After Her Death, They Begged for Forgiveness - Chapter 32

Xu Bingqi pondered for a moment before slowly walking to the door.

Song Guanjin pursed her lips in displeasure. The cat felt a sour bitterness in her heart, like the unripe fruit she had swallowed before taking human form.

The people her sister had once known all harbored ulterior motives. The cat’s intuition told her that beneath their refined and glamorous exteriors lurked a ghostly aura, as if they had just crawled out of a desolate graveyard.

But her sister was an independent person. For now, she could only trust her sister’s judgment.

Just as Xu Bingqi was about to turn the doorknob, she glanced back at Song Guanjin, her gaze carrying a calmness she herself hadn’t noticed. “Guanjin, thank you.”

If Song Guanjin hadn’t been there, perhaps she wouldn’t have been able to quickly muster the resolve to open the door and face the unknown. She wasn’t entirely confident about opening this Pandora’s box.

But with Song Guanjin there, she suddenly felt a sense of calm courage. Xu Bingqi paused briefly, then turned the old doorknob and opened the door.

“Sister.”

Jiang Ruo stood smiling outside the door, like an exquisite ancient Greek statue, radiating a breathtaking beauty.

“What brings you here?”

Xu Bingqi hoped Jiang Ruo wouldn’t be like Xu Qingci and Gu Xiaozhou, spending endless time reminiscing about the past and then using those memories to emotionally manipulate her.

Jiang Ruo didn’t answer the question. Smiling, she walked straight in, her gaze pausing slightly when she noticed Song Guanjin. “It seems you’re in a good mood, sister.”

The name Song Guanjin had never appeared in the novel’s plot. Jiang Ruo was somewhat puzzled as to how Xu Bingqi had become involved with such a peripheral character.

She recalled that this person had once auditioned for “On the Sea” probably just some obscure, unknown actress.

The corners of Jiang Ruo’s lips lifted slightly. “Thank you for taking care of my sister during this time.”

Song Guanjin let out a soft humph, turning her face away, unwilling to entertain Jiang Ruo’s hypocritical demeanor.

“Ruo Ruo, if you have something to say, just say it.”

Xu Bingqi was somewhat wary of Jiang Ruo, who appeared so amiable and gentle at the moment. Her intuition told her that the other might not be as innocent and blank as the novel’s character setting suggested.

At the very least, Jiang Ruo already knew that she was aware of the novel’s details, and it seemed Jiang Ruo had more information than she had initially imagined.

“I came here because I was worried about you, sister.”

Jiang Ruo’s gaze was intense, as if trying to tightly bind Xu Bingqi with her eyes. “After all, if something were to happen to you, I would be very sad.”

She noticed Xu Bingqi about to speak and casually raised a hand to signal “shush.” “I know you’re perfectly healthy right now, but novels don’t follow the same logic as reality.”

Jiang Ruo casually pulled over a chair and sat down, inadvertently blocking Song Guanjin’s line of sight. “If novels followed logic, how could you have been abandoned by your own mother and ended up betrayed and isolated by everyone?”

She shook her head regretfully, her expression darkening when she saw that Xu Bingqi remained expressionless. “Even if you get regular check-ups, it won’t make a difference. What’s destined to happen will happen.”

At this point, Jiang Ruo wanted to gamble one more time.

If she could successfully deceive Xu Bingqi, that would be ideal.

If not, she would have no choice but to resort to special measures.

No matter what method she used, she had to reach the story’s conclusion before the novel’s plot completely collapsed.

Jiang Ruo had completely come to terms with it, there was almost no way to twist the novel’s plot back on track. However, skipping over the derailed storyline and rushing through to the ending could still barely count as completing the task.

The only difference was that instead of an “excellent” evaluation, she would now get a “pass.”

But so what? This was her last transmigration mission anyway.

Once this task was done, she would take the things she cherished out of their shabby packaging and place them securely into a sturdy, durable gift box.

First, she needed to keep a close eye on this unruly sister of hers to prevent her from further disrupting the plot.

“Sister, come home with me. I might be able to save your life.”

After speaking, Jiang Ruo’s gaze rested gently on Xu Bingqi, like a kind princess guarding her beloved treasure, or like moonlight illuminating the clarity of a lake lingering and tender.

Xu Bingqi didn’t avoid Jiang Ruo’s gaze, but her own eyes remained calm and unruffled.

Jiang Ruo curved her lips into a smile. Her sister was indeed a tough nut to crack.

And precisely because her sister was so stubborn, she had suffered so much unnecessary hardship.

Still, Jiang Ruo found herself quite intrigued for the moment.

“What reality? What novel? What are you talking about?” Song Guanjin froze for a moment before interrupting with disgust. “Have you lost your mind? Sister Bingqi is perfectly fine. There’s no need for you to play the savior here.”

Only then did Jiang Ruo turn her head, staring at Song Guanjin for a few seconds as if she had discovered something amusing, then burst into laughter as if she couldn’t hold it back.

Ignoring the system’s mechanical reminder to stay in character, she laughed heartily, revealing two rows of pearly white teeth.

Xu Bingqi inadvertently caught sight of Jiang Ruo’s teeth and couldn’t help but think of the flesh-eating demons from Painted Skin, those who feasted on human flesh at night yet still had spotlessly white teeth the next day.

“You call her ‘Sister Bingqi’ so affectionately,” Jiang Ruo said with a laugh. “Yet you’re nothing but a fool who doesn’t even understand the situation.”

“Has your dear Sister Bingqi never told you?” Jiang Ruo stared maliciously at Song Guanjin. “She’s already died once.”

Seeing the shock in Song Guanjin’s eyes, Jiang Ruo smiled with satisfaction. “And you might very well be one of the snowflakes in that avalanche. After all, before she died, she was not only betrayed by everyone but also silently endured online abuse.”

Jiang Ruo then turned her gaze back to Xu Bingqi, her smile fading slightly. “Sister, you really have a big heart to fall in love despite all that.”

She could tell the two weren’t in a relationship, but a knot of resentment still tightened in her chest. She couldn’t stand seeing Xu Bingqi close to anyone.

Gu Xiaozhou, Song Guanjin they all should stay far away from Xu Bingqi.

The usually eloquent kitten stood frozen in place.

Had her sister really endured so much hardship?

In the past, when they were still strangers, Xu Bingqi had trudged alone through countless thorns, swallowing the bitter taste of blood and tears in the silent depths of countless nights.

Yet even so, from the very first moment they met, her sister had helped her, recalling past-life information to help her land a role again when she was at her wit’s end.

Despite having suffered so much coldness and indifference, her sister still extended a helping hand without hesitation when she saw others sinking into the mire never even considering whether they were the ones who had hurt her in her past life.

Although she was just a cat demon who had recently taken human form and had certainly never harmed Xu Bingqi in her past life, in fact, she hadn’t even known Xu Bingqi from Xu Bingqi’s perspective, she had no way of knowing whether she had been a victim of online bullying in that previous life.

Even so, Xu Bingqi had delved into the painful memories of her past life just to help her land a suitable role, all in the hope of accelerating her rise to fame.

Once again, crystal tears welled up in her emerald-clear eyes.

This time, however, Song Guanjin wasn’t crying to elicit Xu Bingqi’s sympathy; her tears were born of genuine sorrow.

Watching the tears fall from Song Guanjin’s eyes, Jiang Ruo narrowed her eyes in pleasure, as if listening to a delightful melody.

“Sister, I truly regret not meeting you sooner, not being able to protect you earlier,” Song Guanjin murmured between sobs.

As a cat demon, her timeline couldn’t be rewound by someone’s rebirth. She simply regretted not having cultivated her human form faster, not having arrived by her sister’s side sooner.

If she had cultivated a few decades earlier, perhaps her sister wouldn’t have had to endure such suffering in her past life.

Jiang Ruo’s smile froze for a few seconds before slowly fading away.

After so many system missions, this was the first time she had encountered someone with such cunning tactics.

It seemed she had underestimated her before.

Suppressing her emotions, Jiang Ruo forced a calm tone: “Sister, she can’t protect you. Come back to the Xu family with me. If you obey me, I can give you a healthy body again.”

To win the bet as quickly as possible, she had no choice but to play a crucial card.

Gu Xiaozhou’s trending topic would trigger a chain reaction, potentially even affecting the relationship between the Xu and Gu families. The faster the novel’s plot collapsed, the harder it would be for her to reach the ending before it fell apart completely.

She needed to coax her sister back home quickly, lock her in a room, tie her to a bed, confine her somewhere no one else could reach.

As for this Song Guanjin since she wasn’t even a supporting character in the novel, eliminating her quietly wouldn’t disrupt the storyline.

Under Jiang Ruo’s expectant gaze, Xu Bingqi shook her head.

“Even if I end up dying from illness, I will never return to the Xu family again.”

Xu Bingqi stepped past Jiang Ruo, approached Song Guanjin, and gently wiped the tears from her face. Seeing the cat-like eyes staring back at her, she smiled comfortingly as the sobbing subsided.

Then, turning back to Jiang Ruo, she spoke calmly: “Dying outside is far better than dying in the Xu family, and certainly preferable to clinging to life under Miss Jiang Ruo’s control.”

“So, I’m afraid I must disappoint you, Miss Jiang Ruo. I am not one to obey meekly, nor can I force myself to do so.”

In this bet, Jiang Ruo knew she had ultimately lost.

She looked at Xu Bingqi with a complicated expression: “Sister, the rigid break easily, while the flexible endure. Why can’t you ever understand such a simple truth?”

This was a novel toy she had worked hard to find, if it broke too easily, there would be nothing left to play with.

But she never expected that this toy would rather face the same ruin as in the previous life than remain in her hands to be manipulated at will.

“If you have nothing else, Miss Jiang Ruo, you may leave now. I won’t be seeing you out.”

After Xu Bingqi finished speaking, Song Guanjin’s sobbing completely ceased. She put down the tissue and turned to look at Jiang Ruo beside her, her eyes filled with silent urgency.

As a great demon with centuries of cultivation, even though she had lost some memories, she could still clearly discern Xu Bingqi’s lifespan condition.

That Jiang Ruo must have been spouting nonsense. Now that Xu Bingqi had asked her to leave, Song Guanjin couldn’t wait for this fraud to disappear far away.

Unlike Gu Xiaozhou’s impulsiveness, Jiang Ruo maintained her composure and smiled politely: “Sister, if you change your mind, you can come find me anytime.”

Then, just as calmly as she had arrived, she opened the door and swayed gracefully out of sight.

The moment Jiang Ruo left, Xu Bingqi felt a familiar weight press against her shoulder.

“Sister, please move in with me.”

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