Dating the Strongest BossChapter 20

“I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting! Amen!” Yang Meili first drew a cross on her chest, using both of her hands to tightly grasp the cross necklace hanging around her neck. She endlessly repeated these words, immersed in her own emotions. 

An icy-cold wind slowly blew inside and touched the skin on her neck, causing her to involuntarily shiver. She opened her eyes, which had originally been closed, and scanned the room. UCVlPG

There was simple furniture, a limited amount of space, and the pattern of an inverted pentagram affixed to a wall. And at the center of the pattern was a goat. Everything looked the same as usual.

Yang Meili erased the panic in her heart as her gaze moved back to the headboard of her bed. A puppet with the appearance of a girl was placed there. It wore a pink barbie dress, and its two eyes were surprisingly large. They didn’t blink, but they seemed to shine with life. 

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

Yang Meili hugged the puppet in her arms. She thought of something, and a sob escaped from her.

  x3HD8a

“Mommy…”

“Why don’t you want me anymore…?”

 

Yang Meili was extremely shocked. She immediately snatched a white medicine bottle on the nightstand and fumbled to take off the lid. She ravenously swallowed two pills. There were dark circles under her eyes, and she had already begun to tremble.

Zz2nfl

“Mommy…” Even after Yang Meili ate the medicine, the distant voice didn’t fade. It even grew increasingly louder. 

Outside the window, lightning flashed and thunder roared. The wind whistled as it hurtled through the air, and the rain emitted pitter-patter noises when it hit the window. 

Yang Meili abruptly stood up from the bed and then fiercely ran out of the room. She grabbed a clear umbrella by the door. Despite the fact that she was still wearing slippers, she raced out, looking dazed and frightened. 

She had rented an old apartment. The building didn’t have an elevator, and she lived on the 13th floor.  dyfvld

No one could tell what was going on in her mind. She rapidly ran down the stairs, the umbrella still in her hands. It almost seemed as if she was being chased by something unclean. 

“Bam.” Perhaps because of her slippers, her right foot suddenly twisted and her entire body toppled forward. And the umbrella she held in her hand was also flung away. 

First, it hit the steps of the stairs and rebounded. It turned in a circle, becoming vertical in the air. 

The tip of the umbrella reflected in Yang Meili’s pupil as she fell down uncontrollably. And the umbrella was pointing towards her throat… 7MOJKv

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

 

“Tjcu Zflil vlfv?” Qjcu Wlcu ogbhf.

“Tfr…” Oljcu Alcu kjr jirb rbwfktja jyrfcawlcvfv. “Veqqbrfvis, rtf aglqqfv ktfc rtf kjr ublcu vbkc atf rajlgr, jcv tfg atgbja kjr qlfgmfv ys atf alq bo j mifjg ewygfiij.”

“……” Qjcu Wlcu reymbcrmlberis abemtfv tfg bkc cfmx, jcv tfg ygfjatlcu kjr wfrrs. BsCnGg

She had known Yang Meili for more than ten years, so she was familiar with the other’s mental condition. When Yang Meili was in high school, she was a bit promis/cuous. She had gone through many boyfriends, and later she actually got pregnant. Her belly grew every day, yet she didn’t even know who the father was. It was only when she was already six months pregnant that she was unable to hide it. She was dragged by her family to a private pheasant hospital to get an abortion. Ever since then, she became mentally debilitated and fell ill with an incurable mental disorder. Yang Meili unexpectedly started to believe in Christianity in the name of atonement. She prayed daily.

Ktf gfjrbc kts Tjcu Zflil pblcfv atlr miey kjr yfmjerf rtf kjr lcnlafv ys Qjcu Wlcu. Tjcu Zflil jikjsr jmafv rbwfktja ragjcufis, rb rtf vlvc’a tjnf jcs oglfcvr. 

Chrysanthemum Garden.

“The police concluded in their preliminary investigation that she had auditory hallucinations. There were leftover pills on the floor of her room, so when she went down the stairs, she was in a trance. Then……” Liang Jing trailed off.

Yuan Zhong, who had listened at the side for a long time, couldn’t stand it anymore. “Liang Jing! At this time, you still won’t reveal the truth?” paGVW6

“What?” Liang Jing raised his gaze weakly. He hadn’t gotten a good rest recently.

“What actually happened in the accident that day? Tell everyone the details of your dream. We can’t continue to sit back and await death!” It could be seen that Yuan Zhong’s mental state was also bad these days. He, who originally didn’t believe in such supernatural events, was also beginning to have suspicions. 

Meanwhile, Xiao Chen just sat quietly and didn’t speak. His expression looked serious, as if he was contemplating.

Liang Jing exhaled deeply. Suddenly, something in his mind clicked. His eyes widened immediately. “I understand!” dUZeqx

“What?” Wang Xing was extremely attentive. She stared at Liang Jing, her eyes blazing like a torch

“Do you remember the positions of our seats that day?” Liang Jing was a little excited, and his body was trembling. “We all sat in the last few rows! I sat with Xiao Chen, you sat with Yang Meili, and Yuan Zhong and Li Haibo sat together!”

“Yes! That’s right!” Yuan Zhong nodded.

“In my dream, when the accident occured, it was too sudden! Yang Meili and Li Haibo had seats by the aisle, so they were the initial ones to be thrown out! Li Haibo plunged to the bottom of the cliff first. Yang Meili had hung onto the rear of the bus, and only fell after Li Haibo! Afterwards, it was Wang Xing, Yuan Zhong, and me! Could this be the order of our deaths?” lcvHw7

Wang Xing shuddered, and thought of something. “What about Xiao Chen?”

Everyone’s sight turned to Xiao Chen. He calmly accepted their scrutiny and seemed to be very focused on Liang Jing’s words. 

Liang Jing sighed, and said with a hoarse voice, “He got off the bus early…”

Silence…… Dspdmc

“I don’t want to die……” Wang Xing was dumbfounded. If this was really the order of their deaths, wouldn’t she be the next to die? How could she just welcome that?

“What should we do? What should we do? We have to find a way to save ourselves!” Wang Xing was so anxious that she was about to cry, and she was shaking all over.

Xiao Chen, who hadn’t said anything this whole time, finally opened his mouth. “Have you guys heard of scape/goats?” 

“Huh?” All the people stared at him. M9pA6J

“Where someone once drowned, there will often be others who also drown. Water monkeys will pull people into the water and suffocate them. In addition, the New Testament records that Jesus Christ was willing to be crucified on a cross as a sacrificial victim dedicated to God in order to atone for humans.” Xiao Chen grinned. “Commonly known as killing people to renew life!”

Everyone was slightly dazed by his serious expression. But they reacted swiftly, and Yuan Zhong wasn’t in the mood to joke. He really thought Xiao Chen was just playing around. “Xiao Chen, what nonsense are you saying? Right now, who f*cking has the time to joke?!”

Please visit chrysanthemumgarden (dot) com

Xiao Chen tilted his head. “I’m not kidding!” He blinked innocently. “You guys can go find some witches and ask them if this method can’t break this dead end.”

  svdcaz

The old woman frowned, and her formerly impassive face stiffened. It wasn’t even an overstatement to describe her as terrified. Her lips had paled and she shook like she had seen something horrible. She twitched her lips and shouted, “Go! I cannot assist you!”

Wang Xing was shocked, and she recklessly grabbed the old woman’s hand. “Great master, help us! I know that your religious magic is very profound, and haven’t you saved many people before? Can you not save us this time?”

The old woman was so angry that she laughed. “Do you understand what kind of people I normally help? They are either exceedingly compassionate people without any sin, or they are good people who have reincarnated ten times. You really think that my religious magic is so advanced? I am only an ordinary person! Every single one of you is extremely sinful. How can I do anything?” 

Wang Xing had been scolded so much that her face had turned ugly. Her complexion was especially sallow when the woman mentioned that their sins were intense. RBcSfh

Yuan Zhong had wanted to speak for a long time. When he noticed that Wang Xing was dumbstruck, he directly came forward and asked, “Is the method of killing people and renewing life actually feasible?”

The old woman’s eyes widened, as if she hadn’t expected the other to say something like this. Her lips quivered as she murmured, “How do you know about that?”

Liang Jing appeared to have seized a key point. “So, it really works?”

The old woman was so frightened that she took a step back. She loudly yelled, “Quickly get out of my house, and don’t come again in the future! Leave! Quickly go!” po2qJn

The moment the group was pushed to the door, the old woman’s gaze met with Xiao Chen’s. Horror emerged in her eyes, and she seemed to have seen something inconceivable. 

It wasn’t until the door was completely closed that she recovered. “What’s going on? He was actually stillborn? How did he survive?”


T/N: I translated the author’s note because it clears up a bit about Yang Meili’s sin. I don’t usually do this because the notes are almost always just a thanks for supporters. There’s also the occasional spoiler.

Author’s note

The author has something to say:
The inverted pentagram and the goat are both bad symbols!
Cough cough, Xiao Chen’s identity as a villain has already been hammered in, hahahaha.
Babies, I’ll take a vaccination first. Yang Meili is this world’s most trag□□ic character. I also don’t think that her abortion is a sin. This is her right as a woman.
As a matter of fact, this role contains a sense of satire, because Yang Meili’s character will be despised in the eyes of some secular people.
Of course, her promiscuous behavior is also not encouraged (although there really are hardships). TC4s2L

Apostle’s Creed: full

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

Water monkey: more facts

水猴子, ghosts with the appearance of a monkey. They are people who died by drowning, so they usually live in wild water sources. Water monkeys depend on the water, and they will be severely weakened if they stay away from it for too long. However, they are several times more powerful than humans when in the water. Water monkeys drag humans to the bottom and cover their faces with silt to suffocate them. It is even said that water monkeys suck human blood and eat human nails and eyes. They are mainly active at night, and are afraid of the color red.

Translator's Note

The author abridged the Apostle’s Creed, which is an early statement of Christian belief. There are many different English translations, but I used the English Language Liturgical Consultation (ELLC) version.

Translator's Note

This is the Sigil of Baphomet, the official insignia of the Church of Satan. I’m not sure why Yang Meili is reading the Apostle’s Creed while she has the Sigil of Baphomet on one of the walls in her room.

Translator's Note

This is a scene from the anime Another, which has been regarded by some as the anime version of Final Destination. The character Yukari Sakuragi dies the same way as Yang Meili does in this novel. Here’s the Youtube video for it (WARNING: BLOOD): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eAd2Q3jLYY

Translator's Note

野鸡医院, which literally translates to “pheasant hospital”. It is the diploma mill version of a hospital. Basically, a hospital that claims to have skilled doctors, but actually doesn’t. The costs are usually cheaper at these hospitals.

Translator's Note

目光如炬, which directly translates to “gaze like a torch”. It is used to describe someone watching something angrily.

Translator's Note

替死鬼, and it refers to the victims of a certain type of ghost. These ghosts died in an accident or had a violent death, so their souls guard the place where they died. They seek to capture new souls to replace themselves so that they can escape Naraka (a term used in Buddhism to refer to hell, where beings reside until they fully experience the result of their karma).

Translator's Note

水猴子, ghosts with the appearance of a monkey. They are people who died by drowning, so they usually live in wild water sources.

Translator's Note

十世善人, a Buddhist concept about people who have died nine times as a good person. In their tenth reincarnation, they may be free from samsara (the cycle of death and rebirth) and continue to help others.

Leave a Comment

53 comments

  1. Cough Xiao Chen…… is quite vicious in this life compared to the first world where he was just more indifferent to others suffering (aside from ML) considering he’s kinda delighting in their misery and sort of even implanting ideas for them to sin more…. then again he’s loved and favoured by the God of Death this time round and his sin is that…

    Thanks for the chapter!!

  2. I’m glad that the author clarified about YML’s “sin” because I was not happy with abortions/”promiscuity” being classified as a sin. People are allowed to choose whatever they want to do to their own body – as long as you aren’t hurting anyone else, it’s fine in my books.

        • Um, I really don’t want to get into rhetoric about this in a comments section of what is used as people’s way to have fun. I’m just going to say that I disagree.

          • That’s fair, not discounting your opinion. Just wanted to say my piece, at the end of the day, this story is a great read and thanks for I guess acknowledging my comment? Haha I hope you have a nice day. 🙂

        • But she did not hurt the baby, it was her parents who forced her, and put her life in danger too. Nobody asked her what she wanted. I feel even her early promiscuity may have been a result of neglect or emotional disconnect of her family.

          • I 100% agree with your view of her and I would also say that it was the parents who not only hurt their child but also their grandchild. She was forced to have an abortion and I wish she could have had more growth and had the chance to forgive herself too. Her friend said she had changed a lot from her past, so I think she had made lots of progress since that time and had the chance to gather herself by most likely moving away from her parents. Don’t know if I made it seem like I was saying she hurt her baby, but I had meant in a general sense regarding abortion irl. Thanks for replying to my reply haha hope you have a great day! 🙂
    • There’s another living human in her body n she killed them by doing abortion *i know she’s being forced but i’m just saying it in general”.. the moment u decided to do that kind of thing n happen to get pregnant then u have to take responsibility, it’s not like the baby can choose their parents.. u invite them to this world but killed them in the process bcs u only drunk in your own lust at that time, it’s still murder for me.. it’s a different story when it come to medical reason though

  3. Thanks for the chapter! 😘

    Is it just me who’s enjoying how MC and ML become sorta different in each world? They love one another, but they’re still different from their past lives, which I think brings a nice flavor to the story 💖

  4. From what I understood, wasn’t Yang Meili’s family that led her to have the abortion? In that case it wasn’t necessarily her who sinned, since her family could have forced her to do it.

  5. So many comments and nothing about a moment with umbrella? It’s one of the best references that I see in all book! ヾ(≧▽≦*)o

      • Yes, one of the iconic deaths from Another! It was actually a very scary scenario and I had often feared that I’d accidentally fall like that after watching the anime, huhu. ಥ_ಥ

    • I was trying to recall where I’d seen it before till I read the TN. I read the manga years before the anime came out, I didn’t watch it though, too scary (ฅωฅ;*) and I think even in the manga I scrolled down quickly, but I agree it’s an iconic scene.

  6. I’m still a bit confused. So does Xiao Chen’s and ML’s souls(?) transmigrate/reincarnate to different worlds? I’m still not entirely sure where the Xiao Chen from arc 1 that replaced og!Xiao Chen came from, or maybe I just missed it?

    • Okay, let me say this. So the Xiao Chen from the previous arc is the same person as the Xiao Chen from this arc. It’s kind of like souls transmigrating to different worlds, but this is supposed to be the main mystery of the novel. Xiao Chen’s personality changes because he’s playing a different character. This is actually pretty common in system novels, where the host pretends to be innocent or something. More information on the mystery is going to be revealed, and I think starting around the end of this arc.

  7. Waittt. . .reading this chapter, did I understand clearly what that ‘scapegoat’ thingy has something to do with Xiao Chen’s life in this lifetime. Like it said to kill someone to renew life, he was a still born baby but he survived because he was favored by the death god. So what if Xiao Chen has to push people to die as an exchange for his life, like he needs someone to die inorder to renew his life time and time again?? Naahhh just a random thought but it’s a promising plot hahaha xie xie translator-nim! Excited for this Final Destination Arc 😂😂😂

  8. I’m actually a little uncomfortable with YM being charged with a “sin”. Not because of the abortion, but bc she was forced to have an abortion. So I don’t think it should be her dying, since it even wasn’t her choice, but her parents that dragged her to a pheasant hospital to abort the child.

    Idk, I feel bad for her, she shouldn’t have died in my opinion. 😞

    😕

  9. OOH, I marathoned all of Another in 1 night!! When I heard the umbrella part in your novel, I thought of that scene. There’s really a plot parallel between this novel and Another, since in both there are students getting picked off one by one under the whims of a vicious ghost. However, for these poor saps, there is no way to stop the deaths. It’s crueler for them to have false hope because Another’s cast just had to keep guessing until they got it right. These poor idiots……. shakes head

    My grandparents are Christian so I recognized the Apostles’ Creed, it’s just this poor woman has some extremely unlucky symbols lying around… to cancel out her religious power so the grim reaper can kill her. How much of Christian traditions or superstitions are known by Chinese people? The author really is doubling down on her imagery to show the moral weaknesses of these cannon fodders. I agree, everyone with uteruses should decide whether to use them or not, and that means letting them use birth control or get abortions if they want.

    The Sea Monkeys part gave me whiplash so badly bc there are these tiny aquatic creatures of the same name you can get as a kid… they’re smaller than a corn kernel. I didn’t know their namesakes were so scary QAQ

    Thanks for the chapter!!

  10. Poor Yang Meili. She was able to protect her child for the first six months, but then her parents had it killed. The choice was completely taken away from her, and it looks like she wanted to keep the baby after all. What kind of people choose to kill their own grandchildren? Unfortunately, I heard this occurs more often in Asian families due to cultural values.

    In my country, we have abortion clinics. If you are in sex trafficking or being controlled by a pimp or otherwise being forced to have an abortion against your will, the staff can help you keep your child and protect yourself from your abusers. Unfortunately, in some places where abortion is not legal, these women are forced to suffer coat-hanger abortions and other violence to force them to lose their children and suffer other injuries as well. Abortions will happen regardless of whether they are legal or not, and it looks like she was dragged to a rather shady place.

    I wonder what she was doing with all the devil worship stuff, though. She became Catholic to pray for her baby. Perhaps she became a devil-worshipper to try and resurrect the child or speak to it after death?

    • I think YM is scared about the baby. It may because of guilty feeling. Kinda like survivor guilt where the victim feel its their fault to survive and other were dead.

      In YM case eventhough her family was the one do the abortion, she’s still feel its her fault the baby was aborted or something. Also her mental health may also impact her feeling of guilty, scared etc.

      Thats why she just use everything to protect herself, god , demon from the baby ghost/guilty feelings. if she want to connect with her child, she wont be scared when heard the child voice calling her mommy.

  11. So that baby at the beginning was actually Xiao Chen. Oop- he’s probably the grim reaper’s accomplice in this hehehe

  12. Yang Meili lived on the 13th floor, isn’t that considered a cursed number?

  13. About Yang Meili… Is she still called a sinner if she was forced to abort her child? From the decription of her sin in this chapter, for me it sounds like she was forced to do abortion, looking by this sentence “she was dragged by her family to a private pheasant hospital to get an abortion”, and how she became a devout after her abortion, that’s mean there’s a probability that she actually didn’t want to abort her child and felt guilty.

  14. I already thought his indifference to his friends dying was quite chilling, but uh… How did Xiao Chen become so evil. Is this Xiao Chen a different one compared to the previous arc?

  15. I don’t think abortion is a right personally because that child she was carrying has all the right to live! IT IS A LIFE AND IN MY OPINION, SHE SINNED AND DESERVED WHAT SHE GOT!! That child is innocent and the bible says not to kill the innocent with your hands or have a hand in the killing and an unborn child is an innocent life

  16. I’m still shocked that yang Meili is considered a sin. Her parents were the ones who dragged her to the hospital, she kept it for 6 months already, it seems like she was prepared to give birth to it. Being forced to get an abortion send to have traumatized her since her friend recounts her having changed and become withdrawn and religious. The fact that she still got killed off so gruesomely isn’t really fair.

  17. Abortion isn’t a sin, and I think Yang Meili thinks that it’s a sin. I think he really wants to give birth to her baby, but his family forced her to get an abortion. That’s why she thinks she made an unforgivable sin to her child.

  18. I’m glad the author clarified that she doesnt believe that abortion is a sin. Yang Meili’s death was undeserved because a) she was reluctant to abort the child and b) even if she wasn’t, it was her body and she gets the full right to decide what to do. I’m appalled at the people who think it is a sin. This prolife hypocritic people disgust me the most- what do they think happens to children born to unwilling parents?

  19. The child was developed that’s the son that’s all, abortion is not wrong but only until child is not formed that’s shat author was trying to show

  20. Thanks for the chapter! but I got to say I’m not a fan of this chapter lol, I don’t think abortion is a sin but it could have easily been prevented. Also, the pro-life comments ticked me off lol. Not trying to start anything though just saying.

  21. Did Yang Meili’s way of death reminded anyone of that certain scene from Another anime where a girl died in the stair after the umbrella pierced her neck? I could literally imagine the scene because it was so traumatizing when I watched and I still remember it. 😓😓😓