The two knocked on the door. When Zhong Yi opened it and saw them, he was startled. He didn’t recognize Li Weiyi, this unfamiliar boy, but seeing Zhang Jingchan in the form of a young girl, he broke into a smile. “Xiao Weiyi, it’s you.”

The lighting in his home was somewhat dim. After all these years, Zhong Yi’s smile was still as gentle and steady as in Li Weiyi’s memory, though it showed some weariness. When Li Weiyi recalled how he had later gotten into a physical confrontation with Zhou Zhihao over her sister, her heart ached.

Zhang Jingchan, however, showed no emotion and said, “Zhong Yi, I have something to tell you.”

Zhong Yi was taken aback and nodded, looking at Li Weiyi. “This is?”

Zhang Jingchan said, “My friend. Let’s talk inside. She needs to hear this too.”

Zhong Yi smiled politely. “Hello.”

Li Weiyi said, “Hello, Brother Zhong Yi. My name is… Zhang Jingchan. I’m Li Weiyi’s closest good friend, so I came along today. Please don’t mind, hehe.”

Zhong Yi looked at this tall, handsome boy grinning like a flower, and his brow twitched imperceptibly. He never imagined that Li Weiyi, whom he thought of like a little sister, would have a boyfriend so young, and such a… slick one at that.

Zhong Yi’s face revealed nothing as he said blandly, “Xiao Zhang, please come in.”

The Zhong household had the same layout as the Li family home but looked more shabby, with peeling walls, though it was kept very clean.

One bedroom door was ajar, with occasional coughing sounds—probably Zhong Yi’s father.

Zhang Jingchan and Li Weiyi sat down on the old sofa. Zhong Yi poured them two glasses of plain water and, facing Zhang Jingchan, showed a brotherly gentleness. “Xiao Weiyi, what do you need from me?”

Li Weiyi beside him had her knees pressed together, hands resting on them, eagerly watching Zhang Jingchan. This unmasculine appearance made Zhong Yi frown inwardly once again.

Zhang Jingchan suddenly glanced at Li Weiyi. When Li Weiyi met his gaze, she instinctively straightened up, finally recovering some of a boy’s upright bearing. Zhang Jingchan withdrew his gaze.

The girl in school uniform with her short hair in a ponytail leaned back into the sofa, crossed her slender legs, placed her right hand on her thigh, and said unhurriedly, “Zhong Yi, stop calling me Xiao Weiyi, just use my name. We haven’t had much contact these years. I don’t dare accept your familiarity.”

Zhong Yi’s heart tensed. The person before him was clearly a seventeen-year-old girl, yet that seemingly light and casual gaze had an extremely sharp quality, as if seeing through to one’s heart, even carrying a sense of oppression. He felt it was strange but thought that indeed, after years of estrangement, Li Weiyi might be going through adolescent rebellion.

Zhong Yi wasn’t angry. He just smiled and said, “Alright, you’ve grown up too.”

Li Weiyi didn’t know what medicine Zhang Jingchan was selling in his gourd or why he was establishing dominance. Taking advantage of her height and build, she secretly pinched his… waist from behind—due to the angle, she could only reach the waist. It felt soft—truly a strange sensation. Then her hand was caught by Zhang Jingchan, whose hand was tender and soft. Li Weiyi felt even stranger—caught by her own hand.

Zhang Jingchan released her hand and said in a low voice, “Stop fooling around.”

Zhong Yi lowered his head to drink water, sighing inwardly again.

Li Weiyi’s face was flushed red.

Zhang Jingchan looked at Zhong Yi again. “To make a long story short, I came here today with only one purpose: do you still have feelings for Li Xiaoyi? If not, there’s no need to discuss the rest. We’ll leave immediately. Tell the truth from your heart—don’t worry about anything else. Those are secondary matters.”

Zhong Yi looked at him in surprise. The other party’s tone was ordinary, yet every sentence was frank and sharp, and clearly had some scheme in mind.

The two made eye contact, and strangely, some kind of message was exchanged through their gazes.

Zhong Yi was silent for only half a minute before saying, “I do. So what?”

Li Weiyi was overjoyed inside, though her nose tingled with emotion. She eagerly asked, “Is it a little bit, or half, or a whole lot?”

Zhong Yi didn’t answer.

Li Weiyi asked again, “Have you had anyone else these past few years?”

Zhong Yi answered this question decisively. “No.”

Li Weiyi was satisfied.

Zhang Jingchan was also somewhat satisfied. Before coming, he had worried about encountering a simple-minded soldier. Upon meeting him, he found Zhong Yi had emotional intelligence, was decisive enough, and had a gentle temperament.

“Currently, Li Xiaoyi’s… my sister’s situation is very dangerous.” Zhang Jingchan’s single sentence made Zhong Yi’s expression change slightly.

“She’s dating a boyfriend who’s a complete and utter scumbag, trash. In the future, this man will make her suffer for the rest of her life. Are you willing to win her back?”

Zhong Yi stared at his clasped hands and said, “Weiyi, I’ve asked around about Zhou Zhihao. His family’s financial situation is very good, and there’s no bad reputation about him. Everyone says he treats your sister very well. He can give your sister a better life.”

Li Weiyi’s eyes curved with amusement. Oh my, he looks like a closed-mouthed person, but he actually knows how to investigate.

Zhang Jingchan said, “That’s spineless?”

Zhong Yi smiled. “You’re still young, you don’t understand.”

Li Weiyi interjected, “Just tell us if you want to or not?”

Zhong Yi answered in a low, muffled voice, “It’s that I’m not capable enough.”

The atmosphere fell silent for a moment.

Zhang Jingchan smiled very faintly. Li Weiyi couldn’t understand the meaning of this smile—whether he approved of Zhong Yi or not.

Zhang Jingchan said, “Unfortunately, things aren’t as you think.” He glanced at Li Weiyi. “Tell him about Zhou Zhihao in detail.”

Li Weiyi immediately perked up, her back straightening at once as she spoke with righteous indignation. “I’m very wealthy and have connections. Weiyi asked me to hire a private investigator to look into Zhou Zhihao…”

She didn’t notice that Zhang Jingchan had raised his hand to cover his mouth and chin, the corners of his lips curving slightly.

“He has very strong violent tendencies. He used to get into fights and brawls frequently, and he would hit his girlfriends. The only reason he’s not hitting our sister now is because he hasn’t won her over yet. His personal life isn’t proper either—he used to date several girlfriends at the same time. His character is very poor. He’s uneducated and incompetent, relying entirely on his family. All he does is loaf around in the shop every day. He gambles, sometimes losing tens of thousands in one night. It’s not that I look down on the common class, but how many years can that bit of family wealth last him? If our sister ends up with him, her whole life will be ruined!”

Seeing Zhong Yi remain silent, Li Weiyi raised one hand high and said, “I swear everything I said is true. If there’s even half a lie, then let me, Zhang Jingchan, be impotent for life!”

Zhang Jingchan abruptly looked at her.

Zhong Yi looked at the incredibly confident young man with an indescribable expression, once again casting a worried glance at “little sister Weiyi.”

Zhang Jingchan lowered the hand that had been covering his chin. First, he said to Li Weiyi, “For this kind of thing, your oath doesn’t count.” Then he said to Zhong Yi, “If there’s even a hint of unreliability in what she said, let Li Weiyi be poor for the rest of her life.”

Zhong Yi: “…”

Why were these two people competing to make poisonous oaths about themselves, yet he sensed some undertone of swords and shadows?