The divorce comeback system arrived right after I was born.

Chen Zhi squatted down, his knees touching the cold cement floor.

A five-cent coin rolled into a crack in the wall, gleaming with a faint brassy sheen. He stretched out his finger and pried it out forcefully, his fingertip covered in a layer of dust.

Lin Wanwan was still crying, her voice broken and intermittent, like a little quail soaked by the rain.

Chen Zhi held the coin in his palm and then picked up the banknotes scattered on the steps. Some of the banknotes were crumpled and smelled of ham or spicy strips, clearly the ones the girl had saved up from between her teeth.

"Don't cry."

Chen Zhi didn't turn his head, focusing intently on picking up the coins one by one.

"If you keep crying, you'll attract the wolves."

The sobbing behind me paused for a moment, followed by a loud sniffling sound.

"This...this is a hallway, there are no wolves here."

Lin Wanwan retorted with a sob in her voice, which sounded weak and had no intimidating power whatsoever.

Chen Zhi couldn't help but chuckle.

He flattened the last one-yuan bill, folded it neatly, and gathered it in his hand along with the heavy pile of coins.

The money piled up probably amounted to a thousand yuan or so. For a primary school student, that was indeed a huge sum of money. It was the result of Lin Wanwan passing by the convenience store countless times but resisting the urge to buy snacks.

But it's only a few thousand yuan.

They haven't heard a sound about the huge hole of 150,000 yuan in their home.

Chen Zhi stood up, his legs feeling a little numb. He wiped the dust off his hands on his pants and turned to look at Lin Wanwan.

The girl's face was covered in tears, her hair was a mess and stuck to her cheeks, and her once big and bright eyes were now swollen like two walnuts.

"How could you be so silly?"

Chen Zhi sighed, his tone less playful than usual and more helpless.

He pulled the half-eaten lollipop wrapper from his pocket; it was a bit dirty, but still usable. Or…

He looked around and found a black plastic bag that had been blown by the wind in the corner. It was probably dropped out of someone's trash and was fairly clean.

Chen Zhi put all the money into a plastic bag, tied it in a tight knot, and handed it to Lin Wanwan.

"Take it."

Lin Wanwan took a step back, put her hands behind her back, and shook her head desperately.

"I don't want it! Take it! You can have it all!"

Her eyes were bloodshot, like a little animal that had been provoked.

"I'll pay your tuition! I'll feed you! But you're not allowed to feed the pigs!"

Chen Zhi pushed the plastic bag forward and stuffed it directly into her arms.

"That's enough, the act has gone too far."

He watched as Lin Wanwan frantically clutched the plastic bag, as if she were holding a bomb.

"This amount of money is not enough."

Chen Zhi spoke the truth.

"My family needs 150,000, not 1,500. Your little bit of money isn't even enough to plug that hole."

Lin Wanwan was stunned.

She didn't have a specific concept of the number 150,000, but she knew that 1,500 was a lot, enough to buy many, many bags of spicy strips, or the prettiest doll in the shop window.

But Chen Zhi said it wasn't enough.

How much would that cost?

Panic gripped her again.

"Then... what should we do?"

Lin Wanwan was so anxious that she was about to cry again, and the plastic bag in her arms made a rustling sound.

"That's not enough... I have a solution!"

Suddenly, she thought of something, her eyes lit up, as if she had grasped at the last straw.

"Find my dad! My dad's rich!"

Lin Wanwan took a step forward, looking at Chen Zhi anxiously.

"My dad's business is huge! He carries a big leather bag every day, it's full of money! And he likes you the most, he always praises you for being smart and tells me to learn from you!"

The more she talked about it, the more feasible it seemed, and her voice even rose a few decibels.

"I'll call him right now! Tell him your family is in trouble and ask him to lend your dad money! 150,000... he can definitely come up with that!"

After saying that, she turned and ran into the house.

Chen Zhi grabbed her by the back of her collar.

"return."

Lin Wanwan was pulled and stumbled, forced to stop and turn around to look at him in confusion.

"Why? My dad will definitely help you!"

Chen Zhisong let go, leaned against the wall, and looked at the motion-activated light above his head that was flickering on and off.

Borrow money?

Lin Shuxian is indeed wealthy. As one of the earliest people in Jiangcheng to go into business and start a building materials business, this amount of money is not a significant financial burden for him.

Moreover, the two families have a very good relationship now.

But it cannot be lent out.

Chen Jun's pride is at its lowest point right now. He's been swindled out of his savings by a friend, and if he has to rely on the charity of his neighbors to get by, or even borrow money, his backbone will probably break.

Men are sometimes such strange creatures; they're so concerned with saving face that they suffer for it.

Moreover, although the two families have a good relationship, this is still 150,000.

In an era when the average wage is only two or three thousand yuan, this is a heavy debt of gratitude.

Debts are easy to repay, but favors are hard to repay.

Besides, if Chen Zhi, having been reborn, can't even manage this little bit of money and needs a young girl to plead for him, he might as well just find a block of tofu and smash his head against it.

"You don't need to look for your dad."

Chen Zhi's tone was calm, yet it carried an undeniable air of authority.

"This is a matter for the adults in my family. If your father is dragged into this, he will lose face."

Lin Wanwan didn't understand what it meant to lose face.

All she knew was that Chen Zhi was refusing her help.

"But...but if you don't have any money, you'll have to leave!"

Lin Wanwan's eyes reddened again, tears welling up in her eyes, ready to burst forth at any moment.

"If you leave, there will be no one to accompany me to school, no one to help me with my homework, and no one... no one to steal my snacks."

In the end, she was so aggrieved that tears streamed down her face.

Looking at her like this, Chen Zhi felt a soft spot in his heart being pinched hard.

In his past life, after a family tragedy, he was indeed depressed for a long time. That was the darkest period of his life, with his parents constantly arguing and the atmosphere at home so oppressive it was suffocating.

Although he gradually recovered, he became much more gloomy.

This girl is so naive it breaks my heart.

Chen Zhi straightened up and took two steps closer.

He reached out and gently stroked Lin Wanwan's cheek with the rough pad of his thumb, wiping away the few glistening tears.

He moved very gently, afraid of hurting her delicate skin.

"Stop crying, you look awful."

Although he complained verbally, his hands didn't stop moving.

Lin Wanwan sobbed and instinctively tried to pull away, but stopped when she felt the warmth from Chen Zhi's fingertips.

She stared blankly at Chen Zhi.

Chen Zhi seems a little different today.

Normally, this bad guy would only pull her braids or draw turtles on her face; he had never been this... this gentle before.

Listen.

Chen Zhi withdrew his hand, put it in his pocket, bent down slightly, and brought his eyes to her level.

"I'm not leaving."

His voice was steady, like a calming force, instantly soothing Lin Wanwan's panic.

"I won't feed the pigs, much less shovel manure."

"I will stay in Jiangcheng forever."

Chen Zhi looked into those clear, bright eyes and spoke, word by word.

"I'll stay with you until you finish junior high, then high school. After that, we'll take the college entrance exam together and go to the same city."

"As long as you don't find me annoying, we'll stay together forever."

Lin Wanwan blinked, tears still clinging to her long eyelashes.

She could hardly believe her ears.

"Really?"

She asked cautiously, afraid that it was another prank.

"real."

Chen Zhi nodded, his expression more serious than ever before.

"I'd be a dog if I lied to you."

Lin Wanwan sniffed and stared at Chen Zhi's face for several seconds.

Suddenly, her lips trembled, and she was about to burst into tears again.

"You've been lying to me since you were a child!"

She complained, her voice filled with deep grievance.

"You said if you eat watermelon without spitting out the seeds, a watermelon will grow in your stomach; you said kissing will make you pregnant; you said you're Ultraman reincarnated... When have you ever not lied to me!"

Chen Zhi's lips twitched slightly.

This girl has a good memory; she remembers these old grievances clearly.

"This time is different."

Chen Zhi rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache.

"This time I'm really not lying to you."

"Then where did you get the money?"

Although Lin Wanwan is naive, she is not stupid.

"Your parents are arguing, and that bastard stole all the money. Where are you going to get the money for tuition?"

Chen Zhi smiled mysteriously.

He looked around to make sure there was no one else in the hallway before leaning close to Lin Wanwan's ear and whispering something.

"I have a way to make a lot of money."

The hot breath tickled Lin Wanwan's ears. She shrank back, her curiosity instantly piqued.

"What method?"

Is Chen Zhi going to rob a bank? No, no, that's illegal!

Chen Zhi straightened up, a profound and inscrutable expression on his face.

"Heavenly secrets must not be revealed."

Seeing that Lin Wanwan was about to get angry again, he slowly uttered three words.

"Buy lottery tickets."

Lin Wanwan was stunned for a moment, then a look of disappointment appeared on her face.

"You lied to me again!"

She stomped her foot in anger, causing the plastic bag in her arms to sway.

"My mom said the lottery is a scam! It's a tax on people's intelligence! There's no way you can win!"

"Old Wang next door has been buying lottery tickets for ten years and hasn't even won a single penny!"

"You're just trying to trick me into giving you my allowance to buy lottery tickets!"

Chen Zhi clicked his tongue.

These days, elementary school students aren't easily fooled; they have a strong sense of fraud prevention.

"Wanwan."

Chen Zhi suddenly reached out and grabbed Lin Wanwan's wrist.

Lin Wanwan was startled and tried to break free, but found that Chen Zhi was holding her very tightly.

"Look at me."

Chen Zhi's voice was deep and powerful, carrying an irresistible force.

Lin Wanwan subconsciously looked up and met a pair of deep eyes.

The usual playfulness and cynicism were gone from those eyes; in their place was a firmness and confidence that she couldn't understand.

Like...like those strategizing generals in TV dramas.

"I'm really not lying to you this time."

Chen Zhi looked at her and said, word by word.

Trust me this once.

"Let's go buy it together tomorrow morning. If we don't win, I'll be your slave from now on, I'll do whatever you want me to do."

"real?"

Lin Wanwan wavered.

She had never seen Chen Zhi so serious before.

"More real than real gold."

Chen Zhi raised three fingers as if making a vow.

"If I'm lying to you, may I never eat instant noodles without the seasoning packet for the rest of my life."

Lin Wanwan burst out laughing.

What kind of oath is this?

However, seeing Chen Zhi's confident expression, the huge weight in her heart inexplicably lifted.

Maybe...maybe he really does have a way?

After all, Chen Zhi has always been very smart, even though he always uses his intelligence to bully her.

"Well... okay then."

Lin Wanwan hesitated for a moment before nodding, then hugged the plastic bag in her arms even tighter.

"There's no other way anyway."

"But it's a deal, if you don't win, you have to listen to me and get my dad to help you. You can't refuse!"

Chen Zhi raised an eyebrow.

"OK."

He agreed readily.

It's impossible for it not to win.

"I'll be waiting for you downstairs at eight o'clock tomorrow morning."

Chen Zhi released her hand and pointed to the plastic bag in her arms.

"Take this money back and hide it well, don't let your mom find it, otherwise she'll accuse you of wasting money again."

Lin Wanwan nodded obediently.

"Shall I go back now?"

"Let's go back."

Chen Zhi waved his hand.

Lin Wanwan turned around and took two steps, then suddenly stopped and looked back at Chen Zhi.

"Chen Zhi".

"What's wrong now?"

"Are you really not leaving?"

"I'm not leaving."

"Pinky promise."

Lin Wanwan extended her little finger.

Chen Zhi shook his head helplessly, walked over, and hooked his little finger around hers.

"Pinky promise, a hundred years from now, whoever breaks it is a dog."

Two fingers were hooked tightly together, and the thumb stamped a mark.

Lin Wanwan finally stopped crying and smiled, hugging the heavy bag of hope, and ran home.

The security door slammed shut.

The hallway returned to silence.

Chen Zhi stood there, staring at the closed door, his smile gradually fading.

Inside the room, Zhang Guifang's crying and cursing had stopped, replaced by a chilling silence.

That was the calm before the storm.

Chen Zhi took a deep breath, pushed open his security door, and went inside.

Now that I've been reborn, I'm not going to let this messed-up life repeat itself.

The father's dignity, the family's savings, and that silly girl's tears.

He will defend it.