Zhou Yue learned from Song Fang that her father had been brought down by the combined efforts of Zhou Lin's biological father and adoptive father.
But in her memory, both of these men had already died.
Zhou Yue's mind was still that of someone in her early twenties, and over the past week, everything had been different from what she remembered. She was beginning to lose her grip on reality.
Jiang Chengzhou deliberately probed her for information and managed to piece together most of the story.
His mind was already in turmoil, and he had no desire to keep playing along with her. "Your father's situation was a military decision. If you have any questions, you can go to the police station and see Zhou Chen—he'll give you answers. Everything else, no matter how you remember it, has nothing to do with us. Don't come bothering Linlin anymore."
He turned to leave.
Zhou Yue called out to stop him again. "Wait. The college entrance exam is about to resume. I'm going to work hard and get into the same university as Gu Zhiyuan. In his past life, he liked me, and in this one, he will too. Tell Zhou Lin not to waste her hopes."
No matter how much had changed, Zhou Yue at least had the clarity to know that, for now, her most important priority was the exam—then, meeting Gu Zhiyuan again.
The news about the reinstated exam hit Jiang Chengzhou like a shock, but the meaning behind her words disgusted him beyond measure.
He knew Gu Zhiyuan.
The grandson of Commander Gu. Average-looking (nowhere near as good as him), average grades (nowhere near as outstanding as Linlin), and utterly useless aside from his family background.
Of course, that was Jiang Chengzhou's biased opinion.
To outsiders, Gu Zhiyuan was objectively a decent young man—otherwise, he wouldn't have been the male lead in the novel.
Jiang Chengzhou turned around, his expression cold and sharp. "Who does Gu Zhiyuan think he is? Does he even deserve to be in my sister's sights?"
Zhou Yue genuinely loved Gu Zhiyuan, and hearing Jiang Chengzhou speak of him that way made her face flush red with anger.
Jiang Chengzhou had been a scoundrel in his past life, and in this one, he was the same!
She huffed, shot him a glare, and turned to run off.
Linlin came running over, her face full of worry. "Brother, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Jiang Chengzhou said, forcing a smile. "I forgot to tell Aunt something. I need to make another phone call. Want to go play some more, or head upstairs? But it's late—no more solving those math problems."
Linlin shook her head. "I'll stay with you, brother."
"That works too."
Jiang Chengzhou walked back into the post office and dialed another number.
The staff, recognizing him and his long-distance call again, muttered under their breath, "Rich people."
Jiang Chengzhou ignored them and waited for the call to connect.
"Linlin?"
The moment the call went through, his uncle's affected voice gave him goosebumps. "Uncle, it's me."
"Oh," Su Lang's tone turned serious. "What's wrong?"
Jiang Chengzhou's voice trembled slightly, and he cleared his throat to mask it. "Nothing. Just wanted to ask how you're doing."
Though he didn't know if Zhou Yue's stories were just a delusion or if they had truly happened in another world, her vivid and detailed account didn't seem like something a child could fabricate.
The thought of his uncle dying at sea clutched Jiang Chengzhou's heart like a vice.
Su Lang laughed lightly on the other end. "I'm great. With you guys gone, I get some alone time with your aunt."
Jiang Chengzhou let out a choked laugh, his eyes reddening. "Is my aunt there? I need to talk to her."
According to Zhou Yue, in the other world, the other version of him had never even met his aunt in person.
"Chengzhou?"
Lin Zhilan's gentle voice came through the receiver, and Jiang Chengzhou's nose stung with emotion. "Aunt."
"What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"No," Jiang Chengzhou laughed. "I just missed you."
Let the past be dead.
From now on, every day is a new beginning.
Whether Zhou Yue's story was real or not, everything was different now. Jiang Chengzhou would keep this to himself and never let his uncle and aunt know.
Lin Zhilan shot a smug glance at Su Lang and smiled. "I miss you all too. Since you're out there, have a good time—treat it as broadening your horizons."
Jiang Chengzhou agreed with a laugh.
Before hanging up, Su Lang quickly grabbed the phone. "Chengzhou, why don't you say you miss me?"
"Long-distance calls are expensive. I'm hanging up."
Jiang Chengzhou hung up quickly, knowing his uncle would complain to his aunt on the other end, and couldn't help but smirk.
The kids rested for a night, and the next day, Chen Dongfeng took them to climb the ancient city wall, visit the local museum, and the reservoir.
Over the following days, Chen Jin's family took time off to accompany them on various outings. They explored the entire area.
One day after the rain cleared, Miao Yue and her colleagues took the kids into the mountains to see virgin red pine forests and pick mushrooms and pine cones.
Jiang Chengzhou, Linlin, and Su Li saw an apple tree for the first time.
Their wide-eyed ignorance made Chen Yanqiang burst into laughter.
He had always thought Su Li and the others were city kids, and he couldn't believe they’d never seen an apple tree before. It made him feel closer to them.
Zhou Chen had taken a few days off to pick up the children and was now making up for lost work time. It wasn't until a week later that the kids saw him again.
Jiang Chengzhou could clearly sense that Zhou Chen's attitude toward him had changed.
Before, Jiang Chengzhou had been somewhat guarded around Zhou Chen, and Zhou Chen had been much cooler toward him than toward Su Li.
Thinking it over, Jiang Chengzhou understood.
It had to be that Zhou Yue, in her quest to understand why Zhou Jianjun had been forced out of the military, had gone to speak with Zhou Chen.
If he could extract information from Zhou Yue, Zhou Chen—who worked in the police station year-round—would be far more skilled at getting answers.
Zhou Jianjun had adopted Linlin. Setting aside his hypocrisy and malicious intentions, based on Zhou Yue's tone and the things she described, Linlin hadn't had a good life in the Zhou family.
That's why she would rather stay with her brother, who had no blood relation to her, than go back to the Zhous.
Linlin was his sister. They were family.
Zhou Chen was grateful to him for taking care of Linlin, and Jiang Chengzhou felt some disdain.
Did Zhou Chen even know who was family and who was an outsider?!
Regardless of what Zhou Chen thought, he now had one more person to be grateful for. At lunch in the state-run restaurant, he handed Jiang Chengzhou a bowl of noodles and chopsticks.
Jiang Chengzhou gave a flat "thanks," and Zhou Chen grinned.
In the north, summers were relatively cool, and the three kids who had grown up on an island spent a comfortable summer vacation.
Two days before they left, Zhou Chen asked the kids where they wanted to go next.
Linlin took the initiative and suggested visiting Zhou Family Village.
Zhou Chen hesitated.
He hadn't been back in a long time, only occasionally writing to Party Secretary Zhou to check in.
Zhou Jianmin had returned from his re-education through labor.
He had long known he was impotent.
At the time, he had even begged Zhou Chen for money to seek treatment, but Zhou Chen ignored him.
Wu Li divorced, remarried, and had a son. She traveled all the way to Zhou Family Village to flaunt her new life, spreading rumors about Zhou Jianmin's condition far and wide.
