Rong Qian hadn’t expected that Shen Yi would value her leaving more than his own safety.

But would she really leave next Sunday? Honestly, even Rong Qian didn’t know—she couldn’t be sure.

She knew that this time when she went back, the situation wouldn’t improve like it had the previous times. According to the pattern after going back, time would rewind by a few minutes.

That is, it would rewind to the moment she’d been taken hostage by the man wearing the skull mask.

Although she trusted the police would be fine even without her jumping off the building, Rong Qian still wanted to know—who exactly was the man wearing the skull mask? He had wanted to ask her something—what would he ask?

Did that man even know her?

Rong Qian couldn’t figure it out. If she didn’t get to the bottom of it, she probably wouldn’t be able to just go back like this.

So she said to Shen Yi, “Not necessarily, but this time I promise you—if I leave, I’ll definitely tell you.”

“Do you have to leave?” Shen Yi blurted out almost without thinking, and even he was stunned after saying it.

Rong Qian didn’t say anything, and since he’d already asked, Shen Yi went ahead and asked her, “Can you… not leave?”

“There’s nothing for me to do if I stay, so of course I have to leave. Besides, we’ll see each other again next time.” Rong Qian smiled and comforted him, as if comforting a small child.

Shen Yi stared straight into her eyes. “Next time—how many years will that be?”

Counting it up, he’d already been waiting for her for ten years…

“That, I don’t know either.” Saying this out loud, even Rong Qian felt a bit guilty—saying something like that was, after all, quite irresponsible.

But she didn’t want to lie to him either. If she didn’t know, she didn’t know.

“Mm, I understand.” Shen Yi concealed the loneliness in his eyes. To avoid making her feel burdened, he curved his lips, putting on a deliberately relaxed air, and said to her, “Then before you leave, remember to tell me—I have something I want to say to you.”

“Say what?” Rong Qian was now quite curious—what couldn’t be said right now?

Shen Yi only replied with one sentence: “You’ll know when the time comes.”

Rong Qian gave in—fine, she’d wait for it.

“By the way, what do you plan to do about that kid Lin Jie’s problem?” Getting back to business, Rong Qian wanted to hear his plans.

Shen Yi thought it over and said, “I want to keep him here, observe him for a few days, and see how serious the problem really is.”

“That’s all that can be done for now. Although his fate isn’t your responsibility, since you’ve decided to take charge of him, then until he’s an adult, you have the right to discipline him—especially since he calls you ‘brother.'” Rong Qian found it quite a hassle too.

Because of Lin Feng, they couldn’t simply ignore him.

Rong Qian decided to share some of the burden, so she patted her chest and promised, “Shen Yi, you just handle the discipline—if there’s any hitting or scolding to be done, leave it to me. I’ll help teach him a lesson!”

She was willing to help, and Shen Yi was more than happy to accept.

So, over the following days, Shen Yi restricted Lin Jie’s movements, not allowing him to leave the house at all, keeping him confined inside.

He also warned him that if he dared touch even a single hair on Rong Qian, he would break his legs when he got back.

Of course, this was said when Rong Qian wasn’t around.

After the lesson from before, Lin Jie no longer dared to disrespect Rong Qian, but he still didn’t like her—after all, no one looks kindly on someone who’s hit them.

So he deliberately avoided Rong Qian, spending his days either holed up in his room or hanging around the game room. The day passed by like that.

Rong Qian had been secretly observing him the whole time. She guessed he wouldn’t be able to sit still for more than three days.

Sure enough, after three days, Lin Jie couldn’t take it anymore.

At two in the morning, Rong Qian was still in her room doing leg-stretches, while also keeping an ear out for movement in the rooms downstairs.

For this reason, she hadn’t closed her door all the way.

It was at this exact moment that Lin Jie, sneaking around, was preparing to climb over the wall to get out. The moment Rong Qian saw him climbing the wall, she immediately ran to tell Shen Yi.

Through the gap in the door, seeing he was still awake, Rong Qian pushed the door open and saw him working. Without thinking, she said, “Why are you still not asleep?”

Even though she herself wasn’t asleep either, him staying up late to work just wasn’t acceptable!

“What’s wrong?” Shen Yi put down the pen in his hand and asked.

That reminded her of why she’d come. Rong Qian quickly said, “Lin Jie ran off—do you want to go follow him and see what he’s up to?”

“Let’s go.” Shen Yi didn’t hesitate, getting up immediately, not forgetting to grab two black baseball caps on his way out.

He put one on Rong Qian’s head, and Shen Yi even pressed down on the brim, covering half her face.

“Let’s go.” Shen Yi took her hand and walked off, and just like that, naturally, the lead became his.

The two of them followed behind Lin Jie, tailing him the whole way.

Lin Jie hadn’t gone far—after leaving the house, he left the villa compound, got onto the street outside, looked left and right, and then went into an alley.

Shen Yi and Rong Qian quietly followed, always keeping a certain distance from him.

It wasn’t until Lin Jie stopped in front of a sports car that the two of them hid in a corner, holding their breath, observing from afar.

Rong Qian saw that sitting in the red convertible sports car was a refined-looking man, wearing a white shirt and a tie, though he appeared quite young—maybe not even an adult yet.

He lit a cigarette, took a puff, and then handed it to Lin Jie. Lin Jie took it and inhaled deeply and frantically, looking just like he was on drugs.

Rong Qian’s brows furrowed. She lowered her voice and leaned close to Shen Yi, saying, “That’s likely not a cigarette—it’s probably drugs.”

“Do you know who that person is?” Shen Yi asked her.

Rong Qian looked closely. The young man’s face was very pale, his complexion dull and exhausted, making her wonder if it was from excessive indulgence.

In terms of looks, he was actually quite handsome—but his smile carried a wicked edge, as if the words “I’m bad news” were practically written on his face.

“Who is he?” Rong Qian didn’t recognize him.

Shen Yi answered, “Shen Fengran.”

Rong Qian’s pupils widened in an instant!

He was Shen Fengran? The little boy she’d met at KFC back then? How much time had passed—just six years—and a child had become like this?

“A’Qian, stay hidden here and don’t come out,” Shen Yi instructed her.

Rong Qian knew what he was about to do and didn’t try to stop him, nodding to show she understood.

So Shen Yi walked toward them without changing his expression.

Just as Rong Qian was about to observe the situation, footsteps sounded behind her. Alert, Rong Qian immediately turned around, and saw two men, dressed in flashy, sleazy clothes and clearly drunk out of their minds, looking at her with leering eyes.

One of them, belching with alcohol, grinned lewdly. “Didn’t expect that coming out to take a piss, we’d run into such a beauty—doesn’t this count as a lucky encounter?”