At Shen Weiwei's home.
Shen Weiwei paced restlessly, glancing out the window from time to time.
Although she had already received Ye Ling's call assuring her of his safety, she couldn't rest easy until she saw Ye Ling and her mother return.
"Weiwei, we're back!"
Just then, Liu Xiu's voice sounded from outside the door. Shen Weiwei rushed to open it, and upon seeing Liu Xiu safe and sound, she excitedly hugged her mother and burst into tears.
"Mom, I was so worried about you!"
"You silly girl, I'm back safe and sound, aren't I..."
Liu Xiu patted Shen Weiwei's back, comforting her softly.
"It's all thanks to Xiao Ling; otherwise, I don't know if I would have made it back alive."
Hearing Liu Xiu's words, Shen Weiwei couldn't help but look at Ye Ling behind her and bowed repeatedly in thanks, "Thank you, Brother Ye Ling! I truly don't know how to thank you!"
"It's my duty," Ye Ling replied with a gentle smile.
After dealing with the matters at Yaoxian Ju, Ma Ruis hi returned to the hospital. Li Fang, after solemnly thanking Ye Ling, then took Li Lingshan and headed towards Xichuan Province, seemingly to avenge Li Lingshan.
Ye Ling wasn't concerned with Li Fang's grievances. After seeing them off, he accompanied Liu Xiu back.
Ye Ling had originally planned to check on Lin Yu at Jian Shishi's place after seeing Liu Xiu home, but Liu Xiu insisted on him staying for a meal.
Unable to refuse Liu Xiu's warm invitation, Ye Ling could only smile and agree.
Liu Xiu glanced at her daughter and Ye Ling, her mind suddenly buzzing with an idea. "There aren't many groceries at home. I'll go out to buy some. You two young people can chat properly."
Shen Weiwei wiped away the tears from her eyes, not yet grasping her mother's intention, and asked in confusion, "Mom, aren't there still quite a few vegetables in the fridge? The three of us would have enough..."
"You child, how can you be so clueless?"
Liu Xiu glared at Shen Weiwei reproachfully. "You're already in your twenties, and you're not in a hurry at all. I'll go buy groceries now. You take good care of Xiao Ling!"
With that, Liu Xiu didn't wait for Shen Weiwei's response. She patted Ye Ling's hand, gave him an encouraging look, and then quickly left.
Watching her mother leave without even entering the house, Shen Weiwei instantly understood her mother's intentions, her ears turning red.
Unable to describe her feelings, Shen Weiwei muttered, "Selling off your daughter isn't done like this..."
She did indeed have feelings for Ye Ling.
Whether it was his demeanor, appearance, character, or even his abilities and wealth, Ye Ling was practically perfect.
It was rare for a woman not to be moved by such a man, let alone the fact that Ye Ling had helped Shen Weiwei twice already, leaving her unsure of how to repay him.
If she were to offer herself in marriage, she would do so a hundred times over.
But it was precisely because Ye Ling was too perfect, too perfect to the point where she dared not approach him, fearing she would hold him back.
She was just an ordinary girl.
For a moment, the two stood at the doorway, the atmosphere growing somewhat awkward.
Seeing Shen Weiwei's bewildered and flustered expression, Ye Ling chuckled and took the initiative, "Weiwei, are you just going to let me stand outside?"
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Shen Weiwei finally snapped back to reality and quickly said, "My my... Brother Ye Ling, please come in!"
She led Ye Ling into the house and closed the door, instantly turning the space into a room shared by a man and a woman.
This was the first time Shen Weiwei had been alone with a man, her entire face burning, her heart pounding faster.
Before, Shen Weiwei could face Ye Ling calmly, but now that Liu Xiu was openly creating an environment and atmosphere for a blind date between Shen Weiwei and Ye Ling, Shen Weiwei felt even more uncomfortable and dared not look Ye Ling in the eye.
Now, Ye Ling seemed more like the master of the house.
"I'll go get you some water..."
Unable to stay in the living room, Shen Weiwei found an excuse and darted into the kitchen without looking back.
Watching Shen Weiwei's flustered demeanor, Ye Ling found it quite endearing. He shook his head and said, "Weiwei, could you get me a glass of ice water?"
"Okay!"
As Shen Weiwei busied herself in the kitchen, Ye Ling began to observe the layout of Shen Weiwei's home.
After what happened to Uncle Shen, Shen Weiwei's family was no longer well-off. Most of the expensive items in the house had been sold off and replaced with more affordable ones.
The home's decor was rather simple, reflecting a life of hardship.
"This is..."
Suddenly, Ye Ling's gaze fell upon a black and white photograph of Shen He, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Ye Ling stood up and walked towards the cabinet where the photo was placed.
"This is my father's memorial photo," Shen Weiwei said, placing the ice water on the coffee table and walking to Ye Ling's side.
Shen He had passed away several years ago. Although Shen Weiwei still felt sad when she occasionally saw the photo, she had mostly grown accustomed to it.
Ye Ling apologized, "I'm sorry."
After all, Shen He had suffered persecution because of the Ye family. He, Ye Ling, still owed Liu Xiu and Shen Weiwei a great deal.
"You don't need to apologize. This isn't your fault; it's the fault of those bad people."
"Besides, compared to what you've been through, Brother Ye Ling, what is my situation?" Shen Weiwei comforted him softly, not blaming Ye Ling at all.
"Thank you."
Ye Ling smiled at Shen Weiwei, then asked, "What's in this cabinet? May I open it and take a look?"
Ye Ling had sensed a faint spiritual energy from here earlier.
Although the spiritual energy had flashed and was no longer detectable, Ye Ling didn't believe it was his imagination.
There was a secret hidden here.
"These are some of my father's belongings from when he was alive. They're all worthless items. Brother Ye Ling, feel free to look if you wish."
"Okay."
Ye Ling opened the drawer. Inside, there was only a diary, a pen, and some miscellaneous small items, all common things from the nineties.
"Inside this diary..."
Ye Ling picked up the diary. He could sense an extremely subtle restriction within it, as if it were sealing something.
Because this restriction had not absorbed spiritual energy for many years, its energy had almost been depleted, and the restriction had already loosened somewhat.
Otherwise, Ye Ling wouldn't have been able to detect the abnormality in the diary.
Looking at the diary, Shen Weiwei smiled and said, "Actually, my father didn't used to write a diary. After Uncle Ye had his accident, he started writing things. But my dad wasn't very educated, so most of what he recorded was about the weather each day and what he ate; it wasn't very insightful."
Ye Ling said with a solemn expression, "Perhaps Uncle Shen used this diary for something other than writing a diary."
"Not for writing a diary?" Shen Weiwei was taken aback, not understanding what Ye Ling meant.
What else could a diary be used for if not for writing a diary?
Ye Ling quickly flipped through the diary, his guess growing stronger. He asked Shen Weiwei, "Do you want to know the real cause of Uncle's death?"
Shen Weiwei was stunned!
"The real... cause of death?"
Shen Weiwei opened her mouth, a storm of emotions surging within her.
She knew her father had been murdered... but she had no idea why he died or what he had discovered.
Without any hesitation, Shen Weiwei nodded firmly, "Yes!"
"Alright, follow me."
Ye Ling took the diary into the kitchen and, in front of Shen Weiwei, proceeded to burn the diary!