Chapter 74 Previous Life

Sheng Han turned around suddenly and hugged her tightly in his arms, as if he wanted to rub her into his bones and blood.

It was a dream...just a nightmare!

He succeeded, in this life, he caught her.

Qingqing is not dead, she is still here, in his arms, warm and alive.

This nightmare that haunted him throughout his previous life had not appeared for a long time.

After his rebirth, he only had this nightmare on the night he came back.

But when she nodded in agreement to get married, this nightmare was locked firmly in the deepest part of his memory.

That scene yesterday was so real.

When he watched 'Qi Yue' in his arms gradually lose her warmth, when he held that cold body but was powerless to do anything, the bone-eating fear that he had forced himself to forget broke out again.

In his previous life, after she died, he was tormented by such dreams every night.

Sometimes, it is the reappearance of the cold scene in the news.

Sometimes, he watched her fall from a tall building with his own eyes, but he couldn't catch her.

There were even more times when he arrived early, but he could only watch her leap with determination...

A psychiatrist had suggested that he receive more in-depth treatment, perhaps to try to remove this traumatic memory.

He refused.

There wasn't much interaction between him and her.

Those times of secret love, those furtive glances, those few moments of passing by... constituted the only light in his life.

He would rather chew over these memories over and over again in endless pain than completely forget her in the empty peace.

Shi Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief after finally soothing Sheng Han to sleep.

She turned sideways and, with the faint moonlight filtering through the gap in the curtains, carefully traced his sleeping outline.

When he fell asleep, his frown finally relaxed.

Feeling his steady breath caressing her neck, Shi Qing's heart also settled down. Fatigue surged over her like a tide, and she fell into a deep sleep in his warm embrace.

It was as if I had fallen into endless darkness.

Coldness is the only feeling.

When I opened my eyes again, the leaden sky was hanging low, and there were endless tombstones all around, cold and solemn.

This is a cemetery on the outskirts of Anluo City.

Shi Qing stood on the road in a daze, looking down to see her transparent hands.

How come she is here?

Could it be... that she wasn't reborn at all?

Her revenge, Sheng Han's love...

Is it all just a short dream?

A surge of panic gripped her from the depths of her being.

She stumbled around and saw two tombstones side by side.

One piece is her mother's, and the other is her own.

In the photo, she still smiles brightly.

She has been staying here often since her mother passed away.

Shi Qing slowly sat down in front of her own tombstone. Even though her body passed through the cold stone platform, she could still feel the biting cold.

It turns out that she is still a lonely soul.

I don't know how long I've been sitting here.

A steady sound of footsteps came from afar.

Shi Qing subconsciously looked up and saw the man.

He was wearing a pure black suit. He was still tall and straight, but the suit seemed a bit empty, revealing an indescribable fatigue and desolation.

His face looked much older than he remembered, with deep lines at the corners of his eyes and gray at his temples.

Only those deep eyes were still the same as she was familiar with, but now they were filled with unremitting sadness.

It makes people want to cry.

That was Sheng Han in the previous life.

Sheng Han, who is in his thirties or forties, seems to have reached the end of his life.

He was holding two bouquets of flowers, one of tulips and the other of sunflowers.

He first gently placed the bouquet of tulips in front of Li Manqing's tombstone, bowed slightly, and stood for a moment.

Then, he turned around and carefully placed the bunch of sunflowers in front of her tombstone.

Shi Qing was stunned.

He squatted down, took out a handkerchief from his pocket, and began to wipe their tombstones very gently, brushing away the dust and fallen leaves on them, his movements as focused as if he was treating a rare treasure.

After doing all this, he did not stay in front of his mother's grave. Instead, he sat in front of her grave and stared at her smiling face in the photo.

"Qingqing..."

He spoke, his voice hoarse, the kind of hoarseness that was polished by time.

Shi Qing frowned. Were they... so familiar with each other before?

"I avenged you," he whispered. "Chen Hao, Zheng Zhiyong... they're all in jail. The same goes for Gao Lihui and Gao Panpan. It took a little more effort, but they paid a price. None of those who hurt you escaped."

The process he narrated was very calm, far from being as light and satisfying as the revenge in her dream. Instead, it was full of long, forbearing, and silent games and calculations.

Shi Qing listened quietly, her heart tightening inch by inch.

"Qingqing, I regret this." His voice finally trembled, an undisguised tremor. "I regret being such a coward. I've loved you for so many years, but I didn't even dare to say a word to you, didn't dare to fight for you. If... if I could have a chance to do it all over again, I would definitely... definitely be brave just once."

He laughed at himself, his eyes filled with endless sadness. "What am I thinking? It's just wishful thinking. By now... you should have drunk Meng Po soup and grown into a beautiful little girl in a good family, ready to go to elementary school."

Shi Qing sat next to him and shook her head subconsciously.

No, she didn't go anywhere, she was just here, watching him.

Sheng Han took out a small company bag from the inside pocket of his suit and placed it in his palm with great care.

"This is a peace charm given by a Taoist priest from a small Taoist temple. I don't know... if it's useful."

He took out a lighter and lit the talisman in front of the tomb. The flame illuminated the grief and piety in his eyes.

"I hope your next life...will be peaceful, smooth, happy and free from worries."

The ashes were scattered by the wind.

Sheng Han looked at the wisp of green smoke and a relieved smile appeared on the corner of his lips.

"I may not be able to visit you often in the future. The doctor said I don't have much time left."

Shi Qing's whole body was in shock.

"It's good this way," he said softly, as if to comfort himself, "otherwise, I really don't know how I'll be able to support myself through these long years."

"I was originally thinking of buying a plot of land right here, right next to yours." He patted the empty space beside him, then shook his head, a look of deep desolation in his eyes. "But after thinking it over, I decided not to. After all, there's nothing between us. It's just my wishful thinking. Don't get too close and disturb your peace in the afterlife."

He stood up, took one last deep look at her photo, and turned to leave.

The desolate back was stretched out extremely long by the setting sun, like a knife, stabbing deeply into Shi Qing's soul.

Tears slowly rolled down.

She looked at his receding back, then looked at the pile of warm ashes in front of the grave, and something in her mind exploded.