Shortly after Yan Qi and her mother returned home, Yan Zhenyi also arrived.
He had come back so quickly because the incident at Daheng Real Estate’s sales office had already been resolved with Yan Qi’s help. Seeing no further need for him to stay, Chief Lei had dismissed him to continue his vacation.
Welcomed warmly by his wife and daughter upon his safe return, Yan Zhenyi assured them he hadn’t been harmed in the incident. Soon after, the family began discussing what had happened.
When they learned about Wu Laosan’s name and how his impulsive actions stemmed from his daughter’s illness, Li Caifeng couldn’t help but sigh sympathetically. Yan Qi, who already knew the full story, quickly mirrored her mother’s expression to avoid raising suspicion.
Once the family had gone over the details of the day’s events, the three of them moved on from the topic. They returned to their usual routines, settling back into the peaceful rhythm of daily life.
Time flew by, and before long, dusk had fallen.
After dinner, Yan Qi helped her parents with the chores before hurrying upstairs to her bedroom, leaving the first-floor living room behind.
Seeing her soft, faintly fragrant bed, she immediately flopped onto it. Staring at the ceiling, she recalled Wu Laosan bowing to her in gratitude as the police led him away earlier that day.
She knew he had done so because she’d promised to ask her “superhuman doctor friend” to cure his daughter’s leukemia. Quietly, she reassured herself:
“Don’t worry, Uncle Wu. I made a promise, and I’ll keep it.”
With that resolved, she decided to visit the hospital the next day and pushed thoughts of Wu Laosan and his daughter aside for now.
After resting for a while, she sat up and pulled out the notebook she had hidden in her drawer. Unsure whether she had any magical energy left, she followed the instructions inside to check.
To no surprise, she found she had none at all.
“Well, I’ve only been practicing for such a short time. At this rate, it’ll probably take a few more days before I can accumulate any real power.”
Accepting the result, she mentally consoled herself and prepared to begin her evening cultivation.
But just as she crossed her legs, closed her eyes, and focused on sensing the spiritual vortex—
Buzzzz.
Her phone vibrated loudly.
“Huh? Who’s calling me at this hour?”
Opening her eyes in confusion, she picked up her phone and checked the caller ID.
“It’s my sister.”
Without hesitation, she answered.
“Hey, sis. What’s up?”
“What, can’t I just call you for no reason?”
On the balcony of her dorm, Yan Yu—her long black hair cascading down her shoulders, dressed in a crop top, shorts, and black stockings, effortlessly beautiful even without makeup—gazed at the half-hidden moon behind the clouds as she spoke.
“At least give me a decent excuse,” Yan Qi retorted.
Yan Yu chuckled. “How about ‘I missed you’?”
“You think that counts as ‘decent’?”
“Fine, fine. Mom just told me you two went out and bought a new phone today, so I wanted to hear your voice. Happy?”
“My voice? Why?”
“Well, after what happened to you on Monday… Even though Mom and Dad said you were fine, I needed to hear it for myself. Otherwise, it felt like a rock was sitting on my chest.”
“Oh… So, now that you’ve heard me, is the rock gone?”
“Mhm. All thanks to you, my dear little sister.”
Instead of cringing at the overly sweet nickname, Yan Qi actually found it endearing. Smiling slightly, she asked, “Anything else you wanted to talk about?”
“Nope. That’s it.”
Having achieved her goal, Yan Yu had nothing more to add.
“Alright, then I’m hanging up. I’ve got some stuff to take care of.”
“Got it. I’ll see you and Mom and Dad when summer break starts. Bye!”
“Bye, sis.”
After ending the call, Yan Qi tossed her phone aside, closed her eyes again, and resumed her cultivation.
On the other end, Yan Yu didn’t feel the slightest bit disappointed. Instead, a faint smile lingered on her lips.
“Xiao Yu, were you just talking to your family?”
Xu Ziqi, who had been working on homework at her desk, paused and looked up as Yan Yu stepped back inside from the balcony.
“Yeah, I was,” Yan Yu replied.
“No wonder you look so happy. Oh, by the way—is our class going hiking this Saturday?”