The divorce comeback system arrived right after I was born.

Li Zhiyi squatted down in front of her parents' tombstones.

She placed the white chrysanthemums she had brought on the stone platform, and then took things out of the plastic bag.

A can of Snow Beer and a pack of Hongtashan cigarettes.

There were also a few apples and oranges.

"Dad, Mom, I've come to see you."

Li Zhiyi lit two incense sticks and placed them in the incense burner in front of the tombstone.

The smoke swirled and drifted upwards in the morning mountain breeze.

She reached out and picked up a fallen leaf from the tombstone, her fingertips lightly tracing the photograph.

"Grandpa had a sudden stroke last night, it scared me to death."

"But don't worry, she's fine now. She's been transferred to a top-tier hospital in the province, and the doctor said the transfer was very timely."

Li Zhiyi sniffed, her voice a little hoarse.

She squatted in front of the grave, her hands on her knees, just like when she was a child and went home to report her grades to her parents.

I'm currently studying law at Renmin University.

"My grades are okay, and my teachers are quite supportive."

"Grandma is in pretty good health, she just tends to worry a lot."

"Grandpa's health has been a bit poor these past few years, but he always says he's fine and will wait for me to graduate."

She sniffed.

"I originally intended to handle it all by myself."

"But I don't think I'm that good."

Chen Zhi maintained a restrained distance.

At this moment, Li Zhiyi was not talking to him.

She was talking to her parents, who had passed away many years ago.

"I used to think that as long as I was obedient and sensible, I wouldn't cause trouble for others."

"So there are many things I dare not say."

"I'm afraid Grandma will worry, Grandpa will be upset, and Chen Zhi will find me troublesome."

Li Zhiyi lowered her head, her fingertips gently tracing the name on the tombstone.

"But I was really scared last night."

"I'm afraid Grandpa will pass away too."

"I'm afraid that my grandma will be all alone at home."

"I'm more afraid that I won't be able to do anything."

As she said this, her shoulders trembled slightly.

Chen Zhi put the paper money aside, silently squatted down, and helped her pull up the newly grown grass next to her.

Li Zhiyi glanced at him, then turned back.

"But Chen Zhi has arrived."

"He took me back by plane, found a doctor, and even brought my grandfather back from the emergency room."

"Mom, you used to say that when a girl grows up, she should find someone reliable."

"I don't know if he counts as the kind of reliable person you're talking about."

Chen Zhi: "..."

Li Zhiyi paused for a moment, as if afraid that her parents would disagree, and then added in a low voice.

"He can be a real jerk sometimes."

Chen Zhi coughed.

Li Zhiyi ignored him.

"But he really didn't abandon me last night."

"His mother is very nice too."

"Aunt Zhang slipped a bank card to Grandma and said we were family."

"I haven't heard anyone say that in a long time."

She finally couldn't hold back anymore, and tears fell one by one.

"Dad, Mom."

"I really miss you all."

"When I was in elementary school, if other kids were bullied, some of them would go to the school to talk to the teacher."

"I don't."

"When I was in junior high, my grandma would sit in the classroom during parent-teacher conferences. She couldn't understand what the teacher was saying, but she was always dressed very neatly."

"When I was filling out my college applications in high school, I also wanted to ask you guys, where should I go?"

"But none of you are here."

Chen Zhi lowered his head and continued burning paper money.

The flames flickered, and the ashes of the paper were swept up by the wind and fell back to the ground.

Li Zhiyi said a lot.

She said that when she was a child, she had a fever, and her grandfather carried her to the town's health center.

She said her grandma knitted her sweaters in the winter, and the stitches were crooked and uneven.

She said that when her classmates laughed at her for not having parents in elementary school, she gritted her teeth and didn't cry. She went home, hid under the covers, and cried herself to sleep.

She later met Chen Zhi.

It is said that Chen Zhi was a smart aleck when she was young, but she was always the first to rush to her defense when others bullied her.

"He used to lie to me, saying he would become the president of the universe someday."

Li Zhiyi wiped away her tears, and her voice finally held a hint of laughter.

"I actually believed it back then."

Chen Zhi looked up.

"To correct you, I'm only one Earth away from becoming the president of the universe."

Li Zhiyi was speechless after hearing his words.

She wanted to cry, but she managed not to.

"Can't you be a little more serious in front of my parents?"

"Isn't this just me showing my aunt and uncle the real me?"

Chen Zhi put the last stack of paper money into the brazier.

"So that I won't be accused of premarital fraud later."

Li Zhiyi's ears turned red, but she didn't respond to that.

She stayed in front of the grave for another half hour.

Chen Zhi stayed with him the whole time.

It wasn't until Li Zhiyi stood up, supporting herself on her knees, and patted the dirt off her trouser legs that she finally stood up.

"Let's go." She walked up to Chen Zhi, her eyes still red, but she had already composed herself.

"Wait me a moment."

Chen Zhi took a few steps forward and came to the tombstone.

He took three incense sticks out of the bag and lit them with a lighter.

Then, holding incense in one hand, he bowed three times to the tombstone.

Li Zhiyi stood there, stunned.

Chen Zhi placed the incense sticks into the incense burner and looked up at the photo on the tombstone.

"Uncle, Auntie."

Chen Zhi spoke, his tone very ordinary, as if he were chatting with an elder.

"I am Chen Zhi."

"It's our first meeting, so I should have bought more things, but today's situation is special and I came in a hurry. I'll make it up to you next time."

He paused for a moment, then continued.

"I've done a lot of unreliable things in the past, and I've made her suffer."

"I accept these."

"But from today onwards, Zhiyi's life is in my hands."

"I will make sure she is well-fed, warmly clothed, has someone to support her, and that someone cares about her."

"She wanted to study, so I supported her."

"She wants to be a lawyer, and I support her."

"Even if she doesn't do anything, I can afford to support her."

"If she gets bullied, I'll be the first one there."

"If I bully her..."

Chen Zhi paused for a moment, then turned to look at Li Zhiyi.

Li Zhiyi was also looking at him.

Chen Zhi turned back to the tombstone.

"Then come and curse me in my dreams tonight."

"Don't hold back, curse as much as you want."

A mountain breeze rustled through the pine needles.

Chen Zhi bent down and bowed very earnestly.

"Last night, Grandpa called me to his bedside and told me to take good care of Zhiyi from now on."

"I agree."

"I promise you again today, in front of you all."

Chen Zhi looked at the young couple in the photo.

"Don't worry, Uncle and Aunt, Zhiyi is in my care for the rest of her life."

"I will definitely make her happy."

"As long as I, Chen Zhi, have a breath left, I will never let her suffer the slightest grievance."

Li Zhiyi stood behind, tears instantly streaming down her face.

She covered her mouth to stop herself from crying out loud, but her shoulders trembled uncontrollably.

Chen Zhi turned around and walked back to her side.

He reached out and pulled her into his arms.

Li Zhiyi buried her face in his chest, and her tears quickly soaked a large area of ​​his clothes.

After Li Zhiyi calmed down, the two walked down the stone steps.

Li Zhiyi took his arm and kept pace with him.

The sun had fully risen, and its warmth felt wonderful on my skin.

"Chen Zhi".

Li Zhiyi suddenly spoke up.

"Um."

"The last time I saw my parents was when I was five years old, during the Chinese New Year."

Li Zhiyi lowered her head, looking at the stone steps beneath her feet.

"They will go out to work after the seventh day of the Lunar New Year."

"I was naive back then, and I just felt that they would be gone for a long time, and I was reluctant to see them go."

"I just stayed on their beat-up bread truck and refused to get off."

Chen Zhi slowed his pace and turned his head to look at her.

"and then?"

"Then my dad lied to me."

Li Zhiyi twitched the corner of her mouth, as if she were laughing or crying at the same time.

He said, "Zhiyi, shall we play a game?"

"He said he would come and catch me, and if he caught me, I would have to stay at home and listen to my grandparents."

"If he can't catch me, he'll take me with him."

Li Zhiyi took a breath, and her eyes began to redden again.

"I was so happy at the time."

"I wish they would take me with them."

"But I was afraid they would sneak away, so I kept running around that bread truck, looking back as I ran."

"I think if I run fast enough, my parents will be able to take me away."

"But I'm too small."

"While we were running, without me noticing, my parents closed the car door and drove away."

Li Zhiyi stopped in her tracks.

She stood on the steps, tears streaming down her face.

"I chased after them for a long time and cried for a long time."

"But crying was no use. The car got further and further away until we couldn't even see the smoke from its exhaust pipe anymore."

"Then, not long after..."

Li Zhiyi's voice began to tremble, and she could barely continue speaking.

"I heard about their car accident."

"They will never come back."

"I'm so heartbroken, Chen Zhi."

Li Zhiyi looked up at him, her face streaked with tears.

"Sometimes I can hardly remember what they look like anymore. I've forgotten how I've survived these past ten years."

Chen Zhi stretched out his hands and hugged Li Zhiyi tightly, gently patting her back.

Li Zhiyi burst into tears in his arms.

She cried out all the grievances, fears, loneliness that she had kept hidden in her heart for more than ten years, as well as the panic of almost losing her grandfather last night.

Chen Zhi didn't say anything.

At this moment, any words of comfort would be ineffective.

What she needs is not reasoning or empty promises, but a shoulder to vent on without restraint.

Chen Zhi just held her like that, letting her cry.

It took more than ten minutes before Li Zhiyi's crying gradually subsided.

She stepped out of Chen Zhi's arms and wiped her face haphazardly.

"I'm sorry, I got your clothes dirty."

Chen Zhi glanced down at the water stain on his chest and smiled.

"It's okay, you can wash it for me later."

"Let's go."

"Grandpa should be waking up by now, we need to hurry over there."

The two found a breakfast stall by the roadside in the county town, had a bowl of soy milk, and then took a taxi straight to the provincial capital.

The county seat is not too far from the provincial capital; it takes about an hour and a half by highway.

After the car entered the highway, Li Zhiyi leaned back in her seat. Because she had stayed up all night and her emotions had been fluctuating just now, she fell asleep in no time.

Chen Zhi took off his coat and gently covered her with it.