I did not tell them about the ambush today; this is my own affair, and I will resolve it in my own way.
The most important task right now is to recover the memories of my life before the age of six. I searched for some information online, but it was of little use. My memories were either deliberately erased or the result of severe trauma.
I think the possibility of them being deliberately erased is low. For a six-year-old child, erasing her memories and then raising her carries an extraordinarily high risk. Who could guarantee that this child wouldn't recover her memories when she grew up? Erasing her memories was far less cost-effective than simply killing her.
Besides, that age coincided precisely with the time my parents died. To kill me along with my parents—how clean and neat that would have been.
That leaves severe trauma.
The greatest possibility is the passing of my parents.
A poor child who became simple-minded after witnessing her parents' deaths—whoever raised her would be considered a great philanthropist.
That makes sense.
In my past life, I had no interest in the cause of my parents' death because I had no memory of them.
But now it is different. A person without roots is easily lost; I must know where I came from before I can decide where I am going.
Moreover, in those memories, there was Huo Jingchuan.
I began to gather information about my birth parents—my biological father and mother.
I hacked into the internal database of Nan Group.
In the eyes of the Nan family, I am someone addicted to video games. Therefore, Nan Yang is more than willing to provide me with the best computer, eager for me to lose myself in games and never look back.
I simply used gaming as a cover to become a hacker of average technical skill. Even my ex-husband's infidelity in my past life was something I uncovered myself.
Breaching the internal network of Nan Group to look up someone was not a particularly difficult task.
However, strangely enough, there was no person named Nan Zheng in the entire database of Nan Group.
I froze.
Nan Zheng, the second son of the Nan family, a figure who obtained half of his father's estate during his lifetime and matched his eldest brother in influence.
In Nan Group, there was no record of him, as if this person had never existed at all.
Without Nan Zheng, naturally there was no record of my mother, Tong Huan, who rumor had it was a female hoodlum from the underworld, and because of her, my intelligence had always been subjected to harsh criticism.
Tong Huan: no such person found.
I quietly logged out of the internal network of Nan Group and stared blankly at the computer screen.
When abnormal things happen, there must be demons at work.
That leaves me no choice but to start searching from the outside.
After a moment of thought, I posted a missing person notice in a hacker community; I wanted to find Tong Huan.
Since my mother's background was related to the underworld, it should naturally be easier to investigate.
After finishing all this, I took out my test papers and began the homework left by my Masters.
I am not in a rush to know the results. Two lifetimes have already passed; what is there to rush for?
The exam results came out the next day. Although I had precisely calculated my scores for each subject, my grade ranking still jumped fifty spots ahead of the previous semester.
This was something I hadn't anticipated; I had intended to climb up slowly in increments of ten places.
This time, I climbed a bit too much.
The head teacher was very excited. She is a pure believer in the "grades-only" doctrine, who looks solely at scores and doesn't even care about family background—which is quite rare indeed.
My usual "hard labor" duties were immediately excused, and she offered me many words of encouragement, the gist of which was hoping that I would keep up the good work and make even greater progress before the college entrance exams.
This little bit of "lime-light" immediately aroused the dissatisfaction of Li Tian and Tian Ting.
When school ended, the family car came to pick me up. The driver said very nicely that Mom and Dad missed me.
I obediently got into the car, putting on an appropriately flattered and pleasantly surprised expression.
Li Yuan looked me up and down with an icy gaze: "Huo Jingchuan really has quite some ability; to make such huge progress in just a single month? Tell me, what study methods has he been teaching you? Both you and your sister are taking the college entrance exams; naturally, good methods should be shared."
I cringed slightly and rubbed the palm of my left hand unnaturally.
Li Yuan frowned.
Nan Yang walked over and grabbed my hand: "What are you hiding?"
"N—no, nothing, Sister." I winced in pain and let out a gasp.
Nan Yang forcibly pried open my palm.
My palm was swollen, marked with a very distinct red welt.
The mother and daughter were taken aback.
"What is the meaning of this?"
I pulled back my hand and rubbed it cautiously. Last night, to make sure I learned my lesson and stopped tormenting his young heart, Lin Ran had tried his ruler on me for the very first time.
As a result, he didn't gauge his strength well: the first strike was too light and unsatisfying, so he put some muscle into the second one, hurting me so much that tears burst from my eyes on the spot.
Huo Jingchuan's expression hadn't looked good, and Lin Ran had apologized over and over, promising not only to tutor me in biology but also to take over physics and chemistry as well.
Who would have thought that today this injury would actually come in handy?
Dr. Lin Ran, what a huge loss.
"Speak, what's going on?" Seeing that I remained silent, Nan Yang grew even more interested.
I said timidly and aggrievedly: "If I fail to memorize the books my Master requires, I get hit on the hand—three strikes at a time, hitting the left hand because the right hand has to write."
Li Yuan and Nan Yang looked at each other, then broke into simultaneous smiles: "Oh, this Huo Jingchuan really knows how to get things done."
Nan Yang chimed in: "Exactly, who would have thought Uncle lives up to his reputation? He really doesn't show any mercy."
Li Yuan beamed with joy: "Indeed, only a strict teacher can produce brilliant students. This Huo Jingchuan is certainly responsible."
Nan Yang asked: "Does he only hit you, or does Huo Ni get beaten too?"
I shook my head: "Fifth Miss finishes her tasks well, so she doesn't get hit."
Nan Yang smiled with disdain.
Li Yuan asked: "Has Huo Ni's grades improved?"
Nan Yang said dismissively: "She studies liberal arts; it's bound to be easier anyway."
Li Yuan didn't mind.
Still, Nan Yang felt somewhat uncomfortably restless inside: "Don't you have any time to play video games anymore? Is anyone still looking for you to level up their accounts?"
I nodded: "Yes, but Master watches strictly, and my phone is a bit laggy, so I haven't taken on many."
Nan Yang's eyes rolled: "Dad bought me a new phone, but I don't have much use for it. You can take it. In the future, you might even be able to become a professional gamer for hire. What does taking the college entrance exam matter anyway? I'll talk to Dad and have him have a word with Uncle so he leaves you some time to play games every day. You have to balance work and rest, after all."
I was overjoyed: "Really? Thank you, Sister!"
Nan Yang looked thoroughly satisfied.
Compared to Li Yuan and her daughter, that kind of abuse involving beatings and scoldings was simply too low-class.
The highest form of abuse is raising a child to be useless.
In my past life, I was nothing more than a good-for-nothing, and a pawn at that—a good-for-nothing who willingly served as a pawn.
I had returned home feeling like a storm was about to sweep through the tower, but after taking their medicine, they rushed to send me back, and I got a brand-new phone into the bargain.
This outcome made me even happier than improving my rank by fifty places.
Surfing the internet was much more convenient on the new phone. I received an email: "Who are you?"
Ha, I'd like to know who I am myself.
However, getting a response is a good thing.
I replied with another message: "How did Tong Huan and her husband die? Quiz with a prize."
I quickly received a reply: "What prize?"
I let out a breath and typed out character by character: "Nan Group"
"Who on earth are you?"
I did not reply further.
As long as they have the intent, the other party will definitely be able to find me. Whether they are Tong Huan's relatives or enemies, I want to meet them because I want to be someone who understands the truth—even if I become a ghost to do it.
Putting down the phone, I took out an English test paper and buried myself in grinding through the questions.
When the alarm clock rang, I wrote down the very last letter.
My grasp of time is still not good enough; I need to continue stepping up my training.
I stretched lazily, stood up to move around a bit. It was already two in the morning; I couldn't stay up any longer. I planned to go downstairs to find something to eat and then go to sleep.
Just as I reached the top of the stairs, I heard some movement at the front door.
Does Huo Jingchuan really come home this late every single day?
A chance encounter is better than a scheduled appointment; I'll just wait for him and say goodnight. Seeing him before going to sleep is simply a luxury.
As the door opened, I froze.
Huo Jingchuan stood at the threshold, covered in blood.
Good heavens!
I lunged forward in a flying dash.
"You're injured? Where are you hurt? Who did this?"
I reached out immediately to inspect his wounds.
Huo Jingchuan must have been startled.
Just as my hands anxiously rummaged through his layers of clothing, he suddenly grabbed them: "I'm fine!"
His voice was somewhat low and hoarse.
I forced myself to calm down and helped him over to the sofa: "Sit down properly. Tell me where you're hurt! Should we go to the hospital or call a doctor to the house?"
In my past life, I had seen Huo Jingchuan injured far too many times, and on many occasions, it was because of me.
What about this time? Who hurt him? Why did they hurt him?
I carefully helped him take off his suit jacket; the light-colored jacket was already soaked through with blood over a large area.
Judging from the bloodstains on the jacket, I guessed the location of his injury and looked toward his abdomen. On his suit vest, the blood around the stomach area was particularly dark.
His wound was in the abdomen.
I knelt before him, placing my hands on his abdomen, and asked with a trembling voice: "Does it hurt?"
My tears had already begun to fall involuntarily.
Huo Jingchuan's gaze darkened, and he let out what seemed like a sigh: "It's nothing. Don't be afraid, Lin Ran will be here right away."
I knelt there, at a loss for what to do: "What should I do right now? Please, just let me do something!"
"—Pour me a glass of water." Huo Jingchuan's voice was very low and hoarse.
I stood up instantly, moving as fast as the wind.
I quickly mixed a glass of warm water and handed it to him.
Huo Feng took it and drank it down in one breath—he was truly parched to the bone.
"Why isn't Lin Ran here yet? Why is he so slow? Why hasn't he arrived?" I spun around anxiously in circles.