## Chapter 3 It’s Him?!

Wen Zhile wanted to probe further, but before she could open her mouth, a line of words appeared above the man’s head: [Sister, don’t waste your breath. Just tell him your purpose. He has water and dry food in his car. You can eat.]

Wen Zhile hadn’t eaten or drunk anything all morning, and she had been beaten and scolded by Zhang Danhua. Her condition was truly worrisome.

She paused for a moment, choosing to trust it.

“Hello, Comrade Zhou. My surname is Wen.”

Wen Zhile carefully chose her words, expressing her desire to hitch a ride.  She added that she would pay for the ride.

Zhou Jihuai’s eyebrows twitched slightly. His gaze lingered on Wen Zhile’s ill-fitting clothes, then he observed her small frame and thin hands.

This little girl seemed to have suffered a lot. Her face was sallow, her chin was pointed, and she had hardly any flesh on her bones, almost skin and bones.

“Get in.”

With those two brief words, Wen Zhile didn’t hesitate. She immediately went around to the other side and got into the car.

The back seat was occupied by a long wooden box, so she could only sit in the passenger seat.

After buckling her seatbelt, the jeep continued driving.

Wen Zhile looked towards the middle of the seat.

Zhou Jihuai noticed her out of the corner of his eye and handed her the water bottle with one hand. “The dry food is in the back seat. You can get it yourself.”

He was offering her food and drink, but Wen Zhile hesitated.

Zhou Jihuai added, “You can pay me whatever you think is fair.”

Wen Zhile nodded.

She had always believed that, aside from family, one shouldn’t accept anything for free from strangers. It was either a debt of gratitude or a trick.

She didn’t want to owe this strange comrade too much. If she could exchange money for it, it would be best.

She was truly starving. She immediately turned around to grab the food.

As she moved, her sleeve slid back, revealing her wrist, a patchwork of old and new injuries. Zhou Jihuai’s gaze lingered on it for a moment before he subtly looked away.

Had she been abused in Jianghe Village?

“I’m not taking any of the roads out of the village. I’m going straight out of the mountains and into the county. Where do you want to get off?”

Wen Zhile was eager to get as far away from Jianghe Village as possible. “I’ll get off in the county. Thank you.”

Zhou Jihuai nodded.

He wasn’t a warmhearted person. He didn’t talk much.

He rarely did a good deed. After asking her destination, he didn’t say another word.

Wen Zhile quietly ate the dry food. After she was full, she didn’t speak, but she secretly reached into her cloth bag, pulled out some money, and clenched it in her hand.

The bruises and swelling on her body, along with the pain in her feet, were constant reminders that she had truly been reborn.

In this life, Dai Nuan had taken her place, usurping her parents and friends.

Anger surged through her. Dai Nuan was only three years old when her parents came to pick her up. The impersonation was likely orchestrated by the Dai family.

But in her previous life, the Dai family had sent her back without any trouble. What was the variable that had changed things?

“Does your hand hurt?” Zhou Jihuai suddenly asked, interrupting Wen Zhile’s deep thoughts.

She hadn’t expected Zhou Jihuai to be so observant. She turned to look at him.

The man was remarkably handsome. He had sharp eyebrows, deep eyes, a high nose bridge, thin lips, and shallow, smooth double eyelids. His aura was already sharp, and his gaze was even colder. “You can let go of the seatbelt.”

Wen Zhile instantly released the seatbelt.

The anger in her heart needed an outlet, so she unconsciously tightened her hand, gripping the hard buckle of the seatbelt, wanting to make her hand hurt. “Thank you.”

Zhou Jihuai hummed in acknowledgment.

About half an hour later, the jeep drove into Jianghe County. He glanced at the roadsides, looking for a parking spot. He casually asked, “Do you want to take the bus?”

“Yes, I need to go to the bus station to buy a ticket.”

Wen Zhile handed him the money. She was stunned when she saw the denomination. It was a hundred yuan bill, issued in May 1988. How did she have money from the Dai family in her cloth bag? Wen Zhile wanted to laugh at the thought. After sincerely thanking him, she handed him the money. “I don’t have any change. Could you please give me change?”

Zhou Jihuai looked at the money, then at the bag she was holding.

A hundred yuan was not something a thin, pale little girl should have.

Had she stolen money to escape? It didn’t seem likely.

This little girl had clear eyes. She didn’t look like that kind of person.

He thought for a moment. He was the one who brought her out, and he would be responsible if anything happened to her. “Where are you going to buy a ticket to?”

Zhou Jihuai’s voice was cold, which, combined with his cool features, made him appear unapproachable.

Wen Zhile hesitated for a moment.

Her uncle was the commander of the North Military District in Jingzhou City. Because of him, she had interacted with military personnel in her previous life, mostly her uncle’s orderlies and guards.

They were all friendly, and most soldiers were trustworthy, but there were always a few bad apples.

She didn’t say anything, and Zhou Jihuai didn’t urge her.

This girl had escaped alone, and it was good that she was cautious.

After waiting for a while, Wen Zhile finally answered, “To Jingzhou City.”

Surprise flickered in Zhou Jihuai’s eyes. “I’m going there too. I can give you a ride.”

[Sister, don’t be afraid. He’s afraid something will happen to you, and it will cause him trouble if it’s traced back to him, so he’s going to see you safely to your destination.]

[You can agree to his offer. Nothing will happen.]

[My name is Xiao Jiu. You can talk to me silently, just think it. You don’t need to speak out loud.]

[I can’t make a sound. I can only communicate with you through text. These words are only visible to you.]

Watching the words slowly disappear, Wen Zhile’s thoughts raced. “Comrade Zhou, thank you so much.”

She handed him the money again.

“You’re welcome.” Zhou Jihuai took the hundred-yuan bill.

It took two hours to drive from Jianghe County to Jingzhou City. After an hour, the jeep stopped by the side of the road. Wen Zhile accurately guessed what Zhou Jihuai was going to do.

Sure enough, he picked up the dry food.

He ate slowly and gracefully, with good manners, just like the way Wen Zhile ate.

Zhou Jihuai had already begun to suspect something.

Could this little girl have been kidnapped from a big city and taken to the countryside? But if she had been kidnapped, how could she be going to school?

Wen Zhile noticed his thoughts and felt that they were related to her. After a while, he switched the dry food to his other hand. Subconsciously, she handed him the water bottle.

It seemed like a habit she had developed in the Dai family, observing their expressions and trying not to be beaten. Wen Zhile uncomfortably pursed her lips, determined to break this habit.

Zhou Jihuai’s hand paused slightly. He thanked her and took the water bottle.

This little girl was so perceptive. What kind of life had she lived in Jianghe Village?

While he was thinking, a line of words appeared in front of Wen Zhile:

[Sister, this is a silent understanding between those with good fortune. It has nothing to do with others.]

[He’s another person with good fortune in the original world, so you can guess his thoughts.]

Wen Zhile suddenly realized. “He died in his previous life too, and before me?”

[Yes, yes.]

Wen Zhile looked at Zhou Jihuai again, feeling a sense of melancholy, like a rabbit mourning a fox.

According to Xiao Jiu, those with good fortune wouldn’t die young unless they met with an accident.

But… thankfully, he died early, otherwise, she wouldn’t have been reborn.

“Comrade Zhou, would you mind telling me your full name? I want to visit your parents at home and thank them for your help.”

She wanted to see if she had heard of him in her previous life.

He was a soldier. Looking at his shoulder boards, he was a colonel. Maybe he served in the North Military District? Such a young colonel dying, her uncle wouldn’t have been able to avoid feeling regret. He might have mentioned his death.

Zhou Jihuai didn’t look at her, but he sensed a hint of sadness in her tone.

This little girl was quite strange.

“My full name is Zhou Jihuai. Zhou is the common surname, Ji is my given name, and Huai is from the Huai River.”

Wen Zhile’s eyes widened. This name sent shockwaves through her heart.

It’s him?!

She had heard the origin of this name in her previous life. “Zhou Ji” was her parents’ surname, and the character “Huai” was because he was born on the banks of the Huai River.

Could this Comrade Zhou really be the Zhou Jihuai she remembered?