The Creator's Grace (GL) - Chapter 7

Chi Yu’s intimidation had a very good effect. The eldest uncle and the others left crestfallen before long.

Chi Yu placed Chi Li’s golf club back beside the urn and said a soft “sorry” to her sister.

The carefree child who had only focused on her studies had grown up without Ran Jin’s knowledge.

What she had originally thought Chi Yu wouldn’t be able to handle, she ended up dealing with very decisively and forcefully, exceeding expectations.

Ran Jin said, “Thank you for helping me out.”

“There’s nothing to thank me for. I know you were giving them face for my sister’s sake, otherwise they might not have even been able to leave the Chi family’s door.”

Chi Yu’s voice was a little lighter than Chi Li’s.

From a young age, she possessed a precocious maturity and confidence. Whatever she did or said, she had her own ideas, her words carrying weight and her spirit bright.

The heavy, oppressive mourning hall, thick with the scent of incense that made her throat and nose ache, gained a touch of vibrant life with the infusion of Chi Yu’s presence.

Ran Jin said to Chi Yu’s back, “Xiao Yu, I’m leaving.”

The Chi family members most likely to cause trouble had already done so and left. The remaining trivial matters could be handled by the butler, the servants, and the funeral service she had hired. It would be quite awkward for her to stay here.

“Where to?” Chi Yu placed the golf club properly, straightened it, and turned back to ask her.

“The apartment.”

“The apartment? Aren’t you staying at home?”

From the first time Ran Jin was brought to the Chi family by her sister six years ago, she had always lived in this house.

The south-facing bedroom on the second floor was her and her sister’s bedroom.

When Chi Yu still lived at home, she would greet Ran Jin every day when she came downstairs.

The color of the furniture, the placement of potted plants, the style of the tableware… all carried Ran Jin’s aura.

She had long since become an integral part of this family.

Regardless of what others said, thought, or felt about the unreliability of a relationship between two women, going back six years before her sister’s death, Ran Jin had been the closest and most trusted person by her sister’s side.

For Chi Yu, Ran Jin had belonged to the Chi family for these six years, and this was her home, without a doubt.

Except…

Chi Yu confirmed with a blank expression that neither her sister nor her sister-in-law were the same anymore.

The home she remembered no longer existed.

Ran Jin’s voice came from behind her, “You heard earlier too, your sister and I have broken up. It’s not appropriate for me to continue staying here and disturbing you.”

Aunt Su, the maid, brought two cups of calming tea. Chi Yu didn’t let Ran Jin leave. She took both cups, sat down on the sofa, and looked back at Ran Jin.

Ran Jin knew she meant for her to sit down opposite her.

Ran Jin followed and sat down across from Chi Yu. Chi Yu took a sip of tea. After the warmth soothed her tight and sore throat, she finally felt a little better.

The wreaths, white streamers, and black elegiac couplets, combined with the absolute silence of the early morning, created an atmosphere where it felt as if only the two of them existed in the entire world.

Whispering softly in such an environment had a deceptive feeling of a secret, illicit rendezvous.

“Did my sister bully you? Was she not good to you?” Chi Yu asked suddenly.

Ran Jin was slightly taken aback before saying, “No.”

“Do you want to leave my sister and start a new life?”

Ran Jin shook her head in silence.

“Then why did you break up?” Chi Yu was a little puzzled and asked Ran Jin very seriously, “I could see how good your relationship was with my sister. When I came home for the New Year, you were so busy, Aunt Su and the others are still here, and you personally took charge, arranging everything and cooking. My sister was so happy, weren’t things still fine back then?”

Ran Jin held the porcelain cup, hovering it in front of her chin. The warm steam rose up, casting a thin layer of brightness over her usually cold eyes.

Ran Jin said, “That’s because you came back.”

Leaning against the back of the sofa, Chi Yu thought she had misheard and widened her eyes slightly.

“Because you came back, she was happy.” Ran Jin also realized that her answer was ambiguous and quickly corrected herself, shifting the topic back to Chi Li. “Your sister showed me great kindness, she gave me my life. I wouldn’t resent her because of a breakup, let alone murder her.”

From Ran Jin’s answer, it was clear that Ran Jin had long sensed the suspicion revealed in Chi Yu’s earlier probes. Not wanting to beat around the bush anymore, she directly denied being the murderer.

But she still didn’t answer Chi Yu’s question, didn’t say why they broke up.

Skimming over the most important answer.

The perceptive Chi Yu had already noticed the discordant emotional factors permeating the heavy atmosphere and tentatively said,

“It’s so late, don’t leave. Stay here, my sister would want you to stay a little longer too.”

If Ran Jin was really the murderer, or an accomplice who indirectly caused her sister’s death, out of guilt or other fears, she definitely wouldn’t want to linger in the mourning hall.

The longer Ran Jin stayed here, the more likely Chi Yu would be to find a flaw in her emotions.

Seeing that Ran Jin didn’t immediately agree and didn’t seem to resist either, Chi Yu softened her voice, adding a touch of youthful coquetry, and took Ran Jin’s hand, adding, “Just keep me company.”

Chi Yu’s slender fingers covered the back of Ran Jin’s hand, almost completely enveloping her half-curled hand.

Ran Jin’s gaze fell on her pointed fingertips.

Chi Yu’s fingertips were also different from others, her nails a shining pink.

Ran Jin was silent for a moment, then agreed without principle, “Alright.”

Chi Yu closed her five fingers, holding her hand.

Afraid that she would suddenly change her mind and afraid of startling her, she held on tightly, a grateful smile on her tired face. “Thank you, Sister Ran. Besides my sister, you’re the one who spoils me the most in this world.”

Chi Yu’s words were sincere.

If Ran Jin’s attitude towards her sister was one of respect and absolute obedience that never said “no,” then towards Chi Yu, it was the doting of an elder towards a younger one.

During her sister’s busiest period, Chi Yu was in high school. The international school she attended was full of elites, and the always competitive Chi Yu felt a lot of pressure.

She finished late self-study every night very late. Chi Li really didn’t have time to come, and Ran Jin also needed to handle work, but she would always arrange things in advance and appear at the school gate on time to pick Chi Yu up.

Even though the school was only two kilometers away from home, Ran Jin wanted to ensure Chi Yu’s absolute safety.

During those short two kilometers, Chi Yu would chat with Ran Jin about school gossip, the most annoying boys, the girl with the most standard foreign language pronunciation, who her rivals were, and who she didn’t care about at all.

When she was energetic, she would share snacks with Ran Jin. When she was tired, she would rest her head on Ran Jin’s shoulder or lap and sleep soundly.

When she woke up, she would find Ran Jin’s coat covering her.

Chi Yu had always believed that Ran Jin was good to her because she loved her sister and extended that love to her.

So good that she had no temper and dedicated everything to the two Chi sisters.

Speaking of which, Ran Jin wasn’t without parents. Chi Yu knew that Ran Jin’s father had his own business, which was now in a bit of a decline, not comparable to the Chi Corporation, but five years ago, it was still one of the leaders in the manufacturing industry.

Ran Jin was the only daughter of the Ran family.

What kind of accident caused her to leave the Ran family and be rescued by her sister when her life was hanging by a thread, Chi Yu didn’t know.

At first, she didn’t even know Ran Jin had such a wealthy family background and had thought she was an orphan with no parents.

Since being brought back by her sister and recovering from her injuries, she had rarely returned to the Ran family and had never mentioned her parents.

Ran Jin had never contributed any effort to her own family’s business, instead dedicating everything wholeheartedly to the Chi Corporation, pouring her heart and soul into the two Chi sisters.

Ran Jin’s background was indeed very special. Her sister had never mentioned it, and Chi Yu had never asked about it.

Now, wanting to investigate the real cause of her sister’s death, Ran Jin’s background might be a breakthrough.

Chi Yu told Aunt Su and the others to go to sleep, saying they didn’t need to keep her company, she would keep vigil tonight.

“You’ve flown for over ten hours, your eyes are all red and swollen,” Ran Jin said to her. “You go to sleep, I’ll keep watch.”

Chi Yu hadn’t expected Ran Jin to voluntarily offer to stay in the mourning hall.

Chi Yu said, “I’m going to take a shower.”

“Okay, go ahead,” Ran Jin said. “Your room is very clean, someone cleans it every day. Your bath towel was also washed yesterday, you can use it directly.”

Facing the still considerate Ran Jin, Chi Yu felt a sense of guilt for suspecting her.

Although Ran Jin had acted strangely in some details, definitely hiding something, there was no real evidence to prove that she had a direct connection to her sister’s death.

Everything was just Chi Yu’s deduction, based on her friend’s one-sided investigation, not yet conclusive.

Chi Yu came out after showering, not going directly to the mourning hall, but observing Ran Jin through the crack of the door.

Ran Jin was still sitting in the mourning hall, alone, facing her sister’s portrait, without the slightest hint of guilt or unease. She was even holding a book and reading it. The cover had five characters printed on it: Inferiority and Superiority.

This was a psychology-related book written by Alfred Adler.

Ran Jin turned the pages one by one, occasionally flipping back, sometimes gazing intently at a certain passage, her brow slightly furrowed as if in thought.

She was indeed reading seriously, absorbed in the book.

Chi Yu didn’t find the guilt and unease she was looking for.

Nor any sadness or reluctance.

For the past six years, Chi Yu had witnessed Ran Jin’s obedience to her sister.

Chi Yu had once thought that her sister was Ran Jin’s life, that wherever her sister went, Ran Jin would follow, no matter how far.

If her sister were gone, there was no way Ran Jin could live alone.

But now, in front of the portrait of the lover she had been passionately in love with for six years, Ran Jin’s behavior was too calm, even ruthless.

Chi Yu understood even less.

Neither afraid nor concerned, Ran Jin’s outsider-like demeanor left Chi Yu feeling lost in a fog, utterly perplexed, a sudden chill causing goosebumps to prickle her skin.