zhang Yifei were like that. They were childhood best friends who had always supported each other practically since they were in diapers.

If she could trust any other person with her life aside from her sister then it would be Zhang Yifei. He Xinlan was sure that Zhang Yifei would not hesitate to save her no matter what happened, just as she would not hesitate to save her friend.

Through the years, both He Xinlan and Zhang Yifei had been through a lot. Zhang Yifei was the one who helped her have a marriage alliance with Mu Huang, while she, He Xinlan, was the one who helped her friend every time Zhang Yifei's husband ignored her. Their friendship had been through thick and thin already, so how could Zhang Yifei use her like that? Why would He Xinlan doubt a picture that was given to her by the friend that she trusted the most?

He Xinlan could only continue to scream at the TV, hoping that someone would hear her entreaties. "P…please."

"My boss told me not to kill you." He Xinlan instantly jumped to her feet as she staggered back against the wall. She tried her best to move as far as possible away from the person who entered the room silently. "He also told me not to make you bleed." He Xinlan stared in horror at the person who casually strode closer with his hands shoved nonchalantly in his pockets.

This was the first man she'd encountered after arriving in this godforsaken place. "I know that someone used you but…"  the man hesitated deliberately and flashed her a sly grin. "I still think that you deserve to die in the most painful way that I can think of."

"S…She would not use me like… like that," He Xinlan managed to say. "She… she is like a sister to me."

"Ah??? Still in denial?" The man faked a shocked expression, "You are so incredibly stupid. No wonder someone smarter was able to manipulate you into doing their killing."

"She…" He Xinlan was about to argue, but suddenly she was unable to utter a single word that would rebut what  this man just said. What if it was true? What if Zhang Yifei really did manipulate her? But if she was the one responsible for this, then why did Zhang Yifei still decide to help her by creating problems for Lily's company?

Was it to make her believe that she was her friend?

"Fool," Bei Tian uttered while rolling his eyes. "She was helping you because she wanted you to become even more dependent on her."

"Aiyo… how come you did not realize this?" Bei Tian added with a smug smile on his face. Even he was able to see through such a basic scheme. Really, how did this woman become a doctor? "Hey… are you sure you passed the medical exam? Did you bribe someone to take the test for you?" Seeing He Xinlan's contorted face, Bei Tian continued, "That is not the point here. Nevermind. You don't have to answer my question. I understand that most people are positively subterranean when it comes to thinking on the level of my brilliant mind."

He Xinlan stared at the man, completely dumbfounded. This… this person was extremely different from the one who talked to her the other day. Could this be his twin?

"Anyway… your daughter will live," Bei Tian said, his expression now serious. "We decided to put her in a white room. As a doctor you already know what will happen to her, right?"

This words instantly made He Xinlan widen her eyes. For a moment, she had forgotten that this man was actually Lily and Zhuo Jingren's accomplice. His personality might be a bit peculiar but this did not change the fact that he was still on the side of those ruthless people.

White room.

This was a very ruthless torture method that was known to be used by the CIA and othermoral-free organizations. The purpose of this torture was not to kill someone. Rather, this torture was designed to make someone slowly lose their mind. Just as the name implied, this torture involved putting a person in a room or cell with completely white walls, bedsheets, door, lights...everything inside the room was white. The prisoner would be given white tasteless rice in a white paper towel, white clothes and would be confined to a completely silent room. The purpose was to deprive the prisoner of using their senses.

This method was known to change the mindset of prisoners without even touching them, inducing hallucinations and making them crazy.

A single tear made its way down He Xinlan's face as she continued to think about her poor daughter. This torture was made to make the prisoner's sanity slip away. "She is innocent. Why do this? She did not hurt anyone. Please… you can hurt me. Make me suffer. You can cut me a thousand times and I would not even complain. Just please… let my daughter go," she begged. Mu Lihua never hurt Lily or Zhuo Jingren. How could they be so ruthless?

"Ah… the sound of someone begging always makes me a little giddy." Bei Tian smiled. "Why don't you do it again?"

"Please… Just please… let her go. She had nothing to do with this," she repeated. In return, Bei Tian only gave her a smile.

"We are all innocent in someone's eyes," he uttered. "The line between the villain and the hero is absolutely thin. Of course, from our own perspective, we are always the heroes. The protagonist in our own story, when actually…" Bei Tian tilted his head as he paused dramatically. He stared at He Xinlan for a few minutes before he continued, "In this world, there is no good or evil, there is no black or white. There are only our choices and the grays."