Reborn a day later, I emptied my enemy's possessions beforehand.

Li Zhigang stood at the door, wearing a dark blue jacket over a light gray crew neck sweater, dark casual pants, and black casual leather shoes.

He was over fifty years old, with gray hair and many wrinkles on his face, but he was in good spirits and his back was very straight.

He saw Zhou Haibing sitting in the living room, walked over quickly, a smile on his face, and shook hands with Zhou Haibing. The grip was stronger than usual, and he couldn't hide his excitement.

"Haibing, you're here!" Li Zhigang released his grip and plopped down on the sofa next to Zhou Haibing, leaning forward slightly, rubbing his knees together, his eyes fixed on Zhou Haibing.

"What about that white-skinned Moon Realm you mentioned? Did you bring it over?"

He spoke very quickly, his voice filled with an barely suppressed eagerness, like a child who had been waiting for a long time and was finally about to get the toy he had been longing for.

Zhou Haibing looked into his eyes, a faint smile appearing on her lips.

"I brought it," he said.

Li Zhigang's eyes suddenly lit up, like two lights being turned on at the same time.

"Where is it? Let me see!"

He even lifted his butt off the sofa, leaned forward, stretched his neck, and looked around Zhou Haibing, but didn't see anything. He looked up at the doorway again, but still nothing.

Zhou Haibing did not move.

He looked into Li Zhigang's eyes, his voice not loud, but every word was as clear as if it were engraved on glass.

"Zhigang, don't panic."

Look at me.

Li Zhigang glanced over instinctively.

The moment their eyes met, a very faint light flashed in Li Zhigang's eyes—

That light wasn't an expression of any emotion, but rather a physiological response from his brain the instant it received the information.

Then the light disappeared, as if someone had turned off the only light in the room.

His pupils contracted sharply, as if refocusing, and then the focused light was instantly extinguished as if someone had covered it with their hand.

Li Zhigang's eyes became empty and lifeless.

His neck was still stretched out, his body was still slightly leaning forward, maintaining the same urgent movement, but his whole body was no longer moving, like a statue whose pause button had been pressed.

His mouth was slightly open, his lips were a little dry, and his hands were resting on his knees, motionless.

Xia Guilan was sitting on the sofa opposite, picked up her water glass and took a sip. As she put the glass down, her eyes inadvertently swept across her husband's face.

Her hand holding the cup paused.

"Zhigang?" she called out.

Li Zhigang did not respond.

"Zhigang!" Xia Guilan's voice rose a few octaves as she leaned forward and nudged Li Zhigang's arm.

"What's wrong, Zhigang?"

Li Zhigang's body swayed slightly from the push, but his expression remained unchanged, his eyes still holding that chilling emptiness, like a machine whose power-on password had been forgotten.

Xia Guilan's hand froze in mid-air.

She slowly turned her head to look at Zhou Haibing, her eyes filled with doubt and an inexplicable unease.

Her lips moved, her voice slightly strained:

"Haibing, what happened to Zhigang? He was fine just now, how could he suddenly—"

Zhou Haibing looked at her, the curve of his lips unchanged, his voice as calm as if he were saying that the weather was nice today.

"Sister-in-law, Zhigang is alright."

Xia Guilan's gaze met Zhou Haibing's.

In that instant, all the emotions in her eyes—

Doubt, unease, vigilance—

It disappeared completely, as if it had been absorbed by a giant sponge.

Her pupils contracted sharply at first, then quickly dilated. The muscles around her eyes relaxed, and her expression changed from tense to relaxed, then to blank.

Her body swayed, like someone who couldn't stand steadily, then slowly, very slowly, she leaned back against the sofa back.

With his hands hanging limply at his sides, he lay there motionless like a lump of mud stripped of its bones, his eyes lifeless.

The living room fell silent.

Li Zhigang sat on the sofa next to Zhou Haibing, leaning forward.

Xia Guilan slumped on the single sofa opposite her, her body twisted and crooked.

Neither of them moved; only the slight rise and fall of their chests proved they were still alive.

Zhou Haibing leaned back on the sofa, looking at the two people, a complex mix of emotions welling up inside him.

Xia Guilan is no good either.

Zhou Haibing remembers clearly that when Li Su'e was still alive, Xia Guilan always had a cold face whenever she went to her elder brother's house.

After Li Su'e left, Xia Guilan wouldn't cook an extra dish or buy an extra portion of meat; she would usually just settle for a bowl of instant noodles.

One time, Li Su'e stayed at her elder brother's house for half a day longer than usual. Xia Guilan kept checking her watch, no less than ten times, the meaning of which was very clear—you should go.

Once, when Li Su'e was truly homeless, she tentatively asked:

"Sister-in-law, can I stay at your house for one night? Just one night."

Xia Guilan's face immediately changed, as if she had swallowed a fly.

She pulled Li Zhigang into the kitchen, her voice very low, but Li Su'e still heard her:

"If she stays here, what if An Baojun comes knocking on our door? Will we still be able to live together? You need to make her leave right now; I don't want to cause this trouble."

Li Zhigang came out and said to Li Su'e:

"Su'e, your sister-in-law is right. You know An Baojun. If he knew you were living here, he would definitely come and make trouble."

"You should go back. Couples don't hold grudges overnight."

Li Su'e is gone.

When she left, Xia Guilan stood at the door, didn't even say "take care," and simply closed the door.

Xia Guilan also said many hurtful things about Li Su'e behind her back.

Once, after being beaten by An Baojun, Li Su'e went out to buy groceries with injuries on her face. A neighbor saw her and some people talked about her behind her back.

Xia Guilan said something while gossiping with others:

"Her behavior suggests she's promiscuous, otherwise why would An Baojun hit her instead of others?"

slut.

You despicable person.

Indecent.

These words, spoken by Xia Guilan, sounded light and airy, like spitting out sunflower seed shells.

She never considered Li Su'e as family.

In her eyes, Li Su'e was not her husband's sister, nor her child's aunt, but a trouble, a burden, and a hindrance that could bring instability to her life at any time.

Zhou Haibing took a deep breath and suppressed his surging emotions.

"Li Zhigang, take out your phone."

Li Zhigang mechanically pulled a cell phone out of the inside pocket of his jacket and handed it over.

It's a Huawei Mate series phone with a black casing and several scratches on the screen.

What is your phone password?

"180325".