After My Death, I Became a Heartless Madman - Chapter 14

After staying in the Thirteenth District for nearly half a month, Song Shizhou still had one important matter to attend to.

Perhaps because the past few days had been sunny, the rain that had been building up for half a month finally poured down. Holding a black umbrella, she walked through the shadowy, misty forest.

Most unnamed forests would inevitably have a lonely patch of graves, and her grandmother’s tomb was among them. When Song Shizhou visited as a child, she used to feel afraid, it was too quiet here, so quiet that all she could hear was her own breathing.

The Lu family couple had always lived frugally. Raising Song Shizhou didn’t cost much, a few old clothes and a bowl of rice were enough to keep her alive and well until she turned twelve, saving them the expense of hired help or a nanny. But raising their own child proved more difficult. They weren’t particularly filial either, so naturally, they refused to spend money on a better burial plot for her grandmother.

Rows of tombstones stood crooked from years of neglect. Some still had offerings in front of them, though it was impossible to tell how long they had been there most had been ravaged by wild animals, leaving the graves in such disrepair that it was hard to look at.

Kneeling halfway down, Song Shizhou finally found the tombstone from her memories.

The joss paper she carried had been carefully protected in her arms, completely dry.

She took out a lighter, stubbornly determined to light the paper.

“Grandma, I’ve come to see you.”

The last time she visited, Miss Bai had accompanied her. By then, her grandmother’s grave had already been relocated to another place a scenic, open area renowned as excellent feng shui.

As a child, Song Shizhou had always vowed that she would give her grandmother a better life once she grew up. But before she could, her grandmother had passed away. So her wish shifted from ensuring her grandmother’s comfort in life to finding her a peaceful resting place in death. If she couldn’t enjoy happiness in life, at least she could have blessings in the afterlife.

Her grandmother had been the only one in the Lu family who treated her well. The fact that she survived without being abused was entirely due to her grandmother’s perseverance in those years. Naturally, the Lu family couple resented her for it, so when Song Shizhou made her request, they refused without hesitation.

“How can we just move an elder’s grave around? Your aunt and I visit every year to pay our respects.”

Yet the tombstone was clearly damaged, with no repairs or replacements made.

“It’s not just you who has feelings for Grandma, Shizhou. We care about her too.”

But when Grandma was alive, you didn’t treat her well either.

In the end,

it was all about money.

Song Shizhou didn’t want to waste words on them, nor did she want to give them a single cent. Perhaps because they sensed her resolve, or perhaps because they realized they couldn’t squeeze much out of her, the Lu family couple finally relented.

Everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction. Shizhou had already chosen a new burial site for her grandmother and paid the deposit in full. But then, out of nowhere, Song Lanyi suddenly objected.

“What more do I need to say? You’re not even blood-related to Old Mrs. Lu, why go to such lengths for this?”

“She’s already dead. Instead of wasting effort on the dead, you should care more about the living.”

But how could that be the same?

She hated the Lu Family Couple, but Grandma had shown her kindness. No matter what she did, Song Lanyi would always refuse, everything she did was wrong. Even visiting the Thirteenth District every Qingming Festival to pay respects to Grandma was met with endless obstruction.

Even signed contracts were returned because of Madam Song Lanyi they refused to sell the burial plot to her anymore.

In the end, it was Miss Bai who helped settle the matter.

She had never mentioned it to Miss Bai, nor had Miss Bai ever brought it up in front of her. But one day, out of nowhere, the cemetery owner personally called to apologize, explaining the reason and even offering to relocate the old lady’s ashes for her.

Madam Song Lanyi didn’t say anything more after that.

Miss Bai accompanied her to visit Grandma’s grave. The burial site wasn’t in the Inner City but in a suburban area nearby. The journey was long, and it was raining that day every step was muddy, and one misstep could send her tumbling.

Miss Bai had always been delicate in front of her, but this time, she was unusually patient. She stayed by her side at Grandma’s grave, helped wipe the tombstone, and listened as she cried for a long time.

Miss Bai didn’t scold her for staining her expensive shirt with tears, only silently patting her back. Shizhou clutched her sleeve and asked, Would Grandma blame me for coming to get her so late? Miss Bai told her it wasn’t late not at all.

But later, Miss Bai rarely accompanied her to visit Grandma again.

Song Shizhou quietly shielded the small flame.

Because Miss Bai was always busy, occupied with matters at the Surveillance Institute, how could she have time to accompany her to see Grandma? Not just that, their time together grew scarce. Miss Bai seemed to appear only around her estrus cycle, then vanish in a hurry, only to reappear later.

After that, she always visited the grave alone, thinking that if Grandma’s spirit was watching, she might wonder, why had the young lady who always accompanied her stopped coming? Why was she alone again?

The joss paper burned quickly, leaving no trace in the rain. Song Shizhou wiped the water from her face, unsure if it was rain or tears.

…

The Thirteenth District was notoriously rainy, its weather unpredictable sunny one moment, pouring the next. The Inner City’s climate, however, was stable always comfortably humid, wealthy, and untroubled. The indoor ski resort never suffered from bad weather.

The beginner slopes were crowded, packed with people. In front of a half-meter-high snowbank, novices strapped with turtle-shaped padding shivered nervously.

The advanced slopes were far less crowded.

Mia said Bai Ruowei hadn’t been in great shape lately, she had inexplicably burst into tears at a wedding a few days ago. She insisted Bai Ruowei was just under too much stress, so she helped her take some time off, also as a celebration for her successful appointment as Chief Inspector.

Though Mia admitted she couldn’t afford to throw Bai Ruowei a victory banquet, so she took her out for some fun instead.

After much deliberation, they settled on the ski resort because Mia wanted to ski.

Bai Ruowei sat by the edge of the slope, her signature white hair completely hidden under a helmet, her usual eye color obscured by ski goggles.

The advanced slope stretched for kilometers, taking Mia nearly half an hour to complete. She called out to Bai Ruowei from the slope,

“You really won’t give it a try?”

Bai Ruowei shook her head, sipping her warm orange juice.

“No.”

She had a real headache from too much skiing no, really, a splitting headache. What was that saying again? It felt like her brain was about to grow, or something like that. That was a phrase Li Ningzhi used. She was the first to object when she found out Mia was going skiing, saying Miss Bai hadn’t fully recovered yet how could she participate in such strenuous activity?

Mia couldn’t care less. Her own vacation time was pitifully short, so she was determined to make the most of it and indulge in whatever she wanted.

Bai Ruowei sat on a bench scrolling through her phone, flipping from celebrity gossip to Inner City gossip. The bench didn’t even have a backrest. She clicked her tongue in annoyance probably a ploy to keep tourists from resting too long and encourage them to spend more time (and money) elsewhere. But Bai Ruowei wasn’t falling for it. Today, she’d sooner sit here until her butt went numb than set foot on the slopes again.

She really did have a headache.

As she mulled over what to eat for dinner, someone suddenly sat down beside her.

Miss Zhao was holding a snowboard, with the beginner skier’s emblem a little green turtle-shaped butt pad dangling from her waist.

Zhao Yiqing?

The Omega’s eyes lit up with little pink bubbles the moment she saw her.

“Miss Bai, what a coincidence! I never thought I’d run into you here…”

Bai Ruowei gave her a quick once-over. Yeah, what a coincidence even dressed like this, Zhao Yiqing had somehow recognized her.

Bai Ruowei wasn’t much of a talker, and Zhao Yiqing was too busy drowning in thoughts of she’s so pretty and I’m so shy to say much either. The two of them just stared at each other for a long moment, the atmosphere thick with something that could only be described as awkward tension. Just then, Mia finally had her fill of skiing and trudged over with her snowboard. Bai Ruowei shot her a look.

You knew about this?

Mia looked utterly innocent.

Bai Ruowei smiled.

“Never thought I’d bump into Miss Zhao here. What a coincidence indeed.”

Zhao Yiqing decided to cut to the chase.

“Miss Bai, my coach had to cancel last minute, and I’m just a beginner. The slope’s too steep, I don’t dare go alone…”

“Could you… maybe teach me for a few runs?”

The flimsy excuse nearly made Mia laugh out loud. If the coach bailed, just hire another one, it wasn’t like the entire resort had run out of instructors. Besides, the beginner slope was barely half a meter high, it’d be hard to get hurt even if you tried. And Bai Ruowei had been lounging off the slopes all day, she hardly looked like the skiing type. Meanwhile, Mia had been showing off her skills for hours like a peacock in full display. If Zhao Yiqing wanted a teacher, she should’ve asked Mia. Why Bai Ruowei?

Mia grinned and stepped in.

“Teaching isn’t exactly Miss Bai’s forte. I’ll do it instead.”

Zhao Yiqing hadn’t really expected this to work anyway. She just wanted to make herself more noticeable in front of Miss Bai and if she could get close to her, even better.

She fidgeted, about to decline Mia’s offer, but before she could speak, Bai Ruowei’s hand reached out first.

“No.”

“I’ll teach her.”

There was only one bus from the cemetery to the Thirteenth District. By the time Song Shizhou boarded, she was freezing her pant legs and collar were soaked from the rain, and she had nothing to dry herself with.

She paid for her ticket, got on, and found a seat.

So cold.

Her phone buzzed several times, Su Ziqing had suddenly sent her a message.

Ever since Song Shizhou left the group chat last time, publicly severing all ties with the Inner City, Su Ziqing had gone to great lengths to find her new number. At first, Shizhou would always block her, but for every number blocked, Su Ziqing would simply switch to another. Eventually, Shizhou didn’t know what to do with her anymore.

“Breaking news, breaking news! Little White Dragon and Zhao Yiqing are about to tie the knot!”

Su Ziqing bombarded her with a flood of messages, interspersed with numerous photos.

“Hey, Shizhou, don’t you think it’s surprising? Bai Ruowei is always so busy, isn’t the Surveillance Institute notoriously swamped? Yet she actually found time to take Zhao Yiqing out and even taught her how to ski! If that’s not true love, what is?”

Teasing words popped up one after another, and Su Ziqing spammed a string of exclamation marks. But Shizhou’s gaze lingered on those photos.

Perhaps no one understood just how busy Bai Ruowei was better than Song Shizhou.

Not because they had once been so close or familiar, but because Shizhou had waited for her too many times, only to be disappointed too often.

“I always thought someone with Little White Dragon’s personality wouldn’t be all that considerate in a relationship. But look at her she’s actually pretty good at caring for others! She even helped Zhao Yiqing tie her coat. KSWL.”

Shizhou’s fingers hovered over the photos, her expression unreadable.

So, she had already found new companionship. That was good.

Shizhou turned off her phone. The ticket attendant asked which stop she was getting off at.

“Thirteenth District.”

She paused, then reopened her phone and deleted those photos.

Support