After My Death, Everyone Repented (Transmigration) - Chapter 9

The walls behind were adorned with an array of artistic paintings, fierce depictions of Guan Yu baring his fangs and claws, alongside abstract, impressionistic splashes of color.

Xie Shaoyun leaned against the audaciously styled mural she had painted herself, waiting for Jian Qing to approach before turning to instruct her assistant to prepare the tools. A black mask dangled from one ear, resting against the side of her face. With practiced ease, Xie Shaoyun pulled it off and tossed it into the trash, then retrieved a fresh medical mask and rubber gloves from the drawer beneath the table.

Only after completing these preparations did Xie Shaoyun finally glance back at Jian Qing.

Jian Qing lay on the tattoo bed, her gaze fixed unwaveringly on Xie Shaoyun.

“Has anyone ever told you that the way you work is incredibly captivating?”

Too many people had been captivated by her, one more Jian Qing hardly mattered. Compliments about her professional prowess were something Xie Shaoyun accepted without hesitation.

But when it came to Jian Qing…

The way Jian Qing looked at her was never the polite gaze of a normal person. It was cloying, nauseating, and filled with something Xie Shaoyun despised. She didn’t respond, nor did she give Jian Qing another chance to sneak glances from below.

With her right hand, Xie Shaoyun pulled the tattoo chair closer and sat down, using her foot to drag the mobile workstation within reach. Once the tattoo gun was in her hand, she said to Jian Qing, “Lift your skirt.”

Jian Qing blinked, as if confirming, then feigned shyness. “I’m a little embarrassed. Could they leave first?”

After Damei and the others had exited, the room fell silent.

Slowly, Jian Qing lifted the hem of her skirt, sliding it up along her thighs. She lay on her side on the tattoo bed, the movement deliberately seductive, drawing the eye. Ten seconds later, the act was complete.

Not seeing the reaction she’d hoped for, Jian Qing turned to the indifferent woman and asked, “Should I take off my underwear too?”

Xie Shaoyun ignored the question, adjusting the height of the workstation.

“Are you going to touch my waist?” Jian Qing pressed.

The cold metal tip of the tattoo gun pressed against the dip of Jian Qing’s lower back. “Lie still,” Xie Shaoyun snapped impatiently.

Jian Qing persisted, “But shouldn’t you touch it first? How else will you know if the skin is good?”

“Jian Qing,” Xie Shaoyun retorted dryly, “have you been deprived of touch all these years? There’s a limit to this nonsense. Don’t forget who I am to you.”

Jian Qing fell silent, her expression shifting into something strange as she stared at Xie Shaoyun.

“Why didn’t you tell me you got married?” Jian Qing suddenly asked.

Without missing a beat, Xie Shaoyun replied, “I didn’t think you needed to know.”

Despite the cold words, Jian Qing didn’t retaliate. Instead, she maintained an unnervingly pleasant tone. “Really? I thought maybe you were afraid I’d meet Chi Yi or that I’d steal her from you?”

Her voice deliberately low, Jian Qing watched Xie Shaoyun closely, not missing a single flicker of emotion on her face.

Finishing her adjustments, Xie Shaoyun lowered her gaze and tapped Jian Qing’s shoulder. “So, what is it you want to know from me?”

Jian Qing suddenly smiled. “You won’t tell me.”

“Try me.” Xie Shaoyun remained expressionless, still focused on examining the tautness of the exposed skin on Jian Qing’s waist.

“Why did you marry a woman?”

The question didn’t disrupt Xie Shaoyun’s work. She picked up the inspection light, carefully studying the damaged skin before answering in the same languid tone, “People marry because they’re in love. I love Chi Yi. Does that answer satisfy you?”

Jian Qing’s expression twisted anger, jealousy, bitterness, all flickering across her face before settling back into silence.

After that, Jian Qing remained silent the whole way. Xie Shaojun instructed her to turn over, and she turned over.

When told to sit up, she sat up.

After measuring the damaged skin area and assessing the skin color, Xie Shaojun pulled out a small notebook to record the condition.

She maintained a highly professional demeanor throughout, her tone strictly businesslike from start to finish.

As a result, Jian Qing couldn’t extract any of the information she wanted from Xie Shaojun. Once the examination was done, Xie Shaojun wasted no words and informed her that the damage caused by Da Mei wasn’t extensive, though localized areas showed signs of inflammation.

“Go to the hospital and get it checked.”

“You take me,” Jian Qing said.

“I’m a tattoo artist, not your parent.” Xie Shaojun pushed back her chair and stood up, making a move to leave.

Jian Qing followed, tugging lightly at the hem of Xie Shaojun’s clothes. She softened her voice and said, “Sister Jun, my waist hurts.”

There was no good response to that.

Though Xie Shaojun had a thousand reasons to refuse, the responsibility for Jian Qing’s inflammation lay with Da Mei. The little white lotus might not be good at much, but she knew exactly how to play the helpless card.

Xie Shaojun shot her a sidelong glance. “Jian Qing, why did you come back?”

Jian Qing’s smile faded, a shadow crossing her delicate profile. “That’s something I should ask you, why did you marry Chi Yi?”

After leaving the tattoo studio, Xie Shaojun briefed Da Mei on Jian Qing’s condition, then coolly directed her to drive to the hospital.

Da Mei had a knack for picking locations the off-road vehicle stopped in the parking lot of the central hospital where Xie Shaojun had been diagnosed with brain cancer just three days prior.

Sitting in the car, Xie Shaojun refused to accompany Jian Qing inside, no matter how much she pleaded.

God may love all, but mortals say: to be born human is to live for oneself.

Compared to Jian Qing’s inflammation, Xie Shaojun felt her own illness was far more in need of attention.

She wasn’t selfless enough to shoulder responsibility for Da Mei’s mistake to that extent.

Helping this much was already the greatest kindness she could muster as a human being.

She dozed off in the car, likely in an awkward position.

Her long legs cramped, feeling as heavy as lead, and soon a dull, gnawing ache spread across her face, as if something were devouring her flesh and bones.

She had never experienced the slow march toward death before. In her nine previous role-playing missions, her soul had been extracted the moment her character died.

But now, abruptly confronted with the premonition and reality of dying, Xie Shaojun realized the old saying was true: when death approaches, the soul grows frail, vitality wanes, and malevolent spirits cling close. Hence, the nightmare of sleep paralysis.

She woke in a cold sweat. The car window was open, letting in the crisp autumn air. Propping her arm against the sill, she gazed at the row of yellowing ginkgo trees outside.

Before long, the chill seeped into her bones, and she coughed.

It reminded her of last winter, when she returned from Mount Everest and came down with pneumonia.

Chi Yi had been furious. Xie Shaojun always dressed too lightly, flaunting her nonconformity. None of her outfits aligned with Chi Yi’s sensibilities.

No matter how many times Chi Yi lectured her, Xie Shaojun never changed.

Eventually, Chi Yi realized Xie Shaojun was, at her core, willful and duplicitous. So she took drastic measures, gathering all of Xie Shaojun’s autumn and winter clothes and having thin fleece lining sewn in, impossible to remove.

After that, whether in autumn or winter, whenever they walked outside, Chi Yi refused to slip her hands into Xie Shaojun’s pockets.

Instead, she would pull Xie Shaojun’s hands out and tuck them firmly into her own coat pockets.

In my memory, Chi Yi’s hands were always warm, much smaller than Xie Shaojun’s. They couldn’t envelop her completely, only intertwining fingers as they held each other.

This year, the ginkgo leaves turned yellow unusually fast. Xie Shaojun found herself staring at them, lost in thought for quite some time.

Half an hour later, Damei’s sudden phone call abruptly interrupted Xie Shaojun’s brief moment of respite.

“Gynecology clinic, Building 3. You might need to come up here.”

“What’s wrong?” Xie Shaojun asked.

“Jian Qing, she…” Damei’s voice trembled with a hint of panic and choked sobs. “She had a miscarriage. Just now, while walking up the stairs to the eighth floor for her appointment.”

Damei continued, “What do I do, Junjun? When I was tattooing Jian Qing, she told me she didn’t have a boyfriend. I thought it was just about ruining her skin, I never meant to harm the baby in her womb. Do you remember the teratogenic rate of tattoo ink?”

Xie Shaojun opened the car door and stepped out of the parking lot, listening patiently before asking, “How is Jian Qing feeling now?”

“She’s calm, but I know any mother who loses a child must be suffering terribly inside.”

A faint, almost mocking smile tugged at Xie Shaojun’s lips. “Good. Don’t blame yourself too much. No sane person would walk up eight flights of stairs.”

Damei didn’t catch Xie Shaojun’s last words the call disconnected.

Moments later, a second call came through. “Actually, don’t come. The OB-GYN here knows your parents. I’m worried…”

The phone died, shutting off automatically. Xie Shaojun pocketed it.

She asked the system: [Did Jian Qing sleep with a man?]

The system hesitated for a few seconds. [You knew about it four years ago. Why ask me now?]

[So how is she even worthy of Chi Yi?]

The system had no answer.

Xie Shaojun didn’t expect one anyway. With a pang of sorrow, she muttered: [Forget it. I’ve already let her go. She can love whoever she wants what does it have to do with me?]

Shifting to a lighter topic, she asked: [Is Jian Qing’s miscarriage just another plot device to speed up my exit?]

This time, the system confirmed: [Yes.]

Xie Shaojun scoffed: [Then you guys are slacking. With only two months left, I thought at the very least she’d be diagnosed with kidney failure.]

The system snapped back irritably: [Could you stop smiling? Are you insane? Do you even realize how ugly your grin looks right now?]

Xie Shaojun found the system oddly endearing. Eyes crinkling, she smirked rebelliously, deliberately provoking it: [I am insane.]