Rongcheng.

In the Tianshan Cemetery, a slim young man was kneeling in front of a gravestone.

He had set up two instant hotpots in front of it. They were freshly cooked, steam rolling upward like they couldn’t wait to show off. The guy was crying so hard his whole sleeve was soaked with whatever had come out of his nose—honestly, it looked pretty gross.

“Serena, you’ve been gone five years. Every year I come to your grave and eat hotpot with you.”

Derek Young wiped his nose with the back of his hand, then scooped up one of the hotpots and started slurping while talking at the same time.

“Serena… it’s my fault. I was useless back then. I didn’t protect you. All on me.”

He took a loud sniff, the kind that made his whole face twitch.

“Serena, go on, eat too. That pot’s yours. I know you liked this stuff. I’ll come every year on this day and keep you company. We can still vibe together, okay?”

Just then—

Two hands suddenly reached in and picked up the other hotpot. Derek froze and followed the movement upward, his gaze landing on the face of a stunning woman holding the bowl.

She lifted the chopsticks, took in a deep breath, then said, “Mm. Not bad. My favorite flavor. Guess you still have a conscience after all.”

Se…Serena?

A few seconds later—

Derek’s entire hotpot slipped from his hands and dumped straight onto his thigh. He shot up like he’d been launched by a spring, yelling as he hopped around, “Oh my god—she came back from the dead! She came back from the dead!”

Watching Derek bounce around like a malfunctioning pogo stick, Serena Whitmore couldn’t help laughing. She didn’t bother stopping him; she just let him jump it out and calmly resumed eating her hotpot.

Thirty minutes later—

Derek slapped himself across the face several times. Hard. Serena wasn’t dead. She was literally sitting there eating hotpot. That meant… she wasn’t a ghost, right? You couldn’t just run into ghosts in broad daylight… could you?

He smacked himself again. Still there. Serena was still sitting there.

“Se…Serena? You’re not dead?” he whispered.

“Come here. Touch me.” Serena gave him a small smile.

Derek still looked doubtful, but after five years of missing her, even if she really *was* a ghost, he was ready to touch her just once. Serena had always been good to him when she was alive. Even if she’d turned into a ghost, she wouldn’t hurt him.

Derek Young walked up with way too much courage, grabbed Serena Whitmore’s cheeks, and pinched down hard. The only word running through his head was “real.”

“You’re crazy!” Serena yelped, her face scrunched up from the pain.

Only then did Derek finally accept it—Serena wasn’t a ghost. She was actually alive.

And the next second, he just lunged forward and swept her into his arms, spinning her around right on the spot. But the moment his hand brushed against her waist—when he felt how the left side of her abdomen was nothing like the right—his entire expression collapsed.

How was he even supposed to describe that spot? It was like touching a balloon that should’ve been evenly round on both sides, but the left side had sunk in badly, like the air had been punched out of it and never came back.

Derek quickly set Serena down, staring at her like he couldn’t trust his own eyes.

“Serena… what happened to your body?”

That scar on the left side? Of course it came from the day her so‑called best friend dug out her kidney. The wound had been the size of a damn bowl. Horrifying didn’t even start to cover it.

“It’s nothing. Old news. Let’s just go,” Serena said with a small smile. There were some things she really didn’t want Derek to know.

But just because she wanted to let it go didn’t mean Derek could. He grabbed her wrist, lifted the hem of her shirt, and there it was—an ugly, bowl‑sized scar carved into her left abdomen.

Derek froze. Even with his lack of medical knowledge, he knew exactly what that spot was. No wonder she’d looked pale… she was missing a kidney.

“Serena, tell me. Who did this? Which bastard did this to you? I swear I’ll hunt him down,” Derek growled, eyes burning with rage.

Who did it?

If Serena told him it was Isabella Lane, would he even believe her?

The three of them had known each other since they were three, all kids from the same orphanage. They’d grown up clinging to each other. Serena had treated Derek and Isabella like family, always charging forward whenever either of them got bullied.

Funny, isn’t it?

In the end, she’d been destroyed by her closest friend. Even after five years, Serena still couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that the person who locked her up for ten months, forced her to give birth to a stranger’s child, and cut out her kidney… was Isabella Lane. Serena had even saved her life once.

“Serena, say something! Who did it? The person who made you disappear—was it them too? Who the hell was it? Who took your kidney?!” Derek roared, unraveling right in front of her.

Seeing him fall apart like that… telling him the truth might break him even more.

Serena Whitmore’s hand landed hard on Derek Young’s shoulder. “Let’s go find Isabella first. We’ll talk when everyone’s there.”

Derek swiped his tears away with the back of his hand, forcing a grin that still carried a bit of a hiccuping tremor. “Yeah, yeah, let’s get Isabella Lane. Our trio doesn’t work without all three. Serena, don’t worry. Isabella and I would die for you if we had to. And once we find the bastard who did this to you, I swear I’ll stab him myself.”

Serena couldn’t even pull out a smile.

Seeing Derek so fired up, like he was ready to charge out swinging a knife, only made her chest tighten. But this was the truth she couldn’t run from. Five years ago, Isabella betrayed her for selfish gain, nearly got her killed. That debt existed, and today, it had to be paid.

“Come on. We’ll talk when we see her.” Serena draped her arm over Derek’s shoulder, and the two strode out side by side.

As they passed by, a cemetery staff member caught a clear look at Serena’s face and went pale. She looked exactly like one of the people buried here. In broad daylight—was this… an actual ghost? Even the cleaning lady’s broom slipped right out of her hand.

Serena and Derek couldn’t help it—they both snorted out loud.

“Serena, what do you think they’re imagining right now?”

“Do I even need to guess? It’s written all over their faces.”

“Hahaha!”