After Her Death, They Begged for Forgiveness - Chapter 60

Jiang Ruo hadn’t made any progress on the novel’s plotline for a long time, nor had she sought out Xu Bingqi again.

Perhaps this was a good sign, the system analyzed. If Jiang Ruo stopped entangling Xu Bingqi, she might eventually remember to advance the novel’s storyline.

【Host, would you like to visit Xiao Hua?】

“Why should I visit him?”

Jiang Ruo lay lazily on the bed, closing her eyes wearily.

Ever since her last meeting with her sister, she felt increasingly exhausted. “My sister doesn’t trust me. Do you think that transmigrator named Song Guanjin will succeed?”

【Whether she succeeds or not, host, you no longer have any hope】

【You should understand that Xu Bingqi only feels disgust toward you】

“I’m afraid she might succeed, but I feel so tired lately. It seems I no longer have the energy to stop this. That staff member who created the accident has already been detained.”

Jiang Ruo’s words weren’t very logical, nor did they seem like a direct response to the system, but the system understood her meaning.

The host wasn’t closing off her heart to love rather, with so many recent events, she was already overwhelmed.

With the staff member detained, perhaps the investigation would soon lead to Jiang Ruo.

【Host, you should continue following the novel’s plot】

The system had successfully reported the host’s abnormal situation to the main system and was now awaiting a response.

After all, Jiang Ruo had been its partner through many missions, and it didn’t want to see the host remain so stubborn. Moreover, the host’s level of remorse would affect the punishment decided by the main system. If the host could repent, perhaps continued reporting might result in a lighter punishment.

If the host remained this stubborn, she might be abandoned by the main system, left to grow old and die like an ordinary person in this world.

Most critically, the host had blood on her hands. Remaining in this world might mean spending the rest of her life in prison.

For both professional and personal reasons, the system didn’t want to see the host sent to prison.

Transmigrators as capable as Jiang Ruo were rare. The system still hoped she could return to the main world for psychological treatment, recuperate for a while, and then undertake new transmigration missions to atone for her crimes.

“I don’t want to do anything,” Jiang Ruo murmured to herself. “I need to think carefully, to come up with a way to eliminate Song Guanjin.”

She didn’t dare let the system devise a method to eliminate another transmigrator. Jiang Ruo only trusted herself in her view, if the system conceived a plan to remove a transmigrator, she might be the first to disappear.

After all, she was no longer a qualified transmigrator. Based on profit considerations, the system would likely prioritize eliminating her.

The system didn’t respond further to the host.

Jiang Ruo thought for a moment. “Forget it, I’ll go see Xiao Hua after all.”

He was, after all, the vessel she had prepared for her sister. If his leg couldn’t be restored, she wouldn’t be able to present him to her sister.

If the vessel could be repaired, perhaps her sister, seeing this perfect body, might gradually come to accept her.

Even if she couldn’t accept Jiang Ruo, possessing Xiao Hua’s body, her sister probably wouldn’t be able to date Song Guanjin without any reservations.

Jiang Ruo didn’t consider her own thoughts malicious; she even felt it was a brilliant two-birds-one-stone solution. After all, wasn’t that Song Guanjin also a lesbian? Upon seeing her sister inhabiting Xiao Hua’s body, all her affection would surely vanish without a trace.

Perhaps it wouldn’t just vanish, it might even transform into intense disgust.

The system hadn’t expected Jiang Ruo to suddenly see the light. Lying on the bed, Jiang Ruo slowly sat up, casually grabbed a coat from the wardrobe, draped it over her shoulders, and walked out.

She was going to check on Xiao Hua’s recovery progress. If he wasn’t healing fast enough, she might consider providing him with a better environment for recuperation.

Meanwhile, Xu Bingqi was in the hospital room, recording Xiao Hua’s statements with a voice recorder.

“I don’t know what Jiang Ruo did afterward,” Xiao Hua shook his head, “but she’s not someone who values human life. If that actress stood in her way, it’s entirely possible she would do something like that.”

His body trembled violently. “This leg of mine Jiang Ruo broke it with her own hands. She’s a complete madwoman!”

Xiao Hua deeply regretted his greed for fleeting fame and fortune that led him to choose Jiang Ruo. He had initially thought she was a sheltered, innocent, and obedient rich heiress a soft, fragile lamb. But later, he discovered Jiang Ruo was a wolf with sharp fangs.

Xu Bingqi’s hand holding the recorder paused. She hadn’t expected Jiang Ruo to personally break Xiao Hua’s leg.

Although she felt no sympathy for Xiao Hua’s plight, Jiang Ruo’s level of madness still astonished her.

Perhaps, in the eyes of a transmigrator, everyone else was merely an NPC, and this world was just a temporary, illusory stopover. That might explain why Jiang Ruo placed no value on others’ lives.

“What else do you know?”

After a moment of silence, Xu Bingqi continued her questioning.

“All I know is that I failed to carry out her orders, and that’s why she broke my leg!” Xiao Hua clenched the bedsheet tightly. “She ordered me to do everything possible to prevent you from joining that music variety show. I failed, and she was furious…”

Xu Bingqi had already guessed this much, so she wasn’t surprised. She merely nodded calmly. “Can you provide evidence?”

Xiao Hua hesitated at her request.

If he handed over the evidence to Xu Bingqi, Jiang Ruo would be completely at her mercy.

If Jiang Ruo found out he was the one who betrayed her, she would never let him off. Last time, he merely failed to complete a task she assigned, and she broke his leg. This time, the consequences would likely be far worse.

Would he end up like that unknown actress, meeting some silent, unexpected fate?

He wasn’t as lucky as that actress, who survived a fall from a great height.

“If… if I give you the evidence, can you guarantee my safety? Will Jiang Ruo be sent to prison?”

Xiao Hua despised Jiang Ruo, but he didn’t want to die. He also loathed Xu Bingqi, who stood before him expressionless, but at the moment, he had no means to resist.

Resentfully, he thought that as long as Jiang Ruo was imprisoned, he could finally escape her clutches. As for Xu Bingqi, he would definitely use this worthless woman who looked down on him to reconnect with the Xu family.

“With sufficient evidence, Jiang Ruo will be sent to prison,” Xu Bingqi added coolly. “Of course, so will you.”

Xiao Hua’s fear instantly morphed into rage: “Why? I clearly did nothing wrong! I’m the victim here!”

He genuinely felt wronged all he ever wanted was to climb higher. Why should he end up in prison?

“I won’t give you the evidence!” Xiao Hua glared furiously at Xu Bingqi. “Sticking with Jiang Ruo at least gives me a shot at wealth and status!”

If he were imprisoned, all his endurance and struggles would become a mockery, and his entire life would turn into a joke.

Seeing Xiao Hua’s frantic desperation, Xu Bingqi felt neither irritation nor anger. On the contrary, the corners of her lips curled into a faint, satisfied smile.

That subtle, icy smile didn’t belong to a detached bystander. Xiao Hua slowly lowered his gaze.

“You can wait and see whether following Jiang Ruo will even leave you alive to enjoy the wealth and status you speak of.”

In her past life, when her reputation lay in ruins, she faintly remembered Xiao Hua’s unrestrained, triumphant laughter. But now, the tables had turned everything was different.

Xu Bingqi stood up, her smile fading gradually. “Besides, I have evidence of your tax evasion. One way or another, you’re headed to prison. Think it over carefully.”

She strode out of the hospital room but ran straight into Gu Xiaozhou, who was rushing toward Xiao Hua’s ward.

Xu Bingqi frowned, hesitating as she glanced at Gu Xiaozhou.

Based on both real-life experience and the novel’s setup, Gu Xiaozhou and Xiao Hua were supposed to be romantic rivals. Why would she actively visit Xiao Hua?

Gu Xiaozhou also froze for a moment upon seeing Xu Bingqi. “Is Jiang Ruo inside?”

Xu Bingqi definitely didn’t like Xiao Hua, the only reason she’d visit him would be because of Jiang Ruo, right?

But why meet in Xiao Hua’s hospital room? Having a third wheel around wasn’t exactly ideal for romance.

Xu Bingqi shook her head slowly.

Noticing the curiosity flickering in Gu Xiaozhou’s eyes and worried she might press further, Xu Bingqi countered, “Did you come because of Jiang Ruo?”

Given Miss Gu’s proud nature, that seemed unlikely. Even if Gu Xiaozhou liked Jiang Ruo, would she really come to check on Jiang Ruo’s boyfriend?

Gu Xiaozhou nodded, then quickly shook her head. “I just thought… he seemed pretty pitiful, all alone.”

Though she actually wanted to hear about the recent developments between Xiao Hua and Jiang Ruo and gather information on Jiang Ruo’s recent activities from Xiao Hua, she couldn’t let Xu Bingqi catch on to that.

Xu Bingqi listened to Gu Xiaozhou’s unconvincing excuse and nodded indifferently.

“Bingqi, Jiang Ruo and I are just ordinary friends. There’s nothing more between us.”

Gu Xiaozhou cautiously studied Xu Bingqi’s expression. Though Xu Bingqi remained expressionless, not even offering a polite smile, the confident Miss Gu interpreted it as a subtle shift in Xu Bingqi’s attitude toward her.

After all, Xu Bingqi’s first reaction upon seeing her wasn’t to tell her to get lost but to ask if she’d come because of Jiang Ruo.

What did that mean? It meant Xu Bingqi cared about her relationship with Jiang Ruo maybe even felt jealous without realizing it herself!

Growing more confident by the second, Miss Gu puffed out her chest proudly and explained earnestly, “Bingqi, please don’t overthink it.”

Xu Bingqi felt that ever since Gu Xiaozhou started keeping that beagle, her thought processes had become increasingly peculiar. She glanced at Gu Xiaozhou but said nothing, preparing to leave the hospital.

Gu Xiaozhou reacted swiftly, reaching out to block Xu Bingqi’s path. “Really, there’s absolutely nothing going on between Jiang Ruo and me.”

“Bingqi, do you like douhua? Want to walk the dog together sometime? Douhua is so much fun she never gets upset no matter who pets her…”

At the mention of “walking the dog,” Xu Bingqi paused. She thought that if her jealous cat heard such words, it would surely sulk for a long time. The image of Song Guanjin getting jealous brought a faint smile to her lips.

Gu Xiaozhou mistakenly believed she had moved Xu Bingqi. “We can walk the dog today! I’ll go home right now and fetch her!”

“I’m not walking the dog,” Xu Bingqi shook her head. “Sorry, could you please step aside?”

Gu Xiaozhou stubbornly remained in her way. “Bingqi, you’re just feeling shy, aren’t you? It’s fine…”

She thought to herself, Bingqi said “please step aside” and used polite language surely that wasn’t a firm rejection. It must just be reserve; deep down, she probably still wanted to walk the dog.

With just a little more effort, she could…

“Get lost.”

Xu Bingqi let out an almost imperceptible sigh. She had always been a well-mannered person, but it seemed Gu Xiaozhou only understood her when she abandoned civility.

Gu Xiaozhou froze for a moment, then quickly stepped aside to clear the path.

This time, she finally understood.

Though the dog-walking opportunity had failed, she had managed to exchange several sentences with Xu Bingqi. Given time, even if she couldn’t surpass Song Guanjin, overtaking Jiang Ruo would definitely be possible.

Filled with determination, Gu Xiaozhou comforted herself optimistically, completely unaware that Song Guanjin and Xu Bingqi had already bought suitable finger cots.

She cheerfully entered Xiao Hua’s hospital room, intending to encourage this gigolo to put in some effort.

The door was suddenly pushed open, startling Xiao Hua into trembling all over. Thinking Jiang Ruo had found out about his conversation with Xu Bingqi, he quickly curled up and protected his knees.

Only when he saw it was the person who had visited earlier did he heave a sigh of relief.

Gu Xiaozhou paid no attention to Xiao Hua’s state. She pulled up a chair and sat down. “Why did Bingqi come to see you just now? Was it because of Jiang Ruo?”

How did this person know? Xiao Hua felt his entire body trembling.

But he absolutely couldn’t tell this person since she also knew Jiang Ruo, if word got back to Jiang Ruo, he would be completely finished.

He shook his head, trembling.

Gu Xiaozhou nodded in confusion. She had a feeling the person in front of her seemed frightened, as if he were being threatened.

After thinking it over carefully, she finally arrived at an answer.

“Did Bingqi come to threaten you?” Gu Xiaozhou declared confidently. “Because you set up those negative trending searches about her before, and she found out!””

Gu Xiaozhou felt her reasoning was sound.

Xu Bingqi had every reason to despise Xiao Hua. Perhaps she had come just now to deliver a warning!

And she, innocent, had been dragged into it! After all, Xu Bingqi had chatted with her earlier, she must have gotten angry suddenly because she remembered Xiao Hua.

My original plan to walk the dog was bound to succeed! After all, Xu Bingqi absolutely adores cats and dogs, and even though he dislikes me, he would likely agree to my request for the sake of the beagle!

As long as I worked hard to make it up to Xu Bingqi, I would surely be forgiven one day!

Unfortunately, everything was ruined by the person in front of me.

Miss Gu narrowed her eyes, feeling that she needed to keep her distance from Xiao Hua standing before her or perhaps secretly plot against Xiao Hua to win favor with Bingqi.

This would be a small, indirect way to make amends to Xu Bingqi.

Xiao Hua had no idea what this person was thinking, but he felt that compared to Jiang Ruo and Xu Bingqi, this person should be the easiest to talk to.

Moreover, the person in front of him didn’t seem to harbor any animosity toward him. Maybe he could beg for this person’s help.

“Please, I beg you, save me!”

Xiao Hua abruptly stood up and tightly grabbed the expensive, ornate sleeve of Gu Xiaozhou.

Just then, the door suddenly swung open.

As soon as Jiang Ruo opened the door, she heard Xiao Hua’s plea for help.

“Sister Xiaozhou, what are you doing here?”

Jiang Ruo curved her lips into a smile, but the warmth didn’t reach her eyes.

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