After My Death, Everyone Repented (Transmigration) - Chapter 47

After hanging up the phone, Xie Shaojun lifted her foot, ready to leave.

From a distance, her assistant came running over with a rice ball, calling her name from afar: “Ms. Xie!”

Xie Shaojun responded and stood still, waiting for a moment. As they got closer, she noticed a very young woman walking alongside the assistant.

“Hey, you look even better in person than in photos! First time meeting you I’m Qi Qi.” The girl extended her hand with an easy familiarity.

Xie Shaojun raised an eyebrow, preoccupied with her thoughts, and responded without much enthusiasm, “No need for a handshake too formal. Hello, I’m Xie Shaojun.”

After speaking, she discreetly sized Qi Qi up.

Qi Qi was dressed lightly, short shorts and a T shirt, her hair tied up in a high ponytail. She had a lively smile, and judging by her outfit, she probably wasn’t here for the ball.

After exchanging a few brief words with her, Xie Shaojun learned the reason for her visit.

She turned her gaze to the assistant, who gave an innocent look and said, “Madam just called me. Ms. Qi is here to pick you up. She told me to inform you not to neglect Ms. Qi.”

Xie Shaojun remained noncommittal.

Qi Qi was the same age as Xie Shaojun but looked younger, the type of girl who was socially adept and very talkative.

“This isn’t your mother’s fault it was my oversight. I should’ve called ahead. Tonight, my mom and your mom are at the same gala. When she heard you weren’t feeling well in Nan City and that I happened to be here, she asked me to pick you up and take you back to the hotel.”

Qi Qi was chatty, effortlessly keeping the conversation from stalling.

Xie Shaojun unwrapped the rice ball and took a bite, half-heartedly engaging in small talk.

When a grain of rice stuck to her lips, Qi Qi pulled out a tissue and grinned at her, revealing a deep dimple on her right cheek.

“Want me to wipe it for you?” she joked.

Xie Shaojun declined politely but gave her a courteous smile. “You’re not my type.”

“I can tell,” Qi Qi said, taking a step closer. “But I’d rather die knowing tell me, what kind of person do you like?”

Xie Shaojun thought for a moment. “I don’t know.”

Qi Qi pressed, “How can you not know? You clearly have experience. Why did you break up? With looks like yours and those long hands you’re a catch. What kind of ex would be crazy enough to let you go?”

“I was the one who ended it.”

Xie Shaojun didn’t elaborate further. Instead, she asked Qi Qi if she had driven here. Qi Qi said yes and pulled out her car keys.

“Then you should head back first. I have things to do tonight I really don’t need a ride.”

“That’d make this trip a waste,” Qi Qi said, her eyes glinting mischievously. “Unless you tell me why you broke up. You seem like the loyal type, was she terrible to you?”

“She was great,” Xie Shaojun replied, disliking the implication that Chi Yi had been awful. She told Qi Qi, “The breakup was my fault. I spent too much time at bars, had a messy social life, unstable work, and loved traveling all over. She didn’t like that about me.”

Xie Shaojun listed the flaws from her past life, hoping Qi Qi would take the hint and leave. Instead, Qi Qi took two steps closer, declaring that Xie Shaojun had been gaslit.

“None of those are flaws! Our interests align perfectly. If she could win you over by gaslighting you, then I definitely can too.”

Xie Shaojun was speechless. In a voice low enough for just the two of them, she told Qi Qi, “Shared interests make for good friends, not girlfriends. To be honest, I’m not looking to start a new relationship.”

Qi Qi blinked and said, “Alright.”

Then she asked, “Is your ex-girlfriend that tall, cold-faced sister who was standing by the air vent just now?”

Xie Shaojun replied, “What?”

She turned to look toward the air vent, but Qi Qi said, “She left. Just now.”

Xie Shaojun said nothing and turned to enter the fashion show. Her assistant followed her, puzzled.

“Teacher Xie, what happened?” the assistant asked.

Xie Shaojun said she was looking for something, though she wasn’t entirely sure what. She took the elevator to the second floor, wandering aimlessly for a while, but didn’t see any familiar faces.

Sometimes, a sudden surge of emotion or a fleeting moment of courage can reignite long-extinguished feelings.

But as time wears on, that courage cools and fades into disappointment.

After wandering the second floor to no avail, Xie Shaojun sobered up and headed back to the elevator to go downstairs.

The only way from the second floor to the first was by elevator. Distractedly stepping inside, she looked up and saw Chi Yi inside, accompanied by several men in suits and two middle-aged women in evening gowns.

Xie Shaojun hesitated. It was too crowded, so she decided to wait for the next one.

But Chi Yi called out to her.

“Miss Xie.”

A very distant form of address.

Xie Shaojun acknowledged it and responded with equally polite courtesy, “President Chi, you’re here for the show too?”

Chi Yi lowered her gaze, avoiding Xie Shaojun’s eyes.

She seemed to dislike the title “President Chi,” frowning slightly before replying with a cold, “Mm.”

“Coming in?”

“It’s too crowded. I’ll take the next one,” Xie Shaojun said.

“Come in,” Chi Yi insisted, telling her to stay by the door. Then she turned and gave her secretary a look.

The secretary handed Chi Yi an open bag filled with various items. From it, Chi Yi pulled out a small folding umbrella. When she opened it, the elevator instantly felt even more cramped. She held it out to Xie Shaojun.

“Use this.”

Xie Shaojun took it.

Their actions were odd and impolite. Though Xie Shaojun didn’t think much of it, from the perspective of the third daughter of the Xie family, it wasn’t appropriate.

But since Chi Yi was standing beside her, the other elites squeezed together paid little attention to Xie Shaojun, focusing instead on Chi Yi as the stranger one.

“President Chi, what are you?” one of them asked.

Chi Yi gave them a cold glance, her peach blossom eyes downcast, exuding an air of detachment. Or perhaps, in doing this, she simply didn’t care about the courtesy expected among high society.

So she replied in a perfectly natural tone, “Is there a problem?”

After stepping out of the elevator, Xie Shaojun folded the umbrella and returned it to Chi Yi.

Chi Yi was still surrounded by several people. She took the umbrella, their eyes meeting only briefly before Sui Yang approached in his wheelchair, pushed not by Jian Qing this time but by a middle-aged man in a bow tie.

From a distance, Sui Yang greeted them, “Chi Yi, Miss Xie, you know each other?”

He turned to Chi Yi and asked, “So, is Xiao Xie anything like your ex-wife?”

Xie Shaojun narrowed her eyes and interrupted Sui Yang with an expressionless face: “There’s something I wanted to say to you this afternoon. I absolutely despise people using me as a talking point. There’s a difference between the living and the dead, don’t you think it’s inappropriate to drag me into your nonsense? The eldest son of the Sui family surely wasn’t raised without manners, so it must be a developmental issue with your language functions. I suggest you get your cerebellum checked.”

Xie Shaojun was, by nature, an arrogant person. She had little patience for empty pleasantries, but in this industry, certain rules had to be followed.

But tonight? To hell with it.

Without sparing a glance at Sui Yang’s flushed face, Xie Shaojun strode to the backstage, grabbed her bag, and turned to leave.

As she stepped outside the venue, Qin Wan’s call came through.

“Boss Xie, you’ve really outdone yourself. The Sui Group is our golden ticket into the logo market. And with just one sentence, you’ve managed to offend them all.”

Xie Shaojun narrowed her eyes. “So what if I offended them? It’s not that big a deal.”

“But those streetwear brands under logo design ”

“The studio is still under my control, isn’t it?” Xie Shaojun cut her off, her tone devoid of emotion. “I’ve already made it clear we’re not expanding the design division. Do you understand?”

Qin Wan fell silent for a few seconds before forcing a laugh and changing the subject. “Alright, alright, don’t be angry. Let’s not talk about Sui Yang, he really is insufferable. Bad mood tonight? Perfect timing, then. After the show, let’s grab a drink in the private room on the second floor of the exhibition hall. Jian Qing will be there too. After all, she’s my ex, I might lose my self-control.”

The second floor of the exhibition hall wasn’t a place for drinking it was a private club for sleeping.

The curator’s confirmation had proven Chi Yi’s earlier suspicions to Xie Qingcheng right.

Xie Shaojun scoffed and said to Qin Wan, “Next Monday. My office. We need to talk.”

Hanging up, Xie Shaojun leaned against a gray-red pillar but didn’t leave.

She thought back to not long ago, when she had stood against this same pillar during that phone call with Xie Qingcheng, claiming she needed to go back for something.

She hadn’t found it.

Now, Xie Shaojun was about to leave.

For a moment, she confronted her own sorrow head-on.

She was sad because, after all the twists and turns, the moment she turned and met Chi Yi’s gaze again, she had desperately wanted to speak to her.

She didn’t want to stand on opposite sides of an umbrella, staring at each other in silence, or listen to each other’s breathing through a thin wooden partition in a restroom.

In all those scenes of avoidance, Xie Shaojun had felt awkward, tormented, and overwhelmingly frustrated.

Yet this was exactly the outcome she had wanted…

Xie Shaojun wasn’t happy. Nor was she at ease.

So she turned back to search though she didn’t know what she was looking for, or what she wanted. She just needed to look.

From the first floor to the second-floor exhibition hall, it took 389 steps. Xie Shaojun mustered her courage and spent a long time searching, but her resolve faltered. Leaning against the gray-red pillar, she finally felt a little less aggrieved and prepared to leave.

But after just a few steps, someone called her name.

“Xie Shaojun.”

She had heard this voice just moments ago familiar, the kind that would suddenly pierce through the dim, noisy backdrop of late-night bars with friends.

“You reek. I won’t help you back.”

Xie Shaojun thought carefully, her temper had never been particularly good. So why had she been able to tolerate Chi Yi’s relentless, cutting words back then?

At this moment, it suddenly made sense.

Perhaps it was because Xie Shaoyun had never held grudges against Chi Yi, never minded her blunt words. She never took her hurtful remarks to heart, would tirelessly reach for her hand, and lean her entire body against her.

And she delighted in seeing Chi Yi, unfazed, forget her previous words and reluctantly help a woman reeking of alcohol back home.

Xie Shaoyun lifted her eyelids slightly. Chi Yi stood across the hallway, five meters away, near the entrance. Behind her was a cold air vent, her hair tousled by the breeze, her slender neck beautifully illuminated in the light.

Xie Shaoyun looked at her but didn’t speak immediately.

Chi Yi didn’t say anything either. She didn’t, as usual, take the initiative to step closer.

Between them lay the length of a lit hallway.

So close, yet like two parallel lines, their gazes no longer meeting, as if they weren’t all that familiar, as if a simple greeting would suffice before they could part ways without incident.

Xie Shaoyun took two steps forward, then suddenly spoke to Chi Yi, “I’m leaving.”

Chi Yi’s lowered eyelashes trembled lightly. She opened her eyes, looking straight into Xie Shaoyun’s, and quickly replied, “Is someone picking you up?”

Chi Yi seemed a little uneasy, staring at Xie Shaoyun’s profile for a few seconds.

As if worried she wouldn’t answer, or might feel awkward, or think of her as a “terrible ex who emotionally manipulated her girlfriend” even though her expression betrayed her desire to say “let’s leave together,” Chi Yi pressed her lips together a few times, painfully suppressing her own plea.

She watched Xie Shaoyun quietly, her gaze so direct that Xie Shaoyun had to look away.

“No,” Xie Shaoyun averted her eyes, turning toward the runway show, where the climax was unfolding.

Chi Yi’s seat should have been in the best viewing box upstairs, but here she was, in the midst of a high-profile social event where everyone clamored for her attention.

Defying expectations, Chi Yi had vanished from the elite circle.

Xie Shaoyun asked her, “Shouldn’t you be networking?”

“I wasn’t planning to come in the first place,” Chi Yi admitted.

“Then why did you?”

Chi Yi looked at her but didn’t answer.

On this late summer night, a bright crescent moon hung in the sky right above Xie Shaoyun, casting a glow on her lips, vibrant yet not excessive.

It reminded Chi Yi of the dew-kissed rose she had seen that morning in the French estate.

Under the moonlight, the breathtakingly beautiful “puppy” had just mentioned her to a new blind date.

Despite trying her hardest to restrain herself to be an ex who didn’t make things difficult for Xie Shaoyun, the mere thought of the word “ex” made Chi Yi’s heart clench with pain. She was powerless not to love her.

In that survival show set on a deserted island, the experts had explained the inevitable outcome of isolation, once torn apart, the island’s only fate was to sink into the sea.

But Chi Yi realized she might have been blessed with extraordinary luck.

She had found the Xie Shaoyun she had lost and wanted to use every ounce of her strength to close the distance, to merge into an “us” once more.

So she couldn’t be dignified, couldn’t keep her boundaries, couldn’t pretend not to see her, not to love her, or act like strangers.

With a pained expression, Chi Yi softly said to Xie Shaoyun, “I’m heading back too. Where are you going? Let me take you.”

“The hotel is in the opposite direction from your place,” Xie Shaojun said to Chi Yi. “It’s too much trouble.”

“Then can you trouble me for once?” Chi Yi stopped pretending to be magnanimous. Calmly, stubbornly, she met Xie Shaojun’s gaze. Xie Shaojun looked at her and, for some reason, let out a faint chuckle.

She didn’t say yes or no. Instead, she took two steps forward and called Chi Yi’s name.

“Chi Yi.”

Chi Yi thought she was hallucinating, so she didn’t follow. She stood rooted in place, acutely aware that she no longer held much weight in Xie Shaojun’s heart.

It wasn’t like before, when a breakup could be brushed off with a simple apology.

Having faced Xie Shaojun’s ruthlessness too many times, Chi Yi didn’t dare hope for even a shred of leniency.

At the same time, she had no idea how to win her back. She wished she were born with the charm other girls had softer, more coquettish, or even shameless like that girl Qi Qi. Then maybe Xie Shaojun wouldn’t have broken up with her.

But Chi Yi had tried to learn. She just couldn’t.

Standing in the shadows, her delicate brows furrowed as she stared at Xie Shaojun’s retreating figure. She thought that figure would keep walking away, but after two steps, it stopped. Chi Yi heard Xie Shaojun call her name again.

She turned around, standing still, and looked at her impatiently. “Weren’t you going to take me home?”

Xie Shaojun said, “I already said goodbye. Unless you need more time.”

Chi Yi didn’t answer. Her expression was unreadable in the shadows. The two stood facing each other. After a while, when Xie Shaojun thought she wouldn’t respond and considered asking again.

She heard Chi Yi’s voice, thick with emotion. “I never thought you were bad. I wasn’t manipulating you. When you went to bars, smashed bottles, cursed like a delinquent.doing all those things that weren’t even that bad, I could tell you weren’t happy. I didn’t want you forcing yourself.”

Chi Yi called Xie Shaojun’s name. Xie Shaojun looked up to see Chi Yi’s composure crumbling.

She was utterly aggrieved, stubbornly complaining, “That woman isn’t as good-looking as me, and she doesn’t like you more than I do.”

Before Xie Shaojun could reply, Chi Yi’s peach-blossom eyes glistened with unshed tears. She stared straight at her and, with unpracticed sincerity, said, “Xie Shaojun, I like you.”

Then she asked, “Can you teach me how to make you stay?”

I like you.