After Transmigrating as the Abandoned Rich Wife O, I Turned the Scum A's Life into a Crematorium [Transmigration] - Chapter 30

Everyone was invited to the dining hall of the old estate for a meal; Grandmother took Gu Bei’s hand and they headed over together. Gu Bei obediently carried the cat, walking by Grandmother’s side.

Shen Siying was not allowed to sit at the table. Instead, she was punished and ordered to kneel in the ancestral hall. The hall was austere, with no unnecessary furnishings; there was only the cushion Shen Siying knelt on, the altar in front of her, and the tall potted plants flanking the door.

At the dinner table, Grandmother piled food onto Gu Bei’s plate until it looked like a small mountain. Even though Gu Bei was already full, Grandmother kept insisting on serving her more. President Gu and his wife sat nearby in silence.

After the meal, while Grandmother talked business with Gu Bei’s father, Gu Bei’s mother—dressed in white—took Gu Bei for a walk in the backyard to help their digestion.

Mrs. Gu said apologetically, “Bei Bei, it’s been very hard for you lately, hasn’t it?”

Gu Bei looked at her mother’s slightly graying temples and the fine lines around her eyes; time had not spared this gentle-looking woman. Looking closely, the original host’s appearance really did favor her mother—the same skin tone, the same features, even the curve of the chin was almost identical. Her mother had eyes that remained beautiful despite the years, with long, curled lashes that brushed against her eyelids like tiny fans.

“It’s… it’s been okay,” she replied.

“Oh?” Mrs. Gu looked at her with concern.

It had been a long time since anyone had asked if she was tired, and she hadn’t stopped to think if this was the life she truly wanted. The girl group had debuted, and with Magna’s help, things were slowly getting on track. Su Xiaotang had film offers coming in, Jian Peiyun had started recording a solo single, and the “CP” heat between Wen Mei and Bai Jin was very high.

Perhaps it was time to consider her own private matters. It was time to leave Shen Siying. She didn’t want to be a canary dependent on an Alpha anymore. She didn’t want to live a life where she just took whatever was given to her. She wanted to be herself and return to being a confident, beautiful person.

“Your father and I only found out about these things this morning,” Gu Bei’s mother said, a trace of heartache in her eyes. “Mom feels she let you down. Perhaps… perhaps letting you marry Shen Siying was my mistake.”

Gu Bei’s parents had felt from the first time they met Shen Siying that the child’s future would be immeasurable, and they had intended to groom her. Although many things happened during her childhood, the significant results of that grooming were plain to see. The elders all knew that little Gu Bei adored this “big sister” to no end. When Gu Bei turned nineteen and differentiated into an Omega, a marriage was mentioned casually, and seeing the joy in Gu Bei’s eyes, Shen Siying’s grandmother finalized the engagement.

The wind picked up, swirling the dust on the ground and blowing it toward the unknown distance. In the sunlight, there was a glow on Mrs. Gu’s face—the light of maternal love a woman shows her child.

“Mom,” Gu Bei said. Although she wasn’t familiar with her, she felt an instinctive urge to be close. She took her mother’s slightly cold hand and forced a smile. “You are the best mom. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

She didn’t know how to comfort her self-reproaching mother, so she lightly patted the back of her hand. “I’m fine, really. No matter what I do, you’ll support me, right?”

She felt she could finally understand why, before transmigrating, no matter how much her parents fought at home, they would always act like a loving couple when eating at her grandmother’s house.

Mrs. Gu was a woman who had weathered many storms. Hearing such a lukewarm yet firm statement from her child, she hesitated for a moment, then touched Gu Bei’s face and nodded slightly.

The driver took her father and mother away, and Grandmother stood at the door with Gu Bei to see them off. When the car’s taillights shrank into a blurred speck of light in the distance, Grandmother said earnestly, “Bei Bei, could you go call A-Nan out to eat for me?”

Gu Bei understood the old lady. Shen Siying had never known her parents and was raised entirely by her grandmother; naturally, she didn’t want the child she raised to be criticized by others. Grandmother felt responsible for this farce, but at this moment, she hoped even more that the two children could reconcile.

Gu Bei was a hundred percent reluctant, but looking at the old lady’s clouded, aging eyes, she compromised.

The door to the ancestral hall was open, and she could clearly see the tall figure kneeling on the cushion. Gu Bei let out a light cough at the door and then stepped inside. Fragrant incense was burning in the hall, and the thin curls of smoke dispersed in the draft Gu Bei brought with her.

Shen Siying was kneeling upright, her back straight, not hunching despite the long duration. Her long grape-purple hair fell over her thin shoulders. Her face was devoid of expression, just as it was the first time Gu Bei saw her—determined and calm. It was as if the world outside this small space had nothing to do with her.

“Go eat,” Gu Bei said coldly. She stepped back outside the door frame, the light and shadow shifting for an instant.

Shen Siying’s gaze flickered with the light, then she nodded and stood up. She followed behind Gu Bei without saying a word, and Gu Bei naturally remained silent the whole way. While Shen Siying ate, Grandmother sat at the table playing with the jade walnuts in her hand, her expression sour the entire time.

When it was time to leave the old estate, Grandmother stood on the steps, quietly watching Shen Siying and Gu Bei get into the car. As Shen Siying walked to her side of the car, Gu Bei looped around to the other. Just as she was about to open the door, Shen Siying’s hand reached out to the handle and slowly pulled it open for her. Shen Siying placed a hand over the upper part of the door frame to prevent Gu Bei from hitting her head.

Gu Bei was stunned for a second by this unprecedented gesture from Shen Siying. Thinking better of it, she assumed Shen Siying was just doing it for her grandmother’s sake, so she accepted it naturally and quickly slipped into the car. After rolling down the window to say goodbye to Grandmother, the car slowly started.

In the familiar scent of leather and a faint, lingering smell of smoke, Gu Bei frowned and looked at Shen Siying. “The act is over. Can you let me out of the car now?”

Shen Siying didn’t look at her or answer. Only after Gu Bei looked away did Shen Siying turn to look at her, and at the world outside the window reflected in her eyes.

“Bei Bei,” she called softly.

Gu Bei said seriously, “Don’t call me that.”

Shen Siying was silent for a few seconds. “Can you come back with me?”

Gu Bei turned to look at her with an expression of pure bewilderment. “Does this question really need me to answer it again?”

Shen Siying’s bloodshot eyes were filled with exhaustion. Having spent a night struggling at the police station and not having slept until now, she couldn’t even find the right posture to plead.

Gu Bei continued coldly, “Take me back to the rental.”

Shen Siying and Gu Bei remained in a silent stalemate for a while. The driver in the front seat tapped the brakes; he needed Shen Siying’s command before taking the next step. Shen Siying’s house and the neighborhood Gu Bei was renting in were in two completely different directions. Shen Siying didn’t speak, so the driver assumed the default was to not change the route, continuing back toward Shen Siying’s villa.

Gu Bei wasn’t familiar with the route from the old estate to Su Xiaotang’s rental. Seeing that Shen Siying had stopped talking, she didn’t want to say anything either, turning back to watch the neon lights outside the window grow more colorful.

When a familiar landmark appeared on the road, Gu Bei whipped her head around to look at Shen Siying. “I told you, I’m going back to the rental.”

Shen Siying didn’t make a sound. Looking out the window, her shoulders trembled slightly. “Bei Bei, let me make it up to you. I know those trending searches hurt you. I promise they will disappear by tomorrow.”

“You’re overthinking it. I’m not that fragile! And, don’t get close to me ever again!!” As Gu Bei spoke, she had already retreated against the window until there was nowhere left to go.

Shen Siying leaned her head on Gu Bei’s shoulder, as docile as the fat Silver Shaded cat at Grandmother’s house. “The home without you is too cold.”

A single tear fell onto Gu Bei’s palm. The warm liquid stimulated her skin, and as if she had been burned, she yanked her hand up. The moment she raised it, Shen Siying grabbed it and pressed it to her own lips to kiss it.

“You… let go!” Gu Bei tried to shake her off, but Shen Siying was like a piece of plaster—she couldn’t be shaken!

The driver silently adjusted the sunglasses on his nose and eased off the gas, letting the car speed drop slightly. In the past, Shen Siying would never lose her composure like this. No matter how long the car ride was, she basically only did two things: look out the window, or look out the window after flipping through some work materials.

As the car turned onto University Road, a familiar, beautiful figure entered the sight of the two in the back seat.

Dressed in a camel coat and a gray baseball cap, Xin Mengyao emerged from a luxury boutique hotel with her arm around the shoulder of a tall male Alpha. The two were chatting and laughing, their behavior intimate. After a brief kiss, Xin Mengyao hurriedly put on a black mask and pulled down her baseball cap.

Gu Bei could feel the body of the person leaning on her, looking out the same window, stiffen instantly.

“I’ll send you back today then. I have something I need to confirm.” Shen Siying signaled the driver to turn around and take Gu Bei back to the rental.