Chapter 4: The Cause from a Past Life

Bai Yuanzhi carried the cloth bag to the elevator entrance and pressed the down button.

“Ding—”

The sound of the elevator arriving on the ninth floor startled the weeping Zhou Zhaodi!

The elevator doors slowly opened, revealing a young, handsome man standing inside. He looked at Bai Yuanzhi and Zhou Zhaodi with a surprised expression. “You two…”

It turned out to be Jiang Yiming, who had changed into casual clothes.

He examined the two sisters, his gaze lingering on the cloth bag in Bai Yuanzhi’s hand, and a look of understanding crossed his face.

Zhou Zhaodi was utterly embarrassed.

She tried to quickly wipe away her tears while racking her brains for a dignified reason to explain why she and her third sister were leaving their mother’s house in less than an hour…

But Bai Yuanzhi had already taken over Jiang Yiming’s words, nodding as she said, “Yes, we were kicked out.”

Zhou Zhaodi couldn’t hold back any longer and burst into tears. “Brother Yiming…”

Jiang Yiming felt awkward but pressed on, asking, “So… what are your plans now?”

Bai Yuanzhi replied, “We might need to find a place to change clothes first.”

As she spoke, she raised the cloth bag in her hand.

“Why not change at Aunt Xiang’s house?” Jiang Yiming’s expression turned troubled. “There aren’t any places on the streets of Hong Kong City where you can change clothes… unless you go to McDonald’s and make a purchase. Then the staff will give you a key, and you can use the restroom to change…”

Bai Yuanzhi said bluntly, “We don’t have the money to spend at McDonald’s.”

Jiang Yiming fell silent.

Bai Yuanzhi looked up at Jiang Yiming. “Officer Jiang, I want to ask—are you in charge of my eldest sister’s case?”

Jiang Yiming pursed his lips and didn’t answer.

Bai Yuanzhi continued, “I want to know why my eldest sister went to Bilanting? And why did she accidentally fall from there… Please don’t tell me that my eldest sister committed suicide. I won’t accept that explanation.”

“My sister couldn’t have committed suicide!”

“She was a college student about to graduate, with a bright future ahead of her! Why would she commit suicide just as she was about to achieve success?”

“Officer Jiang, I suspect—”

“Someone wanted to murder her!” Bai Yuanzhi declared loudly.

Jiang Yiming gasped in shock.

Zhou Zhaodi widened her eyes in disbelief. “Third Sister, have you gone mad? Didn’t Mom already say? When Eldest Sister fell from the building, she was wearing those… those indecent clothes…”

Bai Yuanzhi glared angrily at Zhou Zhaodi.

Zhou Zhaodi’s voice grew softer and softer. “…Was Eldest Sister going to Bilanting to… sell herself? Otherwise, how could she afford college when even Mom is so poor? Third Sister, you said—”

“Slap!!!”

Zhou Zhaodi’s words were met with a sharp slap from Bai Yuanzhi.

Zhou Zhaodi was stunned.

It wasn’t until the elevator reached the ground floor and emitted another “ding” that Zhou Zhaodi snapped back to reality.

“You hit me?” Zhou Zhaodi covered her stinging, burning cheek, both anxious and furious. But what angered her most was that the young, handsome police officer Jiang Yiming was present.

“Bai Yuanzhi, are you crazy? Why did you hit me? It wasn’t me who said that! It was Mom…”

Bai Yuanzhi looked coldly at Zhou Zhaodi and said word by word, “If someday someone slanders you the way you slandered Eldest Sister today, I will never allow it!”

Zhou Zhaodi froze.

She pouted, unconvinced, and lowered her head.

At that moment, Jiang Yiming spoke up, “Miss Bai, if you and Miss Zhou are just looking for a place to change clothes, I think I can help you.”

Zhou Zhaodi immediately felt a bit awkward, “Ah? Brother Yiming, are you saying… you want us to go to your house to change? That, that doesn’t seem appropriate, does it?”

Jiang Yiming: …

“It’s like this,” Jiang Yiming explained, “My mom runs a roast meat stall on the next street, and I’m heading over there now to help. You can come with me; there’s always a place in the shop where you can change.”

Bai Yuanzhi said, “Thank you so much, Officer Jiang.”

Zhou Zhaodi looked embarrassed.

Jiang Yiming led the two sisters to Jiang’s Roast Meat Shop on the neighboring Shuangqiao Street.

Only then did Bai Yuanzhi realize that the place Zhou Xiangmei had arranged to meet her and Zhou Zhaodi for lunch was right here.

At three in the morning, Hong Kong City’s streets were narrow and winding, pitch black, with dim streetlights.

The streets and ground were littered with trash.

It was easy to imagine how bustling this area must be during the day.

Jiang’s Roast Meat Shop was very small, only about seven or eight square meters.

The shopfront was essentially the cooking counter.

Facing the street was a large glass window, inside of which hung an iron rod with many hooks, likely used for hanging soy sauce chicken, white-cut chicken, roast goose, roast duck, and char siu.

A plainly dressed middle-aged woman was busy, bent over her work.

Jiang Yiming went over and called out, “Mom.”

Aunt Jiang looked up, delighted, and said, “Ah Ming, you’re here? It’s still early, why didn’t you sleep a bit longer at home?”

Jiang Yiming lowered his voice and spoke with Aunt Jiang for a while.

Aunt Jiang turned to look at Bai Yuanzhi and Zhou Zhaodi.

“Come with me!” Aunt Jiang said to the sisters.

And so, Jiang Yiming stayed outside the shop to help Aunt Jiang with the work;

Aunt Jiang led Bai Yuanzhi and Zhou Zhaodi into the roast meat stall, closed the door behind them, and let the sisters change their clothes. She also showed them how to use the tap water in the back kitchen.

After washing her body with cold freshwater and changing into the clothes Zhou Xiangmei had given her, Bai Yuanzhi finally felt comfortable.

What bothered her now were her feet and shoes—cold, damp, and sticky.

But there was nothing to be done about it; she would have to wait until after seeing her eldest sister.

Unlike Bai Yuanzhi’s efficiency and straightforwardness,

Zhou Zhaodi was slow and tearful as she washed, crying pitifully.

At first, Aunt Jiang could offer a few words of comfort like, “Ah Xiang wouldn’t be like that, just talk to her properly,” “Don’t worry, there’s always a way out,” and “You’re already in Hong Kong City, as long as you’re willing to work, you won’t starve”…

But later, seeing Zhou Zhaodi cry and cry nonstop,

Aunt Jiang grew impatient. She said to Bai Yuanzhi, “Come out once you’re done washing,” then turned and walked out of the stall.

Zhou Zhaodi whispered to Bai Yuanzhi in complaint, “People here are so cold-hearted. She saw how miserable we are, yet she didn’t offer to take us in or give us something to eat… so stingy, and her son is even a police officer!”

Bai Yuanzhi couldn’t be bothered to respond to Zhou Zhaodi.

Once she had tidied herself up, she headed straight for the door.

Zhou Zhaodi panicked, “Third Sister, what are you doing? I, I haven’t finished washing yet!”

Bai Yuanzhi said, “Take your time dawdling then. I’m going to the hospital to find Eldest Sister.”

“Hey, wait for me!” Zhou Zhaodi was truly anxious now. She quickly finished washing, changed her clothes, and hurried after her.

Bai Yuanzhi was already thanking Aunt Jiang and Jiang Yiming, asking them how to take the bus to St. Maria Hospital.

Zhou Zhaodi walked over, wanting to beg Aunt Jiang and Jiang Yiming to take her in, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t bring herself to speak. In the end, she followed Bai Yuanzhi away, seething with resentment.

It was already past five in the morning, and the sky was beginning to brighten.

Following Jiang Yiming’s directions, Bai Yuanzhi found the bus stop and waited for the early morning bus.

Sitting on the Double-Decker Bus, Bai Yuanzhi gazed out the window at the familiar yet unfamiliar streets, lost in thought.

She recalled her past life, the hardships she endured after finally arriving in Hong Kong City.

Back then, all the Zhou siblings were already in Hong Kong City.

Because the eldest sister had changed her name from Zhou Sidi to Zhou Sier, the other sisters followed suit:

Zhou Niandi became Zhou Nian’er, Zhou Pandi became Zhou Pan’er, and Zhou Zhaodi became Zhou Zhaoer.

In her past life, Zhou Pan’er had come to Hong Kong City as an illegal immigrant.

She essentially replicated the path her eldest sister had taken when she first arrived—applying for refugee status, receiving meager relief funds, and then starting night school while working various jobs to pay taxes.

She worked tirelessly, meeting the tax requirements set by the Hong Kong government, and finally obtained formal Hong Kong City residency.

At the same time, she studied at night school, knowing that having a diploma would make it easier to find a job…

Years later, she met Song Junshu.

Song Junshu was also from the mainland. He had come to Hong Kong City years earlier to attend university and stayed in the city after graduation to start a business, becoming a rising star in high society.

Song Junshu helped Zhou Pan’er in many ways.

For example, while working, she often faced harassment from male clients due to her striking beauty, and Song Junshu rescued her countless times from such situations.

For example, Song Junshu helped her cut off the leeching behavior of her mother and siblings.

And for example, Song Junshu even helped her plan her life and studies, even tutoring her at times!

Zhou Pan’er couldn’t help but fall in love with him.

But on the night before Zhou Pan’er was about to marry Song Junshu, she discovered—Song Junshu actually had a secret room?!

Inside Song Junshu’s secret room,

it was filled with photos of her eldest sister, Zhou Sier, books Zhou Sier had used, clothes she had worn, and even a diary belonging to Zhou Sier!

Zhou Pan’er couldn’t believe it, yet she had no choice but to accept the truth—her eldest sister, Zhou Sier, had once been Song Junshu’s first love.

So?

Did Song Junshu still deeply love Zhou Sier to this day?

As a rising star in Hong Kong’s elite circles, he ignored the pursuit of a wealthy heiress from an old-money family and insisted on marrying her, a girl from the bottom of society… Was it because Song Junshu saw her as a substitute for Zhou Sier?

Zhou Pan’er was both shocked and furious.

It wasn’t until Zhou Pan’er discovered her sister’s university student ID and a half-finished handwritten draft of a thesis in Song Junshu’s secret room that she realized the truth.

The draft was titled “On the Feasibility of Semi-Intelligent Automation in Nursing Instruments.”

Zhou Pan’er was stunned!

She thought to herself, isn’t this the project Song Junshu is currently working on?

It was precisely because of this project that Song Junshu had risen to become a new elite in Hong Kong City!

Zhou Pan’er then opened her sister’s diary.

—The first half of her sister’s diary was a record of her arduous journey as a laborer.

It documented her eldest sister’s desperate desire to obtain formal Hong Kong City residency, which meant she had to work hard to earn money;

At the same time, she anxiously concluded: if she didn’t bring her third sister to Hong Kong City, sooner or later, their father and second sister would conspire to sell her off!

Thus, bringing her third sister to Hong Kong City became her second goal.

She frantically recorded how much money she earned each day, how much she currently had, and how far she was from her target;

Yet every time she managed to save a little, her mother would drain it away;

Beset by troubles both internal and external, the pages of her diary were stained with tear marks…

The eldest sister’s concern for Zhou Pan’er, as revealed in the diary, moved Zhou Pan’er to tears.

In the latter half of the diary, the eldest sister’s focus shifted to recording her university life…

Unfortunately, just as Zhou Pan’er reached this part of the diary, Song Junshu barged in.

At that moment, Zhou Pan’er was simply furious. She questioned Song Junshu why he hadn’t told her earlier that he was her sister’s boyfriend.

She felt both inferior and enraged.

What made her feel inferior was that her eldest sister and Song Junshu were truly like-minded companions. Academically, she could never reach the heights her sister and Song Junshu had achieved…

What enraged her was that if she had known Song Junshu was her eldest sister’s boyfriend, how could she have ever fallen in love with her future brother-in-law?!

Why had Song Junshu kept it from her?

Unexpectedly—

When Song Junshu saw her in the secret room, his expression instantly changed, and he said, “You know everything now?”

Zhou Pan’er froze.

At that moment, Song Junshu looked coldly at Zhou Pan’er, not a trace of affection in his eyes.

He spoke word by word, “Since you already know, I won’t beat around the bush. Where exactly are Zhou Sier’s research findings? Don’t tell me you don’t know—I’ve investigated thoroughly. Zhou Sier sent them to you.”

Zhou Pan’er was stunned.

In that instant, she realized that Song Junshu had approached her with ulterior motives.

She even began to suspect whether her eldest sister’s death was related to Song Junshu.

Right then, Zhou Pan’er understood that this marriage must not happen under any circumstances.

She had to find a way to leave first, then seize the opportunity to uncover the truth.

Song Junshu began to plead softly.

He said his company was now on the verge of bankruptcy, and only Zhou Sier’s complete design drafts could save it.

He even begged Zhou Pan’er, saying tomorrow was their wedding day, and once married, half of his wealth would be hers.

He also claimed he had always deeply loved Zhou Pan’er, adding that Zhou Sier was already dead, and they shouldn’t let someone long gone affect their relationship.

Zhou Pan’er assessed the difference in strength between herself and Song Junshu, then pretended to agree.

She also made it clear that she truly didn’t know where her eldest sister had hidden the drafts.

Song Junshu comforted her, saying it didn’t matter—they could search slowly after getting married.

Zhou Pan’er followed Song Junshu out of the bridal suite.

In the early hours of the morning, she returned alone, quietly intending to take her eldest sister’s diary and search for clues within.

Her last memory was of being pushed down a high staircase by Song Junshu…

However, Zhou Pan’er did not die on the spot.

She was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment.

Her mother, Zhou Xiangmei, and her second sister, Zhou Nian’er, refused to save her;

Only her fourth sister, Zhou Zhaoer—that coward who despised the poor and fawned on the rich, who forgot loyalty for profit and feared death—wept and knelt, begging their mother and second sister to save Zhou Pan’er. After being coldly rejected, Zhou Zhaoer sold all her assets and valuables, barely scraping together enough medical fees to pay the hospital;

She even knelt before the doctors, crying until her voice was hoarse, begging them to save her sister…

Then, Zhou Pan’er opened her eyes again and became Bai Yuanzhi.

At this moment, Zhou Zhaodi beside her was exclaiming endlessly at the bustling and lively street scene.

“Wow, there are so many houses here…”

“Wow, Hong Kong City is all tall buildings!”

“Wow, there are so many cars on the road, sister, look at that car! Why is it so flat and short?”

“Wow, the people here are all so beautiful and elegant!”

“Wow…”

Bai Yuanzhi did not like this younger sister.

But her feelings toward Zhou Zhaodi were complicated.

That was why, in this life, when she escaped from that small mountain village, she did not refuse Zhou Zhaodi’s company, but she also did not take extra care of her;

That was why, in this life, when it was her turn to confidently hold the ferry ticket and board the boat, with Zhou Zhaodi swimming behind, although she worried that Zhou Zhaodi was too young and might not have the stamina, she still did not give up her own ticket;

That was why, when the ferry docked, she walked nearly two kilometers along the Hong Kong shore to guide Zhou Zhaodi to a suitable spot to climb ashore, finally finding a low area to pull Zhou Zhaodi out of the sea…

Of course, if it weren’t for this, she wouldn’t have encountered that young man who “committed suicide” by jumping into the sea.

Now, Zhou Zhaodi’s voice was filled with worry and anxiety again, “Third Sister, do you think Eldest Sister… will be okay?”

“If we go like this, won’t we bring trouble upon ourselves?”

“We have no money. What if the hospital asks us to pay for Eldest Sister’s treatment?”

Bai Yuanzhi glared at Zhou Zhaodi.

She was not at all worried about Eldest Sister’s treatment fees.

With Song Junshu around, and since he hadn’t yet obtained Eldest Sister’s research achievements, he definitely wouldn’t let Eldest Sister die.

So—

Bai Yuanzhi took a deep breath.

This time, she must save Eldest Sister, to avenge her from both past and present lives! And to avenge herself!