Everyone Regrets It After My Death - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: How Dare You Push Him

Last night’s rain had draped the entire city in a lingering mist.

Su Mingran had specifically dug out a thin blanket from his dilapidated trunk to cover himself last night, but waking up this morning, he still felt a bone-deep chill. He rubbed his arms, sitting on the bed in a daze.

The room was sparsely decorated—just a single layer of paint on the walls, a bed, and a large trunk. It was a converted storage room.

He got up to wash, opening the window to a biting wind that whipped the hair across his forehead. Xiao Huang sat quietly by his feet, watching him. Because of the heavy rain, the makeshift dog house he’d built in the yard was likely unusable, so he had secretly smuggled the dog into his room the night before.

Xiao Huang was a stray he had rescued from a dog trader for a hundred yuan. He was a well-behaved mutt and Su Mingran’s only companion in the Su household. The family hated animals, so Su Mingran couldn’t raise him openly; he kept him hidden in an obscure corner outside the villa, feeding him leftovers stolen from the kitchen.

It was 6:00 AM. Su Mingran got up early to sneak Xiao Huang back out before the family woke up at 8:00.

“Shhh,” he whispered, gesturing to the dog. Xiao Huang wagged his tail against the floor and followed him out.

Unexpectedly, the hallway was already buzzing with servants. He could hear Qi Xinghe laughing with his mother and his sister’s shrill voice nearby. Fearing they’d be seen, Su Mingran signaled Xiao Huang to retreat back into the room.

He stopped a passing servant. “Why is everyone up so early?”

The servant, arms full of clothes, looked annoyed. “Don’t you know today is the family banquet? All the high-society guests are coming.”

Su Mingran froze. The servant brushed past him with a sneer. “Forgot. It’s normal that you wouldn’t know.”

Su Mingran stumbled slightly, a self-deprecating smile on his lips. Even the servants knew he was the most insignificant person in this house, someone to be trampled on at will.

Su Mingran had returned to the Su family at thirteen. He was seven when he was kidnapped on his way home from school. It took him six years of desperate struggle to escape that dark hole, only to find that his place at home had been occupied.

The year he was taken, Qi Xinghe was brought in as a foster son. His father treated Qi Xinghe as his own; his mother, who was cold to her own three children, doted only on him; and his elder brother protected him fiercely. Only his sister seemed to dislike Qi Xinghe as much as he did.

…

The Attic Confrontation

After the commotion died down, Su Mingran tried to lead Xiao Huang to the backyard via an old, steep staircase near the attic—a place few people visited.

“Stay quiet, Xiao Huang,” he whispered, rubbing the dog’s head. “If you fall, don’t bark, or we’re both in trouble.”

As they reached the attic, a voice called out: “Where the hell is Su Mingran?!”

A servant was looking for him. Su Mingran’s father, Su Renhua, wanted to see him. Su Mingran told Xiao Huang to hide and hurried to the study.

Inside, Su Renhua was looking at Qi Xinghe with doting eyes. Qi Xinghe was admiring a luxury suit flown in from abroad and casually asked for his father’s expensive antique watch. Su Renhua gave it to him without a second thought—a watch he had refused even to his eldest son.

Once Qi Xinghe left with a triumphant glance at Su Mingran, the atmosphere turned cold.

“You’re here?” Su Renhua puffed on a cigarette. “There’s a banquet today. You know how to play the piano; perform a piece for the guests.”

He looked Su Mingran up and down with disgust. “Go change. I think Xinghe has some old clothes that are still new; take those. You look like a beggar—people will think the Su family mistreats you.”

“You do raise me like a beggar,” Su Mingran snapped, turning to leave regardless of his father’s shouting.

He hurried back to the attic to get Xiao Huang, but his heart sank. Qi Xinghe was there, squatting in the corner.

He had tied Xiao Huang up with thick rope, contorting the dog’s limbs into a painful arc. He was using a thin needle to prick the dog’s soft underbelly. Xiao Huang couldn’t bark because his muzzle was tied shut; he could only stare at Su Mingran with eyes full of tears.

A white-hot rage blinded Su Mingran. He lunged forward, screaming, and shoved Qi Xinghe and the surrounding servants aside. The needle scratched Su Mingran’s arm, drawing blood, but he didn’t feel it. He tore the ropes off the dog.

Xiao Huang scrambled away, limping, and disappeared into the yard.

Su Mingran turned a murderous gaze on Qi Xinghe.

“Su Mingran, you’re dead! You dared to push me!” Qi Xinghe shrieked, clutching his reddened arm.

Looking at him, Su Mingran was reminded of the “rich kids” from his years of being forced to beg on the streets—the ones who would throw money into trash cans just to watch him dig for it while calling him a “dead beggar.”

“Is it a crime to push you for abusing an animal?” Su Mingran stepped closer.

“An animal? It’s just a beast,” Qi Xinghe sneered, though he backed away.

“He isn’t a beast,” Su Mingran grabbed Qi Xinghe’s wrist with surprising strength, his eyes terrifyingly dark. “You are the beast.”

As Qi Xinghe struggled, he saw a figure at the end of the hallway. He purposely threw himself toward the steep stairs, but in his haste to frame Su Mingran, he actually lost his footing and dragged Su Mingran down with him.

…

The Fall

The backyard erupted in screams. The family rushed over, swarming around Qi Xinghe, who had landed on top of Su Mingran.

Su Mingran’s head hit the ground hard. His vision went black, and a sharp, agonizing pain shot through his arm. When he finally managed to push himself up, a stinging slap sent him back to the dirt.

His elder brother, Su Mo, held Qi Xinghe protectively, his eyes cold and piercing.

“Su Mingran, how dare you push Xinghe!”