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Wei Ci saw the original body’s elder brother two days later.
In those two days, more and more women and children were rescued, and some were gradually taken home by their families.
There were cries of joy and grief, parents scolding and weeping, some even kneeling to thank the police—the entire station was bustling with noise and emotions.
Only one big and one small squatted quietly in a corner, draped in olive-green police jackets, silently watching the comings and goings, their eyes full of melancholy.
“Big sister, where are your parents? Nobody’s here to pick you up either?”
The little boy cupped his chubby, adorable face in his hands and looked curiously at Wei Ci, who sat beside him with her own face propped up, staring blankly.
Wei Ci cast him a glance, her eyes resentful: Why aren’t you calling me ‘Mom’ anymore?
Her real parents were in another world—how could they come pick her up? As for the original body’s relatives… it was better to have none. From what the traffickers had said, her so-called brother was a venomous, ruthless wolf in human skin. If she went back, he might just sell her off again.
Just as she was thinking this, a commotion broke out at the entrance. A young man, his clothes wrinkled, beard scruffy, and face haggard, was escorted in by two policemen. The moment he raised his head, Wei Ci’s eyes widened.
“Wei Qingfeng!”
She remembered that face—it was the original body’s elder brother.
Hearing her sharp cry, Wei Qingfeng’s weary eyes lit up. Seeing his little sister, he instantly forgot that she had never spoken a word before, and that this was the first time he had heard her voice. Anxiously, he started forward—
“Ah Ci!”
—but was quickly blocked.
“Wei Qingzhi!” one of the policemen barked sternly. “You’re still a suspect. You cannot approach the victim.”
Wei Qingfeng froze, his heart aching. He could only glance at his sister, give her a reassuring smile, and follow the officers away.
Wei Ci tilted her head, bewildered. Wasn’t he supposed to have treated the original body terribly? Hadn’t he sold her for two da tuanjie? Then why did he look like he really cared about this sister?
She searched the original’s memories carefully but gave up after a while. Her parents had protected her so closely that she’d rarely interacted with outsiders. What little she remembered was almost entirely about her parents. As for this brother—her memories of him were pitifully few.
An hour later, Wei Qingfeng came hurrying out again. Spotting his sister’s striking face among the crowd, his expression softened. He strode over with long steps, but when he saw the wariness in her eyes, his heart clenched, and tears glistened at the corners of his eyes.
Wei Ci froze, her backward steps stiff, and the next moment she was swept into a broad, warm—though very sweaty—embrace.
“Ah Ci, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you at home alone.”
His voice cracked with guilt.
It was his fault—he had thought leaving her with their second and third uncles’ families would keep her safe. Who knew they would be the very ones to harm her? The mistake was nearly unforgivable.
The moment she was hugged, Wei Ci’s whole body went haywire. Having never been touched by a man outside her father, she blushed furiously. Heat spread from the top of her head down her cheeks, ears, and neck, until even her toes curled restlessly in her shoes.
“Y-y-you, l-let me go first!”
Shameless scoundrel! How can you hug a young maiden so casually? Even if you’re my brother, it’s not allowed!
Wei Qingfeng blinked, startled, before she shoved him hard. He stumbled backward, crashing clumsily into the gap between two desks.
The noisy station fell abruptly silent.
Every gaze turned toward the siblings: one flushed as red as a tomato, the other looking dazed and pitiful, like a cat that had just been swatted.
Wei Ci herself was a bit stunned. Since when did I have this much strength?
It was only then that Wei Qingfeng recovered from the shock. He stared at his sister in disbelief, his face cycling through every shade from red to purple, before suddenly leaping up and lunging toward her again.
“Ah Ci! You’re back to normal!”
His voice cracked, so high-pitched it nearly broke—showing just how overwhelmed he was.
Wei Ci, guilty, fiddled with her fingers. It wasn’t that the original host had recovered—it was her. But she couldn’t say that. If she did, she was afraid they’d burn her as a monster.
In her past life, there had been a concubine-born daughter from the Ministry of Justice’s household who fell into the water. After waking up, her personality completely changed. She claimed she was the “Chosen One,” shouted about men and women being equal… and was eventually dragged out and burned alive in public. The thought of that scene still made Wei Ci’s scalp tingle.
Wei Qingfeng couldn’t care less about her secret worries. Right now, he was grinning like a fool, spinning in circles on the spot, muttering nonstop. Tears welled in his eyes, and his voice choked with emotion.
“She’s healed… Ah Ci has healed! Father, Mother, Ah Ci’s not stupid anymore… wuuu…”
Wei Ci was dumbfounded. She could only watch helplessly as her big brother—who a moment ago had been joyfully spinning her around—suddenly squatted down on the floor, bawling like a wronged child. His cries were so loud that the entire police station fell into stunned silence.
She glanced at the little boy beside her, and the two exchanged looks. Awkwardly, she reached out and patted her brother’s shoulder, trying to comfort him.
“Uh… don’t cry. Even when you sold me off, I didn’t cry. So why are you crying?”
If she hadn’t spoken, it might’ve been fine. But at her words, Wei Qingfeng exploded.
He shot to his feet, making both Wei Ci and the boy jump back in fear, worried he was about to hit someone.
“It wasn’t me who sold you! It was Second Uncle’s—no, Third Uncle’s branch! The one who sold you was Wei Qingmiao, that damned wretch!”
Wei Ci’s eyes widened. So the trafficker had gotten two da tuanjie from her cousin, not her brother?
Wei Qingfeng bit down so hard that the taste of blood spread in his mouth.
“What cousin! Wei Qingmiao is your female cousin! Don’t even mention that name!”
Just remembering the way she had pretended to be innocent when he confronted her made his heart go cold and his stomach churn with disgust.
In the past, though he hadn’t been especially close with the cousins from the other family branches, he had never once treated them with malice. Whenever they needed help, he did his best.
He had believed they were family. But to them, his household was nothing more than a laughingstock.
And just because his parents had passed away, and the county had compensated their family with a bit of land, they started scheming. They even set their eyes on the only girl of the eldest branch—selling her straight off!
How could he tolerate this?
If he didn’t stir up enough trouble to make those two households choke, then all his years of being a street rogue had been in vain!
Wei Ci smacked her lips, sighing inwardly. She had thought petty scheming only existed in back courtyards full of women. Who would’ve thought that even in these famine-stricken years, people could still fight each other to the death?
“Ah Ci, don’t worry. With your big brother here, I’ll make them pay. If I don’t turn their families upside down, I’m not worthy of the surname Wei!”
Wei Ci looked at Wei Qingfeng with wide, glimmering eyes, but inside she was howling.
If I had known I’d end up transmigrating and living in someone else’s body, I would’ve learned all the tricks from my concubine-mother. That way I wouldn’t be standing here all confused, hands and feet tied, so nervous just to slip someone a bit of knockout powder. I’d at least have some confidence to fall back on.
But in Wei Qingfeng’s eyes, her expression was nothing but admiration. The realization instantly straightened his back, puffed up his chest, and gave him an air of towering authority.
Deep down, his calculations had already begun: since his little sister trusted him so much, he couldn’t afford to let her down.