Deng Shangwei arrived at the hospital two hours later.
It was past nine in the evening. The smell of alcohol clung to him, and Wen Ying immediately frowned. “Uncle, don’t drive after drinking!”
Deng Shangwei paused, caught off guard. “Even your aunt doesn’t nag me about this—you, little lass, are taking charge now?”
Wen Ying nodded solemnly. “You look after me, Uncle, so I care about you too. Driving after drinking is risky. Getting away with it once or twice is sheer luck—do you think you’ll always be that fortunate? Even a scrape would upset me. Jie and Hao would feel it too, and Aunt would be gutted. You know how much she cares about you!”
She was simply cautioning him about drunk driving, but somehow Deng Shangwei felt a flicker of guilt.
He couldn’t meet Wen Ying’s pure, unclouded gaze. Turning, he saw his wife Chen Li smiling brightly, and his heart sank further.
“I’ve told you loads of times—don’t drive after drinking. You just fob me off! Now let Little Ying sort you out. Go on, make a promise in front of her—I dare you,” Chen Li teased, firmly backing Wen Ying.
Deng Shangwei raised his hands in defeat. “Alright, alright—I won’t drive after drinking anymore. Happy now?”
Wen Ying grinned. “Good! You might think you can sweet-talk me like a kid, and sure, it’s easy to pull the wool over my eyes since I can’t shadow you all the time. But if I catch you once, I’ll never speak to you again!”
Deng Shangwei laughed helplessly. “What’s this? A month apart, and Little Ying’s turned into a force! I keep my word—no driving after drinking. If you catch me, we’re done, you and me.”
Chen Li gave his arm a twist. Deng Shangwei muttered under his breath, “If Little Ying cuts me off, I’d be terrified—losing my big girl for nothing!”
For a moment, the ward hummed with harmony.
The patients in the next two beds stared, dumbfounded.
The daytime visitors were her real parents, weren’t they?
This pair seemed to be her aunt and uncle.
Yet they doted on her more than her own mum and dad—proper odd.
If Chen Li didn’t look so young—clearly too youthful to have a daughter Wen Ying’s age—people might’ve thought Wen Ying was hers.
That night, Deng Shangwei stayed to keep watch.
He’d sent Chen Li home to rest. They’d settled in Rongcheng, but kept a place in this city too. With a big business, they couldn’t ditch their roots.
Wen Ying slept restlessly. Around midnight, her fever flared again. Deng Shangwei touched her forehead, jolted, and called for the duty doctor.
The doctor hooked her up to another IV.
After some tossing, Wen Ying drifted off. Deng Shangwei stayed awake, monitoring her drip.
Near dawn, his phone rang.
He checked the caller ID and cut it off. The caller persisted—urgent, it seemed—ringing again after each rejection.
After several tries, Deng Shangwei stepped outside to answer.
On the bed, Wen Ying’s eyes opened.
It was only six in the morning.
Even business calls wouldn’t come this early.
If it were the company, he’d have picked up first time.
So if not work—who?
The hospital was silent at 6 a.m. Deng Shangwei’s hushed voice carried from the corridor. He was soothing the caller, promising a swift return to Rongcheng. With a bit of attention, the clues were there—last life, she’d spent the whole summer cramming in Rongcheng under their roof for two months and noticed nothing.
Wen Ying gave a bitter smile. At 16, she’d been too thick.
Back then, “exam failure” loomed over her like a hex, blotting out her world, leaving no space to sense others’ emotions.
Even her caring aunt, Chen Li.
She’d soaked up Chen Li’s kindness one-sidedly, never thinking to share her burdens.
What happened to Chen Li had always gnawed at Wen Ying. Last life, while dating He Zhen, they’d been on a date when her cousin Deng Hao called for help.
As usual, she sorted it. Hanging up, she saw He Zhen hesitating.
Thinking he minded her fussing over her cousin, she explained Deng Hao’s childhood. Without that family disaster, he wouldn’t be the wreck he was.
She sketched out Chen Li and Deng Shangwei’s tangled saga. He Zhen’s take? Oh yes—“Your aunt was too rash, mucking up a decent hand.”
“No one’s born to be endlessly spoiled. Your aunt only saw her own side—she forgot she was a mother too.”
Wen Ying had found his view brutal—unbelievable for someone raised abroad. What was he, some Qing dynasty throwback?
She’d given him an earful. He didn’t argue, just told her to mull it over.
She didn’t think he was right then.
She hadn’t foreseen rebirth.
Now, at 16, seeing her young aunt and uncle, Wen Ying asked herself: Was Deng Shangwei’s mistake truly unforgivable?
One slip—did it demand a death sentence, no reprieve?
Without that past upheaval, would Deng Jie and Deng Hao have had wholly different lives?
Her head was a jumble.
“Little Ying, Little Ying!”
Deng Shangwei’s voice pulled her back.
He asked what she wanted for breakfast, offering to fetch it, then said he’d head to Rongcheng once Chen Li took over—business to sort.
Wen Ying recalled that call. It wasn’t business rushing him back.
But she couldn’t expose him.
Not yet.
She said she fancied porridge. He returned with porridge and clear-broth wontons. Wen Ying switched to wanting wontons; he swapped their meals with a chuckle.
“Other people’s grub always smells better, eh? Eat up, you minx.”
“Uncle, when I’m discharged, can you take me to Rongcheng?”
Slurping porridge, Deng Shangwei mumbled a yes.
Wen Ying beamed.
When Chen Li arrived, she found them chatting and laughing, most of the breakfast gone. Shaking her thermos, she quipped, “Couldn’t wait for my food?”
Deng Shangwei wiped his mouth and stood. “Couldn’t hang about—the company rang early. Last night’s shipment hit a snag—I’ve got to sort it in Rongcheng. You stay with Little Ying; I’m off.”
Chen Li pressed for details. He shrugged it off. “Just a small hitch—why bore Little Ying with it? Stick around here a few days. When she’s better, bring her to Rongcheng. I reckon her parents’ll give her an earful over the exam—let her dodge their tempers with us.”
Chen Li’s thoughts veered with his nudge. “Oh, you don’t say! I was already planning to take her—you’re just playing the saint now!”
