Chapter 14: The Timid Wife

The entire painting process was brief, lasting about fifteen minutes. Following Qianxi Gu’s detailed description, I carefully recreated the face of a woman.

Upon completion, a closer look revealed that the woman’s features were ordinary, nothing particularly striking. Yet, overall, the portrait exuded a chilling, eerie aura.

Holding the painting, I showed it to Qianxi and asked, “Honey, do you think I captured her likeness?”

Qianxi nodded immediately, admiringly saying, “It’s spot-on! It’s like looking at her ID photo!”

“Ma Zi, I didn’t know you had such a talent! You’re really something,” she added.

I waved my hand modestly. “Just a trivial skill, nothing worth mentioning.”

Then, flipping the portrait over, I showed it to my mother-in-law and said, “Mom, this is the culprit who blinded Qianxi back then. And now, she hasn’t given up—she even dared to show up at our door. Please use this portrait to help find her. Once you find out where she is, leave the rest to me. I promise to root her out completely, leaving no chance for future trouble!”

Ye Qiang, my mother-in-law, took the painting and nodded. “Ma Zi, don’t worry. I’ll send people to look right away…”

Before she could finish, Dr. Zhao, the doctor handling Qianxi’s rehabilitation, suddenly leaned over to take a look and exclaimed in shock, “Isn’t this… the director Song from our department?”

Hearing this, I became instantly alert and pressed, “Dr. Zhao, you know her? Is she really your colleague at the hospital?”

Ye Qiang added, “Yes. When she came here, she showed me her ID. It looked genuine, so I didn’t suspect a thing. Now it seems she really was a doctor at the ophthalmology hospital.”

Dr. Zhao scrutinized the portrait twice more and confirmed, “Your drawing is incredibly lifelike. It’s identical to Director Song from our hospital, especially the tear mole at the corner of her eye—that’s her unique mark.”

With her confirmation, I sneered coldly and rubbed my hands together eagerly. “Excellent! This is like finding a needle in a haystack without any effort. Dr. Zhao, do you have contact information for Director Song? Please give it to me.”

Unexpectedly, Dr. Zhao’s face turned pale, and she hesitated, struggling to speak.

I guessed she was afraid of getting entangled in our feud and feared retaliation from Director Song.

Quickly, I reassured her, “Dr. Zhao, don’t be afraid. I won’t expose you. You won’t be implicated.”

She shook her head and said, “No, it’s not about fear of involvement. It’s just that Director Song… last week, she died suddenly at work from overexertion. Today should be her seventh day after death. I even went to her home recently to pay my respects…”

Her words hit me like a thunderclap.

Qianxi and Ye Qiang both gasped sharply, their faces draining of color.

Director Song is already dead?

So the woman who came earlier—was she really Director Song, or something else entirely?

Dr. Zhao, feeling responsible, quickly pulled out her phone. “Don’t panic. Let me call and check the situation at Director Song’s place.”

She turned and stepped outside to make the call.

About five minutes later, she returned, pale and trembling. “I… I just asked. Director Song’s family said her body suddenly disappeared today. It was stored in the morgue, waiting for cremation after the seventh day. But this noon, the morgue staff reported her corpse was missing!”

“What?!” my wife was terrified, her face ashen. Stammering, she asked, “The doctor who examined me just now… was she a ghost?”

After saying this, she buried her head in my arms, trembling and refusing to let go. “Ma Zi, I’m scared.”

I gently patted Qianxi’s back, whispering soothingly, “Don’t be afraid. Director Song was likely just a pawn. There are many sinister occult arts in this world—one of them being the manipulation of the dead.”

“The true mastermind wouldn’t dare show their face, so they stole Director Song’s corpse and came to harm you. Hmph! She’s nothing but a coward. You don’t need to fear her.”

Qianxi calmed a bit at my words and lifted her head from my embrace.

Ye Qiang, stunned, stood motionless like a wooden statue, muttering, “Ma Zi, what do we do now? If this one failed, will she come back to harm my daughter again?”

I nodded firmly. “She definitely will return.”

Ye Qiang’s face was pale as she asked, “What should we do then?”

I wrapped an arm around Qianxi’s shoulders and promised, “Don’t worry, Mom. With me around, I won’t let her harm Qianxi one bit.”

“This time she was lucky to escape from me. Next time she dares to come, I’ll skin her alive and strip her of her strength to avenge Qianxi!”

Ye Qiang sighed, clearly not fully trusting my words. “Ma Zi, don’t boast too much. Catch her first before bragging! I won’t sleep well until she’s caught.”

Rubbing her forehead, she muttered, “I feel dizzy. I need some tea to calm down…”

With that, she turned and left.

Qianxi was shaken, too scared to continue her rehabilitation check. Even Dr. Zhao was unsettled and distracted.

In the end, the checkup was canceled, and I took a cab to send Dr. Zhao home.

Throughout, Qianxi clung to me tightly, holding onto my arm as if she were a human pendant, unwilling to let go for a moment.

It was clear she was truly terrified.

Back in the room, even on the bed, she refused to separate from me.

I sighed, a bit helpless, and laughed, “Silly wife, do you really need to cling to me like this? I’m right here in the room protecting you. You don’t have to hang on me all the time, or else I can’t do anything.”

Qianxi looked at me timidly, her big eyes blinking like sparkling gems, and said pitifully, “But I’m scared.”

I replied, “You’re scared even with me here? How am I supposed to go to work then? Gu Beitang from the Gu family can’t just keep his business closed forever, you know?”

Qianxi thought about it and realized I had a point. After a moment’s hesitation, she brightened and said, “Then whenever you go out, make me some paper dolls to protect me! I want you to make ten! No, ten’s not enough—I want a hundred!”

I laughed heartily and nodded, “Alright, alright. I’ll make you a hundred paper dolls to protect you.”

Then I glanced at my silly wife still clutching me tightly and teased, “Honey, if you keep holding on like this, how am I supposed to fold those paper dolls for you?”

Unexpectedly, Qianxi stubbornly clung even more, like a little octopus, softly whining, “Just let me hold you a little longer…”