Extra 3.2

Jiang Rou regretted her words as soon as she said them.

She realized that the Li Xiao in front of her looked much younger than the Li Xiao she had seen in her previous life.

The two of them exchanged glances from a distance, both eyes scrutinizing the other.

“Daddy—”

A sudden interruption broke their silent exchange.

The man shifted his gaze to his little daughter, then he noticed the changes in her.

His daughter was wearing a cute outfit that fits her well—clean and tidy, her hair was styled beautifully, secured with two strings of colorful beads, and she wore a smile he had never seen before.

He remembered that Xiao Feng had always been shy, with her head bowed, and she was so timid that he didn’t dare to speak loudly to her.

But now, she had an air of lively energy about her.

Li Xiao’s gaze paused.

Jiang Rou also realized at this Moment… it was not Xiao(Surname) Feng, but Xiao(Little) Feng.

Yes, according to the information about Li Xiao, his daughter was named Li Feng, and she had misheard it.

It turned out she had transmigrated as Li Xiao’s ex-wife, “Jiang Rou.”

Could it be that the dream was actually real?

Instantly, Jiang Rou felt unsettled.

—o—o—o—

Li Xiao served himself a bowl of noodles with nothing in it; no toppings nor meat, and he sat at the table, burying his head in eating.

Jiang Rou watched him silently.

The little girl saw that there was nothing in her father’s bowl, so she slid down from Jiang Rou’s lap and trotted into the kitchen to fetch a bottle of sauce. She held it up high and said, “Daddy, eat this. It’s the sauce Mommy made. Grandma Ma said it’s especially delicious.”

Li Xiao glanced at it, grunted in acknowledgment, and reached for the sauce but did not open it, instead placing it beside the bowl.

The little girl climbed back onto her mother’s lap, and Jiang Rou settled her comfortably.

Once she was seated, she noticed her father wasn’t eating and couldn’t help but ask, “Daddy, aren’t you eating?”

Li Xiao’s chopsticks paused in their movement. “Daddy doesn’t like to eat.”

Jiang Rou noticed that even when eating, his body remained tense. For some reason, she felt that it wasn’t that he didn’t like eating, but that he was cautious about eating things given by others—including his own daughter…

The little girl obediently said “Oh” in response.

Jiang Rou sat across from him, silent and uneasy, her bottom growing a bit numb from sitting.

Unable to remain still, she shifted slightly, and the man across from her immediately raised his gaze, his eyes deep and intense.

It felt as if she were being scrutinized like prey.

Although he appeared to be in his twenties, she found herself repeatedly comparing him to the Li Xiao she had seen before—completely ignoring his youthful appearance.

Jiang Rou stiffened briefly, and then both of them averted their eyes, lapsing into silence. Only the little girl seemed genuinely happy.

After finishing his noodles, the man went to the kitchen. Jiang Rou heard the sound of washing dishes and, after a Moment of hesitation, she carried the little girl to the back kitchen and stood by the door. She whispered, “I need to give Xiao Feng a bath.”

Li Xiao, wiping a pan with a cloth, glanced at her briefly when he heard her and gave a soft acknowledgment.

He then placed the cloth down and quietly left.

As he passed by Jiang Rou, she instinctively took a step back.

The man continued walking, and Jiang Rou watched his retreating figure, noting that he walked almost silently, which made her frown slightly.

Jiang Rou gave the little girl a bath with a heavy heart, feeling that she had overlooked something.

After bathing the little girl and bringing her back to the room, Jiang Rou also took a shower. Halfway through, she suddenly remembered what she had overlooked.

If she remembered correctly, the information stated that Li Xiao’s mother had called him to return after his ex-wife ran away.

But this time, she hadn’t run away…

So, how did he come back?

Jiang Rou’s heart skipped a beat.

After finishing her shower and returning to the room, she heard the sound of flushing from the yard. Shortly after, Li Xiao entered the room.

He paused when he saw the only bed.

The little girl was the happiest of all; she patted the bed and said, “Daddy, come up quickly.”

Li Xiao looked up at Jiang Rou, and she met his gaze. Neither of them spoke.

Li Xiao calmly got onto the bed. Seeing this, Jiang Rou moved over to make space.

The little girl tilted her head back, smiling at Li Xiao. “Daddy, why are you back?”

Jiang Rou was also curious about this and couldn’t help but glance at him again.

The man didn’t say much and simply replied, “I had to do something.”

“Oh.”

The little girl obediently nodded.

She was excited to see her father come back and roll around in the middle of the bed, glancing at her mother one Moment and then turning to look at her father the next. Seeing them both there made her especially happy.

Jiang Rou saw that the little girl’s stomach was exposed from playing and reached out to pull her clothes down, then took the thin blanket covering her stomach, and gently patted her. “It’s late, time for bed.”

Although the little girl liked her father a lot, she spent little time with him. Especially with the recent changes in her mother, she now favored the gentle mother she had at the Moment.

She snuggled closer to Jiang Rou, softly trying to please her. “Mommy, I still want to hear a story.”

These past few days, her mother had been telling her stories before bedtime, which she really enjoyed.

At this moment, Jiang Rou was not in the mood to tell a story, but seeing the little girl’s eager eyes, she steeled herself and began, “Once upon a time, there was a girl named Cinderella, who originally had a very happy family…”

As she continued, Jiang Rou found herself wishing she could bite her own tongue, feeling she was being incredibly foolish.

This was a Western fairy tale that everyone knew in later times, but twenty years ago, in a remote county, not many people would have known about it, especially given that Li Xiao’s ex-wife’s family didn’t seem to be well-off.

She wondered if it might raise any suspicions.

However, her master had said that Li Xiao was a very intelligent and cautious person. If he was going to suspect anything, he would have noticed something wrong by now.

Jiang Rou anxiously tried to recall if she had given anything away.

Then she realized that she seemed to be different from the original Jiang Rou in every way.

“…”

‘It shouldn’t be too obvious, right?’

Li Xiao was sitting outside, drying his hair, and with his peripheral vision, he noticed the woman inside had a look of frustration.

There was a hint of understanding in his eyes.

After drying his hair, he lay down.

Jiang Rou, lying inside, noticed the little girl had already fallen asleep in the middle and quickly lay down as well. She whispered, “Please turn off the light. Thank you.”

Li Xiao didn’t respond, but he reached over and pulled the light switch.

The room was instantly enveloped in darkness. After lying there for a while, Jiang Rou suddenly began to regret her request. She realized that with the light on, she could at least see the man who was lying on the outside; now, with the light off, she couldn’t sense his presence at all.

She could only hear the little girl’s breathing beside her, while Li Xiao was completely silent—as if he didn’t exist.

Jiang Rou couldn’t fall asleep.

She thought a lot in her mind and became increasingly convinced that something was off about Li Xiao. He must have heard what she accidentally said in the afternoon, yet he showed no reaction. Moreover, why did he come back at this time? It was as if he had known “Jiang Rou” was going to run away.

At this time, the train was not moving fast, and there was a transfer involved. A trip from G Province took several days, so he should have left on the very day of the original’s elopement at the earliest.

Of course, there was also the possibility of flying, but plane tickets were expensive. Would he spend that kind of money?

Jiang Rou had a troubling suspicion while she was taking a shower earlier—she wondered if Li Xiao had also traveled through time.

No, he should be considered reborn.

It wasn’t strange for Jiang Rou to have such a thought; if she could travel through time, why couldn’t Li Xiao be reborn?

The more she thought about it, the less she could sleep.

After hesitating for quite some time, she finally asked: “Are you reborn?”

Thinking he might not understand if he hadn’t read novels, she rephrased, “Did you come here after getting into a car accident?”

The man lying on the outside didn’t respond, but Jiang Rou knew he was not asleep. Seeing his silence only made her more certain, so she continued softly, “It’s you, isn’t it? Otherwise, why would you come back from G Province at this time?”

Afraid he might still deny it, she added, “I recognize your eyes.”

In the darkness, Li Xiao, lying on the outside, slowly opened his eyes, his dark gaze fixed on the mosquito net above him.

Once the eyes had adjusted to the darkness, it became clear that the room was not as dark as it had initially seemed; the moonlight outside cast a dim glow, allowing the details of the room to be vaguely visible.

Upon hearing those words, Li Xiao quickly associated them with a bright, familiar figure in his mind.

She might not have known, but he recognized her gaze as well.

Among a group of experienced detectives, there was one individual who appeared particularly inexperienced and naive. She thought she was hiding it well, but each time she looked at him, her gaze was unmistakably apparent, making him feel uncomfortable.

He did not expect her to be so straightforward. He rarely interacted with people like her and was Momentarily unsure of how to respond.

However, he was not one to underestimate anyone. After a Moment of thought, he asked in a hoarse voice, “Are you the intern named Jiang Rou?”

Although phrased as a question, his tone was quite certain.

Jiang Rou was genuinely shocked. Not only had he confirmed her guess, but he also knew who she was.

She asked her confusion aloud, “Do you recognize me?”

The man in the darkness tugged at the corner of his mouth.

How could he not recognize her? When she had taken his statement, her eyes had been fixed on him, afraid of missing any detail or clue about him.

Her eyes had been brighter than the overhead lights.

That day, as he passed by the corridor and heard someone calling her name, he remembered it immediately, thinking to himself that her name was also Jiang Rou.

Though sharing a name with his ex-wife, the two were nothing alike. He had not thought of the woman for a long time, so much so that he had forgotten her appearance.

He only remembered that the woman had been afraid of him. When they were together, they barely spoke.

In contrast, this Jiang Rou was bright and confident, with the naive and foolish demeanor of someone fresh out of school, like a flower nurtured in a greenhouse.

At that time, he had wondered what kind of family had raised her.

She was brilliant.

If his Xiao Feng had been alive, she would have been about this age too.

So he returned to his hometown as soon as he came back, intending to protect his daughter well. However, he had never expected that Jiang Rou would also be here.

And now, Jiang Rou had become “Jiang Rou.”

Even Li Xiao, who was accustomed to weathering storms, could not help but be surprised.

He simply responded with a noncommittal “Mm” and did not offer any further explanation.

With the confirmation she needed, Jiang Rou fell silent.

She dared not speak further, fearing that doing so might expose all her secrets, though she had very few.

Still, there was a lingering fear; this person’s thoughts were too intricate. If she did not initiate the conversation, he likely would not reveal anything himself.

She began contemplating her future, preparing for the worst-case scenario. If she could not return, she needed to plan her future path…

As she thought about it, her eyelids grew heavy.

Li Xiao, lying nearby, was still waiting for her to continue speaking.

Although he had never directly interacted with this police intern, they had crossed paths several times. He knew that the old detective questioning him was her mentor.

Li Xiao had a good memory, and years of evading arrest had honed his habit of cautious observation. Even after just a few encounters, he had a clear impression of her: a very young girl with fair skin, bright eyes, and small dimples when she smiled. She was not very tall but had a straight posture.

At the time, he had not taken the rookie seriously. All her emotions were clearly displayed on her face, and he did not know if her mentor had said something to her, but every time she looked at him, her eyes were filled with curiosity and wariness.

Perhaps due to her lack of exposure to the real world, she had an air of haughtiness that was hard to ignore.

Li Xiao waited for a long time, but there was no sound from the other side.

Then he heard her even breathing.

“….”

This policy intern was more composed than he had imagined; she could actually sleep at a time like this.

After a Moment of silence, Li Xiao also closed his eyes, but he did not plan to sleep.

He rarely slept in the presence of others and intended to stay awake through the night.

However, whether it was due to the exhaustion from traveling by train for days or the fact that the person beside him was sleeping so soundly, he found his own consciousness gradually blurring.

—o—o—o—

When Li Xiao woke up, it was already the next morning.

He woke up not particularly early; the sky outside had brightened. He furrowed his brow, surprised at how deeply he had slept. He realized he couldn’t remember the last time he had slept so soundly.

As his eyes scanned the familiar surroundings of the room, it dawned on him that he had returned to the past, and all the nightmares had yet to occur.

Thinking of this, he quickly turned his head to the side, as if to confirm something.

He then saw Jiang Rou, who had originally been sleeping at the far end, now sprawled arrogantly in the middle of the bed. She had spread out completely, while Xiao Feng was squeezed up against her arm.

The two blankets on the bed were also wrapped around Jiang Rou, leaving Xiao Feng to huddle close to her.

Li Xiao paused for a moment, then got out of bed. He gently moved the child a bit, and though he was careful with his movements, Xiao Feng still woke up.

The little girl rubbed her eyes, and upon seeing her father, she gave him a sweet smile.

However, she did not appreciate her father’s actions. Instead, she turned over and snuggled back towards Jiang Rou, clinging to her—as if showing dependence on her mother.

Li Xiao’s gaze lingered on the two of them, and he was Momentarily taken aback.