NOVPUBLiu Changqing was deeply puzzled.
Based on the memories in his mind, the parents of this body did indeed die in a car accident, and the truck driver who was driving fatigued had been properly punished.
But as for Ye Rong being somehow involved — that part, he hadn’t known.
When the parents died, the original Liu Changqing hadn’t divorced Li Wanran yet.
Humans… are strange creatures.
They often prefer to believe the conclusions they’ve drawn themselves.
What seemed like a coincidental accident, in Liu Changqing’s mind, had already become a judgment passed on Ye Rong. In just a short span, he’d pinned the blame for his parents’ death on her.
Already disgusted with Ye Rong to begin with, the moment Liu Changqing caught wind of anything suspicious regarding his parents’ death, he didn’t care what the actual truth was—
In his heart, he had already decided: Ye Rong had something to do with it.
And in that moment, the last bit of hesitation in Liu Changqing’s heart disappeared completely.
The man standing in front of him, watching Liu Changqing’s serious expression, had no idea what was going through his head during those few short seconds.
As a fellow villager, he and Liu Changqing hadn’t interacted much growing up — he’d just looked after him a bit when Liu Changqing was still a little kid.
He wasn’t even that much older than Liu Changqing, but life had made him look years beyond his age.
Looking at Liu Changqing’s face, a memory suddenly resurfaced.
When someone from the Li family had come to pick up Liu Changqing’s parents, the two of them had been smiling.
When they left, they’d chatted with the neighbors—
Saying they’d only be gone for a few days, and that they were just taking their son back to visit.
Who would’ve thought that trip would be a one-way journey? That it would end in tragedy — with the driver and all three people in the car losing their lives.
Life’s hard…
The man sighed, lit another cigarette, and the sound of the lighter flicking snapped Liu Changqing out of his thoughts.
Before Liu Changqing could say anything, the man, cigarette between his lips, spoke again.
“You going back home for New Year’s?”
“……”
Liu Changqing understood exactly what “going home” meant here.
He thought for a moment, then nodded.
“Yeah.”
“Alright, that’s good…”
The man took another drag, his eyes flicking toward Liu Changqing like he was debating whether to say something.
Liu Changqing noticed the hesitation, so he didn’t rush to leave just yet.
It wasn’t until the cigarette was nearly finished that the man finally took a deep breath, like he was summoning courage and swallowing his pride.
He opened his mouth and started speaking, stammering a bit.
“Changqing… uh, could you… lend me some money?”
“You…”
“Not much, just twenty thousand yuan. My mother-in-law’s getting discharged soon, but afterward…”
As he spoke, his voice got quieter.
Asking to borrow money was never an easy thing. If he hadn’t truly run out of options, he wouldn’t have approached a long-lost acquaintance like this.
He still remembered the gossip back in the village — people said Liu Changqing was doing well out in the world, even had his own factory…
That’s why, when he saw Liu Changqing outside the hospital earlier, he’d decided to strike up a conversation.
Now, after finally getting the words out, he felt awkward under Liu Changqing’s gaze — maybe even a little ashamed. Afraid of being turned down, he hurriedly added,
“When you go back for New Year’s… I’ll repay half first. I can write you an IOU.”
“Alright.”
Looking at this man — whom he didn’t really remember — Liu Changqing didn’t reject him. After all, twenty thousand wasn’t a huge amount for him right now.
But still, proper procedure was necessary.
Once he got the green light, the man grabbed Liu Changqing and asked a nurse for pen and paper, then wrote out an IOU on the spot.
Liu Changqing watched him write every word carefully, then signed his own name. After folding the paper, he slipped it into his pocket.
Then Liu Changqing drove the man to the bank to withdraw the money and brought him back to the hospital.
After they parted ways, Liu Changqing returned to his son’s hospital room.
He looked at Liu Zhiyue, who was already asleep in bed.
After standing there for a moment, Liu Changqing pulled over a chair and sat by the bed.
He quietly stared at his son’s face.
This was the first time he had looked so closely at his own child. Ever since the two of them lost weight, the kid really had become quite handsome.
Though he usually acted like he had all sorts of thoughts brewing in his head — more mature than other kids his age — at this moment, watching his son sleep peacefully, Liu Changqing suddenly found him… kind of cute.
Realizing that, he kept staring at his son’s face, unable to help himself.
There was still a touch of boyishness on that face. Even though he always looked like he understood everything, he clearly had a mind of his own. Not only was he good-looking, but his grades were exceptional too.
And on top of that, he had a few pretty girls hanging around him…
Before he knew it, a satisfied smile crept onto Liu Changqing’s face.
This was his own son — blood of his blood. And being this outstanding, it was only natural that, as a father, he’d feel proud.
Sometimes, Liu Changqing thought… if life were a web novel, then his son would definitely be a textbook protagonist. In that case… he himself would be the protagonist’s dad.
And just like that, the faint smile on his face froze.
The expression on his face turned serious, and his brows drew together. 𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝙤𝒎
Something had occurred to him.
Liu Zhiyue was his son — and he was too exceptional. If he drew on everything he remembered from novels, then the protagonist’s father… usually didn’t end well.
Thinking back…
Ever since arriving in this world, all Liu Changqing had dealt with were one mess after another — a chaotic string of disasters…
Could it be!
At that thought, Liu Changqing’s gaze toward his son became a little complicated.
Deep down, a thought surfaced:
Don’t tell me… I’m going to be sacrificed for plot development?
The IV drip was almost finished, but Liu Changqing hadn’t noticed. His mind was spiraling with ridiculous thoughts.
It wasn’t until the nurse came in with a replacement bag that he snapped out of it. He quickly stood up to let her switch the IV, then stared thoughtfully at her back as she left.
After a few moments of silent thinking, Liu Changqing gently woke his sleeping son.
After one full bag of fluid, Liu Zhiyue was feeling much better — that foggy sensation in his head was starting to clear up. Hearing his dad calling him, he slowly opened his eyes.
He asked softly,
“Dad… what is it?”
Right after saying that, Liu Zhiyue noticed something was off. His father was staring at him with this strange look on his face.
Then he said,
“Let’s go. I’ll call the nurse. You hold up the IV bottle in the car.”
“Huh?”
Hearing that, Liu Zhiyue let out a confused “huh,” totally baffled.
