Anan

010 Nan's daily life (2)

Li Xinyuan's heart, realizing their closeness, decided to playfully punch him. He exaggeratedly screamed in response, seemingly enjoying it.

"Well," Li Xinyuan thought, "now I know how to deal with him."

Li Yumo asked, "Are you really okay?"

Li Xinyuan replied, "What could possibly be wrong?" playfully.

Li Yumo, expressing concern for his friend, then glanced back at the Ferrari, considering his father's status and the unlikeliness of such a casual gift.

"Zen, why don't you drive!" Li Xinyuan remained motionless.

At nineteen, Zhang Yanan had obtained his driver's license. She, on the other hand, had not.

But Li Xinyuan was eager to visit her sister and noticed Li Yumo's fondness for the Ferrari. So, she rubbed her temples and said, "I'm feeling a bit dizzy. Could you drive instead?"

Li Yumo was shocked, "Are you giving me your first...?"

Li Xinyuan interrupted, "Yes, yes, just tell me if you can drive."

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be able to? We share a driver's license after all, Zen, get in the car, and watch me show off."

As they got in the car, Li Yumo initially drove recklessly, with erratic acceleration and loud engine revs, impressively executing a few drifts, leaving Li Xinyuan feeling disoriented. Yet, to maintain her facade, she feigned excitement alongside Li Yumo.

Pretending to be a rebellious teenager was truly exhausting!

After a few rounds, even Li Yumo felt dizzy, and the car gradually stabilized. They encountered a traffic police check on the way, and Li Yumo, who had driven his car earlier in the day, had his license with him. Li Xinyuan took the opportunity to glance quickly and learned the guy's name.

The Li family lived in an old dormitory building, on the ground floor. Li Yumo parked the car outside her house and exclaimed, "Isn't this the house of the girl you saved yesterday? We even helped bring her here." He grinned mischievously, "Oh—"

Exiting the car, Li Xinyuan gazed at the familiar old house from her memories.

Was the person Zhang Yanan saved yesterday actually herself? It dawned on her that she vaguely recalled a time in her sophomore year when she fell into a pond by accident and was rescued. However, she was too out of it to remember the rescuer's face clearly. Her parents later mentioned that the person left without a word and never returned, making it impossible to express their gratitude.

That person turned out to be Zhang Yanan. It seemed they had met much earlier than she realized, and she had unknowingly owed him a debt of gratitude.

Li Xinyuan had grown up in this house, and her parents still lived here. The building was over a decade old, with grayish-white walls and a dark brown roof. It was modest, with two bedrooms and a living room, but it was spacious and airy. In front was a small courtyard with neatly woven bamboo fences and some vegetables and fruits grown by her mother, though in winter, the yard looked barren.

Standing outside the fence, Li Xinyuan peered through the window and noticed movement inside.

Beside her, Li Yumo teased, "Do you want to go in? Are you concerned about the girl or are you smitten with her? I never expected you to jump into the water like that yesterday."

His words reminded Li Xinyuan that her sudden leap yesterday might have startled her parents if she were to visit them now. Visiting the rescued girl seemed like a reasonable excuse.

Li Xinyuan reached into her wallet and handed Li Yumo a hundred yuan, saying, "Stop speculating. I'm just paying a visit, a token of goodwill. About fifty meters to the right of the building, there's a convenience store. Go buy some milk and fruit; we can't visit empty-handed."

Li Yumo didn't think Zhang Yanan would be interested in the girl, knowing he already had a girlfriend.

But Li Yumo frowned at the hundred yuan, "Is this all?"

"It's enough," Li Xinyuan replied, planning to return it to Zhang Yanan later.

Taking the money, Li Yumo grumbled, "What's gotten into you today? You're acting so stingy and maternal."

Li Xinyuan remained silent.

While waiting for Li Yumo, Li Xinyuan looked down at the body she was in. Standing at least six feet tall, it felt strange for her, who used to be five feet three inches. Clad in a black coat, white hoodie, gray sweatpants, and a pair of oddly shaped Jordan sneakers.

She had woken up in a rush to save her sister, without much thought. Could she still revert to her own body? Could she return to eight years later? In other words, how long would she be stuck in 2014?

If she couldn't return immediately, she should blend in more like him to navigate her surroundings easily.

What was nineteen-year-old Zhang Yanan like?

Two faces floated in Li Xinyuan's mind. One, the stern twenty-seven-year-old CEO, the other, the invincible youth she saw in the mirror this morning. She carefully pondered the vibrant youthfulness and the mature aura of the man eight years later, feeling a hint of something... Hmm, her face felt a bit warm.

When Li Yumo returned with the groceries, he found "Zen" leaning against the building wall, hands in pockets, foot propped against the dusty wall, wearing a sour expression. But Li Yumo had always been impressed by his "Zen" and found him incredibly cool, willingly playing the sidekick.

Approaching eagerly, Li Yumo said, "Bro, got the stuff."

Li Xinyuan murmured in acknowledgment and took the items, leading him to knock on the door.

The door opened.

A man in his forties appeared, of average height, with a handsome face and a slightly worried expression. Recognizing them, he hesitated, "Are you...?"

Yesterday, Zhang Yanan had brought Li Xinyuan back to this place after rescuing her, but they had left before proper introductions were made.

Seeing the man, who now looked seven or eight years younger than her real father, Li Xinyuan's eyes moistened. Suppressing her emotions, she said, "Uncle, I was the one rescued by Zhang Yanan yesterday. I came to check on her. Is she alright?"

Behind the man emerged a woman in her forties, Li Xinyuan's mother. She had always been slender. Her eyes were red as she said, "It's you! You left in such a hurry yesterday, we didn't get a chance to thank you properly. And today, you're here again. How can we ever repay you?" She started crying.

Seeing her mother cry, tears welled up in Li Xinyuan's eyes too. She asked her father, "Why is she crying?"

Her father replied, "Ah, come in."

Li Xinyuan and Li Yumo followed her father into the room, and she couldn't help but entertain a bizarre thought—could it be that Zhang Yanan, upon entering her body, couldn't handle the reality and had a breakdown?

Or perhaps became autistic?

Surely not. She herself could accept the reality quickly and take positive steps to change her fate. Zhang Yanan was even more astute and decisive, and her parents were easy to deceive.

Young Li Xinyuan had shared a bedroom with her sister, with two single beds. But now, only the seventeen-year-old Li Xinyuan lay on one bed. She had fair, rosy cheeks and an innocent charm, fast asleep, completely unaware.

Had Zhang Yanan entered this body?

Or had she come alone? Seventeen-year-old Li Xinyuan was still there, asleep. Was her arrival the reason for her sister's unconsciousness?

Li Xinyuan gently took one of the small hands on the bed, holding it with both of hers, gazing at her with tenderness and concern, lost in her troubled thoughts.

Behind her, the three adults exchanged glances.

Li's mother nudged Li's father, and Li Yumo whistled.

Li's father's face turned red and blue, "Young man, let go of her hand!"