After Her Death, They Begged for Forgiveness - Chapter 68

As New Year’s Eve drew closer, the cat asked eight hundred times a day whether her sister would come.

[Sister, are you sure you’ll come on New Year’s Eve?]

[Don’t worry, I will.]

Under the spotlight on the set, Song Guanjin lowered her gaze to her phone, her lips curling into an uncontrollable smile. The director glanced at her a few times, unsure whether she had encountered good news or was relieving stress from filming in this way.

After all, every time during breaks, Song Guanjin would inexplicably break into such a honey-sweet smile.

The director patted her shoulder discreetly. “Did you win the lottery or fall in love recently?”

Song Guanjin was still smiling as she stared at the message from her sister. “Not yet.”

Not yet?

“You should keep a low profile then,” the director sighed, only to hear Song Guanjin ask, “Is the lottery hard to win?”

The cat knew nothing about the lottery and found it strange why humans placed such high hopes on it as a way to make money.

It would be better to spend the money on clothes that would make both her and her sister happy.

Last night, her sister had even asked her to take off the clothes to show the details up close and had stared at the video call screen for a long time. This was enough proof that her taste in clothing was excellent.

“It really is hard to win,” the director sighed. “I’ve been buying lottery tickets for over ten years, and the most I’ve ever won was a few thousand yuan.”

Snapping out of her sweet reverie, the cat looked at the director in shock. “A few thousand yuan? You can earn thousands with just a few yuan?”

No wonder so many people buy lottery tickets, the cat thought, suddenly enlightened. This really is a great way to make money!

A moment later, Song Guanjin declared firmly, “I’m going to buy a lottery ticket.”

All cats are opportunists, and Song Guanjin was no exception.

The truth was, part of the money she had earned earlier had been squandered by herself, another part had been put into a fixed deposit on her sister’s advice, and the rest was reserved for buying gifts for her sister. On top of that, she kept buying new clothes. If it weren’t for the crew providing meals, she would even have trouble affording food.

But she didn’t dare tell her sister, afraid of leaving a bad impression of being unable to save money.

The director stared in shock at the lead actress, whose thought process was clearly different from that of a normal person, sensing that she seemed to be in dire need of money.

But that couldn’t be right, how could an actress be so short on cash that her eyes would light up at the mention of a few thousand yuan?

Maybe she just enjoyed the thrill of the lottery draw?

The director had only been making small talk with Song Guanjin, and after pondering for a moment, he didn’t think much more of it.

But after filming wrapped up in the afternoon, Song Guanjin didn’t head straight back to the hotel. Instead, she rushed to buy a scratch card.

The reason was simple: scratch cards were the only lottery she could understand. Other types were still too complicated for a cat.

The cat scratched the card confidently.

As a centuries-old cat demon who had cultivated her energy, how could she fail to win a mere few thousand yuan?

Song Guanjin scratched one card with confidence!

A loss of 30 yuan.

Perhaps this was just a test of her luck, so she scratched another!

Another loss of 30 yuan.

Third time’s the charm!

Yet another loss of 30 yuan.

Song Guanjin stared at the balance of less than one hundred yuan in her card, realizing she couldn’t keep scraping by like this.

If she continued, she wouldn’t even have enough money for a taxi back to the hotel.

But she didn’t want to withdraw money from her fixed deposit either.

Damn it! So buying lottery tickets really wasn’t a good way to get rich! She’d better just focus on acting obediently.

In the end, Song Guanjin didn’t take a taxi but trudged dejectedly back to the hotel on foot.

The walk took a full hour.

Well, at least the film crew provided meals, so she wouldn’t starve anytime soon, Song Guanjin kept comforting herself.

Even if the crew started their holiday before New Year’s Eve, she could always turn into a cat and rummage through trash bins. With modern waste sorting systems, finding food would be quite convenient.

The company should give year-end bonuses to artists too – she just needed to tough it out until then.

The cat-like girl kept reassuring herself until she spotted a familiar figure in the hotel lobby upon returning.

The middle-aged woman had fine wrinkles around her eyes that were slightly noticeable under the light. Her sharp, cool features somewhat resembled Xu Bingqi’s, but she carried an undeniable aura of authority.

The cat-like girl glanced briefly and was intercepted as she passed by the woman.

“You’re Song Guanjin, right?” Xu Qingci subtly examined Song Guanjin from head to toe: “Can we talk?”

Song Guanjin shook her head honestly: “No.”

She had to video call her sister tonight – she needed to shower in advance, pick out nice clothes to wear, and then make the video call.

“It won’t take much of your time.”

Xu Qingci felt slightly displeased but maintained a calm tone: “Perhaps you don’t know who I am yet?”

“Exactly because I know who you are that I don’t want to talk.” Song Guanjin didn’t understand why Xu Qingci had suddenly approached her, but she still shook her head: “There’s nothing for us to discuss.”

She was on her sister’s side and must firmly draw boundaries with Xu Qingci!

Xu Qingci watched Song Guanjin silently before extending a card: “Will you talk if you accept this?”

She had noticed Song Guanjin’s severely worn-out shoes, clearly indicating she had walked a long distance.

Choosing to walk such a long way instead of taking a taxi suggested Song Guanjin had little savings and would likely be easily swayed by money.

But Song Guanjin had no parents and lived alone – she shouldn’t have many expenses. How could she have no savings? Or was she just extremely frugal?

Moreover, she hadn’t found any evidence of bad habits like gambling in Song Guanjin’s records.

Xu Qingci’s gaze drifted from Song Guanjin’s shoes back to her person, suddenly feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

She averted her eyes: “Forget it, just take it.”

Xu Qingci felt her daughter didn’t care much about Song Guanjin either, allowing her to walk around in such worn shoes.

She was even beginning to doubt why Jiang Ruo and Gu Xiaozhou were so convinced that Xu Bingqi liked Song Guanjin.

Song Guanjin widened her jade-green eyes staring at Xu Qingci.

Probably in about three seconds, Xu Qingci would deliver that line she knew so well, right?

Song Guanjin had already mentally rehearsed it countless times: “Here’s five million – leave my daughter immediately!”

Seeing it for yourself is better than hearing a hundred times – she was finally going to experience this classic scene herself!

Song Guanjin had already rehearsed a domineering rebuttal in her mind. As soon as this human in front of her uttered those words, she was ready to deliver an immersive and satisfying performance!

Xu Qingci felt puzzled by Song Guanjin’s gaze. She thought carefully for a while but still couldn’t figure it out. “What do you want to say?”

Why did she sense a hint of anticipation and fighting spirit in Song Guanjin’s eyes?

Song Guanjin shook her head. “You have to say it first before I can respond.”

If Xu Qingci didn’t deliver the classic line, how could she launch a well-reasoned rebuttal?

The kitten even straightened her collar in advance, then straightened her posture and elegantly lifted her swan-like neck.

Xu Qingci grew even more confused. “I have to say it first? Say what?”

Am I getting old? Am I falling behind the trends of the younger generation? Why can’t I understand a single word Song Guanjin is saying?

“Aren’t you going to say it?” Song Guanjin also began to feel bewildered. “Shouldn’t you say, ‘Here’s five million, leave my daughter?’”

After these words were spoken, both of them fell silent for a moment.

Xu Qingci even began to seriously doubt Jiang Ruo’s words. Jiang Ruo had described Song Guanjin as unfathomably cunning, but she felt that Song Guanjin was, in fact, exceptionally naive.

It seemed Gu Xiaozhou’s description of Song Guanjin was more accurate.

“Why would I say that?” Xu Qingci paused before speaking, her tone tinged with a hint of pity. “I just wanted to chat with you.”

The kitten’s excitement instantly vanished. “What do we have to talk about?”

She suspected Xu Qingci was simply bored, but she still had a video call with her sister later. Time spent chatting with her sister was far more precious than time spent with Xu Qingci.

“We could talk about Bingqi,” Xu Qingci continued, maintaining her gesture of holding out the card. “Take it.”

Song Guanjin shook her head and took a few steps back. “I won’t reveal my sister’s privacy.”

“And I’ll tell my sister about you coming to see me,” Song Guanjin added, immediately straightening her posture with confidence. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. I’ve already figured it out.”

“You’re trying to bribe me indirectly. You want to buy me off with money, so I’ll say nice things about you to my sister like.” The kitten thought for a moment, recalling human terminology, then confidently added, “Like blowing the pillow wind!”

“Even if I had to scavenge from the trash, I wouldn’t be bought off!”

After firmly declaring this, Song Guanjin lifted her head, straightened her chest, and strode away, leaving a bewildered Xu Qingci behind.

She would never stoop to something like blowing the pillow wind. Besides, she would complain to her sister later and make sure her sister stayed vigilant too!

Xu Qingci stood in the hotel lobby, dazed for a moment, confused by how the situation had unfolded.

Moreover, when interacting with others, she usually held the initiative, but when communicating with Song Guanjin, she had been led by the nose the entire time.

And this was despite Song Guanjin appearing so naive.

On top of that, what was that about blowing the pillow wind?

Was it that she didn’t understand the meaning of the phrase, or was it Song Guanjin who didn’t understand?

It wasn’t until her phone rang that Xu Qingci snapped out of her daze and answered Gu Nan’s call.

“Finished? How did it go?”

Xu Qingci thought for a moment: “We barely talked about anything.”

“What’s she like?”

After a brief silence, Xu Qingci replied honestly: “She’s a bit strange. When she was talking to me, I felt like she was either acting out of professional habit as an actress, or her imagination was just too vivid.”

–

The ringtone of a video call echoed through the room.

Water from the showerhead splashed against the tiles in fine droplets as Song Guanjin, her fingertips still wet, swiped across her phone screen. The steamy mist blurred her flushed cheeks.

“Looks like I’ve saved the time needed to get dressed.”

Amid the citrus-scented steam filling the bathroom, Song Guanjin hurriedly dried her fingers and answered the video call from her sister.

Originally, this was the time when Song Guanjin would have her usual video call with her sister. After Xu Bingqi had finished a video call with her cat, it took a moment before the call was finally connected.

As soon as the video call went through, Xu Bingqi caught sight of water droplets tracing a path along Song Guanjin’s waistline before disappearing into the towel.

Xu Bingqi hesitated for a moment, resisting the urge to hang up, and instead asked tentatively, “Maybe we should wait until you’re done showering to talk?”

“No need, I’m almost finished.”

Song Guanjin’s emerald-green eyes shimmered in the steam as she leaned against the fogged-up glass door and chuckled softly. “It’s a shame you’re not here with me, sister. You can’t smell the fragrance on me right now.”

A soft sigh escaped Xu Bingqi’s lips. After a moment, she lifted a trembling hand to partially cover the phone screen.

“Sister, I can’t see you anymore.”

Song Guanjin pouted as she spoke, her fingers teasingly tugging at the loose knot of the towel’s tie and undoing it.

The video call ended abruptly.

A mischievous glint flickered in the cat-like green eyes as she casually picked up the towel that had fallen to the floor, paying no mind to the water droplets still tracing paths along her collarbone. “At least sister got to see me.”

After hanging up, Xu Bingqi’s heart continued to pound fiercely against her ribs.

Her breathing was completely erratic, but as she clutched her phone tightly, a wave of regret washed over her.

Xu Bingqi didn’t dare dwell on why she felt such regret.

After a long daze, Song Guanjin called again via video.

Xu Bingqi hesitated for a moment before finally answering.

“Sister, you’re too timid. I wasn’t even scared.”

Song Guanjin complained nonchalantly, “I thought you’d be pleased. If you didn’t want to keep watching, does that mean you don’t like me?”

“No, it’s just…”

Xu Bingqi thought for a long time but couldn’t find the words to finish her sentence. Instead, she changed the subject: “You’re usually dressed by this time. Why are you still in the shower today?”

Song Guanjin’s jade-green eyes shifted thoughtfully, and she immediately decided to tattle: “Because I ran into Xu Qingci, and she tried to bribe me!”

“Bribe you?”

“It was absolutely despicable! I sternly refused right away!”

Xu Bingqi paused. “It’s fine. Just ignore her next time.”

“Of course.” The cat-like girl boasted proudly, “The whole thing took less than ten minutes. I just walked away. I thought she might threaten me, but she tried to bribe me instead.”

“Less than ten minutes?”

Xu Bingqi quickly seized on the key point: “What were you doing the rest of the time?”

Song Guanjin fell into an uncharacteristic silence.

If she told her sister that she had bought scratch-off lottery tickets and lost 90 yuan, would her sister think she was foolish?

Song Guanjin suddenly fell silent, making Xu Bingqi a bit uneasy. “Did something happen?”

“If I tell you, can you promise not to laugh at me or scold me?”

After receiving Xu Bingqi’s assurance, the cat demon said sheepishly, “I went to buy scratch-off lottery tickets.”

Song Guanjin didn’t mention whether she had won anything, but Xu Bingqi already understood.

If she had actually won, the proud cat demon would have bragged about it immediately.

“It’s okay,” Xu Bingqi said, not quite understanding why this was something to be laughed at. “It’s perfectly normal.”

But after they finished their conversation and hung up, Xu Bingqi finally realized why the cat was so afraid.

She came across the cat’s post: “I’m broke any ideas for making some extra cash?”

This girl really treats netizens as all-around advisors.

Xu Bingqi sighed, transferred some money to the cat, and then turned off her phone.

Support