The beloved but ungrateful girl is reborn: This time she has truly changed.

"So, I need to rescue my parents first. And I need to make sure they never dare to even think about harming them again!"

Qi Weiwei said,

"As long as my parents are safe, as long as my family is safe, I have nothing to be afraid of."

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the courtyard gate.

This time, Ling Heping has returned.

He pushed the door open and came in, his face looking rather grim.

"How is it?" Qi Weiwei immediately stood up.

Ling Heping shook his head: "The situation is not good. My comrade said that Tang Qu is determined to frame people this time. He has accused Uncle Qi and Aunt Qi of 'embezzlement and bribery, misappropriation of state property'."

"What?!" Qi Weiwei trembled with anger. "What right does he have?!"

"Given that he is the director of the expropriation committee, the false evidence has already been prepared."

Ling Heping's voice was deep.

He said that when Aunt Qi was a purchasing agent at the supply and marketing cooperative, she took advantage of her position to accept bribes and purchase inferior goods at low prices, causing significant losses to the country.

They also said that Uncle Qi, as a train driver, smuggled in-demand goods to make exorbitant profits.

"Nonsense!" Qi Chun Chun retorted angrily. "Mom worked at the supply and marketing cooperative for twenty years, with an impeccable record! Dad would never engage in illegal buying and selling! Dad was a model worker every year!"

Ling Heping nodded: "I know. But once these charges are leveled, they're very difficult to clear..."

He didn't finish speaking, but everyone understood.

In this day and age, once you're labeled as "corrupt and accepting bribes," you're basically finished.

At best, they will be dismissed from their public office; at worst, they will be sentenced to prison or labor reform.

"My comrade said," Ling Heping continued, "that the best way now is to find Tang Qu's weakness and force him to release the people. We won't gain anything by going head-to-head."

Silence fell in the room.

All eyes were on Qi Weiwei's face.

That "guarantee" might be their only bargaining chip.

Qi Weiwei clutched her chest, her gaze gradually hardening.

"I'm going to find him now," she said.

"Weiwei!" Grandpa cried out anxiously, "You can't go! It's too dangerous!"

"I have to go." Qi Weiwei stood up. "My parents were arrested because of me. I can't let them suffer in there."

She looked at Ling Heping: "Brother Heping, can you do me a favor?"

"you say."

"Please help me get my two children and my second sister to a safe place."

Qi Weiwei said,

"The Tang family doesn't know yet that the child has been found. If they did, I'm afraid they might harm the child."

Ling Heping nodded: "Okay. My comrade's family lives in the suburbs. His house is big, and he's reliable. We can take them there."

Qi Weiwei then looked at her grandfather: "Grandpa, you and Grandma should go too. If Tang Qu can't find me, he might come looking for you."

Grandpa shook his head: "I'm not leaving. I'll wait here and see what Tang Qu can do to this old man!"

"Grandpa!" Qi Weiwei cried out anxiously.

"Don't say anymore." Grandpa waved his hand, his tone resolute. "I'm not going anywhere. You young people go, I'll stay and look after the house."

Qi Weiwei knew her grandfather's temper and couldn't persuade him.

She could only look at her grandmother.

Grandma shook her head: "I'm with your grandpa."

Qi Weiwei had no choice but to say to Ling Heping, "Then let's send the children and my second sister away as soon as possible."

Ling Heping nodded: "I'll arrange a car right now."

He turned to leave again, but Qi Weiwei called out to him, "Brother Heping, wait."

Ling Heping turned around.

Qi Weiwei walked up to him, looked into his eyes, and said earnestly, "Thank you."

Ling Heping smiled and said, "Thank me again. Wait for me to come back."

After saying that, he strode away.

As Qi Weiwei watched his retreating figure, a warm feeling welled up in her heart.

In this life, she is no longer alone.

She has family, friends, and people willing to help her.

She will definitely win.

For her parents, for her daughters, for her second sister, and for herself.

She will definitely make the Tang family pay the price.

……

On a winter afternoon in Beijing, the sky was overcast, as if covered with a layer of old, unwashed cotton wool.

Qi Weiwei followed her older brother Qi Zhuangzhuang off the bus and walked on the familiar yet unfamiliar streets.

The bare sycamore trees on both sides of the road shivered in the cold wind. Several pedestrians wrapped in thick cotton-padded coats hurried past with their necks hunched, and their breath vanished in an instant.

"Weiwei, are you really going up alone?"

Qi Zhuangzhuang asked again, still worried, his brows furrowed.

"I've met Tang Qu a few times; he's no good. He's in the harvest committee now, and he's ruthless."

Qi Weiwei tightened the scarf around her neck—it was knitted by her mother, Chen Hongxia, last winter; it was deep red with slightly uneven diamond patterns.

In her past life, she casually tossed this scarf into a corner of her grandmother's house and never wore it again.

Now that it's tied back on, the slight itching sensation of the wool against her skin feels incredibly real.

"Brother, there are some things that only I can tell him."

Qi Weiwei's voice was calm, but her gaze was as firm as iron. "If any of you were here, he would have some reservations. What I want today is to tear off the mask of civility."

Qi Zhuangzhuang looked at his younger sister, a feeling he couldn't quite describe welling up inside him.

After returning from Shandong Province, Weiwei seemed like a different person.

Her eyes held both light and a sharp edge.

"Then I'll wait for you downstairs."

Qi Zhuangzhuang finally gave in, patting his chest—there lay a guarantee wrapped in several layers of oil paper—which Qi Weiwei had taken down before leaving her grandfather's house and given to her older brother for safekeeping.

"I'll definitely keep this safe for you!"

"Big brother, this thing," she pointed to her brother's chest, hesitated for a moment, "is just in case... I mean, just in case I don't come down after an hour, you should give this to Ling Heping, he knows what to do."

"What nonsense are you talking about!"

Qi Zhuangzhuang became anxious.

"Do you think I'd let anything happen to you? I'll be guarding the stairwell. If anything happens, just shout. I can take down three or five of you without a problem!"

Seeing her older brother's flustered and pale face, Qi Weiwei felt a warmth in her heart.

In his past life, his elder brother ruined his life because of a lie he told.

In this life, she will never let anyone hurt her family again.

"Okay," she replied softly, turning and walking towards the familiar tenement building.

This is the family compound of the land reclaiming committee. Tang Qu, as the highest-ranking official in the committee, was allocated the best unit on the third floor, east side, with three bedrooms, a living room, and a large south-facing balcony where sunlight could fill half the room in winter.

In her past life, Qi Weiwei often came here to please her in-laws, always carrying large bags and speaking in a humble manner.

Zhang Qingtian never gave him a kind look, while Tang Qu kept his distance, subtly looking down on the Qi family for being "a small and insignificant family."

The stairwell was filled with the smell of coal smoke mixed with cabbage. In some places, the plaster on the walls had peeled off, revealing the gray-black bricks underneath.

Qi Weiwei walked up the stairs step by step, her footsteps echoing in the empty corridor.

When she reached the third floor, she stopped in front of the east-facing door, took a deep breath, and raised her hand to knock on the door.