The Creator's Grace (GL) - Chapter 6

The Chi family villa was located on the east side of the city, a quiet oasis amidst the bustle, personally chosen by her sister as their residence back in the day.

The last time Chi Yu had returned was for the Lunar New Year earlier this year.

The villa was still meticulously maintained. The plants in the yard were trimmed with precision, showing no signs of neglect despite the crowded mourning hall and the sorrowful music within.

Chi Yu’s all-black attire didn’t need changing. Stepping directly into the mourning hall, she quickly blended into the oppressive and sorrowful atmosphere.

The house was filled with relatives and friends who had come to offer their condolences.

Seeing Chi Yu return, everyone stopped talking and looked at her.

She didn’t look at anyone, walking straight to her sister’s portrait.

The portrait was likely chosen by Ran Jin. It was a photo her sister was very fond of.

In Chi Yu’s first year abroad, Chi Li couldn’t bear missing her younger sister and flew to see her with Ran Jin.

This photo was taken by Chi Yu for her sister at school.

The sisters looked very similar. Once a smile touched their beautiful eyes, it was a radiant display of passionate beauty.

Chi Yu reluctantly touched the photo.

What she felt was no longer her sister’s warm skin, but a cold sensation.

There was no coffin, only the dark, heavy urn placed in front of the portrait.

On either side of the urn were items her sister had often used during her lifetime: golf clubs, an umbrella, a necklace…

Looking at these things filled with her sister’s essence, the years they had depended on each other rushed through her mind like a speeding train, ruthlessly crushing her heart.

She gripped a corner of the portrait, her knuckles turning white, her vision already blurring.

“Sister, I’m late.” Chi Yu knelt on the cushion, offered incense to her sister, bowed deeply, and then inserted the incense sticks into the edge of the incense burner that was already full.

Ran Jin didn’t follow Chi Yu into the house. She stood under an old banyan tree in the courtyard, answering a call from Lu Siqing.

“You’re still awake?”

“I heard the music from the mourning hall. You really did go to the Chi’s. I’m saying, you’ve already broken up with Chi Li, why are you still meddling in their family affairs? Isn’t her sister back? Can’t you just leave everything to her?”

Ran Jin said, “Xiao Yu just got back, she flew for over ten hours, she probably hasn’t adjusted to the time difference yet. All of Chi’s relatives are here, she definitely can’t handle a whole courtyard full of people. Besides, she’s still young, she can’t deal with this kind of thing. She’s not very familiar with the family and company matters, she might not be able to handle this situation.”

Lu Siqing: “…Aren’t you afraid of sudden death?”

Ran Jin gave a faint laugh and said, “Alright, go to sleep. I’ll head back to the apartment after I’m done here.”

Lu Siqing was so angry she spoke without thinking, leaving a “I can’t be bothered with you” before hanging up.

Ran Jin pulled her back, instructing her, “Don’t tell her about my breakup with Chi Li for now.”

“Do you think it’s up to me to say? The whole world knows.” Lu Siqing said, “Alright, I’m going to sleep. Because of your case, I still have to avoid suspicion. I have a business trip tomorrow, an 8 o’clock flight, who does that torture? Ugh, bye.”

“Good night.”

Ran Jin hung up and returned to the back of the crowd.

At this time, Chi Yu had finished offering incense. A few pieces of ash still glowing with embers fell off and landed on the back of her hand.

Standing behind the crowd, Ran Jin had been like a silent shadow, minimizing her presence. But when she saw Chi Yu’s hand turning red from the heat and her not even noticing, the two tear tracks on her face left unwiped, this scene stirred a ripple in her usually still eyes.

“Meow.”

A soft meow. Lulu quietly walked to Chi Yu’s feet, sniffed her scent, and after confirming it was an old acquaintance, stood up and pawed at her trouser leg with her front paws.

This was Lulu’s signal that she wanted to be held.

Seeing Lulu, Chi Yu couldn’t help but burst into tears.

Sixteen years ago, her mother had passed away due to a serious illness, and her father, overcome with grief, had followed her in less than half a year, leaving behind Chi Li, who was just over twenty, and six-year-old Chi Yu.

Chi Li knew she had to shoulder everything a big sister should. She gave up her ideals, sold her art studio, and took over the then-struggling Chi Corporation. While taking care of her younger sister, she worked hard to develop the family business left by their parents, hoping to preserve the memory of their family.

Back then, the two sisters were desperately poor. Among so many relatives, only their aunt and uncle, who weren’t very wealthy themselves, scrimped and saved to help them. They originally didn’t have extra money to raise a stray cat from the roadside.

That day, when her sister came to pick Chi Yu up from school, Chi Yu saw Lulu, drenched by the heavy rain, lying weakly by the roadside, waiting to die. She couldn’t bear it, but didn’t want to cause trouble for her sister, so she left the shredded pork bun she had been reluctant to eat by its side.

Chi Li saw it and asked her, “What’s wrong? Do you like that cat?”

Little Chi Yu didn’t answer, but pulled her sister’s hand and asked, “Where are its mommy and daddy?”

“Maybe they’re dead.”

“No wonder.” Chi Yu said, “Then it’s like us, it will never see its mommy and daddy again.”

Perhaps it was this sentence that Chi Yu said that touched Chi Li. Chi Li picked up Lulu, not letting it continue to suffer the elements outside, giving it a home to shelter from the wind and rain, saving its little life.

Speaking of which, her sister had always been very compassionate, whether towards Lulu or Ran Jin, who had almost died in the alley back then.

The name “Lulu” was given by Chi Yu.

Gently stroking Lulu, Lulu nestled obediently in her arms as always. Seeing her cry, as if understanding human emotions, it gently licked away her tears.

The barbs on Lulu’s tongue scraped Chi Yu a little, causing a slight pain. After adjusting her emotions, Chi Yu put it down.

There were too many people around, and cats were very sensitive animals, easily startled and fleeing at the slightest hurried footsteps.

Lulu had lived in this house for many years, familiar with all the routes. It leaped up onto the back of the sofa, darted across, and nimbly squeezed into the space between the bookshelf and the ceiling, hiding silently.

When Lulu first came to the Chi family, they took it for a check-up. The doctor examined its teeth and estimated it to be around two years old. This year, Lulu was eighteen, which was considered old for a cat, but it was still agile, making it hard to tell its real age.

Chi Yu’s dazed gaze followed Lulu for a while. Having rushed back in a state of exhaustion and not yet adjusted to the time difference, her mind was momentarily blank due to fatigue. She merely stared at her sister’s portrait through a layer of glass.

It wasn’t until the increasingly noisy conversations behind her intruded into her ears that she gradually came back to her senses and looked behind her.

At the entrance of the mourning hall, a group of Chi family’s distant relatives surrounded Ran Jin, preventing her from moving forward or backward.

Ran Jin held a pack of tissues in her hand, her face as cold as frost as she looked ahead. From Chi Yu’s angle, she could clearly see that Ran Jin wasn’t looking at any of the Chi family members.

“Since the younger sister has returned, you should leave too. We are all people of respect, and you wouldn’t want to embarrass each other in front of the eldest sister, would you?” The speaker was Chi Yu’s eldest uncle.

He had a cigarette dangling from his lips, taking a puff from time to time. His wide, dark face was full of the marks of time, and his bristly crew cut had turned quite gray. His voice had long been ruined by smoking, making it hoarse and unpleasant.

Speaking of which, this was the first time Chi Yu had seen this uncle in four years.

The aunt standing beside him took over, “Yes, Ms. Ran, thank you so much for the past two days, running around busy. We, the Chi family, will remember your kindness. I heard that you and our Xiao Li had already broken up? How come you’re still the chairman of the Chi Corporation? Sigh, I’m saying, you’re just a young girl, the business world is full of deceit, it’s too dangerous, and you can’t possibly hold onto such a big group like Chi’s. Since you’re here today, it saves me the trouble of looking for you later. You and Xiao Li have broken up, so whether it’s based on sentiment or reason, the position of chairman can’t be yours. I think it’s most appropriate to hand it over to the eldest brother in the family.”

Hearing this, the eldest uncle raised his chin, revealing a smile of entitlement.

The aunt said, “I don’t really understand those things in your company. Ms. Ran, you’ll have to put in some effort for the handover. After we see Xiao Li off, we’ll go to the company and take care of it.”

The surrounding relatives echoed, “That’s right, that’s right, the eldest brother is capable. He’s the most suitable in terms of age and vision.”

The eldest uncle took a hard drag on the cigarette butt, casually threw it on the floor, and ground it back and forth with his foot, crushing the flattened butt and the unburnt tobacco leaves into a pulp.

Chi Yu saw an ugly mark left on her sister’s favorite red sandalwood floor.

The eldest uncle waved his hand and said, “This matter isn’t urgent, seeing Xiao Li off is the priority. Hey, you, Ms. Ran, right? I’ve seen you’ve been quite busy these past few days. Now that all the Chi family members are here, you don’t really have a say. You should go back first. The day after tomorrow, I’ll go directly to the company to find you…”

“Impossible.” Ran Jin coldly interrupted the eldest uncle, speaking amidst a surprised silence. Her voice was calm but left no room for doubt. “The Chi Corporation cannot be handed over to you.”

“What did you say?” The eldest uncle and his two sons walked up to Ran Jin, looking down at the slender woman. “Say that again, let me hear it clearly.”

Ran Jin raised her head, shadows falling over her sharp, determined eyes, almost enveloping her entirely.

But she showed no sign of backing down.

“The Chi Corporation cannot be handed over to you,” Ran Jin repeated in a steady tone.

“What the hell do you think you are? Are you even surnamed Chi? What the fvck does the Chi family’s business have to do with you?! We’re being polite, don’t push it!” The eldest son of the eldest uncle suddenly roared, his voice like a shattered vase in the quiet mourning hall, piercing everyone’s eardrums.

Ran Jin remained composed, her words sharp, “I am indeed not surnamed Chi, but I have been with Chi Li for so many years. Apart from her, I am the only one who can take over all of Chi’s businesses. Would any of you understand it if it were handed over to you?”

Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, Chi Yu’s aunt, standing to the side, exclaimed “Oh dear!” and came forward to pull Ran Jin, wanting to take her aside for a few “private words.”

But Ran Jin didn’t budge an inch.

“Why are you so stubborn? You won’t listen to reason.” The aunt, unable to pull her, stopped trying, annoyed. “I’m doing this for your own good, why can’t you see my good intentions? You say you’ve been with Chi Li for so many years, sigh, what’s the big deal about women being together? It’s not official, no one recognizes you except for those gossip news. Even if you stay with her for your whole life, you can’t change your surname to Chi. Even if you accept this stubborn truth yourself, you’ve broken up with Chi Li, haven’t you? Why are you still occupying the Chi family’s property and not handing it over?”

When the aunt mentioned her breakup with Chi Li, Ran Jin subconsciously looked towards Chi Yu.

Chi Yu had her back to her, not knowing if she had heard, and was fumbling for something in front of her sister’s mourning altar.

Having stayed up for two nights, the aunt’s health wasn’t very good to begin with. Seeing the eldest uncle’s family about to cause trouble in the mourning hall, she coughed and stepped forward to pull the eldest uncle. “Brother, Xiao Ran has helped Xiao Li so much over the years, I’ve seen it with my own eyes. You live far away and don’t come over often, but things aren’t the way you think…”

The eldest uncle’s second son pointed at Ran Jin, “Don’t talk about all this nonsense. We don’t even know if our cousin committed suicide or was murdered. Look at how she’s holding onto our cousin’s inheritance and won’t let go, she probably had her eyes on our cousin’s money a long time ago. Damn, could she be the murderer?”

A group of people surrounded Ran Jin, talking all at once, wishing they could tear her apart and grind her into dust, questioning her grain by grain.

Ran Jin didn’t want to say any more to them.

She had thought staying would help, but she had unexpectedly made things worse.

The noisy mourning hall wasn’t what she intended either. For Chi Li, it would surely be disrespectful.

Ran Jin planned to leave for now.

But these people were surrounding her. Unless she was willing to hand over the Chi Corporation immediately, they definitely wouldn’t let her leave.

A figure swayed over from not far away. Ran Jin’s eyes, which had been lowered, were drawn to a silver object.

Chi Li’s golf club extended from between the faces of the eldest uncle’s two sons. The two who had been in a heated verbal battle were so startled by this menacing object that they fell silent in an instant.

Chi Yu used the golf club to push through the crowd, facing the eldest uncle, “Long time no see, Uncle. It’s been four years, hasn’t it? I remember the last time you came to our house, I was still a high school student, and you came to borrow money from my sister. Did you ever return the 200,000 to her?”

The eldest uncle was immediately choked by her words.

“Also, Aunt, you’ve been coming quite often, bringing your friends and hangers-on to my sister every other day, asking my sister to introduce them to jobs. It’s only because my sister was sentimental that she could tolerate you. If it were me, I would have cleared out the trash long ago. You say my sister-in-law isn’t surnamed Chi, so, Aunt, when did you change your surname to Chi?”

The aunt opened and closed her mouth, managing to utter a “you” before being unable to continue for a long time.

Chi Yu recounted in detail the benefits that everyone present had received from the Chi family over the years, not missing a single person.

“The Chi Corporation was built by my sister and my sister-in-law with their own hands. I saw how many days and nights they toiled. And among all of you, only Aunt and Uncle pitied us two sisters and took care of us through thick and thin. Apart from that, Uncle, Aunt, what have you done? My sister’s body is not yet cold, yet each of you is already eyeing her inheritance. Just because you share the same surname, what the hell do you think you are? I’m returning that question to you in full. I haven’t been in the country for these years, so you might not be very familiar with my temper. If you are here today sincerely to see my sister off on her final journey, then I welcome you. If you are here to cause trouble…”

Chi Yu raised her hand and swung the golf club in her hand with a “whoosh” towards her cousin’s head.

Her cousin was so frightened that he immediately hugged his head and squatted down. With a loud “smash,” Chi Yu shattered the vase beside him.

“Then I will let you all get to know me properly.”

A few strands of Chi Yu’s long hair fell messily in front of her face due to her movements.

The ruthless words, the sinister smile, and the force of her actions finally restored the solemnity and silence that the mourning hall deserved.