After My Death, I Became a Heartless Madman - Chapter 19

Of course it was true.

Lan Chi’s words left Song Shizhou stunned.

She didn’t know whether to hide her relationship with Bai Ruowei or simply claim they didn’t know each other at all.

In this life, she didn’t want to be entangled with Miss Bai again.

But when she met those familiar pale green eyes, she couldn’t bring herself to lie.

Because those eyes they were too much like Miss Bai’s.

Not lying to Miss Bai had become a habit. Song Shizhou smiled self-deprecatingly. Even now, standing before someone who wasn’t Miss Bai, she still couldn’t conceal the truth under the gaze of those eyes. She was accustomed to yielding to every unreasonable demand Bai Ruowei made.

Song Shizhou lowered her head, hesitating for a moment.

“There is a Miss Bai in the Inner City… and you do look very much like her.”

Not just similar, they were practically identical. Even if Li Ningzhi and Mia were asked to distinguish between them, they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference at a glance.

“Hmm… I see.”

A stray lock of hair fell over Lan Chi’s eyes.

“Then, what is your relationship with this Miss Bai?”

Lan Chi smiled.

“Shizhou, just how close were you to call out her name in your sleep?”

Song Shizhou froze, realizing she was referring to what had happened earlier.

She lowered her gaze and answered honestly.

“I… used to have feelings for Miss Bai.”

It seemed nothing in the world could shock Lan Chi anymore. Even the mention of the renowned Miss Bai only drew a light chuckle and a knowing nod.

“And now? Do you still  like her?”

Song Shizhou didn’t answer.

Discussing heartbreak in front of her sister felt strange. She rarely shared details of her relationship with Miss Bai even with Feng Yu. Sensing her reluctance, Lan Chi didn’t press further.

After all, the question was somewhat abrupt.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to say. Everyone has things they’d rather not talk about.”

The chubby cat had somehow made its way to the second floor and was now meowing at Lan Chi’s feet. She bent down and picked it up.

Song Shizhou’s expression darkened.

She felt she owed Lan Chi an explanation.

She was staying under Lan Chi’s roof. If Miss Bai came looking for her, she didn’t want to bring unnecessary trouble to Lan Chi. Song Shizhou laughed at herself again, why would Miss Bai come looking for her? Hadn’t she already met Zhao Yiqing?

“I did have feelings for Miss Bai in the past, but now. I don’t anymore.”

Shizhou’s voice was calm.

Lan Chi acted as though she hadn’t heard, continuing to stroke the fat cat’s fur.

As if struck by a thought, Song Shizhou spoke up.

“Sis, as an exchange, can I ask you a question?”

Lan Chi looked up.

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing major. I’ve just been really curious, why do you paint so many stars?”

She had asked the same question yesterday, but Lan Chi hadn’t answered then.

Her expression remained unreadable, but Pang Hu let out a pitiful yowl and scrambled out of her arms. After a moment of silence, Lan Chi spoke with deliberate emphasis.

“Because of someone.”

“Someone very important.”

In the afternoon, Shizhou helped Lan Chi move a small bed from the storage room to the second floor and tidied up the space a little.

Lan Chi’s only source of income now was this small art gallery. Life was modest, but warm.

“If you don’t plan to return to the Inner City, you can stay in this town for now. The economy here isn’t great, but the air is fresh, perfect for relaxation.”

Shizhou nodded.

Lan Chi’s painting skills were naturally beyond question. Just the level of those few pieces on the wall surpassed any teacher Song Lanyi had ever hired for her.

But why would someone as talented as Lan Chi choose to live in a small place like Flying Bird Town? Why didn’t she go to the more developed Thirteenth District instead of running a struggling little art gallery here?

Song Shizhou shook her head. This was Lan Chi’s personal matter, and she didn’t want to dwell on it.

Lan Chi went upstairs to fetch something, her figure suddenly seeming distant. Shizhou wanted to ask where those paintings should be hung when her phone rang.

“Hello, who is this?”

“Sis, you finally answered my call.”

It was Lu Qi.

Shizhou froze, instinctively moving to hang up.

Her finger hovered just a centimeter from the red button when Lu Qi’s voice continued, “Hey sis, why aren’t you saying anything?”

“I heard from the Song family that you left the Inner City. Did something happen?”

The boy’s voice was soft and gentle, nothing like the hysterical tone she remembered.

That madness.

Shizhou’s expression darkened.

“Nothing happened.”

“If nothing happened, why block my number? You can block theirs, but why me…”

The coldness in her voice startled Lu Qi. Sensitive as she was, she couldn’t miss the distance in Shizhou’s words.

“Sis, I haven’t seen you since you moved to the Inner City. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming to Flying Bird Town?”

“Flying Bird Town?”

Shizhou chuckled, wiping dust off a porcelain vase as she spoke.

“I have classmates living in Flying Bird Town. They said they might have seen you on the street. I happened to be visiting friends here today and wanted to check if it was really you.”

Lu Qi spoke cautiously.

“If you’re not here, that’s fine too. Maybe they were mistaken. But Shizhou, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you.”

His voice caught.

“I’ve missed you. Can you come see me?”

The Lu Qi from her past life had been the same constantly begging to meet after she returned to the Inner City. But the Lu family lived in the Lower City District, where even entering the Upper City District required complicated procedures, let alone the Inner City.

Shizhou didn’t want to see him, had no desire to. Yet she felt that if she didn’t meet him today, this girl would haunt her like a ghost.

How did he know she was in Flying Bird Town?

Shizhou wasn’t naive enough to believe his story.

The bus station wasn’t crowded when Shizhou arrived after dark. She spotted Lu Qi perched on a suitcase, wearing his middle school uniform, small and slight.

“Sis, over here!”

Shizhou followed his voice. Lu Qi hesitated, then awkwardly withdrew his outstretched hand.

“Can I still call you sis?”

Madam Song Lanyi had warned them Song Shizhou now had no connection to him or the Lu family. She’d forbidden the Lu couple from visiting her in the Inner City or even mentioning her casually.

Lu Qi pouted.

Shizhou asked, “What do you want?”

Lu Qi rummaged in his bag and pulled out a gift box.

The delicate box had been crushed by the assortment of items stuffed inside, its dented surface looking rather awkward. Fortunately, it didn’t contain anything expensive, so there was no heartache over the damage.

The outer packaging was the garish pink favored by small-town shopping centers, tacky and cheap.

Lu Qi looked regretful as she tried to smooth out the dents, only making them more obvious in the process.

Embarrassed, she handed it over.

“I bought this with my own pocket money. I saved up for a really, really long time.”

Shizhou opened the package.

Inside was a bracelet, its centerpiece a tiny pendant.

“It’s a lucky charm, sis. I heard you haven’t been happy in the Inner City, so I wanted you to have good fortune.”

Shizhou held the gift.

To someone wealthy, such a trinket would mean nothing. But for Lu Qi, a middle schooler surviving on eighty yuan a month for breakfast, it must have taken ages to save up.

Had that incident not happened, she might have been overjoyed to receive this. But now, Song Shizhou didn’t know what to feel or what expression to wear.

At thirteen, Lu Qi’s smile was still shy, nothing like the gloomy yet striking beauty she’d grow into as an adult.

“Thank you.”

Lu Qi grinned, tugging at her arm playfully, just like when they were kids. For a moment, they huddled close until Lu Qi suddenly winced in pain.

Instinctively, Shizhou pushed up her sleeve.

Bruises, mottled blue and purple.

There was no need to ask who had done it. A thirteen-year-old already had her pride, so she quietly pulled her sleeve back down.

Had she been beaten for saving up to buy the gift? Or for sneaking off to Flying Bird Town without telling her parents? Or simply because they were in a bad mood? Unwanted children didn’t need reasons to be hit. Lu Qi scratched her head.

“It’s fine. I’m used to it.”

“As long as I know you’ll come back to see me, it doesn’t hurt.”

“Sis…”

Lu Qi said,

“You will come back to see me, right?”

A hopeful light flickered in the girl’s eyes, bright and shimmering.

“Sis, my birthday’s coming up… The ones before don’t matter, they’re already gone. But this year… will you come back to District 14 for me?”

Shizhou suddenly felt lost. In her past life, Lu Qi had also begged her to celebrate her eighteenth birthday. She’d agreed, but hadn’t made it back in time.

“You promised to celebrate my coming of age, so why didn’t you come? You knew no one else would remember my birthday. You don’t want me. Why don’t you want me?”

Seeing Shizhou’s silence, Lu Qi lowered her head, looking hurt.

“I knew you wouldn’t answer.”

She grabbed Shizhou’s arm.

“Shizhou, if you can’t come, that’s okay. But you have to… you have to remember me.”

Tears streamed down Lu Qi’s face. She was still far from adulthood, but she was beautiful even without ever being treated kindly. Yet beauty was no blessing for a sensitive, love-starved girl. It made her believe she could trade it for affection, not realizing that a pretty face was just the first step into quicksand, pulling her deeper until she couldn’t escape.

Shizhou wiped her tears away.

Before long, Lan Chi called back, asking why she hadn’t returned yet.

“The security in Flying Bird Town isn’t as good as the Inner City. It’s so late, you should come back early.”

“I know…”

Song Shizhou’s voice sounded hoarse.

“My… younger sister came to Flying Bird Town to see me, so I got delayed.”

Lan Chi chuckled lightly, her voice floating through the receiver like a feather.

“I’m still waiting for you, Shizhou. Don’t come back so late.”

Song Shizhou nodded. When she looked up again, Lu Qi was already gone.

The red scarf she liked lay on the ground, stained with ugly mud.

… …

There were two lucky beads in total. One she had given to Song Shizhou, and the other…

Lu Qi took out another bracelet from her pocket and put it on her own wrist.

“Elder sister…”

“Elder sister?”

She gave a strange smile.

“I’m still waiting for you~”

She stared at the expensive little bead for a long moment before suddenly taking off the bracelet and throwing it into the mud.

“Song Shizhou, you’re really something.”

“Even in this second life, the people around you just keep increasing.”

She turned to leave, but the next second, the mud-covered bead was back on her wrist. The black cord tightened around the girl’s pale wrist, the rough rope digging into her flesh with a tearing pain.

Lu Qi trembled from the pain. When she looked up, she met a pair of familiar eyes.

“Song… Shizhou?”

She grew anxious.

“Elder sister… what are you doing? You’re hurting me.”

Shizhou smiled faintly.

“Done pretending?”

Lu Qi froze.

“Elder sister, what are you talking about? What am I pretending…”

Two swift, harsh slaps followed. Lu Qi was stunned, looking at the person in disbelief.

It was a familiar face, one that always wore a gentle smile, making people think she had no bottom line, no dignity, that she could be trampled upon freely.

Lu Qi fell to the ground. Shizhou pulled her out of the mud.

“Don’t you have anything to say to me now?”

Referring to the two slaps, and perhaps other things as well.

Lu Qi got up, her whole body numb.

“Thank you… elder sister…”

The person smiled and patted her head.

“Good girl.”

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