Chapter 58 — IAVD (QT) Chapter 58

He stood there frozen for a full half minute.

His gaze fell on little Yingzi. His body trembled slightly, disbelief written all over his face.

Li Shiyue called him in confusion, “Third Brother, what are you looking at?”

Li San-ge snapped back to his senses. His eyes lit up as he raised a finger and pointed at the little girl, asking Li Shiyue, “Is this… Yingzi?”

“Yes,” Li Shiyue finally understood what he was staring at and smiled. “I told you about her in my letters—my daughter. Her full name is Ji Yingzi.”

Li San-ge’s eyes shone even brighter. He strode forward, as if needing to confirm her appearance, squatted down in front of her, and looked at Yingzi intently. His voice softened unconsciously, as though afraid of frightening her. “Yingzi?”

Yingzi blinked, then quietly hid behind Ji Xiu’s thigh.

Li San-ge froze, suddenly at a loss. He hurried to introduce himself, “Yingzi, I’m your Third Uncle. Do you know that?”

“Third Uncle?” Yingzi frowned slightly.

“Yes, Third Uncle!” Li San-ge grew visibly emotional. “Your uncle has finally met you.”

Yingzi blinked again, unsure how to respond.

Ji Xiu and Li Shiyue were both a little baffled. They exchanged glances, not quite understanding what was going on.

Li San-ge’s attention toward Yingzi seemed… a bit excessive.

Even toward Li Shiyue, he hadn’t shown this kind of repeated questioning.

Still, seeing how agitated he was, neither of them said anything. Ji Xiu simply lifted his daughter into his arms and gently pinched her cheek. “Don’t be afraid. Third Uncle is Mommy’s third older brother. He’ll like you and dote on you just like Mommy does.”

Yingzi nodded, calming down a little, and softly called out, “Third Uncle.”

Li San-ge’s eyes widened. He was so excited his hands and feet trembled as he answered again and again, “Yes, yes—Third Uncle’s here.”

Yingzi pursed her lips and smiled, seeming to find it interesting, and called him again.

Li San-ge grew even more excited and reached out to hold her.

Yingzi hesitated, then turned her head away and hugged Ji Xiu’s neck tightly.

Disappointment flashed across Li San-ge’s eyes. After a long while, he barely managed to steady his emotions. He turned to Ji Xiu, forced a smile, and said, “So this is my brother-in-law?”

Ji Xiu nodded and introduced himself.

Li San-ge sized him up from head to toe. A trace of dazedness flickered in his eyes before he quickly recovered, said a few welcoming words, and maintained a decent attitude—though clearly without the same excitement he showed toward Ji Yingzi.

Ji Xiu lowered his gaze, finding the situation increasingly strange, and quietly observed.

Soon, Li San-ge led the family of three into the car and back to the Li residence.

It was a two-story villa. A nanny came over, waving her hands exaggeratedly in welcome. “Oh my, this must be the Fourth Miss and the son-in-law! Come, put your things down and come in to sit.”

Li Shiyue froze. When she’d left home, the family had been an ordinary household. She never imagined that six years later, they’d have a nanny.

She felt a little uncomfortable and stood at the doorway without moving.

Ji Xiu held her hand and casually asked the nanny, “Should we change shoes?”

“Change shoes?” The nanny blinked, then smiled as if it were obvious. “Of course.”

Ji Xiu glanced at the floor. “Then where are the slippers?”

The nanny came back to herself, noticed the empty floor, and felt extremely awkward. “I—I’ll go get them right away.”

Ji Xiu neither confirmed nor denied. While she turned to fetch the slippers, he said to Li San-ge beside him, “Third Brother, your nanny is a bit careless.”

Li San-ge’s expression darkened slightly. “I’ll talk to Big Brother about it.”

Her attitude had indeed been dismissive and disrespectful.

If it were another distinguished guest, the nanny wouldn’t dare act like this. But Li Shiyue had been sent down to the countryside for six years and was a daughter of the family; the nanny didn’t know the situation and hadn’t taken it seriously.

Li San-ge was inwardly furious. His little sister—how could it be these servants’ place to slight her?

Seeing the emotion on his face, Ji Xiu knew Li San-ge would handle it and didn’t pursue the matter. He and Li Shiyue changed their shoes, went inside, and sat down on the sofa.

Li San-ge told the nanny to serve tea.

Sensing his displeasure, the nanny didn’t dare make trouble again and obediently brought hot tea.

Li San-ge and Li Shiyue sat facing each other, chatting. After a few sips of tea, just as he was about to reminisce further, the rest of the Li family returned.

A grand reunion scene unfolded in the living room.

It had only been a little over ten minutes since the guard reported their arrival.

From this small detail alone, one could tell how much they cared about Li Shiyue—the only girl of the Li family’s second generation. That was why they’d rushed back in such a hurry, faces even beaded with sweat.

Ji Xiu watched as they surrounded Li Shiyue, touching her face and hair, eyes reddened as they repeated, “It’s good you’re back, it’s good you’re back.” He patted the shoulder of his daughter Yingzi, who stood there wide-eyed, and quietly stayed in the background, saying nothing, waiting for them to calm down.

But there was also a young man in a suit who didn’t crowd over. Instead, he greeted Li San-ge, then calmly greeted Ji Xiu and Ji Yingzi.

Ji Xiu looked up, heard Li San-ge call him “Big Brother,” and suddenly understood.

So this was the Li family’s eldest son—Li Shiyue’s eldest brother. No wonder.

Eldest Brother Li was the backbone of the family. From a young age, he’d been calm and precocious, bearing the role of the true head of the household.

He looked aloof, but in the previous life, he had done his utmost to send money to the original Ji Xiu, sending funds for Ji Yingzi’s medical treatment. Ji Xiu knew that beneath his cold exterior lay deep regard for family.

Ji Xiu smiled and called out, “Big Brother.”

Eldest Brother Li didn’t respond, only scrutinized Ji Xiu from top to bottom.

Ji Xiu said nothing, letting him look.

After all, he had married away the Li family’s fourth miss without ever coming to formally visit his parents-in-law. On his first visit, it was only right to endure a bit more scrutiny.

But little Ji Yingzi couldn’t stand his intimidating gaze. She shrank back and burst into tears on the spot.

Everyone: “…”

Li Shiyue snapped awake at once and turned around. “What’s wrong? Yingzi?”

Ji Xiu was also confused. He patted Yingzi’s back. “Why are you crying?”

Yingzi panicked and lunged forward, burying her face in his arm, wailing, “Waaah—Daddy, that uncle is so scary.”

Eldest Brother Li froze, looking rather awkward.

The rest of the Li family also felt awkward.

Especially Li’s parents—they knew their eldest son had a stern face, but they hadn’t expected him to scare their little granddaughter to tears at the very first meeting.

Only Li San-ge wanted to laugh. He lowered his head, covering his mouth to stifle it.

Ji Xiu also wanted to laugh but held it in, soothing his daughter. “It’s okay. That’s your Big Uncle. Don’t be afraid…”

After a while, comforted by him, Yingzi calmed down. Sniffling, she lifted her head. “But why is Big Uncle so scary? He’s not nice like Third Uncle.”

The corner of Eldest Brother Li’s mouth twitched. He forced an awkward smile and softened his voice. “Yingzi, right? Big Uncle wasn’t being scary.”

He was just used to keeping a straight face at work, worried he couldn’t keep subordinates in line. Over time, he’d stopped smiling much, and that habit carried over.

In truth, he had no dissatisfaction with Ji Xiu and his daughter.

Even if he once thought Ji Xiu unworthy of his little sister, that feeling vanished quickly upon hearing that Ji Xiu had been admitted to Huaqing University.

One’s background couldn’t be chosen. Being admitted to Huaqing already proved his excellence—more than worthy of his sister.

As for the adorable niece his sister had borne, that went without saying.

The entire Li family had been eagerly awaiting her arrival.

Yingzi tilted her head, studying Eldest Brother Li hesitantly. “Really not scary?”

“Really not,” Eldest Brother Li replied firmly.

Yingzi frowned slightly. “Then… okay. It was Yingzi who misunderstood.” She squirmed a little. “Yingzi apologizes. I shouldn’t have cried and scared you.”

Eldest Brother Li froze.

She spoke clearly, logically, with the air of a clever little adult—not at all like an ordinary five-year-old.

The Li family felt the same. But who wouldn’t love such an adorable, well-behaved child?

They fell for her instantly.

Forgetting the earlier incident, they crowded around, lifting Yingzi up and coaxing her.

Little Ji Yingzi was overwhelmed by the adults’ affectionate bombardment. Dazed, shy, and a bit embarrassed by their praise and loving gazes, she quickly steadied herself, remembering Ji Xiu’s words. She began calling each of them sweetly by name.

“Grandpa, Grandma, Second Uncle, Third Uncle…”

The Li family was overjoyed and said to Li Shiyue, “Shiyue, Yingzi is just too well-behaved.”

Li Shiyue, suddenly neglected, didn’t mind at all. She smiled. “Yingzi has always been very well-behaved.”

At those words, Li San-ge froze, eyes unfocused, as if recalling something. His expression turned faintly tearful.

But he quickly regained control, wiped his face, and covered it up.

Ji Xiu raised an eyebrow and withdrew his quiet, observant gaze.

After a while, following Li Shiyue and Ji Yingzi, it was finally Ji Xiu’s turn to take center stage.

Li Shiyue’s eyes were still a bit red from crying, but her face was full of pride. Chin lifted, and she introduced Ji Xiu one by one.

“Dad, Mom, Big Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother—this is Ji Xiu,” she said proudly. “I was able to get into Huaqing University because he tutored me all along. He’s the top scorer in our city.”

This was news to the Li family. They were immediately surprised.

They’d only known that both daughter and son-in-law were admitted to Huaqing and had assumed their daughter had kept up her studies in the countryside and then taught her husband.

They hadn’t expected it to be the other way around.

That was truly unexpected.

They couldn’t help but examine Ji Xiu more closely, trying to see what kind of person he was.

Leaving everything else aside, Ji Xiu’s looks alone were quite outstanding—otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to win Li Shiyue’s heart.

When he wasn’t playing the hooligan and stood quietly, there was a scholarly elegance about him. Coupled with years of experience and bearing, he was even more remarkable.

Ignoring his clothes, no one would guess he’d come from the countryside.

After watching for a long time, the Li family felt an inexplicable admiration.

Some even thought, fleetingly, that Li Shiyue might not quite be worthy of him…

But now that he was already their son-in-law, there was no reason to let him go. They quickly cast aside the thought and began chatting with Ji Xiu.

The more they talked, the more they sensed how extraordinary he was.

He wasn’t knowledgeable about every topic, but he never pretended to be. Instead, he chatted in an easy, humorous way that put people at ease, making them want to open up and explain things to him in detail.

And so, effortlessly, he gleaned everything he wanted to know from others, then smoothly continued the conversation.

At first, the Li family didn’t notice anything amiss. They just wanted to ask about the Ji family.

Five minutes later, when they finally heard the name Huang Taohua, they realized something was wrong.

In those five minutes, they hadn’t gotten much information at all. Instead, they’d been following Ji Xiu’s lead, introducing their own family situation to him.

His conversational ability was simply astonishing.

Eldest Brother Li, whose work relied heavily on rhetoric, understood this skill best—and was the most surprised.

With such an ability, if Ji Xiu were willing to enter politics, he’d surely be welcomed everywhere, unstoppable, treated as a trusted confidant by all.

What a pity he’d applied to Huaqing University rather than Capital University.

Eldest Brother Li sighed inwardly, feeling regret.

While the Li family each harbored their own astonishment, Ji Xiu had also obtained the information he wanted.

From the moment he’d seen the guards outside, he’d sensed something was off.

In his memories of the previous life, there’d never been any mention of Li Shiyue’s family being so powerful.

Now he learned that the Li family had only risen and moved into the compound in the past two or three years.

Because letter writing wasn’t safe in those days, their letters to Li Shiyue hadn’t gone into detail—only vaguely mentioning the situation. Li Shiyue hadn’t understood and had remained completely unaware.

And in the previous life, after Ji Yingzi was scalded, they’d sent money—but not much. There were likely two reasons.

First, the Li family didn’t care much about Li Shiyue and Ji Yingzi.

This could be ruled out after today. If the Li family had money, they definitely wouldn’t have held back.

Second, something had happened to the Li family, leaving them without money.

Ji Xiu felt the second possibility was more likely.

If something were to happen, it would probably be within the next two months.

In the previous life, Ji Yingzi had fallen into a pot of porridge exactly two months later.

Li Shiyue had scraped together money everywhere, writing home to beg for help. They’d sent money, but it wasn’t enough to cover hospital stays, medication, and surgery.

What exactly had happened?

Ji Xiu sank into thought.

And Li San-ge—his constant hints of strangeness—could it be related?

…

They stayed at the Li home for a day and ate two meals.

When it was time to leave, the Li family tried to persuade them to stay, but Ji Xiu and Li Shiyue declined, explaining they had to go to school to complete enrollment procedures the next day and would visit again afterward.

The Li family reluctantly agreed.

Staying longer wouldn’t help anyway—they all had jobs. Today, they’d only been able to accompany them by taking leave. There was no way to keep them company indefinitely.

But sending them off like this still felt hard to bear.

Li San-ge raised his hand. “I’m free. I can go see them. Our schools are right next to each other.”

Eldest Brother Li glanced at him and nodded. “That works.”

Li San-ge immediately beamed, grinning at Ji Yingzi like a big-tailed wolf.

“Yingzi, Third Uncle will come visit you and treat you to candy, okay?”

Ji Yingzi nodded politely and replied in a sweet voice, “Okay.”

In truth, over the past half year, Ji Xiu had earned money and bought her candy every day. She’d never lacked sweets and wasn’t nearly as excited about candy as other kids.

But she considered herself a mature little baby. Even if she didn’t want candy, she could still make adults happy—so she agreed.

As expected, Li San-ge was delighted, his eyes full of pride.

Proud… proud… then he suddenly sensed something off. His expression stiffened. He slipped away from the crowd, patted his own cheeks, and muttered softly, “Am I too stupid? Did my body get smaller and my mind childish too?”

Ji Xiu’s ears twitched. His gaze lightly swept over Li San-ge.

…

A few days later, after Ji Xiu and Li Shiyue finished their enrollment procedures and arranged Ji Yingzi’s registration at the neighborhood kindergarten, they finally wrapped up their immediate tasks.

Upon hearing the news, Li San-ge couldn’t wait to come over.

This time, he didn’t come alone—he brought a young woman with him.

She wore a red dress, light makeup, a high ponytail, vibrant and eye-catching—especially striking in an era of muted colors.

The moment she entered, she introduced herself openly.

“Hello, I’m Zhang Jingjing.”

Ji Xiu and Li Shiyue froze.

Li San-ge, holding gifts and blushing slightly, explained awkwardly, “Jingjing is my girlfriend. I was bringing things over, ran into her on the way, and she came along.”

Jingjing smiled brightly. “Yes. We’re getting married soon. I heard he was coming to see you, so I followed along to take a look.”

Ji Xiu put on a look of sudden realization and invited them inside to sit.

…

Ji Xiu had always felt Li San-ge was strange, but at the Li home, it hadn’t been appropriate to probe in front of the family.

Now that Li San-ge had come knocking himself, things were different.

Once seated on the sofa, Ji Xiu smiled warmly, guiding him into conversation.

Li San-ge and Zhang Jingjing had no defenses up at all. They only felt Ji Xiu was interesting, a pleasant person to talk to, completely unaware they were being gently peeled apart, and soon revealed quite a bit.

Zhang Jingjing posed no issues.

The problem lay with Li San-ge.

At noon, Ji Xiu invited them to stay for lunch. Li Shiyue went to cook, and Zhang Jingjing, embarrassed to sit idle, went along to help.

Only Ji Xiu and Li San-ge remained in the living room.

Ji Xiu suddenly said, “Third Brother, I think there’s something strange about you.”

Li San-ge froze.

Ji Xiu smiled. “The way you treat Yingzi—and Zhang Jingjing—it’s not quite the same.”

Li San-ge’s expression slowly stiffened. “…”

He hadn’t expected that something even Big Brother hadn’t noticed would be seen through by Ji Xiu, an outsider.

In truth, Li San-ge had a secret he dared tell no one—and didn’t want to tell.

He had been reborn.

About half a month ago, he’d received his university admission letter. Overcome with excitement at the chance to return to the city, he’d blacked out.

When he woke up, he carried memories of a future life.

Those memories told him that in one month, Big Brother would lose a political struggle, implicating the family. Everyone would be dismissed, falling so low they couldn’t even afford his tuition.

Two months later, his little niece Yingzi would fall into a pot of porridge, suffering severe burns, her life hanging by a thread.

To save her, the family would borrow money everywhere and send it all to his little sister—but it still wouldn’t be enough.

The surgery would miss the optimal window, complications would erupt.

He would give up his university education, working with his family to pay off debts and send money.

Years later, Yingzi’s condition would improve enough for another surgery. To raise medical funds, his brother-in-law would go astray, embarking on a path of no return.

Though Yingzi would be saved, his sister would refuse to return to the capital, insisting on staying in the countryside to guard her husband’s grave. She would fall ill and die, leaving a letter begging them to care for her daughter.

The family would rush to the countryside to pick up Yingzi, delayed by one day along the way. When they arrived, Yingzi was gone.

For the next twenty years, they would search for her.

Years later, Big Brother would be reinstated, and the family’s fortunes would gradually improve.

Big Brother’s only daughter, Li Shengsheng, upright and righteous, would display exceptional talent in interpersonal dealings. Recommended by her father, she would enter a related department and shine brilliantly.

Her childhood sweetheart shared her ideals. Together, the two were unstoppable, dismantling countless criminal dens.

One year, she encountered a particularly difficult case. While pursuing it across provinces with her partner, she called him on her return and said she’d seen a female drug lord whose unscarred half-face looked exactly like her deceased little aunt.

He was stunned, restless, waiting for Shengsheng to return and explain in detail.

He waited a day and a night—only to receive news that Shengsheng’s car had been attacked, a tire blown out, plunging off a cliff.

The one who did it was that very female drug lord—who might have been his long-lost niece…

The shock was too great. Li San-ge blacked out.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself back in the 1970s.

Everything—everything—had yet to happen.

He was ecstatic, grateful beyond words, vowing to save all those tragedies.

Returning to the capital, he didn’t even have time to put down his luggage before planning to write to his little sister, urging her to watch over Yingzi carefully and prevent the horrors of the previous life.

But then he heard Big Brother say that his little sister had been admitted to Huaqing University and would be home soon.

Li San-ge: “…”

Still muddled and half-believing, he accepted this for the moment. Then he remembered Big Brother’s coming political defeat and urgently warned him to beware of the Guan family, who would collude with the Zhang family to frame him.

Big Brother looked at him strangely and said, “I was just about to introduce the Zhang family’s eldest daughter to you.”

Li San-ge: “W-what?”

“I wrote urging you to come back quickly because of her. Mr. Zhang is gravely ill and wants to find his daughter a suitable husband, passing his connections and assets to her husband. There were originally two candidates—you and Guan Ji’an. But Guan Ji’an failed the college entrance exam and couldn’t return to the capital, so only you were left.”

Li San-ge was dazed. “Why didn’t I know?”

In his previous life, he’d never heard of this.

Big Brother replied righteously, “We were afraid you’d dodge it, so we planned to tell you after you came back.”

Then, somewhat annoyed, he added, “And you still have the nerve to say it. We told you to hurry back, but you dawdled on the road and delayed so long.”

Then came the arranged meeting—with Miss Zhang, Zhang Jingjing.

Zhang Jingjing was lively and adorable. He fell in love at first sight, feeling both affection and pity.

In his previous life, Zhang Jingjing had indeed married Guan Ji’an. But with the Guan family’s ambition, once they gained the Zhang family’s power, how could they keep her?

Five years after marrying Guan Ji’an, Zhang Jingjing committed suicide from depression.

The news circulated briefly among upper circles, then was quickly forgotten.

He’d only heard bits and pieces.

In his previous life, family troubles had delayed his marriage, and he’d never wed. He never imagined that in a second life, he’d find love.

Nor had he imagined that his secret would be seen through by Ji Xiu.