After My Death, I Became a Heartless Madman - Chapter 29

Miss Bai told her to go back to the way she used to be.

Upon hearing this, Song Shizhou almost laughed out loud.

Their love had long been reduced to ruins. Even if Miss Bai possessed the power to move mountains and drain seas, she did not. She was just an ordinary person. The love she once had was utterly exhausted in her past life. To ask her to give everything again, to love until death, she simply couldn’t do it anymore.

The most precious thing she had was already gone, vanished without a trace amidst Bai Ruowei’s endless suspicions and torment.

Song Shizhou let out a soft laugh, her calm gaze sending an inexplicable shiver of fear through Bai Ruowei.

“It’s impossible, Miss Bai. We can’t go back to how things were.”

The moment the words left her lips, Bai Ruowei kissed her.

The trick of a forced kiss lost its novelty after being used too many times. Was she using this kiss to mask her own guilt? Even Bai Ruowei herself didn’t know.

She closed her eyes, her breath trembling. She knew what Song Shizhou was about to say, she didn’t want to hear a single word of it. It would just be the same old clichés. So rather than a kiss, this was more like a one-sided act of biting and venting.

In their struggle, they soon left marks on each other. But what was the point of hurting one another? Miss Bai had bitten Song Shizhou’s lip until it bled, the metallic tang of blood spreading between them. Song Shizhou watched her quietly, as if trying to see through her heart.

Because no matter how Bai Ruowei tried to cover it up, no matter how she pretended everything was fine, no matter how stubbornly she refused to believe it, they could never go back.

“There’s a saying: love that comes too late is cheaper than grass.”

“Do you understand, Miss Bai?”

Ding-dong. Such a crisp sound.

The chime of a completed task, the pink bubbles when the leads confess their feelings, Song Shizhou’s words now marked the definitive line drawn between her and Bai Ruowei.

“Shut up!”

Bai Ruowei couldn’t hold back her outburst, gripping Song Shizhou’s collar violently. Song Shizhou hadn’t wanted to say such things to Miss Bai either, she had cherished their relationship deeply. Miss Bai had once been the most precious person to her.

But now, some things had to be said.

Bai Ruowei’s pupils trembled.

The lingering warmth of their kiss still hung between them, the atmosphere thick with intimacy so why did it feel so cold inside?

“Provoking me won’t do you any good.”

Her tone was as haughty as ever, but Song Shizhou detected a hint of bluster in it. Those proud, pale green eyes were shaking faintly, filled with anger and resentment.

Would Bai Ruowei lose her composure for her? Would she struggle to restrain herself because of her?

Song Shizhou’s heart faltered for a moment.

But it was already too late.

She didn’t need it anymore. Didn’t want it. Didn’t even wish for it.

She sighed softly, suddenly finding it all meaningless.

“What’s the point of keeping me imprisoned like this…?”

“The Inner City isn’t a place where the Surveillance Institute can do as it pleases. You shouldn’t stir up ugly scandals over a mere ‘romance.'”

Song Shizhou smiled.

“Actually, Miss Zhao would make a fine partner.”

“She’s an Omega, perfectly compatible with you. She’s beautiful, your social equal, capable and talented, what a heavenly match you two would make…”

Bai Ruowei knew what she was about to say.

A match made in heaven.

This was the four words that Song Shizhou and Bai Ruowei from the previous life could never, ever obtain.

Bai Ruowei slammed the table with a loud bang, a sharp pain shooting through her palm.

She shouldn’t have been able to feel pain.

Was it because she was too emotional?

“Shut up! Shut up! Stop talking!”

Song Shizhou coaxed patiently. Bai Ruowei had always been a well-mannered person in public, preferring silence over arguing when faced with things she disliked or didn’t want to hear. Yet now, she was slamming the table without a shred of dignity, bordering on hysterics.

Song Shizhou smiled faintly.

Why bother?

Why put on this act of disbelief? Wasn’t this their fate in the past life? Besides, didn’t Miss Bai in this life also adore Miss Zhao? She accompanied her skiing, tenderly fastened her gear, when had Song Shizhou ever received such treatment?

Didn’t her heart ache when she saw those photos and heard those rumors?

“It’s just a suggestion,” Song Shizhou said. “If Miss Bai doesn’t like Zhao Yiqing, there are plenty of other Omegas. Omegas who want to marry you are everywhere, why cling to someone like me?”

The moment the words left her mouth, Bai Ruowei grabbed her collar.

As if afraid she would run away.

“I won’t let you go.”

“What I do is none of anyone else’s business. You are my wife from the beginning until now, you’ve always been my wife. What does anyone else have to do with it?”

Song Shizhou pulled her hand free and turned away, refusing to listen to her nonsense.

Bai Ruowei’s gaze flickered.

An unresolved argument was still better than a breakup, right? She comforted herself with that thought.

Lowering her head, she said wearily,

“Mia, bring it in.”

The “it” Miss Bai referred to was an exquisite wooden box heavy, the wood aged, the kind of extravagant craftsmanship only the Surveillance Institute could afford.

Song Shizhou said flatly,

“What is this? A gift from Miss Bai?”

Bai Ruowei’s voice was hoarse.

“Yes. A gift for you.”

She opened the lid, and a delicate mechanical bee fluttered its wings, flying out.

Song Shizhou froze.

She hadn’t expected Bai Ruowei to give her anything. Besides, if preferential treatment only came because she had died once, she’d rather not have it.

But what she never imagined was that inside the box would be an intricately crafted mechanical bee.

The bee was tiny, no larger than a person’s thumb, yet its wings beat rapidly, the buzzing sound drowning out the awkward atmosphere.

It circled the room several times, unable to find a place to land until Song Shizhou instinctively held out her palm.

The little bee settled gently into her hand.

For once, the atmosphere between them softened into something harmonious. Bai Ruowei’s agitated expression eased slightly.

In truth, this object only resembled a bee in appearance.

It was a tracking chip developed by the Surveillance Institute. Once embedded under the skin, it could monitor the host’s movements in real time.

Highly precise, touted as infallible.

To protect the families of Surveillance Institute personnel, nearly every Chief Inspector’s loved ones received such a tracking chip. In the past, however, Song Shizhou had never been granted this privilege because Bai Ruowei had been too arrogant, too confident in her ability to protect her.

But now, things were different.

Even though she didn’t want to recall it, the car accident haunted Bai Ruowei like a nightmare, making her heart tremble inexplicably.

She didn’t want to, nor dared to, gamble anymore.

The little bee rolled happily in Song Shizhou’s palm, its adorable appearance prompting her to ask,

“What’s this for? It’s so cute…”

Bai Ruowei began to explain, “It’s a tracker. Once injected under the skin, it can.”

A tracker.

Song Shizhou froze, then forced a bitter smile.

Deep down, she had held a small hope, it didn’t matter what it was, as long as it came from Bai Ruowei, she might have been happy.

But she never expected it to be something like this.

What difference was there between this and shackles? It was just prettier in form. The slow-boiling frog trick, who didn’t know it? Song Shizhou lowered her gaze, her eyes filled with mockery.

“I don’t want it.”

The little bee, which had just been cradled in her palm, was abruptly swatted away. Bai Ruowei instinctively reached to pick it up.

“Bai Ruowei, what exactly do you take me for?”

“Do I have to live like your captive, unable to escape your control for even a second… before you’re satisfied?”

The last words were nearly shouted, but the anger in her heart didn’t lessen even a fraction from the outburst. Of course, Miss Bai was still lost in the same old dream, she wanted her to be just like before, a puppet with no will of her own, manipulated and watched every moment. Only then would she be happy, only then would she be satisfied.

Once activated, the chip couldn’t be taken back. The little bee, inexplicably slapped, tilted its head, shook its plump little body, and stubbornly landed back in Song Shizhou’s palm.

The “little bee” fluttered in Song Shizhou’s hand, its sharp proboscis searching for a place to pierce.

Bai Ruowei froze, instinctively trying to explain,

“I don’t mean to monitor you, I just want to know your—”

Song Shizhou’s eyes were icy, her cold expression making Miss Bai afraid to look too closely.

“I don’t want to hear your explanations.”

“Now, please leave. Immediately.”

A frigid dismissal, devoid of any warmth.

Bai Ruowei swallowed the bitterness and said fiercely,

“Think whatever you want, but today, you will have this chip implanted!”

Song Shizhou shouted back,

“I said I don’t want it!”

In the struggle, the delicate instrument fell to the ground. The “little bee” flapped its wings awkwardly a few times before going completely still.

When a mechanical heart stops, it makes a faint click a sound too quiet for anyone in the room to hear.

But Bai Ruowei heard it.

Her face instantly paled. As the tracker’s heartbeat ceased, it felt like something else had stopped too.

“I don’t want it.”

Song Shizhou said loudly,

“Bai Ruowei, I won’t live under your surveillance like before anymore!”

The tension in the room thickened. Mia cracked the door open, and Li Ningzhi peeked in cautiously with her.

Neither had expected Song Shizhou’s reaction to be so intense.

Only Qingluan silently worried for Song Shizhou. She knew Miss Bai’s temper. Being rejected so vehemently would surely anger her, and the consequences would be unbearable for anyone.

But Miss Bai said nothing.

She simply picked up the broken tracker and left the place in a somewhat disheveled state.

It was late at night, and a small lamp cast its dim glow before Bai Ruowei. Perhaps only the faintest light could truly focus the mind. Miss Bai had no habit of burning the midnight oil, she considered that the behavior of fools.

What was done should never be regretted. The word “atonement” seemed never to exist in Bai Ruowei’s dictionary.

She would occasionally stay up all night for a mission, but she would never waste precious time on something so meaningless.

Though the high-grade tracker was worth a fortune, with Bai Ruowei’s status, she could obtain as many as she wanted. If one broke, she could simply discard it, there would always be new ones.

Not to mention, this tracking chip was damaged beyond repair.

The mechanical bee’s entire core had been shattered, likely beyond restoration. Bai Ruowei replaced it with a new one.

After rebooting, the little bee seemed aggrieved. Advanced robots possessed partial emotions, it didn’t understand what it had done wrong to be treated this way.

Compared to the completely destroyed core, the damage to its wings was even more troublesome. To achieve three hundred rotations per second, the bee’s wings were intricately designed. A single broken gear would render it flightless.

She meticulously dismantled half a wing. It was just a mechanical device without consciousness was it really worth spending so much time carefully repairing it?

Bai Ruowei trembled slightly.

Or rather, what exactly was she trying to repair?

Song Shizhou had called her “belated affection, cheaper than grass.”

She blinked.

Then let it be so.

The machine’s chip felt no pain, yet as Bai Ruowei tightened the screws, the little bee trembled faintly, as if it were alive and in agony.

Bai Ruowei’s heart trembled along with it.

Mr. Bai had said that working for the Surveillance Institute meant having no personal emotions.

Mr. Bai wanted obedient children to quell disputes and chaos for him. He claimed love and affection were the most useless, absurd things in the world those who believed in love would never meet a good end.

Bai Ruowei used to think the same. Love was the most elusive thing, serving no purpose other than dragging people into pointless emotions. If she didn’t believe in love or emotions, then why did her heart hurt so much?

The screwdriver’s tip was so small it was nearly invisible to the naked eye, yet Bai Ruowei endured the throbbing pain in her chest and secured the last delicate gear. The little bee could fly again, its adorable form landing once more in her palm.

Had it felt just as vivid and alive when it landed in Song Shizhou’s palm?

She didn’t know.

The next second, the buzzing of fluttering wings vanished. The cute little bee instantly dissolved into a puddle of waste fluid.

Having exceeded its operational time without entering a host’s body, the tracker had initiated its self-destruction protocol.

This was the robot’s predetermined program, its fate. It was also the final fate of every “worker bee” in the Surveillance Institute.

Bai Ruowei froze.

But she was human. She had a heart.

Her emotions.

Would never self-destruct.

The “worker bees” referred to Mia, Li Ningzhi, Qingluan, Gu Zhiyu, and all the others. The Surveillance Institute was a place devoid of human rights.

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