He Xiaohong's hair was completely shaved off, and the doctor stitched her up with seven stitches.

Li Guoqing took care of everything for her, helping her with the hospital admission procedures.

After the anesthesia wore off, He Xiaohong lay listlessly on the hospital bed, her eyes vacant, staring at the ceiling, without saying a word.

Just then, Li Guoqing walked to her bedside and gently placed a stack of banknotes next to her pillow.

He glanced at He Xiaohong, who had her eyes open, and said softly, "The doctor said you need to stay in the hospital for a few days. I've already prepaid your medical expenses."

Why should you help me?

Perhaps because she hadn't drunk any water, He Xiaohong's voice was very hoarse.

"Huh? What?"

Li Guoqing hadn't thought about this question.

He Xiaohong stared directly at Li Guoqing, her eyes flashing with an unreadable expression. "Why are you helping me?"

Li Guoqing frowned slightly, then chuckled, "When you see injustice, you should help. Besides, I have an older sister, and I can't bear to see girls suffer."

He Xiaohong chuckled, "Oh—Is that so! I thought..."

"What did you think?"

"Tch—it's nothing."

He Xiaohong gave another self-deprecating laugh, which pulled at her scalp, making her face turn pale with pain.

Li Guoqing stood up and said, "Take care, I'll be going now."

He Xiaohong retorted, "Are you leaving?"

Li Guoqing was surprised. "I still have work to do, of course I have to go back. You, do you have anything else to do? Uh... do you need me to call the police for you?"

Looking at Li Guoqing's expression, He Xiaohong saw that he was truly open and sincere.

She suddenly smiled. "No need. But would you like to tell me your name?"

Seeing Li Guoqing hesitate, she shook the money he had just placed beside her pillow, "So I can pay you back."

Li Guoqing laughed and waved at her, "Never mind, I don't want it."

The two then parted ways.

Li Guoqing didn't think much about his encounter with He Xiaohong.

He simply considered it as doing a good deed every day.

Although sometimes, when his parents urged him to get married, he would unintentionally think of that face, which, despite being bruised, still revealed its bright features.

Half a year has passed, and the face I met by chance has not become blurred with the passage of time, but has become clearer.

Three months later, Riverside Garden was about to be handed over to residents, and the landscaping needed to be inspected.

Normally, Li Guoqing wouldn't need to go there in person for something like this.

I just don't know what he was thinking, insisting on going to Bincheng on a business trip.

Fu Youcai joked that he must be craving the Jianbing Guozi and Dabing Jia Dan Ji in Bincheng again.

Li Guoqing smiled but did not explain.

His chest was filled with a strange emotion, bulging and making him look extremely excited.

In this state, he quickly finished his work.

Li Guoqing is staying at the Hyatt Hotel again, in the same room as last time.

However, it seems that he was missing a bit of luck this time when he came to Bincheng.

Despite going to the street where He Xiaohong was beaten three or four times before, he still couldn't run into her again.

Li Guoqing gave a self-deprecating smile.

He didn't understand what was wrong with him; he was like a man possessed, desperately wanting to see the girl.

He even went to the hospital to check He Xiaohong's information, but found nothing.

On the day before he returned to Qianjiang, Li Guoqing did nothing.

At noon, the sun was blazing and bright.

He sat by the Haihe River, gazing wistfully at the quietly flowing river.

"Hey! What are you doing sitting here?"

A familiar female voice suddenly rang in Li Guoqing's ears.

This voice had appeared countless times in his dreams, sometimes roaring, sometimes cursing, sometimes pleading.

Li Guoqing looked up in disbelief. The blazing sunlight shone into his eyes, and under the bright sun stood a slender, beautiful woman.

Li Guoqing blinked several times before he could see clearly that the person in front of him was He Xiaohong.

————

"Originally, the flowers were in full bloom."

All of this has been given to broken wells and crumbling walls.

What a pity that such a beautiful day could pass by.

Whose courtyard is filled with delightful pleasures?

Morning flight and evening roll

Yunxia Cuixuan

Raindrops and wind

Painted Boat on Misty Waves

The people of Jinping take this precious time for granted—

The TV was showing the 1987 version of Dream of the Red Chamber, specifically the scene where Lin Daiyu was listening to a play through the wall.

The song being performed is the scene from the Kunqu opera "The Peony Pavilion," specifically the "Garden Stroll" scene.

Li Xiangdong listened silently as Li Guoqing recounted every detail of how he met He Xiaohong.

Although his face remained calm, his heart was churning with turbulent emotions!

He changed the course of almost everyone's past life.

Li Guoqing has grown from a short, thin, ordinary man in his previous life into a strong, successful, and elite man.

He just couldn't understand why Li Guoqing, who had become so outstanding, would still be obsessed with He Xiaohong!

Li Xiangdong was utterly baffled; he even wondered if this was a conspiracy by a business rival.

He used He Xiaohong as a honey trap to sow discord between him and Li Guoqing, who were brothers.

He desperately wanted to tell Li Guoqing that He Xiaohong was a woman he couldn't marry; not only was she a sissy who doted on her brother, but she also wouldn't settle down with him...

But he couldn't say anything, and even if he did, Li Guoqing wouldn't believe him.

After a long while, seeing that Li Xiangdong remained silent, Li Guoqing pleaded with his eyes full of pleas, "Second brother, my parents absolutely refuse to agree, please go and plead on their behalf!"

Li Chang originally intended to turn a blind eye and agree, but after learning that He Xiaohong had been to prison, he resolutely refused to allow He Xiaohong to enter his home.

He Xiaohong is currently staying at the Summer Hotel in the county.

Summer Hotel was owned by Li Lan, so Li Guoqing asked his older sister to take good care of He Xiaohong.

Li Guoqing was afraid that He Xiaohong would leave in a huff and he would never be able to find her again.

He himself came to Li Xiangdong to plead for leniency.

Li Xiangdong just returned from Daishan Island in Shenzhen yesterday.

Li Jinyin and Zhan Qing's business is doing very well; they already have three large ships.

Li Xiangdong didn't take his share of the money; instead, he had Li Jinyin use a piece of his family's homestead as collateral.

Originally, neither Grandpa Li nor Li Jinyin agreed.

Although Daishan Island is small and has less land than the mainland, it has even fewer people, so the land is practically worthless.

However, the father and son couldn't resist Li Xiangdong's insistence on doing so, so they had no choice but to give him the largest plot of land for their homestead.

Li Xiangdong has been busy building houses on Daishan Island for the past few months.

He said that this house is where he will stay for leisure and vacation in the future, so he personally selected every brick and tile, then assembled a whole boat and hauled it to Daishan Island.

Grandpa Li said he would supervise the construction and guarantee that the house would be built well, sturdy and durable, and that no corners would be cut.

Even so, Li Xiangdong was still not at ease, so he worked alongside the workers from morning till night every day.

Only after the foundation was laid with blue bricks and the parapet was built did they feel at ease hand it over to Grandpa Li.

He truly didn't expect to be struck by lightning by Li Guoqing the moment he got home.