The market on Saturday was the most eventful. They had double their earnings than they had made in previous days. This brought him extreme happiness. He shared the day's earnings with his aunty and Chen Mingyu, giving them their end-of-day share, and kept the rest in his savings.
He hummed a familiar song and lay down to sleep.
At midnight, Li Yichen saw himself back in his office room in 2020.
In that life, Li Yichen was an accomplished doctor. People came from far and wide just to book a session with him. Coupled with the fact that he was handsome, he stole many women's hearts. Yet beyond that, he was skillful and deeply dedicated to his profession.
When COVID began, he was assigned, along with other doctors, to monitor patients in quarantine. He carried out his duties diligently and wore protective garments at all times.
Then one day, after seeing a patient, he went to the washroom and afterward returned to his office. His girlfriend, who was also a nurse at the time, came to see him. Caught in a moment of joy and trust, he willingly accepted the food flask she brought for him. While he was eating, she playfully touched his nose, telling him how much she admired its shape and how she hoped their future children would inherit it.
He saw nothing wrong with it.
He relaxed in her presence.
After some teasing and lighthearted play, she left his office with the empty food flask. He washed his hands and applied sanitizer subconsciously, unaware that the damage had already been done — whatever was on her hands had touched his nose.
Some weeks later, he began exhibiting COVID symptoms.
Soon after, he would become a COVID patient himself.
While in isolation, a group of envious doctors revealed the truth to him — his girlfriend had been used as bait to infect him.
He felt hurt.
Betrayed.
He had followed all safety precautions. He had worn protective suits. He had sanitized constantly. But he had failed in one thing — keeping his guard up against someone he loved.
Later, he was ignored at the hospital.
Eventually, he died.
Li Yichen shook violently at the memory.
Sharing a room with Chen Mingyu and Liangliang, they soon discovered that their uncle was burning up and trembling severely.
To Li Yichen, the pain of betrayal hurt more than he could ever have imagined. In that past life, he had cried and begged. He had even offered to resign, but he was ignored and later left to die.
He had vowed then that if he ever had the chance, he would exact his revenge.
But he did not know if such a thing was possible.
Wang Shulan quickly soaked a towel in water and placed it on Li Yichen's forehead.
Zhao Wenqing had already left for Haicheng, and the nearest hospital was miles away. They did not even own a bicycle.
Looking at Li Yichen's trembling body, she assumed it was stress-related. Fortunately, tomorrow was Sunday — they would not need to open the stall.
After some time, the trembling reduced, and his breathing became steady.
Wang Shulan opened the windows and picked up a hand fan. Sitting on the brick bed, she placed Li Yichen's head on her lap, leaned her back against the wall, and began humming a soft lullaby while fetching some breeze with the fan.
To Li Yichen, it felt like he was in a safe place.
A place without extreme scheming.
A place where he could finally rest.
**
When the night passed and the sun rose into the sky, Li Yichen slowly opened his eyes and saw his cousins watching him carefully.
Something in his heart stirred. Even during the worst sickness of his previous life, no one had kept watch over him like this.
A quiet warmth spread through him, and he smiled.
Chen Liangliang and Chen Mingyu both let out a long breath of relief.
To Chen Mingyu, this uncle was his family's money tree. He truly didn't want anything to happen to him.
"Brother Yichen," he called, nudging Liangliang. "Go call Mother."
Liangliang understood immediately and hurried out.
"Mm," Li Yichen hummed. "I'm fine now," he said, pushing himself up from the bed. He stood steadily.
In the latter part of the night, he had dreamed of spicy crispy anchovies. In the dream, the dish drew in more customers and more money. Just thinking about it made him look forward to tomorrow.
He had just reached for the door when Wang Shulan entered with the rest of the cousins.
"Brother Yichen," they greeted respectfully.
Wang Shulan frowned. "Where are you going?"
"I just wanted to tell you I'm fine," he replied.
She let out a breath, the tension easing from her shoulders, though her face remained stern. She led him back to the brick bed and gestured for him to sit.
He obeyed and looked up at her.
"Mother," he said softly, a hint of guilt in his voice, "I'm sorry I scared you last night."
"Hmph." Wang Shulan turned her face away and folded her arms. She had told him to rest, but he wouldn't listen. Look at what happened.
"Tomorrow I'll make the dishes. You just give instructions," she said firmly.
He nodded, he knew she meant it. He was her only sister's child, and she had long ago decided to look after him properly.
That familiar warmth filled his chest again.
He was fortunate to have come into this life as Li Yichen. Warmth, happiness, and family ties — these mattered more than money.
The rest of the day passed quietly. He ate, rested, and read for a while. As night fell, he went to bed earlier than usual, planning to head to Yuxi County market the next morning to buy anchovies from the dry goods stall.