Man

The body was "orderly" sent into the cremation chamber.

Feng Yanshan had only hurriedly seen it off before leaving without pause. The ashes were brought home by the family driver. Perhaps because they had not yet been buried, Bai Yunsheng remained with the ashes, drifting through the air—from the poolside to the cremation chamber, then from the cremation chamber to the so-called home.

The atmosphere at home was strange. Feng Tingfan sat in a chair, tears streaming down his face, while his stepmother, Jiang Li, constantly comforted him at his side. As for Bai Yunsheng's full-blooded older brother, Feng Zhiyou, he kept his head lowered as he dealt with work in his hands. There was not the slightest trace of grief in the entire house. Bai Yunsheng drifted emptily through the air, yet felt so miserable he could hardly breathe.

So even the dead needed to breathe.

Souls could feel pain too.

Feng Yanshan did not return until very late, radiating hostility. The moment he entered the house, he strode straight toward Feng Tingfan. Before he could do anything, Jiang Li shielded him. "What are you doing?! It was an accident. Tingfan didn't want this either."

Feng Yanshan roughly shoved Jiang Li aside and yanked Feng Tingfan up from the sofa.

Feng Tingfan looked at Feng Yanshan in terror and trembled as he called, "Dad."

Feng Yanshan's gaze was vicious. He raised his hand and slapped him. "I don't care how you usually fool around, but did you have to play around until someone died in front of so many people?! If I hadn't acted fast, if word had gotten out, where would the Feng Household put its face?!"

Jiang Li screamed, "Feng Yanshan! Tingfan didn't do anything wrong! Why are you hitting him?! He was scared too. Didn't that child Yunsheng jump into the pool and drown himself?!"

Feng Yanshan turned toward her. "Don't you know exactly what your own son is like? If Zhiyou hadn't deleted the surveillance footage, do you think the police would have let your son off so easily? Do you know how many connections I had to call in, how many fake smiles I had to put on? I threw away every last bit of dignity I had!" As if still unable to vent his anger, he grabbed the ashtray from the table and viciously smashed it into Feng Tingfan. "Useless trash."

Bai Yunsheng stared blankly at the farce before him. His head was filled with a relentless buzzing, and even the sharp scolding in his ears turned into a long, drawn-out ringing.

Feng Yanshan's words were like a dense barrage of needles, piercing through him from every direction and leaving his soul riddled with holes.

No one mourned for him, and no one punished his killer.

It was as though he were someone utterly insignificant. He had died, and that was that.

His father, Feng Yanshan, was only angry because he had lost face.

And his own older brother, Feng Zhiyou, had personally erased the truth.

Bai Yunsheng closed his eyes, his chest aching and swollen with bitterness.

Soon, only Jiang Li and Feng Tingfan remained in the living room.

Feng Tingfan, who had been crying in fright, changed expressions. Smiling, he casually wiped away the tears on his face with his fingertips. "He just died. Did Dad really need to get that angry?"

Jiang Li said, "You know how much your father cares about his precious reputation. What bad luck, dying on your birthday of all days."

Feng Tingfan said, "You should've seen how he looked when he died. It was hilarious."

Jiang Li said, "Isn't it creepy to talk about that in the middle of the night?" Then she smiled. "Though he was never much of a threat, it's good that he died. At least we won't have to look at that unlucky face anymore. You did a good deed too—letting that mother and son reunite underground. Your eldest brother probably won't last much longer either."

"Once they're all dead, your father will only have you left as his son."

Listening to the conversation between mother and son, Bai Yunsheng felt his blood boil.

He had lived his entire life properly and obediently. Following his mother's final instructions, he had quietly lived in the Feng Household, too obedient to defy anyone. He had done everything he could to be well-behaved and get close to his brother and father. To avoid creating any distance between himself and his brother, he had hidden his abilities and worked hard to become invisible. Yet no one had ever treated him as though he mattered. Even after his death, he was nothing more than a nuisance.

If his ashes had not been in this house, making it impossible for him to leave, he would have wanted to vanish from this "home" immediately. Bai Yunsheng did not want to watch the farce downstairs any longer, so his soul drifted back to his room.

The next day, someone finally buried his ashes in the cemetery.

Feng Yanshan and the others put on a show by burning a few things, then left.

Bai Yunsheng sat atop the cold, hard gravestone, watching them walk away, watching them disappear. No emotion stirred within him anymore.

Bai Yunsheng sat on that gravestone day after day, wondering why he had not disappeared yet. Now that he had been buried, shouldn't his soul have found peace as well?

Those days continued for several more days.

Until one day.

An uninvited visitor came to his grave—a person he had never seen before.

A fine rain fell from the sky. The man held a black umbrella and wore a black suit, with a brooch pinned to his chest: a yellow oriole entwined with roses. He lifted the umbrella slightly, revealing his face.

He was handsome, incredibly handsome, with strikingly defined features. Yet for some reason, his eyes looked tired, and his chin was covered in rough stubble.

Bai Yunsheng sat up straight and stared at him, utterly confused. How could he have no memory at all of someone with such an outstanding appearance?

The man stood there for a long while before slowly crouching down on one knee. Without saying a word, he took out a gray handkerchief and carefully wiped away the dust and raindrops from the gravestone. When he reached Bai Yunsheng's photograph, his hand paused. It was as though he were suppressing something. The fingers clutching the handkerchief trembled uncontrollably.

"I came too late," the man said.

Too late?

Who was he?

Who exactly was he?

After saying that, the man took an exquisite box from his pocket and placed it before Bai Yunsheng's gravestone. "Your birthday present. A belated gift. I hope you like it."

Bai Yunsheng froze completely, and even his eyes began to burn.

Who was this person? He even knew Bai Yunsheng's birthday.

"Shengsheng, I still couldn't save you. If I had known..." The man's Adam's apple bobbed halfway through the sentence, as though he were holding something back. The hand braced against the gravestone curled slightly. "If I had known, I wouldn't have left."

His voice gradually softened. After a few seconds, the man lifted his head again, and a flash of ruthlessness crossed his eyes. "Yunsheng, don't worry. Those who bullied you, those who made you suffer—I won't let any of them go. Not one." With that, he stood.

Bai Yunsheng did not know what the man intended to do. Seeing him rise, he instinctively tried to follow him, but his steps were held back.

For a long time, the man did not appear again.

After who knew how long, the man finally reappeared before Bai Yunsheng. After that, he came every day. As though reporting for work, he told Bai Yunsheng what had happened to each person. Occasionally, he chatted with Bai Yunsheng about trivial things in life. This continued until winter.

Bai Yunsheng had been trapped beside this gravestone for half a year.

As usual, the man sat beside the gravestone.

"Yunsheng, did you see what happened to them?"

"Do you think I'm very..." Seemingly unable to find a suitable word, the man did not finish.

After an unknown amount of time, he finally spoke again, but his voice had become choked. "Yunsheng, I miss you so much."

"I miss you so, so much."

"Very..." The final two words were replaced by soft sobbing.

At a loss, Bai Yunsheng drifted around the man, wanting to comfort him, wanting to say something, but unable to do anything at all.

He watched the man, watched his quiet sobs turn into a breakdown. Tears did not suit the man; they seemed so out of place, as though they should never have appeared on him.

Bai Yunsheng slowly reached out, only to discover the next second that his hand was gradually disappearing along with the man's tears.

Bai Yunsheng suddenly remembered something.

His mother had once said that people did not immediately find peace after death, unless someone sincerely cried for them before their gravestone.

Bai Yunsheng did not know whether to feel happy or sad.

The person allowing him to finally rest in peace was actually this stranger before him.

But no matter what, whether it was this man's tears or everything he had done for Bai Yunsheng,

he deserved Bai Yunsheng's thanks.

Before disappearing, Bai Yunsheng reached out, wanting to hug the man, but his hand passed straight through his body. Then his entire body suddenly lurched. Before he could react, agonizing pain struck...