Work wasn’t going smoothly—she might very well be laid off. As for love, that went without saying. And now even her closest family member was being domestically abused and coerced, and she was powerless to help.

She clearly hadn’t done anything wrong.

Li Weiyi lay there for quite a while, then kicked her legs around as if venting, before bouncing back up to sit, her face full of determination.

Collapse, my ass. Enough. Venting for this long was enough.

Tomorrow, she would work hard and perform well. Until the last moment, she wouldn’t give up fighting for the opportunity to keep her job.

Second, that scumbag Xie Zhilu—from now on, she wouldn’t think of him. Cut her losses in time. This was clearly a good thing, not a bad thing. After all, he had a good body, good personality, good stamina. She was the campus beauty and he was the campus heartthrob—she could just consider that she’d gotten what she wanted from him for free.

Finally, her sister.

This weekend she would go home. She’d act according to circumstances—whether documenting injuries, hiring a lawyer, or forcibly bringing her sister and niece back to Xiang City—where there’s a will, there’s a way. She didn’t believe there was no solution. She would spare no effort to bring her sister out of her suffering.

The next day, the weather was gloomy.

Li Weiyi’s entire day passed calmly. Everyone in the company was busy, busy. A storm was brewing, but the surface was tranquil. At lunch, Zhou Dajie was obviously somewhat embarrassed and comforted Li Weiyi with a few words, saying nothing was decided yet.

That evening, Li Weiyi deliberately didn’t take work home like usual. Instead, she stayed at the company, working overtime with full vigor in plain view of everyone.

It wasn’t until after nine at night, when most people in the company had left, that Li Weiyi dragged her exhausted body downstairs.

Heavy clouds pressed against the horizon. Fine rain drifted through the air. Deep into the night, it was cold and desolate. Li Weiyi was jolted by the icy, damp air and felt an impulse to let herself go. She didn’t want to go home, so she walked to the riverside walkway.

The weather wasn’t good, so there were few people by the river. Li Weiyi pulled her coat collar tight and walked slowly. Looking out, the lights of the river-crossing bridge appeared especially soft in the misty rain. Several boats sailed slowly through the Xiang River. On her other side, across a road, stood several tall buildings in the financial district, their lights flickering indistinctly. Li Weiyi gazed blankly when suddenly she glimpsed several figures emerging from a high-end restaurant not far away.

She couldn’t be blamed for noticing those people, because the one leading them was someone she’d met once before—the former crown prince of Fuming Group, that man who was essentially negative one billion. Strangely, even though Li Weiyi had only seen him once, from dozens of meters away, she recognized his silhouette at a glance. Walking among the crowd, he seemed different from others somehow.

They walked toward the roadside parking area.

Li Weiyi withdrew her gaze.

The rain was getting heavier. Li Weiyi pulled up her hood, but still didn’t want to go home. Ahead were several layers of moisture-proof wooden steps leading directly into the water, with the river water gently lapping against them. Li Weiyi didn’t care that the wooden steps were damp. She walked over and sat down, less than thirty centimeters from the water’s surface.

Lost in thought.

People passed by nearby, some stopped, but Li Weiyi paid no attention.

At that moment, her phone suddenly rang. It was her father calling.

Li Weiyi answered listlessly: “Hello?”

Father Li’s voice seemed to have been devoured by the wind. After several seconds of silence, he said: “Weiyi…” He choked up again: “Your sister… your sister…” He began crying in sobs.

Li Weiyi went completely numb, including her tongue. She asked: “Sister… what happened?”

“Xiaoyi is dead! She’s dead…” Father Li couldn’t continue, breaking into wails.

Li Weiyi’s eyes blurred completely. Her entire body stiffened like iron, yet her voice was strangely calm: “How did she die? Was she killed by Zhou Zhihao? Have the doctors already declared her dead?”

“No, no… Early this morning, she sent Niuniu over… In the evening, we received a notice from the police saying that she… she stabbed Zhou Zhihao with a knife, then jumped from a building herself… Sob sob sob, my daughter jumped from a building, my Xiaoyi… Dad should have listened to you, shouldn’t have believed Zhou Zhihao. Yesterday I should have brought her home, ahhhh… She couldn’t go on living long ago. Why couldn’t we see it…” Father Li began howling like a wounded animal.

Li Weiyi covered her mouth with her hand, tears rolling down. She looked at the boats on the water ahead. Why couldn’t those boats ever sail to where she was?

So this was the decision her sister had made.

Her sister no longer wanted to live like a dog. Kill Zhou Zhihao, even at the cost of her own life, so the child wouldn’t fall into his hands. Killing two birds with one stone.

The call had long since disconnected. The rain grew heavier and heavier. Not far away, someone stood quietly holding an umbrella, looking in this direction. Li Weiyi buried her head deeply in her arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

Who knows how much time passed—perhaps a few minutes, perhaps only a few dozen seconds. The phone stubbornly rang again in the curtain of rain. Li Weiyi, like a walking corpse, extended her trembling hand and pressed answer.

Zhou Dajie’s distressed voice came through: “Weiyi, I’m telling you, be prepared mentally. I received inside information—you’re… on the list.”

Li Weiyi: “Oh.”

Zhou Dajie heard something wrong in her tone: “Where are you? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Sister Zhou. Thank you.”

“It’s nothing, it’s nothing. We’re so close. Little sister, start looking for your next job early. If you switch jobs before the layoff, it looks better, and the company will still give you compensation…”

“Mm, I have something to do. I’ll hang up now.”

Li Weiyi looked ahead but seemed unable to see anything. After a few more minutes, she suddenly came to her senses, grabbed her phone, and opened several apps. But it was too late today—there were no high-speed trains or buses back to her hometown. She could only book a bus ticket for eight o’clock tomorrow morning.

Putting down her phone, Li Weiyi once again buried her face in her arms, tears flowing silently and continuously.

Until a large black umbrella appeared above her head, instantly cutting off the wind and rain, along with some unfamiliar person’s presence drawing near.

Li Weiyi slowly raised her head. That man who was essentially negative one billion stood beside her, looking down at her.

Coat and suit, imposing bearing, slightly furrowed brow, eyes dark as ink.