After Her Death, They Begged for Forgiveness - Chapter 63

Xu Bingqi lowered her gaze to glance at Gu Xiaozhou before turning to Gu Nan. “Could you ask the others to leave? I’d like to speak with Gu Xiaozhou alone.”

She had a vague feeling that Gu Xiaozhou might have regained memories of her past life as well. She needed to clarify how exactly Gu Xiaozhou had recovered those memories.

Gu Nan cast a worried look at her pale-faced daughter. Although her daughter no longer seemed as deranged as before, she couldn’t be sure if this was only temporary. If her daughter were to suddenly lose control again after they left, Xu Bingqi alone might not be able to restrain her.

“Mom, I’m fine now. Please go out for a while.”

Gu Xiaozhou looked exhausted. As she watched Gu Nan and the others slowly leave the room, she gave Xu Bingqi a bitter smile. “Bingqi, what did you want to ask me?”

After regaining her past memories, Gu Xiaozhou finally understood why Xu Bingqi had suddenly changed her attitude toward her.

At this point, she knew all too well that the chances of Xu Bingqi forgiving her were slim.

Moreover, she didn’t deserve Xu Bingqi’s forgiveness.

Just being able to see Xu Bingqi alive and well, with so many fans supporting her, was enough to bring her contentment.

Xu Bingqi kept some distance from Gu Xiaozhou. It had been a long time since the two of them had been alone in the same room, and she felt somewhat uncomfortable asking Gu Xiaozhou such questions so abruptly.

“How did you regain your memories?”

She doubted that Gu Xiaozhou had spontaneously recovered memories of her past life. It was more likely that she had been influenced or provoked in some way.

“I…” Gu Xiaozhou looked at Xu Bingqi, but upon seeing no trace of emotion in her eyes, she lowered her gaze again. “Jiang Ruo had arranged to meet with me. On my way back, it happened.”

“What did the two of you talk about?”

Before coming, Xu Bingqi had indeed suspected that Jiang Ruo might have triggered Gu Xiaozhou’s memory recovery. However, upon further reflection, she couldn’t see how this would benefit Jiang Ruo in any tangible way. There was no reason for Jiang Ruo to stir up unnecessary trouble.

“She told me not to look for Xiao Hua again.”

Gu Xiaozhou thought carefully. “Other than that, she didn’t say anything else. I regained my memories on the way back.”

During their meeting, she and Jiang Ruo had barely been able to stand the sight of each other. Jiang Ruo had warned her to stay away from Xiao Hua, and she had told Jiang Ruo to mind her own business. By the time they parted ways, neither of them had looked pleased.

But on her way back, she had heard a strange, mechanical voice. After the words “Memory restoration loading complete” echoed in her mind, a sudden headache overwhelmed her. She bowed her head, feeling her thoughts grow chaotic as unfamiliar memories flooded her mind, leaving her trapped in confusion.

“Is that all?” Xu Bingqi frowned. “Were there any signs before your memories returned?”

“I just heard a mechanical female voice saying something about ‘memory loading’ or something like that.” As Gu Xiaozhou recalled this, she glanced anxiously at Xu Bingqi, afraid the other woman would think she had truly lost her mind. “That voice is gone now. I just have an extra set of memories.”

Xu Bingqi nodded. “Get some rest.”

Now that she understood the circumstances behind Gu Xiaozhou’s memory recovery, she saw no reason to waste any more time here.

“Bingqi!” Gu Xiaozhou’s face was pale, with fine beads of sweat reappearing on her forehead after being wiped away. “You really did die once, didn’t you?”

Raising her eyes, Gu Xiaozhou could see Xu Bingqi’s cool yet strikingly beautiful features. But the gaze directed at her now held no emotion whatsoever. She found it difficult to connect this expressionless Xu Bingqi with the timid person who used to nervously clutch her sleeve.

The person before her had already died once. All intense emotions seemed to have dissipated like smoke with her rebirth.

Having reached a definitive conclusion, Gu Xiaozhou hesitantly asked another question: “Don’t you hate me?”

When she lacked memories of their past life, she had wondered why Xu Bingqi treated Song Guanjin so much better than her. But after regaining those memories, she realized Xu Bingqi had actually been remarkably gentle with her.

After all, she bore most of the responsibility for Xu Bingqi’s death.

From now on, she wouldn’t have the face to pester Xu Bingqi anymore.

“I don’t hate you now, but I don’t want any further contact with any of you either. I’ve started a new life and don’t wish to dwell on past matters anymore.”

Right after rebirth, memories of her previous life tormented Xu Bingqi constantly. At night, she was even afraid to fall asleep peacefully, because those memories would transform into terrifying nightmares. Waking from these bad dreams, she’d be too frightened to close her eyes again.

It wasn’t until she could sleep holding her cat that she gradually managed to extricate herself from the quagmire of the past. Eventually, she went long periods without dreaming of those events at all.

Xu Bingqi’s demeanor was calm and didn’t seem feigned. After a long silence, Gu Xiaozhou nodded stiffly and said flatly, “That’s good. It’s good that you have a new life.”

“Actually, everything I said before was nonsense. When I called Song Guanjin a vase who seduced you, that was just my prejudice.” She hesitated a moment before continuing, “Really, as long as you can be happy, that’s what matters.”

Gu Xiaozhou had always believed herself far superior to Song Guanjin. She’d even been convinced that Song Guanjin would eventually leave Xu Bingqi. But now she realized she couldn’t compare to Song Guanjin at all.

While she was smugly pleased about successfully framing Xu Bingqi for composition plagiarism, it was Song Guanjin who supported Xu Bingqi through that difficult time.

Xu Bingqi hadn’t expected Gu Xiaozhou to say such things. In her memory, Gu Xiaozhou had always been proud, rarely admitting her mistakes, let alone suddenly changing her attitude toward Song Guanjin, whom she’d always opposed.

Perhaps Gu Xiaozhou truly wouldn’t bother her anymore.

Xu Bingqi nodded with relief. “Thank you for changing your attitude toward Guanjin. I should be going now.”

“Bingqi, I’ve always really liked your compositions.” Tears suddenly fell as Gu Xiaozhou watched Xu Bingqi’s retreating back. “I’m sure you’ll do very well on that music variety show.”

“Thank you.”

Xu Bingqi thanked her politely before leaving Gu Xiaozhou’s room.

As she opened the door, she encountered the lively beagle Douhua. The dog sniffed around Xu Bingqi, then grabbed the hem of her pants with its mouth, trying to get her to take it for a walk.

Its owner had suddenly started shouting even louder than it could bark, making it hopeless to expect her for a walk. Being afraid of Gu Nan, the dog could only turn to this person it had met once before for help.

It had observed carefully  this person definitely had the potential to be a patient dog owner too.

Doughua was engrossed in tugging at Xu Bingqi’s pant leg when suddenly, a gentle and pleasant voice sounded from above: “Good girl, Gu Xiaozhou is all better now. Once she changes her clothes, she’ll take you for a walk.”

Doughua froze for a moment, then dashed into Gu Xiaozhou’s room with a series of excited barks, circling around her and trying to pull the bewildered Gu Xiaozhou off the bed.

Doughua thought that Gu Xiaozhou must have been acting strange because she hadn’t been getting enough exercise from walks. She was determined to make sure Gu Xiaozhou went on more walks in the future, striving to make her as sunny and healthy as herself.

Xu Bingqi felt a twinge of guilt. Before leaving, Song Guanjin had warned her not to pet any cats or dogs and had even provided a blacklist of local pets, which included a long list of animals Xu Bingqi knew Doughua’s name was among them.

Cats have extremely sensitive noses, and while Doughua was tugging at her pant leg, Xu Bingqi hesitated for a moment before deciding to free herself from the dog’s persistence.

Besides, Gu Xiaozhou was still resting in bed. There was no way Doughua could actually get her up for a walk, right?

“Stop barking. I’ll take you out once I change my clothes.”

Amid the chorus of barks, Xu Bingqi faintly heard Gu Xiaozhou’s resigned voice.

Is this the power of endurance?

Xu Bingqi didn’t understand, but she was utterly astonished. As she stepped out, she ran into Gu Nan, who looked anxious: “Bingqi, how is Xiaozhou doing now?”

“She seems fine,” Xu Bingqi replied truthfully. “She’s getting ready to walk the dog.”

After returning, Xu Bingqi threw herself into her work.

She had a feeling that, aside from video calls with the cat, she wouldn’t be able to get anything else done that evening.

Although the cat had confidently assured her, “Don’t worry, sis. You can work while we video chat, and I won’t keep you on for too long.”

But reality confirmed Xu Bingqi’s premonition.

The moment the video call connected, Xu Bingqi nearly dropped her phone.

“You, why are you dressed like that already!”

Completely unprepared, Xu Bingqi was met with a stunning view on the screen.

“I’m doing this for you, sis,” Song Guanjin’s shoulder strap hung precariously below her collarbone, her fair skin glowing like pearls under the light. “Dressing like this now saves the step of changing later. Or perhaps you’d rather watch me change?”

“No.”

Xu Bingqi steadied her phone. After the initial shock, her gaze was firmly fixed on Song Guanjin, unable to look away.

Song Guanjin’s lace camisole dress outlined her slender back, and as she turned, her shoulder blades were faintly visible beneath the fabric. The ends of her hair partially concealed her exposed waist.

Xu Bingqi’s eyes lingered on Song Guanjin’s slender waist her skin as delicate and fair as snow, seemingly soft enough to squeeze water from, rising and falling gently with her breath like the rippling surface of a moonlit lake. A thin silver chain adorned her waist, with a small bell dangling from it, swaying softly with her movements.

“Sis, do I look good?”

The air suddenly grew thick. Xu Bingqi’s breathing quickened slightly, and after a moment, she nodded. “Yes, you look beautiful.”

“You’re just brushing me off,” the cat-like girl turned away discontentedly, her delicate lower back dimples resembling shells embedded in snow-white skin, the subtle curves perfectly indented. “You can’t even say which part looks good.”

She needed to know which part of her body captivated her sister more, so she could shop for future clothes more strategically.

“Everything looks beautiful.”

Xu Bingqi suppressed the nearly uncontrollable desire churning within her: “I love it all.”

She had always believed her life was dreadfully dull and that she would never be passionate about matters of love. But the burning desire now roiling in her chest told her she wasn’t as composed as she’d imagined.

Yet every faint chime from the swaying diamond-dusted chain with its tiny bell at the cat girl’s waist seemed to resonate directly in her heart.

Xu Bingqi had often been trapped in the quagmire of past nightmares, unable to free herself. But this night, she was ensnared in a different kind of dream from which she couldn’t break away.

Disordered garments lay scattered on the floor beside the bed, among which a small bell could be seen faintly shaking, emitting a delightful chime before falling silent again.

Her fingertips finally touched Song Guanjin’s skin as desired, the warm, hurried breaths causing the cat-like girl to shiver as if electrified.

When her palm covered the slender waist, her thumb unconsciously caressed the soft flesh at its side, immediately drawing out Song Guanjin’s suppressed, escaping gasp. Just as Xu Bingqi hurriedly tried to withdraw her hand, the cat girl instead clasped her wrist and guided it back to press against the waist dimple.

Fine beads of sweat formed in Song Guanjin’s lower back hollows, glistening droplets gathering along the curved indentation, rising and falling with each rapid breath.

Xu Bingqi lowered her head and kissed that moist hollow, causing Song Guanjin’s body to begin trembling gently. Fragmented moans and whimpers filled the room, sounding more melodious to Xu Bingqi’s ears than any musical composition she had ever created.

“So delightful to hear.”

Xu Bingqi sighed contentedly, her teeth continuing to gently graze the delicate skin until the bell on the floor chimed again, making her realize what had truly happened.

It was all just a dream.

She had actually had such a wanton dream.

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