My girlfriend was reborn.

Chapter 1 Second Stele Half Price

Jiangcheng City Funeral Home, lingering in the twilight years.

"You mean your friend is a beautiful seventeen-year-old girl who wants us to provide a suitable and affordable funeral plan?"

Zhou Heming lifted his gaze from the slightly gaudy flyers and looked at the seventeen-year-old girl standing opposite him.

Her thick, ink-black hair was casually tied up, with only a few strands falling beside her ears. Her bright eyes were looking at him with a sincere gaze that no man between thirteen and thirty-five years old could refuse.

She wore a beige shirt, a loose cherry-colored cardigan, and a small section of her fair legs were visible under her light blue long skirt. She wore athletic socks, white sneakers, and a red rope wrapped around her left ankle. Despite not being very tall, she made a striking impression.

This girl gives off a faint, otherworldly feeling, yet her slightly pursed lips, perfectly curved cheeks, and fair, slender neck and collarbone make her presence impossible to ignore.

Unfortunately, her right hand was in a cast and hung in front of her, clearly indicating a serious injury.

"Ah."

She nodded slightly, and for some reason, Zhou Heming sensed a hint of unease in her.

So, based on some kind of intuition from years of working in the funeral industry, he spoke up.

"The friend you're talking about, could it be yourself?"

"is my friend."

Before Zhou Heming could finish speaking, the girl pursed her lips and firmly denied it.

"Indeed."

Zhou Heming chuckled in agreement, inwardly slapping himself.

Are you out of your mind? She's the school beauty of Jiangcheng Middle School. Would she really be so foolish as to hold a funeral for herself?
Yes, Zhou Heming knows this girl.

Cheng Shuangjiang, ranked first in her grade, possesses exceptional piano talent and is undoubtedly a rare gem.

As for Zhou Heming, he was an inconspicuous student in an ordinary class at the same school. If he hadn't been helping his relatives promote their business here in his spare time, he probably would never have had any interaction with her in his life. The fact that he could still speak fluently and walk with a clumsy gait at this moment was already a testament to his excellent business skills.

Concentrate your thoughts.

Zhou Heming put on the E-person mask.

"Then I must introduce you to our customized funeral service. We're currently having a special promotion with many benefits, such as half price for the second tombstone."

"?"

A question mark appeared on Cheng Shuangjiang's beautiful face, a rare sight indeed.

"What half price?"

She seemed to think she had misheard.

"This is a joint burial service. If, I mean, your friend's partner has also passed away, then you can consider it."

Cheng Shuangjiang gave herself a deep look.

Your gaze is making me a little uneasy, classmate.

Zhou Heming suppressed his inner thoughts and continued his introduction.

"They also offer incense burning services here. It costs 1,000 yuan for ten years, or you can get one year free if you buy ten years."

Zhou Heming handed the flyer to the girl next to him and pointed to the contents on it.

The girl picked up the flyer with her left hand, which was tucked into her sleeve, and the bandages wrapped around it could be vaguely seen underneath.

"We also offer customized obituaries. Templates are free, but custom-written ones start at 1,000. We have a client coming in later. If you're interested, you can watch from outside."

"You write it?"

"I'm the best writer in our team, and I've been featured in the news. There's a waiting list, so if your friend needs it, they'll probably have to wait two weeks."

"Funeral homes are very modern now."

Cheng Shuangjiang clearly carefully considered her words when evaluating these disruptive innovations originating from Zhou Heming.

"People nowadays value individuality, which is why we offer these services. In the future, we might even have live-streamed tomb sweeping, remote incense lighting, an app, or a cybernetic urn where you can scan a code to play a compilation of your most memorable moments from your life."

Zhou Heming reached out and flipped the flyer in Cheng Shuangjiang's hand to the back.

“There are still discounts on cemetery plots now, starting from as low as 50,000 yuan, and 70,000 yuan for better locations. Two years ago, this same plot would have started at 30,000 yuan, so it has already increased in price. If your friend is not in a hurry, he can buy a plot now and resell it in two years when the value has increased, making a lot of money.”

"?"

Cheng Shuangjiang seemed to find it a bit unbelievable.

"If I sell the cemetery plot secondhand, where will I be buried after I die?" "That's easy. Just buy two plots at once. There's a discount, the second one is half price."

"."

Zhou Heming glanced at the plaster cast on her hand.

He knew that this aloof beauty had been in a serious car accident last week. Although she was out of danger, her arm was obviously badly injured, and there were rumors that she would never be able to play the piano that had been with her since childhood.

To the average person, Cheng Shuangjiang's academic achievements are so outstanding that even if she only lacks one talent, she could still become a winner in life in other fields. However, Zhou Heming could empathize with her feelings at this moment, especially after meeting her in person today.

So, after all that buildup and going around in circles, it's time to get down to business.

"Cheng Shuangjiang, just consider this me talking to myself. When you don't want to move forward, it's good to stop for a while. There's no need to force yourself to move forward. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, the girl looked over with her clear eyes, seemingly reminiscing, yet also feeling a sense of relief. She hesitated, took a deep breath, and then spoke.

What is your last wish?

"?"

I'm sorry, I shouldn't have tried to sell you the second item at half price. So you think you might as well take advantage of this offer and are planning to buy one now?

"Excuse me, but what I wanted to ask was, what are your regrets?"

Cheng Shuangjiang changed her tune in such a serious manner that one couldn't help but suspect that she was actually asking about the previous question.

"My regret?"

Although he didn't know what the other party was really up to, Zhou Heming couldn't help but start thinking about the question.

He then discovered that his regrets were numerous.

His parents, both civil engineering students, were framed by their superiors and made to take the blame when he was in his third year of junior high school. The film and television project went downhill, and although they didn't have to go to Tilanqiao for further training, they lost all their assets and were left with a large debt. His mother was severely affected and exhausted, and passed away on New Year's Eve. His father is still working as a construction worker in another city to pay off the debt.

Zhou Heming still clearly remembers that on the night before the high school entrance exam, several dusty workers came to his house. They didn't make a fuss, but after offering incense to his mother, they sat silently on the sofa in the living room all night. His father also made phone calls all night.

Zhou Heming gave away several gold medals he won in a national essay competition during junior high school to the workers, but what was precious and a source of pride for him was worthless in the face of reality.

As Zhou Heming was leaving, he saw his once spirited father kneeling on the ground, kowtowing and apologizing to the workers, reflected in his mother's portrait; his back was no longer imposing.

That day, he performed exceptionally well in the high school entrance exam because he knew that he could only rely on himself for the rest of his life, which was an extremely difficult situation.

Right now, he has to study while working at his uncle's funeral company to earn a living. After the college entrance exam, he plans to apply to a local university with a relevant major that can reduce tuition fees and allow him to start earning money sooner, so he can enter the workforce as early as possible.

So, what is his regret?

"I need money."

Zhou Heming's biggest flaw in life is that he can't lie.

"Wait a minute, let's add each other as friends. I was planning to commit suicide, so I've used up most of my money. I only have some money left from the red envelopes I grabbed in the group. I'll transfer it to you now."

Cheng Shuangjiang took out her phone.

Woman, are you trying to make me wake up in the middle of the night and slap myself for being so damn stupid?

"Well, my regret is that I can only watch helplessly as my classmates go to extremes while I can't do anything about it."

"I will not commit suicide."

That's good.

Just as Zhou Heming calmed down, he heard the other person continue speaking.

"Actually, that was my initial thought. I even bought the necessary tools because what happened to me back then was unbearable, so I took my own life. But now that I think about it, it's just an arm. Even if it's a comminuted fracture or amputation, life can still go on."

Unlike the brutality of the content, her tone was unusually calm—"a mere fatal wound," she said.

Simple, direct, without any of the hesitations typical of young girls her age.

Although Zhou Heming wanted to say that amputation has a significant impact on life, there was clearly something more noteworthy in the girl's words.

"then?"

"Let me reintroduce myself, Zhou Heming."

Cheng Shuangjiang called out his name. The last rays of the setting sun shone through the glass onto her face, leaving a faint shadow on her dimples.

"Actually, I'm Cheng Shuangjiang, reborn~"

*
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(End of this chapter)