Wei Yi's resourceful classmates had already found places to stay overnight and were chatting away while lying in their hospital beds.
Unlike public hospitals, this private hospital had no shortage of beds. Many were empty, without patients.
Classmates with connections to the hospital had made a few calls, securing places for them to spend the night.
Wei Yi checked on everyone, feeling relieved to see they were all doing fine.
In truth, Wei Yi wanted to say, "If you want to see a spectacle, just come to the funeral. There's no need to stay up all night making a fuss." But she couldn't bring herself to say it, as it would seem like she was chasing them away.
Shi Li hadn't left, wanting to remind Wei Yi about cremating the body soon.
Seeing that Wei Yi had a moment to spare, Shi Li called her into the bathroom.
"I have something to tell you," she said, still unsure how to broach the subject.
Wei Yi, knowing what she wanted to say, spoke first, "My family consulted a master. My father's time of death doesn't align with his birth chart, so the cremation can't follow the usual schedule."
Shi Li's eyes lit up, "That master is truly a master!"
Wei Yi found Shi Li's concern endearing. She said gently, "You should go rest. The hospital isn't as comfortable as home. If you feel unwell, call the driver to take you back."
Shi Li's eyes curved into crescents, "Alright."
Considering that Wei Yongsheng was a workaholic, and following the principle of treating the dead as the living, the family secured the first cremation slot when the crematorium opened, sending Wei Yongsheng off.
Few people brought bodies for cremation so early, which meant no queuing.
An hour later, the ashes were placed in front of the memorial hall.
Meanwhile, the first class of the day began at Qianpu Middle School.
The teacher arriving to teach the first-year class one stared blankly at the empty classroom.
What's going on? Is it the weekend? Should I not be at work?
But that can't be right. I just saw students and teachers from other classes in the school.
Checking the calendar on the phone again, it was indeed a workday.
So what exactly is happening? How could there be not a single person in the classroom?
Teacher Zheng was preparing for her lesson in the office when she heard that there were no students in the class one classroom she was supposed to substitute. She was stunned.
In her decades of teaching, she had never encountered such a situation.
She quickly started calling students, beginning with the class monitor.
Obviously, the call didn't connect.
When one didn't go through, she tried the next.
After more than ten unanswered calls, Teacher Zheng guessed these kids must be together. Instead of calling more students, she decided to contact their parents.
Teacher Zheng's guess wasn't wrong, but the students weren't ignoring calls intentionally. Their phones were on silent mode as usual during class time. At the moment she was calling, they were all engrossed in the long-anticipated drama, so no one was checking their phones.
Entertainment reporters had informants everywhere. By the early hours of the previous morning, rumors were circulating that Wei Yongsheng of Ziyuan Real Estate had died in a car accident.
Wei Yi and her mother had no intention of hiding Wei Yongsheng's death from the public.
Ziyuan Real Estate's official Weibo account confirmed that the rumors were true: President Wei had indeed passed away in a car accident the previous day.
In the comments section of this Weibo post, many who saw the trending topic came to offer condolences.
Wei Yongsheng's mistresses also saw the trending news. Those without children thought about cashing in on the gifts they had received or finding new sugar daddies.
The women who had borne Wei Yongsheng's children, however, were thinking that their children were also legitimate heirs.
Wei Yongsheng had amassed great wealth. Even a small portion wrested from his wife would be enough for their children to live lavishly for a lifetime.
Among these women, only Wei Yuetong had given Wei Yongsheng two sons.
Who was Wei Yuetong?
She was quite a character herself. She had once looked down on Wei Yongsheng's poor family and married the village chief's son instead.
Her husband turned out to be short-lived, and after his death, she got together with her childhood sweetheart.
By then, Wei Yongsheng had already married Wei Yi's mother and, with the support of his father-in-law and brother-in-law, his business was gradually getting on track.
Though he appeared to love his wife, who could know if he was secretly keeping mistresses?
There was another explosive piece of information: Wei Yuetong's firstborn child from her marriage was actually Wei Yi's half-brother.
This was the result of a DNA test ordered by Xun Xun.
Wei Yuetong was a clever woman. She had long since figured out Wei Yongsheng's assets and consulted lawyers about how much of the estate her two children could inherit.
Now that Wei Yongsheng had suddenly died, she wasn't about to miss out on her share of the inheritance.
The other women who had borne Wei Yongsheng's children had the same idea.
So the various mistresses, though they hadn't planned it and didn't even know each other, all had the same idea. They got themselves ready, holding their children, preparing to go to the memorial hall to demand recognition.
Wei Yongsheng's funeral was arranged hastily, unlike what you'd expect for a tycoon worth billions.
While the funeral itself was rushed, the ceremony was still quite grand.
The cremation was hurried, but the funeral was attended by many important figures, including the parents of the students from class one.
As the class monitor, Lin Yilan usually handled all class affairs, big and small, and was naturally the first to be called when parents were summoned.
For someone who could make millions in minutes, every phone call was crucial, potentially affecting business gains and losses.
So the class monitor's father's phone wasn't on silent. When it rang, he quickly stepped aside to answer.
"Hello, is this Lin Yilan's father? This is his teacher. He didn't come to class today. May I ask what's going on?"
His son had always been well-behaved and sensible, known in their circle as the ideal child. This was the first time a teacher had called home to ask why his child wasn't in school.
He hadn't heard from his wife or the nanny that the child was sick. There was only one reason for not going to school – the brat must be skipping class in a bout of delayed teenage rebellion.
The class monitor's father gritted his teeth unconsciously, wondering why on earth his son wasn't in school.
As he was pondering how to answer the teacher, he turned his head and spotted his own kid not far away, along with a group of other kids wearing the Qianpu school uniform.
The class monitor's father: ???
It wasn't a case of going out and getting into trouble. After the initial shock, as a parent, he still had to help cover things up.
"I'm sorry, teacher. Our child wasn't feeling well today and wanted to take a half-day sick leave. I forgot to inform you about this. It's my negligence."
Forgetting to ask for leave wasn't a big deal, as long as the student wasn't in any trouble.
"Oh, by the way, teacher, did none of the students in my son's class come to school today?"
The class monitor's father used a questioning tone to state what he was most certain about.
Teacher Zheng: ?? How did you know?
"Well, it's like this. When I took my child to the hospital, I saw his classmates. They all seemed to be feeling unwell."
The class monitor's father said this without much confidence.
However, some things gain credibility the more you say them.
It's like what Lu Xun supposedly said: In this world, there were no roads to begin with, but when many people walk the same way, a road is formed.
"All of my son's classmates have taken leave, right?"
