Vol 2 Chapter 5: No More Mistakes

After questioning An Yuanyao and Liu Changqing about what had just happened, Li Quanzhang stepped out of the alley to make a phone call. Once everything was settled, he prepared to take An Yuanyao home.

Liu Changqing, who had intervened bravely, had managed to stop his nosebleed and stood there dumbly watching as the three of them got into the car and drove away. From the car window, he saw the girl named An Yuanyao lean out and look back at him. She seemed to want to say something, but ultimately didn't utter a word before sitting back down inside.

Watching the departing vehicle, Liu Changqing pushed his old bicycle along. He muttered to himself, "Not even going to give me a ride home..."

Inside the car, Li Wanran silently turned her head to look at An Yuanyao sitting beside her. Even now, her complexion wasn't quite back to normal—it seemed the earlier incident had left some psychological trauma.

An Yuanyao didn't notice Li Wanran's gaze. Lost in thought, she sat with her head slightly lowered, staring at her hands. Time passed slowly as the two girls sat in the cramped car, each lost in their own thoughts, until An Yuanyao finally broke the silence.

Gazing blankly at her palms, An Yuanyao found Liu Changqing's figure flashing unbidden through her mind—how he'd returned to the alley wielding a brick, how he'd fought back against the group surrounding him. That dark-skinned boy...

"Wanran..." she called softly.

Then An Yuanyao lifted her head to look at Li Wanran, who was also staring at her. After hesitating a moment, she asked, "His name... is Liu Changqing, right?"

"......"

Hearing this question, Li Wanran looked into An Yuanyao's eyes, seeing the faint hope reflected there. In that moment, she suddenly realized: perhaps her appearance had disrupted the original course of history. The two of them... had met ahead of time.

A complicated emotion welled up inside her. Li Wanran first averted her gaze from An Yuanyao, then turned to look out the car window instead. Watching the scenery flash by outside, she finally responded after a long pause, "Mm..."

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After driving An Yuanyao home first, Li Quanzhang found An Quancheng and explained what had happened. An Quancheng didn't say anything—just checked his daughter for injuries and, confirming there was no serious harm done, stormed into the kitchen with a dark expression to grab a knife before heading for the door.

Fortunately, An Yuanyao's mother stopped him before things could escalate. Before the situation deteriorated further, Li Quanzhang took Li Wanran and left the premises. Driving back home, the car passed through the opened iron gates before coming to a stop.

Li Wanran got out alone and walked toward the front door. Pushing it open, she stepped inside.

"You're back," came the voice from the sofa. Li Zhengmao stubbed out his cigarette without turning to look, yet knew it was his daughter who had returned.

Hearing her father's words, Li Wanran's footsteps slowed considerably as she entered. She didn't answer immediately, instead looking around at the surroundings that felt both familiar and strange...

"Dad..."

"Come here."

At this, Li Wanran walked over and sat on the sofa beside her father. Only then did she realize why he hadn't turned to look at her when she came in—because right now, Li Zhengmao had a small box placed before him.

To be precise, it was a music box. The kind that would play a tune when wound up, with a little ballerina doll on top that would spin in circles to the music. Seeing her father fiddling with this object...

"I had a friend bring this back from abroad," he said.

As he wound the mechanism, the music box began to play. At the same time, Li Zhengmao shifted his gaze from it to his daughter beside him. His stern expression melted away, replaced by a smile.

"Nice, isn't it? I thought you'd like it."

"......"

"What's wrong? Don't you like it?"

"It's not that..."

Lifting a hand to wipe at the corner of her eye, Li Wanran suddenly felt the urge to cry upon seeing this father who had been dead for so long. She still remembered how rarely he had come home during her high school years due to work...

Seeing his daughter like this, Li Zhengmao seemed about to say something when suddenly, the sound of something being smashed came from upstairs. The smile vanished from his face instantly. Without a word, Li Zhengmao stood up from the sofa and strode toward the staircase.

Li Wanran acted as though she hadn't noticed her father leaving. Her eyes remained fixed on the music box before her. Before long, the sounds of her parents arguing upstairs reached her ears—especially her mother's voice, every word crystal clear:

"Don't touch me!"

"Wife..."

"Why did you have to come back? Why did you have to appear before me?!"

"......"

The familiar scene played out once more. Li Wanran didn't seem startled. She simply kept staring at the music box, listening as its melody mingled with the shouting from upstairs.

Watching... the little doll inside the music box. The doll trapped inside the music box.

This time... she wouldn't make the same mistakes again.

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Meanwhile, Liu Changqing eventually made it home. The moment he stepped inside, his mother noticed the injuries on his face and was heartbroken. As the family's only child, Liu Changqing's body was deeply cherished by his parents.

Though their financial situation wasn't great, the couple did their utmost to provide for him, never stinting on food, clothing or necessities. They'd even set aside a room for him in their already small house. During dinner, they would always ask what he felt like eating.

All this made Liu Changqing feel both flattered and... somewhat afraid. He knew perfectly well that this couple doted on the original owner of this body. Though he'd come to this world and inherited the original's memories... he wasn't truly this world's Liu Changqing.

For reasons even he didn't understand, after eating just a few bites, Liu Changqing excused himself under the pretense of doing homework and escaped from the dinner table. Back in his room, he lay down on the bed, thinking back over the day's events—why had he appeared in this world...

His thoughts began to wander. He thought of Li Wanran... of An Yuanyao... and also of that scrawny boy squatting at the alley entrance, brick in hand.

"......"

Lying flat on the bed, he suddenly sat bolt upright after who knows how long, frowning deeply in bewilderment. For some inexplicable reason, the mere thought of that guy's face made him want to punch him. Yet from the original's memories, he knew they'd never interacted before.

So then... why this urge to hit him?

How strange...