21st Century Necromancer

The next morning, Chen Yu woke from his meditation and returned Audis to its beloved cat bed before heading to the bathroom to wash up.

Today was the funeral of Saegusa Mikie, so Chen Yu specially took out a black suit.

In Japan, it is customary at funerals for both guests and family to wear black clothes as a sign of respect for the deceased.

China actually has a similar custom, but as history has evolved, these practices have become less stringent, and for funerals, any non-bright colored clothing is acceptable. The traditional sackcloth and filial piety attire have been simplified to a white cloth headdress and black arm bands.

Chen Yu had no objections to this, and he reckoned that even Saegusa Mikie herself likely wouldn't mind, but since customs are to be followed, it was appropriate to go through the effort of wearing this black suit.

After Chen Yu got into his shirt and black trousers and set the suit jacket aside, rolling up his sleeves to prepare breakfast, a knock at the door sounded.

"Good morning, Mr. Chen Yu." Standing at the door was Hiromi Jounouchi, holding a cloth-wrapped lunchbox in her hand.

"Hiromi? How come you're here so early?" asked Chen Yu, surprised at the sight of Hiromi Jounouchi in a black dress standing at the doorway, yet amidst his surprise, he also felt a bit dazzled.

To be charming, in mourning attire—the ancients truly did not deceive me.

However, today was clearly not the time to discuss such profound artistic topics. Chen Yu suppressed the fanciful thoughts in his mind and welcomed Hiromi Jounouchi into his home.

"I made you breakfast." Hiromi Jounouchi placed the lunchbox on the small round table in the living room, sat down with her knees bent, and then smiled at Chen Yu, a smile somewhat filled with domestic virtue, "So I came over early to save you the trouble of cooking for yourself."

Upon hearing Hiromi Jounouchi's words, a warm current flowed through Chen Yu's heart, and he smiled, pouring a cup of hot tea for Hiromi Jounouchi before sitting down next to the small round table, "If you had come any later, Hiromi, I would've started making breakfast myself."

Chen Yu opened the lunchbox that Hiromi Jounouchi had brought over and, seeing the still-warm exquisite breakfast, could immediately tell that his girlfriend had put a lot of thought into it. He couldn't help but express his admiration to Hiromi Jounouchi, "This is marvelous! It looks delicious. Hiromi, you must have put in a lot of effort this morning, right?"

While speaking, Chen Yu picked up a pair of chopsticks and picked up a piece of Tamagoyaki from the lunchbox and put it in his mouth, exclaiming loudly how delicious it was as he ate.

"If you like it, Mr. Chen Yu, eat more. It's just a breakfast, not that much effort really. Plus, I have to eat as well, just made an extra portion," Hiromi Jounouchi said nonchalantly, as if making breakfast was a simple task, but the smile on her face betrayed the happiness in her heart.

Though Hiromi Jounouchi spoke lightly, Chen Yu didn't see it that way. If Hiromi Jounouchi took the subway from her place to his, it would take about half an hour, and considering the time it would take to make breakfast, this hearty meal would at least require another half hour.

By this estimation, Hiromi Jounouchi would have to wake up at least an hour before him to make such a lavish breakfast and bring it to him.

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Thinking of this, Yu Chen glanced at the alarm clock on the dresser beside him. It showed only eight-thirty, and he immediately understood. He said to Hiromi Jounouchi, "Actually, Hiromi, you don't have to work so hard. I can make breakfast myself in the morning..."

"Making breakfast for my boyfriend is a girlfriend's right and duty! Mr. Chen Yu, you shouldn't underestimate Japanese women. Getting up at six o'clock in the morning to make breakfast for the whole family is an essential skill for any qualified housewife!" Hiromi Jounouchi understood what Yu Chen meant and interrupted him before he could finish, "Okay, enough of this. Hurry up and eat your breakfast.

It won't taste good if it gets cold! And Dr. Misumi and the others will be arriving soon, right?"

Hearing Hiromi Jounouchi say this, Yu Chen found it inappropriate to say anything more, so he just ate the breakfast his girlfriend had prepared with gratitude.

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Although he had shown off a bit of affection with his girlfriend in the morning and fed Audis a handful of dog food, today's main event was still the burial of Saegusa Kyoko. Find exclusive stories on empire

So, after finishing breakfast, with Misumi Mikoto, Kube Rokuro, and Saegusa Kyoko's good friend Hana-chan having arrived, Yu Chen and Hiromi Jounouchi took Saegusa Kyoko's ashes along with the others to the gravesite at Kawakami Cemetery that had been prepared in advance.

"Saegusa Kyoko? Is that Xiao Sanmao's real name?" Hana-chan, a good friend of Saegusa Kyoko from her lifetime, looked at the name written on the tombstone, feeling both astonished and curious, while also overwhelmed with grief.

She had known Saegusa Kyoko through the internet and had only met her in person for the first time when the incident occurred, never expecting that this would be both their first and last encounter.

"Doctor Chen, how did you find out Xiao Sanmao's real name? The police had been searching for a long time and couldn't find it." Misumi Mikoto was also curious about how Yu Chen knew the real name of an unidentified deceased person, especially since the police had nearly exhausted all clues without finding anything and had almost mistaken Saegusa Kyoko's identity.

Of course, Yu Chen couldn't say that he had directly asked Saegusa Kyoko her name, so he just smiled and said nonchalantly, "I had a friend help me out and utilized some special connections and channels."

Yu Chen glossed over the question and handed the urn to the staff at Kawakami Cemetery, letting them place it in the burial site. Although some cemeteries had converted to columbariums due to land area constraints, Kawakami Cemetery still practiced traditional burial.

Watching the last remnant of her friend in this world, Hana-chan's tears fell once more, her eyes tearful as she watched the cemetery staff place the ashes and then cover the grave, completely obstructing her view.

"Xiao Sanmao!" Hana-chan couldn't help but cry out her friend's name loudly, tears of heartache streaming down her face.

Yu Chen, Misumi Mikoto, and the others seemed to be influenced by her sadness as well, feeling quite troubled in their hearts.

All four present were medical professionals, though Yu Chen and Hiromi Jounouchi dealt with the living while Misumi Mikoto and Kube Rokuro dealt with the dead. Yet their views on life and death were unexpectedly similar at that moment.

Life extinguishes like a blown-out candle; at the end, all that's left of a life is but a jar of ashes, crammed into such a small space in a grave, never again to experience the beauty of the world or feel emotions... So we should cherish living life even more, whether it's someone else's or our own.

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