After Her Death, They Begged for Forgiveness - Chapter 23

“Greetings, Miss Xu. I’ve long heard of your esteemed name.”

A smug smile curled at the corners of Xiao Hua’s lips as he habitually flicked the strand of hair at his forehead already tousled into a curl from repeated touching and slowly raised his eyebrows. His movements were deliberate and drawn-out, as if the very air around them had congealed into stillness.

Song Guanjin, confined within the pet carrier, took a few delicate steps backward.

She felt as if the atmosphere were saturated with the greasy, cloying scent of repeatedly rendered oil dregs, each breath filling her lungs with its sticky residue.

Song Guanjin let out a series of sharp, protesting meows.

So what if Xu Bingqi had locked her in this carrier? Why hadn’t she driven this disgusting man away yet?

Xiao Hua glanced down at the little cat cowering in the farthest corner of the carrier.

A plain, rustic, and utterly unruly non-pedigree cat.

He curled his lip and let out a faint, ambiguous snort.

So this was the kind of shabby, half-wild creature the esteemed Miss Xu could afford to keep after being cast out from the Xu family too poor even to buy a proper breed. What a stark contrast to her former life of luxury.

Xu Bingqi’s expression was frosty as she coldly turned and walked past Xiao Hua, treating him as nothing more than a wisp of disregarded air.

In her past life, Xiao Hua had seized every opportunity to slander her in front of Xu Qingci, all because he feared she might also inherit the Xu family fortune.

And from what she knew of the novel’s plot, after her death, Xiao Hua and Jiang Ruo had taken control of the Xu family assets. Later, Jiang Ruo signed a notarized deed of gift, allowing Xiao Hua to seize everything.

In the novel’s extra chapters, he even went behind Jiang Ruo’s back, infatuated with other women.

She had no desire to exchange even a single word with such scum.

Seeing that Xu Bingqi was ignoring him, the obsequious smile Xiao Hua had painstakingly plastered across his face finally slipped away.

He took a swift step forward, his arm shooting out like a barricade, directly blocking Xu Bingqi’s path.

“Nothing but a stray dog kicked out of the Xu family, and you still think you’re the young mistress? If someone hadn’t asked me to find you, do you think I’d spare you a second glance?”

Xu Bingqi halted.

Not because Xiao Hua had blocked her way, but because she was intrigued by what he had said.

Xiao Hua was, after all, the type who never acted without personal gain.

If he hadn’t been sent by someone, he certainly wouldn’t be pestering her like this.

Inside the carrier, Song Guanjin was so furious she kept hissing, her claws scraping incessantly against the floor of the box.

What was this man so greasy he could be rendered into candle wax barking about? How dare he call Xu Bingqi a stray dog?

Even if Xu Bingqi had a wandering eye for other cats and had locked her in this carrier, she was still far above being insulted by such a repulsive creature!

Song Guanjin looked expectantly at Xu Bingqi. If only she would let her out to claw that man’s face to shreds and send him rolling on the ground in agony, she would forgive all of Xu Bingqi’s actions today.

To Song Guanjin’s disappointment, Xu Bingqi didn’t seem to share her thoughts.

“Sent by someone?”

Xu Bingqi’s face remained expressionless as her gaze, cold and probing, swept over Xiao Hua as if assessing what remarkable qualities he possessed that would warrant such a task.

She knew all too well that Xiao Hua was arrogant and conceited. With a little provocation, he would surely lose his temper and spill everything without a second thought.

Xiao Hua couldn’t stand the contemptuous look in Xu Bingqi’s eyes the most.

What right did Xu Bingqi, a rumored good-for-nothing who had been kicked out of his family have to look down on someone like him, who had worked diligently and steadily toward success?

Resentment surged like molten lava, churning and erupting in his chest in an instant, burning away Xiao Hua’s rationality until it was on the verge of collapse.

“She’s a gentle, considerate, and discerning beauty, not someone you could ever compare to.”

In his flustered anger, Xiao Hua deliberately withheld the fact that Jiang Ruo had claimed to be Xu Bingqi’s fan, lest Xu Bingqi become even more smug and arrogant.

Xu Bingqi mentally searched for someone who fit the description of “gentle, considerate, and discerning” as Xiao Hua had described.

First, Gu Xiaozhou could be ruled out whether in her past life or in the novel’s plot, Gu Xiaozhou had always harbored extreme disdain for Xiao Hua.

Next, Xu Qingci could also be ruled out. If Xu Qingci wanted to find her, she wouldn’t go to such lengths.

The most likely candidate was Jiang Ruo.

As the female lead of the novel, she was naturally destined to form various bonds with the male lead.

“Tall nose bridge, a red mole between the eyebrows?”

Xiao Hua’s expression froze. He was stunned for a moment, never expecting Xu Bingqi to so casually describe that person’s appearance.

Observing Xiao Hua’s reaction out of the corner of her eye, Xu Bingqi understood she had guessed correctly.

But why was Jiang Ruo so fixated on tracking her down?

Back at the hospital, it had also been Jiang Ruo who rushed to find her first.

She didn’t believe their relationship was deep enough to warrant such concern.

Xu Bingqi felt a creeping sensation, as if a chill had seeped through her coat, the feeling of being watched from the shadows.

She had already changed the IP location of her music platform account precisely to avoid being traced back.

She was well aware of her status as someone universally disliked, and she had been careful enough to steer clear of the main characters, who were blessed with the novel’s powerful plot armor.

“Do you know that person? Do you know who she is?”

Xiao Hua took a step forward, his eyes fixed intently on Xu Bingqi, burning with fervor.

If Xu Bingqi knew that person, did it mean she was also from a powerful, wealthy family?

If things went smoothly, perhaps he could soon ride that wave of influence.

Xu Bingqi was slightly surprised. As expected of the novel’s plot-driven connections Xiao Hua was already doing favors for Jiang Ruo without even knowing who she was.

“Why not try asking her yourself?”

Xu Bingqi had already gathered enough information from Xiao Hua. Now wary of Jiang Ruo, she had no interest in further entanglement with him.

Her past life had taught her that prolonged involvement with the main characters never ended well for her.

Besides, she still had to take Pomegranate for a check-up today.

She held leverage over Xiao Hua in her previous life, she had collected evidence of his tax evasion and bribery, though she hadn’t had the chance to expose him before her own downfall.

In this life, if she was careful enough, she might just manage to send this so-called male lead to prison ahead of schedule.

Xu Bingqi knew all too well that arguing with Xiao Hua now was pointless. Before she could fully organize the evidence, she needed to lie low and bide her time. After all, it wasn’t just turtles who knew when to pull their heads in venomous snakes, too, concealed their fangs before striking a fatal blow.

Meanwhile, Xiao Hua was desperate to find out who the other party was. Since he had already met Xu Bingqi, he had fulfilled the request. Meeting the mysterious woman now seemed perfectly reasonable.

Xiao Hua anxiously messaged Jiang Ruo, not even noticing when Xu Bingqi had already left.

Song Guanjin in the carrier was nearly driven mad by Xu Bingqi’s spinelessness.

In her view, Xu Bingqi should have proactively slapped the provocateur a few times across the face, instead of walking away nonchalantly like this.

What a cowardly human.

That greasy human had better not run into her alone, or she would definitely shred them with her sharp claws.

Song Guanjin’s restless mood reached its peak when they arrived at the veterinary hospital.

“This kitty sure has quite the temper,” the vet commented with a smile, seeing the cat struggling incessantly in Xu Bingqi’s arms.

Damn human, Song Guanjin thought, planning to inject her and then blame her for her justified self-defense, calling it a bad temper.

“But you can tell this cat really cares about you.”

Song Guanjin thought the vet was talking nonsense how could she possibly care about that human who only acted domineering toward her? The gentle older sister image she had of Xu Bingqi had been completely shattered today.

“How can you tell?” Xu Bingqi seemed genuinely interested in this question, and even in her struggle, Song Guanjin could see the spark of curiosity ignite in Xu Bingqi’s eyes.

“Even though the cat is struggling fiercely, she’s carefully retracted her claws into her paw pads.”

Song Guanjin finally understood the saying that a kind cat gets bullied.

What infuriated Song Guanjin the most was hearing Xu Bingqi’s cool voice tinged with a hint of laughter: “I also think Shiliu really likes me.”

A human with no sense of boundaries and an inflated ego even if she ended up alone for the rest of her life, Song Guanjin would never like Xu Bingqi.

The struggling cat was eventually forced to take half a pill of gabapentin.

Just before completely losing consciousness, she heard the vet’s surprised voice: “The cat really trusts you, she swallowed the pill right down.”

The kitten sighed silently. It was simply because she knew she couldn’t win against this domineering human, so she skipped the resistance step altogether.

As she fell into a deep sleep, Song Guanjin descended into a long dream.

In the dream, she hadn’t taken human form but was curled up in a dilapidated cat bed.

The outer layer of the cat bed was worn beyond recognition, with cotton stuffing spilling out haphazardly like messy tufts of withered grass, exuding a pitiful shabbiness.

Before the cautious cat could even explore her surroundings, a sound of painful panting suddenly pierced her ears.

Following the sound, Song Guanjin saw Xu Bingqi on the bed, pressing hard on her temples.

Xu Bingqi looked very different from how she remembered her face was as pale as snow, her back as thin as a sheet of paper, her breathing painful and rapid.

She had never seen Xu Bingqi like this and couldn’t imagine her becoming this way.

Song Guanjin felt herself uncontrollably leap onto the bed and curl up beside Xu Bingqi.

But Xu Bingqi was already too weak to lift a hand and pet the obedient cat beside her.

The passage of time felt unbearably long to Song Guanjin.

Yet she could feel the cool warmth of Xu Bingqi’s body, so real that Song Guanjin couldn’t even tell if she was truly in a dream.

Song Guanjin shook her head, trying to dispel the unsettling atmosphere. Xu Bingqi was clearly healthy, this had to be an absurd dream.

The cat began shaking her head violently, trying to shake off the terrifying nightmare.

“The kitty is so quiet, don’t forget to come for regular vaccinations in the future.”

Song Guanjin struggled to slowly open her eyes, finding herself nestled in Xu Bingqi’s embrace.

Xu Bingqi’s arms were warm and strong, holding her securely as layers of cozy warmth enveloped her, completely unlike the frail weakness she had felt in her dream.

Uneasy, Song Guanjin burrowed deeper into Xu Bingqi’s embrace, drawing comfort from the reassuring warmth that soothed her feline instincts.

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