After Encountering My Deceased Wife, I Became the Male Lead's Love Rival - Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Curses

“Garlic eggplant, shredded pork with garlic sauce… er, no, shredded radish with garlic sauce.” The woman cooking with high spirits clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction.

Vegetables without meat wouldn’t do. It seemed she needed to check the Star Net to see which of those strange meats were edible. Nowadays, the meat consumed by interstellar humans came from raised edible Star Beasts, but the quality of the meat was inversely proportional to its texture. The richer the energy, the weirder the taste much like the current nutrient solutions.

Fang Ziyue strongly suspected that those nutrient solutions contained extracts from Star Beast meat. Regardless of her long-term plans, filling her stomach was the priority.

As dish after dish left the stove, a fragrance invisible to ordinary eyes drifted out through Fang Ziyue’s filtration system. It lured the “crazy woman” at the door, who began pacing in circles like an famished cat.

Covered in mud and filth, Ling Qiu didn’t know how she had ended up here. Only when her consciousness fully cleared did she realize she was already standing here, drooling like a hungry stray. She remembered that after performing a mental soothing for Liang Xiuyue, she had been forced into a deep sleep due to mental exhaustion. Her consciousness since then had been floating, hazy and unclear.

The starving woman sat by the corner of the wall, her small nose hidden beneath her long hair twitching piteously. Her slender, dirty hands opened and closed, her long nails unable to resist scratching at the mud.

Endure… endure… ugh…

The aggrieved little “lunatic” scratched at the base of the wall in hunger, but she didn’t dare scratch the wall itself. She was afraid of scaring the person inside. She was not human, so she had to keep her distance. She couldn’t talk to them; she couldn’t tell anyone her true identity.

After waking up from the dark, sunless depths of the sea, she had been saved by a human. That human died to save her, and before he died, he warned the naive mermaid: “Do not reveal your identity in front of humans.” He said if she were discovered, she would be captured for dissection and research.

Initially, Ling Qiu was indeed terrified. She fulfilled her promise to soothe Liang Xiuyue’s rioting mental energy, but three years of it had drained her own mental energy completely. Similarly, during these three years, she observed the human world and slowly understood many things.

She had been deceived by Liang Xiuyue’s father. He forbade her from telling anyone her identity—even Liang Xiuyue himself didn’t know not because he feared for her safety. On the contrary, he knew the value of a mermaid. He wanted to keep Ling Qiu by Liang Xiuyue’s side forever to soothe his incompetent son’s mental energy, serving as a life-preserving tool for his child.

The disheveled woman huddled in the corner, her nails crushing small pebbles one by one. Her body exuded a faint scent of decay, the smell found on a long-dead corpse. It was very unpleasant. The little mermaid pursed her lips, unhappily tossing away the stones.

She possessed ancestral memories; in those memories, when a mermaid died, their body would turn into sea waves to wash away all filth, and their dissipating mental energy would heal the injured creatures nearby. Not like her current state like a dead fish in a sewer, rotting, stinking, eventually becoming a pile of filthy trash.

The little mermaid huddled in the corner, smelling the fragrance coming from inside the wall, picking at her fingers piteously. She wanted to eat a good meal. Humans often spoke of a “last meal” the final feast before death? They said the last meal was very sumptuous; she wanted to eat it too.

The huddled, filthy woman stood in stark contrast to the white wall. Gu Qiaorou, who had arrived after receiving the news, spotted her instantly. Stepping off the aircraft, Gu Qiaorou looked at the mud-slicked ground with disgust. The Desolate Planet was like this—it didn’t even have decent streets. Gu Qiaorou frowned, her desire to go to the Imperial Planet becoming even more urgent.

“Miss, people are heading this way.” The housekeeper hung up the communication with a grim face, then instantly shifted to a flattering expression as he turned to Gu Qiaorou. “Miss, should we wait here?”

“Wait.” Of course, she would wait. Gu Qiaorou leaned against her expensive aircraft a rare sight on this planet scanning the lunatic in the corner with disdainful eyes. She wanted to wait until everyone arrived so she could properly introduce this “crazy woman” who was loitering at someone else’s house. She ate and lived for free at the Liang house yet was always causing trouble.

While waiting, Gu Qiaorou glared at Ling Qiu in disgust; the more she looked at this lunatic, the more nauseated she felt.

“But how did she run all the way here?” the people running over huffed, not forgetting to gossip. “That stretch of road is occupied by Star Beasts; she actually wasn’t eaten?”

“A lunatic who doesn’t even know if she has a brain—do you really expect her to have mental energy?” A plump auntie, who was in a bad mood today, sneered. “If someone like that were fed to Star Beasts, even the beasts wouldn’t care to eat her.”

“I say, the Gu girl is the same way. Why didn’t she just help Liang Xiuyue take that lunatic back? Why did she have to make us all take a trip?”

Someone unaware of the truth followed along, muttering dissatisfiedly, “Besides, she has plenty of money to hire someone to drag that lunatic back. Why insist on asking for our ‘help’?”

Those who had accepted Gu Qiaorou’s nutrient solutions didn’t dare tell the truth; they just laughed and brushed the topic aside. Who didn’t know that the Gu girl liked Liang Xiuyue? It should have been a match made in heaven, but it was constantly disrupted by this crazy woman clinging to the Liang family.

Gu Qiaorou just wanted to use this excuse of the “lunatic running loose” to send her away. Some understood this, but they chose to keep their mouths shut. They were barely surviving themselves; who had the energy to mind other people’s business?

If it weren’t for Liang Xiuyue the second-in-command of the safe zone standing behind Gu Qiaorou, they wouldn’t give her this face and show up on call.

When the group of about a hundred people arrived, they happened to see the crazy woman “acting up.” The mud-covered woman was deathly afraid of letting go of the wall, refusing to go with Gu Qiaorou.

Gu Qiaorou noticed the crowd had gathered and said with a mix of truth and lies, “Sister, let’s go back. It’s so cold here. Besides, you’ve been away for three days; Xiuyue is worried sick. If he weren’t tied down by defense work in the safe zone, he would have run here to pick you up long ago.”

Gu Qiaorou continued to persuade her with kind words, all while holding back her servants, telling them to be careful not to use too much force and hurt Ling Qiu. The people called to help looked at each other, none daring to step forward. Since Gu Qiaorou had put it that way, what if they used too much strength and hurt the lunatic? They weren’t the rich people from the safe zone; they were desperately poor and couldn’t afford to pay for damages.

Seeing that everyone was afraid of trouble, Gu Qiaorou signaled the housekeeper. The housekeeper took the hint and grabbed a man who seemed to have status among the group.

He said loudly, “Mr. Wang, please help us. Our Miss has been waiting here for two days. She hasn’t closed her eyes for two days and a night, finally finding her, yet she can’t bring her back.” The housekeeper’s voice rose even higher: “Our Miss’s fiancé Young Master Liang is busy establishing a second safe zone around here. Everyone will have a safe place to live then.”

“But if this lady from the Liang family can’t be persuaded to return, then Young Master Liang will have to put down his work and come here personally to fetch her.”

“What? A second safe zone!” The crowd erupted in noise. Who on the Desolate Planet didn’t want to squeeze into the safe zone? No one wanted to die in the mouth of a Star Beast. But the taxes inside were too high for them to pay, and people with severe mental riots like them weren’t even allowed near.

The man named Wang, who had intended to stay out of it, suddenly smiled and said, “Since Miss Liang doesn’t want to go back, then let her stay.” They all knew Liang Xiuyue protected this lunatic, otherwise, he wouldn’t have kept her for three years. If Gu Qiaorou said Liang Xiuyue would build a second safe zone here, whether true or false, if they kept the person, Liang Xiuyue would have to build it.

The housekeeper widened his eyes in surprise and said with difficulty, “How can that be? We won’t be able to explain this to Young Master Liang.” He gestured toward the woman. “And look at Miss Liang’s state; I’m afraid it’s not good.”

The crowd looked over as directed. Ling Qiu was covered in filth, and there was even the scent of death about her. Those who often stayed outside the safe zone had seen many corpses and knew this woman didn’t have many days left to live.

The man named Wang frowned. If that was the case, they probably couldn’t keep her. What if she died on their hands? They wouldn’t want to offend Liang Xiuyue instead of pleasing Gu Qiaorou.

Gu Qiaorou looked at these lowly people with contempt; for a small favor, they treated human life like grass. She truly was not suited for this planet; this environment would only pollute her clean aura and soil her grace.

“To be blunt, Miss Liang probably doesn’t have many days left. Since she doesn’t want to go back, it’s better to let her spend her final days in a place she likes. We’ve all seen Miss Gu’s efforts; it’s not Miss Gu’s fault that Miss Liang won’t go back.”

The crowd chimed in to excuse Gu Qiaorou. Since Gu Qiaorou wanted the lunatic to die here while maintaining a good reputation, they had to praise her vigorously. After all, standing behind her was Liang Xiuyue, the man with the resources to build a second safe zone.

“And besides, to speak harshly, look at Miss Liang now. Aside from causing trouble, she can’t do anything. If she were anywhere else outside the safe zone, she’d have died a thousand times over.”

“It must be said that Miss Gu is kind and Young Master Liang is merciful to support such a useless person.”

These were the people who had accepted Gu Qiaorou’s nutrient solutions; they worked hard to smear Ling Qiu while elevating Gu Qiaorou’s image. This also gave those who were invited blindly a general “understanding” of the Liang family’s affairs. They all began to pity Gu Qiaorou. This was the entrance to the mercenary town on the Desolate Planet; with so many people passing through, if one person knew something, the whole planet would know within days.

Gu Qiaorou squinted comfortably, a triumphant smile rising on her lips. Hmph, within three days, the whole planet would pity her and feel that this lunatic’s death was for the best. By then, would Brother Liang still be dissatisfied with the result? She knew clearly that Liang Xiuyue had long since wanted to stop supporting this “free-loader.” Why should he support a parasite with no relation to him?

Someone in the back, unaware of the details, spoke loudly, hitting right at Gu Qiaorou’s heart. “Who would want to raise such a trouble-making lunatic? I say once she’s away from the Liang family, she’s just waiting to die.”

The person was indignant. This lunatic truly didn’t know her blessings! If someone were supporting him, he wouldn’t run out all day; wouldn’t it be better to stay and enjoy life? Dammit, why did such good fortune fall on a lunatic!

“Exactly, just let her wait for death here!”

The people outside the safe zone faced death every day; the distortion and suppression in their hearts transformed into poisonous curses, attacking Ling Qiu without restraint.

Ling Qiu huddled by the wall, clutching it in silence. She was not a lunatic. She could understand… but she was not human, so… she could not argue, she could not make a sound.

“BANG!” The nearby gate was kicked open with violence.

A woman holding a spatula in one hand stood there, her face grim and her expression chilling. She said coldly, “What, did a hundred-some people gather at my door at noon to gossip and beg for food because they’re hungry?!”

The woman with a high ponytail had a murderous aura, and she held the spatula as if it were a long blade.

“There’s no food for beggars. If you’re looking for death, come on in.”

The crowd of people was terrified into silence by Fang Ziyue’s sudden appearance. Their eyes widened, and not a single one dared to make a sound.

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