After My Death, I Became a Heartless Madman - Chapter 1

The autumn in the Inner City always carried a biting chill, made even more pronounced by the drizzling rain. The car window was fogged up, turning the bustling nightscape outside into distorted streaks of light. Song Shizhou tightened her coat, hugged the thermos to her chest, and pushed the car door open.

The second-hand Mercedes she rode in was an outdated model from years ago, its bumper and body bearing signs of wear and tear. Compared to the luxury cars worth millions parked nearby, it looked undeniably shabby. Song Shizhou pressed her lips together and stepped out without a word.

Zhao opened the door for her, holding a black umbrella over her head from behind.

“Miss Song, please take care not to get wet in the rain.”

The neon lights of the night seemed especially dazzling. The Inner City was the largest and most prosperous metropolis in Wei Nation, and this was its most bustling downtown district. Towering skyscrapers lined both sides of the street, their lights stretching endlessly into the distance. Standing at the intersection, Song Shizhou felt a faint sense of disorientation at the overwhelming sight before her.

She had grown up in a remote countryside. Even after returning to the Inner City for over a decade, the unfamiliarity never quite faded.

Song Shizhou took the umbrella from Zhao and thanked her politely.

Her hurried footsteps left ripples in the puddles on the ground. The automatic glass doors slid open, and her figure, along with the wet footprints trailing behind her, stood out conspicuously.

A few malicious whispers reached her ears.

“Did you hear? This is the daughter the Song family lost twenty years ago. What a shame, now the fake has thrived while the real one is left in the dust.”

“What luck, clinging first to the Songs and then to Bai,  must’ve been blessed for lifetimes.”

“Shameless. I heard she’s an Alpha, yet she’s living with another Alpha without any proper status.”

Zhao angrily retorted, “What nonsense are you spouting,”

“Don’t.”

Song Shizhou raised a hand to stop her.

She had grown accustomed to such piercing words. Besides, these people weren’t entirely wrong. Song Shizhou exhaled deeply, trying to dispel the suffocating gloom that had settled in her heart over the years.

Yes, they weren’t wrong. She was indeed the Song family’s biological daughter, the one they had lost for over a decade. Back then, Song’s Mother had provoked enemies while heavily pregnant and was forced to flee to a remote town to give birth to Song Shizhou. In the chaos, someone with ill intentions had swapped the babies.

The couple who took her bore the surname Lu. Their own child had been born with a congenital heart defect. Poor and unwilling to watch their child die, they saw the wealth surrounding Song’s Mother and made the cruel decision to switch the infants.

Unfortunately, the Lu Family Couple were not the type to feel remorse or shame. They never once felt guilty for what they had done to Song Shizhou, nor did they try to compensate her. Knowing there was no blood relation between them, they abused and neglected her without a shred of conscience.

The Lu couple’s real daughter was now named Song Fengyu. Feng Yu was skilled in horseback riding and illustration, well-versed in art appreciation, fluent in multiple foreign languages, and a master of the piano. Song Shizhou, on the other hand, knew how to sweep floors, cook, wash clothes in winter without getting frostbite, and which nearby market had discounted vegetables.

The contrast was stark. It was obvious which one would be discarded.

At this thought, Song Shizhou let out another long sigh.

She didn’t want to dwell on what came after.

Xiao Zhao knew her temper and glared fiercely at those people. Perhaps because they didn’t want to provoke Song Shizhou directly, the eerily quiet hall gradually returned to normal.

Song Shizhou lowered her head and smiled.

Were these people really restraining themselves because they didn’t dare to confront her directly?

Not necessarily.

What they feared was merely the person behind her.

At the thought of that person, a sweet smile unconsciously curled at Song Shizhou’s lips. She checked the items she had brought, a thermos with a little bear design and a set of expensive, specialized utensils fussing over them repeatedly to ensure everything was perfect. Then she stepped forward and said to the receptionist,

“Hello, I have an appointment with Miss Bai at seven-thirty tonight.”

Upon hearing the thunderous name “Miss Bai,” the receptionist smiled respectfully and immediately escorted her to the VIP elevator.

“Director Bai is currently in a meeting in the conference room on the thirteenth floor. If you go up now, you should catch the meeting’s intermission.”

“Miss Song, this way, please.”

“The special operation targeting the riots in the Eleventh and Twelfth Districts is scheduled to officially commence on the twelfth of next month. Before then, all departments must complete their preparations.”

A woman in a long, fitted suit stood at the center of the conference room. She exuded an air of authority, her gaze carrying the arrogance of someone long accustomed to power, sweeping across the room until no one dared to meet her eyes.

Yet in the end, she respectfully turned her attention to the seat at the head of the table.

The others followed suit, their gazes converging on the woman seated at the center of the long table, surrounded like a star.

She was likely of mixed heritage, with strikingly white long hair, the ends curled, and green eyes like a cat, or perhaps a leopard.

“Beautiful” was not the right word to describe her, as beauty was often reserved for prey, for commodities displayed in shop windows, waiting to be priced. The woman before them was neither prey nor a commodity.

She was the master of the Special Operations Team, and the master of all these people.

White hair, green eyes, an otherworldly appearance paired with an icy expression, it was hard to tell whether she was a real person or just a flawless fantasy. She held many titles, but the one most familiar to the Inner City was her role as the Director of the Oversight Department and the absolute leader of the Special Operations Team.

Bai Ruowei.

“Mid-session break. Each group will report their progress in fifteen minutes.” A woman behind Bai Ruowei stood up. Mia was Bai Ruowei’s mentor, though in work settings, she acted more like her assistant, handling everything Bai Ruowei deemed beneath her attention.

The conversations in the conference room were hushed, as anyone with eyes could see Miss Bai was in a foul mood. The subordinates of the Surveillance Institute dutifully speculated about the reason for their superior’s irritation perhaps the recent unrest in the Eleventh District? The upcoming special operation? Or maybe,  matters of the heart?

A few gossipy male subordinates exchanged knowing smiles, recalling the recent romantic rumors surrounding Miss Bai.

Bai Ruowei glanced at her watch, her expression darkening, then looked at Mia.

“Seven forty.”

Mia chuckled softly. Someone was late.

A wave of irritation rose uncontrollably in Bai Ruowei’s heart. She dabbed her nose with a handkerchief. The Special Operations Team was predominantly composed of Alphas, and although everyone had applied suppressants, the conference room was still faintly permeated with Alpha pheromones. This wouldn’t have affected Bai Ruowei when she was still an Alpha herself, but the problem was she wasn’t one anymore.

A delicate kiss mark rested on the scent gland at the back of her neck. Bai Ruowei subtly rubbed against it. Though small, it had a distinct presence, constantly reminding her of what she had become and whose. It meant she had lost her identity as an Alpha and had now become an Omega, exclusively belonging to a certain Alpha.

The bite mark on her gland offered some comfort, and Bai Ruowei calmed slightly. Song Shizhou was rarely late, if they agreed to meet at 7:30, she would appear precisely then. A flicker of displeasure rose in Bai Ruowei’s heart, though she quickly dismissed it as unworthy of her anger.

Mia smiled faintly, sensing her thoughts.

“Miss Song entered the city hall ten minutes ago. She should arrive in less than half a minute.”

“Has the VIP elevator in the city hall broken down? I wasn’t aware it took ten minutes to get from the first floor to the thirteenth.”

She tapped Mia’s chest lightly.

“Do you think I wouldn’t find out just because you didn’t report it to me?”

Mia grinned cheekily.

“It was just a minor matter. If you dislike it, such trivialities won’t happen again.”

Bai Ruowei scoffed.

Sure enough, as soon as the words left her mouth, a knock sounded at the conference room door. Bai Ruowei’s gaze remained fixed on the case files, but her grip on the armrest tightened slightly. Mia promptly signaled for the door to be opened.

The murmurs of discussion didn’t cease with Song Shizhou’s arrival. She stood to the side, clutching a thermos, the plush carpet beneath her damp from the condensation, leaving a soggy stain that made her feel even more out of place.

“Why are you here?”

Song Shizhou’s temples were slightly damp, fresh moisture glistening on her cheeks.

“Miss Bai, I came to bring you dinner.”

The office fell completely silent at her words.

The Inspection Bureau’s headquarters, a place where every inch of space was worth its weight in gold, who here needed dinner delivered?

Bai Ruowei didn’t speak, merely watching her quietly.

The moisture on Song Shizhou’s cheeks grew warmer under her gaze. She bit her lip.

“…Wife, I came to bring you dinner.”

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