After My Death, Everyone Repented (Transmigration) - Chapter 12

Terminal cancer, with all its symptoms glaringly apparent, none of which had been present before had abruptly invaded Xie Shaoyun’s body just days ago.

She hadn’t even had an adjustment period for the illness. Suddenly, her bones ached with cold, the urge to vomit was overwhelming, and the tissue she pressed to her mouth came away stained bright red with blood.

Walking into the hospital restroom, the row of mirrors above the sinks reflected a version of herself in terrible condition.

Xie Shaoyun realized she could no longer show up in the ward to shield Damei from the scolding of Professor Xie and his wife.

Her heart was willing, but her body was not. She wouldn’t force herself.

Leaving the obstetrics ward, Xie Shaoyun called Damei to check in.

On the other end of the line, Damei’s mood was still grim, but she no longer had the energy for self-blame. Xie Guangqi was planning to have Jian Qing’s injuries assessed, and once the results were in, he intended to sue Twilight Studio. A series of civil investigations would follow, all targeting Damei.

Damei forced a laugh and told Xie Shaoyun not to worry.

Xie Shaoyun sighed. “Are you sure you can handle this? If it gets too hard, I’ll talk to him later.”

“Don’t,” Damei said firmly. “Stay out of this. From start to finish, it has nothing to do with you. Your dad doesn’t even know we’re colleagues, or that you were at the scene. So just pretend today never happened, that you never saw Jian Qing, understand?”

Damei had never quite understood why, at every tattoo exhibition where Xie Shaoyun won awards, her family’s seats were always empty, why it was never her parents but Chi Yi who showed up drunk to take her home.

But now, after what happened in the ward, she finally got it.

Three minutes earlier, in Jian Qing’s hospital room:

Feng Cinian took off her silk scarf and draped it around Jian Qing’s neck, then held her hand, murmuring questions, what kind of soup did she want to drink? Was she in pain? The lost child meant they weren’t fated to be mother and son, but there would be better chances in the future… and so on, a litany of doting, maternal reassurances.

Xie Guangqi, though silent, paced back and forth, pulling strings and calling in favors, determined to make Twilight Studio pay for causing Jian Qing’s miscarriage. The looks he shot Damei were practically murderous.

And that wasn’t all. A minute later, Chi Yi knocked on the door.

Professor Xie’s first words were: “Why are you alone? Where’s Xie Shaoyun? Jian Qing is hospitalized after a miscarriage, how dare she not come to see her??”

Damei was stunned. My God, is Xie Shaoyun even their biological daughter?

Over the years, Xie Shaoyun rarely spoke of her family. Despite their long friendship, Damei had never met Xie Shaoyun’s parents not when she won top honors at tattoo exhibitions, not even when she got drunk at bars. Her parents were never there.

Damei had assumed their relationship was simply strained. But now it was clear: the two professors had their hearts skewed in the wrong direction.

Thankfully, Xie Shaoyun hadn’t been present when her parents arrived. If they’d crossed paths, and if they’d found out Damei and Xie Shaoyun were business partners,who knew what kind of scene that would’ve caused?

Damei never mentioned Xie Shaoyun. Strangely, Jian Qing didn’t bring up her visit either. Even when Professor Xie asked Chi Yi where Xie Shaoyun was, Chi Yi simply called the hospital director, arranged for Jian Qing to be moved to a VIP ward, then took a folder from her assistant and said, “She’s busy.”

With that, Chi Yi placed a pack of sterile pads on the bed and left.

No one present mentioned that Xie Shaojun was also at the hospital. Damei felt that since things had come to this, it was best not to bring it up again. The mistake was hers alone, and there was no need to drag her sisters into a confrontation with their biased parents.

“Our tattoo studio has been operating for years now. In terms of industry standing, we may not boast the top spot, but we’re definitely second. Over the years, I’ve built up a solid network of connections. I’ll take responsibility for the administrative penalties and pay whatever compensation Jian Qing demands. But as for shutting down the studio? Your father doesn’t have that kind of power.”

Damei said she could handle it, so Xie Shaojun didn’t press further.

Leaning against the wall, she coughed up a few mouthfuls of blood. Her condition was far from ideal. After a brief exchange, she hung up the phone and headed to the neighboring ward to find the oncology department head.

A broken bone takes a hundred days to heal, and Xie Shaojun’s condition required even more rest. Between the blood she coughed up and the dizziness, she left the hospital with painkillers and slept soundly at home for two full days.

By the third day, she had regained some energy and went straight back to work at the studio.

When Xie Shaojun walked in, the receptionist Xiao Cui put down her game console and greeted her sarcastically, “Oh, look who’s here.”

“Watch your tone. No respect at all aren’t you afraid I’ll dock your pay?” Xie Shaojun snatched the Tetris game from her hands and clicked her tongue.

“Dock it then. It’ll just end up in your and Damei’s pockets anyway. We’re family, talking about money hurts feelings.”

Xiao Cui grinned shamelessly and sidled up to her, leaving Xie Shaojun momentarily speechless.

Several clients with appointments were already waiting outside. Rolling up her sleeves, Xie Shaojun called the first one in and turned toward her tattoo room.

But Xiao Cui’s sharp eyes caught sight of her slender arms.

With a mix of shock and concern, she exclaimed, “Jun-jie, seriously? You’re not even that thin, why are your arms as skinny as twigs?”

Xie Shaojun swatted her hand away without even looking up. “Nonsense. This is called malnutrition, got it? Since you’ve noticed, why don’t you hurry up and buy me some breakfast?”

Xiao Cui groaned dramatically but dashed off faster than anyone, promising to get Xie Shaojun a beef noodle soup extra beef for muscle gain.

Xie Shaojun: “…”

At three in the afternoon, Xie Guangqi called Xie Shaojun, telling her to come home for dinner.

With her assistant holding the phone to her ear, the receiver tickled slightly. Xie Shaojun replied, “Go home? I’m busy right now.”

On the other end of the line, Xie Guangqi suppressed his anger and didn’t scold her. “What? Do Mom and I have to beg you just to come home for a meal now?”

Xie Shaojun clicked her tongue and retorted, “This isn’t just a normal meal it’s a setup. Don’t think I don’t know. You’re not really calling me back for dinner, you’ve probably already found an excuse to hit me.”

A brief silence followed on the other end. After a pause, Xie Guangqi’s tone softened slightly, tinged with hurt. “We weren’t planning to hit you. What kind of unreasonable people do you think your mother and I are? You haven’t even done anything wrong lately.”

At this point, Xie Shaojun belatedly realized that Xie Guangqi didn’t know, no one had told him that she had been present the day Jian Qing miscarried.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be speaking to her like this.

While she was still processing this, Xie Guangqi’s voice grew even gentler. “Today’s your birthday. Did you forget?”

There was no way to refuse that. With no other excuse, Xie Shaojun had no choice but to agree.

Damei didn’t come to the studio all day.

Having skipped work for the past few days, Xie Shaojun had fallen behind on a lot of tasks. Once she got busy, she forgot to call Damei and ask how the complaint from Xie Guangqi had been resolved.

The Xie family had a tradition where all members would gather together to celebrate birthdays with a shared meal.

Xie Shaojun stood at the door, and it was Jian Qing who answered.

“Discharged from the hospital?” Xie Shaojun gave her a once-over. Aside from her slightly pale lips, Jian Qing looked no different from usual.

“You never came to visit me, so I had no choice but to check myself out.”

Not giving Xie Shaojun a chance to retort, Jian Qing added, “My dad left a house at Bihu Bay, but Auntie wasn’t comfortable with me staying alone during my recovery, so she insisted I stay here for a couple of days.”

Xie Shaojun hummed in acknowledgment. “No need to explain that to me. Stay if you want.”

Jian Qing curved her lips into a smile, looking genuinely pleased as she stared straight at Xie Shaojun, her gaze sticky and lingering. Xie Shaojun was thoroughly annoyed.

Seeing her blocking the doorway like a statue, Xie Shaojun asked impatiently, “Anything else?”

Jian Qing hummed again, fishing a necklace from her pocket. Her slender fingers played with the thin 95k silver chain as it slipped from her palm, a handmade skull pendant dangling at the end.

Xie Shaojun lowered her lashes as Jian Qing said, “Returning this. You left it in the delivery room last time.”

“It was always yours anyway. Consider it returned to its rightful owner.” Xie Shaojun didn’t take it, nor did she see Jian Qing’s surprised expression.

Without sparing her another glance, Xie Shaojun shoved her aside. “Stop blocking my way. Move!”

Xie Guangqi was feeding fish in the living room when he heard Xie Shaojun’s sharp tone with Jian Qing from afar. He called her over.

“It’s your birthday today. Tell your mom what you’d like to eat.”

Xie Shaojun smirked, eyeing his prized aquarium. “I want fish.”

Xie Guangqi resisted the urge to hit her, though his hand trembled slightly, scattering extra fish food into the tank.

“Where’s Xiao Chi?” Xie Guangqi asked.

“She’s not coming.”

“On a business trip?” Xie Guangqi said. “Young people should be ambitious. You should be more understanding.”

Xie Shaojun didn’t respond, debating whether to clue Xie Guangqi in about the divorce to stop him from bothering Chi Yi over every little thing involving Jian Qing.

But then again, if Chi Yi was running around for Jian Qing’s sake, wasn’t that just creating more opportunities for them to bond? The thought made Xie Shaojun lower her eyelids as she silently sipped a bland glass of milk.

“You used to swear you’d never drink milk, saying it was tasteless.”

Well, I’m about to die, aren’t I? Xie Shaojun thought.

Xie Guangqi, whether due to old age or to make up for Xie Shaojun’s earlier jabs, kept rambling.

Unable to take it anymore, Xie Shaojun walked over with her milk, patted Xie Guangqi on the shoulder, and said, “Old Xie, I’m going through a growth spurt. Need the calcium.”

Xie Guangqi: “…”

His lips twitched as he held back from scolding his insolent little brat. But in the end, seeing how sharp Xie Shaojun’s chin had become, he swallowed his words.