Nezuko Without Bamboo

My fiancé's junior colleague went around the hospital every day calling herself "the best girl". When a patient with acute appendicitis was admitted, she mistakenly prescribed laxatives instead of proper treatment. The patient nearly went into shock and died. After the hospital was reported by the patient's family, she simply smiled and said, "I don't even need a supervising doctor to prescribe medication anymore. I'm such a good girl!" On another occasion, she failed to order routine pre-op blood work for a surgical patient. During the procedure, a visiting senior surgeon was exposed and later contracted HIV. She actually puffed out her chest and said, "Even if everyone had to stay up all night helping me save the doctor, I'm still the best girl!" I protested more than once and urged my fiancé to dismiss her. He refused every time. He brushed it off with a laugh, saying "this good girl" just needed time and experience. Then, a prominent patient was transferred from a military hospital for surgery. She secretly tampered with the medical records, switching the pathology findings from the left lung to the right. She even revised the surgical plan, recommending removal of the patient's completely healthy right lung. Luckily, I caught the mistake in time, restored the correct pathology report, and performed the surgery successfully. After the patient recovered, he asked for our team to be recognized. To my disbelief, Elena Bakers ran to my fiancé in tears. "I wrote the entire report by myself! All by myself! I'm the best little girl! "Why do you always take credit away from me? It took so much courage for this little girl to be brave just once! "You're all horrible!" Elena stormed out of the hospital and was struck and killed by a car on the spot. My fiancé did not say a word. However, on the very day I was appointed hospital director, he produced falsified evidence accusing me of altering records and causing multiple medical accidents to advance my career. I was arrested, tried, and sentenced to death. As the verdict was delivered, he looked at me with unmistakable satisfaction. "You'll never make up for what you owe Elena. Not in this lifetime." When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back on the day Elena altered the surgical plan.

Hindi man lang ako hinawakan ng aking asawa sa aming honeymoon. Sabi niya, masyado siyang pagod at nakiusap na maghintay ako. Pero tuwing madaling-araw, palihim siyang bumababa sa basement. Kapag bumabalik siya, agad siyang naliligo para mawala ang hindi maipaliwanag na amoy. Tinanong ko siya kung ano ang ginagawa niya roon, at ang sagot niya, nag-eehersisyo siya. Pero sino namang mag-eehersisyo sa kalagitnaan ng gabi? Hindi ko na kaya. Isang gabi, nagdesisyon akong sumilip sa basement para alamin ang totoo. Hinabol niya ako at hinawakan ang pajama ko, saka pasigaw na sinabi, "Bumalik ka rito! Hihiwalayan kita kapag bumaba ka dyan!"

My mother sells special éclairs. Each one costs a thousand dollars, but the female customers fight each other to buy them. They look like they can't get enough. My sister wants to take a box to share with her boyfriend when she sees how popular they are. However, my mother firmly rejects her. She says she's the only one who can touch those éclairs. My sister refuses to listen. She secretly sneaks into the freezer in the basement. Then, in the middle of the night, I hear her wanton moans.

My husband doesn't touch me on our wedding night. He claims he's too tired and asks me to wait. Then, he sneaks into the basement in the wee hours of each night. Whenever he returns, he needs to shower to wash away an indescribable smell. I ask him what he does down there, and he tells me he works out. Why would anyone work out in the middle of the night? I can't take it anymore. One night, I decide to sneak into the basement to see what's going on down there. He chases after me and grabs my pajamas, roaring, "Come back up here! I'll divorce you if you step foot down there!"

In the coastal quiet of Baler, a studio is born—not of architecture, but of intention.* Founded by Yam, a poet whose words cradle pain gently, and Franc, an artist who paints tenderness into walls, the studio becomes a refuge for those learning to stay—with grief, love, longing, and themselves. As visitors arrive, they leave behind more than footprints: a sigh recorded in bamboo, a poem tucked into the “Found Letters” shelf, a mural painted in crooked lines. Through zines, tea, silence, and sketchbooks, the studio teaches softness as revolution. Ren creates the *Window of Soft Returns*, an installation of anonymous voice recordings—each whisper forming a community of echoes. Drew builds the *Staircase With No Wrong Turns*, inviting people to walk through emotions without shame. Franc offers brushstrokes as brave work, and Yam curates writing circles that map healing in half sentences. Together, they host festivals that feel like hugs, and they begin traveling their archive, letting softness cross oceans. Even those who once left—like Miguel—return, discovering that some doors never truly close. Others, like Tala, capture the studio’s sound and turn it into a podcast of breath and becoming. Over seventy chapters, the studio transforms into something larger than itself: a mural of memory, a sanctuary for second chances, a place where return is sacred and voice is proof of survival. In the final bloom, the studio stands not as a monument—but as a reminder: > *“Staying isn’t easy. > But chosen together, > it becomes home.”*

Nahatulang ng tatlong taon sa kulungan si Ling Yiran dahil sa car accident na pumatay sa kanyang fiancee na si Yi Jinli, ang pinakamayaman sa Shen City.Nang makalaya sa kulungan, sa hindi inaasahang mga pangyayari napukaw niya ang atensyon ni Yi Jinli. Lumuhod siya sa sahig at nagmakaawa, “Yi Jinli, parang awa mo na, pakawalan mo na ako!” Ngunit ngumiti lang si Yi Jinly at sinabi, “Sister, hindi kita papakawalan kahit kailan.”Bali-balita na tila walang pakialam si Yi Jinli sa kahit sinuman, pero sa di malamang dahilan, ginagawa niya ang lahat para lang suyuin ang isang sanitation worker girl na nakulong sa loob ng tatlong taon. Ngunit dahil sa aksidente na nangyari noon, naubos ang pagmamahal niya para kay Yi Jinli at nagdesisyon na lisanin siya.Makalipas ang maraming taon, lumuhod si Yi Jinli at nagmakaawa, “Yiran, bumalik ka lang saking tabi, gagawin ko ang lahat para sayo.” Ngunit tinigan lang siya ni Yiran at sinabi, “Edi magpakamatay ka.”

Ling Yiran dijatuhi hukuman tiga tahun penjara akibat kecelakaan mobil yang menewaskan tunangan Yi Jinli, orang terkaya di Kota Shen. Ketika dibebaskan dari penjara, wanita ini entah bagaimana membuat Yi Jinli penasaran. Ling Yiran berlutut di tanah dan memohon padanya, "Yi Jinli, bisakah kau membebaskan aku?" Tapi Yi Jinli hanya tersenyum dan berkata, "Aku tidak akan pernah membebaskanmu." Yi Jinli adalah orang yang sama sekali tidak peduli pada siapapun dan pada semua orang, tetapi entah mengapa, dia melakukan apa saja untuk menyenangkan gadis tukang bersih-bersih yang telah dipenjara selama tiga tahun ini. Namun, peristiwa kecelakaan mobil itu telah merampas semua cinta Ling Yiran kepada Yi Jinli dan dia berusaha untuk melarikan diri. Beberapa tahun kemudian, Yi Jinli tersungkur memelas, "Yiran, selama kamu kembali di sisiku, aku akan melakukan apa saja untukmu." Ling Yiran hanya menatapnya dengan dingin dan berkata, "Kalau begitu, mati sajalah."

Ling Yiran had been sentenced to three years in prison due to the car accident that killed the fiancée of Yi Jinli, the richest man in Shen City. When released from prison, she somehow ended up catching the attention of Yi Jinli. She kneeled on the ground and begged him, "Yi Jinli, can you let me go?" But he only smiled and said, "Sister, I will never let you go." It was said that Yi Jinli was completely indifferent to anyone and everyone, but for some reason, he did everything he could to please a sanitation worker girl who had been in prison for the past three years. However, the truth of the car accident that year had robbed her of all her love for him, and she ran away. Many years later, he begged her while on the ground, "Yiran, as long as you return by my side, I will do anything for you." But she only stared at him coldly and said, "Then, go die."

She was once a woman—a lesbian to be exact—in her past life, fantasizing about having a date with beautiful girls and dreaming to act like a real man does someday. But she was afraid to show her true colors because she was living in a judgemental society. Not until, she was trapped in a burning hospital building, trying to save an old woman before herself but only to find out that old woman was only an apparition of a deceased person. She died there, sacrificing her life for nothing. Many things happened in her mind before she runs out of breath. The next thing happened, she emerged from a bamboo tree and woke up into another realm. And to her surprise, she was reincarnated as a teenage guy possessing magical skills. She is Princess Maria Isabelle De Lata who later known as Reign Thunderstorm in the magical world of Artesia. And this is her… wait a minute… and this is the story of how she or… he became a legend.

He divorced her the very day they got married.. That's sad... What did she do? Left without questioning him and without even knowing his name.. Now what happens when they meet up again? Read to know more....