After Marking the Omega Officer Who Was Pretending to Be an Alpha - Chapter 16

Time passed quickly.

It had already been a month since Shao Enzhuo arrived in the Capital of Hope. During this period, aside from working at the lumberyard to earn money, she familiarized herself with every corner of this place. In her free time, she also ran to nearby districts, though she only wandered through the forests.

The districts and forests here were larger than she had imagined.

Especially the forest leading to the four outer cities. There were mountains, water, and waterfalls inside. The vast, boundless grasslands stretched as far as the eye could see. Without walking for several days and nights, one probably would not reach the destination. She could also see many herders grazing sheep and cattle.

Ordinary and simple days passed one by one.

At dusk.

As usual, after finishing work at the lumberyard, Shao Enzhuo returned home, boiled water, and washed away the exhaustion from her body. Shao Lanzhi came home rather late today. When she arrived, Shao Enzhuo had just finished bathing, and the grandmother and granddaughter bumped into each other right at the doorway.

“Grandma, you’re back,” Shao Enzhuo said, looking at Shao Lanzhi. “Why did you come back so late today?”

“I went to the west side of the city today to buy some vegetables and cornmeal, so it took a little time.” Shao Lanzhi shook the bamboo basket in her hand. “Tonight, we’ll eat cornbread and steamed corn cake.”

Shao Enzhuo nodded excitedly. “Okay.”

She especially liked the cornbread and steamed corn cake Shao Lanzhi made. She took the bamboo basket from Shao Lanzhi’s hand and took out the cornmeal inside. “Grandma, I’ll go wash the vegetables.”

After saying that, she handed the cornmeal to Shao Lanzhi.

Shao Lanzhi said, “Mm.”

Shao Enzhuo carried the bamboo basket to the well in the courtyard, preparing to draw water and wash the vegetables. Inside the bamboo basket were several green peppers and eggplants, as well as a few potatoes and tomatoes.

There was not much, but they were all foods she liked.

As long as there was food to eat, she was satisfied.

Just then, a shout suddenly came from behind.

“Ah Zhuo! Ah Zhuo!”

It was Ren Qiruo.

Hearing the voice, Shao Enzhuo turned around and looked over.

She saw Ren Qiruo sprint all the way into the courtyard, her voice carrying a heartbroken sob. “Ah Zhuo!”

Shao Enzhuo froze for a moment and looked at Ren Qiruo, who was crying so badly she looked unlike herself. Not knowing what had happened, she asked, “Qiruo… what happened to you?”

“My stepmother… my stepmother is gone…” Ren Qiruo tightly grabbed Shao Enzhuo’s hand and cried. “Ah Zhuo, help me, okay? Please help me…”

Shao Enzhuo was not very surprised by this.

Ren Yiyao’s condition had suddenly worsened two days ago to the point where she could hardly eat anything. It had truly not been easy for her to hold on until now. Her passing today was also within expectations.

“Whatever you need, just tell me,” Shao Enzhuo comforted her softly. “As long as I can do it, I’ll do my best. Don’t be too sad, Qiruo.”

“The guards learned that my stepmother had passed away through the vital-sign monitoring on the restriction ring,” Ren Qiruo said while crying and wiping her tears. “They came to my house and asked me to pay thirty coins. Otherwise, they won’t carry my stepmother to the funeral home to be cremated. But I only have five coins…”

Shao Enzhuo was shocked. “They want thirty coins?”

That was more than two months of work at the lumberyard.

“My stepmother’s life was already so difficult. Before she died, she was still tormented by illness and suffered so much.” Ren Qiruo looked at Shao Enzhuo with tear-filled eyes. “Ah Zhuo, I want my stepmother to leave in peace. Can you lend me twenty-five coins first? Once I earn money from working, I’ll pay you back.”

“Okay. Wait here for me.” Shao Enzhuo had not earned much money this month, so she could only ask Shao Lanzhi for help. “I’ll go ask Grandma if she has any coins.”

Ren Qiruo nodded through her tears. “Okay…”

Shao Enzhuo carried the bamboo basket in her hand and walked into the house.

Shao Lanzhi was sitting in front of the stove lighting a fire. Seeing Shao Enzhuo come in, she asked, “Zhuozhuo, did Qiruo come to our house? Why does it sound like she’s crying?”

“Grandma, Qiruo’s mother passed away,” Shao Enzhuo said, walking over and placing the bamboo basket on the stove. Then she lowered her head and looked at Shao Lanzhi. “She urgently needs thirty coins right now. Can you lend me twenty-five coins first?”

“You child, why are you talking about borrowing from Grandma?” Shao Lanzhi stood up and walked deeper into the house. “Wait here. Grandma will get the coins for you.”

Fortunately, she had saved some coins at home over the years.

Otherwise, she would not have been able to take them out now.

Soon,

Shao Lanzhi slowly walked out from inside the house, holding something wrapped in cloth. She walked up to Shao Enzhuo and said, “Zhuozhuo, there are twenty-five coins inside. Hurry and give them to Qiruo to help her.”

“Thank you, Grandma.”

Shao Enzhuo took the cloth-wrapped coins from Shao Lanzhi with endless gratitude. “Grandma, Qiruo’s stepmother passed away, so she’s in a bad mood. I have to keep her company tonight and might come home very late. After you finish making dinner, eat first. Don’t wait specially for me to come back.”

“Mm.” Shao Lanzhi nodded. “Go on.”

Shao Enzhuo then took the coins and left the house.

Ren Qiruo stood in the courtyard.

Shao Enzhuo ran up to Ren Qiruo and, without saying another word, directly pulled her along. “Let’s go. We’re going to your house.”

Ren Qiruo wiped her tears and followed behind. “Okay.”

—

The sky gradually darkened.

Shao Enzhuo held Ren Qiruo’s hand and hurriedly ran all the way to the building where Ren Qiruo lived. A horse carriage was parked by the roadside, and a guard stood beside it. As soon as the two went upstairs, they saw four guards.

They seemed to be waiting for Ren Qiruo.

Aside from that, there was a stretcher in the living room.

A layer of white cloth was spread over the stretcher.

“You’re back,” one of the guards said when he saw Ren Qiruo arrive. “Have you prepared the thirty coins?”

“The thirty coins are all here.” Ren Qiruo stepped forward and handed over the cloth-wrapped coins. “Can you take my mother to the funeral home for cremation now?”

The guard took what Ren Qiruo handed him, opened the cloth, and counted the coins. There were exactly thirty coins, no more and no less. He put the coins away and returned the cloth.

“Alright, start working.”

The four guards lifted the stretcher from the ground together and walked into the bedroom. Ren Qiruo followed them inside, while Shao Enzhuo decided to stay in the living room and wait.

A short while later,

the guards carried the stretcher out.

Ren Yiyao’s body lay on it, completely covered by the white cloth. Ren Qiruo followed them out while crying. The guards carried the stretcher toward the stairs, and Shao Enzhuo followed Ren Qiruo downstairs.

Once they were outside,

the guards placed the stretcher on the carriage. Shao Enzhuo got onto the carriage with Ren Qiruo, and the carriage slowly moved toward the funeral home. No one spoke along the way.

Only Ren Qiruo’s cries could be heard.

Before long, they arrived at the funeral home inside the city. The funeral home’s location was rather remote. There were almost no people on this street, and there were not many residential buildings either.

The carriage stopped.

The guards carefully carried the stretcher down from the carriage and walked toward the funeral home entrance. In the middle of the funeral home’s main hall, there was a stone platform. They placed Ren Yiyao’s body on the stone platform, then walked farther inside and left the hall.

Only Shao Enzhuo and Ren Qiruo remained in the hall.

The atmosphere was inexplicably eerie.

A moment later,

two guards came out from inside. One of the guards carried a toolbox. He walked to the side of the stone platform, placed the toolbox down, then lifted the white cloth to reveal Ren Yiyao’s left hand. It seemed he was going to remove the restriction ring.

Sure enough, he took out tools and began removing the restriction ring.

Ren Qiruo stood beside them, covering her face as she cried.

The two guards carefully used the tools to remove the restriction ring from Ren Yiyao’s hand. Watching this scene, Shao Enzhuo felt mixed emotions and could not describe her current mood.

Sure enough.

The restriction ring worn on an Omega’s wrist would only be removed after death. As for this removed restriction ring, whose wrist would it be placed on next?

Omegas assigned like “goods.”

Did sacrifices like this truly have meaning?

Even after so long,

Shao Enzhuo still could not come to terms with the rule that Omegas would continue being assigned until the moment they died, only then gaining release. How could an Omega’s life be like this?

Sigh…

“Do you have anything else you want to say to your mother?” After removing the restriction ring, the guard said to Ren Qiruo. “We’ll give you ten minutes to say goodbye. After that, cremation will begin.”

Ren Qiruo nodded through her tears. “Okay…”

The two guards picked up the toolbox and left.

Ren Qiruo, who was on the verge of collapse, could no longer hold back the emotions she had kept in her heart. The mother and daughter who had depended on each other were finally facing the moment of separation. She walked forward and hugged the forever-sleeping Ren Yiyao, buried her head, and burst into loud sobs.

Ren Qiruo’s cries echoed through the entire hall.

Listening to such hysterical, heartbroken crying, Shao Enzhuo could not help feeling her heart ache. She was slowly infected by Ren Qiruo’s grief, and a layer of mist unconsciously rose in her eyes.

Right now, she really missed her family.

She had been in the Capital of Hope for so long, but she did not know how her family in the real world was doing. If something had happened to her in the real world, then what would her parents do…

Her nose suddenly stung.

Shao Enzhuo turned around and quietly wiped away the tears that slid from the corners of her eyes with her sleeve. Even though she had already grown used to life in the Capital of Hope, she still wanted to return to the real world.

Maybe her parents were waiting for her to come home.

—

Ten minutes passed quickly.

The two guards from earlier walked out from inside.

With Shao Enzhuo supporting her, Ren Qiruo reluctantly let go of Ren Yiyao’s hand. The two guards stepped forward, carried the body away, and disappeared step by step into the hall.

Until they could no longer be seen.

Ren Qiruo hugged Shao Enzhuo and cried uncontrollably.

Shao Enzhuo patted Ren Qiruo’s back to comfort her.

“Be good. Don’t cry anymore.”

Who knew how long had passed.

A guard walked up to Ren Qiruo holding a sealed urn and said, “Your mother’s ashes are inside. I’m handing them over to you now.”

Ren Qiruo stared at the urn in the guard’s arms for a long time before finally coming back to herself. When she thought of how Ren Yiyao had once been a whole living person, but was now ashes placed inside a box,

she cried even harder.

She took the urn and held it in her arms, nodding through her tears.

“Thank you.”

The guard nodded once, then turned and left.

“Stepmother…” Ren Qiruo held the urn and lowered her head, crying with both tears and voice. “I miss you so much, Stepmother…”

“Qiruo, as long as your stepmother is in your heart, she will always be by your side, accompanying you,” Shao Enzhuo said, patting Ren Qiruo’s shoulder to comfort her. “Your mom is also by your side, accompanying you. They will never leave you.”

Ren Qiruo nodded while crying.

Shao Enzhuo said, “Let’s go.”

Ren Qiruo said, “Mm.”

The sky had long since darkened. Warm orange lights had lit up all around, and the evening breeze repeatedly stirred the loose strands of hair.

Shao Enzhuo and Ren Qiruo slowly walked down the street.

Neither of them spoke.

“Ah Zhuo… my stepmother is gone…” Ren Qiruo wiped the tears from her face. “From now on, I’ll be the only one left at home. Can I go to your house in the future?”

Shao Enzhuo asked, “You want to come to my house?”

“I’m scared to stay home alone,” Ren Qiruo said, looking at Shao Enzhuo with reddened eyes. “If you and Grandma Shao are by my side, I won’t be afraid of anything. Once I earn money from working, I’ll give it all to Grandma Shao. Is that okay?”

After saying that, she added, “Ask Grandma Shao for her opinion when you go back. If she agrees, then I’ll go.”

Shao Enzhuo said, “Okay.”

Ren Qiruo said, “Thank you, Ah Zhuo.”

Shao Enzhuo said, “You’re welcome.”

“Now that my stepmother is gone, I have to work hard to keep living too,” Ren Qiruo said, lowering her head to look at the urn in her arms. “Tomorrow, let’s go to the stream together to catch fish.”

Shao Enzhuo had grown up without ever fishing, nor had she ever gone to a stream to catch fish. Catching fish sounded rather fresh and interesting, so she agreed. “Okay.”

Ren Qiruo said, “Then I’ll go to your house tomorrow to find you.”

Shao Enzhuo said, “Mm.”