Li Caiyi woke up with swollen eyes. After letting all her sorrow and bitterness out of her system, she felt much better by the next day. She was so scared and worried for the first few hours after walking out of her mother's room, but after reflecting on her action again, she still did not regret it.
Everything she had said was something she had always kept hidden at the bottom of her heart. Those were words she could no longer tell her mother in her previous timeline. She wondered what happened to everyone after she passed away? Did they finally live happily ever after? If yes, then her decision must be correct, after all.
The following day, her mother kept avoiding eye contact with her. It was an understandable reaction. Li Caiyi had seen this coming.
Although it still hurt to be hated for good, at least now she wouldn't hope for the unattainable anymore. It was better than being cared for from time to time, only to be rejected when she needed it the most.
Thinking like that, Li Caiyi gave a slight bow to Su Suyin before going to school with her siblings.
At school, Li Caiyi couldn't focus on her class again. The lesson should be easier now because she had gone through it once, but she really was hopeless when it came to math. She tried to remember, but nothing showed up in her mind. That was what she deserved for giving up trying in the middle.
Li Caiyi put away any thought about studying for now and thinking about something else instead.
She needed to find Shen Qiang.
Even though Shen Qiang might not recognize her and had another woman by his side, Li Caiyi wanted to meet him at least once in this life, if only to thank him. To do that, first, she needed to list down all things she knew about Shen Qiang from her past life.
Shen Qiang didn't talk much about himself. The most she knew about him was that he had lost everyone important to him by the time they met, which drove his decision to commit suicide.
The first thing she remembered was Shen Qiang's house. She didn't know whether he currently lived there, but it was worth checking. Li Caiyi noted down the address according to her memory, then browsed it using her phone.
There were no results. Li Caiyi concluded that perhaps this area wasn't known with the name she remembered during this time, so she resorted to finding the place manually by searching on the map.
Unfortunately, the area where Shen Qiang lived was unfamiliar to her. The road was different, and with no benchmark to use, Li Caiyi had to go by her instinct and narrow down her search area. Li Caiyi took a screenshot of it and noted down the area's name on a piece of paper.
Next, there was also the noodle shop, which Shen Qiang and Li Caiyi were coincidentally frequented. The chance was slim, but perhaps Li Caiyi could get more information or even meet Shen Qiang directly in that shop.
Li Caiyi still remembered the location of the noodle shop clearly, so she did not need to note down an address. However, just to be sure, she wrote the shop's name.
And then, what else?
Li Caiyi didn't know if this would help, but she also wrote any little details she knew about Shen Qiang.
He disliked anything impractical and preferred simple style.
Li Caiyi was shocked when she saw stacks of canned food in his refrigerator. She never knew a human could consume so much of those in their life.
He was a quiet and considerate man, and he rarely interacted with the opposite sex.
Although Li Caiyi noted that down herself, she was actually not one hundred percent convinced. How could a natural flirt like Shen Qiang have little experience with women? Not to mention Shen Qiang that night… Li Caiyi blushed at the thought of their passionate night, and she shook her head to chase away the erotic image from her head.
He smelled like peppermint.
Li Caiyi recalled the peppermint smell in his apartment was so strong that it left a lasting impression. It was a refreshing and relaxing smell that put her at ease.
He didn't eat mooncakes.
Because of his family situation, Shen Qiang avoided eating mooncakes, as it reminded him of memories he didn't want to remember. Li Caiyi did not know if the current Shen Qiang already had a poor relationship with his family, but it wouldn't hurt to add this piece of information as well.
When Li Caiyi finished writing, she frowned upon noticing that she barely knew anything about Shen Qiang. She didn't even know his age. Finding Shen Qiang based on this information alone might be more challenging than she thought.
"Li Caiyi! What have you been spacing out for since earlier? Come up here and answer the third question!"
Li Caiyi's face fell when she heard her name being called. She groaned inwardly, looking at the row of numbers on the blackboard. Left with no other choice, she dragged her feet forward and scolded the teacher when she couldn't solve the problem.
***
Li Caiyi sat down with Zhou Ya and others as usual during lunchtime. However, she later found out that Chen Ruolan wouldn't be joining them today.
"She said she promised Li Chunhua they would eat lunch together today," Zhou Ya explained without being asked as if she could tell what was on Li Caiyi's mind.
"Since when were both of them so close?" Feng Nian asked with a frown.
Zhou Ya shrugged her shoulders. "Apparently, they kept in touch after they exchanged contact the other day. It's rare for Lan Lan to meet a person who can keep up with her when talking about movies, so she was pretty ecstatic."
Li Caiyi noticed how Feng Nian's expression turned ugly, but she said nothing and ate her lunch in silence.
Come to think of it, wasn't Feng Nian was trying to tell her something the other day? Li Caiyi was too preoccupied with her own mind yesterday; she almost forgot about it.
Feng Nian said she should keep Li Chunhua in her place, but why would she say that?
"Feng Nian, about what you said to me the other day. Do you mind telling me more about it?"
"I might be just overthinking about it. Don't mind it."
Zhou Ya, who had never heard anything about this, lifted her head with interest. "What are you guys talking about?"
Li Caiyi was about to answer when her phone vibrated. It was a message from Feng Nian.
[Don't say anything. We'll talk later.]
Li Caiyi understood now that Feng Nian didn't want Zhou Ya to know about this, so she quickly made an excuse. "Feng Nian didn't look well after that movie, so I asked if she hated the movie so much. And she told me something, but I didn't hear it clearly."
Zhou Ya was curious, but she didn't pry further after hearing that. "That movie was the crappiest so far. I'm amazed that someone other than Chen Ruolan can be so enthusiastic about it."
"Tell me about it," Feng Nian chuckled. There was no trace of her unhappiness before, only her usual mischievous smirk. Li Caiyi didn't have any choice but to follow along.