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Fortunately, there was only one step in front of the main hall of the funeral home; otherwise, judging by Qin Yuan’s demeanor, he might have intended to carry her in. Jiang Beibei hopped up the step while leaning on Qin Yuan’s arm and chuckled, “Perfect!”
Qin Yuan said, “If Chu Yao were in the rest area at the back, I think you’d end up with a full-body comminuted fracture.”
Behind the funeral home, there was a two-story building, which served as the staff’s rest area and duty room, with bathing facilities inside. The building was relatively new, but the stairs were rudimentary—just poured concrete with high steps that had raised anti-slip features. The railing around the staircase was thin, with a sign that read “No Trespassing.”
Jiang Beibei asked, “Eh? How did Third Brother know?”
“I’ve been here before.” Qin Yuan said, “Yao’er even showed me around the rest area, and I almost fell asleep there.”
“Wow, it sounds a bit... you know.”
“You mean gay-ish?”
“So you really slept there?”
Qin Yuan stopped teasing her, “No, this place can only be slept in by those who work here. I’m picky about beds—I wouldn’t be able to sleep.”
After finishing the joke, Qin Yuan seriously said, “Let me tell you something. Do you remember last year, around this time, when we all went out to eat without you?”
“Ah! That time when you said we were going to Fourth Brother’s shop and didn’t let me come!” Jiang Beibei remembered clearly, “It made me so mad! I thought you all abandoned me and found me annoying!”
Qin Yuan said, “Everyone was trying to persuade Yao’er to go.”
“What happened?”
“It wasn’t that day—it was the day before. Something happened at my client’s house, and they brought the body here. I followed along, and it was also my first visit to Yao’er’s place. As a result, I saw some family members fighting over property in front of the old man’s body, then taking their anger out on the funeral home staff. I personally witnessed the chaos, physical fights. They didn’t dare to hit men, so they bullied the young girls here. Yao’er tried to mediate. You know how civilized Yao’er is, but eventually, he got pushed to his limit, saying he would close the coffin and ask the family to leave. Then a fight broke out… Later, the police were called, and it was settled. But just a few days later, Yao’er received an anonymous complaint, and he almost missed the national commendation…”
Jiang Beibei angrily said, “What kind of nonsense is this! Even after death, the old man doesn’t get peace… Was Yao Ge very angry?”
“Not exactly. Mainly, after seeing this, I felt his job was really… what’s the point, you tell me? Sigh, I advised Yao’er to quit. You’re wholeheartedly saving souls, but some people really aren’t worth your effort.”
“Third Brother, it takes real courage to advise Yao Ge to quit his job.” Jiang Beibei admired him.
“In the past, I also thought Yao’er switching to this job was very…”
“Stupid?”
“No, pretentiously noble.” Qin Yuan said, “I always felt like he was flaunting his lofty ideals… After this incident, I began to understand a little. He genuinely likes it. If he didn’t truly like it, he wouldn’t put so much energy into it.”
“That’s right.”
After saying this, Qin Yuan pointed to the employee wall, “Look, your brother.”
“He’s not my brother—he’s my boyfriend!”
Qin Yuan snickered and supported her as they looked for the client.
The funeral was being held for one family, again in Hall No. 3. Jiang Beibei came to this place again and felt a sense of familiarity. Looking at the wreaths and couplets inside, she thought this sense of familiarity was a bit twisted.
Coincidentally, the person preparing to host the funeral on stage was none other than Chu Yao.
Chu Yao wore a white shirt and a black tie, bowing his head to read the eulogy.
His position was inconspicuous, tucked away in a corner of Hall No. 3, surrounded by wreaths and couplets, but he was incredibly eye-catching, immediately capturing all of Jiang Beibei’s attention.
The client Qin Yuan was looking for was here, talking to the family. Seeing Qin Yuan, he immediately left the family and walked over briskly, “Thank you, thank you, Attorney Qin. It was troublesome for you to come all this way.”
“Am I late?”
“Not at all, not at all. We’re waiting for someone—one more hour before it starts. Who is this?”
“My sister.” Qin Yuan introduced her, then glanced at Jiang Beibei, who was staring fixedly at a corner, lost in thought. Following her gaze, he smiled, “What are you looking at? What’s so good about him?”
Jiang Beibei snapped back to reality, let go of Qin Yuan, and hopped over to Chu Yao.
The client was surprised, “Where is she going? Does she know someone?”
“Yes, that host. Look, she’s heading towards him.”
“Oh oh…” The client had countless questions in his mind but swallowed them, saying, “What’s his name again? Someone recommended him, saying he’s the best employee here, but he doesn’t often host. It took a friend’s persuasion to get him to do it. I didn’t expect Attorney Qin to know him.”
Qin Yuan said, “We’re very close. He’s my brother, living upstairs and downstairs.”
“Really? Then I should let them know to add a bigger red envelope later.”
Jiang Beibei hopped over and threw herself onto Chu Yao, whispering, “Ha, I’m here, surprise!”
Chu Yao steadied her and smiled, “I heard hopping sounds just now… I thought I was hallucinating. How did you get here?”
“Third Brother brought me.”
Jiang Beibei leaned on his arm, tiptoed on one foot, quickly brushed her lips against his chin, and said, “You work, I’ll stand aside and watch quietly. I won’t disturb you.”
Seeing this, Qin Yuan remarked disdainfully, “Young lady, be mindful in public places.”
The client who came with Qin Yuan originally wanted to greet the host and perhaps add some extra gratuity or such, but upon seeing Jiang Beibei kiss this funeral host, he was shocked.
Just a moment ago, he had heard several female relatives gossiping about this handsome funeral host, speculating whether he was married. Now, his wife had come to visit.
Who said this job is hard to find a partner? False! Look at this girl—she’s fearless!
Chu Yao said, “There are many people. Let me take you to the rest room?”
“Eh? Aren’t you hosting the memorial service?”
“In half an hour.”
“Alright.”
Jiang Beibei nodded. Chu Yao informed the family and helped Jiang Beibei leave. As they passed Qin Yuan, he lightly patted him, and Qin Yuan said, “You want to itch if you don’t hit me, right?”
“You know why.”
Once outside, Jiang Beibei consciously hopped into his arms. Chu Yao said, “I’m jealous.”
“Really?” Jiang Beibei was overwhelmed with excitement, “Wow! How should I record this?! The first time I’ve seen you jealous! Let me take a picture for commemoration. Don’t rush off yet!”
Chu Yao didn’t stop, carrying her around to the two-story building at the back, slowly ascending the stairs.
Jiang Beibei opened the camera and switched to selfie mode, “Look at the lens! One, two, three, jealousy!”
Chu Yao: “Don’t make me laugh. Why did you think of coming here today?”
“I missed you.”
“Is it because Xizhou went to work, and you were bored alone at home?”
“…You’re really smart.”
Chu Yao replied: “It’s not smart—it’s because I know you.”
“But you shouldn’t say it like that. It’s not because Second Brother went to work that I thought of you. I’ve been thinking of you all along. So when Third Brother mentioned coming here, I immediately came to see you.”
Upon reaching the second floor, Chu Yao shifted her onto his shoulder, used his other hand to take out the keys and open the door. Jiang Beibei yelped, and Chu Yao patted her bottom, “Don’t make random noises.”
“…Second Brother says my yelps sound like Song Dami’s.”
“Mm.” Chu Yao said, “Whenever you make that noise, I feel like I’m holding Song Dami.”
He pushed open the door and set Jiang Beibei down.
“You can play here. There are books and a computer. The computer can access the internet. The startup password is your name. Wait for me to come back.”
“Okay.” Jiang Beibei obediently agreed, turned back to ask Chu Yao, “Why is the startup password my name?”
Chu Yao laughed, “Because I love you.”
His straightforwardness struck Jiang Beibei with these five words. She pressed her chest and after a long while, said, “Chu Yao, did you hear my heartbeat? I absolutely love this side of you! So handsome.”
Chu Yao softly smiled, left the keys with her, closed the door, then knocked on it again, feeling uneasy.
Jiang Beibei hopped over to open the door, “What? Did you forget something?”
A light kiss landed, and Chu Yao instructed, “Don’t open the door randomly for others. Wait for me to come back.”
Immersed in sweetness, Jiang Beibei nodded. After Chu Yao left, she finally had time to let her thoughts wander freely.
Don’t open the door randomly for others—at a funeral home, does this have another meaning? For instance… does this “other” refer to…
Jiang Beibei scared herself, screamed anxiously, opened the computer, played the national anthem first, then found a □□ playlist, turned up the volume, and looped it continuously.
The employees’ welfare at the funeral home was always excellent. The rest areas were single-person rooms, hotel standard size, with bathrooms, featuring a single bed, a desk, and a large bookshelf.
This rest area could instantly be recognized as Chu Yao’s.
On the table, besides a laptop, there was also a pile of photocopied materials. The bookshelf was filled with books on criminal psychology, human anatomy, and the like.
Jiang Beibei tilted her head to look for books, not expecting much, but unexpectedly pulled out a comic from among the professional books—an old-fashioned shoujo manga.
Jiang Beibei flipped through it and found the first page scrawled with “This book belongs to Jiang Beibei,” laughing endlessly, “Oh dear, I need to interrogate him properly.”
This was a comic she read when she was thirteen or fourteen years old. How did it end up with him?
Jiang Beibei lay on the bed, swinging her good leg and flipping through the comic. When she reached the third page, she suddenly remembered what this comic was about. Jiang Beibei sat up abruptly, eyes wide, hurriedly searched, and sure enough, found her marking in the middle section.
Jiang Beibei covered her face with the book, “...So embarrassing.”
This comic told a fantastical love story between a young girl and a moonlight god. The moonlight god always appeared wearing a mask until one chapter, during a mid-fight scene, his mask was removed, revealing a handsome face that captivated countless young female readers.
By all accounts, such a clichéd, melodramatic plot wasn’t anything special.
What made Jiang Beibei particularly embarrassed was that after the male protagonist revealed his face, the bold young version of herself drew an arrow in the blank space beside it, annotating: “Looks like Yao Ge! Handsome!”
Jiang Beibei: “...Definitely a dark history.”
She roughly knew how this comic ended up with Chu Yao.
After she passed the university entrance exam, Grandma wanted to sell all the books at home. At that time, she was out having fun with classmates and couldn’t return home to sort them out, so she asked Mother Chu to help her organize them.
Mother Chu called at that time, saying that some comics would be a pity to sell and asking if she could read them.
Jiang Beibei agreed.
Now, this book appearing in Yao Ge’s bookshelf must be because Mother Chu saw her annotation while reading those comics and thus...
Jiang Beibei closed her eyes and could vividly imagine Mother Chu laughing heartily, pointing at the book and calling Chu Yao over to see. Knowing Mother Chu’s personality, she might even compare Chu Yao to evaluate how similar he was to the male protagonist.
“...Too embarrassing, no face to meet the folks back home.” However, objectively speaking, even after more than ten years, revisiting this outdated shoujo manga still stirred her girlish heart.
Even though the plot was extremely formulaic, Jiang Beibei still found it enjoyable. It was indeed because the male protagonist resembled Chu Yao!
Jiang Beibei changed positions, lying on the bed and flipping through the comic. When she reached the last page, she suddenly heard someone call her, “Beibei...”
Without thinking, Jiang Beibei responded with a “Mm.”
Realizing it, she froze.
Just now, she really felt someone calling her—a voice like Grandma Liu’s.
Cold sweat ran down Jiang Beibei’s back, and she felt a chill. Her phone on the table rang.
Seeing it was Fourth Brother calling, Jiang Beibei felt slightly reassured and gained some courage.
“Hello, Fourth Brother?”
“Beibei, Grandma Liu is in the hospital with a cerebral hemorrhage. Big Brother said it doesn’t look good, and they need family members to come.” Song Lang said, “Do you know Aunt Xiao Xiao’s overseas phone number? Where are you now? I’m preparing to go to the hospital...”
Jiang Beibei’s voice trembled, “What’s Grandma Liu’s condition now?!”
“I haven’t reached the hospital yet, so I’m not sure of the specifics. Your grandmother is at the hospital accompanying her. We couldn’t contact Aunt Xiao Xiao via WeChat. Ask if you have her overseas phone number.”
Jiang Beibei’s tears gushed out, “No, no! How could she suddenly have a cerebral hemorrhage! She and Grandma were singing together yesterday!”
“Sigh, crying again, so easily moved to tears. Where are you? I’ll pick you up...”
“I’m with Yao Ge...” Jiang Beibei wiped her tears and said, “I’ll go back immediately. Fourth Brother, tell Grandma not to worry. I’ll go check... It will definitely be okay!”
After hanging up, Jiang Beibei was momentarily dazed.
She suddenly remembered the voice she had just heard—it was clear yet ethereal.
Tears streamed down Jiang Beibei’s face. Still retaining some rationality, she didn’t call Chu Yao but, with trembling hands, sent a text message to Qin Yuan.
In the Hall No. 3 of the funeral home, where the memorial service was being held, Qin Yuan saw the message and his expression changed.
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