Standing Next To You-Chapter 434: Epilogue: On the Day She Died (2)

The car arrived at the Bei mansion. A long line of cars and people crowded the entrance—media, her subordinates, and even her enemies, all eager to confirm with their own eyes whether she was truly dead or alive.

Fei Chuan’s arrival caught everyone’s attention. They made way for his car, allowing him to reach the mansion gate without difficulty.

The security guards were blocking people from entering, but Fei Chuan couldn’t be stopped.

He had brought his own people, and he forcefully pushed his way into the villa, leaving the crowd fighting behind him.

Several servants tried to block him, but he was more forceful. Healthy and robust, and driven by desperation, he was like a tank—unstoppable.

He made it to the second floor. There was a large door guarded by a man and a woman. Fei Chuan recognized them; they seemed to have aged since he last saw them.

"Master Fei, I’m sorry, but you can’t come in." Butler Xin, his hair now streaked with white, blocked Fei Chuan’s path.

"If you want to be crippled, keep blocking my way." Fei Chuan glared threateningly, like an animal that had lost all reason. "Let me see her. She needs to stop this joke. This is not funny."

Butler Xin was stunned. He was about to respond when Maid Ye Zhai stepped forward.

"Guests can only see our master during the funeral. If you wish to see her, please attend the service. We will announce the date soon and hope for your presence."

Fei Chuan narrowed his eyes, hating this "joke" more with every passing second.

Ignoring them, he pushed the door open. He was stronger than the two who appeared to be in poor condition.

As the door swung open, the scent of medicinal herbs filled the room, assaulting his senses. The smell weighed on his heart like a heavy lid.

His eyes locked onto the bed, where a white sheet covered everything.

Fei Chuan’s steps faltered.

He remained rooted to the spot.

This wasn’t what he expected.

There was no woman smiling in ridicule. No mocking words waiting for him.

Just... a silent, still figure on the bed.

"...Is she...asleep?" Fei Chuan asked in a voice so low, it was barely audible, even to himself.

He forced himself to take a step forward and approached the bed. His trembling hand reached out, but he had no strength left to lift it.

He didn’t have the courage to lift the sheet. He was terrified that the cruel truth would be laid bare before him.

That small sliver of doubt—the only thing keeping him standing in this room—might vanish, leaving him utterly defeated.

In the end, he wasn’t prepared to burst that bubble.

"Please leave, Master Fei. You are being disrespectful to our master," Maid Ye Zhai’s voice cut through the silence. Several security guards, who had already subdued his people, stepped forward to restrain him.

While the others who had invaded the Bei mansion were arrested, Fei Chuan, the instigator, remained unrestrained.

They couldn’t fully arrest Fei Chuan. After all, he was a man of influence.

After the chaos subsided, the reality set in—Bei Sangyun’s death was confirmed. Her funeral was scheduled.

.....

The Fei mansion was shrouded in darkness and gloom. Like its owner, it wept silently, empty and lifeless.

Fei Chuan sat on the balcony, drinking wine in the dark.

The only light came from the moon, its glow reflecting off the dozens of empty bottles scattered across the floor.

Among them lay an unopened envelope containing the invitation to Bei Sangyun’s funeral.

Fei Chuan gazed at the moon absentmindedly as he drowned in another bottle. His eyes were sluggish and bloodshot, his beard overgrown, his hair unkempt, and his clothes the same ones he had worn four days ago.

He was like a man who had lost himself—unrecognizable from the prideful figure he had been just a week before.

Fei Chuan felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. He staggered, his feet knocking over several bottles on the ground. His eyes fell on the small envelope he had received that morning.

He picked it up, still unsteady, and with a muddled mind, opened the envelope that he did not dare to touch earlier.

[In Memory of Bei Sangyun, Celebrating Life and Death.]

The funeral viewing was scheduled for three days later, like a final nail in the coffin, repeatedly confirming that Bei Sangyun had indeed left this world.

Fei Chuan held the envelope, standing there for a very long time.

....

Three days later, on the day of the funeral.

As mourners wept loudly, tossing flowers onto an empty casket containing only a jar of her ashes, Fei Chuan appeared.

His hair was trimmed and perfectly combed. Though his eyes were bloodshot and dark circles shadowed his gaze, his imposing demeanor overshadowed these signs of exhaustion. With a neat and handsome appearance, he strode to the front with his usual arrogant bearing.

Just as he had always done before her—prideful, smirking, and defiant—he faced her, as if she were standing right there.

He tossed the flower, concealing the tremble in his hand.

"I thought bad people lived longer. Seems you weren’t as tough as I thought. Congrats on your death." He was relieved that his voice hadn’t wavered.

He turned away, his defiant gaze faltering.

’...Until the end, you’re cruel. Until the end... you lived and left on your own terms. Bei Sangyun, I hate you.’

She had stolen his childhood. She had ruined his youth. And now, she had even robbed him of his vengeance.

What about everything he had worked so hard for? He had transformed himself into who he was now just to make her regret how she had treated him.

Yet, as always, she denied him that right and privilege, leaving him defeated, frustrated, and unrelenting.

What of this unvented hatred? What of these unresolved regrets? What of this confusion, these complicated emotions, and the bitter yearning he harbored towards her?

Now that she had left this world... how the hell was he supposed to go on?

Fei Chuan clenched his fist.

This hateful person had done whatever she wanted. Then, don’t blame him for doing the same. Whether dead or alive, he would continue to show her how great and amazing his life had become.

He would make her so angry from beyond that she would wish to rise from her own grave.

’Just look forward to it, Bei Sangyun.’