The “Zhang Jingchan” before her reached out a hand to her.

Li Weiyi’s eyes were already filled with pity. She placed her hand in his palm, sat down, and said, “I just heard from Old Ding… Don’t worry, good people have their own blessings. We’ve already come this far—heaven has eyes. Uncle and Auntie will definitely be fine.”

The man’s gaze was empty as he gripped her hand tightly and nodded.

“I feel so guilty…” His voice was hoarse beyond recognition. “If I’d slept more alertly last night and heard the commotion earlier, maybe Mom and Dad would be fine…”

Li Weiyi said with a sob in her voice, “How can you blame yourself? You’re human, not a god. Even the police didn’t notice. I just can’t understand—at this point, why would they risk being caught by the police to come poison Uncle and Auntie? What’s the point?”

He hunched his back, one hand resting on his thigh, lifted his face, his eyes like cold ice. “It’s hatred. I also looked at the surveillance footage. That person… the silhouette doesn’t look like Xu Yi, it looks like Zhang Fengming. He’s my father’s second older brother—violent temperament, narrow-minded. Now that he’s fallen to the point of being a fugitive, the person he hates most should be my dad. He wants mutual destruction.”

Li Weiyi suddenly understood.

At that moment, Ding Chenmo in the distance called out, “Zhang Jingchan.” The man beside her stood up and walked over. The two conversed in low voices.

Li Weiyi stared at this “Zhang Jingchan” without blinking. He was exactly as she knew him—tall build, crisp bearing. When he stood, sometimes he would put one hand in his pants pocket. When he sat, he would hunch his back slightly. He rarely displayed “Xu Yi-style” gentle refinement—his eyes were deep and restrained, his gaze firm.

Every movement was very similar.

But not completely identical. Only now did Li Weiyi understand why she had been uneasy from morning until now. Those details, casual and careless—who would notice without careful thought?

He was very gentle and considerate toward his parents. Li Weiyi had seen him several times putting his arm around Wu Xinhui’s shoulders to comfort her crying. But the Zhang Jingchan of the past, even though he respected and loved his mother in his heart, rarely expressed it, showing more silence instead. This was why Li Weiyi had felt something was off when she saw this scene.

The first time he addressed Zhang Moyun as “nin” (formal “you”), but quickly changed to “ni” (informal “you”). Zhang Jingchan was rebellious—when had he ever been so polite to his father? Regarding his father delaying the submission of evidence this time, he should have been coldly sarcastic upon meeting him.

He said “your father” to Li Yunmo, but Li Weiyi still followed his lead in calling him Uncle Li.

When Li Weiyi mentioned getting the voice recorder from Xu Yi’s secret room in 2022, he was unusually silent.

…

Early in the morning, she had received that unfamiliar call and only felt the number looked familiar. Thinking back now, it seemed very much like Xu Yi’s phone number.

But now, her phone had inexplicably disappeared.

The bodyguards wouldn’t let her leave, and he had also arranged things with her family. Besides him, did anyone else know she was living in that apartment?

If she hadn’t pretended to have stomach pain tonight and passed a message to her sister, would she have been completely unaware of everything happening outside? Including the attack on Zhang Moyun and his wife?

…

But if he was Xu Yi, why would he do these things? It didn’t make sense.

First thing in the morning, he had handed over the evidence to the police, incriminating the three people on his side, putting himself in danger too. He had also reminded Li Yunmo to return home immediately to save his father’s life. He had even had her counsel Wu Xinhui, avoiding the exposure of her mother’s photographs and marital discord…

In the previous life, Xu Yi had been the instigator of all these tragedies. Now these responses were all things the real Zhang Jingchan wanted to do—why would Xu Yi do them? And execute them so perfectly?

Even if the “Xu Yi” now being hunted throughout the city was actually Zhang Jingchan, they would still swap back after three days. What was his goal? To accelerate sending himself to prison?

Normally, shouldn’t he be looking for an opportunity to destroy the evidence and watch this great asset Li Jinxiong die?

Unless… they couldn’t swap back anymore.

Li Weiyi’s heart suddenly felt as cold as if it were filled with snow. Before she could think further, “Zhang Jingchan” had already walked back.

“What are you thinking about?” He rubbed her head. “You’ve been staring at me blankly.”

Li Weiyi lowered her head and said, “Worried about you.”

“I’m fine.” He said, “With Mom and Dad like this, I need to stay strong. Old Ding just said that the person in the surveillance—the body shape, gait, and footprints completely match Zhang Fengming.”

Li Weiyi gently leaned her head on his shoulder and said, “Heaven’s net is vast and nothing escapes it—he definitely can’t get away. Ah Chan, I really… really hope the cycle ends soon, that everyone is fine, that no one dies, and that all the evildoers are sent to prison. And then…” She looked at him, her eyes seemingly soaked with sorrowful winter snow. “Let’s have the most wonderful romance.”

His expression was deeply moved. He gripped her hand and said, “I’m hoping for that too.”

Li Weiyi smiled gently.

He put his arm around her shoulder and said, “The bodyguards said you had stomach pain tonight and came to the hospital? How are you now?”

“I’m fine now.”

He touched her hair again. “They also said you disappeared just now and they had to search everywhere for you. What happened? In this situation, you really can’t run around.”

Li Weiyi showed an embarrassed expression and touched her nose. “The hospital is full of people everywhere—what could happen? My stomach hurt and I was desperate to use the bathroom. It was just a few steps away. Should I really have two grown men standing guard outside the women’s restroom? How embarrassing. Besides, after I went, my stomach stopped hurting.”

He smiled helplessly and said, “Oh, you.”

Li Weiyi also smiled with pursed lips and said, “You finally have a smile on your face.”

Hearing this, his expression darkened again. He glanced at the emergency room light and said, “I don’t know how much longer it will be. I need to stay here and keep watch. You go back and rest first.”

Li Weiyi showed an expression of wanting to speak but stopping herself. She bit her lip and said, “I want to stay and keep you company, but I think it would be better if I come tomorrow during the day to relieve you—that way I can help you more.”

He touched her head again. “No need. Just stay in that apartment and don’t go anywhere. If anything happens to you again, I’ll have no choice but to fight them to the death.”

Li Weiyi lowered her head and wiped the corner of her eye, sniffling. “Okay, I’ll listen to you.”

The same two bodyguards drove Li Weiyi back.

It was already past two in the morning. The city was completely silent, but at every intersection, police were still on duty. Li Weiyi watched quietly, only feeling the bone-penetrating cold of the winter night. It wasn’t until they drove to the building where the apartment was that the cold sweat on her back gradually subsided.

——

Li Weiyi went straight to her room and closed the door. After all this commotion, the two bodyguards were exhausted. They turned off the lights and lay on the sofa wrapped in blankets. After a while, one said, “Hey, didn’t Miss Li’s sister say she was coming to the hospital? How come we didn’t see her from start to finish?”

The other said, “That’s right, and Miss Li didn’t ask about it either or call her sister again. Strange.”

“Maybe she had something come up at the last minute and couldn’t come.”

“Who cares? As long as Miss Li came back safely. Tomorrow please don’t let there be any more drama. Sleep!”