Visa On Arrival Chapter 10

Paternity Test

As soon as she stepped into the room, she heard the phone on the table ringing incessantly with urgent notification tones.

Qi Ranyue’s expression was cold as she picked up the phone. The screen was filled with missed calls and unread messages.

Her pent-up emotions were like a flood breaking through a dam, instantly swallowing her whole as tears streamed down her face. Accompanied by rapid breathing and the alcohol burning in her veins, Qi Ranyue began to break down and sob uncontrollably again.

Helplessness, grief, dizziness, and suffocation—all these feelings tangled together. She slowly slid down the wall and sat on the floor, burying her face in her knees.

She cried until her head throbbed, her entire body curled up on the ground.

The doorbell suddenly rang.

She flusteredly wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve and took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the sob in her voice until only an unstoppable hiccup remained. Clearing her throat, she said to the door in a low voice, “Just leave it at the door!”

But the doorbell seemed to be competing with her, ringing more urgently with each chime. In the quiet room, it sounded exceptionally piercing.

“Damn it,” she cursed under her breath.

She closed her eyes and endured it, took another deep breath, and shouted, “Leave it at the door!”

But the doorbell continued like a death knell. Unable to take it any longer, Qi Ranyue stood up abruptly and yanked the door open.

Her anger flared. “What the hell are you doing? Didn’t you hear me?”

When she saw clearly who was standing outside, she froze.

The person in front of her was definitely not a floor attendant. Although he was indeed holding the bottle of wine she had ordered, his overall temperament did not match that of a waiter at all. In fact, he looked somewhat familiar.

Qi Ranyue stared at the unfamiliar face, her tone turning cold. “Is there something you need?”

“Hello,” the man spoke, his voice gentle. “Don’t worry, I am the owner of this hotel.”

“Oh.” Qi Ranyue looked at him warily.

The man tilted his head slightly, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “Do you remember me? We’ve met before.”

Qi Ranyue looked at him expressionlessly.

“Do you remember? I’m the person in charge of the Amusement Park. We met that day in the Safe Zone. My surname is Ran.” The man smiled and looked at her expectantly. “This hotel is also one of my properties. It is my honor that you chose to stay here.”

Qi Ranyue’s brain searched her memories quickly. She remembered now, but she couldn’t muster any interest. She replied perfunctorily, “It’s you.”

Ran Jin’s tone was gentle with a hint of playfulness. “You remembered.”

Ran Jin lifted the wine in his hand to state his purpose. “I noticed you’ve been drinking alone these past few days and seemed to be in low spirits. This wine is a small gesture from our hotel. I hope you can cheer up.”

Qi Ranyue stared at the bottle for a few seconds and let out a long sigh.

Then, she looked up at Ran Jin and said politely, “Thank you.”

Qi Ranyue took the wine into the room and gently closed the door.

Ran Jin stood outside staring at the closed door for a few seconds. He turned and walked to the corner of the corridor, scrolling through his contacts to a number saved at the very bottom. He stared at it for a long time before finally pressing the call button.

The phone rang only once before it was answered.

He gripped the phone tightly, unable to make a sound for a long while. Both sides remained silent.

Anger, heartache, distress, grievance, and resentment were all blocked in his throat. He gritted his teeth, his eyes turning red, until he finally couldn’t hold back and roared in fury, “You bastard, how could you treat her like this?”

Back in the room, Qi Ranyue stared at the bottle of wine for two seconds, then pulled out the cork and tilted her head back to gulp down a third of it.

The spicy liquid slid down her throat. As the alcohol rushed to her head, she actually felt a bit more sober. She wiped her mouth, picked up her phone, and dialed Chen Rong’s number.

The call connected almost the instant it was dialed.

“Yueyue, are you okay? Where are you? Did something happen? We’ve been looking everywhere for you. Your parents are worried sick; your mother’s eyes are swollen from crying—” Chen Rong suppressed her anger, sounding both worried and tense. “Send me your location, quickly, I’ll come pick—”

“Chen Rong!” Before she could finish, Qi Ranyue shouted.

“Yueyue, you… what’s… what’s wrong?” Chen Rong was clearly startled.

Qi Ranyue had never shouted at her like this. From childhood to adulthood, she had always been gentle and soft-spoken toward Chen Rong.

“Are you…” Qi Ranyue sniffled, tears already welling in her eyes. She tilted her head back to keep them from falling. “Are you going to abandon me too?”

“What are you talking about?” Chen Rong became anxious instantly, her voice rising through the receiver. “How could I ever abandon you? I will never leave you.”

“I don’t believe you…” Qi Ranyue covered her mouth to try and restrain herself, but a sob still escaped. “Aren’t you… aren’t you going abroad? Aren’t your parents wanting you to go to their research institute?”

“I’m not going. I never agreed to it,” Chen Rong explained immediately.

“Then… did you stay for me?” Qi Ranyue’s intermittent sobbing reached Chen Rong’s ears through the phone.

Chen Rong felt something wasn’t quite right, but she still whispered a soft “Yes” as if possessed.

As soon as the word left her lips, a burst of loud laughter erupted from the other end of the line.

The laughter was loud, but it wasn’t the sound of someone happy about getting their way.

The laughter was filled with bitterness, mockery, and wretchedness.

But as she laughed, she began to cry again. After a moment, Qi Ranyue let out a long sigh.

A truly healthy relationship never requires the sacrifice of one party’s future as the price. While rushing toward someone for the sake of “love” is moving, giving up on becoming a better version of oneself for “love” is a sacrifice that usually only moves oneself in the end. Clearly, Qi Ranyue believed Chen Rong did not understand this.

“Don’t say it’s all for me. I can’t afford that burden!” Qi Ranyue let out a piercing, hysterical roar. “Is there something wrong with your head? Giving up your future to stay with me—you think you’re being noble, don’t you? Sacrificing your future… Hmph, am I supposed to be especially moved?”

Chen Rong frantically tried to explain over and over, “No, Yueyue, calm down for a—”

“Calm down? You’re telling me to calm down? I can’t calm down.” Before the sentence was finished, Qi Ranyue interrupted coldly. “Don’t say it’s all for me. I hate those words the most. I’m begging you, don’t do this. You’re making it so I can’t breathe. You make me feel disgusted with myself. Am I just a burden to all of you? Then I might as well just stop living, okay?”

Hearing her say she didn’t want to live, Chen Rong’s brain buzzed, and she panicked immediately. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! It’s my fault, my mistake. I said the wrong thing. It’s not for you; I wanted to stay for myself. Don’t get agitated, don’t do anything reckless. Yueyue, I was wrong, I was wrong. You… you… think about your mom and dad. They’re still at home waiting for you.”

“My parents?” Qi Ranyue laughed as if she had heard a joke. “They aren’t my parents.”

As she spoke, she pulled a stack of documents from the nightstand drawer. It was a paternity test.

“Do you know what I’m holding in my hand right now?” Without waiting for Chen Rong to answer, she continued, “A paternity test!”

She clicked her lighter, and the flame licked the paper between her fingers. She lowered her eyes, quietly watching the tongue of fire spread greedily.

Chen Rong trembled all over, as if a heavy hammer had struck her.

“Do you know? I feel like my blood is so dirty. Do you think if I drain all the blood from my body, it won’t be dirty anymore?” Qi Ranyue spoke in a nearly pathological, light tone. “Would everyone stop suffering then?”

“Don’t… Yueyue, you can’t… I’m begging you, I’m begging you, don’t do this…” Chen Rong knelt on the floor, her voice shaking uncontrollably, her mind a total blank except for one sentence repeating over and over.

Bang!

Qi Ranyue smashed the phone hard against the wall.

She picked up an eyebrow razor.

The blade glinted coldly under the light. Qi Ranyue just stared at it, her eyes hollow.

The edge of the blade pressed against the skin of her wrist.

With a forceful stroke, blood rushed out, flowing down her wrist. She watched the blood quietly, surprisingly feeling no pain.

One cut after another, she didn’t know how many times she sliced.

She threw down the blood-stained razor and reached for the leftover wine on the nightstand.

The cold liquid, mixed with the smell of blood, poured down her throat.

The world began to spin, darken, and blur. The wounds on her wrist were still seeping blood.

She closed her eyes, letting the darkness swallow her.

Thud!

The door was burst open. She struggled to open her eyes, her vision a blur. She only saw a shadow moving, as if someone had rushed in, stumbling toward her and shouting something.

So tired.

So very tired.

She lost consciousness.