After My Death, I Became a Heartless Madman - Chapter 28

Perhaps to complement the name of Ink Residence, the doors here were all made from rare and precious local ebony. Even after decades, the wood, sealed with wax, still emitted a faint, lingering fragrance.

On the windowsills of the corridor, a few pots of roses were placed. Though it wasn’t their season to bloom, the constant warmth of the greenhouse had forced them to flower prematurely.

Mia leaned casually against the ink-stained wooden door, her expression relaxed.

Since she was usually occupied with accompanying Miss Bai, this formidable figure rarely appeared at Ink Residence. Li Ningzhi had been so idle these past few days that she felt like she was growing moss. Unfamiliar with most of the people in Ink Residence, she simply wanted someone to talk to.

Just as she was about to speak, Mia stopped her first.

“Qingluan, I need to ask you, how has Miss Song been these past few days? Is her illness almost better?”

Qingluan was the personal assistant Mia had assigned to Song Shizhou. With Li Ningzhi alone handling the myriad affairs of Ink Residence, it was impossible for her to manage everything, so the task of personally caring for Song Shizhou had fallen to Qingluan.

“Miss Song has been much better these past few days. The doctor said she was suffering from extreme fright, compounded by exhaustion from traveling day and night, which led to her high fever.”

Despite Dr. Zhao’s official explanation for Song Shizhou’s sudden fever, the servants at Ink Residence still harbored their own speculations not just about her illness, but more so about her identity.

This Miss Song didn’t seem like someone who possessed a Superpower. Though her features were delicate and spirited, she wasn’t a peerless beauty either. How had she won Miss Bai’s favor, rising to become Miss Bai’s wife and the mistress of Ink Residence?

Qingluan naturally wouldn’t allow them to gossip about Miss Song in private, but rumors were like weeds, the more you tried to suppress them, the more they flourished.

“And how has Miss Song’s mood been these past few days?”

Qingluan smiled faintly, about to answer, when Li Ningzhi cut in.

“Of course she’s happy. What could she possibly be dissatisfied about? Miss Bai treats her so well, letting her openly reside in Snow Pavilion and announcing her status to everyone. What more could she want?”

Mia’s brows furrowed slightly. She glanced at Song Shizhou inside the room, lying on the bed with her eyes tightly shut, as if asleep.

“Aren’t you afraid Miss Song might hear you speaking so loudly?”

Li Ningzhi stuck out her tongue.

“Why worry? She hasn’t enhanced her hearing, and this wooden door is so thick, how could she possibly hear?”

Mia’s expression darkened.

“Li Ningzhi, she is Miss Bai’s wife.”

Li Ningzhi understood what she meant.

Because Song Shizhou was Miss Bai’s wife, even if she had a hundred grievances, she had to respect her and sincerely acknowledge her as the mistress of Ink Residence.

Having been reprimanded by Mia in front of Qingluan, Li Ningzhi flushed with embarrassment.

She pulled Mia aside, away from Qingluan.

“Teacher Mia, what brings you here today? Is Miss Bai coming later?”

Mia remained silent, tacitly confirming it.

Li Ningzhi pressed on, “You accompanied Miss Bai to meet Mr. Bai last time, didn’t you? What did he say about Lan Chi’s situation…?”

She lowered her voice. “Let’s talk privately. I know you and Lan Chi have a special relationship. Her sentence has already been decided. If you don’t want to carry it out, I can take your place.”

Mia cut her off, closing her eyes in pain.

“Stop.”

Making her carry out the punishment for Lan Chi was simply too cruel, she was the only surviving member of Lan Chi’s old faction… But if his methods weren’t cruel, would Mr. Bai still be Mr. Bai?

“Don’t mention Lan Chi again, or anything related to her.”

Li Ningzhi knew she was upset and didn’t press further.

“You accompanied Miss Bai to see Mr. Bai the other day, didn’t you?”

Mia nodded in response.

“So, what did Mr. Bai say? Was he angry with Miss Bai because of what happened here?”

Mia frowned slightly, but before she could answer.

Footsteps approached. Bai Ruowei never wore high heels, and her steps were always light and soft so much so that even enhanced mutants with heightened hearing could barely detect them.

Yet Song Shizhou heard them.

She didn’t want to, but the sound still seeped into her ears, thread by thread, until it felt like each step was treading on her heart. Maybe it was because of the temporary mark. Back at the inn in the Thirteenth District, Bai Ruowei had bitten her, and she had bitten back without restraint.

But what did the temporary mark even mean?

Song Shizhou’s brow twitched. Miss Bai couldn’t even be bothered to say she was sorry.

She buried herself deeper into the blankets, half in resignation. The scent of osmanthus grew stronger. She had caught fragments of Li Ningzhi’s words earlier, they said Miss Bai had acknowledged her identity, declared herself the master of Ink Residence. What more could she possibly be dissatisfied with?

Song Shizhou shook her head.

No, she wasn’t. Even if Miss Bai recognized her status, she was no longer Miss Bai’s wife. Besides, no one would treat someone they loved with such cruelty. Could being imprisoned here, living like a captive, really be called love?

And today, this was the first time Bai Ruowei had come to see her in the nearly half-month since she had returned to the Inner City from Flying Bird Town.

She let out a bitter laugh. How could this possibly mean Bai Ruowei cared for her, or treated her well?

Song Shizhou refused to dwell on it any longer.

Bai Ruowei’s arrival was always silent. Li Ningzhi quickly shut her mouth, praying Miss Bai hadn’t overheard her earlier words.

Fortunately, Bai Ruowei’s attention wasn’t on her. Miss Bai wore a pair of sunglasses, her striking white hair cascading down her back, with one particularly beautiful strand resting against her chest against the dark green suit she favored, like an exquisite brooch.

Bai Ruowei sat at the edge of Song Shizhou’s bed, her movements slightly hesitant. Behind the sunglasses, her eyes seemed red and swollen.

The osmanthus scent was overwhelming, rising triumphantly. Song Shizhou could no longer pretend to be asleep. She stole a quick glance at Bai Ruowei.

And then immediately turned away, giving her only her back.

The blatant rejection made Bai Ruowei’s chest tighten.

She called Qingluan in.

“How is Miss Song’s condition?”

Qingluan repeated the same report she had given Mia earlier, word for word.

But Bai Ruowei was still uneasy.

If the doctor said she was recovering, why did Song Shizhou still look so weak?

“Has Miss Song taken her medicine today? If not, bring it in.”

Song Shizhou was nearly recovered now she only needed to take some herbal decoction. Bai Ruowei picked up the bowl and spoon with an uncharacteristic awkwardness.

Was Miss Bai… planning to feed her the medicine herself?

Song Shizhou found it hard to believe, would someone as proud as Miss Bai actually know how to care for others? She chuckled to herself, recalling the hazy memories of her severe illness.

She still preferred to believe it was Lan Chi who had fed her medicine in her delirium, that it had all been a dream.

Seeing Song Shizhou’s closed-off expression, Bai Ruowei set the medicine bowl back on the table.

“Song Shizhou, don’t you have anything to say to me?”

The words carried a sharp edge. Qingluan and Li Ningzhi instinctively retreated, sensing the tension. Bai Ruowei had thought she’d already suppressed those complicated feelings, but looking at Song Shizhou now, she still…

Miss Bai lowered her eyelids, waiting for a response.

The woman in the bed curled into herself.

“Miss Bai, I have nothing to say to you.”

“When will you let me go?”

Bai Ruowei replied matter-of-factly,

“You are my wife. This is our home. If you don’t stay here, where else would you go?”

Song Shizhou let out a bitter laugh, tinged with sorrow.

She remembered that kiss in the Thirteenth District in that shabby hotel, Miss Bai closing her eyes, pressing her lips to hers like a sacrifice. Yet in the blink of an eye, she wouldn’t even offer a single word of reconciliation.

“Is this how Miss Bai treats her wife?”

Bai Ruowei stiffened, her expression turning uneasy.

“You’re recuperating right now.”

“I’m not keeping you prisoner. Once you’ve recovered, you can leave whenever.”

Song Shizhou cut her off.

“I don’t want ‘whenever.’ I want to leave now.”

Bai Ruowei clenched her jaw, suppressing her anger.

“Your illness is my fault. Consider this me taking responsibility.”

“Responsibility?”

Song Shizhou smiled faintly.

“Miss Bai didn’t seem so responsible in our past life.”

The quiet remark struck like a knife, piercing straight into Bai Ruowei’s heart.

Everything Song Shizhou said was true.

If she had just softened even once in their past life, none of this would have happened.

She bit her lip.

“What do you want?”

Song Shizhou repeated, “What do I want?”

“Since when do I get what I want?”

Bai Ruowei said, “You can tell me.”

“I want to call Sister Yu. I want to know how Lan Chi is doing. I want you to stop confining me. I want to leave.”

Bai Ruowei felt her heart bleed.

“You can call Song Fengyu. Once you’re better, you can move around freely.”

“But Lan Chi is off-limits.”

“That’s classified Surveillance Institute information. I can’t disclose anything.”

Lan Chi’s case involved state secrets even Bai Ruowei couldn’t reveal a word.

A flicker of resignation crossed Song Shizhou’s face.

“Fine. Then I want Lan Chi’s things back.”

“And that dress, you have to return it too.”

“…What things, exactly?”

There wasn’t much, really. Song Shizhou had only stayed at Lan Chi’s place for a little over half a month, leaving behind mostly insignificant trinkets. But she wanted to see them again, to say a proper goodbye to the place where she had lived for those days.

That little potted tree Lan Chi had given her, it should have sprouted by now. There had been a few nights when Lan Chi forgot to bring it inside. The nights in Flying Bird Town were so cold that Song Shizhou had been sure it had frozen to death until she spotted a tiny green shoot in the soil, a small miracle.

Mia brought in pen and paper, and Song Shizhou began writing down the items she wanted returned for Miss Bai.

“Just a few clothes, some toiletries, and a small… potted tree.”

Bai Ruowei sneered coldly,

“Snow Pavilion has everything you could possibly need. Yet you insist on making me go all the way to Flying Bird Town to fetch these things for you. Song Shizhou, the Thirteenth District is tens of thousands of kilometers away from the Inner City. Do you really think Li Ningzhi and Mia have nothing better to do than waste so much effort retrieving these useless items?”

“Of course, these would be useless in Miss Bai’s eyes.”

“But to me, they are at least fragments of memories.”

She called them fragments of memories.

Because the past with Lan Chi was worth remembering, so she would go to great lengths to retrieve these things. But the past with her was something she didn’t want to mention or recall so much so that even with Bai Ruowei sitting right in front of her, she still went out of her way to bring up someone else.

Bai Ruowei trembled slightly, unsure of what to say.

Though Song Shizhou’s words were harsh, perhaps if she agreed to retrieve these things, Shizhou would stop dwelling on this past.

Mia said calmly,

“Miss Song, Lan Chi is an A-class wanted criminal by the Surveillance Institute. We have no authority to take her belongings.”

Song Shizhou looked up at her.

Mia pressed her lips together and handed back her phone.

Song Shizhou hesitated.

Seeing the familiar contacts, she wasn’t sure who to call.

Her finger hovered over Sister Yu’s number for a long time.

Bai Ruowei’s nerves were stretched taut.

After getting her phone back, would Song Shizhou call Song Fengyu? Would she tell someone else that she wasn’t doing well and wanted to leave?

She bit her lip, not wanting to know and afraid to find out.

“Hello, Su Ziqing?”

The call connected quickly. Su Ziqing’s voice was as lively as ever. She gasped in surprise,

“Shi Zhou, you’re calling me? Did Little White Dragon stop chasing you?”

Because Feng Yu had been searching for Shi Zhou, Su Ziqing had some idea of what was going on between them. She had vaguely heard that Miss Bai had returned to the Inner City a few days ago… with someone.

Su Ziqing’s voice darkened,

“Or… have you already been caught?”

“I’m fine.”

She smiled at Bai Ruowei.

“I haven’t been caught by anyone. Could you please tell Sister Yu that I’m safe and not to worry?”

Su Ziqing paused.

“If you’re safe, why don’t you call Feng Yu yourself? Or is it…”

“There’s no ‘or.'”

Why not call Feng Yu directly? Probably because it was awkward.

Her situation was a tangled mess right now. If Feng Yu found out, she’d be frantic and furious, insisting on pulling her away from Bai Ruowei. But how could she drag Sister Yu into this? After all, none of this had anything to do with Feng Yu.

“But you know Sister Yu’s temper. If you stay missing, she’ll—”

Song Shizhou cut her off.

“Just tell Feng Yu that once I sort things out here, I’ll come find her.”

With that, she hung up.

Mia took her phone back again.

Bai Ruowei lifted her gaze.

“I can agree to your conditions. I can even have someone retrieve Lan Chi’s things for you.”

She stopped Mia from speaking.

“But in return, could you agree to one condition of mine?”

She felt utterly shameless even asking.

Song Shizhou raised an eyebrow.

“What?”

Bai Ruowei’s voice trembled slightly.

“Return to how it was before.”

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