After Transmigrated As The Scummy Ex Of The White Lotus Female Supporting Character - Chapter 8

Time was urgent, and Grandma Pei was already anxious and restless over Pei Wu’s safety. After Shang Yuqing simply bandaged the wound on Grandma Pei’s forehead, she followed Grandma Pei’s directions and picked up an umbrella.

“Grandma, wait for me at home. I’ll definitely find Pei Wu.”

The worry and panic in Grandma Pei’s voice could not be hidden. “Xiao Qing, I’m counting on you.”

Shang Yuqing nodded and rushed into the heavy rain.

The temperature had dropped sharply in the middle of the night. Even the umbrella could not block the raindrops flying in. Before long, more than half of Shang Yuqing’s hair was already wet.

The heavy rain blurred her vision. Shang Yuqing struggled to hold the umbrella while moving forward under the faint light of her flashlight.

It was too cold. The damp chill drilled mercilessly into her bones. Her long sleeves were already half-soaked.

The sky was too dark, and the rain was too heavy. Every step was difficult.

That voice in her mind sounded faintly again.

Save her. Hurry and save her. Hurry.

Shang Yuqing was drenched by the rain and had nearly lost her patience. She could not help cursing in her heart.

Shut up.

I’ll save her.

That voice stopped.

By the time she finally climbed up the slope, Shang Yuqing was almost completely exhausted. There were no streetlights on the main road, and on a rainy night like this, there was not even moonlight.

Grandma Pei had said that Pei Wu’s mother’s grave was on a fork in the road to the left of Auntie Cheng’s house. If she kept walking inward, she would reach it.

When Shang Yuqing reached that fork and took a few steps forward, she saw the scene before her and nearly collapsed.

What the hell kind of road was this? It was just a narrow dirt path. On both sides were reeds taller than a person, and there was not a single house. Under the pale beam of her flashlight, it looked especially eerie and gloomy.

Shang Yuqing had once acted in a horror film, and one of the scenes had been very similar to this place. Right now, the wind was still howling like a ghost that wanted her dead.

Shang Yuqing’s face turned pale.

She was already completely soaked, so she simply closed the umbrella, gritted her teeth, and walked forward.

As she walked, she used the umbrella to push aside the reeds on both sides. Several times, because of the potholes in the road, Shang Yuqing stepped into empty spots. Her face was also cut by the reeds. Mixed with the rain, the stinging pain followed.

Shang Yuqing did not notice at all. Her entire focus was on the road ahead. She had to walk very carefully to keep herself from stepping wrong.

The wind beat wildly against the treetops, playing out sob after sob.

When Shang Yuqing had been filming, she had gone through all kinds of difficult environments. But never once had it felt as difficult and hopeless as this.

After walking for who knew how long, the space before her finally opened up a little. She faintly heard a human voice ahead, and there seemed to be a bit of light too. Shang Yuqing’s eyes lit up, and she quickly ran over.

The flashlight swept forward and landed on a person.

That person stood sideways to her. Her figure was slender and graceful, her long hair clinging wetly to her body. She wore a long crimson dress and looked very much like a female ghost. Silently, she faced the tombstone in front of her. A large bouquet of roses had been placed on the tombstone, along with a small lamp. Its dim light fell bleakly over the woman in the red dress.

The heart Shang Yuqing had been holding up finally dropped back into place.

Very soon, anger surged into her chest.

She stormed forward aggressively, grabbed Pei Wu, and turned her around to face her. Furious, she snapped, “Pei Wu! Even if you want to go crazy, there should be a limit! Do you know what you’re doing right now!”

When Pei Wu was pulled by her, her whole body seemed boneless, and she drifted lightly forward, kneeling down.

Shang Yuqing was startled and immediately crouched down too, wanting to pull her up. Who knew Pei Wu would refuse to get up? Like someone clutching at a life-saving straw, she gripped Shang Yuqing’s sleeve tightly. Her head hung low as though it could no longer bear its own weight, and she choked out in grief, “Shang Yuqing, I miss my mom. I miss her so much…”

The rain finally grew lighter.

Her voice was so sorrowful that Shang Yuqing felt terrible inside. Almost instinctively, she held Pei Wu, gently stroking the back of her head, and spoke in a soft voice.

“I know. I know.”

Pei Wu was still sobbing as though she had broken down. Warm liquid dripped onto Shang Yuqing’s cold wrist, burning hot.

She could no longer tell whether what fell on her wrist was tears or rainwater.

Still half-crouching, Shang Yuqing wrapped Pei Wu in her arms. It was the posture of someone guarding another person.

All was silent, making the sound of crying especially abrupt.

Shang Yuqing did not interrupt her. She quietly let her vent.

A few minutes later, Pei Wu’s crying stopped. Shang Yuqing thought she had finished crying and slowly let go of her.

“How are you?”

Strangely, Pei Wu’s eyes were a little hollow. Soon, as though she saw something, a strange joy appeared on her face.

Shang Yuqing thought the sky was too dark and that she had seen wrong. She was about to pull Pei Wu up when Pei Wu mysteriously raised a finger to her lips and said nervously, “Shh. Did you hear that?”

Shang Yuqing was badly frightened by those words. “…Hear what?”

Pei Wu smiled. “My mom is calling me.”

She looked around, and her gaze stopped at a cliffside. Pei Wu’s mother’s tombstone had been built near a cliff. Ahead was the broken edge of the cliff, a place where one could see the sunrise and sunset.

A woman appeared before Pei Wu’s eyes, wearing a white dress, smiling warmly and peacefully as she waved at her.

“Ah Wu, come here to Mommy.”

Mom.

Pei Wu called softly. She stretched out her thin, pale fingers toward the distance, but she could not touch her.

Seeing the woman keep retreating, Pei Wu panicked.

No, Mom, don’t go. I miss you so much. I really miss you. Don’t go. Wait for me.

Pei Wu scrambled to her feet in a panic and staggered forward. Shang Yuqing was so frightened that her soul nearly flew out of her body. She grabbed Pei Wu’s hand and shouted in rage, “Are you fucking done going crazy! There’s a cliff ahead! Do you not want your life anymore!”

Pei Wu seemed not to hear her at all. Her mind had already broken away from reality. She turned her head, her face carrying a sickly anticipation.

“Shang Yuqing, my mom is ahead. I want to go keep her company. Will you come with me…?”

Shang Yuqing widened her eyes and stared at her. Her heart gave a heavy thud. She understood that Pei Wu was having an episode, and it had already reached the point of hallucination.

Seeing that Shang Yuqing did not answer, Pei Wu refused to give up and asked again, “You should feel very guilty toward me, right? Come with me to my mom. Then I won’t blame you anymore, okay?”

What mother was there ahead? There was only a pitch-black cliff. Going with her to her mother, in the end, meant dying together.

Pei Wu grew impatient and directly pulled Shang Yuqing forward instead. Pei Wu was very strong, and for a moment, Shang Yuqing actually could not break free.

She could only shout helplessly, “Pei Wu! Stop going crazy! Wake up! Your mother isn’t ahead!”

Pei Wu’s movements froze. She turned her head mechanically, her eyes blank. “If she isn’t ahead, then where is she?”

Seeing that she had stopped, Shang Yuqing let out a breath of relief. A few more steps forward, and the two of them really would have died for love together.

Keeping her expression calm, Shang Yuqing pulled Pei Wu backward while comforting her and distracting her attention. “She’s in the sky. She became a star. She’s watching you.”

Logically speaking, any normal person would know this was fake. But Pei Wu was not a normal person, and right now, her mind was like that of a young child.

“A star?”

Pei Wu raised her head and looked. The night sky was dim, with no river of stars. Then she looked at Shang Yuqing and said faintly, “Liar.”

Shang Yuqing had already pulled her back into a safe area. “Stars need to sleep too. She gets tired as well.”

Pei Wu lowered her eyelids, somewhat confused. “Really?”

“Really.” Shang Yuqing was afraid Pei Wu would have another episode and hurriedly explained.

Pei Wu finally stopped struggling over it. She only looked at the sky, then walked to the tombstone and gently touched the photo on it.

The light was very dim, and Shang Yuqing could not see the photo clearly.

“What time is it?” Pei Wu suddenly asked.

Shang Yuqing looked at her phone. “One fifty-five.”

Pei Wu nodded thoughtfully and said softly, “Mom, it’s almost two o’clock. That was the time you were born, and also your birthday. You always wanted to celebrate your birthday at this time before. I’ve already celebrated it for you more than ten times.”

Pei Wu smiled warmly. “I wore your favorite red dress. Does it look good? I picked roses too. It’s just a pity there’s no cake. You won’t blame me, right?”

Shang Yuqing stood beside her, watching Pei Wu with her body a little stiff. Shang Yuqing had never seen Pei Wu be so gentle before.

She thought that, actually, Pei Wu was just like a normal person too.

In front of her own mother, she was gentle and filial.

She was only a child who had unfortunately lost her mother.

“It’s two o’clock,” Shang Yuqing reminded her thoughtfully.

Pei Wu gave a soft mm. She slowly leaned close to the tombstone and kissed the photo. Her smile was sincere and gentle.

“Mom, happy birthday.”

“If there’s still a chance, I’ll come see you again next year. You have to keep watching me from the sky and protecting me, okay?”

Shang Yuqing checked the time. It was quite late, so she walked behind Pei Wu, placed a hand on her shoulder, and said,

“The wind is strong outside. Come home with me.”

By the time the two of them returned home, it was almost three-thirty. Neither of them spoke along the way. Shang Yuqing was holding back anger and did not want to speak, while Pei Wu’s mind had not fully recovered, leaving her still dazed.

When they reached home, they found the house brightly lit.

As soon as they went inside, Shang Yuqing directly turned around and slapped Pei Wu across the face. Her tone was rarely cold.

“Pei Wu, I didn’t hit you just now in front of your mother’s grave because the dead should be respected. That doesn’t mean you did nothing wrong.”

Pei Wu’s pale face also had many cuts, all from the reeds. Her eyes were almost completely confused as she looked helplessly at Shang Yuqing.

Shang Yuqing continued, “You were able to safely walk to the tombstone. You even knew to pick flowers and bring a lamp. You acted in an orderly way. That means you weren’t having an episode at the time. Without having an episode, you left without saying a word while it was raining heavily outside, making Grandma worry herself sick. That is your fault.”

Shang Yuqing’s voice unconsciously rose. “Because of you, Grandma hit her forehead until it bled. Her health isn’t good. Don’t tell me you don’t know that!”

When Pei Wu heard that Grandma’s forehead was bleeding, she immediately panicked. “How is Grandma’s head? Is she all right?!”

“She’s in her room. Go look yourself. Keep your voice down. Grandma might be asleep.”

The moment Shang Yuqing finished speaking, Pei Wu shot off to the room.

Grandma Pei was sitting on a stool, one hand propping up her head as she dozed. There were two cups of ginger tea on the table beside her. Perhaps because she had fallen asleep, she had forgotten to reheat them, and they had gone a little cold. She was still holding a few sets of clothes in her hands, prepared for the two of them to change into later.

Her forehead was wrapped in gauze, and she looked much older.

Pei Wu’s eyes turned sore. “…Grandma.”

Grandma Pei woke up at once. Seeing the soaked Pei Wu, she asked in a fluster, “Ah Wu, why did you only come back now? Are you cold? Drink some ginger tea. Call Xiao Qing too.”

Grandma Pei noticed the ginger tea had gone cold and wanted to heat it up. Pei Wu immediately half-knelt on the ground, resting her head on Grandma Pei’s lap as she wept uncontrollably.

“Grandma, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It’s my fault.”

Grandma Pei sighed, stroked her hair, and said gently, “You went to see your mom again, didn’t you?”

Pei Wu nodded.

“I don’t blame you. Grandma knows you miss her.” Grandma Pei’s tone was deeply reassuring. “Get up. Change into dry clothes. Today, it’s all thanks to Xiao Qing. I’ll go heat the ginger soup.”

Pei Wu slowly got up and took the clothes. At the doorway, she ran into Shang Yuqing.

Shang Yuqing had seen everything from outside the door. Seeing Pei Wu’s red eyes and the slap mark on her face, all kinds of emotions surged into waves inside her.

Pei Wu also saw the cuts on Shang Yuqing’s face. Thinking of what Grandma had said, her heart became complicated too, as though something inside it was changing.

She handed the dry clothes to Shang Yuqing and said very quietly,

“Thank you.”