Ch 674: Heaven’s Punishment

Bai Li Qianhe passed away; the news spread quickly.

Bai Li Yun and Li Wan were the last to know. Was this Heaven’s punishment for them? They had driven their elder son, Bai Li Fenghua, to his death, and even though they showered their younger son, Bai Li Qianhe, with affection, he still met an untimely end.

“Qianhe!”

A mother’s cry of anguish.

Li Wan stumbled into the room, collapsing by the bed, “Qianhe!”

Tears streamed down her face, her eyes filled with cracks. Li Wan tremblingly grasped Bai Li Qianhe’s now completely cold hand.

“Qianhe, how could this happen? Why did you have to leave us too?”

Her trembling voice held apology for Bai Li Fenghua and regret for Bai Li Qianhe.

They say men don’t cry easily, but at this moment, tears flowed uncontrollably. Bai Li Yun stood rigidly by the bed, letting the tears of grief silently wash his face.

Song Huihui leaned against the wall, her hand pressed tightly to her mouth, stifling her sobs.

Song Zhi embraced his sister, his heart aching. “Be brave, I’m here for you.”

In times of sorrow, external kindness can be utterly devastating.

Song Huihui buried her face in Song Zhi’s embrace, clutching his clothes tightly. “Brother, he still left me… why… did he not like me?”

Memories flooded back like a film, Bai Li Qianhe’s face and smile forever frozen in time; he always called her “Huihui” so gently.

She remembered how he used to call her “Senior Song.”

All the memories were set in stone, and now, Song Huihui’s ears still echoed with his final apology.

“Silly girl, don’t think like that,” Song Zhi looked up, took a deep breath, his eyes glistening.

All people are but puppets in Heaven’s hands. How many can break free from this confinement and live their own lives?

“Brother, he left me, what should I do? My heart went with him, what should I do?”

Her muffled sobs quickly soaked Song Zhi’s shirt.

Qianhe had passed away before her eyes, peaceful until his last moment.

She had already given him her heart, and now that he was gone, she had no heart left.

The room was filled with weeping. Li Wan cried until she fainted, and Bai Li Yun finally knelt by the bed, tears of despair and regret dripping onto the floor tiles.

They were unworthy parents, first driving their elder son, Bai Li Fenghua, to death, then isolating their younger son, Bai Li Qianhe, for years due to his illness.

To lose a child—this was Heaven’s punishment for them.

——

Soon after, the burial took place.

In the same cemetery as Bai Li Qianhe.

The two brothers would finally be together.

“Mo Mo, do you think… they can see each other?”

Amidst the wind and snow, Yi Qianqian stood in the distance, able to see the tombstones of Bai Li Fenghua and Bai Li Qianhe. Tears still welled up in her red-rimmed eyes.

Tan Mobai choked back a sob, “…Yes, they will.”

“Heaven is too cruel.”

Her gaze shifted to Song Huihui beside her, and Yi Qianqian’s heart ached. With Qianhe gone, what would become of her? Her beloved, her love, had left her first—what was she to do?

Song Huihui had cried until her throat was hoarse, her tears a torrent of pain.

Cold, fine snow fell from the sky, and before her stood the cold, unfeeling tombstones.

“Qianhe!”

In the cycle of life and death, there is love. We may not grow old together in this life, but I hope we’ll be together in the next life.

Huihui, I’m sorry, I didn’t want to leave you, but this world couldn’t contain me.

In the next life, I’ll wait for you.

In the next life, I’ll chase you.

In the next life, I’ll never abandon you.

——Bai Li Qianhe End

✦✦✦