After Her Death, They Begged for Forgiveness - Chapter 18

Xu Qingci’s fingertips lightly held the medical report, her brow unconsciously furrowing slightly. “Why did Bingqi choose such a small-scale hospital? I’ve never even heard of the attending physician’s name…”

Logically, hospitals should protect patient privacy, but they also didn’t dare to directly offend Xu Qingci. Moreover, Xu Bingqi was Xu Qingci’s biological daughter, so neither reason nor emotion allowed them to refuse.

The assistant stood silently to the side, head bowed.

The CEO had always been neglectful of Xu Bingqi, yet after Xu Bingqi moved out, she seemed to grow concerned.

For a moment, the assistant couldn’t quite grasp Xu Qingci’s thoughts.

“Why would she go to the hospital for a check-up out of the blue?” Xu Qingci sighed. “Who knows if such a small hospital can even provide accurate results?”

Even when Xu Bingqi hadn’t moved out, she was always quiet and withdrawn, holed up in her room, unwilling to go out. Xu Qingci had no way of knowing about her physical condition.

“That child is just too reserved, always keeping her thoughts to herself. She’s not as lively and easy to talk to as Ruoruo.” Xu Qingci casually set down the medical report, her movements carrying an unconscious force.

The paper made a soft “thud” as it hit the desk, like a sigh of resignation, then slid a short distance across the surface.

The assistant stood by, fully focused, waiting for Xu Qingci’s next instructions.

She sensed that Xu Qingci’s complaints about Xu Bingqi this time were different from all the previous ones.

In the past, Xu Qingci’s words about Xu Bingqi were filled with impatience and disgust, but this time, there was a faint undercurrent of concern in her complaints.

The assistant had never been interested in the CEO’s personal life. Whether it was Jiang Ruo or Xu Bingqi, she had never easily taken sides. She was simply adept at discerning Xu Qingci’s mindset and making appropriate judgments, this was why she had remained by Xu Qingci’s side for so long.

“If the small hospital isn’t suitable, perhaps we could arrange another check-up at a different hospital,” the assistant said softly. “Another examination would put your mind at ease, CEO Xu.”

Xu Qingci closed her eyes lightly and pressed her fingers to her temples. “Maybe Bingqi has been truly exhausted lately, her mind clouded and unsettled, which is why she moved out. Let her come back and recuperate properly.”

The assistant was slightly surprised and confirmed again, “Shall we bring the young lady back?”

Xu Qingci fell silent.

After a long pause, she sighed. “Bingqi is so unpromising. How can I not worry?”

Inwardly, the assistant disagreed. Xu Bingqi’s composition skills were quite remarkable, far from the “unpromising” state Xu Qingci described. It was clear that Xu Bingqi could at least secure a place for herself in the future with her talent. She didn’t believe Xu Bingqi would be as destitute as Xu Qingci made her out to be after leaving the Xu family.

But she never contradicted Xu Qingci’s thoughts. “Understood, CEO Xu. I’ll make the arrangements.”

After the assistant left, Xu Qingci frowned at the medical report on the desk, trying hard to avoid thinking about the issues that would arise if Xu Bingqi were brought back to the Xu family.

Yet the more she tried to avoid it, the more those thoughts clung to her like stubborn parasites, impossible to shake off.

Unable to bear it any longer, Xu Qingci finally stood up and threw the medical report into the wastebasket.

Until she found Xu Bingqi, she was determined to forcibly press pause on all thoughts related to her.

Lately, Xu Bingqi had been living quite leisurely.

Her new account had amassed over a hundred thousand followers, and business collaboration offers frequently came her way.

Xu Bingqi did not accept every offer that came her way.

She carefully weighed her options, selecting only a few valuable and challenging projects from the multitude of commercial requests to compose for, while dedicating the majority of her time to refining her original compositions.

Unlike her previous life, where she confined herself entirely to the world of music, in this life, Xu Bingqi had another grand ambition.

She was no longer content with merely creating music; she was determined to carve out her own commercial music empire and establish her own music company.

For now, Xu Bingqi only had a rough idea and had not yet made concrete preparations.

The reason was simple: she lacked the necessary startup capital.

Learning from the hardships of her past life, Xu Bingqi had become an extremely cautious person.

Whenever she woke from nightmares of being unable to afford painkillers and enduring endless headaches over a few dozen yuan, the first thing she did was check her bank account balance.

To her, every decrease in that number felt like a knife twisting in her heart.

So, Xu Bingqi opened a new bank account to separately save money for her music company’s startup fund.

When Song Guanjin accidentally saw the densely recorded bills Xu Bingqi kept daily, she was puzzled: “Sister, are you short on money lately?”

“Not at all,” Xu Bingqi shook her head. “This budgeting app is really useful. Would you like to try tracking your expenses too?”

Song Guanjin, who had just splurged on many exquisitely designed, well-tailored beautiful clothes, immediately shook her head with firm resolve.

She had fully embraced the joy of shopping sprees and had none of Xu Bingqi’s foresight to prepare for danger in times of safety.

For a little kitten like her, present happiness was everything; future uncertainties weren’t worth worrying about.

Moreover, the ever-confident kitten firmly believed she was the epitome of “Heaven has made us talents; we’re not made in vain,” and saw no reason to let money sit idly in her phone as cold numbers when it could be exchanged for pretty dresses.

Shaking her head earnestly, Song Guanjin told Xu Bingqi, “I give money life, allowing it to fulfill the value it’s meant to achieve.”

Xu Bingqi sighed softly, even feeling the urge to open another bank account to save money on Song Guanjin’s behalf.

Before the thought could fully form, Xu Bingqi’s attention was drawn to a few fine cat hairs near Song Guanjin’s feet.

As Xu Bingqi bent down, Song Guanjin glanced at her scattered long hair and felt an impulse to tuck the strands behind her sister’s ear.

Her sister’s hair was glossy and dark as lacquer, like meticulously polished black jade, and surely felt even better to touch than the texture of her newly bought silk dress.

The kitten suddenly snapped out of her reverie, realizing her fingertips were barely an inch away from Xu Bingqi’s hair.

“It seems like a few times after you’ve visited, I’ve found some cat hairs on the floor.”

Song Guanjin quickly retracted her fingers.

Xu Bingqi picked up the cat hairs and examined them closely. They were as soft as dandelion fluff, with a faint hue as if tinted by sunlight.

They even felt familiar to Xu Bingqi, reminiscent of the hairs from the proud little cat she had adopted in her previous life.

Puzzled, she looked up and asked, “Did you come here after petting a cat?”

Song Guanjin’s emerald eyes were filled with innocence, like a pristine lake: “The kitten is really adorable.”

Xu Bingqi’s eyes instantly lit up: “Where? Take me with you next time.”

Right in front of you.

Song Guanjin tilted her head, pondering for a moment before replying: “It’s a stray cat, doesn’t show up often.”

“But the cat fur looks very clean, doesn’t seem like a stray.”

Xu Bingqi still remembered how, in her previous life, after picking up the little kitten, she had to bathe the filthy little thing three times before it was clean.

“Then it might be an outdoor cat.”

Song Guanjin laughed nervously: “Anyway, it doesn’t appear often.”

Xu Bingqi let out a disappointed “oh” before asking: “Then it must be very friendly, right? You must have pet it for so long that fur came off.”

Was she friendly herself?

Seemed quite friendly, considering she had successfully integrated into human society as a cat.

Song Guanjin nodded: “Yes, quite friendly.”

“Where does the kitten usually appear?”

Xu Bingqi’s curiosity was completely piqued by Song Guanjin. A friendly kitten resembling the one she had picked up in her previous life, it might very well be related to that cat somehow.

“Near my home.”

Song Guanjin thought for a moment and added: “It’s really a matter of luck.”

“Then you’re quite lucky. After you came last time, I found cat fur while cleaning too.”

Song Guanjin smiled: “Sister, you can come to my place next time. Maybe you’ll see it on the way.”

“Really? I can come the day after tomorrow. I’ll submit the first draft of the composition tomorrow and wait for feedback from the game company.”

Song Guanjin’s eyes widened slightly.

The day after tomorrow?

The little kitten quickly added: “We might not see the cat every time.”

“I know.”

Xu Bingqi didn’t mind: “But what if we do? Actually, I get along really well with animals.”

Her gaze fell on Song Guanjin’s round, surprised eyes, and a soft smile unconsciously touched the corners of her own.

Xu Bingqi’s lips curved slowly into a gentle arc: “Actually, your eyes are a bit like a cat’s. Has anyone ever mentioned that?”

Stay calm, the little kitten told herself inwardly.

This must be the ultimate human test, only a clever cat could withstand it.

Song Guanjin met Xu Bingqi’s gaze openly and earnestly: “Yes, you just did.”

“I feel like I could promote myself as a cat-like beauty in the future.”

Xu Bingqi had only mentioned it casually, but she laughed at Song Guanjin’s response: “You definitely could.”

She had never seen an actor with more striking features than Song Guanjin.

Even without acting skills, Song Guanjin would eventually make it big in the entertainment industry.

Not to mention, Song Guanjin was far more hardworking than any other actor she knew.

“Sister, I just remembered, I haven’t memorized my lines properly yet. I might have to leave early.”

Xu Bingqi smiled and nodded: “Good luck.”

Indeed, Song Guanjin was more diligent than other actors.

Song Guanjin breathed a soft sigh of relief as she hurriedly escaped the scene.

Even though her sister was gentle and caring now, her eyes curved with smiles, what if this was a trap set by a cunning human?

After all, in front of her sister, she had no willpower left to speak of.

Song Guanjin recalled a post she had seen earlier on a certain book platform: “xxx, a meticulously designed trap specifically for cats.” She nervously touched her ear, feeling a lingering fear.

She absolutely must not let her identity be exposed.

Walking along, she continued to fret over the thought, completely unaware of a pair of gloomy eyes fixed intently on her from not far away.

Support