My Evil Wife Is a Nine-Tailed Fox

Chapter 77 - Scent Of Betrayal (1)

Since the classes had been suspended and most of the students had returned home, the group of four had the floor for themselves, letting them talk to Liang Sisi. Bai Xinran's sudden death was about three months ago, but it seemed to be still connected to the ongoing rumors about her book being cursed over the internet. 

They decided to conduct the interview inside the vacated homeroom of Liang Sisi. Lu Anqi and Li Fei'er sat in front of Liang Sisi, while Shen Minyao leaned at the windowsill, watching the raindrop flow down the glass window panels outside. 

Although she appeared nonchalant, her senses were attuned to listen to the conversation of the surrounding humans. She was once again drinking her favorite strawberry yogurt drink that she bought earlier before they met Lu Anqi and Jiang Chen. 

"Can you tell us everything from the start? How did Miss Bai end up writing novels online, and what was she like before?" Lu Anqi asked once she pressed the button on her phone to start filming Liang Sisi. The video only showed Liang Sisi, but Lu Anqi's voice could also be heard from it. 

Liang Sisi fidgeted in her seat and glanced at Lu Anqi and Li Fei'er before lowering her misty eyes as she recalled what her friend was like before her death. 

"Ranran had been living on her own ever since her parents went on separate ways," Liang Sisi started, "Actually, she recently found out that the marriage between her parents was null and invalid because her father had married another woman even before he met Ranran's mother." 

"You said she was living alone." Lu Anqi asked. "Did she hate her parents because of it?"

Liang Sisi nodded. "En. Her mother bought her own place, and she'd been living there on her own. She also received monthly allowances from both of her parents, but she refused to meet any of them, no matter how much Auntie begged her to allow her to explain.

"Apparently, her mother found out about the first wife a bit earlier, but she never disclosed it to Ranran. Ranran took it as betrayal and decided to cut off ties with her parents, never talking to them again. You see, Ranran loved them very much and was proud of having such loving parents… until her perfect world was shattered by their lies.

"Since then, Ranran's attitude has changed. We knew each other for over eight years now, but it was the first time I saw her dejected and hopeless at the same time. I was afraid that she would continue to isolate herself from everyone, and her depression would get the best of her. However, a few months later, she came to me with a wide smile, telling me she had just started writing a book, and it was garnering positive feedback from its readers." 

"She must be really thrilled and happy by then." Li Fei'er commented, which Liang Sisi easily agreed to. 

"En. I've never seen her happy like that. I know Ranran loved to write short stories when we were younger, and when her book started to get recognized over the internet, I was happy that I was able to see her happy again… after all that she went through," Liang Sisi said with sadness in her tone. She sniffed and wiped her tears dry, forcing herself to focus on the interview. 

"She wasn't making money with her book at first, but it wasn't what motivated her to write anyway. She loved whenever her readers leave comments on her book, telling her they enjoyed reading it and how they couldn't wait to read more. Ranran then made sure she would be able to write every day once she got home from school. Her early days were filled with happiness, but she suddenly fell back into depression when she was diagnosed to have leukemia." 

"Leukemia?" Lu Anqi gasped. "Did everyone know she was sick?" 

This time, Liang Sisi couldn't stop her tears from flowing. 

"I was with her when she got checked at the hospital. I convinced Ranran to get checked because she said she'd been getting a lot of nosebleeds and getting easily bruised. Ranran also felt pain in her bones and joints, so I insisted that we should go to the hospital a week after her eighteenth birthday to make sure nothing's wrong with her. However, the doctor said that her chances of survival were quite low, that her body was deteriorating fast. After that, I convinced her to tell her mother at least… because I know Auntie had been worried sick about her, but Auntie's busy work schedule forbade her to be at Ranran's side." 

"Do you think that's the reason why she killed herself?" Jiang Chen decided to join the questioning. 

Liang Sisi hesitantly shook her head, not sure if that was enough reason for Bai Xinran to kill herself. She knew that Bai Xinran was upset about her sickness, but Liang Sisi didn't think it was enough reason for her to kill herself. 

"No, I don't think so. I think things started to get out of control when she had a bad argument with her fellow authors online, and then harsh comments massively flooded her novel later on. I think that what had pushed Ranran to kill herself, but I don't believe one bit… that her writing was cursed. Ranran would never hate her readers, no matter how mean they became towards her." 

"It's not even her readers that were soiling her novel." Shen Minyao's comment surprised not only Lu Anqi but Li Fei'er as well. "It's more like a water army was sent her way to bash her. It's a common thing over the internet. Even the top-ranking novels are rumored to be boosted by a water army to gain popularity among real readers." 

Ah, how could she not know of it? Since a demon like her didn't need to sleep, where else would she spend her sleepless nights but to study how humans became these days.