After My Death, Everyone Repented (Transmigration) - Chapter 29

After Chi Yi left, Xie Shaoyun discussed her night diving experience with the instructor.

Not long after, she heard someone calling her from behind.

Xie Shaoyun turned her head to look.

From a distance, Yu Hua and Xie Zangxing approached one after the other. Xie Shaoyun glanced behind them, Chi Yi was nowhere to be seen in the night.

For some reason, a fleeting but entirely unwarranted worry crossed her mind.

Sri Lanka at night wasn’t the safest place, and a woman walking alone along the harbor without company could be in danger.

When Xie Zangxing got closer, she told Xie Shaoyun that she had been worried about her safety. Xie Shaoyun couldn’t help but glare at her: “You’ve got too much time on your hands. If there really was danger, all of you would be relying on me for protection.”

She wasn’t exaggerating. After waking up from the car accident, due to her limbs being uncoordinated, Xie Shaoyun had taken up judo and earned a rank once she recovered enough to walk normally.

Last year, Feng Qianqian had even installed a punching bag in Xie Shaoyun’s bedroom. Xie Zangxing couldn’t quite understand her sister’s fascination with such a physically demanding hobby, especially when a stunning beauty like her would collapse, panting exhaustedly after a session.

Xie Shaoyun was in a bad mood and just stared at her with puppy-dog eyes, saying nothing.

Unable to withstand the silent treatment, Xie Zangxing finally admitted, “Chi Yi asked me to come.”

Xie Shaoyun lifted her eyelids and asked abruptly, “Didn’t I tell you to keep an eye on her?”

There was a hint of blame in her tone, which made Xie Zangxing give her a long look.

Xie Shaoyun countered, “Aren’t you worried Chi Yi might do something reckless tonight?”

“Stop worrying. For a long time to come, she won’t be having any suicidal thoughts.”

Xie Zangxing’s tone was firm, she had conducted a thorough psychological hypnosis session on Chi Yi that afternoon.

Xie Shaoyun looked at her, silent for a long moment, and didn’t press further.

Dr. Xie had an authoritative track record in her field. With over a decade of experience, she had never misdiagnosed a single patient with psychological disorders.

After a moment of contemplation, Xie Shaoyun lowered her gaze and dropped the subject.

They went back to the dive shop to change and collect their deposit.

While Yu Hua exchanged vouchers with the shop owner, Xie Shaoyun changed and waited outside with Xie Zangxing.

A finely packaged white velvet box, tied with a lace ribbon, was suddenly held out in front of her.

Inside was likely a Swiss women’s watch.

Xie Zangxing handed it to Xie Shaoyun.

Xie Shaoyun didn’t take it, instead raising an eyebrow at her sister.

Xie Zangxing sighed and said, “It’s from Chi Yi.”

“However you got it, take it back the same way.”

“I told her to give it to you herself, but she just left it and walked away. She said she’s been imposing on you a lot lately and wanted to apologize. She promised not to do it again.” Xie Zangxing then changed the subject, asking, “What did she do to you?”

Xie Shaoyun shot her a sidelong glance and corrected her, “You should be asking what I did to her.”

Hearing this, Xie Zangxing visibly relaxed, as if she had been wary of Xie Shaoyun getting involved with Chi Yi.

Just as she seemed about to offer a warning, Xie Shaoyun nudged her arm and said, “Watch your words. Yu Hua’s coming over. don’t joke around.”

Xie Zangxing: “…?”

“Yu Hua had a crush on Chi Yi in college. She wants to pursue her.” Though Xie Shaoyun said this casually, she found her throat oddly dry as the words left her mouth.

She wasn’t as unaffected as she’d thought. Maybe Xie Shaoyun had never been that carefree to begin with.

Since learning that Yu Hua liked Chi Yi and was planning to pursue her, Xie Shaojun had been overwhelmed by a wave of melancholy emotions tonight displeasure, anger, and a lingering sense of frustration.

But above all these emotions, Xie Shaojun wished she could be more fearless.

Just as she could switch hobbies without hesitation, she wasn’t the type to hold onto feelings for long. So she shouldn’t soften toward Chi Yi, no matter what had happened between them in the past, good or bad. She shouldn’t look back.

So she didn’t bring it up again. Instead, she waited until Yu Hua reached the doorway, then casually brushed the dust off her bohemian skirt and greeted her as if nothing was wrong.

The car was waiting at the intersection. As they walked toward it, Xie Shaojun quietly told Xie Zangxing to return the gift.

Xie Zangxing frowned. “You can’t just return a gift once it’s given. How would that make Chi Yi look?”

“It’s not about appearances,” Xie Shaojun said. “An eighty or ninety-thousand-dollar watch, there’s no reason for her to give that to me. Tell her we’re not close enough for that.”

“How do you know it’s an eighty or ninety-thousand-dollar watch?” Xie Zangxing asked, eyeing the unopened package.

Xie Shaojun glanced down, her steps faltering slightly before she fell silent.

There was no way to answer that. Xie Shaojun wasn’t good at pretending to be a stranger, pretending to be oblivious, pretending to have forgotten.

Because she had already regained her memories. All those years with Chi Yi, every moment, good or bad, couldn’t simply be erased.

Her relationship with Chi Yi had been tangled with systems, family, missions, and the bitterness between a task-taker and a strategist.

But Chi Yi hadn’t just brought her bitterness, there had been sweetness too, an undeniable duality that coexisted.

So, in Xie Shaojun’s memories, Chi Yi would always occupy a certain space, unavoidable.

Which was why, even without looking, Xie Shaojun could already picture the gift in her mind.

She even knew that Chi Yi hadn’t picked it out herself.

For business dealings and social obligations, Chi Yi often found herself in situations where gifts were necessary.

This kind of custom-wrapped watch set was usually selected by her secretary. Secretary Wang had good taste, tailoring each watch to the recipient’s age, preferences, and style whether it was for a business partner, a cousin, or some other unimportant acquaintance.

Chi Yi’s gifts were always the same uninspired Swiss watches.

Except for Xie Shaojun.

But now, she too had been relegated to the ranks of the unimportant.

Xie Shaojun thought that was fine. It made it easier to walk away without looking back.

On the day she left Sri Lanka, Xie Shaojun no longer felt much resistance.

She didn’t have many friends here. The only one she’d grown close to was the dolphin, but as Feng Qianqian had said, a dolphin could have three caretakers at once.

After saying her final goodbye to Blue Sky at the zoo, Xie Shaojun brought fried chicken and milk tea for her coworkers.

When it was time to leave, Jim tried to hug her, but Xie Shaojun refused. Instead, she told him in Sinhala that she liked them all very much, but for certain reasons, physical contact would cause her harm.

Jim understood. He walked her to the zoo entrance, his face full of reluctance.

In the car, Feng Qianqian laughed. “Sweetheart, with a personality like yours, have you ever actually fought with anyone?”

Xie Shaojun stretched her long legs. “Plenty. Too many to count.”

Feng Qianqian expressed disbelief.

Xie Shaojun leaned against Feng Qianqian’s shoulder and softly called her “Mom”: “I can’t make everyone like me. Don’t set your expectations for me so high.”

Feng Qianqian turned to face her and called Xie Shaojun by her childhood nickname.

“Good Luck,” Feng Qianqian said. “Mom asked you to come home with me. Are you unhappy?”

Xie Shaojun met her mother’s gaze briefly before looking away, mumbling, “It’s fine.”

“I’ve been waiting for you to say it yourself ‘I’m unhappy.’ But you never did. Is it because you were afraid Mom would be disappointed or blame you?”

The driver glanced at the mother and daughter in the rearview mirror, but Feng Qianqian didn’t stop talking. Her tone was gentle, and the look in her eyes held a tenderness Xie Shaojun couldn’t quite decipher.

Xie Shaojun feigned ignorance. “Mom, what are you talking about? I don’t understand.”

Feng Qianqian didn’t let her brush it off.

Her voice was soft as she said, “On your first New Year after waking up, Dad gave you lucky money, and you said thank you.”

“You stopped celebrating birthdays. Last year, your sister gave you a skull necklace, and you tucked it away in the deepest drawer of your vanity.”

“Six months ago, you said you wanted to see the ocean. No one objected, and you went. But I felt like you didn’t plan on coming back.”

Feng Qianqian gently touched Xie Shaojun’s downturned, puppy-like eyes and asked softly, “Little one, what happened?”

Xie Shaojun couldn’t keep up the act any longer. Her eyes burned with unshed tears, so she buried her face in Feng Qianqian’s embrace, inhaling her mother’s scent deeply.

Feng Qianqian didn’t press for an explanation. She simply patted Xie Shaojun’s back intermittently, comforting her like a child. “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk. You have your dad, mom, and sister. None of us dislike you.”

“Those who don’t like you are simply narrow-minded. Understand?”

Xie Shaojun hugged Feng Qianqian tightly, choking back a sob. “I understand.”

Then she clutched her mother’s clothes with both hands, burying herself deeper in her embrace and closing her eyes.

Xie Shaojun thought that maybe she wasn’t so unlucky after all she had always lived in a family like this.

As for Xie Guangqi, Feng Cinian, and Jian Qing, they would become nothing more than strangers in her life.

After getting out of the car, Feng Qianqian bought Xie Shaojun a slice of cake. But perhaps the cream was too rich, or maybe it was because, over the years, Xie Shaojun had grown accustomed to the strawberry velvet cakes Chi Yi specially ordered for her from Beicheng.

Her tastes had been spoiled. Sitting at the airport, she poked at the cream and said to Feng Qianqian, “I’m already twenty-seven. Why am I still eating this?”

Feng Qianqian ignored her completely. “What’s wrong with being twenty-seven? You were just crying in your mom’s arms.”

There was no comeback to that. Xie Shaojun glared at her, then wheeled her luggage toward the boarding gate.

But then, in the departure lounge, they ran into Xie Guangqi and Feng Cinian, who was in a wheelchair.

The two were dressed plainly. Xie Guangqi’s back was slightly hunched, no longer as upright as before, while Feng Cinian had her legs in casts, seated in the wheelchair.

One stood while the other sat as they passed through security.

Feng Cinian spotted Xie Shaojun first. Her expression faltered, and she spoke agitatedly to Xie Guangqi, causing a small commotion.

Not expecting to see them again, Feng Qianqian tugged at Xie Shaojun, suggesting they move to another seat.

Soon enough, Xie Guangqi arrived. He didn’t push the emotionally unstable Feng Cinian forward.

As he approached, his eyes were red, and he seemed unsteady on his feet, the young girl beside him had to support him.

He appeared slightly more composed than Feng Cinian as he walked up to Feng Qianqian.

He said, “Madam, hello. May I speak with your daughter for a moment?”

Xie Guangqi was a refined and courteous old professor in front of outsiders.

However, due to the unpleasant incident at the hospital, Feng Qianqian didn’t agree.

Xie Guangqi didn’t leave immediately. With great patience, he forced a smile and introduced himself to Feng Qianqian: “I am Feng Cinian’s husband, surnamed Xie. I believe we are distant relatives—my mother once visited the Xie family matriarch in her youth.”

After invoking this connection, Feng Qianqian couldn’t rudely ignore him.

Xie Guangqi continued, “I deeply apologize for my wife’s inappropriate behavior at the hospital earlier.”

He maintained his politeness and composure throughout the pleasantries until his gaze landed on Xie Shaoyun. Then, his eyes reddened with emotion.

His voice choked as he asked Feng Qianqian, “Could I speak with your daughter for just three minutes?”

Feng Qianqian glanced at Xie Shaoyun, who remained expressionless, her gaze no different from how she’d look at any old man on the street.

Understanding, Feng Qianqian refused: “You can speak here.”

Xie Guangqi’s face flushed, perhaps unused to rejection. After a moment of silence, he mustered the courage to look at Xie Shaoyun again. His gaze seemed to see someone else through her. A few seconds later, he asked Xie Shaoyun, “Young lady, may my wife and I visit you in the future?”

Xie Shaoyun didn’t answer, staring at him strangely. “No.”

Sensing something off about the couple, Feng Qianqian handed Xie Shaoyun a piece of cake, signaling her to eat and stay silent. Then she asked Xie Guangqi, “Forgive my bluntness, but the way you look at my daughter is… unusual.”

Xie Guangqi first apologized to Feng Qianqian.

He sat down on a nearby seat, head bowed, staring at the ground. He didn’t look at Xie Shaoyun again.

He said, “My wife and I have spent our whole lives searching for our daughter.”

Feng Qianqian gasped. “Did she go missing?”

Xie Guangqi smiled bitterly. “No.”

“She passed away.”

Between the ages of fifty-six and fifty-eight, Xie Guangqi’s family had changed. One of their dogs was gone, and no one bought another.

Of their two daughters their adopted daughter saw them as the murderers of her sister, and their biological daughter had died by their hands.

A long, segmented black whip once hung in their home. It had snapped in two the year before last and now lay in the living room. Sometimes, when Xie Guangqi watched TV and caught sight of it, tears would slowly well up.

When the fish in the bathtub died, Xie Guangqi would buy new ones.

Then one day, drunk, he smashed them along with the tank.

No one in the family mentioned Xie Shaoyun anymore.

In the first year after Xie Shaoyun’s death, Feng Cinian attended every missing persons event, convinced her daughter was still alive. She searched everywhere, far and wide.

This time, it was Sri Lanka, where she finally found a girl who looked just like her.

Feng Qianqian listened to their story about searching for their daughter and said, “Then my Haoyun definitely isn’t your daughter. She was spoiled from childhood, we wouldn’t even let a whip near her, and her father was emotionally stable. Ah, but I digress. She really does resemble your daughter.”

Xie Guangqi nodded, then glanced at Xie Shaoyun.

When Xie Shaoyun met his gaze, he couldn’t hold back tears welled up in his eyes.

Unaware of the full story, Feng Qianqian said, “Don’t grieve too much. A daughter is a gift from heaven when she’s born. She grew up under our careful care, living a life full of love. Though the gift is gone now, the love she gave hasn’t diminished. She wouldn’t have wanted to see you like this before she passed.”

For some reason, Xie Guangqi’s cane clattered to the ground.

Trembling, he said, “Thank you for listening to me.”

Then he looked up at Xie Shaoyun with a pitiful expression. “Can my wife and I come see you next time?”

Xie Shaoyun didn’t soften she couldn’t afford to. Coldly, she replied, “I sympathize with your story, but I’m sorry, I don’t like inserting myself into other people’s tragedies.”

After returning to the country, Xie Shaoyun began organizing an art exhibition. She visited a renowned abstract oil painter in Beicheng, and their conversation went smoothly. As she was leaving, the painter’s granddaughter escorted her back to the hotel.

The granddaughter asked if it was Xie Shaoyun’s first time in Beicheng.

After a moment’s thought, Xie Shaoyun said, “You could say so.”

So the granddaughter enthusiastically recommended some tourist spots in Beicheng, as well as a particularly delicious classic cake.

The shop wasn’t far, and Xie Shaoyun hadn’t planned on going, but the girl insisted.

They found the bakery inside the landmark Century Golden Resources Mall, where an incredibly long line had formed outside.

When Xie Shaoyun arrived, she looked up and saw Chi Yi, just two days after they had parted.

Chi Yi was standing in the queue, unaware of Xie Shaoyun’s presence.

After counting the number of people in line, the granddaughter sighed and said, “Let’s just go. Based on my experience, we won’t get any today.”

For some reason, Xie Shaoyun suddenly felt the urge to stay. She bid the granddaughter farewell, then set up her easel, arranged her paints, and sat down at an outdoor café nearby.

She began painting the bakery and the long line of people waiting in front of it.

Xie Shaoyun worked quickly, capturing the expressions on every face including the woman at the very end of the line, her fair skin flushed from the sun, a rare sheen of sweat on her brow as she frowned.

Several people tried to strike up a conversation with her, but she coldly brushed them off.

She stood out in her beige blouse, wide-leg trousers, and nude heels.

Clearly uncomfortable in the crowded setting, she never stopped frowning yet she didn’t leave, patiently enduring what must have been an inefficient use of her time.

Back when they were together, Chi Yi had always been the meticulous one in their daily lives. But she rarely allowed Xie Shaoyun to indulge in overly sweet desserts.

Only on Xie Shaoyun’s birthdays would Chi Yi buy her a cake from this very shop, just a small slice, never letting her eat too much. So despite Xie Shaoyun’s usual lack of long-term attachments, she had eaten this cake for four years straight without ever growing tired of it.

By the time Xie Shaoyun set down her brush, the sun had begun to set. From ten in the morning until six in the evening, Chi Yi had stubbornly remained the last person waiting for the cake.

And so, in the end, she got it.

Xie Shaojun stared at the cake in Chi Yi’s hand, thinking to herself, “Last birthday, Chi Yi didn’t buy me a cake.”

But I did, darling. You just didn’t know about it.