A Chan – CH 018

Chapter 18: First Cycle (2)

After a moment of despair, Li Weiyi smiled again.

She was still happy, very lucky.

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

Li Weiyi felt fully recharged. From childhood to adulthood, she always had the ability. She couldn’t force her sister’s opinion; she had to find another way.

She glanced at her sister a few more times, then turned and walked out of the complex. After a few steps, she stopped.

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On the path on the other side of the building, there was another person looking in the direction of the Li family’s house.

Li Weiyi looked at the man suspiciously.

The man, around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, looked somewhat familiar. He was quite tall, with a straight back, wearing an ordinary black cotton jacket and black trousers. He had a crew cut and square features and gave off a very upright impression.

Li Weiyi remembered.

His name was Zhong Yi, the neighbor’s child. Li Weiyi remembered calling him Brother Zhong Yi since she was little. Zhong Yi and her sister were about the same age, grew up together, and were practically childhood sweethearts.

That’s right! When her sister was in vocational high school, she and Zhong Yi dated for a while! But Li Weiyi was young then and didn’t know the details. She only heard that Zhong Yi later joined the army, and the two broke up for some reason. After that, Li Weiyi didn’t pay much attention to him.

So, Zhong Yi had already returned from his service?

What was he looking at?

Li Weiyi’s gaze followed his line of sight, then fell on the vaguely visible, slender figure in the Li family’s kitchen.

Oh dear.

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

Li Weiyi began pacing, desperately searching her memory for anything about Zhong Yi. She remembered that Brother Zhong Yi was very opinionated, gentle, especially filial, and very good to her and her sister. She had also heard that Zhong Yi had distinguished himself in the army. He was a man she knew well, and all the neighbors respected his character and sense of responsibility.

The Zhong family used to be well-off, and Zhong Yi had even received a discharge bonus. But for some reason, the Zhong family had been poor for years.

However, just two or three years ago, Li Weiyi heard that Zhong Yi had partnered with someone to open a factory, and the family’s financial situation had finally improved. They had bought several houses in Ningcheng, but it was said that his business had delayed his marriage, and he was over thirty and still unmarried, already going on blind dates.

That’s right! Last year—in the autumn of 2021—her sister was subjected to domestic violence again. Li Weiyi rushed back and heard that a neighbor, unable to stand by and watch, had gotten into a fight with Zhou Zhihao. In her haste, she only caught a glimpse of that righteous neighbor, and now, thinking back, wasn’t that Zhong Yi?

Following her memory, Li Weiyi slipped to Zhong Yi’s house. Like her own house, it was on the ground floor, and she smelled a strong odor of Chinese medicine. Li Weiyi peeked out from behind the wall and saw Zhong Yi standing in the yard, hanging clothes to dry. A coughing sound came from inside the house. Zhong Yi immediately went in and called out, “Dad, are you alright? Have some water…” His voice trailed off.

Li Weiyi remembered. Zhong Yi’s mother had passed away when he was young, and his father had fallen seriously ill in the last two years and passed away a few years later. That’s why Zhong Yi had retired from the army to take care of his father; otherwise, he would have had a better future in the military.

Did Zhong Yi still have feelings for his sister?

If so, why didn’t he speak up back then? Li Weiyi almost immediately knew the answer: it was because of the heavy burden of his family and father. Zhong Yi was the kind of person who would consider others and shoulder everything himself.

A bright idea flashed through Li Weiyi’s mind. This was like a godsend. Outsiders’ words might not convince her sister, but what if her ex-boyfriend came back?

Her sister was a very cautious person; she wouldn’t have been in a relationship at seventeen or eighteen if she didn’t really like Zhong Yi. Judging from her current reluctance to commit to Zhou Zhihao, the difference was clear. Later, her sister had essentially settled, but that settlement led to a lifetime of hardship.

Li Weiyi returned to the Zhang family home first, pondering how to ascertain the true feelings of the two. If neither had forgotten their past love, how could she bring them together and push Zhou Zhihao out? As the saying goes, even a valiant woman could be won over by persistence; she felt she should start with Zhong Yi. If he were determined, even Zhou Zhihao’s better family background might not be enough to overcome Zhong Yi.

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The more she thought about it, the more hopeful she became. Li Weiyi happily entered the house.

Today, Wu Xinhui wasn’t playing mahjong; she was wearing a face mask and watching TV. With a way out for herself, Li Weiyi naturally thought of the massive hidden bomb in Zhang Jingchan’s house.

It had been three days already, and she still hadn’t seen Chairman Zhang, Zhang Moyun.

Li Weiyi sat down next to Wu Xinhui and asked, “When’s Dad coming back?”

Wu Xinhui replied, “He said tomorrow morning.”

“By the way, how’s the company doing? How much money have you borrowed? Is the cash flow under a lot of pressure?”

Wu Xinhui looked at her like she was a monster: “Are you out of your mind? How would I know?”

Li Weiyi: “…”

Well, Zhang Jingchan’s mother really was spoiled rotten by her domineering husband, becoming a carefree little princess.

She could only wait for Chairman Zhang to return before finding out. But now she was his “biological son,” so persuading him to control the risks was much easier than persuading the Li family, right?

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

That night, Li Weiyi had nothing to do but study and do her homework. She was prepared for a long haul—her sister’s situation was showing promise; she could just avoid Cheng Ruiyan; she could manage a 60 in her studies with a bit of grit; and as for Fuming Group, she’d check with Chairman Zhang tomorrow before deciding on a strategy…

Although everything was a mess, beneath every piece of the mess, a tender green shoot had sprouted—a shoot called hope.

Li Weiyi fell asleep peacefully, filled with hopeful anticipation.

Until her phone alarm woke her.

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“We ordinary people are truly happy tonight…

We ordinary people are truly happy tonight…”

Li Weiyi reached for the blanket, turned off the alarm, and after a few minutes, sat up, looking at her familiar rented apartment in Xiangcheng—a small room, a 1.5-meter bed, plain curtains, and a small computer desk. Cold sweat slowly soaked her back.

She pulled out her phone; the date was clearly displayed: January 13, 2022.

She remembered that the department’s performance review was on January 12th. She was bounced back.