After My Death, I Became a Heartless Madman - Chapter 22.1

Lover’s Cliff stood atop a towering mountain peak, where thick, multicolored mist like miasma drifted through the emerald-green forests.

The car Song Shizhou had rented was parked steadily among the trees, though the driver had either mishandled it or been in too much of a hurry, leaving the front wheels buried deep in the mud.

An ordinary black sedan, nearly indistinguishable in the foggy thicket.

Mia led a few people in forcibly breaking open the door.

The scent of air freshener wafted out clearly, the owner kept things clean. The interior was spotless, and after a thorough search, the rescue team found almost nothing except for a cushion.

But what use was a cushion?

With no other choice, they expanded their search.

A faint trail wound through the woods where the car was parked. Mia carefully examined it with a flashlight, and the group cautiously followed the path.

The trail ended at the cliff’s edge.

Bai Ruowei’s expression darkened.

A luxury-brand scarf wrapped around her, concealing her pale complexion and lips flushed from tension.

A few faint footprints marked the edge of the cliff, nearly erased by time. If not for Mia’s sharp eye, most would have missed them.

Bai Ruowei clutched two pieces of clothing, her face ashen.

She had taken these clothes from the Song family. Song Lan had been startled by the request, but Mia had spun some excuse claiming it would aid Miss Bai’s recovery, given that Song Shizhou had offended her last time.

The reason didn’t matter.

Bai Ruowei’s expression remained indifferent. She didn’t linger by the cliff or speak, simply returning to the car.

Inside, she slowly lowered her head, burying herself in the clothes.

Omegas separated from their Alphas often exhibited nesting behaviors but she was an Alpha now. Could Alphas nest too? Bai Ruowei didn’t know. All she knew was that the faint scent of night-blooming cereus still clung to the fabric, though barely there. Yet she clung to it tirelessly.

If she had known it would come to this, why did she act that way?

Miss Bai silently judged herself.

Through the half-lowered window, her subordinates could see their boss’s strange behavior. Li Ningzhi hesitated but Miss Bai’s affairs were never theirs to question.

Li Ningzhi returned with a report.

“We’ve searched everywhere. Aside from the car, there’s no trace of anything else.”

But the car held no useful clues either.

“This cliff lies at the intersection of three towns. A thorough investigation would take a long time.”

In other words, by the time they finished, Song Shizhou might already be somewhere else.

There was another possibility, of course but they tacitly avoided mentioning it. Because Miss Bai didn’t want to hear it, no one dared to speak.

“…Keep looking,” Bai Ruowei said flatly.

But where?

Li Ningzhi was puzzled.

The cliff was right here, with raging rapids below. The car was parked nearby had Miss Song grown wings and flown away?

Mia shot her a warning glance.

Perhaps Miss Bai meant for them to search the cliff itself.

Before Bai Ruowei could give the order, thunder suddenly roared in the sky, and ferocious lightning swept across violently. Bai Ruowei stared blankly at the sky, completely unresponsive.

An unexpected downpour dampened everyone’s enthusiasm. Since they hadn’t eaten yet, Mia distributed instant noodles and bread to the group. But without hot water, they could only gnaw on the dry noodles.

Bai Ruowei had no intention of eating dry noodles. She could go without food after all, she had little interest in it.

She sat alone in the car, lost in thought.

The rain made the search more difficult, but the time for tracking was precious. After a long while, Mia approached, clad in a thick black raincoat.

Rainwater streamed down the brim of her hood like beaded curtains.

“Miss Bai, the rescue team has already checked…”

Mia raised her hand, clutching a piece of clothing.

“This was found on a small tree at the base of the cliff.”

Who could have such precise aim, such idle patience, to deliberately throw a piece of clothing onto that tree where the vines were nearly fused with the cliff? Even upon close inspection, it would have been nearly impossible to spot.

Bai Ruowei took the clothing.

An utterly ordinary windbreaker, its wear and tear suggesting it hadn’t been lost for long.

“This wallet was in the jacket’s pocket.”

Bai Ruowei mechanically opened the wallet. She didn’t hold it steady, and the IDs inside scattered across the ground.

Every document shared the same owner.

Mia’s expression changed.

“Bai, I don’t know what’s going on, but… you must stay calm.”

Miss Bai picked up the documents one by one.

Aside from Song Shizhou’s identification card, her bank cards, driver’s license, keys, and even a packet of air freshener were all stuffed inside. Losing so many important documents would be a major hassle. Song Shizhou was never careless, how could she have left them here?

Unless she had given up on life and was already dead.

Bai Ruowei suddenly laughed.

She had given up, so she jumped off the cliff again, died again. She had given up, so she didn’t cherish her second chance.

It was her own fault, her own foolishness, her own choice to end it.

So why was Bai Ruowei the one losing her mind?

Hysterical laughter. Miss Bai’s radiant, otherworldly face remained breathtakingly beautiful even now. She laughed exquisitely, utterly disregarding her image, her lips curving like spring blossoms, enough to make hearts flutter.

She pinched Song Shizhou’s face on the ID, her fingers whitening from the force.

“Hahaha… such a clumsy trick, Song Shizhou. Did you really think I’d believe it?”

She wasn’t a fool just temporarily exhausted. Who did Song Shizhou think she was fooling?

Did she think Bai Ruowei would believe it? That if she made her think she was dead, she’d stop searching?

Dream on.

Even if it was a corpse, a scrap of clothing, a handful of dirt even if it was just a tombstone.

She would dig three feet into the ground to bring Song Shizhou back.

She slapped the wallet against Mia’s chest.

“Keep these safe for Miss Song. It’d be a hassle if they got lost. She won’t have time to replace them one by one when she returns.”

Li Ningzhi was nearly scared to death.

“Miss Bai, what should we do now?”

“Shut up.”

Bai Ruowei said calmly,

“Come with me.”

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