Chapter 4

Chi Yiyi immediately entered the space and carefully looked around.

She discovered that the spicy chicken and meat buns she had placed there at noon were still fresh, as if they had just come out of the pot. Truly magical.

Just then, she suddenly heard the sound of dripping water by her ear. She turned and followed the sound.

It turned out there was a mountain inside the space, mostly hidden by a layer of white mist. The exposed part looked like an artificial rockery.

The dripping sound came from within the mountain.

Chi Yiyi quickly found the source of the water—a droplet slowly landing on a stone platform.

At that moment, a thought flashed through her mind: could this be the spiritual spring water from the space?

She immediately cupped some of the water with her hand and tasted it. The sweet, clear water felt smooth and warm going down her throat.

It was indeed spiritual spring water.

Chi Yiyi noticed that some of the occupational ailments she had developed from working two years at the textile factory had disappeared. Her body suddenly felt light and energetic.

What a pity—

Such precious spiritual spring water was just dripping into the cracks of the stone and being wasted.

Chi Yiyi exited the space and went to buy a bowl.

She placed the bowl on the stone platform so that the precious droplets could collect inside.

She thought it would be perfect to drink the collected spiritual water that evening.

Suddenly, she remembered the boxes of gold, antiques, jewelry, and calligraphy she had moved from the Zhou family at noon—where had they gone?

She stepped out and searched around, but aside from the over ten thousand yuan in cash and some worthless odds and ends, none of the valuable antiques were left.

Chi Yiyi suddenly recalled that some spaces have a devouring function. It seemed her space was one of them—it had swallowed the boxes of antiques but, in return, granted her a space that was larger and contained a spiritual spring.

She wasn’t sure whether to feel happy or upset. Those antiques could’ve been worth a fortune in the modern world. What upset her was how “greedy” this space was—it seemed to swallow anything valuable.

There was no choice. She could only look at the over 200 square meters of open land in the space and comfort herself. It would be a waste to let that land grow weeds—she had to plant some fruits and vegetables.

When she came out of the space, it was nearly dark.

Chi Yiyi got on her bicycle and planned to return to the Chi family.

“Yiyi.”

Chi Yiyi didn’t expect Zhou Zixiao to be standing at the gate of the Chi household.

She walked up and looked at the man with a mocking expression. “Zhou Zixiao, you still remember to come find me?”

“Yiyi, don’t be mad. I know I messed up today, but it was actually a nurse at the hospital who made a huge mistake. She gave me the wrong medication, which is why I was unconscious all day.”

“Which nurse had the nerve to do that?”

Chi Yiyi already knew—it was her half-sister Chi Bilian’s best friend.

Sure enough, Zhou Zixiao continued, “Yiyi, please don’t be angry. The nurse who made the mistake is your sister’s good friend. I was almost hit by a bicycle today, and your sister risked herself to save me. I personally took her to the hospital and only then realized I was injured too and needed an IV. That nurse accidentally gave me the wrong meds.”

Chi Yiyi felt a headache coming on. In her past life, she had clung to the Zhou family’s wealth and Zhou Zixiao’s support, and ended up living miserably. In this life, she had no intention of putting up with Zhou Zixiao and Chi Bilian—those two shameless people.

She pushed her bike toward the house when the courtyard door suddenly opened from the inside.

“Zixiao, did you just say my daughter got hit by a bike saving you? How serious is it? And why didn’t I hear anything about this?” Lin Ru, Chi Bilian’s mother, asked, her tone full of implied blame, making Zhou Zixiao feel even more guilty.

Chi Yiyi was utterly disgusted by this mother-daughter pair.

Zhou Zixiao quickly said, “Don’t worry, Aunt Lin. Bilian is not in any life-threatening condition—just a minor sprain in her right arm.”

Lin Ru wiped away a couple of crocodile tears and sobbed, “How could you say that? My daughter has been pampered since birth. Even a little scratch would break my heart!”

Chi Yiyi had heard enough. She pushed her bicycle forward and said coldly, “Move aside.”

Zhou Zixiao was about to be swayed by Lin Ru’s emotions when he saw Chi Yiyi leaving and panicked.

“Yiyi, don’t go! We’re married today—I came to take you home!”

He grabbed the back of her bike, not letting her go.

Chi Yiyi turned and glared at him with disgust. “Are you sure we got married today?”

There had been no ceremony, no trip to the civil affairs bureau—they had nothing binding them. In this life, she was still clean and unconnected to him.

Zhou Zixiao, remembering that he had missed their wedding, looked guilty and said, “Yiyi, weddings aren’t that important. As long as we go register tomorrow, we’ll be married.”

He was so confident because in their past life, Chi Yiyi had been madly in love with him and wouldn’t have married anyone else.

Coming to find her straight from the hospital, in his mind, was already giving her a lot of face.

Chi Yiyi didn’t want her father, Chi Daqiang, to hit her, so she shifted the blame. “Zhou Zixiao, why don’t you go ask your mother whether we’re married or not?”

With that, she yanked her bike out of his grip, almost causing Zhou Zixiao to fall over.

Lin Ru stood by the gate, thoroughly enjoying the drama.

When Chi Yiyi entered the yard, she saw Chi Daqiang standing there, face dark and cold.

“Dad, it wasn’t me who didn’t want the wedding—it was Zhou Zixiao’s mother who didn’t agree to it.”

“That’s not true!” Zhou Zixiao shouted as he rushed into the courtyard.

Chi Daqiang’s expression softened. “Zixiao, you came to take Yiyi home, right?”

Zhou Zixiao didn’t hesitate, “Of course! I definitely want to marry Yiyi.”

Chi Yiyi wanted to slap this stupid man—he wouldn’t treasure her even if he did marry her.

Chi Daqiang said, “Good, then Yiyi, go back to the Zhou house with him now.”

Chi Yiyi stood her ground. “No need. Zhou Auntie kicked me out today. She said she doesn’t recognize me as her daughter-in-law.”

“Big sis, stop being so stubborn. Brother Zixiao is here to get you himself. If you don’t go back with him, you’re really being ungrateful.”

That came from Chi Junshu, Chi Yiyi’s biological younger brother—the very one she had worked so hard to support through school by scrimping and saving.

But he was nothing but an ungrateful brat. In her past life, Chi Yiyi had seen his true colors.

In fact, Chi Junshu had always been selfish. Even as a child, when Chi Yiyi gave him everything, he never felt sorry for her. Instead, he fawned over Lin Ru and her daughter at every opportunity.