After Her Death, They Begged for Forgiveness - Chapter 13

Gu Xiaozhou’s lips trembled imperceptibly, her eyes filled with disbelief.

After a moment of stunned silence, she murmured to herself, “This can’t be…”

Just a few months ago, Xu Bingqi had looked at her with pleading eyes, insisting she was her most important friend, her eyes red as she begged Gu Xiaozhou to believe she hadn’t slashed Jiang Ruo’s new bag.

Now, it seemed all of it had been nothing but deceitful lies.

She should have known better than to harbor any unrealistic illusions about Xu Bingqi. Xu Bingqi had always been a venomous person who loved to pretend.

And now, she wasn’t even bothering to keep up the act.

The person standing before her now, tall and poised like a slender bamboo, radiated confidence and vitality, a stark contrast to the timid, ingratiating Xu Bingqi of the past.

Compared to the meek facade Xu Bingqi used to wear, this composed and self-assured version of her was even more repulsive to Gu Xiaozhou.

A malicious thought crossed Gu Xiaozhou’s mind: Xu Bingqi shouldn’t be like this. She ought to remain forever downtrodden, forced to wear that obsequious smile.

Xu Bingqi inadvertently caught the resentful glare in Gu Xiaozhou’s eyes and felt a flicker of surprise.

Whether in her past life or in the plot of the novel Favoritism: The Beloved of All, Gu Xiaozhou had always harbored dislike for her that much she was used to. But this was the first time she had seen such hatred in Gu Xiaozhou’s gaze, sharp and venomous like a poisoned blade.

In both her past life and the novel’s storyline, Gu Xiaozhou, despite her intense dislike, had never actively done anything malicious. Xu Bingqi had always believed there was some goodness in her.

But now, she wasn’t so sure anymore.

It all seemed like a chain reaction triggered by her deviation from the novel’s plot. Since she had left the Xu family and stopped being amiable toward them, Gu Xiaozhou’s existing resentment had only deepened, festering into something far more toxic.

Xu Bingqi smoothed the stray strands of hair blown by the wind and began to guard herself against Gu Xiaozhou in her heart.

Her music career was just getting started, she couldn’t afford to be careless now.

“Sis, it’s too cold at the entrance. Let’s go upstairs. I’ve already reserved our seats.”

After hanging up the phone, Song Guanjin took the elevator down to the first floor and immediately spotted Xu Bingqi standing at the mall entrance, braving the chilly wind.

She walked over, tugged at Xu Bingqi’s sleeve, and only then noticed Gu Xiaozhou standing nearby, her expression full of confrontation.

Cats have a natural instinct for sensing danger.

Song Guanjin’s intuition told her that this person was even more unstable than when they had met at the flower shop.

“My sister and I are going to have dinner together. Could you please leave?”

The kitten attempted to politely drive away the intruder who had stepped into her territory.

Even if this intruder didn’t seem easy to reason with.

But to both Song Guanjin and Xu Bingqi’s surprise, Gu Xiaozhou didn’t press the issue further.

“Xu Bingqi, don’t you dare regret this in the future.”

Gu Xiaozhou’s voice was resolute. After speaking, her tall figure gradually melted into the flickering neon lights.

Song Guanjin let out a soft sigh of relief.

To her, Gu Xiaozhou’s words were about as threatening as a child’s “Don’t you leave after school”, nothing more than empty bravado.

But Xu Bingqi sighed softly. The vague suspicion in her heart was slowly becoming clearer.

It was like a jigsaw puzzle, with scattered corner pieces falling into place one by one, the edges slowly connecting to form a complete outline.

“Sis, let’s go upstairs together.” Song Guanjing blinked her eyes. “There’s a surprise waiting for you up there.”

Xu Bingqi already knew what the surprise Song Guanjing was referring to. During their earlier argument, Gu Xiaozhou had told her that Song Guanjing had gone to a flower shop to buy flowers.

Xu Bingqi smiled gently. “Thank you, I’m looking forward to it.”

Every time she spent time with Song Guanjing, Xu Bingqi felt completely at ease, her expression relaxed as if the very air was filled with a comforting presence.

Song Guanjing was in high spirits tonight.

A few days ago, she had smoothly signed a contract for the low-budget web drama that Xu Bingqi had recommended, and she had even landed the female lead role.

Of course, she was well aware that both she and the other party were taking a gamble.

If they won, both sides would naturally rise to greater heights.

In Song Guanjing’s mind, there was no option for failure.

Aside from her confidence in her own acting skills, she also held an inexplicable trust in Xu Bingqi. She believed in Xu Bingqi’s judgment and was convinced that Xu Bingqi genuinely wanted to help her.

After eating and drinking, the exhilarated Song Guanjing ordered two more bottles of beer.

Xu Bingqi didn’t pay it much mind. She understood Song Guanjing’s elation and went along with it, clinking glasses with her before downing her drink in one go.

Xu Bingqi rarely drank under normal circumstances. This time, after finishing her drink, the alcohol began to take effect. She instinctively leaned on the dining table, closing her eyes briefly. When she opened them again, she noticed two fluffy ears, the fur on them trembling softly under the warm yellow light, like a pair of butterfly wings about to take flight.

Xu Bingqi’s first thought was that she must be drunk.

She usually had little interest in alcohol and wasn’t sure of her tolerance, so she pressed her temples before opening her eyes again.

The two fluffy ears hadn’t disappeared; instead, they twitched gently once more.

Uncertain, Xu Bingqi stood up. She had expected the world to spin from those few drinks, but her vision remained steady, everything still clearly visible before her.

It was Song Guanjing who seemed different her emerald-green eyes filled with confusion, tilting her head slightly as she gazed blankly at Xu Bingqi approaching.

Hesitantly, Xu Bingqi reached out her hand. The intoxicated Song Guanjing finally realized the precarious situation and raised her own hand to block Xu Bingqi’s fingers just before they reached her ear.

“Sorry, I might be a little drunk.”

Xu Bingqi slowly withdrew her hand, her fingertips still tingling with the lingering warmth from the brief contact with Song Guanjing’s fingers.

She blinked, and Song Guanjing’s fluffy cat ears had vanished.

It seemed her alcohol tolerance was truly poor.

Xu Bingqi’s face grew warm with embarrassment, ashamed of her own abruptness. If Song Guanjing hadn’t stopped her, her fingers might have already brushed against the other’s soft hair.

“It’s alright.”

Song Guanjing was annoyed that her ears had uncontrollably popped out again after she drank and that Xu Bingqi had noticed. But she felt relieved when she realized Xu Bingqi had mistaken it for her own drunkenness.

Her consciousness wavered between clarity and haziness, as if she were treading on soft, fluffy cotton.

It was a strange sensation she had never experienced before.

Human alcohol was truly mysterious.

But she didn’t dare stay any longer. Everything before her seemed veiled in a hazy, soft glow, and even Xu Bingqi’s apologetic face appeared to drift in and out of focus.

In her tipsy state, it felt as if countless soft feathers were gently tickling the edges of Song Guanjin’s consciousness.

“Sister, I want to go back.”

If she stayed any longer, it wouldn’t just be her ears even her tail might slip out.

Hearing the unease in Song Guanjin’s voice, Xu Bingqi’s guilt deepened. It seemed her abrupt behavior had made Song Guanjin too uncomfortable to remain in the private room.

“I’m truly sorry.”

Xu Bingqi took a few steps back, remorse weighing heavily on her. She initially thought about offering to drive Song Guanjin home but reconsidered, fearing it might make her even more uneasy. Instead, she said, “Sorry, let me call a designated driver for you.”

Song Guanjin shook her head. “I’ll go back on my own.”

“Oh, okay.” Xu Bingqi tried to steady her tone. “Be careful on your way.”

“Goodbye.”

Struggling to maintain her balance, Song Guanjin quickly stepped out of the room.

She took a deep breath, telling herself she just needed to hold on until she was out of Xu Bingqi’s sight.

Once outside, even if her cat ears showed, hurried passersby would likely assume, just as Xu Bingqi had when they first met, that she was wearing realistic cat ear accessories.

After Song Guanjin left, Xu Bingqi tried hard to compose herself.

She attempted to convince herself that her earlier actions hadn’t been too out of line that to an ordinary person, it might have seemed like a perfectly normal gesture of closeness.

She carefully replayed the moment in her mind, gauging whether her behavior had been inappropriate.

Was it really so unusual for friends to almost touch each other’s hair?

Besides, she had never revealed her sexual orientation to Song Guanjin. Song Guanjin’s instinctive recoil was probably just a reflexive reaction.

Xu Bingqi took a deep breath and glanced at the vibrant sunflowers still glowing beside her, trying to reassure herself not to overthink it.

After a moment’s hesitation, she finally picked up the bouquet and walked out of the private room.

Back home, Xu Bingqi slept restlessly.

She dreamed of Song Guanjin’s disgusted expression when they met again.

“How repulsive. Don’t touch me.”

Urgency and panic surged in Xu Bingqi’s chest. She tried to defend herself but noticed others standing behind Song Guanjin.

Xu Qingci, Jiang Ruo, Gu Xiaozhou, and many other familiar faces.

“Xu Bingqi, you’re disgusting.”

“You even plagiarized? You only bring me shame.”

Xu Bingqi stepped back, a sharp, unbearable pain piercing her head like a needle, followed by a wave of splitting headaches.

The headaches were still there, the malignant tumor remained.

Nothing had changed.

She was still that universally despised nuisance, destined to die from an incurable cancer.

The next moment, a shrill alarm sliced through the illusory world like a blade.

Xu Bingqi’s eyes snapped open.

Her mind was foggy, and it took her a few seconds of staring at the ceiling to realize it had all been a dream.

Her body trembled slightly, a fine layer of sweat beading on her forehead unnoticed.

No matter how composed she appeared during the day, flawless in her demeanor, the shadows of her past life lingered. Those fragmented memories haunted the darkness, the scars etched deep into her soul refusing to heal.

She could not forgive any of the people from her past life who had hurt her.

Nor did she ever want to see any of them again.

Xu Bingqi took a deep breath and picked up her phone, only to find over twenty messages from Song Guanjin.

But Xu Bingqi had lost the courage to read them.

Because countless notifications flooded her screen, with the most trending hashtag being #XuBingqi Plagiarism#.

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