Feeling dejected and dejected, Li Weiyi smiled again.

But still, she was very happy, very fortunate.

At least she could still see her sister standing there alive and well. At least she still had the chance to change the fate of two families.

Li Weiyi felt she had revived with full health. From childhood to adulthood, she had always been able to manage. For her sister’s matter, she couldn’t just forcefully persuade her—she had to think of another way.

Reluctantly taking a few more looks at her sister, she turned and walked toward the outside of the residential complex. After just a few steps, she stopped.

On the small path on the other side of the building, there was another person, looking from afar in the direction of the Li family home.

Li Weiyi looked at that person suspiciously.

A man around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, somewhat familiar-looking, quite tall, with an upright spine, wearing an ordinary black cotton jacket and black long pants. He had a crew cut, square eyebrows and eyes, and his entire bearing gave people a very proper, upright feeling.

Li Weiyi remembered.

His name was Zhong Yi. He was a neighbor’s child. Li Weiyi remembered calling him Brother Zhong Yi since she was small. Zhong Yi and her sister were about the same age, grew up together—they could be considered childhood sweethearts.

That’s right! When her sister was in vocational high school, she and Zhong Yi had even been together for a while! But at that time, Li Weiyi was young and didn’t know the inside story. She only heard that Zhong Yi later joined the military, and somehow the two broke up. After that, Li Weiyi hadn’t paid much attention to this person.

So at this time, Zhong Yi had already returned from military service?

What was he looking at?

Li Weiyi’s gaze followed his line of sight, looking again toward the Li family kitchen at that vague, graceful figure.

Oh my.

Zhong Yi looked for a while, then turned and left.

Li Weiyi began pacing in place, desperately searching her memory for things related to Zhong Yi. She remembered that Brother Zhong Yi was very independent-minded, also very gentle, especially filial, and very good to her and her sister. She had also heard that Zhong Yi had earned merit citations in the military. He was someone they knew through and through—all the neighbors recognized Zhong Yi’s character and sense of responsibility.

The Zhong family had originally had decent conditions, and Zhong Yi had also received a discharge payment. But for some reason, the Zhong family had been impoverished all those years.

However, just two or three years ago, Li Weiyi heard that Zhong Yi had partnered with someone to open a factory. His family’s circumstances finally improved, and he bought several properties in Chenshi. However, it was said that he had delayed getting married because of business—in his thirties and still unmarried, he had already started going on blind dates.

That’s right! Last year—that is, autumn of 2021—once when her sister was domestically abused again, Li Weiyi rushed back and heard that a neighbor who couldn’t stand watching it had gotten into a physical altercation with Zhou Zhihao. At the time, she had been in a panic and only briefly encountered that righteous neighbor. Thinking back now, wasn’t that person Zhong Yi?

Following her memory, Li Weiyi slipped to outside the Zhong family’s door. Like her family’s home, it was also on the first floor. She smelled a strong medicinal herb scent. Li Weiyi poked her head out from behind the wall and saw Zhong Yi standing in the courtyard, hanging up laundry. Coughing sounds came from inside the house. Zhong Yi immediately went inside, calling out, “Dad, are you okay? Have some water…” The rest of the sounds couldn’t be heard clearly.

Li Weiyi remembered now. Zhong Yi’s mother had passed away when he was young, and Father Zhong had fallen seriously ill in these two years and would pass away in a few years. That’s why Zhong Yi had returned from military service to take care of his father—otherwise, he would have developed better in the military.

Did Zhong Yi still have feelings for her sister?

If so, why hadn’t he spoken up back then? Li Weiyi almost immediately had an answer—it was because of his family and his father’s heavy burden. Zhong Yi was the kind of person who would consider others and shoulder everything himself.

A bright light suddenly flashed through Li Weiyi’s heart. This was truly someone bringing a pillow when you’re drowsy. An outsider’s words might not convince her sister, but what if an ex-boyfriend came back?

Her sister had a very cautious and careful temperament. If she hadn’t really liked Zhong Yi, she wouldn’t have done something like dating early at seventeen or eighteen. Looking at how she was still hesitating to commit to Zhou Zhihao now, you could see the difference. Later, her sister had actually just settled—but that settling led to a lifetime of suffering.

Li Weiyi first returned to the Zhang family home, calculating in her heart how to probe the true feelings of these two people. If they both hadn’t forgotten each other, how should she bring them together and squeeze Zhou Zhihao out? As the saying goes, a determined woman fears a persistent suitor. She felt she still had to work on Zhong Yi. As long as he made up his mind, even if Zhou Zhihao’s family had better conditions, he wouldn’t necessarily be able to compete with Zhong Yi.

The more she thought about it, the more hopeful it seemed. Li Weiyi walked through the front door cheerfully. Today, Wu Xinhui wasn’t playing mahjong—she was watching TV with a face mask on. Having found a way forward for her own situation, Li Weiyi naturally also thought of the giant nuclear bomb hidden in Zhang Jingchan’s family.

Come to think of it, it was already the third day, and she still hadn’t met Father Zhang, Zhang Moyun.

Li Weiyi sat down beside Wu Xinhui and asked, “When is… Dad coming back?”

Wu Xinhui answered, “He said tomorrow morning.”

“By the way, what’s the company’s situation like now? How much money has been borrowed? Is the cash flow pressure high?”

Wu Xinhui looked at her like she was looking at a monster. “Did you take the wrong medicine? How would I know?”

Li Weiyi: “…” Alright, Zhang Jingchan’s mother really had been pampered by her domineering CEO husband into a carefree little princess.

She could only wait for Father Zhang to return before learning more. However, since she was now his “biological son,” persuading him to control risks should be much easier than persuading the Li family, right?

Speaking of which, the “Li Weiyi” in the hospital had already been in a coma for three days—why hadn’t she woken up yet?

That night, Li Weiyi had nothing to do and could only review her studies and do homework. She had already prepared for a protracted battle—her sister’s matter already had some leads; as for Cheng Ruiyan, just carefully avoid her; in studies, gritting her teeth, she could still achieve sixty points; for Fuming Group, tomorrow she’d probe Father Zhang before deciding on a strategy…

Although it was a mess, beneath each piece of chaos, green sprouts had already emerged. Those sprouts were named Hope.

Li Weiyi fell asleep peacefully with beautiful expectations.

Until the phone alarm woke her up.

“We common folk, tonight we’re truly so happy…

We common folk, tonight we’re truly so happy…”

Li Weiyi’s hand reached out from under the covers and turned off the alarm. After a few minutes, she sat up and looked at her familiar rented house in Xiangcheng—the small room, the one-and-a-half-meter bed, plain-colored curtains and the small computer desk. Her entire back was slowly soaked with cold sweat.

She took out her phone. It clearly displayed: January 13, 2022.

She remembered that the department presentation day had been on January 12.

She had been bounced back.