Attending a Funeral

My new novel next door, “Deliberately Falling,” is now underway. Come check it out, everyone! + The village's 106-year-old great-grandmother had died. Fang Huaiye, one of the younger generation who was young in age but high in seniority, had been invited to preside over the funeral. Strange things kept happening at the funeral, and Fang Huaiye was scared out of her wits. Only Fang Zh Cui, supposedly a distant grandniece several generations removed, smiled and held her hand, telling her not to be afraid. Fang Huaiye timidly took her hand and said softly in a gentle Wu dialect, “Then you have to protect me, okay?” Fang Zh Cui made a living telling fortunes from a stall beneath an overpass. She had followed her master to funerals and all kinds of jobs since childhood. She was a familiar sight at funerals, and no one in the village was willing to take her in. Everyone in the village said she was cold and strange, carried ill fortune, had a snake's heart behind her Buddha's mouth, and cared only about money. Even if someone died right in front of her, she wouldn't so much as look up as she stepped over them. Her master had read her fortune and said that a woman from her own clan would bring about her death. Perhaps it was a good thing that people didn't like her. Fang Zh Cui never took it seriously, until she met that girl. Fang Huaiye had come from Shanghai, and Fang Zh Cui found her fascinating. She was fascinating when she cried like a flower in the rain from fright, and fascinating when she nestled in Fang Zh Cui's arms and pretended to be pitiful. She never imagined that someone as selfish as herself would one day be willing to stake everything for another person, losing it all in exchange for giving her a new life. *I hope to add some pure romance to a folk-horror story. *The two female leads are not related in any way. *Happy ending. *If you're looking for a power fantasy, don't read this. This isn't a big power fantasy. Anyone who uses misogynistic slurs against female characters or wants to see one female character torture another to death will be deleted as soon as I see it. *Please don't bring up other authors' works in the comments, and don't make comparisons in the comments or on other platforms. Thanks for cooperating, everyone~ Come check out my upcoming novel next door, “Sister-in-Law, Open Up, It's Me, Your Sister”~ Blurb: Zhou Leqiong's lover had passed away. They had loved each other for five whole years. They were the closest of family, the deepest of soulmates. Zhou Leqiong locked herself in her room for five whole days, clutching her lover's photograph and nearly crying herself dry. On the sixth day, a face identical to her lover's appeared before her, yanked her to her feet, and roughly shoved her into the bathroom. It was her lover's younger sister, Wu Miao. Of the few times they had met, Zhou Leqiong's strongest impression was of Wu Miao eating and performing an autopsy beside a corpse as if no one else were there. It had scared Zhou Leqiong into having nightmares for a week. She was irritable and wild, and had no patience whatsoever for someone like Zhou Leqiong, who was always moping over life's sorrows. If she hadn't wanted to fulfill her sister's one remaining wish, she wouldn't even have bothered showing up in front of Zhou Leqiong. But later, she was also the one who kissed Zhou Leqiong's forehead and lips, asking over and over between her gasps, “Do you know who I am?” Zhou Leqiong never answered her. She was content to enjoy their midnight pleasures. In the past, Wu Miao didn't care who Zhou Leqiong thought she was, as long as Zhou Leqiong could come back to life. Only when she fell in love with Zhou Leqiong did she realize how unbearable it was to be her sister's substitute, even for a second. She wanted all of Zhou Leqiong's attention. The younger sister takes the elder sister's place / The substitute wins her over / Sister-in-law, open up / I'm your sister Theme: Of the countless paths in the world, there is always one that suits you.