Chapter 3

When he heard that sentence, Ding Gui’s expression became tense again.

Ding Xiaodie calmed down and waved her hand: “The explosion was something from the past life—it has nothing to do with us now. I have some good news to tell you.”

“What news?”

She glanced around to make sure no one was coming, then whispered, “We have a space too. I just went into it—it’s the supermarket you two used to run. But now it’s renamed ‘Xiaodie Supermarket.’”

After she finished speaking, she saw her parents standing frozen.

They looked at each other, not quite believing it.

Only then did Ding Xiaodie take out a bottle of mineral water: “Now do you believe me?”

The couple exchanged another look, suddenly full of energy, and hugged and kissed Xiaodie excitedly: “We believe you! Our precious girl has always been a little lucky star!”

“Hurry, open it and take a sip. I’m dying of thirst,” Zhang Xiu said.

Ding Gui quickly added, “Sweetheart, a space that’s a supermarket—that’s amazing! Go back in there in a bit and get me a bottle of liquor, and some snacks to go with it. We’ve been through the fire and come out alive—we should celebrate!”

Zhang Xiu nodded repeatedly, “Yes, yes, we really should celebrate.”

Ding Xiaodie looked at them speechlessly: “…”

“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you can’t go back into the space?”

“You’re overthinking it. There are only a few bottles of water in there right now. The rest of the shelves are empty. Celebrate? I’m telling you, from now on, we need to be extremely careful about everything I bring out from that space. We absolutely can’t let others find out. Otherwise, it might disrupt space and the timeline. If history changes, the three of us will be in huge trouble.”

The couple immediately choked: “…”

After a while, they finally realized how foolish they had been.

Especially Ding Gui, the small supermarket owner who loved studying history—he immediately and firmly agreed, “Yes, sweetheart is right. We must be careful from now on. The past must never be altered.”

Ding Xiaodie nodded, “Exactly. Now let’s finish this bottle of water together. I’ll keep the empty bottle and bring it back into the space next time. These plastic products mustn’t travel through time.”

Ding Gui raised both hands in support, “Sweetheart is right.”

Just as the three of them started passing the bottle around to drink from it, a dark figure quietly approached. Suddenly, the shadow lunged forward and snatched the mineral water bottle from Ding Gui’s hands.

“What’s this?”

The man’s long, thin face and narrow, suspicious eyes stared at the bottle.

He brought it closer and examined it carefully—he’d never seen a bottle like this. He was only used to seeing ceramic and wooden containers.

“Heh, it can even hold water. Ding Gui, hurry up and tell me what this is!”

The Ding family stared at him blankly.

“…”

The man, who was as skinny as a bamboo stick, was called Ding Laizi. Technically, he was Ding Gui’s cousin.

He’d bullied Ding Gui since childhood, and even as an adult, had never shown any respect to him or Zhang Xiu.

His sudden appearance brought back vivid memories for Ding Gui—scenes of Ding Laizi bullying the original version of himself. He wished he could knock the scoundrel out with a rock.

Unfortunately, he could only put on a docile expression. “Brother, this is…”

“You can’t tell him.”

Ding Xiaodie quickly cut in.

Ding Laizi gave her a weird smirk, “Heh, Xiaodie, even though I wasn’t asking you, you dare interrupt? Not afraid of your uncle?”

As he spoke, he bent down, staring menacingly at her with those sinister, narrow eyes.

He used to do this too, and it always scared the original Xiaodie into tears.

But the current Ding Xiaodie took the opportunity to snatch the water bottle back. “Dad, Mom—run!”

She couldn’t let Ding Laizi expose the bottle in front of everyone. Who knew what might happen next?

Unexpectedly, Ding Laizi grabbed her collar with a backward swipe and sneered, “Run? Let’s see where you think you’re going, little brat.”

Ding Xiaodie was lifted into the air, her little legs flailing.

Oh no, she hadn’t adjusted to being a child yet—otherwise she wouldn’t have even considered running.

Ding Gui and Zhang Xiu looked at their daughter, heartbroken and helpless.

“Give me the bottle,” Ding Laizi growled.

Seeing the tension on his face, Ding Xiaodie suddenly understood.

This scumbag didn’t want anyone else to know about the bottle either—because it had water in it. He knew better than anyone how precious water was now.

If people found out he had a bottle of water, wouldn’t they all try to take it?

Of course—hoarding was more fitting for someone like Ding Laizi.

Realizing this, Ding Xiaodie stopped struggling and instead put on a scared expression, “Uncle, can you put me down first? I’ll give it to you then.”

“You dare negotiate with me?”

Ding Laizi wanted to throw her to the ground to teach the couple a lesson.

But just as he cursed, Ding Xiaodie raised the bottle. “Then I’ll throw it away and tell everyone there’s water in it!”

“You…” Ding Laizi gnashed his teeth in anger.

This little brat was unusually bold today, but there would be plenty of chances to deal with her later.

Though irritated, Ding Laizi still put her down—though he kept a grip on her collar until she handed over the bottle. Only then did he let go.

He couldn’t wait to twist off the cap and take a sip.

His expression instantly changed—his eyes widened in shock.

What kind of water was this?

Cool and sweet. Just one sip made him feel alive again.

“Where did this water come from?”

Unwilling to drink more, Ding Laizi quickly screwed the cap back on and pressed Ding Gui for answers: “Speak.”

He pulled out the butcher knife tucked at his waist and pressed it to Ding Gui’s neck.

“Ah!”

Zhang Xiu screamed in terror.

How unlucky could they be? In their past life, they’d been held hostage by robbers. Now they were re-enacting the same scene over a bottle of water. Her whole body was trembling with fear.

Ding Xiaodie was also shocked.

At least in their past life there were police officers. In this world, someone could kill them all over a bit of water and probably face no consequences.

The situation was dire, and she was too small to physically stop Ding Laizi.

In desperation, she blurted out a lie: “Uncle, please don’t hurt my dad—or the gods will punish you!”

Ding Laizi frowned in annoyance: “You damn brat, what nonsense are you spouting?”

Ding Xiaodie put on a mysterious look and pointed to the night sky. “That water—he gave it to me.”

“What?”

Ding Laizi furrowed his brow deeper and couldn’t help but glance up at the night sky. But a moment later, he cursed again, “Don’t play tricks with me. Where did the water come from?”

Ding Gui now understood what his daughter was doing and played along, saying meekly, “Brother, I really don’t know where the water came from. Why don’t you ask Xiaodie?”

Ding Xiaodie put on an innocent face: “Didn’t I faint earlier? While I was unconscious, I dreamed of an immortal. He told me in my dream that he was giving me a life-saving bottle of water. That’s the one you’re holding.”