CHAPTER 399: CHAPTER 399 HE’S GOING TO DIE

This is fine like this, Yun Shifei thought.

Looking at the girl’s crescent-shaped eyes and smile, she gazed at him, always carrying a hint of detachment, as if there was some invisible barrier between them.

But in the future, this barrier would grow thinner and thinner, until it would eventually vanish completely.

Thinking about that day, Mu Chengzhu felt an inexplicable joy.

"Thank you, and about what happened in the past life, I’m truly sorry. At that time, I couldn’t control myself."

"You don’t need to apologize. I should actually thank you. If you hadn’t pushed me so hard in the past life, I wouldn’t have awakened so quickly."

I wouldn’t have returned to the past and started over with a better life.

Yun Shifei thought, so perhaps Mu Chengzhu’s actions back then weren’t entirely wrong.

After all, he gave her an opportunity to choose a better path for her life.

But Yun Shifei didn’t know that the more generous and forgiving she appeared, the harsher it felt to Mu Chengzhu.

She was able to be so magnanimous because she had already let go of the past.

Many times, he would rather she hated him than adopt such an indifferent attitude, as if they were strangers.

No, even worse than strangers.

The small sense of relief Mu Chengzhu once felt had now completely turned into resentment.

He resented her forgiveness, resented her lack of love for him, resented her for giving her love to someone else.

A dull ache settled in Mu Chengzhu’s chest as he fixed his gaze on Yun Shifei. After a long moment, he said, "Shi Fei, do you know? Cheng Lie is not coming back."

Yun Shifei froze for a moment, unsure of what Mu Chengzhu meant.

Mu Chengzhu watched her puzzled expression and decided to make things clearer: "He offended someone. There’s a good chance he’s already dead."

"You’re lying, aren’t you?" Yun Shifei instinctively retorted.

"Why would I lie to you? If anything happens to him, I’d be the first one to know," Mu Chengzhu continued.

As he spoke, he saw Yun Shifei’s complexion turn pale in an instant, as though her face had become a bloodless sheet of paper. Her eyes reddened, but he could sense her immense effort to suppress her emotions.

"You... are you telling the truth?!"

For the moment, all her coldness toward him vanished. She seemed so fragile, like she could crumble with the slightest gust of wind.

She looked pitiful and heart-wrenching, but all Mu Chengzhu felt was jealousy and hatred.

"Of course. Haven’t you noticed you haven’t heard anything from Cheng Lie for several days? If he hadn’t run into trouble, how could he have ignored you for so long?"

"But Mr. Qin told me Cheng Lie would be fine," Yun Shifei countered.

Mu Chengzhu sneered coldly: "Qin Chi Jin is all the way in Beijing. How could he possibly know what’s going on in the Southwest? Shi Fei, Cheng Lie’s life isn’t as smooth as you might imagine. There are plenty of people out there who want him dead."

Listening to Mu Chengzhu’s words, Yun Shifei bit her lip and clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging deep into her palms, yet the pain didn’t bother her much.

After a long moment, she turned her doubtful gaze toward Mu Chengzhu.

Seeing the doubt in her eyes, Mu Chengzhu smiled. "Do you think I’m the one behind this?"

"Who else could it be?"

Hearing her unhesitating accusation, Mu Chengzhu’s expression turned cold. Since she already hated him this much, so be it—why not make her hate him even more?

"You guessed it correctly. I did it. I merely gave someone a reminder, and who could’ve guessed they’d take action of their own accord?"

"Who are you talking about?" Yun Shifei frowned, unable to recall any strong competitors or enemies Cheng Lie might have had.

"Not telling." Mu Chengzhu replied.

Yun Shifei frowned again in frustration. Mu Chengzhu was being so infuriating right now! She couldn’t help but think about the events of the past life. She had died young and didn’t know what had happened afterward, but Mu Chengzhu certainly did.

Could it be at that time...

Yun Shifei was overwhelmed with anger and confusion. How could things have turned out this way? This was completely different from what she had imagined.

Mu Chengzhu caught Yun Shifei’s expression, her irritation and speculations written all over her face.

He genuinely enjoyed seeing Yun Shifei furious yet powerless, as if she were a flame that couldn’t scorch him—tempting him to torment her even more.

"Shi Fei, look, Cheng Lie can’t give you everything you want. So why won’t you just agree to be with me?"

No sooner had he spoken than a sharp smack rang out—her hand landed squarely on his cheek.

"Mu Chengzhu, to hell with your love! I’d rather die than be with you!" Yun Shifei snapped, her fury overcoming her self-control.

Mu Chengzhu was momentarily stunned by her slap.

He stared at Yun Shifei in disbelief, his voice still incredulous. "You just... hit me?"

Yun Shifei pressed her lips together resolutely, her gaze defiant as she looked back at him.

Mu Chengzhu had never seen such a mix of anguish and rage on Yun Shifei’s face before.

For a fleeting moment, he considered letting her go. After all, she didn’t love him, and they wouldn’t have a good ending together.

But if he let her go, who would free him from his own torment?

With that thought, Mu Chengzhu’s heart went cold again. "It doesn’t matter how much you hit me. He isn’t coming back. Yun Shifei, the way you were in your past life is the way you are in this one. A love like that was never meant for you."

"Get out!" Yun Shifei roared hoarsely, like a small beast driven to desperation.

Finally, she tried to close the door.

But in the next moment, Mu Chengzhu suddenly reached out, his slender fingers skimming the corner of her eye. "Does this ache make you want to cry?"

Yun Shifei raised her eyes to look at Mu Chengzhu. The man in front of her was so different from the warm and sunny figure in her memories. It was still the same face, but he was no longer the same person.

Right now, he wore a shallow smile, as if watching some cruel joke unfold.

The handprint she’d left on his face was stark, a clear mark of the slap she’d given him—a humiliating sight.

"Shi Fei, take a good hard look. The Cheng Lie you care for so deeply is, in the end, just like this."

Gone so easily, dead in the Southwest, and unnoticed by anyone.

How laughable.

Mu Chengzhu thought back to Cheng Lie’s prosperous days in the past life. Back then, Cheng Lie was smooth-sailing, nothing like the way he was now.

So Mu Chengzhu added another jab, "I warned you before not to be with him. It would change his life’s trajectory—and look at this, because you were with him, now he’s going to die."

"Shut up!" Yun Shifei retorted sharply. "He will live a long and peaceful life, certainly far longer than yours!"

What kind of person was this, cursing Cheng Lie at every turn?

Unable to endure his nonsense any longer, Yun Shifei slammed the door shut.

Mu Chengzhu stood there for a moment before covering his slapped cheek and laughing. His grin grew wider and wider until his shoulders shook uncontrollably.

If Cheng Lie didn’t die from this, then he really had to be incredibly lucky.

But that wasn’t possible.

Mu Chengzhu thought about the methods those people used. At his current level, of course he didn’t have the ability to kill or commit arson.

But someone else could.

Indeed... greed drives men and birds alike to their deaths.

For the sake of profit, they couldn’t hold back at all—faster than he expected, even.

But this suited him just fine. With Cheng Lie out of the picture—this external factor that didn’t exist in the past life—they were back to their three, tangled lives.

He could slowly work through his relationship with Yun Shifei again.