Chapter 84: The Funeral

At the first light of dawn, Sun Mishu held a document in his hand and gently knocked on the door of the CEO's office.

"CEO Shi, are you awake?"

"Enter."

Sun Mishu walked in on tiptoe. He had assumed CEO Shi would be taking a nap in the lounge, but upon entering the room, he discovered that Shi Hang was still dressed in a crisp suit, with even his shirt collar fastened neatly, leaning against the back of his chair with his eyes closed to rest.

Sun Mishu felt puzzled; had CEO Shi... really not slept all night?

"CEO Shi, the investigation results for Shen Xingyao have come out," Sun Mishu said cautiously.

Shi Hang opened his eyes and took the document from Sun Mishu's hand. The next moment, his sword-like brows furrowed slightly and deeply.

"Only this much?"

The document only listed a name, gender, age, and ID number, with no other information.

"Yes... this Shen Xingyao is truly too mysterious. I checked all of China's networks and did not find any information on her, including consumption, medical, educational records, etc... I didn't find any records of her at all. This person... seems to have appeared out of thin air, because if she had lived in China, she would definitely have left some information behind. This is the era of big data, yet the entire web hasn't left a single trace of her. It's too strange..."

Sun Mishu frowned as he spoke.

"Then could she have returned from abroad?"

"If she had returned from abroad, she should have left information in the immigration network. But I checked the immigration network, and I didn't find her information either."

"Is there a photo?"

Sun Mishu shook his head, "No..."

Shi Hang's expression was solemn, and he didn't know what to think... After a while, he continued to ask:

"Can you find out when her identity information was entered into China's network?"

Sun Mishu nodded.

"Yes, that can be checked. Please wait a moment..."

Less than 5 minutes later, Sun Mishu returned to the office, his eyes full of surprise.

"CEO Shi, I found it! Shen Xingyao's information was entered into the information network three months ago, and I also found out that the location of entry was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China."

As soon as these words fell, Shi Hang's heart gave a violent jolt.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs?!

Could it be... that Shen Xingyao is truly a fake identity forged for Shi Yi by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs?

This means... his younger sister, Shi Yi, is still alive?!

Just at this moment, ring-a-ling—

The phone on the mahogany desk rang.

Sun tactfully retreated from Shi Hang's office. Shi Hang answered the phone, and the deep, serious voice of Shi Zhenyuan came through:

"Heng."

"Yes, Dad, what is it?"

"I just received news that the director of the orphanage where Xiao Yi... used to stay, Teacher Wang Xiaomei, has passed away. She was quite good to Xiao Yi while she was alive... The funeral is being held next week, you should go and attend."

Shi Hang's heart sank abruptly.

Wang Yuanzhang was someone Xiao Yi cherished very much, and Xiao Yi had deep feelings for her. Shi Hang knew her health had always been poor, but he didn't expect... she would pass away so soon.

Immediately following this, he thought that if that Shen Xingyao really was Xiao Yi...

Then she would definitely attend Wang Yuanzhang's funeral!

Shi Hang pursed his lips and said:

"I understand. I will go to the funeral."

In the blink of an eye, the day of the funeral arrived.

Wang Xiaomei was a believer during her lifetime, so the funeral was chosen to be held in a Western-style cathedral in the suburbs of Lanwan City.

A black Maybach stopped on the lawn not far from the cathedral. Shi Hang, dressed in a high-end custom black suit and wearing black sunglasses, held a bouquet of white chrysanthemums as he stepped out of the car.

Then, step by step, he walked toward the cathedral.

However, shortly after Shi Hang got out of the car, a yellow BMW Mini car not far away also "screeched" to a halt on the lawn.

A girl stepped out of the car wearing a black bodysuit and a baseball cap, with a slender figure and big wavy hair. That girl was none other than Shi Hang's younger sister, Shi Xi.

Ever since she was abandoned by Shi Hang at the graduation ceremony that day, she had been harboring resentment, wanting to know what exactly happened that day.

Later, she secretly pulled the school's surveillance footage and realized that her older brother had gone to chase after a woman.

And that figure in the surveillance footage actually looked exactly like her second sister, Shi Yi, who had already died!

Shi Xi panicked instantly. If Shi Yi really wasn't dead, that meant she would never have a good life again... Therefore, for these past few days, Shi Xi had been secretly tailing her older brother, Shi Hang, wanting to see what else he knew.

Thus, she also came to Wang Xiaomei's funeral today.

Shi Xi raised her hand to press down on her baseball cap and followed behind Shi Hang into the cathedral.

The cathedral's dome cast down dappled light, and white chrysanthemums and lilies were woven into wreaths, hanging below the stained glass.

In the center of the hall, a carved lacquer urn was placed on a silver tray, and a black-and-white photo of Wang Xiaomei hung on the wall. Family members and guests, dressed in dark suits, plain qipaos, and the like, stood quietly on both sides holding white chrysanthemums. Sad, quiet music flowed from the pipe organ, and the air was filled with the faint scent of sandalwood.

Shi Xi saw her older brother, Shi Hang, walk to the very center and respectfully bow three times.

Then he shook hands with the family members on the side and spoke for a while, seemingly offering condolences.

Immediately after, he suddenly turned his head.

Shi Xi was so scared she quickly hid behind a pillar! Fortunately, there were an exceptionally large number of guests at this funeral, and with people coming and going in the hall, Shi Hang did not discover her.

Shi Hang's sharp gaze searched carefully through the crowd, as if he were looking for something... After a while, he finally turned his head, silently lowered his gaze, and his dark eyelashes drooped.

Shi Xi knew who he was looking for.

A bad premonition rose faintly in her heart... Could it be... that little bitch Shi Yi really isn't dead yet?!

Will she really appear?!

Time passed minute by minute, and Shi Hang truly did not leave. He found an inconspicuous corner and stood there, silently watching the guests who came to pay their respects.

As for Shi Xi, she hid behind a pillar, quietly observing Shi Hang...

After a while, the figure she had expected did not come, but instead, a somewhat familiar figure burst into her line of sight.

Shi Xi recognized them; that person seemed to be... Shi Yi's childhood sweetheart, Su Yichen?

Back when Shi Yi was still at the orphanage, Shi Xi had seen that person a few times; he was truly good-looking when he was young, a refined gentleman, handsome and elegant, the type every girl would be moved by, and she had been jealous to death at the time, single-mindedly wanting to tear them apart, so she had remembered him until now.

Unexpectedly... how had he become so thin now?

His figure was as thin and long as a pole, his cheeks were slightly sunken, his complexion was very pale, and his expression was also very weary.

She saw him arrive at the mourning hall, kneel before the altar with a "thud," and cry out in extreme grief:

"Teacher!"

The family members nearby saw this, hurried forward to help Su Yichen up, led him to the side, and patiently began to console and comfort him.

The sky gradually darkened, and the daylight dimmed bit by bit.

Unknowingly, the hands on the clock had already pointed to 6:55 PM; there were five minutes left, and the funeral would be over.

It was as if a fire were tormenting Shi Hang's heart...

Could it be that that person really wasn't Xiao Yi?

If it were Xiao Yi, on a day like today, it would be impossible for her not to come!

Clang—clang—clang—

Just at this moment, the church bell rang, white pigeons were startled into flight, flapping their wings and causing the stained-glass windows to hum, and the silver cross hanging on the wall flashed with a cold light.

In the distance, a slender female figure appeared, walking in, step by step.