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Chapter 19: Sister, I'm Sorry!
After the family finished their noodles, Li Yi took the three empty bowls back to the kitchen.
The sound of him washing the dishes could be heard from the kitchen.
By this time, Xu Qingnan had stopped crying, though her eyes were still red, showing that she hadn't fully recovered from her emotional distress.
For the next two hours, Li Youwei sat in Li Yi's arms and shared everything that had happened to her at kindergarten.
Li Yi kept smiling at his daughter the entire time, his eyes never leaving her, as if he couldn't get enough of looking at her.
At that moment, Li Yi felt something deep in his heart. He realized that when you lose something, you truly understand how to cherish it.
He wished he could follow his daughter to kindergarten every day.
Xu Qingnan, watching the scene, felt a little strange at first. But as she continued to observe, she found herself slowly immersed in the moment.
This side of Li Yi was one she had only seen in her dreams.
And when Li Yi inadvertently looked at Xu Qingnan, his eyes were filled with deep affection, something hard for him to hide.
Suddenly, Xu Qingnan felt a wave of warmth in her heart. It was a feeling she hadn't experienced for a long time.
Looking at her daughter, now asleep in Li Yi's arms, Xu Qingnan smiled with genuine happiness.
At that moment, all the suffering she had gone through seemed worth it.
Li Yi, carefully holding his daughter, stood up and walked to the bedroom. He gently laid his daughter down on the bed, quietly closed the bedroom door, and returned to the living room.
Xu Qingnan was sitting on the sofa, looking at him intently. Li Yi looked at her, pursed his lips, and without warning, he slapped his own face.
The sound of the slap echoed through the room.
A red mark immediately appeared on his face.
"Sister, I'm sorry. I was such a jerk before!" Li Yi said, his voice filled with regret.
Xu Qingnan, shocked by the sudden slap, immediately jumped up from the sofa and rushed to him.
Before she could ask what was going on, Li Yi slapped his face again, harder this time.
Her shock turned to confusion. She grabbed his hand tightly and stared at him, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
Li Yi looked at her, their faces so close, a smile slowly appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Sister, I'm really sorry. I was wrong, I was a fool before!" he whispered.
As Li Yi's words sank in, Xu Qingnan finally realized that he had changed. The man standing before her was no longer the stubborn, rebellious Li Yi she had known.
He was different now.
For a long time, Xu Qingnan had been the one to bear the brunt of their struggles. She had taken on the role of both sister and wife to him, trying to suppress her own pain for the sake of their family. But now, seeing this side of him, she finally believed that Li Yi had truly changed.
She reached up and gently patted his back, comforting him.
"You can't hurt yourself, look at your face!" she said softly, concern evident in her voice.
Li Yi smiled faintly, wiping away the tears that were now falling from his eyes. He reached for Xu Qingnan and pulled her into a tight embrace, his voice trembling.
"Sister, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry… for everything. For what I did to you, to Weiwei, to Yaoyao…"
Xu Qingnan, who had always been patient with him, felt her heart soften. She whispered, "It's alright. It's good that you've realized your mistakes and are trying to change. We won't blame you."
Li Yi felt a wave of guilt wash over him. He knew Xu Qingnan still saw him as the young, reckless brother she had known for years. She still treated him with kindness, even though she had been wronged by him countless times.
But deep down, Li Yi knew she didn't yet understand everything that had happened.
In his past life, he had lost her—he had lost the woman who loved him most in this world after his parents. When he had been in a daze, unable to understand the consequences of his actions, she had slipped away from him.
Her body had been cold in the funeral home, her white pajamas stained with blood. That was the moment Li Yi truly awakened. He had lost the one person who had always stood by him.
That was when he realized the depth of his mistakes, and how he had let the most important person in his life slip away.
Now, with a second chance, he vowed to make things right. He promised he would never let his family go through the pain they had suffered before. He would protect them, and he would cherish Xu Qingnan and their children.
"Sister, I'll make it right this time. I won't let anything happen to you," he whispered into her ear, his voice filled with determination.
And in that moment, Xu Qingnan knew that Li Yi was truly changing. There was hope for their future together.
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