Live on New Year's Eve, my brother called me. I spoke first. “May you have peace and joy, and live a long, full life.” My brother let out a cold, sharp laugh. “But I don’t want you to have joy or a long life, Lisa. I hope you live in misery forever.” I had cut ties with my brother the year he lost everything. Now that he was a titan of industry, his first order of business was revenge. My voice remained steady. “May you have peace and joy, and live a long, full life.” His patience snapped. “Enough. I could never wish you well. If I have to wish you anything, I wish you eternal suffering.” The show’s host hesitated for a moment before gently interrupting him. “Mr. Chase… that was just a recording of your sister’s voice. When she passed… she was, as you said, in a great deal of pain.” 1 “Passed?” Matt Chase froze, then a sneer twisted his lips. “I hope you mean she’s dead.” The host paused, then simply gestured to the massive screen behind Matt. My face appeared on it. In the video, I slapped a hand over the camera lens. Rain plastered my hair and shirt to my skin, a picture of pure misery. My voice was raw with irritation. “Stop filming. I didn’t agree to this.” A moment later, a warm, magnetic voice replied, full of sincerity. “I’m not a con artist, I swear. I’m a filmmaker. I make documentaries about people’s lives. I can help you.” I turned away from the dumpster I’d been rummaging through and pressed my face close to the lens. “Oh yeah? Can you cure my cancer?” The man behind the camera fell silent. I stretched my lips into a hollow smile. “Don’t waste your time. Find someone else.” “Wait… I can try!” He grabbed my arm as I turned to leave. I looked him up and down, from his shirt and belt to his pants and shoes, and let out a short, sharp laugh. “Twenty bucks, sixty, forty, fifty,” I ticked off. “Oh, and the camera. Bought it secondhand, didn’t you? Do you have any idea how much my treatment costs?” I held up five fingers to the lens. “Half a million dollars.” The man’s breath hitched. I smiled and walked back out into the rain, bending over one dumpster after another. “Shadow? Shadow, where are you?” He followed me. “What are you looking for?” “A dog.” “Is he yours?” “No. I collapsed earlier. He licked me awake.” The man said nothing. I looked up at him. “If you’ve got nothing better to do, then leave. There are plenty of people in this world you can help. Don’t waste your time on me.” My hand covered the lens. The screen went black. 2 [AFTERLIFE — 10.11.2023, 9:32 AM — The Chase Family Heiress Needs No One’s Pity] “You’re Lisa Chase. Matt Chase’s sister, right?” I was sweeping the floor in the back kitchen of a café. I frowned at the voice. “You again?” The man’s voice came from behind the camera. “Everyone online says you’re a traitor, that you abandoned him. But they don’t know you have cancer. I want to film a documentary series about you. Can I?” I shook my head. “Let them call me a traitor. I worked hard to build that reputation. Are you trying to ruin it for me?” “Wait!” He quickly grabbed my arm. “But you’re broke. Where will you get the money for treatment? Let me help you. I have some savings.” I turned my head and smiled. “What do you think was the reason I cut ties with my brother in the first place?” He hesitated. I pulled my arm free and waved him away. “I have a job. I don’t need your help. Just go.” “I asked around. You only make two thousand a month here.” “Still don’t need it.” I turned my back to him, then glanced over my shoulder with a defiant smile. “The heiress of the Chase family never needs anyone’s pity.” The moment the words left my lips, my knees buckled and I collapsed. “Lisa!” The camera shook violently. On the floor, a pool of blood was spreading. “You…!” Brain’s voice trembled. The camera was tossed aside, and a tall, lanky man rushed to help me up. “Come on, I’m taking you to the hospital!” Just as he was about to lift me, I pushed him away with all my strength. I grabbed a rag, wiped the floor, then smeared the blood from the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand. “I don’t need it.” Then I walked to the sink and washed the blood from my face. Brain’s voice was shaking. “Please, I’m begging you. Let me help you.” I cleaned the last trace of blood, turned around, and looked at him with fierce intensity. “The heiress of the Chase family never needs anyone’s help.” And with that, I walked out of the frame. 3 [AFTERLIFE — 11.15.2023, 3:21 PM — The Puppy Doesn’t Know He’s Dying, Only That He Finally Has a Home] “What do you mean?” At the vet’s office, I stared in shock. The vet sighed and shook his head. “His original owner probably abandoned him because they knew he wouldn’t make it. The poor thing has been starving, getting bullied by other strays… He’s already…” I managed a small smile. “I know. You’re going to say he doesn’t have much time left, right?” The vet hesitated, then nodded. It was the same look my own oncologist gave me. Brain frowned. “Is there really nothing we can do?” “…Just keep him comfortable. Good food, warm bed.” Silence filled the room. I stroked Shadow’s head. “No wonder the two of us found each other.” Shadow’s tail wagged furiously. He rubbed against me, his tongue lolling out, his bright black eyes fixed on me. Brain gave a bitter smile. “He thinks you’re his owner now.” I paused. “Is that something to be so happy about?” Brain nodded, stroking the dog’s head. “A puppy doesn’t know he’s going to die. He only knows that he finally has a home again.” I was silent for a long moment. I patted the dog’s head. “Alright then. I’ll call you Shadow.” Shadow let out a happy “Woof!” As we left the clinic, I turned to face the camera. “You’re the one who found him and brought him to me. As repayment, I’ll agree to let you film your series.” 4 [AFTERLIFE — 12.31.2023, 9:00 PM — Then I Wish You a Long and Happy Life, Part 1] “Where did you get this?” I frowned, looking at the old videotape Brain had brought. He dangled it with a grin. “A good filmmaker has to fully understand his subject.” He popped the tape into a VCR. On the TV left behind by the last tenant, a girl with long hair in a pink dress appeared, bending down to look at the camera. Back then, my eyes still sparkled with hope. “Hello, hello! Happy New Year 2015! I wish everyone peace, joy, and all your dreams come true!” “You were so lively back then,” Brain said, sitting beside me, a smile in his eyes as he watched the video. I clutched a pillow, huddled on the tattered sofa in my tiny apartment, my head poking out from under a blanket. “Did you just dig up every video from all my old social media accounts?” “I found them interesting, so I brought them over.” I said nothing, watching my past self sit among piles of presents, a small tiara clipped in my hair. A familiar voice spoke. “Hold on, I’ll help you open them.” Matt walked into the frame and sat cross-legged beside me. I held up a hand in a “stop” gesture. “No! The Chase heiress is self-sufficient!” The camera cut, and now Matt was fastening a necklace around my neck. “Happy New Year, my little princess.” A camera flashed, capturing my huge, beaming smile. Laughter erupted as I smeared a dab of whipped cream on Matt’s nose. He froze for a second, then a grin spread across his face. “Stop messing around. Your hair is all tangled. Come here, let me brush it for you.” The video was filled with the sound of my happy laughter. Outside the screen, I found myself laughing along, a hollow echo of the past. I wiped the corner of my eye, my sigh trembling slightly. “After our parents died, everyone thought I was so pitiful. But I wasn't. Not at all. I still had my brother, I still had my friends…” A cold draft swept through the leaky apartment. I wrapped the blanket tighter around myself, tears streaming silently down my face. A warm hand enveloped my own, which was red from the cold. Brain looked at me, his expression serious. “I’ve saved up some money. Let’s go to the hospital tomorrow. We can start your treatment.” I sniffled and laughed. “Your channel has less than a hundred followers, and you’re eating instant noodles with me every day. How much money could you possibly have?” His long, pale fingers clenched on his faded jeans. “It’s… something. It could help.” I shook my head stubbornly. “No. The Chase heiress never needs anyone’s help.” I lifted my chin at him proudly. “Don’t worry. My income is enough to cover my medication. See? I bought all of these with my salary.” I grabbed a handful of colorful pills and tossed them back, swallowing them in one gulp. I winced, remaining silent for a long moment before finally pressing a hand to my chest and letting out a long sigh of relief. When I looked up, Brain was watching me, the corners of his eyes tinged with red. I let out a small laugh. “Pretty impressive, right?” Brain looked down, a bitter smile on his lips. “Yeah.” 5 [AFTERLIFE — 12.31.2023, 11:45 PM — Then I Wish You a Long and Happy Life, Part 2] On screen, after a meager meal, the two of us were leaning against the sofa, waiting for the New Year’s countdown. Brain glanced at me. “Is that all you’re going to eat?” I felt a wave of exhaustion. “My stomach hurts. Any more and I’ll just throw it up.” Brain was quiet for a moment before finally speaking. “Mr. Chase… he’s made it. His new project just broke a hundred million in revenue.” I closed my eyes. “I know.” “Go back to him, Lisa. He can get you the best treatment.” I shook my head. “Why not? Do you want to die like this?” “Did you really think I expected to live when I cut ties with him?” That shut him up. After a moment, he spoke again, his voice trembling slightly. “Why did you do it? Why not let him face this with you?” I laughed. “Our parents always taught us that the children of the Chase family never need help from anyone. And yet, our family supported a whole clan of relatives. But when my brother went bankrupt, not a single one of them was willing to help.” My breath hitched. I bit my lip before continuing. “Do you have any idea how it felt to watch my brother grovel in front of them, begging them just to pay for my tuition?” “My brother never begged anyone. After being rejected by every single one of our relatives, he took me to a tiny, one-room apartment, about the size of this one. He told me that he, alone, would bring us back to the life we once had. That’s the brother I admire. The one who, even with nothing, still had his pride and his ambition. “But…” I laughed and looked at Brain. “What do you think would happen if he knew I was sick?” Brain stared at me, speechless. “He would get on his knees and beg those relatives.” My voice trembled as I said it. “He almost did, just for my tuition money. I was lucky I was there to stop him. Ha…” I wiped a tear from the corner of my eye. “Before I left, he and his partner were just starting to get back on their feet. Can you imagine what would happen if his partner found out the family suddenly had a bottomless money pit to deal with? Would he still have invested?” Brain’s voice was strained. “Lisa…” I held up a hand to stop him. “Cancer might take my life, but half a million dollars would have taken his.” Brain’s fists clenched at his sides. I sighed, a sad smile on my face. “The day I left, I tore him to shreds. I called him every name in the book. At the end, he was holding my arm, crying, begging me to stay, promising things would get better soon, that he’d give us our old life back. You see him now, so polished and successful. You could never imagine how pathetic he looked then. Ha…” Brain’s voice was low. “How did he finally let you go?” I remembered it all too clearly. “I told him he was a failure. That his past success was just because of our parents. I said his pathetic state was a disgrace to their memory, and if he had any shred of brotherly love left, he would let me go find my own happiness. And then… he let go. Bit by bit.” The bells for the new year began to ring. Fireworks exploded outside the window. I raised a hand and wiped the tears from my face. 6 [AFTERLIFE — 01.01.2024, 12:00 AM — Then I Wish You a Long and Happy Life, Part 3] Brain turned to look out the window. “Happy New Year, Lisa.” “Thanks.” “Aren’t you going to wish me a happy new year?” I looked up at him. “You’re asking a dying woman for a blessing?” His hand gently covered my own thin, frail one. “Please.” I watched the warm, golden fireworks burst outside the window, feeling as if I were bathed in their hopeful light. I smiled. “Then I wish you a long and happy life.” The hand on mine tightened, trembling slightly. Brain stared out the window, his expression hidden from view. The camera moved, and soon, we had both settled down for the night. But in the darkness, a figure slowly emerged. I leaned close to the camera, frowning. “Damn, forgot to turn it off.” I reached out to press the button, then paused. After a moment’s thought, I dragged a chair over and sat down in front of the lens, adjusting it left and right, a look of doubt in my eyes. “Will anyone ever really see this?” More fireworks lit up the sky, casting a warm, yellow glow on my face. I took a deep breath and gave the camera a small, gentle smile. “If anyone is watching… then I wish you all peace and joy, and long, happy lives.” I waved at the camera, and then pressed the button.
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