Less than a year into their relationship, Lan An'an's boyfriend broke up with her.
"Your job is bad luck. My mom doesn't approve."
"Just thinking about your hands touching dead people makes me sick. I can't even bear to hold your hand."
Lan An'an was a mortician. She was unkempt, earned just enough to get by, and spent every day working with the dead.
Later, Song You saw her trending online. She stepped out of a Rolls-Royce, her black hair and red lips stunning, her long dress flowing as she held another man's arm.
She looked breathtakingly beautiful.
Song You regretted everything.
Drunk late into the night, he sent her a text with trembling fingers. "An'an, when can we meet?"
Across town, an elegant man in a suit tucked the covers around the sleeping An'an and replied for her: "Next time I do your makeup at the funeral home."
*
Business magnate Mo Li was known for his cool, reserved manner. His shirt buttons were always fastened right up to the collar, and the media praised him whenever he appeared in public. His refined looks and prominent family background won him countless admirers.
Rumors constantly circulated that he was an illegitimate son who had toppled the legitimate branch of his family to seize power, a cold-blooded, sinister man who put profit first, a "bloodsucker with a passion for charity."
People said a man like him would never fall in love.
Then, at a party, Mo Li sat among the guests, looking slightly drunk. He gazed at his phone with a faint smile, accidentally revealing part of his lock screen. The beauty in the photo had luminous eyes, and even the blurry image could not hide her stunning looks.
The internet erupted with speculation. Who was this beauty, to have Mr. Mo so deeply captivated?
An insider revealed: He doesn't just keep her in his heart. Every single day, without fail, Mr. Mo goes to the crematorium to wait for her to finish work.
"What? A wealthy CEO chasing his wife to the crematorium? Wait, can we say that?"
"Sure. He fell for a beauty at first sight and would chase her three hundred miles for love. The story's already underway."
"...You've all got it wrong."
"His fiancee is a mortician. He literally goes to the crematorium to pick up his wife after work."
*
Dusk settled in, and the wind turned bitterly cold.
Lan An'an came out of the funeral home and put on her gloves. "Aren't you scared?"
The man's thin lips curved into a smile. His long, well-defined fingers clasped her slender wrist and drew her into his arms, their fingers interlacing.
"I'm terrified. It's so cold and dark. An'an, hold me tight." His voice was lazy and low. "You know how badly I hate the dark. As compensation, you have to kiss me extra tonight."
Lan An'an had accompanied countless departed souls, granting them dignity and care as she saw them through the final leg of their journey.
Yet she was belittled and scorned, forced to hide away in the shadows.
Until Mo Li held her in his arms.
"I will always be loyal to you and your lofty ideals."
"Nebulas have kissed the moon, roses have twined around spring light. After seeing you, all the beauty of this world pales in comparison."
Adorable beauty mortician x capitalist who's afraid of the dark and ghosts
Inspired by the film Departures
Saved on Weibo 20220509
May 27 and 28 (revised)
The last two lines:
The first is from My Dear Forensic Doctor
The source of the second is unknown. Please contact me if you know it; I will remove it upon request.
Theme: May the world treat you gently.
