“What did you just say?” Li Jingye unconsciously dug at his ear, convinced he’d misheard.
This was the same woman who, ever since his family had fallen into trouble, had been making a scene about divorcing him and demanding compensation. Now she’d suddenly changed her mind? He wouldn’t believe it even if someone beat him to death.
“I could say it a hundred more times, and it’d still be the same.” Yun Qingya looked at him with unwavering determination. “I’m not divorcing you.”
Yun Qingya was only five foot five, while Li Jingye stood well over six foot two. She had to tilt her head back to meet his gaze. At the moment, she was sitting while he was standing, so he had to lower his head to make out the expression on her face.
The woman before him had softly curled long hair, delicate curved lashes, cherry-red lips, gentle yet well-defined features, and a slender jawline. She was exquisitely beautiful, as refined as one of the porcelain dolls displayed behind the glass counters of the Friendship Store.
His heartbeat instantly fell out of rhythm.
How had he never realized before that his young wife was this beautiful?
A bitter smile tugged at his lips.
What was the use of beauty? Beneath that lovely face hid a rotten soul. The moment the Li family ran into trouble, she had rushed to distance herself from them.
Truthfully, he could understand her desire to protect herself. They had entered into an arranged marriage without any affection. They had only met for the first time when registering their marriage, and on their wedding day he had been absent on a military assignment, leaving her humiliated before everyone. If she wanted to leave the Li family, he wouldn’t stop her.
But…
Kicking someone when they were already down—that was contemptible.
How true the saying was:
“Of all relationships, none are closer… or more distant… than husband and wife.”
This ordeal had given Li Jingye a much deeper understanding of human nature.
Gracefully, Yun Qingya stood up.
To Li Jingye’s astonishment, she climbed onto the chair, placed both hands on his shoulders, lowered her head until their eyes met, and declared,
“I said… I’m. Not. Divorcing. You.”
She emphasized every single word.
Li Jingye instinctively nodded.
He had heard her clearly—perfectly clearly.
And because he had heard her so clearly, he was even more stunned.
He stared into her eyes, as if trying to see straight through to her soul.
The woman who had insisted on divorcing him after the family’s downfall, who had rather die than move into the cattle shed with the rest of the family… had suddenly changed?
“You…” For once, Li Jingye couldn’t think of what to say.
“Oh no, we’re running out of time!”
Without another thought, Yun Qingya jumped off the chair.
Li Jingye quickly caught her by the waist with both hands before she could land, lifting her safely to the floor.
“Thanks!”
Grabbing his hand, she rushed toward the door.
“Li Jingye, I don’t have time to explain everything right now, but I need you to take me to the study. Hurry!”
Just moments ago, she’d confirmed that the experimental space she possessed had transmigrated with her.
That meant she could retrieve the crucial letter hidden in the study.
Li Jingye’s thoughts were still lingering on the slender waist he’d just held when he’d already been dragged out of the room.
The Li residence had two studies.
One belonged to Grandpa Li.
The other belonged to Father Li.
Without hesitation, Yun Qingya pulled him toward Father Li’s study first.
Father Li was an extremely meticulous man. The study was always kept locked.
Fortunately, Li Jingye had a key.
He unlocked the door, and the two entered.
Under normal circumstances, Yun Qingya wouldn’t have dared step into such an important room.
But these were hardly normal circumstances.
Nothing mattered more than finding the forged letter that falsely accused the Li family of treason and colluding with foreign enemies.
Bookshelves lined the east and west walls, packed tightly with books.
The cabinets beneath them contained Father Li’s work documents.
In the original novel, the letter had been discovered inside a photo album.
Yun Qingya’s objective was crystal clear.
Find the album.
It didn’t take long before she spotted a thick photo album.
Unfortunately, it was placed on the highest shelf.
She…
Could.
Not.
Reach.
“Li Jingye, could you get that photo album for me?”
She might not be tall enough.
But her husband certainly was.
Li Jingye glanced at her, asked no questions, and simply reached between the books, pulling out the album before handing it over.
“You look through it carefully. I’ll keep searching elsewhere.”
She remembered that the original novel later mentioned the heroine’s startup capital had come from the Li family.
She and the male lead had discovered a large cache of gold, silver, and jewelry hidden inside the Li residence.
Instead of turning it over to the authorities, they had quietly claimed it for themselves.
The reason the Li family possessed such wealth was because Grandpa Li had originally been the son of a wealthy landlord.
As a hot-blooded youth filled with patriotism, he had secretly enlisted against his family’s wishes and eventually risen through the ranks to become a general.
Yun Qingya wasn’t a living Buddha.
She had absolutely no intention of letting the Li family’s fortune fall into the hands of those ungrateful white-eyed wolves.
The family’s wealth should benefit only the Li family’s descendants.
She had to locate it and move it into her space before the Revolutionary Committee arrived.
She tapped here, knocked there, searching for the hidden mechanism leading to the secret room.
Meanwhile…
Li Jingye had already found the letter tucked inside the photo album.
Frowning, he unfolded it.
His expression shifted from confusion…
…to utter horror.
His face drained of color.
Cold sweat beaded across his forehead.
His back was soaked.
His breathing became ragged and heavy.
Yun Qingya didn’t even need to read the contents to know how serious it was.
Silently, she sighed.
Who could have imagined that the Li family’s catastrophe had begun because a young woman, rejected in love, had chosen revenge out of spite?
“Li Jingye.”
Her voice broke the silence.
“We still have time.”
Li Jingye slowly looked up.
His eyes were bloodshot, a flash of murderous fury passing through them—not directed at Yun Qingya.
She didn’t flinch.
Meeting his gaze head-on, she said,
“Li Jingye, I know it’s difficult for you to trust me… but I still have to ask.”
“Do you trust me?”
“I do.”
His voice was rough and hoarse.
Searching the study had been Yun Qingya’s idea.
If she truly intended to destroy the Li family, she never would have bothered.
The letter alone was enough to doom them forever.
Yun Qingya was inwardly astonished that this future powerhouse had trusted her so readily.
Outwardly, however, she remained perfectly composed.
“Then go to Grandpa’s study immediately and see if there’s anything suspicious.”
“I’ll take care of some things here.”
She waved him off.
Li Jingye looked deeply into her eyes for a long moment before turning and leaving the study.
Yun Qingya couldn’t have been more satisfied with his decisiveness.
As expected of the man who would eventually become one of the novel’s great figures.
His courage and judgment were far beyond ordinary people.
She reached over and rotated the pen holder on Father Li’s desk.
With a low rumble, the bookshelf along the eastern wall slid aside.
Without hesitation, she slipped inside.
Without even bothering to inspect the contents, she swept every chest in the secret room directly into her storage space.
After making one quick circuit to ensure nothing had been left behind, she carefully erased every trace of her footprints before stepping back out.
Other than cleaning up the footprints—which took the most time—the entire process of collecting everything had taken less than a minute.
She restored the hidden chamber exactly as it had been.
Dusting off her hands, she was just about to leave when her eyes suddenly gleamed.
A mischievous smile curled across her lips.
She pulled an electric saw from her space.
Holding it perfectly level with the desktop, she sliced cleanly through the point where the pen holder connected to the mechanism beneath the desk.
After brushing away every speck of sawdust, she took out a brown marker and carefully colored the fresh cut to match the surrounding wood.
Finally, she placed the pen holder neatly back where it belonged.
“Hehe… done.”
Patting her hands together in satisfaction, Yun Qingya walked out of the study…
And thoughtfully locked the door behind her.
See?
She was very considerate.