After My Death, Everyone Repented (Transmigration) - Chapter 45

Perhaps it was because Jian Qing’s gaze seemed genuinely sincere when she spoke sweet words.

The woman in the pool wasn’t at the point of despair where she’d drown herself, so she agreed to Xie Shaojun’s offer to get up.

She called out Jian Qing’s name, but Jian Qing ignored her, as if this relationship had already been turned over and left behind in her mind.

She followed Xie Shaojun step by step, trailing behind as they walked away.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Jian Qing asked as they walked.

She reached out naturally, trying to grab Xie Shaojun’s wrist, her smile just as effortless, her eyes brimming with sincerity, completely devoid of the pretentious air she had put on during their last meeting. Xie Shaojun clicked her tongue and avoided her.

No matter how masterfully Jian Qing played her flexible, ever-changing act, Xie Shaojun couldn’t bring herself to trust her.

It was like encountering a rotten apple, no matter how perfect the packaging, Xie Shaojun still remembered the stench it had once emitted.

Jian Qing moved closer, and Xie Shaojun sidestepped.

She maintained a meter’s distance between them at all times.

If Jian Qing quickened her pace, Xie Shaojun quickened hers by two steps. After walking a short distance, no matter what Jian Qing said, Xie Shaojun’s expression remained utterly uninterested.

Eventually, Jian Qing ran out of tricks.

She couldn’t quite figure out how Xie Shaojun managed to exude such an impenetrable air of detachment, leaving no room for anyone to slip through the cracks.

The amusement in Jian Qing’s eyes froze.

“I don’t have any ill intentions toward you. I just want to get to know you,” Jian Qing said helplessly.

Ahead was an arched gate. Xie Shaojun turned around, locking eyes with Jian Qing. Her expression was neutral, but Jian Qing could tell Xie Shaojun was looking at her like she was some kind of foul garbage. The only emotion visible in her eyes was disgust.

Jian Qing laughed in frustration, itching to curse at this ungrateful painter. But in the end, because of that face and the uncanny resemblance to her , Jian Qing yielded to her heart.

She stared at Xie Shaojun with infatuation, and unsurprisingly, Xie Shaojun’s gaze only grew more repulsed.

Jian Qing delighted in seeing her emotions shift and burst into laughter. “Don’t stare at me like that it’ll give me ideas. You know, you look just like my sister.”

As she spoke, she raised her hand, intending to caress Xie Shaojun’s cheek.

Xie Shaojun lifted her eyelids slightly and, without hesitation, intercepted Jian Qing’s hand, gripping it tightly and twisting her wrist inward.

Jian Qing’s face contorted in pain.

She cried out, begging Xie Shaojun to let go, but Xie Shaojun ignored her.

Irritated, Xie Shaojun figured tonight might be the night her soul would leave her body.

“Don’t provoke me again.”

Jian Qing shook her head. “No can do. I’m going to pursue you.”

Her shamelessness made Xie Shaojun raise her hand to slap her, but Jian Qing’s infatuation only deepened. “So similar. It’s really too similar. Your name, your personality, even your face, almost exactly the same. She used to hit me like this too.”

Xie Shaojun grabbed Jian Qing and slammed her against the thick tree trunk to the right. Jian Qing gasped in pain, her smile vanishing, but she kept her eyes fixed on Xie Shaojun’s face, undeterred by the beating.

“When I was sixteen, my adoptive parents took me and her to an amusement park. I didn’t want to ride the roller coaster, but she did. I didn’t want to be separated from her, so I hid the tickets she had queued up to buy. After the trip, she slapped me twice.”

Xie Shaojun wasn’t hitting her because of the roller coaster. It was because Jian Qing hadn’t just stolen Xie Shaojun’s tickets, she had also flirted with a very young girl in the bathroom, seducing her until she was smitten, then tricking her into handing over a ticket to Alice in Wonderland .

At that time, Xie Shaoyun believed that with proper upbringing, a child’s values could gradually improve, so she still had the patience to guide Jian Qing.

Later, she realized that Jian Qing was rotten to the core no amount of education could fix her.

Like now, when Jian Qing brought up the past again, smiling as she told Xie Shaoyun: “When she hit me that day, she took a deep breath, her exhale warm against my cheek. As she raised her hand, her lips pressed together, teeth leaving faint marks so sensual. After hitting me, she just stared at me quietly, accepted my apology, handed me some arnica oil. Her fingers were cold, tracing my cheek and lips…”

Xie Shaoyun cut her off: “Oh, quite the delusional fantasy.”

Jian Qing’s wrist was nearly dislocated, yet she still stared at Xie Shaoyun with infatuation, leaning in pitifully and calling her “sister”: “My wrist hurts so much.”

For some reason, Xie Shaoyun couldn’t bring herself to empathize with Jian Qing’s genuine display of vulnerability. She shoved Jian Qing against a tree and took a step back.

Pulling out a wet wipe, she meticulously cleaned her fingers.

When she finished, she said, “Stop pretending. It’s useless. I don’t care who you are, what you want, or who you’re with. None of it matters.”

Jian Qing looked up, the amusement in her eyes vanishing, replaced by something cold and dark.

Xie Shaoyun met her gaze, laughed, and enunciated each word: “Trash.”

The insult, the disgust in her eyes, it was identical to Xie Shaoyun on the operating table.

That suffocating familiarity made Jian Qing tremble all over again.

Unconsciously, she repeated the question in her heart: “Who are you?”

Xie Shaoyun looked down at her with half-lidded eyes, scoffed, and strode away.

Jian Qing’s back was scraped by the tree bark. She called her assistant, leaning against the tree, licking her lips as she savored the lingering warmth of Xie Shaoyun’s breath. The tingling sensation was still worth reliving.

She stayed like that until her assistant arrived.

By noon, Xie Shaoyun still ended up attending the lunch gathering.

Several curators, business partners, and friends, including the wealthy businessman who had visited Xie Shaoyun’s hospital room before were all seated together.

By the time Xie Shaoyun went upstairs, most of them had already finished eating. Jian Qing and the eldest son of the Sui family were also in the private room, having apparently just arrived.

Jian Qing was no longer wearing the same dress from earlier, now in a backless, V-neck blue gown. She pushed a wheelchair carrying a sickly-looking man in a white suit, his lips pale, clutching a handkerchief as he coughed between sentences. Jian Qing was attentive, constantly replacing his handkerchief so he could wipe his mouth.

“Xiao Xie, come sit here,” the businessman called to her.

Aside from him, Jian Qing, and Qin Wan, Xie Shaoyun didn’t recognize anyone else at the table.

She didn’t feel awkward, nodding slightly. She had only come out of respect for the businessman.

She didn’t mingle much in the elite circles of North or South City. Back when she was with Chi Yi, knowing Xie Shaoyun disliked socializing, Chi Yi never dragged her to banquets, so she’d never interacted with these high-society types.

Taking a seat at the round table, Xie Shaoyun represented her art studio, hardly impressive among this crowd of aristocrats.

Spotting Qin Wan sitting at the far end of the table, Xie Shaoyun was about to join her when the businessman called her name again, saving her a seat closer to him.

“Director Chang knows President Xie?” someone nearby inquired.

“How could I not know her?” the wealthy merchant said. “The third daughter of the Xie family, Sunshine Automobiles belongs to her family.”

With that introduction, the expressions around the round table instantly shifted.

A bank president holding a wine glass came over to toast, but Xie Shaojun didn’t accept it.

The merchant turned to the bank president, whose face was about to darken, and cut him off: “Wipe that look off your face. Let’s not embarrass our artist friend with our drinking table customs. Last month, weren’t you complaining about being strangled by the banking regulator’s inspections and having nowhere to turn for help? Come, come, take this chance to have a good chat with Miss Xie. The head of the Banking Regulatory Commission, Director Xie, is her own sister.”

Xie Shaojun gave the merchant a cool, sidelong glance. She didn’t know who had sent him, but today, his words were unusually dense, constantly piling weight onto her shoulders.

With every sentence he spoke, Xie Shaojun’s presence grew heavier.

The bank president’s demeanor instantly turned humble. He downed his own drink in one go and even poured Xie Shaojun a glass of milk, handing it to her.

Xie Shaojun found it both amusing and exasperating. None of these people could outdrink her.

But of course, she wouldn’t say that out loud. At her core, she had no patience for social niceties.

She had agreed to attend this evening gathering because, based on the fashion show’s display, the logo didn’t seem to have any major issues.

Xie Shaojun had no intention of freeing up her evening for the gala, so she’d come just to say hello before leaving.

But after arriving, she realized that Sui Yang, the biggest investor behind the show, was also present. Bringing up her departure now would be inappropriate. So she lazily raised her glass of milk and made a round of toasts with the partners and investors present.

When it came to the young master of the Sui family, Xie Shaojun lifted her milk glass slightly, took a small sip, and said, “Pleasure to meet you.”

Strangely, this Sui Yang seemed to recognize her. He stared at her face for a long time, coughing intermittently, before saying, “Miss Xie’s features remind me of someone.”

Xie Shaojun searched her memories but was certain she had never met this sickly Sui family heir in her past life.

She smiled and said, “If I resemble someone you know, it must be fate.”

Sui Yang let out a faint chuckle, then coughed violently several times. His voice weak, he explained to Xie Shaojun, “Not a friend.”

“We never met.”

“But because Chi Yi treasured her so deeply, I paid a little more attention enough to leave an impression.”

There was no attempt to soften his words; they carried a strong, subjective tone.

Xie Shaojun wasn’t familiar with the intricate social circles of the northern elite, but she could still discern the deep longing in Sui Yang’s voice when he mentioned Chi Yi.

For a fleeting moment, her eyes, which had been dull all day, sparkled with sudden brilliance.

What did Sui Yang’s words mean?

Simply put, this soon to be engaged nobleman from the southern elite circles was openly pining for Chi Yi, unabashedly expressing his lingering attachment.

Yet his fiancée, Jian Qing, standing beside him, didn’t seem particularly surprised. It was clear this soon-to-be-married couple each had their own hidden agendas.

Logically, none of this had anything to do with Xie Shaojun.

But for some reason, an inexplicable bitterness welled up in her chest.

Two words flashed in her mind: fateful encounter.

Before she could stop herself, Xie Shaojun had already spoken.

She glanced at Jian Qing behind Sui Yang, curled her lips, and cut the conversation short. “You flatter me.”

Sui Yang took the hint and didn’t press further, avoiding any inappropriate, impolite, or possessive remarks in front of the crowd.

The meal had gone from being a polite obligation to an outright annoyance.

Xie Shaojun pushed her chopsticks aside, stood up, and went through the motions of bidding farewell to the business partners. She wouldn’t be attending the evening show.

But then, Sui Yang spoke up, trying to persuade her to stay: “Chi Yi promised to come tonight. I heard she has a new girlfriend. I hope you’ll do us the honor of introducing us.”

His words sounded more like a plea for Xie Shaojun’s help, as if hearing that Chi Yi was dating someone new had soured his mood, and he wanted to use Xie Shaojun, who bore a resemblance to Chi Yi’s ex-wife, to unsettle Chi Yi’s “current flame.”

Xie Shaojun found the whole situation bizarre. It wasn’t unusual for a random man to be infatuated with Chi Yi, but the ugly, blatant display of possessiveness directed at her made her inexplicably angry.

What right did he have to act possessive?

Sui Yang’s lips drooped as he finished speaking, then he clutched his chest and coughed violently, as if on the verge of collapse. Jian Qing handed him a clean white handkerchief and said, “Enough. If you keep this up, will you even make it to the evening banquet?”

Sui Yang glanced at her, nodded, and said, “Alright, help me back.”

After the two left, Qin Wan walked over, shared a drink with the wealthy businessman, exchanged a few words, and then sat down beside Xie Shaojun to brief her on the evening’s arrangements.

Xie Shaojun responded with a distracted hum.

With the meal finished, the waitstaff cleared the dishes and served tea. The businessman and a few partners began gossiping about Sui Yang and Chi Yi.

“Before Sui Yang fell ill, the Sui and Chi families had an informal marriage arrangement,” the businessman said.

The two families were neighbors, and the children had grown up together, attending the same schools, childhood sweethearts. The Sui family had always hoped for a marriage alliance with the Chi family, and from a young age, Sui Yang had been told that the eldest daughter of the Chi family was his future bride.

The businessman sighed regretfully. “Chi Yi was too exceptional outstanding in every way, far beyond the ordinary. In comparison, Sui Yang seemed mediocre, unable to keep up with her. As they grew older, Chi Yi fell for someone else a woman. She came out to her family, and as you can imagine, Old Man Chi was furious. Their feud became the talk of the town. Chi Yi couldn’t stay in Beicheng and eventually moved Haimi’s headquarters to Nancheng.”

This was the first time Xie Shaojun had heard from someone else just how difficult things had been for Chi Yi back then.

The businessman continued, saying that after coming out, Chi Yi had become estranged from her family. To force her to relent, her father had pressured all investors to cut ties with the companies Chi Yi was bringing into the country. He had personally intervened, demanding she admit her “mistake.”

“Chi Yi endured it for two full years,” the businessman said, addressing the older executives at the table. “Lao Jiang, Old Chen… who among us could’ve imagined that a young woman with no support would have that kind of resilience? At her lowest, when partners withdrew funding and Haimi’s stock plummeted by fifty percent, Chi Yi went to Mexico to secure overseas investments. She worked day and night, pitching her innovative product concepts and business strategies to investors. She doesn’t even drink, but back then, she must’ve swallowed enough red wine to fill barrels.”

Before Qin Wan could finish her briefing, Xie Shaojun stood up without a word and said, “I need some air.”

Then, without another word, she walked out of the private room.

The wealthy merchant mentioned that during the phase when Chi Yi was drinking, it was the days when Xie Shaojun wanted to break up with her. Chi Yi stood at the gates of Nan University, separated by the dark green railings. She didn’t explain the difficulties of their relationship but simply said to Xie Shaojun with a pout, “Don’t be angry anymore, okay, my puppy?”

Chi Yi always seemed to firmly believe that they would love each other forever, that they would stay together no matter what obstacles they faced.

It was Xie Shaojun who wavered, who wanted to give up, who found it unbearable.

Because the time they spent together was too scarce. From dating to marriage, Chi Yi’s world was dominated by work, leaving little room for Xie Shaojun.

Xie Shaojun constantly had to take the initiative to ask, to demand answers from Chi Yi, just to get any certainty.

After the cancer diagnosis, Xie Shaojun sank into a lethargy so deep she didn’t even want to speak. She began to doubt herself, to feel suffocated, and stopped reaching out.

But the busy Chi Yi noticed nothing, and so they ended up where they were today.

Xie Shaojun told Chi Yi she didn’t want to meet anymore because she believed their ending was inevitable. She resolved to live a normal life without Chi Yi.

Yet, in the one or two years Xie Shaojun lost her memory, she didn’t celebrate birthdays, didn’t take New Year’s money, didn’t buy a house, didn’t date anyone. She wandered aimlessly by the sea in Sri Lanka.

After regaining her memory, she found herself at social gatherings she disliked.

She ran a thriving studio with a partner she didn’t see eye to eye with. In the future, she would be as busy as Chi Yi, becoming someone who never had a moment to rest.

Xie Shaojun thought about it, whether good or bad, she was turning into Chi Yi.

Because her world no longer had Chi Yi in it.

As she closed the door, Xie Shaojun summed up their past in one sentence:

She carried the weight of duty and responsibility, while Chi Yi carried Xie Shaojun’s whims and freedom.