Three days remained until the end of the month.
In the suburbs, a temporary memorial hall, not very large, was set up on the ruins of the villa after the fire.
A plaque with “Xu Family” was hung on the dark wooden door, draped with white silk.
Many people came to offer condolences, with dedicated staff outside directing parking.
Jiang Shimol got out of the taxi and entered the dark wood, white silk memorial hall. Heart-wrenching cries echoed throughout.
In the main hall, white wreaths filled both sides.
In the center lay a half-open, unsealed coffin of black wood, covered with white cloth, looking utterly solemn.
Above the coffin hung a grayscale photo of a young man in his twenties.
Following the tradition of men on the left and women on the right, she sat on a pure white plastic chair on the right side.
The left side was filled with various scions and Xu Yinsheng’s shady friends.
The vast majority on the right side were Xu Yinsheng’s ex-girlfriends: ranging from flirtatious young women in their thirties to cute high school and college students, a full reinforced platoon.
Beside the half-open coffin stood a young man in black clothes and black hair, wearing a white flower on his chest.
He stood perfectly straight, unmoving, like a statue, without words or tears, yet radiating an immense sense of grief.
“My condolences.”
A green-haired hooligan placed a white chrysanthemum into the coffin in the memorial hall and patted Zhao Yicheng’s shoulder.
From the moment the memorial hall was set up until now, Zhao Yicheng had stood there for a full four hours, a feat no one else present could endure.
This was enough to prove how deep their friendship once was.
Zhao Yicheng kept his head down, his face as dark as water, remaining silent.
The green-haired hooligan said nothing more upon seeing this, merely turning and leaving.
The deceased was gone; no matter how reluctant one was, people… always had to move forward.
The sun gradually set in the west, half-hanging on the mountainside, casting a golden-red halo, as if draped in a golden veil.
People in the memorial hall dispersed one after another, leaving only a few.
Zhao Yicheng gazed at the cenotaph coffin under the white cloth.
Because the fire was too intense, no remains were found, so only a cenotaph could be used.
A person dies three times in life.
The first time, when your heart stops, your breath vanishes, and you are biologically declared dead.
The second time, when you are buried, and people wearing black attend your funeral, they declare that you no longer exist in this society.
You vanish from the network of human relationships, quietly departing.
And the third death is when the last person in this world who remembers you forgets you.
Then, you truly die.
The entire universe will no longer be connected to you.
Now, Zhao Yicheng was going to “kill” Xu Yinsheng with his own hands, and build a grand tomb for him, making him forever dead in society, in people’s hearts, and in memory.
By the time everyone had left, the sun had set, and dusk had already stained the sky.
Zhao Yicheng, dressed in black, stood in the twilight like a stone statue.
Elementary school, a photo of him and Xiao Yin in a cotton coat in the snow.
Middle school, playing games in an internet cafe with Xiao Yin dressed as a hooligan.
High school, being dragged by Xiao Yin during his chuunibyou phase to visit.
College, getting massages with Xiao Yin at a foot massage parlor.
Going abroad, Xiao Yin hugging his neck, singing loudly and venting in a bar.
After a long time.
The mentally ill man let out a murky breath.
He grinned sinisterly, opened the coffin, pulled out a shovel, and then kicked the cenotaph coffin into the pit.
Shovelful after shovelful of sand fell, as he laughed, cried, and maniacally filled the pit…
Laughter soared, tears streamed down his face!
He suddenly looked up at the sky.
On his face, expressions of extreme satisfaction and extreme sorrow were intertwined.
“Hahaha, you’re dead, you’re dead! You’re mine, you’re mine!!”
Zhao Yicheng shouted loudly, all sorts of mixed emotions spilling out.
Crack.
A flash of lightning illuminated Zhao Yicheng’s twisted face.
***
Binhai City, District A Grand Villa.
A pure black Maybach sped through the night, finally stopping at the villa entrance.
A man in a long gray trench coat stepped out of the car.
The man was tall and slender, with a handsome, sharply defined face.
He wore a watch with a black dial and pale gold accents on his wrist, truly a fine gentleman of distinguished appearance and polite demeanor.
Thinking of the stubborn canary in his home, Zhao Yicheng’s lips curled slightly, his expression clearly somewhat pleased.
Even his steps quickened a bit.
Pushing open the villa door, the interior was dark.
Zhao Yicheng turned on the lights.
A pure white, soft glow illuminated everything in the room: noble and elegant antique wooden furniture, luxurious and exquisite European decorations.
Everything exuded the owner’s status and taste.
On the marble dining table lay several dishes: braised pork, tomato soup, stir-fried cabbage.
Both meat and vegetables were present, looking very appetizing, yet there were no signs of anyone having touched them, as if they were a canary in a cage, meant only for others to admire.
“Xiao Yin, why aren’t you eating?”
Zhao Yicheng approached a bedroom door and pushed it open.
This was a Western-style room, with Gothic decor.
Thick carpets covered the floor.
Due to the drawn curtains, the room was very dim, oblivious to day or night.
On the soft large bed, a small, delicate figure was curled up, her body trembling slightly.
With her body’s movements, a metallic clinking sound came from her ankles.
She wore a knee-length silk nightgown, revealing her fair, slender legs and a pair of delicate, cute small feet.
Her beautiful black hair cascaded over her shoulders.
Her face had a hint of baby fat, giving her a very cute and charming appearance.
“Darling, why aren’t you eating?”
Seeing the person in the room obediently staying in the room, Zhao Yicheng came to the bedside and asked gently.
“Eat your mother!”
A blur flashed by.
A pure white, jade-like foot kicked out. Zhao Yicheng didn’t dodge, a hint of doting flashing in his eyes.
He reached out his left hand and easily caught the girl’s heel.
The girl looked up, glaring at him.
“Let me go!”
Looking at the exquisite, angry little face before him, Zhao Yicheng’s eyes shifted slightly.
He released his hand.
“Xiao Yin, I admit there’s been some misunderstanding between us.”
“Misunderstanding your mother!”
The girl glared at him, her eyes completely undisguised in their intense disgust and malice.
“I treated you like a brother, but you kicked me when I was down, at my most vulnerable.”
“Damn it, why the hell didn’t I see it before?!”
She treated him like a brother, but he had been calculating against her all along.
She even thought he was a true gentleman, but he turned out to be a cultured scoundrel!
“Xiao Yin, I admit there’s been some misunderstanding between us.”
“If I had known Xu Yinsheng and Xu Ying were the same person, I wouldn’t have treated you like that.”
Zhao Yicheng said unhurriedly, his fingers brushing a lock of her black hair from her face behind her ear. His voice was light, yet it sent shivers down her spine.
“Xiao Yin, I’m very happy, extremely happy.”
Xu Yinsheng suddenly twisted her head. “What have you done?”
Zhao Yicheng’s smile became even gentler.
Xu Yinsheng could swear she had never seen him so happy, not even when he closed multi-million dollar deals.
A growing unease gnawed at her heart.
“I staged an accident.”
He whispered, but couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from turning up.
“An accident concerning you.”
“The funeral of my good brother, the infamous playboy of Binhai, ‘Xu Yinsheng’.”
“Uncle Xu and Aunt Chen just attended your funeral remotely from abroad. They’re still so young.”
The man’s smile was so gentle, making one feel as if bathed in spring breeze, but in the girl’s eyes, it was like a demon’s sinister grin.
She instinctively moved back.
The girl’s weak retreat seemed to greatly satisfy the man’s desire for conquest.
He grabbed her fair ankle and slowly pulled her forward.
“Xiao Yin, now you only have me, and only me left…”
“Get lost, I’m just my own.”
Xu Yinsheng remained defiant at this moment.
At this point, besides her mouth, there was nothing left on her body that could be defiant.
Zhao Yicheng slowly stood up.
He wasn’t surprised by Xu Yinsheng’s resistance; he knew perfectly well what kind of person his ‘good brother’ was.
A biting dog doesn’t bark.
If Xu Yinsheng had remained silent, that would have been contrary to his wishes.
An enraged hedgehog is always better than a wolf that doesn’t show its teeth.
As long as the method is applied correctly, a hedgehog without its quills, after some training, becomes a plaything in one’s palm.
“After all these days, it’s time to get down to business.”
Zhao Yicheng looked at the girl on the bed, licked his dry lips, reached out, pinned her down on the bed, and slowly unbuttoned her top, one button at a time…