She's a shrewd and sweet woman who transmigrated into a book.

Chapter 54 Just the Neighbor's Brother
Liu Jingyi didn't understand. Could it be that she had overlooked something?
She lowered her head, not daring to look Chen Xingjie in the eye. She didn't know how to face this man who seemed unfamiliar yet felt strangely familiar to her.

"Yiyi, it's almost lunchtime. We haven't seen each other in so long, let's have a meal together!"

Chen Xingjie broke the silence first, his tone carrying a hint of anticipation.

Liu Jingyi froze. She knew she should refuse, but another voice told her not to.

Her mind was in complete chaos, like a tangled mess. She didn't know where her strangeness came from, and she couldn't seem to make sense of it at all.

She didn't know how to face Chen Xingjie like this.

"me……"

Liu Jingyi opened her mouth and stammered for a long time, but couldn't say anything else.

Seeing her hesitant expression, Chen Xingjie smiled faintly.

He believed that his rebirth was to save Liu Jingyi.

He would never let Liu Jingyi die as tragically as she did in her previous life.

In his previous life, after marrying Liu Jingyi, Chen Xingjie turned around and went abroad.

Years later, when he returned to China, he learned that Liu Jingyi was no longer alive.

He was filled with regret; he had thought she would be very happy after getting married.

He kept his unspoken feelings deep in his heart and hid away, hiding for so many years.

When they met again, they were separated by death. Unable to accept this fact, he followed her in death.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself back in his youth.

He was glad he was back.

He reached out and gently ruffled Liu Jingyi's hair, the gesture so natural and intimate.

"Let's go. After all, I'm the older brother, aren't I?"

Chen Xingjie's fingertips brushed against Liu Jingyi's hair, bringing a tingling, numbing sensation that spread throughout her body like an electric current.

Liu Jingyi suddenly raised her head and met Chen Xingjie's gentle gaze.

Her heart skipped a beat. Both Chen Xingjie's words and his natural actions stirred up ripples in her restless heart.

"I……"

Liu Jingyi wanted to say something more, but Chen Xingjie gently interrupted her.

"Let's go."

Chen Xingjie took the things from her hands directly, and held her hand with his other hand, leaving no room for doubt.

She felt as if her heart was completely out of her control, and her body was as if it had escaped her control.

She tried to break free from his grasp, but she couldn't move at all.

"Yiyi..."

"You're still the same as before, you haven't changed at all."

"Yiyi, I won't let you repeat the same mistake."

Chen Xingjie's words caused a huge uproar in Liu Jingyi's mind.

She suddenly raised her head and stared in astonishment at Chen Xingjie in front of her.

What does he mean?
What do you mean by "I won't let her repeat the same mistake"?

Chen Xingjie seemed oblivious to Liu Jingyi's astonishment, and continued to pull her toward the state-run restaurant.

"Yiyi, do you still remember when you were little..."

"You went to the Song family's house, squatted at the alley entrance crying that your hair tie had broken. I searched everywhere but couldn't find it. You cried so hard that I had to braid a new one out of paulownia bark before you stopped crying..."

Liu Jingyi was being led by Chen Xingjie, her palms damp with a light sweat.

Why did she have no recollection of what Chen Xingjie said in the original owner's memories?

She looked at him in surprise.

She didn't know what went wrong; everything seemed different from what was in the book.

"I...I'm not hungry...I want to go back."

No! Liu Jingyi felt this couldn't be done!
She forcefully pulled her hand away, and perhaps because she used too much force, her fingertips turned slightly white.

Chen Xingjie could see her resistance at this moment.

Yiyi no longer seems to call him "Brother Xingjie" like she did when she was little.

Liu Jingyi is actually very naive and easily fooled.

Liu Jingyi was very cute and lovable when she was a child.

Chen Xingjie always thought that they would continue like this forever.

Until Aunt Song passed away, Liu Jingyi fell ill and seemed to become a different person; they lost contact after that.

Chen Xingjie was afraid of disturbing her, so he silently protected her.

Watching her gradually fall in love with Meng Yunfan, and then watching her marry Leng Yunting.

No, not in this lifetime.

Even though she had already married Leng Yunting, he firmly believed.

The little girl who liked to follow him around and sweetly call him "Brother Xingjie" will still belong to him.

He was determined to make her his wife so that he could better protect her.

He knew how foolish, snobbish, and cold-hearted Liu Jingyi would be when she grew up.

But to like someone is to like everything about them, their strengths and their weaknesses, and to accept them all.

Liu Jingyi felt very uncomfortable at the moment, and she wanted to say something.

Chen Xingjie suddenly raised his hand and gently brushed the stray hairs behind her ear with his fingertips.

Liu Jingyi subconsciously took two steps back, her back slamming heavily against the pillar behind her.

Chen Xingjie's hand froze in mid-air, a hint of hurt flashing in his eyes.
"Yiyi, we've become so distant!"

"I...I just noticed your hair was messy."

Liu Jingyi didn't know how to handle her relationship with Chen Xingjie.

In the book, the two characters have absolutely no interaction.

The original owner of this body seemed to have no memory of this person, but for some reason, Liu Jingyi felt that he was so familiar.

"No, Xingjie, my... my husband is coming to pick me up."

As soon as Liu Jingyi finished speaking, the sound of military boots crushing gravel came from afar.

Before she left, she left a note on the table at home, saying that she was going out to buy something and asked Leng Yunting to come back and pick her up.

Liu Jingyi looked up into the distance. Leng Yunting, dressed in military uniform with his cap pulled low, stood about five steps away from the two of them.

Leng Yunting's gaze swept coldly over Chen Xingjie's dangling hand, then fell on Liu Jingyi's bruised back, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.

"Who is this?"

Leng Yunting spoke coldly, his voice as if it were filled with ice shards.

Liu Jingyi noticed his clenched right fist and her heart skipped a beat.

This was a prelude to Leng Yunting's anger.

Chen Xingjie remained calm, took two steps forward, and extended his hand in a polite greeting.

"Chen Xingjie, my mother and Aunt Song are best friends, so I'm like Yiyi's older brother, when we were little..."

"I'm not interested in hearing about your childhood."

Leng Yunting didn't reach out at all, but instead took the item from Chen Xingjie's hand, then stared intently at Liu Jingyi.
“Yiyi is not what you call her. Also, I think you should know that she is married. She is my wife.”

Liu Jingyi was so anxious that sweat beaded on her nose. She knew that Leng Yunting was on the verge of exploding, but since they were outside, he had to keep calm.

Liu Jingyi hurriedly tugged at Leng Yunting's sleeve, trying to explain to him.

"He really is like the older brother next door."

“I…we haven’t seen each other for many years.”

(End of this chapter)