Before Lin Lu could say anything, Dai Ya rushed over first.
Looking at the bandage wrapped around Lin Lu’s forehead, she put on an extremely concerned expression.
“Oh my goodness, what happened to you?”
“Does it hurt?”
“And where’s Yanzhi? How badly is he hurt?”
“Tell me quickly—what exactly happened?”
All four members of the family fixed their eyes on Lin Lu.
Lin Lu pretended to be weak and exhausted.
“I’m okay, more or less.”
“But Yanzhi…”
The four of them immediately tensed up, staring at her as if afraid she was about to deliver terrible news.
Lin Lu deliberately paused for two seconds before slowly finishing her sentence.
“Luckily, he was brought to the hospital in time. He’s out of danger now.”
The moment those words left her mouth, all four of them visibly relaxed.
“Thank goodness.”
“As long as he’s alive.”
Lin Lu watched them carefully.
Were they really that worried about Pei Yanzhi’s safety?
Probably not.
What they cared about was his value.
He was rich.
Very rich.
And that money would help them prepare for the coming apocalypse.
Thinking of this, Lin Lu suddenly covered her face, looking full of guilt.
“It’s all my fault…”
“If Yanzhi hadn’t suddenly come to propose to me, that robber wouldn’t have broken in…”
“And he wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”
She looked up, her eyes red and confused.
“Mom, why do you think this happened?”
“Yanzhi is usually such a calm and rational person. Why would he suddenly brave such a terrible storm just to come propose to me?”
“If he hadn’t come, none of this would have happened…”
“Waaah…”
The moment she said that, the expressions of all four people changed.
They exchanged quick, perfectly coordinated glances.
That’s right.
Why had Pei Yanzhi been in such a hurry?
Why today of all days?
—Could he have been reborn too?
—He must have been. Nothing else made sense.
“Well…”
Dai Ya quickly regained her composure and comforted her.
“Maybe he just loves you very much and couldn’t wait to surprise you.”
“Exactly.”
Her stepfather, Wan Feng, immediately chimed in.
“Young people tend to act impulsively.”
At those words, Wan Yinyin couldn’t hold back anymore.
What did they mean by Pei Yanzhi loving this idiot Lin Lu?
Rolling her eyes, she snapped at Lin Lu.
“And you still have the nerve to cry?!”
“If it weren’t for you, Brother Yanzhi wouldn’t have ended up like this!”
“If anything happens to him, I won’t let you off!”
Lin Lu looked stunned by the accusation.
Then, as though she had suddenly realized something, she stared directly at Wan Yinyin.
There was something strange in her gaze.
Wan Yinyin felt her scalp go numb under that stare.
Her confidence immediately weakened.
“W-What are you looking at?”
Although Lin Lu had a bandage wrapped around her head and looked frail, she somehow radiated an intimidating presence.
Her voice was very soft.
“Yinyin, I thought something was strange when we spoke on the phone earlier.”
“You said it was impossible.”
“You said Yanzhi couldn’t possibly propose to me.”
“Why?”
“And just now…”
She looked as though she was beginning to suspect something.
The realization made everyone’s hearts skip a beat.
Dai Ya’s face turned pale.
Wan Feng’s eyelids twitched violently.
Damn it.
How has this idiot suddenly become so perceptive?
Could it be that the shock caused her to remember things from her previous life too?
Wan Yinyin felt her scalp tingling as Lin Lu stared at her.
She stammered defensively.
“I—I never said that!”
“I understand now.”
Lin Lu suddenly spoke.
Everyone’s hearts jumped.
Understand what?
Lin Lu took in every expression around her.
Watching them panic like startled birds, she nearly burst out laughing inside.
She slowly looked Wan Yinyin up and down before letting out a cold snort.
“Tell me the truth.”
“Do you have a thing for Pei Yanzhi?”
“Huh?”
Wan Yinyin froze.
Dai Ya froze.
The entire family froze.
But Lin Lu only became more animated.
“I knew your reaction was strange!”
“First you said it was impossible, then you blamed me for what happened to him!”
“Have you been secretly involved with him behind my back all this time?!”
“I’m warning you—don’t even think about stealing my fiancé!”
“…”
The air instantly became silent.
Several seconds later, Dai Ya was the first to recover.
And she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“That scared me to death!”
For a moment, Dai Ya had thought that Lin Lu had been reborn too.
Thank goodness.
She was still the same idiot whose mind revolved entirely around men.
“Oh, you silly child, what nonsense are you talking about?”
Dai Ya immediately stepped forward and grabbed Lin Lu’s hand, her tone full of feigned reproach.
“How could your sister possibly steal your fiancé?”
“She’s just worried about her future brother-in-law and anxious on your behalf!”
“Exactly, exactly,” Wan Feng quickly chimed in. “Yinyin just speaks bluntly. She’s worried that something might happen to Young Master Pei. If that happened, our family couldn’t afford the consequences.”
Wan Yinyin finally recovered from her shock.
Being accused of liking Pei Yanzhi irritated her.
Well… maybe it wasn’t entirely a false accusation.
Still, that was better than exposing the fact that she’d been reborn.
She rolled her eyes and went along with it.
“W-Who likes him?”
“I’m just worried he’ll bring trouble to our family!”
“Really?” Lin Lu still looked unconvinced.
“Really, really!” Dai Ya hurriedly pulled Wan Yinyin behind her, afraid she might accidentally say too much. “Enough. Stop overthinking things.”
Just then, Lin Lu’s phone suddenly began vibrating.
The call interrupted the conversation.
She had no choice but to answer.
“What? You need me to come over right now?”
“But I’m still at the hospital…”
“To verify my statement… alright.”
“I’ll come immediately!”
After hanging up, Lin Lu looked at Dai Ya.
“Mom, the police station called. They need me to come in and cooperate with the investigation—”
“Go! Hurry up and go!”
Before she could finish speaking, Dai Ya eagerly pushed her forward.
This was a heaven-sent opportunity.
With Lin Lu out of the way, they could stay behind and keep watch over Pei Yanzhi.
Once he woke up, they could compare notes about being reborn and discuss how to take Lin Lu’s villa for themselves.
“The police need you? That’s serious. You absolutely can’t delay!”
“Don’t worry about Yanzhi. Our whole family is here. We’ll take excellent care of him.”
“Yeah, Sis, hurry and go,” Wan Yinyin added, eager for her to disappear.
Ideally, Lin Lu would spend the entire day at the police station.
That would make it easier for Wan Yinyin to visit the antique market the next afternoon and steal the jade pendant.
Looking at the impatience on all their faces, Lin Lu sneered inwardly.
“Then… I’ll leave Mom and Uncle Wan to take care of things.”
“If anything happens, make sure to call me.”
“Of course, of course. Just go already!”
Lin Lu walked out of the emergency department.
But she didn’t actually leave.
Circling around a flower bed and avoiding the security cameras at the main entrance, she slipped back inside through a side door and hid around a corner in the emergency ward corridor.
“Damn it, we finally got rid of that idiot.”
Wan Helin’s impatient voice echoed through the hallway.
“Mom! Why were you stopping me just now? You were even defending that idiot Lin Lu!”
This time it was Wan Yinyin speaking.
“Now isn’t the time to fall out with her,” Dai Ya replied.
“Have you forgotten how we survived after the rainstorm arrived in our previous life?”
Wan Feng snorted.
“Your mother is right.”
“We need to get that villa first.”
“And all the inheritance and insurance money in that girl’s hands.”
“The salary she’s saved up over the years…”
“We need every bit of it to stockpile supplies.”
“When the apocalypse comes…”
“You can torment her however you want.”
“Fine…”
Wan Yinyin muttered reluctantly.
Standing in the shadows, Lin Lu listened as they calmly discussed how to squeeze every last drop of value out of her.
Strangely, she didn’t feel heartbroken at all.
Instead, she felt a sense of calm certainty.
She had guessed correctly.
Every single one of these villains had been reborn.