The beloved but ungrateful girl is reborn: This time she has truly changed.

"I'll drop them off first, then I'll come pick you up! Don't go alone! It's so far!" Ling Heping instructed.

"Okay, I'll wait for you." Qi Weiwei interrupted him, "Brother Heping, be careful on the road."

Ling Heping looked at her for a few seconds, then finally nodded: "Okay."

He moved quickly, helping Qi Chou and Chen Hongxia out of bed and helping them put on their cotton-padded coats.

Qi Zhuangzhuang, Qi Chunchun, and Qi Maomao also helped pack—actually, there wasn't much to pack; the clothes they had washed earlier weren't dry yet. Qi Weiwei picked out a few clean changes of clothes and some everyday items.

In less than twenty minutes, everything was ready.

Before leaving, Grandma hugged Qi Weiwei tightly: "Weiwei, you must be careful... those people in the Tang family are ruthless..."

"Grandma, I know." Qi Weiwei hugged her back, her voice very soft. "Take care of yourselves too. When you see Dandan and Qianqian, tell them that Mom will come to pick them up soon."

Grandma nodded through her tears.

The group went downstairs and got into the jeep.

The car started and slowly drove out of the railway family quarters.

Qi Weiwei stood at the entrance of the building, watching the car disappear around the street corner, before turning around and going upstairs.

The room was empty again.

Only she and her three older brothers, Qi Zhuangzhuang, Qi Chunchun, and Qi Maomao, remained.

The four of them sat in the living room, the fire in the stove was reignited, and the kettle started boiling water again.

"Weiwei," Qi Zhuangzhuang spoke first, his voice deep and muffled, "what are your plans now? Tell your brothers."

Qi Weiwei looked at her three older brothers.

Brother, you're still so young, with jet-black hair.

He hasn't become an alcoholic and driven his wife away.

Fourth Brother had not yet been sentenced for reselling valuable hospital medicines with Tang Aijun—she remembered clearly that Tang Aijun asked her to talk to Fourth Brother, and she actually made Fourth Brother take all the blame on her.

As for Fifth Brother... Fifth Brother hasn't helped Tang Tiantian's dance party by illegally connecting electrical circuits, nor has he been sentenced to life imprisonment for causing a fire due to a short circuit and resulting in death.

In her past life, all three of her older brothers ruined their lives because of her.

In this lifetime, she must never let them risk their lives again.

"Brothers," she began, her voice calm, "I have a plan. Go back to work now and be careful not to let anyone trip you up. If anything happens, let us know immediately. Keep the phone number and address Heping gave you, but don't give them to any outsiders!"

Qi Zhuangzhuang nodded: "Don't worry, I understand."

Qi Chun Chun frowned: "Weiwei, this matter can't be resolved peacefully. Tang Qu has connections everywhere. He has Mom and Dad's confession; it's a ticking time bomb. Give it to me. I'm a surgeon; I know how to deliver a fatal blow! Tang Qu frequently comes to our hospital for checkups; I can tamper with things… As for Tang Aijun…"

"Fourth Brother!" Qi Weiwei hurriedly interrupted him, her voice trembling. "That's what I'm afraid of! We need to live well. It's not worth dying together with those scumbags!"

She stood up, walked to Qi Chun Chun, and tightly grasped his hand: "Fourth Brother, listen to me. Your hands are for wielding a scalpel to save lives, not for killing. Your future is bright; you can't ruin yourself for those scumbags!"

Qi Chun Chun's eyes reddened: "But they bullied our parents! They beat them up like that! Weiwei, you're living such a miserable life, just thinking about it makes me... Do you know how much I wanted to do that last night when I saw the wounds on Dad's legs and the cuts on Mom's wrists..."

"I know! I know everything!" Qi Weiwei's tears finally fell. "I hate it too! I wish I could kill their whole family right now! But Fourth Brother, no... We have to use our brains, we have to make them pay the price, and we can't get ourselves involved..."

Qi Maomao suddenly burst into tears: "Weiwei... you've become so sensible now, it breaks my heart... You're our youngest and most beloved little sister, you should be as arrogant and domineering as before, you should tell me, 'Fifth Brother, go, kill that beast Tang Aijun for me!' And your Fifth Brother wouldn't say a word! But now... now you shoulder everything yourself, how are we, your older brothers, supposed to put our faces..."

Qi Weiwei turned and hugged Qi Maomao, tears streaming down her face. "Fifth Brother, listen to me! We need to outsmart them, and I have leverage now. I can't bear to trade the Tang family's worthless lives for my brother's! I can't bear it!"

The three grown men surrounded the little girl and all cried.

Qi Zhuangzhuang was the first to regain his composure. He wiped his face and said in a muffled voice, "Alright, stop crying. Weiwei is right, we can't force it. You two shouldn't make Weiwei cry anymore; she's cried all her tears these past few days. If this continues, she'll have eye problems."

Qi Chunchun and Qi Maomao quickly wiped away their tears.

Qi Weiwei wiped away her tears and sat down again.

"Fourth brother, fifth brother, listen to me." She looked at her two twin brothers. "Go back to work, do your job properly, and pretend nothing happened. If Tang Qu causes you trouble, pretend to be cowardly and scared. Don't confront him directly. Once I've resolved this, our family will be safe."

Qi Chun Chun and Qi Maomao exchanged a glance, and finally both nodded:

"Okay, I'll do as you say."

"But Weiwei, you must tell us if anything happens to you, don't try to handle it all by yourself."

"I know."

A short while later, Ling Heping returned.

He also brought lunch—in a lunchbox: stewed potatoes and cabbage, and ten steamed buns.

"Political Commissar Liang invited them to stay for dinner, so I came back first," Ling Heping said. "Weiwei, have something to eat, and then we'll go to the military base in the suburbs of Beijing."

Qi Weiwei was indeed hungry. From noon yesterday until now, she had only eaten a few steamed buns, and her stomach was already sticking to her back.

She picked up the steamed bun and ate it with potatoes and cabbage.

The three older brothers also ate some.

After the meal, Qi Zhuangzhuang, Qi Chunchun, and Qi Maomao left after giving them many instructions.

They have to return to work to report back from their leave; they can't take too long off to avoid arousing suspicion.

Only Qi Weiwei and Ling Heping remained in the room.

"Brother Heping, thank you." Qi Weiwei stood up, put on her cotton-padded coat, wrapped her scarf around her neck, and said earnestly.

Ling Heping felt a little awkward: "If you keep being so polite, I might get angry."

Ling Heping drove her to the military base on the outskirts of Beijing.

As the car left the city, the scenery on both sides of the road became increasingly desolate.

The fields were covered with remnants of snow, and the bare branches swayed in the cold wind.

Occasionally, you can see farmers wearing military green cotton-padded jackets working in the fields or slowly driving donkey carts by.

Qi Weiwei thought of how her parents had picked her up with flashlights when she rode her bike back to the city on a snowy night a few days ago, and her eyes welled up with tears again.

The military base in the suburbs of Beijing was located at the foot of a mountain, surrounded by high walls, with guard posts at the entrance where sentries stood guard with guns and serious expressions.

Ling Heping showed his identification and registered his information before the sentry allowed him to pass.

Qi Weiwei took a deep breath and touched the pocket where the guarantee was kept.