Shen Yi had considered the possibility, but he hadn’t dared to guess in that direction.

After all, he knew what a bastard he had been, what despicable things he had said.

If the Jiao Jiao before him was the same one from their past life, she wouldn’t even want to spare him a glance. After all, by that point, Jiao Jiao had already decided to divorce him, resolved that they would never see each other again.

With her wrist held tightly in Shen Yi’s grip, Qin Jiao felt the heat of his hand, a stark contrast to the cool jade bracelet on her other wrist. In an instant, she experienced a world of ice and fire.

Qin Jiao avoided looking at the frantic excitement in Shen Yi’s eyes. She said softly, "I... I heard Grandpa Du mention it once."

"You’re lying. My grandfather has never told anyone about this."

"How can you be so sure? If you don’t believe me, go back and ask him!"

"In this life, I’m certain my grandfather hasn’t told anyone about this. Ten minutes ago, he solemnly brought out the box and gave it to me. It’s the first time he has taken out this bracelet in this life, since my grandmother passed away."

Shen Yi spoke at length, his pace slow, but every word was crystal clear, striking Qin Jiao’s heart like chips of ice.

A hint of panic slowly crept into Qin Jiao’s eyes.

Then, the next moment, a kiss that was both fiery and cool, accompanied by a near-devout whisper, landed beside her lips.

Jiao Jiao, I’m sorry.

When Qin Jiao realized that bastard Shen Yi had actually dared to kiss her, she began to struggle with all her might. She kicked him, bit him—in short, she did everything she could to fight the bastard off, but Shen Yi held her in a death grip, refusing to let go.

He was slapped across the face several times, but he didn’t let go.

His arm was scratched until it bled, but he still didn’t let go.

Finally, Qin Jiao managed to land a kick on Shen Yi’s stomach—a little on the low side, at that. Shen Yi’s brow furrowed in a sudden grimace of pain, and only then did he release his grip.

Qin Jiao immediately left the space.

When she exited the space, Xiao Shi was in the adjacent bathroom brushing his teeth and didn’t see his sister’s disheveled state. Qin Jiao took a few deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down.

’I got careless. I really did.’

’We were so close to going our separate ways, but I had to slip up at a time like this and let Shen Yi find out I was reborn too.’

’What is he thinking?! We had already decided to get a divorce! Wouldn’t it be better for us to go our separate ways and head toward our new, reborn lives?!’

’Why did he have to give me his family’s heirloom bracelet? Why did he have to kiss me?’

Ever since she was reborn, Qin Jiao had been incredibly resilient and hardworking. She had one simple, pure goal: to live a happy life with her parents and Xiao Shi.

But in her vision of a happy life, there was no place for Shen Yi. There absolutely would never be a place for Shen Yi!

So why was this bastard pestering her again?!

Without Qin Jiao, Shen Yi couldn’t leave the space. Qin Jiao decided to just ignore him for now. She went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face, forcing herself to cool down quickly.

Xiao Shi looked up curiously. "Sis, did Brother Shen Yi go home already?"

"He did."

"Did he find his thing?"

"Mhm." Qin Jiao sneered inwardly. ’Find his thing? It was just an excuse. He got a second chance at life and suddenly he’s so capable? He knows how to lie now, how to be a schemer.’

Thinking back on everything Shen Yi had done over the past year or so that they’d known each other, Qin Jiao couldn’t help but sneer.

’He’s put on quite a convincing act. I wonder if he’s been secretly comparing me in this life to the me from our last life, looking for any differences.’

In the Du family’s house next door, Du Liya was getting ready for bed. While putting on a face mask, she curiously asked Mr. Du, who was also preparing to rest, "Dad, where did Xiao Yi go?"

"He went next door."

Du Liya was so pleasantly surprised that her face mask nearly fell off. "He’s not coming back tonight?"