After My Death, the Richest Heiress Committed Suicide to Be With Me - Chapter 2

 

At a new grave in a cemetery on the outskirts of Haidong City, a cold, solitary figure knelt.

Wreaths lay scattered and yellow leaves piled up as the autumn wind acted like an invisible broom, sweeping the fallen leaves across the ground in rhythmic gusts.

From noon until dusk, this figure had not moved.

After a long time, Qi Qing walked forward.

“A-Yi.”

The person kneeling before the grave did not stir, remaining silent and motionless, as if only an empty shell remained.

Qi Qing’s voice grew heavier. “A-Yi, you have been kneeling for six hours. The guests are gone, the media is gone, and even Xiao Lou’s parents and brothers have left.”

“Get up.”

She reached out, intending to nudge her, but halfway there, she pulled her hand back.

Forget it. She knew exactly how much Wu Yi loved Xiao Lou.

From age sixteen to twenty-four, her entire youth had been entangled with Xiao Lou. Now that Xiao Lou had passed away because of her, it was easy to imagine the depth of her agony.

Qi Qing fell silent, staying by her side quietly.

After an unknown amount of time, she heard a hoarse, dark whisper.

“I gave her all my love, and I gave her all my worst parts too. I wish so much for a next life, to only love her and never hurt her.” The raspy voice suddenly broke. Two thin shoulders trembled silently in the dim evening light. Qi Qing sighed inwardly, unable to find any words of comfort.

After a while, the suppressed sobbing subsided, and she continued, “I don’t know if I’ll ever have the chance to come see her again.”

The voice was very low and flickering, as if it had been scattered by the wind and rendered unreal.

Qi Qing couldn’t hear it clearly and uttered a surprised “Hmm?”

She saw Wu Yi’s back sway as she struggled to rise. Just as her knees left the ground, she fell back down with a thud.

Qi Qing felt a sudden surge of tension throughout her body.

She hurried forward to support her and helped her stand straight. Lifting the front of Wu Yi’s qipao, she saw that the jade-like knees were bruised dark purple and were beginning to seep thin lines of blood.

“A-Yi, your injuries are serious. I’ll take you to get medicine.”

Wu Yi gently pulled her arm away and steadied herself despite the swaying.

“It’s nothing. What time is it?”

Only then did Qi Qing realize that the sky had turned completely dark. Darkness and streetlights blended together, casting overlapping shadows across the cemetery.

“It is 7:15 PM.”

“Time is running out. Let’s go.” Wu Yi swayed as she began to walk out.

Qi Qing stared blankly at her thin, haggard figure as it slowly merged into the night, looking as if it were about to vanish.

Anxiety suddenly gripped her.

“Wait!”

She took a step forward and grabbed Wu Yi’s arm. “A-Yi, tell me the truth. What exactly are you planning to do?”

Wu Yi turned slowly. Her once-bright eyes had lost their luster, filled now with a thick fog that allowed no light through.

Her dark, hollow gaze landed on Qi Qing’s face, yet it felt as if she were looking somewhere else entirely.

“I told you. At eight o’clock tonight, I will release a public statement.”

“That’s not right!” Qi Qing raised her voice sharply, grabbing Wu Yi’s arms and shaking them.

“Even if Uncle Wu did something wrong, it’s impossible for the Wu family to immediately remove him from the headship and put you in his place. What did you say at the clan meeting? What did you promise? Tell me now!”

Qi Qing saw a crack form in Wu Yi’s bleak gaze, a brief flash of clarity.

She looked at Wu Yi expectantly, waiting for an answer, but the crack immediately closed, and those eyes became even more dull and lifeless.

“Qing-qing, you are my best friend, right?”

Hearing that hint of weakness in her voice, Qi Qing’s heart softened immediately. She nodded. “Yes.”

Wu Yi seemed to smile, but when Qi Qing looked closer, she only saw her friend’s face tilted upward against the light. Her stunning face blended with the night, half submerged in darkness and half touched by the pale glow of a streetlight.

In the blurred, haunting gloom, she heard a voice that didn’t sound real.

“Isn’t Lou-lou’s death because I was childish and ridiculous, thinking I controlled everything when I was actually a kite on a string being manipulated by others? Therefore, to become the head of the family, I would agree to anything.”

“I cannot repeat the same mistakes. Qing-qing, you must help me.”

So that was it. Qi Qing composed herself and let out a sigh of relief.

“Don’t worry, of course I will help you. However,” Qi Qing still had some doubts, “what exactly do you plan to say publicly? The Xiao family of Huainan and the Sun family of Yandu are both refusing to let the Wu family go. Are you making the statement for this matter?”

“Yes.” Wu Yi nodded. As if worried about her friend’s concerns, she added, “Don’t worry, I won’t do anything foolish.”

Only then was Qi Qing completely reassured as she accompanied her back to the city center.

Half an hour later, a hurricane swept across the Morning Star Empire’s internet.

Wu Yi, the new head of the Wu family who had just ascended to the throne of the richest person, made another shocking move following her ghost marriage and her mourning for Xiao Lou.

In front of the entire nation, she exposed her own family’s scandals. she detailed the various evils of the Wu family and stated that, as the head of the family, she would hand over certain law-breaking family members to the relevant authorities for legal punishment. Simultaneously, she announced that she would donate all assets under her name as the head of the family.

As soon as these words were spoken, public opinion erupted.

A wave of discussion surged online. Within moments, the entire country was in an uproar, engaging in feverish debate over the matter.

At the same time, in the meeting room of the Wu family’s ancestral home, four clan elders stared at the live broadcast of Wu Yi exposing the family scandals. Their faces were as black as the bottom of a pot.

“Crash!”

Wu Qixing stood up and slammed his cane onto the table.

“Vermin! We pushed her to be the family head out of the goodness of our hearts, and she actually stabs her own people in the back!”

“This is an act of defiance against our ancestors! It is gross filial impiety! She is a traitor to the family!”

Wu Qiwang stood up as well and gave Wu Guilan a fierce glare.

“You useless thing! If you can’t get in touch with this bastard again, your entire branch will be struck from the genealogy records!”

Wu Guilan threw her phone on the table and leaned back against the chair, seemingly resigned to the worst.

“Second Uncle, Third Uncle, don’t think I don’t know what you were plotting. You pushed Yi-er into power specifically to find a scapegoat to take the heat from the Xiao and Sun families, intending to pull her down once the matter was settled.”

“I, Wu Guilan, have managed the family for thirty years. What storms haven’t I seen? I strongly opposed Yi-er taking the throne early, but you agreed because you were greedy for the benefits she offered. Now that this has happened, you want to turn your backs on her?”

“Isn’t that a bit too shameless?”

The clan elders she refuted were left speechless.

They thought they had found a docile scapegoat to solve the immediate crisis, but they never expected to provoke a “white-eyed wolf” who chose love over power, willing to perish with the family for the sake of a woman.

The four powerful old men and women slumped in their chairs, unable to vent their rage and consumed by unspeakable fury.

“Don’t come over!”

Late at night, a piercing scream erupted from a luxury villa in Haidong City.

“Xiao Han, put that down first. I’ll give you whatever you want, alright?”

Lin Xia looked anxiously at the girl who was pressing a hairpin against her carotid artery, pleading desperately.

“Get out! Get away from me! You lied to me, you lied to me!”

Mo Qinghan let out a shrill howl, looking like a madwoman, her body trembling incessantly.

Lin Xia saw the sharp hairpin sinking into the girl’s tender neck, where beads of blood were beginning to seep out.

Her pupils constricted and her body turned cold. Every cell in her body urged her to rush forward and snatch the hairpin, but the moment her toes moved even slightly, Mo Qinghan noticed.

“Lin Xia, if you dare take another step, I will die right in front of you!”

Lin Xia’s palms were held out helplessly in the air as she backed away repeatedly.

The “Queen Lin,” who usually remained unfazed even if a mountain collapsed before her, was now completely lost.

She said in a panicked voice, “Xiao Han, I beg you, please don’t do anything foolish. If you want revenge, if you want to find her, whatever you want to do, I will agree!”

“Shut up!”

Mo Qinghan let out another scream. Her eyes were as red as blood, staring at Lin Xia as if looking at a mortal enemy.

“She’s dead. She’s dead!”

These three words were like a fire burning out of her very blood, hysterical and raw.

“Wu Yi killed her. You wicked woman, it’s all your fault! You kept it from me, you lied to me, and you trapped me here so that I couldn’t even see Lou-lou one last time before she died. I hate you!”

“I will never forgive you in this life or the next!”

She howled out of control, large tears rolling down from her hollow, almond-shaped eyes.

“Xiao Han, it’s my fault. I beg you not to do anything foolish. Tell me what you want, and I will do it for you right now, I promise.”

Lin Xia pleaded, but Mo Qinghan only stared at her coldly, the tears falling continuously like a sudden, chilling rainstorm.

“Get out!”

Mo Qinghan squeezed out the word through clenched teeth, applying sudden pressure to the hairpin. Lin Xia saw lines of blood immediately overflow onto the fair neck.

Scared out of her wits, Lin Xia backed away with a deathly pale face.

“Xiao Han, I was wrong. I’m leaving right now. Please don’t do anything foolish.”

She backed away step by step, her face as white as paper and her eyes burning with intense anxiety, but she could do nothing. The security guards at the door were on standby silently, but seeing the situation, they also backed away in fear.

Mo Qinghan stared at her until she retreated to the door of the room, then suddenly rushed over and slammed the door shut.

Turning around, she stared at the television playing in the room.

the arm holding the hairpin to her neck fell weakly to her side.

“My wife, Xiao Lou, died because of me. Everything was caused by me. It is my fault.”

Hearing this, Mo Qinghan’s teeth suddenly chattered. Her lips trembled for a long time, but she couldn’t make a single sound.

From her right hand gripping the hairpin, blood seeped through the gaps between her fingers and flowed out desperately.

Drip, drip. The blood fell drop by drop, splashing onto the floor.

“I am willing to take full responsibility and pay for my sins with my life!”

“Zzz-zzz-zzz!”

The live video feed cut off abruptly at that point.

The screen turned to static.

Mo Qinghan turned suddenly and rushed to the door, which swung open like a whirlwind.

She stepped out with a stiff body, and everyone stared at her in a daze.

Lin Xia stepped forward tentatively. “Xiao Han, can I come over and check your wound?”

A pair of blood-red eyes ignited by hatred slashed toward her like a knife. The rest of Lin Xia’s words were stuck in her throat.

Meeting that burning gaze, Lin Xia almost saw a sea of blood. She suddenly felt ice-cold all over, clearly sensing that something had been permanently lost from her life.

The security guards surrounded her, but looking at the girl’s bleeding right hand and the blood-stained hairpin visible at the base of her thumb, no one dared to take a step closer.

The scene fell into a terrifying silence.

Even Lin Xia, who was forcing herself to stay calm, felt the oppressive weight of a looming tsunami.

Mo Qinghan stood stiffly with her eyes downcast, then suddenly looked up and asked, “Where is she?”

Lin Xia was startled.

A trace of mockery flashed across Mo Qinghan’s manic expression. “Wu Yi. You know I am asking about her.”

Lin Xia was about to answer when she saw the blood-red eyes fixed on her, rolling with deep hatred. The girl’s two pale lips moved slightly. “I know you must have investigated everything thoroughly. Do not lie to me, or I will definitely make you regret it for the rest of your life.”

The voice was very light, even carrying a rare softness, but it made Lin Xia tremble with fear.

She no longer dared to hesitate and immediately waved for the security guards to retreat.

“Give me the hairpin, and I will take you to see Wu Yi right now.”

Mo Qinghan did not move, staring at her with a cold sneer. Lin Xia’s scalp felt numb, and she could only back down. “Put the hairpin away. I’m going to go get the car right now.”

The girl refused to yield. The blood-red color in her eyes burned fiercely as she gave a reckless, light laugh. “This is your last chance.”

Seeing the veins bulging on her pale wrist as the blood-stained hairpin suddenly lunged toward her neck, Lin Xia’s heart leaped into her throat.

“She went to No. 28 Haiping Street!”

The hairpin was less than a centimeter away from the delicate neck. Mo Qinghan spoke coldly, “Do not lie to me, or I will be waiting for you in hell.”

She rushed out after saying those words.

Lin Xia screamed in terror, “Wang Nan, follow her!”

She heard Wang Nan answer, followed by the thudding of footsteps downstairs. A car door opened and slammed shut, then the vehicle started and sped away quickly.

Lin Xia collapsed to the ground, sinking into a limp heap.

After the live video of the wealthiest person, Wu Yi, was suddenly cut off, the internet was thrown into absolute chaos.

Almost every netizen in the Morning Star Empire joined this war of words.

Guarding the door outside, Qi Qing was also browsing the tide of comments on the internet. Her elegant brows were tightly furrowed, and her expression was as dark as a looming rainstorm.

The door clicked softly.

Qi Qing turned her head and saw Wu Yi appearing at the doorway.

She had changed into a bright red qipao, with a white pearl flower pinned to her temple. She looked like a king peony standing proud against the wind and rain: cold, beautiful, tragic, and determined.

“A-Yi, next you…”

“Qing-qing, you saw the live declaration. The family must view me as a criminal now and will be looking for me everywhere.” Wu Yi interrupted her and continued, “But I cannot be caught by them yet. I have something to take care of. Can you help me hold off the clan elders for a while?”

Qi Qing immediately became alert. “What do you need to do?”

She instinctively stood up and stepped forward to grab Wu Yi’s arm, holding it tightly as if the other woman might vanish at any moment.

Wu Yi smiled faintly. The delicate smile, set against her celestial beauty, carried a breathtaking sense of tragedy.

“I want to organize Lou-lou’s personal effects.”

Qi Qing relaxed slightly and asked tentatively, “Liu Longfei and the others are waiting to help. I’ll let them handle the pressure for now. Let me go back to Tianyue Bay with you.”

“No.” Wu Yi shook her head gently.

“I just want to be alone and quiet.”

Qi Qing understood her state of mind well, yet she still looked at her with extreme worry.

Given the situation, she couldn’t find any words of comfort. Ultimately, she just squeezed Wu Yi’s fingertips hard, looking into her eyes as if seeking a promise. “Then promise me you won’t do anything foolish. Even if Xiao Lou were still here, she would surely want you to be well.”

Wu Yi nodded very solemnly. “Don’t worry, I won’t do anything foolish.”

Qi Qing stared at her for a long time before asking, “What was the purpose of tonight’s live broadcast?”

Wu Yi tidied a stray hair at her temple, her voice exceptionally calm. “Ice three feet thick is not formed in a single day. The Wu family has long lost public support due to their secret corruption and lawlessness. I am using this incident to seek survival through death. It is both an explanation to the public and a chance for the Wu family to be reborn from the ashes.”

Having known her since childhood, Qi Qing understood her intent instantly. She sighed. “You are taking everything on yourself, but I fear your efforts will be thankless. The Wu family members likely won’t appreciate it. I only hope there are sensible people who can understand your pains.”

As they spoke, Qi Qing’s phone vibrated.

“A-Yi, they’ve found their way to my place, and they’ve shown up at Liu Longfei’s too.”

“Then go. Please, help me hold them off.”

“Alright.” Qi Qing agreed, taking a step before turning back. “A-Yi, what you promised me, you must do it.”

Wu Yi looked at her quietly and did not speak for a moment.

Qi Qing asked again with concern, “A-Yi, did you hear what I said?”

Wu Yi’s gaze slowly moved over her face, as if trying to memorize her appearance. After a long while, she reached out, her icy fingertips touching the hair by Qi Qing’s temple. Her voice was unusually soft. “Qing-qing, I remember everything you said. You must take good care of yourself and protect yourself, alright?”

Qi Qing thought Wu Yi was worried that facing the anger of the Wu clan elders would cause her trouble. She gave a confident smile and said dominantly, “Don’t worry. Although your Wu family is the wealthiest, my Qi family is no pushover. I still have my grandfather and father. If things get really bad, they will step in for me.”

Wu Yi said nothing more and watched Qi Qing depart.

Half an hour later, Wu Yi appeared at a secret base’s research laboratory in Haidong City, accompanied by Song Hao and Shen Qingqing.

“Miss Wu, have you read all the terms I sent you previously?”

Li Tianhai, the head of the institution dressed in a white lab coat, asked with some hesitation as he looked at Wu Yi sitting across from him.

“Dr. Li, I have read every single clause carefully. Can we begin?”

Li Tianhai licked his lips. “Miss Wu, you are the new head of the Wu family and the new wealthiest person in the Morning Star Empire. Many things depend on you. Are you sure you won’t reconsider?”

Wu Yi frowned slightly and said with unusual calmness, “If you are worried about funding, there is no need. Ten billion has already been transferred to the designated account.”

Li Tianhai smiled, his previous hesitation vanishing. A fervent, manic light flashed in his eyes, and his voice became incredibly excited.

“Please rest assured, Miss Wu. I am certainly not worried about funding. We have successfully completed three live animal experiments for this space-time travel project. This is the first human trial, so we need a subject with a determined will to withstand the various side effects brought about by prolonged space-time travel.”

Wu Yi sat there like a stone statue, listening quietly.

Shen Qingqing and Song Hao stood behind her. Their faces were full of grief, their fists clenched, and their bodies leaned forward. Their lips trembled several times as they wanted to speak, but they forced themselves to hold back.

After Li Tianhai finished describing the various complex side effects, Shen Qingqing finally couldn’t help but ask, “Dr. Li, you’ve said so much, but can this experiment be one hundred percent successful?”

Li Tianhai gave a proud smile and raised an eyebrow. “Madam, all scientific experiments are built on the foundation of countless explorations and attempts. Before any great experiment succeeds, no one dares to guarantee it will work.”

“Aren’t you just a fraud then?” Song Hao roared. He clenched his fist, wanting to step forward and grab Li Tianhai by the collar.

Wu Yi reached out to stop him, her voice exceptionally calm. “Sister Qingqing, Brother Song, we have already made things very clear.”

Song Hao and Shen Qingqing looked pained. “Miss Yi!”

Wu Yi showed a look of determination and shook her head gently at them.

She turned her gaze to Li Tianhai and made a gesture for him to continue. Li Tianhai went on, “Miss Wu, regarding the items you wish to bring along… to be honest, this coffin is simply too large. It would be better to cremate the body and use an urn instead.”

“No!” Before he could finish, Wu Yi refused him flatly. “This is my only condition. Otherwise, the experiment ends immediately!”

Li Tianhai paused for a moment then quickly said, “In that case, I won’t insist. I have explained all the precautions. Fine, please follow me.”

Wu Yi’s deep, dull eyes flickered as she stood up. She took a letter from her bag, handed it to Shen Qingqing, and looked at Song Hao.

“Please hand this to Qing-qing personally. These past few years, I have troubled the two of you.”

Shen Qingqing’s eyes filled with tears instantly. She choked out, “Miss Yi, does it have to be this way?”

Song Hao added, “Miss Yi, please think twice!”

Wu Yi’s gaze swept over the two of them, looking through the layers of glass toward an unknown, distant place. Her voice sounded as if it were coming from a void.

“You know that even without this project, I couldn’t last a single day.”

Shen Qingqing and Song Hao looked at each other, both seeing the pity and helplessness in the other’s eyes. They wanted to persuade her further, but Wu Yi gave them no chance and turned away abruptly.

Watching her lonely, tragic back, Shen Qingqing couldn’t help but cry out, “Miss Yi, is this experiment just an excuse? You’ve already prepared for the worst, haven’t you?”

Wu Yi did not look back. She followed Li Tianhai, walking step by step into the deep reaches of the laboratory.

Song Hao and Shen Qingqing looked at each other and followed as well.

After a long wait, an exceptionally excited male voice echoed in the laboratory.

“Year 8041 of the Galactic Calendar, October 13th, 22:00. The first conscious-body space-time travel experiment officially begins!”

“Subject, please enter the travel pod!”

Wu Yi, now changed into a specific experimental uniform, looked back at the outside one last time. Shen Qingqing and Song Hao both nodded to her.

Tears shimmered in their eyes. They wanted to say something, but Wu Yi had already turned around and walked toward the pod.

The travel pod was entirely white, contrasting with her bright red gown and creating a shockingly tragic beauty.

Deep inside the pod sat a large coffin. It was custom-made from multiple layers of strange materials. The exterior shimmered with a cold, intimidating light, while the interior was a transparent crystal coffin. Even through the many layers, the body inside could be seen clearly at a glance.

Wu Yi walked step by step to the coffin, gazing at the person inside who had forever lost the breath of life. she smiled tenderly.

“Lou, from now on, we will be together forever. No one will ever be able to bother us again.”

Behind her, the cold pod door slowly closed, bit by bit obscuring her lonely figure.

Everyone involuntarily clenched their fists, their bodies tense. The laboratory and isolation area were so quiet that a pin drop could be heard. Only the cold mechanical voice remained: “Countdown is about to begin…”

“Get out!”

A furious voice shattered the tension of the laboratory. Immediately after, a petite figure rushed in.

Following behind her was another tall woman who was scuffling with the security guards.

“Miss Mo!”

Shen Qingqing and Song Hao were simultaneously shocked to see the person who had burst into the lab. Mo Qinghan’s neck was covered in blood and her eyes were blood-red.

“Wu Yi, get out here! You killed Lou-lou, and now you want to hide?”

Her eyes were spitting fire and her face was flushed. Her hateful gaze scanned the room anxiously until she saw the familiar figure deep inside the laboratory.

Her gaze turned sharp instantly. “Wu Yi!”

“Hey, you can’t go in there!” The security guards tried to catch her, but they were all blocked by the tall woman. Mo Qinghan quickly pressed the override switch for the laboratory restrictions and rushed inside.

The staff in white coats waiting in the isolation area were frantic, pounding desperately on the glass doors.

“Stop her, quick!”

Song Hao had just taken a step when Shen Qingqing suddenly grabbed him. “Wait a moment. Perhaps Miss Mo can make Miss Yi give up on the experiment.”

“How?”

“Hatred can make a person want to live.”

While Song Hao hesitated, Mo Qinghan had already rushed through the nearly closed pod door and grabbed Wu Yi’s arm.

The cold mechanical voice announced the life-and-death countdown: “10… 9…”

Wu Yi, wearing the bulky space suit, turned around clumsily and met a pair of blood-red eyes filled with fire.

Immediately after, the pod door closed completely, and everything inside was swallowed by shifting, unpredictable shadows of light.

Song Hao slammed against the glass door desperately, but the lockdown was fully engaged.

“Quick, someone stop her!”

“Dr. Li, pause the experiment! Pause it now!”

The cold mechanical voice delivered the final countdown: “3… 2… 1.”

A flash of madness crossed Li Tianhai’s eyes before his expression returned to calm, and he shrugged.

“I am sorry. Once the experiment begins, it cannot be stopped.”