After the Scummy Alpha Marked the Crazy Beautiful Heroine - Chapter 53.2

Even that haze soon disappeared.

Just as Chi Yang was about to roll over to steal back some warmth, Pei Jiuyao asked:

“Is your sister doing any better?”

“I’ve been… fine, of course,” Chi Yang replied with a teasing smile. “How could I not be, with you here?”

Pei Jiuyao leaned closer. “You know I’m asking about Chi Qing.”

Chi Yang fell silent for a long time.

•

The Chi family had suppressed every report about Chi Qing’s hospitalization, though within the circle nearly everyone already knew. Even those covetous relatives had feigned concern countless times.

Chi Yang couldn’t explain why she insisted on keeping the news buried.

Was it to keep it from Pei Jiuyao?

Or from herself?

Sure enough, the very day Pei Jiuyao sensed something was wrong, she clung to Chi Yang, demanding to see Chi Qing.

She had her reasons—Chi Qing hadn’t intended to tell Chi Yang the truth, and so she herself couldn’t reveal it either.

“I really have to see her!” It was the first time in over ten days of being shut in that Pei Jiuyao had thrown a proper tantrum.

“You can stay with me the whole time, or let An come with me. I’ll go straight to the hospital and come back right after, alright?”

Chi Yang stared at her—she looked about ready to jump out the window if refused.

A sigh escaped her. Maybe she really had kept the girl locked up too long. Perhaps she should think of it as letting her out for some air.

So Chi Yang nodded and took her to the hospital.

But even with the outing, Pei Jiuyao felt no sense of freedom or relief. She still didn’t know what condition Chi Qing was in—or how much longer she had.

All she learned on the way was Chi Yang’s quiet confession: from spitting blood at first, to now barely even able to sit upright.

“The doctors can’t figure out what’s wrong. But right in front of me, she’s rotting away… like a flower decaying in slow motion.”

As Chi Yang spoke, her eyes flushed red.

Pei Jiuyao didn’t even know how to comfort her.

At the hospital, Chi Qing lay on the bed—frail, pale, lips drained of color.

When she saw Pei Jiuyao, she showed no surprise, her voice raspy: “You came.”

Pei Jiuyao stepped forward, her chest tightening as if pierced through.

This once-vibrant woman was truly withering, just as Chi Yang had said. Decay, collapse, inevitable ruin—her present… and perhaps Pei Jiuyao’s future.

In that moment, they were two people bound by the same fate, standing at opposite ends of the same timeline, already reenacting death’s cycle long before anyone else could understand its meaning.

“Can I speak with you alone?” Pei Jiuyao asked softly as she approached, her voice trembling.

Chi Qing glanced at the people gathered behind her and said slowly, “All of you, leave. I want a private word with Pei Jiuyao.”

Chi Yang’s lashes trembled, confused by what was happening, but in the end she still stepped back and led everyone else out of the room.

“You don’t have to be afraid,” Chi Qing said softly to Pei Jiuyao. “This is the path I chose for myself. I don’t regret it.”

“You have your own path to walk. Your ending will be far better than mine.”

She extended her hand. Pei Jiuyao walked over and took it.

Sitting at the edge of the bed, Pei Jiuyao looked at her and said, “You can’t just die like this.”

Chi Qing froze for a moment, then forced a faint smile. “Then what else can I do…?”

“I’ve learned some secrets about how this world really works.” Pei Jiuyao’s grip on her hand tightened.

Chi Qing’s gaze wavered, already beginning to scatter.

“In this world, death doesn’t mean vanishing completely. Instead, you’re trapped in a false world, imprisoned in your own past memories. They call it the Land of the Unclaimed.”

Pei Jiuyao kept her words short and urgent. “When I was in a coma, I went there. Your mind remains conscious, aware of everything—but your family, your friends, they’re all illusions. Your soul, your consciousness, is locked there forever, never able to escape.”

“That’s why you absolutely cannot die like this!”

Chi Qing looked at her for a long time, silent, her will suddenly faltering. Then she let out a bitter little laugh. “And what can I do? I’ve already come this far.”

“I tried probing for answers before,” Pei Jiuyao said steadily, pressing her lips together. “If the heroine with full affection for you proposes marriage, you’ll complete the mission and return to the original world.”

“Lin Leyi’s feelings for you are overflowing—it’s obvious. Just let her propose to you! You mustn’t end up in that place!”

At the mention of Lin Leyi, Chi Qing’s expression softened, but soon her lashes fell again. “And how is that any different from deceiving her into marriage? I’m already half in the grave—I don’t want to lie to her.”

“Jiuyao, I want you to live well. More than that, I want you to be well with Chi Yang. Do you understand?” Chi Qing tightened her grip on Pei Jiuyao’s hand. “Don’t walk my road, and don’t deceive her.”

“Go. I want to see Chi Yang.”

Pei Jiuyao’s eyes darkened, but she had no choice. She left the room, and when Chi Yang went inside, she sat down in the hospital corridor.

From the look of it, Chi Qing clearly liked Lin Leyi. Lin Leyi loved her deeply. A proposal—it was only a proposal. Wouldn’t it be better to let them leave each other with one last memory?

Why not?

Pei Jiuyao pulled out her phone, bit her lip, and dialed Lin Leyi. Spotting An smoking nearby, she waited for a moment of inattention before slipping away down the stairwell.

The sports car roared through the city at top speed. By the time it screeched to a halt outside Lin Leyi’s home, Lin Leyi was still dazed.

“What happened to Chi Qing?” she asked as soon as she got into the car.

“She’s sick,” Pei Jiuyao answered. “Very sick.”

“What do you mean very sick?” Lin Leyi’s voice broke into a shout, louder than the engine. “Why isn’t there any news about this?!”

“She told me her last wish is to marry you. But she doesn’t want to drag you into this mess, and she’s afraid that if she dies, she’ll only bring you grief.”

Pei Jiuyao stopped the car at a mall entrance and turned to her. “Miss Lin, are you willing?”

“I—I am, of course I am!” Lin Leyi’s tears fell in heavy drops she couldn’t stop. “If she—if she really… How am I supposed to live?”

Pei Jiuyao knew she was on the verge of breaking down, but she still clasped her hand. “Then at least leave each other with something to hold on to.”

Lin Leyi lifted her head, lost and helpless.

“The ring,” Pei Jiuyao reminded her.

Tears still streaked her face, but Lin Leyi bolted out without hesitation.

By the time they returned to the hospital, more than an hour had passed.

Pei Jiuyao’s phone was flooded with missed calls from Chi Yang.

When Chi Yang saw her come back, she nearly broke down herself.

“Pei Jiuyao! Where the hell did you go?!” Chi Yang’s eyes were bloodshot as she shouted at her.

Pei Jiuyao was still catching her breath. She stepped forward and pulled Chi Yang into her arms, gently patting her back. “Director Lin—I brought her here.”

Chi Yang shoved her away angrily. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you answer my calls?!”

“If I’d told you, would you have let me go?” Pei Jiuyao asked quietly.

Chi Yang froze, then gave a bitter, self-deprecating shake of her head.

“Don’t be angry. Let Director Lin go in first.” Pei Jiuyao placed her hands on Chi Yang’s shoulders, coaxing her softly. “We can talk later, all right?”

Chi Yang’s red eyes burned into her for a long while. Finally, she let out a shaky breath, pointed to the ward, and rasped, “This way.”

In just an hour, Chi Qing’s condition had visibly worsened.

The moment Lin Leyi stepped into the ward, her tears flowed uncontrollably.

Chi Qing managed to twitch her fingers, her voice weak but sharp with anger. “Why did you bring her here?”

Even fragmented and faint, her tone was furious.

Lin Leyi walked over, tears still falling, though her emotions had shifted from wild to deathly quiet.

She sat down by the bed. “You still wouldn’t tell me? What am I to you, then?”

She clasped Chi Qing’s frail hands. Chi Qing tried to pull away, but Lin Leyi only tightened her grip.

“Lin Leyi, don’t waste your strength. I never loved you.” Chi Qing turned her face aside.

“But I love you. I still do.” Lin Leyi’s voice caught, yet her demeanor was calmer than ever.

Perhaps no amount of emotion could undo years of the past, or change the reality before them.

“If you die, I won’t live either,” Lin Leyi whispered.

Chi Qing let out a soft laugh, a single tear trailing down her temple.

“You said the same thing back then. That’s why I didn’t love you.” Her thin, pale face held only a faint redness in her eyes.

“I could never love someone so extreme.”

Lin Leyi’s lashes trembled. For a long moment, she no longer wanted to ask anything at all.

Words were useless. No answers would come.

All Chi Qing could do was spit out barbed words.

Lin Leyi simply pulled her hand up and pressed something cold onto it.

Chi Qing’s brow twitched. She forced her head to the side, and saw—it was a ring.

“I don’t care if you love me or not,” Lin Leyi said with a tearful smile. “If you wear my ring, you’re mine. Unless you recover, throw it away, and find another girlfriend.”

“A girlfriend isn’t enough—you’d better find a wife.”

Chi Qing’s weak voice trembled. “What… do you mean?”

“I’m proposing to you.” Lin Leyi bent down, cupped her face, and murmured, “Take it as me begging you. Just give me something to hold on to. Let me have this—please?”

The tears Chi Qing had held back finally spilled, blurring her vision. Her lips parted, but no sound came.

Lin Leyi pressed a kiss to her brow and whispered, “If there’s a next life… could you treat me better?”

The silence stretched, heavy and endless.

Chi Yang wiped away the tears at Pei Jiuyao’s eyes, only to break down herself, burying her face in Jiuyao’s arms.

After a long while, Chi Qing finally whispered, “If… there’s a next life, I’ll be the one to chase you.”

Lin Leyi gave a quiet laugh, and at last she lowered herself, resting against Chi Qing’s shoulder.

Two hearts, after all these years, finally beat together again.