After My Death, Everyone Repented (Transmigration) - Chapter 46

She didn’t wait long outside the private room before Qin Wan caught up and asked about Xie Shaojun’s plans for the evening.

Xie Shaojun told her she wasn’t planning to attend the evening show.

Qin Wan was slightly surprised and spoke faster: “Xiao Xie, Sui Shao personally asked you to stay. If we don’t give the Sui family face, could it affect your dad?”

Xie Shaojun thought about it but couldn’t answer. Children born into families like theirs had to consider connections and reputation in every aspect. They could act high and mighty on ordinary days, but the bigger picture had to be maintained.

She told Qin Wan she’d ask Xie Cheng about it later.

Qin Wan seemed like she still wanted to persuade her, but seeing Xie Shaojun already pulling out her phone, she compromised: “Then at least don’t go back to Sijiu City tonight.”

“It’s too late, flights are hard to book. Xiao Li has been running around with you all day, she needs rest. If you’re not attending the banquet tonight, fine. I’ll handle the socializing for you, but don’t forget to pick me up if I get drunk.”

Qin Wan added, “Nancheng is unfamiliar territory, Xiao Xie. Don’t abandon me with strangers like you did two weeks ago.”

Xie Shaojun glanced sideways at her. Qin Wan averted her gaze, and Xie Shaojun patted her shoulder: “Drinking less won’t kill you. I never expected you to pull in so many orders for the studio anyway.”

Qin Wan smoothly deflected with an excuse and left.

Xie Shaojun didn’t end up leaving because, at three in the afternoon, a model walking the runway was hit on the ankle by a falling wreath arch prop.

The show was suddenly short one person, and the lead planner came to beg Xie Shaojun for help.

The logo designed thorn bouquet had been arranged according to the original number of models. Missing one person would make the final effect deviate drastically from the intended concept.

The lead planner was at a loss. Xie Shaojun crossed her arms and asked, “The blueprint was already approved by you. Now, because of your mishap, there’s no time for me to make changes.”

“Teacher Xie, I’m begging you. Please think of something, I’m counting on you.” The lead planner was sweating profusely, pleading with her in a gentle tone.

Xie Shaojun gave him a sidelong glance and said, deliberately off-topic, “I hold grudges.”

“What?” The planner was stunned for a moment before realizing. His face twisted in distress as he apologized, “I’m sorry about directing you to the wrong room at noon. But I had no choice, I was forced into doing something so underhanded.”

Xie Shaojun cut him off, feigning ignorance: “Hmm, who forced you?”

The planner stayed silent, lifting his head to meet Xie Shaojun’s lazy gaze. After a pause, he sighed helplessly: “Director Jian.”

“What did she want me in that room for?” Xie Shaojun pressed.

The planner wiped his sweat: “This” He hesitated for a long moment before saying, “I don’t know.”

“Then figure it out yourself.” Xie Shaojun stood up and turned to leave, casually informing him that their work here was done and they wouldn’t be at the venue that evening.

She signaled to her assistant and headed for the door. The planner followed a few steps before blurting out, “Wait, I’ll tell you”

He gave her a room number and said Jian Qing and Lu Xi always used that private room when they were alone together.

He didn’t offer any further details. Xie Shaojun asked, “Lu Xi, the girl Jian Qing divorced her husband and aborted a child for?”

The planner gave a quiet “Mhm.”

Xie Shaojun said she understood. She was wearing a halter-style work dress and reached into the open pocket to pause the recording on her phone.

Then, squinting, she asked the lead planner, “Do you have a computer?”

The lead planner’s eyes lit up. “Yes, yes! But. will you have enough time to handle it alone?”

Xie Shaojun didn’t respond. Her assistant, annoyed by the lead planner’s lack of tact, glared at him. “Our Teacher Xie is the first Chinese young artist to win the Alexander Lucci Painting Award three years in a row. A few adjustments are nothing to her.”

“Great, that’s great.” The lead planner stepped aside. “This way, Teacher Xie.”

The computer was backstage.

To get there, they had to pass through the elevator entrance from the first to the second floor of the show venue.

From a distance, they heard a flurry of hurried footsteps.

Xie Shaojun looked up and saw Jian Qing pushing Master Sui in a wheelchair, rushing out to greet someone. Against the light, after adjusting to the glare, the group turned and walked toward the elevator.

Chi Yi was among them, surrounded by the crowd as she moved toward the elevator. Behind her, dazzling lights cast a halo over her figure. She wore a white suit with an open collar, her slender, pale neck reflecting a cool glow, as if untouched by sunlight, her jade like bones and icy skin giving the impression of stepping straight out of a manga.

Chi Yi was speaking to Sui Yang. Since Sui Yang was in a wheelchair, their conversation was at uneven eye levels, and her gaze remained lowered. Logically, she shouldn’t have noticed Xie Shaojun. But suddenly, Chi Yi looked up, and their eyes met abruptly in midair.

Chi Yi froze, momentarily stunned.

Before Chi Yi could withdraw her gaze, Xie Shaojun turned away as if she hadn’t seen her, took the logo draft handed by her assistant, and walked calmly toward the backstage.

She left quickly.

Lin Dan asked Chi Yi, “Should we go say hello?”

Chi Yi pressed her lips together and shook her head. Surrounded by a crowd of elites, she took the elevator up to the second floor.

Xie Shaojun’s efficiency wasn’t particularly high. Midway, she went to the restroom to wash her hands, taking the elevator to the second floor.

She found the restroom nearest to the exhibition hall’s private booth. After washing her hands, she dried them with a paper towel.

Stepping out, she paused at a corner and couldn’t help glancing toward the viewing hall, Chi Yi sat among the group.

Xie Shaojun didn’t head downstairs immediately. She stood quietly for a moment until she overheard Sui Yang discussing a chip import deal with Chi Yi. Chi Yi barely spoke, only occasionally responding.

Sui Yang asked Jian Qing to serve tea. When the cup was handed to Chi Yi, her assistant took it instead. Chi Yi didn’t even glance at it and told Sui Yang that the contract needed to be re-evaluated by the board.

Her words caught everyone off guard. Sui Yang’s face fell, and he quickly excused himself.

Jian Qing stayed behind, sharing a few sips of tea with Chi Yi. The two exchanged words before heading toward the restroom.

Xie Shaojun, standing in a corner with nowhere to hide, retreated into a restroom stall.

Moments later, the two entered, turned on the faucet, and began washing their hands. Jian Qing asked Chi Yi, “Did you suddenly reject the deal with the Sui family because you’re still angry that I lied about being No. 1 back then?”

“No,” Chi Yi replied swiftly. “You think you’re worth that?”

“Chi Yi, your attitude these past two years has been strange. If you think I’m not worth it, why haven’t you crushed me? With your power, it’d be easy.”

Chi Yi said, “You should thank her.”

“Because of this kidney,” Jian Qing’s eyes and brows were filled with mockery. She felt both disgusted and vindicated, wearing a “Xie Shaojun” style smile as she said to Chi Yi, “Why don’t you give me a try?”

Chi Yi scoffed, clearly furious, but she wouldn’t stoop to argue with someone like Jian Qing. Her status spoke for itself, pride and arrogance were second nature to her, and Jian Qing’s petty provocations weren’t worth her time.

So she said nothing. After washing her hands, she stepped out to make a call. When she returned to the restroom, Jian Qing was gone.

Xie Shaojun, in a neighboring stall, heard the door to the left open and close.

Chi Yi’s deep breaths and the sound of the toilet flushing reached her ears.

Ten minutes later, Chi Yi emerged from the stall. She stood outside for a moment, then silenced an incoming call. After lingering a little longer, she finally walked away, slow and deliberate.

At 7:50 p.m., the backstage preparations were complete, and the show began smoothly.

Xie Shaojun didn’t stay for the event, it was a gathering of elites, crowded and cliquish, and she had no patience for that.

She stepped out with her assistant, feeling a little hungry, and sent the assistant to buy rice balls. Leaning against a gray-red pillar, Xie Shaojun sent two messages.

The first was to Xie Cheng:

“Dad, if I leave the show early and don’t give Suiyang face, will it affect the partnership?”

Xie Cheng was in a meeting, so Feng Qianqian replied: “If you don’t want to stay, then don’t. Do you really think your dad’s business will collapse just because you snubbed one of his clients?”

Xie Shaojun picked up her phone and sent a voice message: “You’re absolutely right.”

The second message was to the whole family group chat.

Earlier that afternoon, Xie Shaojun had gotten into a physical altercation with Jian Qing. Given the randomness of her soul displacement, statistically, Jian Qing fit the conditions for triggering it.

Just to be safe, Xie Shaojun thought it best to have a family member pick her up.

“I’m in Nancheng. Mom, Dad, sisters, who’s free to come get me?” She briefly explained the situation in the group.

The chat fell silent for five seconds before Xie Qingcheng was the first to speak, her temper flaring: “Are you an idiot?”

“You can’t just ignore the risks for work. How many times has Mom told you not to go to crowded places?” That was Feng Qianqian.

“Just finished the meeting. Wife, why are you all yelling at Xiao San?”

Xie Zangxing, the group admin, muted the explosive family members and cut to the chase, urging Xie Shaojun to drop her location in the chat.

Xie Shaojun replied, “Hold on.”

In the few dozen seconds it took her to search for her location, Xie Zangxing grew impatient and snapped: “You had physical contact with someone at noon and only mention it now? Xie Xiao San, you’ve got some nerve.”

Xie Shaojun wanted to say it wasn’t that big of a deal. Back in Sri Lanka, she’d occasionally pass out too it wasn’t like she was in a red-light district. If she fainted at a banquet like this, someone would surely call an ambulance for her.

She explained to her family: “I’m with Qin Wan… It’s not like I’d be left unconscious with no one to help.”

Xie Qingcheng only grew angrier at that, but since Xie Zangxing had muted her, she called directly instead.

“Jie,” Xie Shaojun answered.

She heard Xie Qingcheng ask on the other end, “This show was organized by the Sui family’s eldest son’s fiancée, wasn’t it?”

Xie Shaojun admitted it was.

She informed Xie Qingcheng that many socialites were present at the scene, including the eldest son of the Sui family.

“Her name is Jian Qing, a calculating character with no background, no support, and no capital. She climbed her way up using her beauty and ruthless tactics, stunning everyone by securing a ticket into high society, something ordinary people couldn’t achieve even with a thousand times the effort.”

There was a hint of mockery in Xie Qingcheng’s tone.

Xie Shaojun said, “I’ve seen her before.”

“She likes women,” Xie Qingcheng added gravely. “Especially ones like you.”

“Oh? So what?”

“Nothing much. But your partner has been keeping something from you…” Xie Qingcheng’s tone shifted. “Qin Wan is one of Jian Qing’s lovers.”

Xie Shaojun lifted her eyelids slightly, sensing a discrepancy between what Qin Wan had told her and the information Xie Qingcheng provided. She withheld judgment for now and instead asked her sister, “And then?”

Xie Qingcheng paused before saying, “Many of the trendy brand logo designs your studio recently secured were given to Qin Wan by Jian Qing.”

There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Xie Shaojun thought for a moment and asked, “Who told you this?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Xie Qingcheng replied. “Qin Wan has been by Jian Qing’s side for years, always the one asking for favors. Later, Jian Qing improved her standing, got involved with the Sui family, and gained backing from the Le consortium. She now holds significant influence in the fashion world, yet she’s never given Qin Wan any resources in public, they act like strangers. If she were truly giving resources out of affection, she would’ve done so earlier when Qin Wan was trying to break into the logo design market. Don’t you find anything odd about this?”

Xie Shaojun said, “No.”

Then she asked Xie Qingcheng, “Even if there is, that’s Qin Wan’s personal affair. What does it have to do with me?”

“Did Chi Yi say anything to you that night when she took you home?”

Xie Shaojun froze, suddenly recalling the hot pot night when Qin Wan had called, asking her to pick her up. Chi Yi had expressionlessly snatched Xie Shaojun’s phone and firmly told her not to go.

After a brief silence with no response, Xie Qingcheng sighed on the other end of the line. “Never mind. Maybe I’m overthinking it.”

Xie Shaojun didn’t reply. For some reason, an absurd thought flashed through her mind.

She took a deep breath and asked Xie Qingcheng in a calm tone, “What else did Chi Yi say?”

“What?”

“Sis,” Xie Shaojun said, “Mom once told you about how you smack your lips before lying.”

Xie Qingcheng fell silent for a moment before conceding, “Fine, you got me.”

She confessed, “Lin Dan mentioned this to me in the afternoon. Because of the bad weather, their flight might not make it to the show. She was worried about you being alone and asked me to warn you to be cautious around Qin Wan. I was in meetings at the Financial Regulatory Commission all day and only got out intending to talk to you, but then I saw your message in the group chat.”

Xie Qingcheng told Xie Shaojun that Chi Yi had a grudge against Jian Qing. While privately hiring a detective to investigate Jian Qing, she coincidentally discovered that Jian Qing had recently given Qin Wan’s studio many resources and decided to look into the reason.

“Two weeks ago, if Chi Yi hadn’t coincidentally been in Sijiu City for business, you would’ve been invited by Qin Wan to a dinner gathering with her ex-girlfriend for various reasons that night.”

No wonder Chi Yi had appeared in Sijiu City that day.

There aren’t that many coincidences in this world, some are just orchestrated encounters.

Xie Qingcheng stopped speaking. Xie Shaoyun gazed for a long time at the fallen phoenix tree leaves on the ground. The heart shaped leaves had been trampled into fragments, their veins no longer visible. She tried to piece together a complete one, but the dense, jagged cracks were glaringly obvious.

After a while, Xie Shaoyun let out a soft sigh.

She said to Xie Qingcheng, “Got it. Tell Mom and the others not to come pick me up. I left something at the show, I’ll go back and check.”