The Creator's Grace - Chapter 6

The Chi family villa was located on the east side of the city—a tranquil haven amidst the urban bustle. It was a residence personally selected by her sister years ago.

The last time Chi Yu had returned was for this year’s Lunar New Year.

The villa was still meticulously maintained; the plants in the courtyard were trimmed with precision, showing no signs of wilting despite the crowded funeral hall and the mournful music echoing through the lobby.

Chi Yu didn’t need to change her black clothes; she stepped directly into the funeral hall and was instantly absorbed by the oppressive, sorrowful atmosphere.

The house was filled with friends and relatives who had come to pay their respects.

When they saw Chi Yu return, all conversations ceased, and all eyes turned toward her.

She looked at no one, walking straight to her sister’s portrait.

Perhaps Ran Jin had chosen the portrait; it was a photo her sister had been very fond of.

During Chi Yu’s first year abroad, Chi Li, unable to bear the longing for her younger sister, had flown to visit her along with Ran Jin. Chi Yu had taken this photo of her sister at the school.

The two sisters looked very much alike; once a smile touched those beautiful eyes, they radiated a brilliant, soulful warmth.

Chi Yu touched the photo longingly.

What she felt was no longer her sister’s warm skin, but a cold, hard surface.

There was no casket; as expected, there was only the dark, somber funerary urn placed before the portrait.

On either side of the urn were items her sister had used frequently in life: a golf club, an umbrella, a necklace…

Looking at these objects so full of her sister’s essence, the memories of their life together—relying on each other—rushed through her mind like a speeding train, crushing her heart.

She gripped the corner of the portrait, her knuckles turning white, her vision already a blurred mess.

“Sis, I’m late.” Chi Yu knelt on the soft cushion to offer incense. After bowing, she placed the sticks at the edge of a burner already overflowing with ash.

Ran Jin hadn’t followed Chi Yu into the house. She stood in the courtyard beneath an old banyan tree, answering a call from Lu Siqiong.

“You’re not asleep yet?”

“I can hear the funeral music; you went to the Chi house after all. Listen, you’ve already broken up with Chi Li. Why are you still managing her family’s affairs? Hasn’t her sister returned? Can’t you just leave everything to her?”

Ran Jin said, “Xiao Yu just got back. She’s been flying for over ten hours; she probably hasn’t even adjusted to the jet lag yet. All the Chi relatives are here; she definitely can’t handle a house full of people alone. Besides, she’s still young and hasn’t dealt with things like this. She doesn’t know much about the family or the company affairs; she might not be able to handle this scene.”

Lu Siqiong: “…Are you trying to work yourself into sudden death?”

Ran Jin let out a faint laugh and said, “Alright, go to sleep. Once I’ve handled things here, I’ll go back to the apartment.”

Fuming, Lu Siqiong snapped, “I give up on you,” before almost hanging up.

Ran Jin stopped her and instructed: “About my breakup with Chi Li—don’t tell Xiao Yu for now.”

“Do you think it’s up to me to say anything? The whole world knows by now,” Lu Siqiong said. “Fine, I’m sleeping. Because of your case, I have to avoid any conflict of interest anyway. I have to travel for work tomorrow; an 8 AM flight is pure torture. Bye, hanging up.”

“Good night.”

Ran Jin hung up and returned to the back of the crowd.

At that moment, Chi Yu had finished offering incense. A few segments of ash, still carrying sparks, fell onto the back of her hand.

Standing behind the crowd, Ran Jin remained like a silent shadow, minimizing her presence. But when she saw the back of Chi Yu’s hand turning red from the burn while the girl remained oblivious—and the two tracks of tears on her face left unwiped—a ripple finally stirred in Ran Jin’s calm, still eyes.

“Meow.”

With a soft, muffled cry, Lulu walked quietly to Chi Yu’s feet and sniffed her. Confirming she was an old acquaintance, the cat stood up and pawed at her trouser leg with its front claws.

This was Lulu’s signal for a hug.

Seeing Lulu, Chi Yu couldn’t help but burst into tears.

Sixteen years ago, their mother had passed away from a serious illness. Their father, consumed by grief, followed her less than six months later, leaving behind Chi Li, who was barely in her early twenties, and six-year-old Chi Yu.

Chi Li knew she had to shoulder the responsibilities of an elder sister. She gave up her dreams, sold her art studio, and took over the then-dilapidated Chi Group. While taking care of her sister, she worked hard to expand the industry left by their parents, treating it as a way to hold onto the memory of their family.

Back then, the sisters were destitute. Of all their relatives, only their aunt and uncle—who weren’t wealthy themselves—lived frugally to help them. Originally, there was no extra money to raise a stray kitten from the roadside.

One day, while picking Chi Yu up from school, Chi Li saw Lulu—soaked through by heavy rain and gasping for breath, waiting for death in the gutter. Chi Yu couldn’t bear it, but not wanting to cause trouble for her sister, she simply left her cherished meat-floss bread by the cat’s side.

Chi Li saw this and asked, “What, do you like that cat?”

Little Chi Yu didn’t answer, but gripped her sister’s hand and asked, “Where are its mommy and daddy?”

“They might be dead.”

“No wonder,” Chi Yu said. “Then it’s just like us. It’ll never see its mommy and daddy again.”

Perhaps those words touched Chi Li. She picked Lulu up, ending its life of exposure and hunger, giving it a home and a second chance at life.

In that sense, her sister had always been compassionate—whether toward Lulu or toward Ran Jin, who had nearly died in an alleyway all those years ago.

The name “Lulu” had been given by Chi Yu.

Chi Yu stroked Lulu tenderly. As always, the cat lay obediently in her arms. Seeing her cry, as if understanding human nature, it gently licked away her tears.

The barbs on Lulu’s tongue scraped Chi Yu slightly. After steadying her emotions, she set the cat down.

There were far too many people around. Cats are sensitive creatures; a hurried footstep is enough to startle them into flight.

Lulu had lived in this house for many years and knew every path. It leaped onto the back of the sofa, darted across, and nimbly squeezed into the gap between the bookshelf and the ceiling, hiding away silently.

When Lulu first came to the Chi family, a vet had estimated it was two years old based on its teeth. This year, Lulu was eighteen—an advanced age for a cat—yet its movements were still so agile they belied its years.

Chi Yu’s dull gaze followed Lulu for a while. Having rushed back and yet to adjust to the jet lag, her mind went blank from exhaustion. She simply stared at her sister’s portrait through the layer of glass.

It wasn’t until the increasingly noisy dialogue behind her filtered into her ears that she gradually snapped back and looked behind her.

At the entrance of the funeral hall, a group of distant Chi relatives had surrounded Ran Jin, preventing her from moving forward or backward.

Ran Jin held a pack of tissues, her face like frost as she looked ahead. From Chi Yu’s angle, she could see that Ran Jin wasn’t looking at a single member of the Chi family.

“Now that the Little Sister is back, you should leave. We’re all respectable people; you wouldn’t want to embarrass each other in front of the Eldest Sister, would you?” The speaker was Chi Yu’s eldest uncle.

He had a cigarette dangling from his mouth, taking a puff now and then. His broad, dark face was etched with the marks of time, and his cropped hair was significantly grayed. His voice had long been ruined by smoke—hoarse and ragged.

In fact, this was the first time Chi Yu had seen this uncle in four years.

An aunt standing to the side picked up where the uncle left off: “That’s right, Miss Ran. We appreciate all your hard work these past two days. We Chi family members will remember your efforts. But I heard you and our Xiao Li had already cut ties? Why are you still acting as the Chairperson of the Chi Group? Sigh, a young girl like you… the business world is full of deception, it’s far too dangerous. You can’t hold onto a corporation as large as the Chi Group. Since you’re here today, it saves me a trip to find you. You and Xiao Li broke up; whether we’re talking about sentiment or logic, the Chairperson position shouldn’t be yours. I think handing it over to the eldest brother of the family is only fitting.”

Upon hearing this, the uncle tilted his chin, a self-satisfied smile appearing on his face.

The aunt continued: “I don’t understand those company matters, so Miss Ran will have to put in some effort for the handover. Once we see Xiao Li off, we’ll go to the office and get this settled.”

The surrounding relatives chimed in: “Yes, yes, Big Brother can do it. He’s the most suitable in terms of age and experience.”

The uncle took a final, hard drag of his cigarette, tossed the butt onto the floor, and ground it under his foot. The flattened butt and unburnt tobacco were instantly crushed into a mess.

Chi Yu saw a hideous mark left on the red sandalwood floor her sister had loved most.

The uncle waved his hand and said, “No rush on that. Seeing Xiao Li off is the priority. Now, whatever your name is—Miss Ran—I see you’ve been busy. But right now, this is all Chi family. You don’t have a say here, so you should head back. The day after tomorrow… the day after tomorrow I’ll go to the office to find you personally…”

“That won’t happen.” Ran Jin interrupted him coldly. She spoke amidst a sea of stunned gazes, her voice calm but brook no argument. “The Chi Group will never be handed over to you.”

“What did you say?” The uncle and his two sons stepped up to Ran Jin, looking down at the slender woman. “Say that one more time for me.”

Ran Jin lifted her head. Shadows fell across her eyes—eyes that held both light and a sharp edge—nearly enveloping her entire being.

But she didn’t show even a hint of backing down.

“The Chi Group will never be handed over to you,” Ran Jin repeated with a steady tone.

“What do you think you are? Is your name ‘Chi’? The Chi family’s business is none of your damn business! Giving you face and you don’t even want it?!” the uncle’s eldest son suddenly roared. The sound shattered the silence of the funeral hall like a silver vase breaking, piercing everyone’s eardrums.

Ran Jin remained perfectly composed, her words sharp: “My name indeed is not Chi. But I was with Chi Li for all these years. In the entire Chi Group, other than her, only I am capable of taking over the business. If it were handed to any of you, would you even understand it?”

Seeing the situation about to spiral out of control, Chi Yu’s aunt let out an “Oh my” and stepped forward to grab Ran Jin, trying to pull her aside to have a “private talk.”

But Ran Jin didn’t budge an inch.

“Why are you so stubborn? You’re completely unyielding.” Unable to move her, the aunt let go, fuming. “I’m doing this for your own good. Why can’t you recognize a kind heart? You say you were with Chi Li for all those years—ha! What is a woman being with another woman? No status, no recognition. Aside from those gossip news, who acknowledges you? Even if you spent your whole life with her, you’d never change your surname. You’d never be a ‘Chi.’ Even if you’re stubborn about that logic, you broke up with her, didn’t you? Why are you still occupying the Chi family assets and refusing to hand them over?”

When the aunt mentioned the breakup, Ran Jin instinctively looked toward Chi Yu.

Chi Yu was standing with her back turned. It was unclear if she had heard; she was searching for something in front of her sister’s altar.

Their other aunt—Chi Yu’s gugu—whose health was already poor from keeping the vigil for two nights, saw that the uncle’s family was causing trouble. She stepped forward to stop him while coughing: “Big Brother, I’ve seen with my own eyes how much Xiao Ran has helped Xiao Li over the years. You live far away and rarely come by, but things aren’t how you think…”

The uncle’s second son pointed at Ran Jin: “Stop with the nonsense. We don’t even know if our cousin committed suicide or was murdered. Looking at how she’s clutching onto the inheritance, she’s probably been eyeing her money for a long time. Damn, what if she is the killer?”

The crowd surrounded Ran Jin, their voices a cacophony, as if they wanted to tear her apart and question every single atom of her being.

Ran Jin didn’t want to say anything more to them. She had thought staying would allow her to help, but it had only added to the chaos. A rowdy funeral hall was certainly not her intention; it was a mark of disrespect to Chi Li.

Ran Jin prepared to leave for the moment. But the people surrounding her clearly wouldn’t let her go unless she agreed to hand over the Chi Group immediately.

A figure drifted over from not far away. Ran Jin’s lowered gaze was caught by something silver.

Chi Li’s golf club slid between the faces of the uncle’s two sons. The two men, who had been in a heated argument, were instantly silenced by the sheer ferocity of the object.

Chi Yu used the club to push the crowd aside. Facing her uncle, she said: “Long time no see, Uncle. It’s been four years, hasn’t it? I remember the last time you came to our house; I was still in high school. You came to borrow money from my sister. Did you ever pay back that 200,000?”

At those words, the uncle was instantly choked up.

“And Auntie, you certainly come by often enough. Every few days you’d bring your group of dubious friends to my sister, asking her to find them jobs. My sister was only able to tolerate you because she valued old ties; if it were me, I would have cleared out the trash long ago. You say my Sister-in-law’s name isn’t ‘Chi’? Since when did you change your surname to ‘Chi,’ Auntie?”

The aunt’s mouth hung open. She managed to start a “You…” but couldn’t follow up for a long time.

Chi Yu listed every benefit each person present had gained from the Chi family over the years, missing no one.

“The Chi Group was built by my sister and my Sister-in-law. I saw with my own eyes how many nights they worked through. And among all of you, only my Gugu and Gufu took pity on us sisters and looked after us through the years. Other than them—Uncle, Auntie—what have you done? My sister’s bones are barely cold, and yet every single one of you is eyeing her assets. Just because you share the same surname… let me return your own words: what do you think you are? I’ve been out of the country for years, so you might not be familiar with my temper. If you are truly here to see my sister off on her final journey, I welcome you. But if you are here to cause trouble…”

Chi Yu raised her hand in a blur, and the golf club in her hand swung toward her cousin’s head with a violent whoosh.

Terrified, the cousin immediately held his head and dropped into a deep crouch. With a loud crash, Chi Yu smashed a vase right next to him into powder.

“Then I will make sure you get to know me very well.”

A few strands of Chi Yu’s long hair fell messily across her face from the movement.

Her ruthless words, her dark smile, and the sheer weight of her strike finally restored the solemnity and silence the funeral hall deserved.