“Chief, you have done so much for Li Chuxin. I think if the young lady knew those scumbags had gotten what they deserved, she would feel at ease,” Assistant Qian said as he pushed the chief in his wheelchair.
Ji Yanli said, “If there is an afterlife, I hope she can live for herself instead of living for others.”
Huddled in the corner, Li Chuxin finally understood that it was the man in the wheelchair who had helped her by spreading the photos of the three Li brothers beating her online.
She tried to see his face clearly.
A misty white light flashed before her eyes and blocked her view. She could not make out his features.
Her form faded quickly. Li Chuxin thought she had gone to hell.
She rubbed her hair.
The sharp smell of disinfectant filled her nose.
She opened her eyes and saw a calendar with a great leader’s portrait hanging on the hospital wall. It was marked August 1973.
She had been reborn in 1973. She remembered this was the year she was hospitalized to donate a kidney to Li Jianyong.
Half a month earlier, Li Jianyong said he had been in a car accident and his right kidney was damaged. He needed a kidney right away.
Everyone in the family was tested and only hers was a match.
She touched her waist and found her kidney was still there. That was wonderful.
She had returned to the time before she gave her kidney to Li Jianyong. The tragedy of her life had not yet happened. Everything could still be set right.
She gripped the sheet and heard voices outside. It was Li Xixi and Li Jianyong.
“Big brother, it is my fault. I am weak and I have dragged you down. I am sorry. You would not have lied to Chuxin if not for me. It is my fault for making you do something you did not want to do,” Li Xixi said. She had applied powder to her face to look paler and appear frail and innocent.
Li Jianyong said, “Xixi, do not blame yourself. I went to Chuxin and asked for the kidney of my own will.”
“I will repay this kindness for you someday. Do not be sad. It hurts me to see you cry.”
Li Xixi looked at him with teary eyes. “Big brother, I can never repay your kindness.” She leaned against his shoulder.
Li Jianyong’s heart beat fast. He caught the faint, sweet scent of her. Ever since he learned the youngest sister was not related to him by blood, he had begun to harbor wrong feelings. He struggled to hold them back.
Li Chuxin saw them clinging together and watched them leave.
They had planned to take her kidney all along.
In her past life, after the transplant, her brother had treated her with great care and granted every wish out of guilt. She had never regretted it because he was her brother.
A sharp pain pierced her heart. She would never forget the harm they had caused her.
She looked toward the corridor. Her second brother Li Jianwu was walking toward her.
Her body ached as if beaten. The pain was deep in her soul, the memory of every blow he had struck. She wrapped her arms around herself and tried to stay calm.
They were embracing outside the room. Given Li Jianwu’s possessive nature, he must have known Li Xixi was not their real sister. He could not have been unaware.
Li Chuxin opened the door just as Li Jianwu walked down the hall. She spoke clearly and calmly, “Big brother, Xixi, did I see things just now? I thought I saw you two hugging.”
Li Jianwu’s face turned dark red and veins stood out on his forehead. “What did you say?” He stared at Li Xixi.
“Did you not see, second brother?” She folded her hands to show what she meant.
Li Jianwu could not stay calm. He was ready to explode. “Xixi, is what she said true?”
Li Xixi looked frightened. When Li Jianwu had confessed his feelings, she had given no clear answer. She had not refused him but she had let him hope.
She said with a trembling voice, “I felt dizzy and leaned on big brother’s shoulder to rest. My sister has misunderstood me. I do not know why she would say such things.”
Li Jianwu turned on Li Chuxin. He raised his fist.
Li Chuxin trembled with fear. In her past life, he had struck her without asking questions. He had called it practice but his blows had nearly killed her.
She clenched her fists. She wanted to fight back but she was no match for him.
“Second brother, you can ask the cleaning lady who was standing right there,” she said. “Why are you so upset? Xixi and big brother are brother and sister. A little leaning on the shoulder means nothing. Anyone would think you caught them doing something wrong.”
Li Jianyong and Li Jianwu looked ashamed.
Li Jianyong saw tears in her eyes and felt a pang of guilt. “Chuxin, what are you thinking? Xixi is your sister. How can you speak of her like that?”
Li Jianwu said fiercely, “Xixi is kind and innocent. How dare you say such things? If you ever speak ill of her again, you will be sorry.” His eyes were cold and threatening.
Li Chuxin knew he meant it.
In her past life, Li Jianwu had become an army regiment commander because of help she had given to an important man. He had given her a Parker pen as a gift. She had cherished it. Two weeks later, he came to take it back for Li Xixi.
She had agreed to give it to him. Soon after, he returned in a rage and beat her. He broke three of her ribs and fractured her arm. The reason was simply that the pen would not write for Li Xixi.
The pen had written perfectly well in her hands. Li Xixi had blocked the nib on purpose and then told Li Jianwu that Chuxin had broken it. She had wept and said she did not deserve to live. Li Jianwu had beaten Chuxin nearly to death and she had spent half a month in bed.