I was the leader of the righteous path in high school.

"Going home?"

Gu Yun watched her leave, and then followed her.

Seeing her board the familiar bus, get off at the familiar village, and walk to the familiar house door, Gu Yun wondered if she had caught his father and his mistress in their affair.

Then, realizing they couldn't hide it any longer, both sides decided to kill Chen Zhizhi to silence her, and called over that guy, Brother Zhuo, to make Chen Zhizhi disappear without a trace.

It's not impossible.

Chen Zhizhi simply knocked on the door, and after seeing that no one was there, she took out her key, opened the door, and went inside.

Chen Zhizhi is never stupid.

It's normal for things to change in a family sometimes; even a stone can be weathered by the wind and sun.

But she didn't expect this day to come so soon.

She knew that her father and mother had a bad relationship when she was in elementary school.

They would fight each other over whether or not to get a divorce, and the father would always slam the door and leave, leaving the mother alone on the sofa crying her heart out.

Chen Zhizhi will never forget this scene.

As a child, she crouched in the corner, trembling, longing for a loving hug from her mother.

Her mother hugged her tightly, her voice breaking as she spoke:

"Squeak, you're all I have left..."

Yes, she's the only one left...

Carrying the weight of another person is not pleasant.

Chen Zhizhi sat in the empty living room, as dusk seeped in through the window, gradually swallowing the outlines of the furniture.

The air smelled of dust, yet it also carried a hint of sweetness, as if the concept of home still lingered and resonated within this empty house.

"You're all I have left..."

My mother's words echoed in my ears again, heavy and heavy, like a piece of old cotton soaked in water, stuck in my heart.

She didn't turn on the light.

The darkness made her feel safer, as if she could shrink into the shadows and temporarily escape the weight of "she's all alone."

Just then, a noise came from outside the door.

Chen Zhizhi heard footsteps, two of them.

Interspersed among them were the woman's low but charming laughter and the crisp clinking of keys.

Someone has returned; it must be Father.

"...Don't worry, I've taken care of everything with Lao Zhang. I've contacted all the suppliers and manufacturers for your factory opening, there won't be any problems."

The woman's voice sounded much more mature, with a deliberately softened confidence: "Once we make money from this, you can expand your factory as much as you want."

"Ideals always require investment."

Chen Jianguo gave a vague reply, inserted the key into the lock, and turned it.

"But the founding of the nation..."

The woman's voice grew closer, almost touching the door: "You'd better remember what you promised me. Once things are going smoothly on your end, hurry up and get a divorce."

"We're living our lives right now, so it's perfectly legitimate for me to help you."

"Squeak—"

The door opened.

The dim light from the corridor streamed in, outlining the silhouettes of the two people at the doorway.

Chen Jianguo has gained some weight, but you can still see his features, which are as straight as steel.

He was now turned to the side, and the slightly ingratiating smile he had shown while talking to the woman still lingered on his face.

A woman with curly hair, striking features, and wearing a fashionable dress was sitting next to him, affectionately linking her arm with his.

The two walked into the entryway, chatting and laughing. When they looked up, their gazes met the thick darkness of the living room, and also met a pair of calm eyes looking over from the darkness.

It felt like being choked.

Chen Jianguo's smile froze instantly, turning into astonishment and a hint of unprepared panic.

He jerked away from the woman's hand as if he'd been electrocuted, the movement so forceful that she stumbled, looked at him with surprise and suspicion, and then followed his gaze to the living room.

"Zhi...Zhizhi?"

Chen Jianguo's voice was dry, as if he were forcing it out from his throat: "You... why are you home? Shouldn't you be at school today?"

The woman also realized what was happening. She quickly glanced at the blurry figure of the girl in the dimly lit living room, a look of realization flashing across her face, but it was quickly replaced by a feigned calm.

He even managed a forced, somewhat friendly smile, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

Chen Zhizhi remained seated on the old sofa, without moving.

The last glimmer of twilight illuminated her profile, which remained expressionless.

She watched as the lingering flush on her father's face mingled with the panic in his eyes, and watched as the woman subtly adjusted her skirt, standing a little further away from her father, yet with an air of scrutiny towards the family and herself.

In this atmosphere, the air seemed to freeze, and only the ticking of the old clock on the wall could be heard, each tick striking a chord in one's heart.

Chen Zhizhi blinked slowly, her gaze shifting from her father's face to the woman's face, and then back again.

Her voice was flat, without much inflection, as if she were stating something unrelated to herself:

"I know everything."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jianguo's face turned deathly pale.

His legs went weak and he almost fell to the ground.

Fortunately, the woman next to him managed to support him, preventing him from kneeling down.

He stammered, "No... what do you know? I forgot to introduce you, this is Aunt Chang, my business partner, your father, she's..."

"It's okay, I know her now."

But the woman called Aunt Chang wasn't going to tolerate Chen Zhizhi. She grabbed Chen Jianguo's arm and said to her, "So it was you who sent people to threaten me, trying to make me leave your father, right?"

"What?!"

A wave of unrest, a wave of up again.

It was already hard enough for his own daughter to see him cheating, but when he heard his female companion say those words, Chen Jianguo's eyes widened in shock.

He glared at Chen Zhizhi and said angrily, "Chen Zhizhi! How did I raise you before?!"

"Did I send you to school so you would learn these despicable methods?"

"You've hired someone to threaten me? Do you have any respect for the law? Do you even consider me your father?!"

Hearing this, Chen Zhizhi remained seated in the dim light, her back ramrod straight.

She ignored her father's trembling fingers, her gaze falling on Aunt Chang's exquisitely made-up face, a hint of sarcasm in her eyes: "Despicable? Aunt Chang probably thought it was quite elegant when she was stealing other people's property."

"you!"

Probably not expecting Chen Zhizhi to be able to curse without using profanity, the woman called Aunt Chang was first stunned, then her face darkened:

"How can you speak so harshly at such a young age? Your father and I were seriously discussing a business deal, and our relationship developed naturally. Your mother couldn't keep her man, so who can she blame?"

"It happened naturally?"

Chen Zhizhi finally stood up slowly, the old sofa groaning softly.

She wasn't short, and standing in the center of the dimly lit living room, she exuded a strange sense of oppression.

"Was the ditch dug by my mother while she was bedridden for three years due to illness? Or was it dug by my grandfather when he was using money to find my father a job?"

"Chen Zhizhi! Shut up!"

Like a punctured balloon, Chen Jianguo angrily took two steps forward, raised his hand, and was about to strike.

But when he met his daughter's eyes, which reflected no light at all, his hand froze in mid-air, unable to fall.

He was breathing heavily, his chest heaving, and he said, as if filled with hatred, "You've gone too far...you've gone too far! Who gave you the right to meddle in these matters?"

"Aunt Chang can help me, can help me realize my dream, and can help me become a big boss!"

"Your mother... what does your mother know? Besides lying in bed sighing, what else can she do!"

As soon as he said it, he was stunned for a moment, as if he was stung by the ruthlessness in his words, but he was soon overwhelmed by more surging emotions.

As Chen Zhizhi listened, she slowly tugged at the corners of her mouth.

That wasn't a smile; it was even uglier than crying.

"Yes, she doesn't understand."

"She only knows how to serve the old and take care of the young for you, exhausting herself until she becomes someone else's."

Her voice began to tremble, not from fear, but from something that had been suppressed for too long finally breaking down.

She's going to say everything today.

Even if she's beaten to death here today, she'll still speak out.

I took leave to come here to end all of this. Even if I get beaten to death, it will be a relief. This world is too heavy.

"So you brought the ditch diggers, barged into her house, and plotted how to sweep away her last remaining hope?"

"That's enough!"

Aunt Chang interrupted sharply, seemingly realizing that continuing the argument would only make things more awkward. She tried to suppress her anger and adopted a slightly hurried but rational tone:

"Zhizhi, you're still young and don't understand many things. When feelings are gone, they're gone. You can't force a relationship."

"Your dad and mom have been estranged for a long time, so separating is a relief for everyone."

"As for the money, once your dad's factory is doing well, will he treat you badly? If you make a scene now, aren't you just pushing your dad to his death? Do you think those thugs he hired are really looking out for you?"

"relief?"

Chen Zhizhi repeated the word, tasting a rusty, astringent flavor on her tongue.

She looked at her father, the man who was like a mountain in her memory, the man who had once carried her on his shoulders. Now his eyes were evasive, but he seemed to be on Aunt Chang's side, forming a silent alliance.

She suddenly felt incredibly tired, so tired that she couldn't even muster the energy to be angry.

"Dad, do you also feel this is a relief?"

Chen Jianguo turned his face away, not daring to look her in the eye. His Adam's apple bobbed a few times, and his voice was hoarse: "Zhizhi... things at home are very complicated. Dad... Dad had no choice."

"This is my dream... I've always dreamed of being a factory owner, just to prove myself. Aunt Chang... she has connections."

"I'll make it up to your mother later..."

make up.

It's compensation again.

Chen Zhizhi suddenly wondered, when her mother held her hand and said, "You're all I have left," was she asking for compensation?

The only sounds in the living room were heavy breathing and the unchanging ticking of the clock on the wall.

Just as this suffocating silence reached its peak.

"Thump! Thump thump thump!"

A knocking sounded suddenly.