The Villainess Is Pretending to Be Sweet Again Today (Transmigration) - Chapter 2

Early the next morning, Attorney Chen arrived at the funeral hall with contract documents, intending to meet with Nuo Yang.

With no other relatives involved, the notarization process went exceptionally smoothly. Everything was settled in less than half an hour. The remaining procedures—property transfers, inheritance taxes, and the like—had all been prearranged by the late grandmother, so Nuo Yang had little to worry about beyond signing a few more documents.

Once everything was finalized, Nuo Yang finally let out a sigh of relief.

A sudden, inexplicable time travel, followed by inexplicably inheriting hundreds of millions in assets—even now, she felt dizzy, as if none of this could possibly be real.

“Were you alright staying alone in the funeral hall last night?”

With his tasks completed, Attorney Chen had nothing else to do, so he sat beside Nuo Yang and struck up a casual conversation. “Your great-grandmother lived alone most of her life, cared for only by her housekeeper. That’s why she particularly loved having guests over—she said it made the house lively.”

Nuo Yang paused. She hadn’t fully come to terms with this identity yet and replied with a hint of emotion, “She must have been a very kind person.”

“She was,” Attorney Chen smiled. “Look at all the people who came to pay their respects—they’re all children and families she once supported. Everyone adored her.”

Nuo Yang nodded and turned her gaze back to the portrait hanging in the hall.

The elderly woman in the photo had snow-white hair. Despite her advanced age, her expression was gentle and kind. Rumor had it she lived an extraordinarily long life, reaching 110 years old. She had remained in good health until the very end—on the day she passed, she told her housekeeper at noon that she was tired and wanted to sleep. She then drifted away peacefully in her sleep. The doctor confirmed she had felt no pain.

Because it was considered a “joyful funeral” (a peaceful passing at an old age), the mourners weren’t overly sorrowful. Many even said it was heaven’s reward for all the good deeds she had done in life.

Nuo Yang had no special attachment to this “great-grandmother” of hers, but after hearing so much about her, she couldn’t help but feel an indescribable sentiment stirring within her—as if, for the first time in her twenty years of life, she was genuinely saddened by someone else’s death.

Just as Nuo Yang and Attorney Chen were chatting, she noticed that the funeral hall across from them remained empty. Only the girl in the black dress sat alone on the floor, looking utterly forlorn.

“Attorney Chen…” Nuo Yang couldn’t help but ask quietly, “Do you know who that family is? It’s been two days, and no one else has come to visit except that girl.”

Attorney Chen turned to look, hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice. “That’s the Long family’s funeral hall.”

Nuo Yang gave him a puzzled look.

With a long sigh, Attorney Chen proceeded to explain everything in detail.

The Longs were a wealthy business family in the country. The head of the household had died in an accident at the beginning of the month, leaving behind billions in unclaimed assets. The girl across the hall was his illegitimate daughter. After the accident, the Long family, fearing she and her mother would fight for inheritance, pressured them to relinquish their claims. But the coercion drove the mother to hang herself at home, leaving behind only this daughter to keep vigil in the funeral hall.

Attorney Chen glanced over there and said to Nuo Yang, “That poor girl lost both her father and mother within half a month. Since her mother was the other woman, no one came to visit them.”

Nuo Yang paused—why did this backstory sound so familiar…

Long???

Which Long???

Attorney Chen blinked and said, “Shuilong Long.”

Nuo Yang’s mind instantly exploded!!!

So the person sitting in the mourning hall opposite was the future villain Long Huai Chang???

That ruthless antagonist who imprisoned the female lead in a dark room when she rejected him, had his family assets seized when the truth came out, and died in prison!!!

Since the author didn’t plan to elaborate on the Long family’s background, they’d just given them random names.

The father was called Long Aotian, the mother Xiao Bailian.

They were just names on tombstones anyway, so the author hadn’t bothered putting much thought into them—something Nuo Yang had complained about before.

Never could she have imagined that the beautiful girl from yesterday would become the villain who committed every crime imaginable years later. Nuo Yang frowned deeply.

Rumors said the woman grew up to be merciless, sending all the relatives who’d humiliated her to prison. Those without prosecutable crimes had their legs broken and were left on the streets. Even children weren’t spared—they were sent to remote mountain villages as child brides with altered identities…

After Attorney Chen left, Nuo Yang couldn’t help stealing a few more glances across the way.

The girl still sat alone before her mother’s portrait in silence.

Though it was a funeral, it was also a gathering. As the kind old lady’s only relative, Nuo Yang naturally had to run around hosting guests. By the time she finished, it was already past 8 p.m.

“Tired?” The cemetery caretaker, seeing how hard she’d worked alone, came to help. After the last guests left, he said, “Alright, I’m about to change shifts. Don’t be scared staying alone for the night vigil.”

Grateful, Nuo Yang told the caretakers, “Thank you for helping. Let me buy you some dinner—it’s so late, you should eat before heading back.”

Without waiting for refusal, she returned with rice balls, bread and snacks.

The remote cemetery surroundings made the caretakers anxious about getting back to the city too late, so they took some food and left.

Deep night fell again. Perhaps because it was the second day, Nuo Yang no longer felt yesterday’s panic—just an aching back begging for rest on a chair.

As she walked back, Nuo Yang peeked into other mourning halls until passing the Long family’s.

The girl had moved closer to the coffin, perhaps exhausted.

For some reason, Nuo Yang suddenly recalled a plot point she remembered—the moment Long Huaichang first fell for the female lead, when he told her his past:

“I remember coming home from school that day to find my mother dead in the living room. I felt like I’d lost everything. I sat in her mourning hall for three days and nights—not a single person came to see us, not a single person wanted us alive.”

“Those so-called ‘family members’ drove my mother to her death. They took over my inheritance and wanted me to die along with my mother. That’s when I realized—no one in this world truly cared about me.”

“If back then… just one person had visited me, asked if I was tired, maybe I wouldn’t have become like this.”

“But people can’t go back to the past, and I’ll never be the kind of person everyone adores.”

…

Nuo Yang stole a glance at the girl curled up in the corner. Long Huaichang’s  lips were deathly pale, her posture against the wall making it seem like she might perish at any moment.

Don’t get involved, don’t get involved!

Nuo Yang silently repeated the words to herself: The female lead’s mother is your boss and senior sister. You’re on the female lead’s side—how can you sympathize with a villain who kills and steals?

Even if she looks pitiful now, according to the novel’s description, she’ll soon overcome her trauma and become a woman who wields power and controls fate. Someone like her was nothing like Nuo Yang, a mere side character who didn’t even warrant a single line of dialogue.

After repeating this to herself over and over, Nuo Yang finally turned away and returned to the mourning hall, leaving the matter alone.

On the third day, visitors still came to pay respects to the old lady, though the numbers had dwindled compared to the first two days. The caretaker helped tidy up a few things before approaching Nuo Yang.

“Nuo Yang, your grandmother’s cremation is scheduled for tomorrow.”

The caretaker handed her a cremation agreement. “It’s set for 11 a.m. If everything looks correct, please sign here.”

Nuo Yang nodded, skimmed through the document, and signed her name.

But as soon as she finished, she noticed another familiar name written just above her signature—Long Huai Chang.

“This…” Nuo Yang looked up. “Is the other family also scheduled for 11 a.m.?”

The caretaker checked. “Yes, both of you are set for the same time. Is there a problem?”

Nuo Yang shook her head. “No, nothing…”

After the caretaker left, Nuo Yang glanced toward the opposite side again.

Even on the third day, the space remained empty—just as described in the novel. Long Huaichang had sat alone in the mourning hall for three days and nights, without a single visitor.

Not a single person wished for her or her mother to survive…

Evening.

Nuo Yang bought some rice balls nearby before returning. Tonight was the final night of the vigil. Once it passed, she’d be free to enjoy the 800 million she inherited. The thought alone made her giddy.

“Great-grandmother.”

Sitting beside the coffin, Nuo Yang gazed at the old woman’s peaceful face and murmured softly, “Even though I’m not your real great-granddaughter, I’ll still see you off these last few days.”

The old lady lay in the coffin, her face still serene and full even after three days, her kind expression almost lifelike.

“Look at all the people who came to visit you. You must never have been lonely, in life or death.” Nuo Yang sighed. “If you know how to send me back, please, please visit me in my dreams tonight.”

As she rambled on, she couldn’t help but recall Long Huaichang’s  words from earlier.

“I sat in my mother’s funeral hall for three full days and nights, and not a single soul came to visit us… If just one person had come to see me back then, had asked if I was tired, perhaps I wouldn’t have become what I am today…”

Even after committing murder and arson, Long Huaichang was only sixteen this year—still just a child.

Sitting alone in her mother’s funeral hall for three days and nights, her heart must have been unbearably lonely, perhaps even giving up on the will to live.

Standing up from the ground, Nuo Yang sighed helplessly.

Nuo Yang, oh Nuo Yang, when will you ever fix this soft-heartedness of yours?

Long Huaichang is just a fictional character—three days without food won’t kill her, so why are you so worried???

While mentally scolding herself, Nuo Yang still tiptoed into the opposite funeral hall.

Long Huaichang had truly gone without food or water for three days. Sitting on the floor before her mother’s portrait, her face was haggard.

“Hey,” Nuo Yang said somewhat awkwardly, “You haven’t eaten in three days. Aren’t you hungry?”

Long Huaichang looked up. Something seemed to flicker in her dark eyes upon seeing Nuo Yang, only to vanish the next instant. Then her eyes closed, her body tilted, and with a “thud,” she collapsed to the ground.

Nuo Yang was startled—was this some new kind of scam???

“Hey hey hey, Long Huaichang, you’re not dead too, are you??? How are we supposed to play out the story years from now if you die???” Rushing over, Nuo Yang picked her up, feeling the scorching heat radiating from her body. Pressing a hand to her forehead, Nuo Yang tensed up immediately.

Oh no—this kid’s running a high fever!