Qingming Encounter

April fifth, Qingming Festival.

“Big Wood, good morning!”

“Good morning, Miss Su.”

“Mm… good morning~” Su Mu, who happened to be taking out the trash, chanced upon the Bai sisters coming down from upstairs. She looked up, smiled in response, and studied them. “Miss Bai, are you and Ruoruo going out?”

“Today we’re going to see Mom and Dad!” Bai Ruoli didn’t answer, but Ruoruo raised her teddy bear and replied.

“Oh, that’s… huh?” Su Mu covered her mouth, looked at the innocent Ruoruo, then at Bai Ruoli, blinking. “I remember today… am I mistaken?”

“Mm…” Bai Ruoli gently shook her head, then nodded, showing a faint smile. “Mr. Su, don’t worry. This has become a habit for us, something from a long time ago. Besides, Qingming is for ancestor worship. The children will be happy going there, and the elders will be even happier, right?”

“Oh.” Su Mu paused and nodded. “That’s true~”

The exchange ended there.

“Goodbye, Big Wood!”

“Mm, goodbye~”

…

Su Mu threw the trash into the bin. The residential area now had unified trash management with limited disposal hours. Once you threw something in, it would be dumped into a garbage truck and taken away. Hours were 7–9 AM and 6–8 PM; at other times, disposal was prohibited. Banners were hung, passage restricted, or you’d be fined if photographed.

For most of the day, the bins were empty—a very civilized system.

Though the bins were clean, in front of almost every building, piles of trash bags of various sizes awaited the sanitation workers.

Setting that aside.

April fifth, Qingming. In the original timeline, Ruoruo noticed she was being followed here.

If the online doxxing earlier was just a spark, this incident revealed a crack in Ruoruo’s life. She felt her normally safe environment being invaded. The fuse was lit, and she didn’t know when it would go ‘pong~’ and explode—a terrifying thought.

That was why, in the original timeline, Ruoruo started seeking Su Mu’s protection after this, until she got the notice to enter the Forest School for intensive tutoring.

“…”

“Host, we already prevented little Ruoruo from being threatened on April first. Do you think she’ll still be followed?” Su Xiaoqian asked.

‘Yes. After talking with Dandelion, it’s not certain that Ruoruo being targeted stems from that incident. Better to be cautious. We’re not even halfway; it’s too early to pop the champagne.’

“Then, Host, I’ll open the navigation for you~” Su Xiaoqian understood and had no rebuttal. A small map appeared in the upper-right corner of Su Mu’s vision.

…

………………………… Time Division Line~ ………………………………..

Rain falls thick during Qingming; it’s the season’s main rhythm.

Looking at the sky, Bai Ruoli held an umbrella and led Ruoruo up the stone steps.

Hehe Cemetery lay ahead.

For a child, such a long staircase was tiring, but Ruoruo was used to it. Even carrying her bear, she climbed easily.

“What kind of people were Ruoruo’s mom and dad? Kuma~”

“Mm… They were heroes, heroes like Sister Lily who protect everyone!” Ruoruo said, beaming. “Amazing!”

“Oh~ Amazing kuma! Ruoruo’s parents are heroes, so Ruoruo is a little hero too kuma!”

“Hehe~” Ruoruo looked a bit shy but nodded cheerfully. “Yeah, I’ll work hard.”

“Don’t work hard in the wrong direction,” Bai Ruoli said calmly, looking ahead.

“Hmph~ How can ‘hero’ be wrong?” Bai Ruoruo pouted. “If you think that way, you’ll never become a great hero!”

“…” Bai Ruoli nodded, then shook her head, saying nothing more.

After greeting the cemetery caretaker, Bai Ruoli borrowed some cleaning tools.

“Do you need help, sister?”

“No, Ruoruo. Just hold Little Kuma and watch from the side. You’ve already tired yourself coming up. At home, you always take care of me. In front of Mom and Dad, at least let me not look so useless~” Bai Ruoli turned back, smiling gently.

“Oh.” Ruoruo nodded, blinking her big eyes at the photos on the tombstone—a young man and woman smiling brilliantly, sunny, cheerful, full of love for life. But they would never grow old or change. Even if you talked to them, they wouldn’t answer.

“…” Looking at Bai Ruoli, Ruoruo unconsciously compared her to the woman in the photo. Her sister seemed almost the same age.

For some reason, Ruoruo felt uncomfortable, a sense of dislike.

“Sister, I’m going to play nearby with Little Kuma.”

“Mm, don’t go too far~” Bai Ruoli kept her head down, clearing weeds, not looking back.

Ruoruo glanced again, then turned and wandered through the cemetery with Kuma.

“…”

“Ruoruo seems unhappy, kuma~” The bear’s shiny black button eyes showed worry.

“Not at all!” Ruoruo retorted. “My heart’s just a little messy. I don’t know why.”

“Kuma?”

“Little Kuma…”

Walking along, Ruoruo occasionally studied the photos on the tombstones. The people there all seemed about the same age—around her sister’s or Big Wood’s age. There were very few elderly grandpas or grandmas.

She felt she had discovered a strange, big secret that frightened her.

“Little Kuma, do you think my sister might become like this too?” Her voice trembled with fear.

“Kuma? Like what?”

“Lying inside and falling asleep, never waking up.”

“Kuma… Kuma doesn’t know the answer to that, but Kuma knows Sister Ruoli is very healthy. Healthy people live long lives, kuma!”

“Really?”

“Really KUMA!”

“Mm, my sister is healthy, so she’ll definitely live a long life!” Ruoruo cheered up.

“But many healthy people are here too~” A figure appeared beside Ruoruo, startling her.

“!”

“Sorry, I scared you, little one~” The man in the black suit smiled gently at her, then looked tenderly at the tombstone. “I couldn’t help but sigh when I heard you. Here lies my wife~”

“?”

“Ah! I’m sorry…” Ruoruo came to her senses, realizing she was blocking his path to the grave. It was rude.

“No need. My wife loved children. Having a cute little one like you visit her would make her very happy~” The man’s voice was low and warm.

“…” He reached out and stroked the tombstone, his movements gentle. “She gave her life to save a child like you~”

“Auntie was a hero, huh~”

“Mm…” The man paused, as if thinking of something funny, and let out a laugh—but it wasn’t a happy smile. “She was a hero, and also a heartless person. Heartlessly left me behind. And only after that did I learn she was carrying my child. Tell me, why did she love other people’s children so much? She gave everything for that, but willingly left me with nothing? Just because she knew I loved her?”

“Ah…”

“Ruoruo… doesn’t really understand… Please don’t cry…” Ruoruo looked around, then held out her bear. “I’ll lend you Little Kuma. He’s very nice to hold, very soft. Will that make you feel better?”

“Mm…” The man looked at her timid expression, as if she’d been frightened by him, but still…

He took the plush bear, its soft touch easing his heart slightly.

“Sorry for scaring you~” He looked at Ruoruo’s concerned eyes, remained silent for a long time, then gently handed the bear back. “Mm, thank you. I feel better now~”

“…”

“Little one, ‘hero’ is a profession that’s healthy but very dangerous. They willingly step into danger for others. They may be great, but why must it be them? They have their own families. To their loved ones, they can be very heartless sometimes…”

“My mom and dad were ‘heroes,’ but my sister is not a ‘hero.’”

“Mm… I see~”

“I want to become a ‘hero,’ but my sister doesn’t want me to.”

“You have a sister who cares about you very much~”

“Mm.”

“Uncle, goodbye. I need to go back to my sister.”

“Mm, goodbye~”

They waved goodbye.

…

Su Mu watched the scene. Earlier, he’d almost rushed out. He shook his head.

He turned to face the tombstone before him: Su Qi.

A young girl, gentle-looking, smiling without showing teeth.

He held a bouquet of flowers—a precaution in case he was stopped, though it seemed unnecessary.

“We share the same surname, fate brought us together. I don’t know if you like flowers~” He placed the flowers down and pressed his palms together in a prayer.

‘Please bless me to save Ruoruo and Saint Lily~’

After his pious prayer, Su Mu opened his eyes and saw a girl sitting on the tombstone, staring at him strangely. Miraculously, her face was identical to the one on the stone.

“…”

What? A hallucination?