Even through the phone, Xue Jiao could feel Gu Shiyun’s anger—the kind of fury that made her want to strangle Xue Jiao.

Xue Jiao had long since cleared Gu Shiyun and her group’s phone numbers, but this was a new number, evidently her international one.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” Xue Jiao replied calmly, ignoring the rage on the other end.

After speaking, she looked toward Lin Zhihua and saw him nod, which gave her some reassurance.

“Gu Xue Jiao, stop pretending!”

However composed Gu Shiyun usually was, Gu Jingxu’s bankruptcy greatly affected her. Now that she’d found the culprit, Gu Shiyun was burning with rage. In her memory, Xue Jiao shouldn’t have been a match for her.

Yet this supposedly inferior opponent had forced her into her current predicament!

Lin Zhihua frowned slightly as he listened to the voice on the phone.

Xue Jiao held the phone on her knee, and Lin Zhihua tilted his head to whisper in her ear: “Tell her not to talk nonsense.”

His warm breath brushed against her ear. To prevent Gu Shiyun from hearing, he leaned extremely close.

Xue Jiao’s ear twitched, and she shifted uncomfortably, her ear turning slightly red.

Lin Zhihua looked down, noticing this, and also awkwardly averted his gaze.

Xue Jiao suddenly snapped back to attention and repeated what Lin Zhihua had said: “Don’t talk nonsense!”

“I’m talking nonsense? Stop pretending! Liu Yueyue took a photo of you getting into a car with a man! Gu Xue Jiao, don’t think I don’t know anything just because I went abroad!” The voice on the other end grew increasingly agitated. Her composure and intelligence had completely vanished under the provocation.

Lin Zhihua raised an eyebrow upon hearing this and exchanged a glance with Xue Jiao.

His eyes held a smile, as if saying—See, we’ve caught the “secret agent” now.

Xue Jiao: “…”

She felt somewhat speechless. Liu Yueyue was the person who had spilled soup on her in the cafeteria. It seemed she and Gu Shiyun had known each other for a long time, and after Xue Jiao had condemned her on the radio, she had become Gu Shiyun’s spy at school.

Some people never recognize their own mistakes, only continuously blaming others to convince themselves they were right.

Seeing that Xue Jiao remained silent for a long time, the voice on the phone continued yelling—

“You rushed me abroad in such a hurry, then made my father’s company go bankrupt—wasn’t it all to get revenge on me? Gu Xue Jiao, I originally thought you’d changed, but it turns out you’re just better at pretending than I am. What? To ruin my father’s company, you’re already going in and out with rich and powerful men before you’re even of age?”

“He’s just my friend!” Xue Jiao frowned.

“Friend? Haha, Gu Xue Jiao, I won’t mock you anymore. These days, people laugh at poverty, not prostitution. The one who could directly destroy my father’s company must be quite old, right? I just wonder how long this lover of yours will remain pleased—after all, you’re just a plaything for his pleasure! Since he’s willing to spend so much, you must be keeping him very happy, right?”

Gu Shiyun’s voice was full of naked mockery as if she was convinced that Xue Jiao, for revenge, had submitted herself to an older man with status.

The photo Liu Yueyue took was very blurry; one could only see a man’s back and a low-key luxurious car.

But someone who could casually mobilize such a large sum of money was usually the boss of a large company, successful in business. Such people were generally not young, and most middle-aged men in the business world were already married.

So Gu Shiyun’s assumptions made sense.

But Xue Jiao suddenly felt it was pointless to argue with her. Gu Shiyun’s heart was black, and her eyes saw nothing clean.

As if in this world, relationships between people were all based on transactions.

Thinking of this, she said flatly: “I’ll say it again, he is my friend.”

After saying this, Xue Jiao was about to hang up, but Lin Zhihua stopped her and took the phone.

Xue Jiao was slightly surprised.

“Would a normal friend drive a limited-edition car to pick you up? Gu Xue Jiao, you’ve degraded yourself, you’re cheap! I’m just waiting to see the day you get abandoned! Don’t be so smug now!”

Just as her words landed, Lin Zhihua slowly opened his mouth—

“Gu Shiyun, if you can’t speak properly, then don’t come back.”

With that, he hung up.

On the other end, Gu Shiyun stared at her phone in shock, her face incredulous.

Someone was beside Xue Jiao?! And had heard their entire conversation?

Don’t come back?

What was that man planning to do?!

Gu Shiyun was momentarily rigid and flustered, but she quickly steadied herself and began to think.

This person must be the one who took action!

She didn’t believe Gu Jingxu’s company hadn’t been deliberately sabotaged. She never believed in coincidences—she wasn’t as ignorant of the business world as Xue Jiao.

Gu Shiyun had always known she would inherit the company and had been exposed to these matters.

So after the incident, she immediately suspected Xue Jiao.

After Liu Yueyue sent her the photo, Gu Shiyun was almost certain, so she immediately confronted her.

She just hadn’t expected… that man would be right there…

What did he mean? What else was he planning to do?!

“Bang—” she suddenly smashed her phone, staring hatefully at a spot, with fear and worry.

Why did this man’s voice sound… so young?

And… so familiar…

Like she’d heard it somewhere before!

Gu Shiyun’s mind was in chaos, both worried and furious.

—

Meanwhile, on this end of the phone, Xue Jiao blinked in bewilderment, staring at him stupidly.

Her eyes were bright with surprise and shock. Was he… was he threatening Gu Shiyun?

Lin Zhihua couldn’t resist the itch in his hands and reached out to pat her head, saying indulgently: “Silly.”

Xue Jiao fell into thought. Gu Shiyun’s words were nonsense to her—what was this about Lin Zhihua ruining the company? She had personally heard Cheng Shuo say he wanted to bring down Gu Jingxu! Cheng Shuo was the one who did it!

But she also developed some doubts. Given Lin Zhihua’s personality, he might indeed have stepped in to help…

“Why are you so good to me?”

In both lifetimes, apart from the elderly, Lin Zhihua was the kindest stranger to her.

The elderly were kind to her because they treated her as a granddaughter—that was family love. Lin Zhihua wasn’t much older, so his kindness to her… what did it mean?

Lin Zhihua looked up, meeting Xue Jiao’s gaze.

There was a slight bitterness in his heart. If this girl had truly awakened, how could she wonder why he was so good to her?

He was good to her… naturally because he liked her.

But Lin Zhihua couldn’t say that. She was still young, and he couldn’t frighten her.

Some words, when the timing wasn’t right, absolutely couldn’t be spoken.

He also couldn’t be as vague as before—her heart had become slightly vigilant, and she needed a legitimate reason.

Xue Jiao kept looking at him, and somehow, at this moment, she could sense an inexplicable pain emanating from him.

After a long while, Lin Zhihua swallowed all the pain and bitterness in his heart and revealed a light, casual smile.

“Because… I consider you a friend, and you… saved my life.”

“What?” Xue Jiao was stunned.

“Before your high school sophomore year began, on Wenchang Road, I had a car accident. You pulled me out of the car.” Lin Zhihua smiled softly.

That was their first meeting, and also the first time Lin Zhihua had close contact with a female after becoming an adult.

At that time, he was curious about her, puzzled, wanting to gradually get to know her and repay her.

But the more he understood her, the deeper he fell.

He had broken many of his own rules for her, and these had become his beautiful memories.

They were the sweet and bitter flavors added to his mechanical life.

Xue Jiao would never understand what she had brought to this “friend” before her.

“It was you!” Xue Jiao’s eyes widened in shock.

A car accident was a major event, and Xue Jiao definitely wouldn’t forget it, but it happened just after she had transmigrated when her life was in chaos, so she quickly put it out of her mind.

So Lin Zhihua was the person she had saved!

Xue Jiao suddenly smiled, her eyes crinkling, with curving brows and eyes. Looking at him, she said: “Lin Zhihua, are you a river snail? Coming to repay my kindness!”

Lin Zhihua reached out and patted her head.

“You can consider me a river snail. I’m here to repay your kindness, and you can make any request.”

“Any request? Without any conditions?!” Xue Jiao’s eyes widened.

Lin Zhihua pretended to be deep in thought, then said: “I don’t think the river snail wife set conditions in advance.”

“Then I need you to do something to repay me!” Xue Jiao suddenly said.

Lin Zhihua was slightly surprised and asked curiously: “What is it?”

“It’s late, I want to fly back!”

Lin Zhihua fell silent, and Xue Jiao’s smile grew wider and wider. “Haha, I’m just joking—”

“That’s also possible, wait a moment.” As he spoke, he took out his phone. “Chen Yan, help me arrange a plane to W… Mmm…”

Xue Jiao covered his mouth, looking panicked, her voice urgent and flustered—

“Oh my goodness, I was joking, how can you be so scary?!”

Lin Zhihua felt the small palm covering his lips, his eyes full of mirth, and he couldn’t help but laugh.

“Don’t say another word! I was joking! Just drive me back in your car!” Xue Jiao’s voice was urgent as she glared at him.

How could there be such a person? At such proximity, she had just said it casually!

Lin Zhihua reached out to protect her, preventing her from falling to the ground as she half-knelt, and his deep voice vibrated from his throat—

“Alright, alright, no flying.”

Only then did Xue Jiao let go. Lin Zhihua straightened his clothes, still smiling as he said into the phone: “It’s nothing.”

Then he hung up.

Chen Yan: “????”

Was the boss flirting with someone?!

Chen Yan felt he might be hearing things.

Or maybe he was still dreaming.

Xue Jiao collapsed onto the bench, looking devastated. “Lin Zhihua, why are you so serious? When I said I wanted to fly back, I was joking, yet you actually… sigh.”

She looked at him, her face clearly saying—you’re childish, impulsive, and reckless.

Lin Zhihua found it amusing and said seriously: “What you want, I can make happen. If I can’t make it happen now, I can work to make it happen in the future.”

Xue Jiao shrugged, lowering her head slightly, and said very seriously: “Lin Zhihua, saving you was just something I did in passing. You don’t need to take it to heart, nor do you need to specifically… repay me.”

Was Lin Zhihua’s constant kindness to her all because of repaying a debt?

Then now… after repaying it, would he…?

A large hand rested on her head as Lin Zhihua smiled: “Silly girl, don’t overthink. It’s not just about repaying kindness. You’re my friend, and I want to help each other, to be good to you.”

Xue Jiao suddenly looked up, her eyes brightening slightly: “I’ll be good to you too. You’ve always been so good to me; in the future, I’ll be good to you.”

Lin Zhihua revealed a smile that came from deep within his heart: “Good.”

He paused, stood up, and said reluctantly: “You should go back now.”

It was getting late, and Lin Zhihua needed to send Xue Jiao back to the Cheng family.

“Oh, oh, oh! Right!” Xue Jiao nodded hurriedly.

Lin Zhihua drove Xue Jiao to the entrance of the Cheng family’s neighborhood.

“I’m going now!”

“Get back quickly,” Lin Zhihua smiled.

Xue Jiao also smiled and said: “Be careful on your way back.”

After saying this, she turned and walked toward the Cheng family home.

“Jiaojiao!” Lin Zhihua suddenly called out.

Xue Jiao turned back, looking confused.

Lin Zhihua smiled and waved his hand. “Study hard and get the scores you’re satisfied with!”

Xue Jiao was stunned for a moment, then also raised her hand to wave, her face full of smiles.

“I will—”

That was her dream, her motivation to work hard.

Lin Zhihua watched her retreating figure, the smile on his face gradually fading.

Because of her, he could smile, worry, be concerned, be happy… and also be sad.

She was the girl heaven had bestowed upon him. If one day this girl didn’t belong to him, or if she… married someone else.

Lin Zhihua knew he would go mad.

—

When Xue Jiao arrived home, the whole family was already there. Li Sitong took her schoolbag while talking incessantly.

“Where did you go? You only sent one message saying you were eating out with a friend, then didn’t reply. You’ll make us worry like this!”

Xue Jiao smiled awkwardly. “He came suddenly, and we went to eat together, so I didn’t have time to reply to messages.”

Cheng Shuo’s ears perked up slightly. Was it that mysterious person?

He smiled and looked at Xue Jiao: “Jiaojiao, who did you go eat with? What did you have for dinner? Did you eat enough?”

Xue Jiao didn’t mind and said after taking a breath: “My friend. We ate at the street food market. I’m full.”

“What?! You went to eat street food?!” Li Sitong exploded again. “You silly girl, those things aren’t clean, they’ll give you a stomachache. How could you eat such random food?!”

As Li Sitong began to lecture her, Xue Jiao made faces at Cheng Mingze and Cheng Shuo behind her back. Both of them smiled helplessly.

Cheng Shuo also put aside his thoughts. It seemed like it was probably a classmate. If it were truly that mysterious person, they probably wouldn’t go eat street food.

Li Sitong lectured for a long time, only stopping when Cheng Mingze said he needed to go upstairs to sleep.

After all, Cheng Mingze is taking the college entrance exam tomorrow!

The whole family returned to their respective rooms. Tomorrow was the exam, so tonight they all wanted to create a quiet environment for Cheng Mingze.

As they were each opening their doors, Xue Jiao suddenly stopped and turned her head.

“Brother, good luck with the exam tomorrow!”

“Thanks.” Cheng Mingze smiled, gentle as jade.

They each entered their rooms.

After finishing her homework and preparing for bed, Xue Jiao’s stomach suddenly rumbled, and she immediately dropped her pen and rushed to the bathroom.

After a while, she emerged from the door, looking pale.

Gu Xue Jiao’s stomach wasn’t her old one that could handle all kinds of food…

She recovered for a good while, and only when she finally felt better did she take out her phone and send a message—

[Lin Zhihua, you ate street food today… are you okay?]

After a while, the other side replied, very calmly—

[I’m fine. Are you unwell? Do you need to go to the hospital?]

Xue Jiao quickly replied—

[I was just a bit uncomfortable earlier, but I’m fine now. No need for the hospital.]

Tomorrow was Cheng Mingze’s college entrance exam. How could she go to the hospital tonight? Making a commotion in the middle of the night would harm him.

Besides, she was already fine, there was no need to go…

In the original text, Cheng Mingze was going to take the college entrance exam for a finance major. Before the exam, Xue Jiao was reluctant to part with him and was instigated by Li Wei and others to make a fuss. In his previous life, Cheng Mingze’s college entrance exam hadn’t been easy—he ranked third in the province and entered the city’s Finance and Economics University.

Although those things weren’t done by Xue Jiao, she had taken over Gu Xue Jiao’s body and felt some guilt toward Cheng Mingze.

This time, she was determined to let him take the exam properly and achieve his deserved glory.

[Lin Zhihua: That’s good then.]

He also knew the situation and didn’t insist.

Xue Jiao said one more thing—

[Since you’re fine, I’m relieved. I’m going to sleep now, good night.]

[Lin Zhihua: Good night.]

On the other end of the phone—

“Boss, please cooperate with the injection.” Tan Qi was a bit worried, and seeing Lin Zhihua constantly sending messages, he gently reminded him.

Lin Zhihua gave him a bland look, raised his arm to cooperate with the doctor’s injection, and said, “Assistant Tan, thank you for your trouble today.”

Tan Qi bowed respectfully. “This is what I should do, but Boss… you should remember the doctor’s instructions not to consume untested junk food. If you want to eat such things, tomorrow I’ll instruct the chef to make clean, safe food with the same flavor.”

Lin Zhihua was still looking at Xue Jiao’s concerned message. Hearing this, he looked up at Tan Qi.

“Assistant Tan, do you have a partner?”

Tan Qi: “…”???

He looked completely confused and honestly shook his head.

Lin Zhihua put away his phone, lay down, and said calmly—

“I think you should get one. Personal matters should be addressed.”

Tan Qi still looked bewildered, staring blankly at Lin Zhihua.

How… how did the conversation turn to him finding a partner?!

Lin Zhihua gave him a disdainful look, thinking he was a bit slow-witted.

“Assistant Tan, when you have someone you like, you’ll understand that some rules can be broken.”

Tan Qi: “???”

“Alright, you can go now. Thank you for your hard work today. Take tomorrow off.”

Tan Qi, still utterly confused, led the doctor out of Lin Zhihua’s apartment. Only after closing the door did he suddenly come to his senses.

Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap!!

The boss went to eat street food with someone he likes?!

Holy shit!!

Someone like the boss knows how to please a girl?!

Is this a display of romance tonight?!

Like Chen Yan before him, Tan Qi also began to question his existence.

—

That night, Xue Jiao had a dream where she saw Gu Xue Jiao’s entire life again.

At five in the morning, Xue Jiao suddenly sat up, her face covered in tears.

With trembling hands, she took out her phone and dialed—

“Hello?” The voice on the other end was still hoarse.

“Lin Zhihua! Are you okay?!” Xue Jiao’s voice was choked with tears.

Lin Zhihua suddenly sat up, anxiously saying: “Jiaojiao, Jiaojiao, what’s wrong? Don’t cry, tell me what happened?”

Xue Jiao suddenly couldn’t hold back and began to sob loudly.

“Darling, don’t cry, tell me what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Jiaojiao, don’t cry.” Lin Zhihua comforted her while putting on his clothes, not bothering to wash up, grabbing his car keys and rushing out.

“Lin Zhihua… wuwu… are you okay…”

“I’m fine, Jiaojiao, I’m perfectly okay. Listen to my voice—doesn’t it sound strong?” He ran to the garage, put the phone on speaker, and started the car.

Xue Jiao cried uncontrollably for a while before finally sobbing: “I had a nightmare… I dreamed you had an accident…”

Lin Zhihua suddenly smiled. The car was moving fast, but his voice was soft and smiling.

“Jiaojiao, I’m fine, I’m perfectly well. Can’t you hear from my voice that I’m okay? It was just a nightmare, it’s not real, don’t worry about it.”

His voice was very gentle, with a soothing quality, but it only made Xue Jiao cry more.

It wasn’t false, it wasn’t false.

She remembered Gu Xue Jiao’s entire life. After Cheng Mingze took over Pengcheng, Cheng Shuo took her to a banquet.

Someone had discussed the then-thriving Pengcheng, and someone had casually remarked—

“This Cheng Mingze looks a bit like that person from the Lin family who died in the car accident. If he hadn’t died in that accident, the Lin family probably wouldn’t have fallen, and that person was also unfortunate. With that talent, even Cheng Mingze couldn’t match him.”

Car accident!

When she first arrived in this world and saved Lin Zhihua, in the original text, he had died!

Xue Jiao couldn’t control her tears. The elderly who had been so kind to her in her previous life had died, and Lin Zhihua, who had been so good to her in this life, had almost died too…

She buried her face in the crook of her arm, trembling with distress.

Xue Jiao knew she had only dreamed, and in this life, Lin Zhihua was still alive. But just thinking that the young Lin Zhihua, who should have been respected and praised by others, had left this world at such a young age…

Her tears were completely uncontrollable.

Xue Jiao could hardly imagine what if she hadn’t gone to buy books that day…

What if that day she had, like Gu Xue Jiao, stayed home in sorrow, then Lin Zhihua would have…

The kind, the amazing Lin Zhihua, blessed by heaven with extraordinary talent—how could he die?

If he had died at that time, no one would have known how remarkable he could have been, nor how high he could have taken the Lin family.

Sobbing, she asked him: “Lin Zhihua, was it your grandfather and second uncle who planned the car accident back then?”

He had mentioned it once, and she still remembered.

“Yes.” Lin Zhihua was slightly confused, not knowing why Xue Jiao suddenly brought this up.

“Will you never forgive them, please?”

“I won’t, never will.” Lin Zhihua replied without hesitation.

Hearing his promise, Xue Jiao felt slightly better.

“Jiaojiao, don’t cry anymore. I’m fine, I’m alive and well. Dreams shouldn’t be taken seriously.” Lin Zhihua’s voice was very gentle, soft, and smiling, allowing Xue Jiao to relax and feel at ease.

He continued to comfort her, and after a while, Xue Jiao’s tears gradually stopped as she fully awakened from the nightmare.

She felt somewhat embarrassed, hiccuping from crying while saying: “I’m sorry… I got a bit irrational…”

The voice on the other end was somewhat heavy, and also somewhat helpless.

“Jiaojiao, don’t apologize to me, never.”

“Mm… hic…” Xue Jiao was still hiccuping.

Lin Zhihua found it amusing: “Why are you still like a little girl? If you’re still worried, look out the window.”

“What?” Xue Jiao was stunned.

Lin Zhihua, breathing heavily and wiping his sweat, insisted: “Open the curtains and take a look.”

Xue Jiao hiccuped as she climbed out of bed, pulled open the curtains, and froze.

Downstairs, there was a man in casual clothes, his hair still messy, looking somewhat foolish in a way he never would normally.

He smiled broadly, waving at her, mouthing softly: “Jiaojiao, I’m fine.”

Behind him was the rising sun, bathing everything in aurora light.

He stood in the glow, smiling at her, more dazzling than the morning sun.