The thought flashed through her mind in an instant.
When he raised his hand to touch his face, all he felt were the uneven scars.
His faith rekindled once more.
He loved that military uniform.
He loved that patch of olive green—the hope it represented.
Liu Zhixia stuffed fresh cotton into the family’s two worn-out quilts. A full twenty jin of new cotton.
Once it was packed in, the quilts became wonderfully soft to the touch.
The old cotton they had removed had long since hardened and turned black with age. Without hesitation, Liu Zhixia threw it into the stove to be burned.
The eggs, grain, and other food supplies were divided up and carefully hidden by the four of them.
Holding the new rubber shoes in their hands, the three generations of the Zhou family couldn’t help but feel deeply moved.
How had they ever thought Zhixia wasn’t good enough? How had they believed she wasn’t worthy of Zhou Yunting?
She was such a thoughtful, caring girl that she softened everyone’s hearts.
The way Zhou Yunting looked at Liu Zhixia seemed noticeably warmer.
Liu Zhixia had no idea what had gotten into the man. Perhaps he was simply touched.
As the crescent moon slowly climbed into the night sky, a wave of heat gradually rose from her chest.
Liu Zhixia clearly felt the burning sensation.
It had never happened before.
It was as though something buried deep within her was finally breaking through the earth.
After making sure the partition blocked everyone’s view, she quietly undid the buttons of her shirt.
The sight before her nearly made even the usually composed girl cry out in shock.
A crimson butterfly-shaped mark was slowly taking root across her chest, becoming clearer and clearer.
Like ink spreading across silk, the pattern gradually expanded.
Then it filled itself with brilliant scarlet, mysterious and enchanting.
Bathed in the moonlight, Liu Zhixia’s delicate face took on an ethereal beauty.
She was so focused on the transformation that she completely failed to notice the burning, astonished gaze that flashed across the room for only a brief moment.
Zhou Yunting’s heart pounded as the image replayed endlessly in his mind.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t erase it.
In the silent room, the breathtakingly beautiful girl stared in shock at the crimson butterfly glowing with golden light upon her chest.
At that instant, Zhou Yunting had the strange feeling that she might drift away with the wind at any moment.
So…
Was this the secret she had been hiding all along?
The Zhou family had suffered a devastating downfall.
Although he had prepared backup plans, there were times when even they couldn’t reach far enough.
If her condition were discovered…
Would he truly have the ability to keep her safe?
His fists clenched tightly, veins bulging across his arms.
Once, he had proudly believed himself to be the leading figure among Beijing’s younger generation.
Yet now…
He couldn’t even protect the girl he loved.
The desire to become stronger surged within him.
Zhou Yunting wasn’t a fool.
Over the past two days, judging from his own reactions, he had already guessed part of the truth.
That single glimpse had suddenly made everything clear.
He liked that girl.
Or rather…
The girl who had awakened after taking her own life.
That one glance…
The crimson butterfly had not only been imprinted upon Liu Zhixia’s body—
It had branded itself onto Zhou Yunting’s heart as well.
Like an eternal mark, scorching hot and impossible to erase.
Now that he understood his own feelings, Zhou Yunting knew he had to return to Beijing sooner than planned.
He would climb the ranks as quickly as possible.
Only then could he shelter the girl he loved beneath his wings.
Meanwhile, Liu Zhixia was still reeling from the astonishing changes inside her space.
Surrounding her supermarket, an entirely new landscape had appeared.
A vast forest now stretched into the distance.
At its center lay dozens of mu of rich, fertile farmland.
Above the fields floated dense white mist, so thick it seemed ready to condense into droplets of water.
The moment her consciousness entered the space, Liu Zhixia let out a long breath.
She had never felt so completely satisfied, in both body and soul.
Unable to help herself, she sighed comfortably.
Without realizing it, she immersed herself in the sea of mist.
Gradually closing her eyes, she circulated her inner energy.
Immediately, the surrounding mist rushed toward her from every direction, pouring into her body through every pore.
Time slowly passed.
Her figure became increasingly hazy and graceful, completely wrapped in the dense fog.
Only when the stars faded and the first pale light of dawn appeared did Liu Zhixia slowly open her eyes in astonishment.
The once-dense mist had grown much thinner.
Yet her strength had surpassed even what it had been in her previous life.
Her aura became calmer, steadier, and far more restrained.
Like a treasured blade that had been sheathed, hiding its razor-sharp edge.
As she slowly opened her eyes, an innate nobility and elegance seemed to radiate from the depths of her very soul.
When Zhou Yunting woke and saw Liu Zhixia for the first time that morning, he was stunned yet again.
It wasn’t overwhelming beauty at first glance.
Instead, it was the quiet brilliance radiating from within her that struck directly at his heart.
His heartbeat quickened uncontrollably.
So…
Is this what it’s like to fall in love?
To have your heart race the moment you see someone?
To keep up appearances, Zhou Yunting and his father still had to remain at home pretending to be ill.
Old Master Zhou and Liu Zhixia, however, still had to report for work.
Breakfast, of course, couldn’t be skipped.
After yesterday’s shopping spree, Liu Zhixia suddenly remembered she’d forgotten to buy vegetables.
So she steamed a pot of rice and cooked a pot of braised pork instead.
She tightly shut every window in the house before bringing the dishes to the table.
It had been a very long time since the Zhou family had eaten braised pork.
All three generations were craving it.
Yet none of them reached for their chopsticks first.
It wasn’t because they lacked an appetite.
The words spoken by Liu Zhixia’s parents still echoed in their minds.
“Zhixia can manage porridge… but she can’t cook.”
Surely she must have made some truly disastrous dishes before.
Otherwise, why would her parents deliberately belittle their own daughter in front of her in-laws?
What they didn’t know was that the person sitting before them was no longer the original Liu Zhixia.
The current Liu Zhixia was a true powerhouse from the twenty-first century.
Cooking just happened to be one of her specialties.
She had even won several culinary competitions.
Even the simplest ingredients became extraordinary in her hands—
Provided she actually cooked with care.
And after yesterday’s events, she had indeed put genuine effort into this breakfast.
The proof was Zhou Yunting.
As the first person to taste the food, his chopsticks never stopped moving.
Commander Zhou and Old Master Zhou continued to hold their chopsticks in midair.
They were waiting for Zhou Yunting to tell them whether the food tasted even better than it smelled.
Instead…
The young man simply kept stuffing food into his own bowl, completely ignoring them.
Old Master Zhou finally thought,
It smells this delicious.
Surely it can’t taste bad.
Besides, if it were awful, would this picky grandson be eating with such enthusiasm?
Without another word, the old man immediately joined the battle for food.
Commander Zhou quickly followed.
The three of them ate in complete silence.
Only their chopsticks moved faster and faster.
As though by unspoken agreement, none of the three touched the dishes on Liu Zhixia’s side of the table.
The grandfather, father, and grandson all ate as if they wished they could swallow their own tongues.
Watching them, Liu Zhixia couldn’t help feeling slightly bewildered.
It was only an ordinary breakfast…
Was it really that delicious?
Unlike the Zhou family’s lavish breakfast…
Zheng Chunli had been distracted and uneasy all night.
By morning, her anxiety had reached its peak.
Completely absent-minded, she took sick leave and stayed home instead of going to work.
The reason was simple.
She had discovered that her space was slowly…
Evaporating.
And it was disappearing so visibly that she could watch it happen with the naked eye.
She wanted to scream.
She wanted to roar in fury.
Yet she lacked the courage.
She knew better than anyone just how heaven-defying her space was.
In her previous life, it had been her greatest advantage.
In this lifetime, shouldn’t it have allowed her to shine even more brilliantly?
So why…
Why was it gradually slipping away from her?
The panic in her heart grew heavier and heavier.
By evening…
It reached its limit.
Her space…
Had completely disappeared.
No matter how she searched—
It was simply gone.