Reborn in 2006, I met Mr. Zhou from the past.

When Su Fengnan returned home, it was already completely dark. Her father, Su Guoyuan, sat in a chair with a sullen face. When he saw her return, he just snorted heavily and didn't say a word to her the whole time.

Because she was soaked to the bone, Wen Xiaofen quickly accompanied her to the public bathhouse for a hot shower and brought her some ginger soup that Su Fengxia had specially prepared. After drinking the hot soup and getting rid of the dampness, Su Fengnan ate a few bites of rice and went to bed early.

Before going to sleep, Wen Xiaofen sat on the edge of the bed and gently said, "Xiaonan, you came home late today, and your dad's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. Don't take it to heart; he's just too worried about your safety. Don't do that again next time, okay?"

"Mom, I know. Please help me coax him. Getting angry is bad for your health." Su Fengnan paused, then found an excuse to explain, "The rain was really heavy today, and I'm not a very good bike rider. I was afraid of falling if I rode too fast, so I went a little slower."

"Your dad has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. He'll be fine after a good night's sleep. Don't be afraid of him."

"Okay, I'm going to sleep now."

Seeing her daughter obediently lie down and tucked in, Wen Xiaofen finally felt relieved and went downstairs. As for the rescue, Su Fengnan didn't mention it at all. In her view, it was merely a small act of kindness, a way for her, after her rebirth, to accumulate good karma and repay this immense favor.

In the middle of the night, Su Fengnan suddenly woke up from a nightmare, drenched in cold sweat. Although she couldn't remember what she dreamt about, the palpitating fear lingered. She went downstairs and drank a glass of cold water, which completely banished her drowsiness. Since she couldn't sleep anyway, she turned on her computer and went online.

She first checked the online store's backend and saw that the first day's sales had reached over a dozen orders, which improved her mood slightly. Then, she logged into her QQ account, and a message from Editor Song popped up: "Xinyuan, the publisher wants to buy the copyright outright! Oh my little darling, if only you had a phone, I'm so worried!"

Su Fengnan chuckled, surprised that the usually composed Editor Song could be so impatient. She left a number and sent it: "This is my phone number. Editor Song, a buyout isn't out of the question, but I'm not considering it now. I'll wait at least a month."

Actually, she spent the past month waiting for the popularity of her second book to build up. Only by publishing two books simultaneously could she secure the best negotiating power.

Just as Su Fengnan was about to shut down her computer, another avatar started beeping incessantly.

"Still not asleep so late?" It was Zhou Chenyu.

"I'm awake, can't fall back asleep. Is Brother Zhou still busy so late?"

"work overtime."

"Oh, then I won't bother you any longer. Work is more important."

Sitting in his study, Zhou Chenyu stared at the screen, rubbing his forehead in exasperation. This conversation was practically suffocating. Suppressing his inexplicable annoyance, he sent another message: "Just finished work and saw you were online. Are you at an internet cafe? Be careful."

So that's what he was worried about? Su Fengnan felt a warmth in her heart and explained, "Thank you, Brother Zhou. I bought a new computer; it's at home."

"That's good. Did you find a summer job?"

Su Fengnan paused for a moment, then replied, "Found it. Sales, selling clothes."

"Sales is a great way to develop yourself, keep it up!"

"Okay, thank you! I will. It's too late, Brother Zhou, you should go and get some rest, don't overwork yourself."

"Okay, talk to you later."

Ending the conversation, Su Fengnan took a deep breath, pulling her thoughts back to the world she had created, and continued typing. Chapter 40 of *Rebirth: If Life Were Only As We First Met*: The female protagonist, Mi Siyue, finally discovers that her father was killed in a plot within the royal harem—simply because he inadvertently stumbled upon a shocking conspiracy by the Empress and the Crown Prince to collude with an enemy state and kill 200,000 Yin family soldiers. And those 200,000 Yin family soldiers were none other than the troops under the command of General Yin Hong, the father of the male protagonist, Yin Hang.

The male and female protagonists became acquainted while investigating a case, but both found themselves in a deadly predicament, ordered to be killed by the top assassin organization in the martial arts world, "Tianyi Pavilion." Su Fengnan was so engrossed in the story that she didn't feel her eyes welling up until the two of them joined forces to break the deadlock. She stretched and looked out the window; the sky was already turning a pale white.

Quickly packing up her laptop, Su Fengnan grabbed a bamboo basket and headed to the morning market. She bought a basket brimming with ginger, scallions, garlic, minced meat, green peppers, tomatoes, shiitake mushrooms, dried shrimp…

Back home, the kitchen erupted in a symphony of pots and pans. The aroma of three secret sauces—green pepper and tomato sauce, mushroom and minced meat sauce, and garlic and shrimp sauce—was irresistible, prepared specifically for making noodles this morning.

"Breakfast is ready!" Su Fengnan called out towards the stairwell.

A moment later, Su Fengxia came downstairs rubbing her eyes: "Sister, what did you make? I could smell the aroma from upstairs, and it made my mouth water."

"It's delicious, and there's plenty to go around." Su Fengnan smiled as she poured water for her parents to wash their faces.

The family sat around the table, the cooked noodles were mixed with a rich sauce, drizzled with bright red chili oil, sprinkled with sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, mung bean sprouts and scallions, and then topped with a golden fried egg.

"Mmm~ It's so delicious! Sis, your cooking is getting better and better!" Su Fengxia took a big bite and praised indistinctly.

"Eat more if you like it," Su Fengnan said, picking up another fried egg for her.

After dinner, Su Fengnan packed the clothes to be shipped. "Dad, I saw that more than a dozen pieces have been sold online. I'll take them to town to mail them in a bit."

Upon hearing that the online store was actually generating income, the gloom on Su Guoyuan's face completely vanished, replaced by an unconcealable smile. His anger from last night had long since dissipated; after all, his daughter's safe return was more important than anything else.

"A dozen or so items... each one costs over a hundred, so ten items would be over a thousand. Even if we split it in half, we'd still make a few hundred yuan." Su Guoyuan calculated the figures aloud, but inwardly he couldn't help but marvel at the magic of the internet.

"Aside from costs, it's about right."

After her parents went to work, Su Fengnan took Su Fengxia to the town's express delivery station and successfully negotiated a long-term cooperation agreement with the Shentong Express courier.

……

Ruicheng, hospital.

Sun Zile was awake in the hospital bed, one leg in a cast, his body covered in bandages from various wounds, looking quite disheveled. Zhao Jun sat by the bed, looking at his friend's miserable state, and couldn't help but tease, "How did you end up being chased so badly this time? You almost lost your life."

Joking aside, Zhao Jun's expression quickly turned serious: "I understand what happened, but it shouldn't have escalated to the point of a car accident! Besides, we all know Uncle Wu's driving skills. Tell me, what exactly happened?"

Sun Zile's voice was low and hoarse, but the four words he uttered made the air freeze instantly: "Brake failure."

Zhao Jun's pupils contracted slightly, and he immediately took out his phone and dialed a number: "Hey, help me find out who approached Zile's car yesterday afternoon, the sooner the better!"

After hanging up the phone, Zhao Jun frowned: "Could it be that our rivals don't want our cooperation to go smoothly, and they've resorted to underhanded tactics?"

"How is Uncle Wu?" Sun Zile asked.

"He was in the intensive care unit with two broken ribs and intracranial hemorrhage, but the surgery went smoothly."

Sun Zile leaned against the hospital bed, a blurry figure suddenly flashing through his mind. He said, "Let's give a gift to the person who saved me. If it weren't for her, we might all be dead."

Moreover, in such terrible weather, it was a stroke of luck to encounter passersby who offered help.

When he heard that he should thank the girl, Zhao Jun hesitated, unsure how to bring it up with Zi Le—the girl had left without a word, without even leaving any contact information.