Yuan Luoyi's heart leaped into her throat, and she almost immediately had tears welling up in her eyes.
She hadn't cried even when the bad guys were about to strangle her, but now the thought of another loved one leaving her made her tears uncontrollable.
Yuan's Father chuckled lightly and said, "Don't worry, I'm wearing a bulletproof vest."
Yuan Luoyi blinked her eyes. "Do you wear a bulletproof vest every day?"
Yuan's Father said, "I just happened to wear one today."
"Why did you wear it today?"
"Because this morning I knocked over your mother's makeup case, and the powder and eyeshadow all broke and mixed together. I pressed it all back in, but it doesn't look the same as before."
"The high-end customized full color set she got from Paris?"
"Yes."
Yuan Luoyi finally understood why her father, who disliked gatherings with friends, had gone out for an early meal with friends today—he was actually making an emergency escape.
After a moment of hesitation, Yuan's Father added solemnly, "She's still out there, and she doesn't know about this. Don't tell her."
Good news, Yuan Luoyi's tears didn't fall. Bad news, Yuan's Father might die at the hands of Yuan's Mother in the future.
That was a product Yuan's Mother had waited half a year to get, custom-made specifically for her skin. She treasured it dearly, and it was the only one in the world, as the company wouldn't be doing any more custom projects.
Hopefully, Yuan's Father's bulletproof vest was good enough quality to stop a second bullet.
After ensuring that his daughter's neck injury wasn't life-threatening, Yuan's Father's tense nerves relaxed a bit, and he said, "You finally called me Dad."
Yuan Luoyi was a little surprised.
So he had known, and had been paying attention to this all along.
After seeing her 18-year-old self's fate, Yuan Luoyi still had some resentment towards this father who had driven her out, so every time they met, Yuan Luoyi deliberately didn't call him Dad.
He had driven her out, so he probably didn't want her as a daughter either. Why should she call him Dad then?
She wasn't his biological child, nor was she as outstanding as her brothers. To Yuan's Father, she was nothing but trouble.
But today, after seeing Yuan's Father's past, Yuan Luoyi also understood that at the time, he had only wanted to save her.
After dropping out of school, she had become a recluse at home for two years, locking herself in her room and not coming out no matter how they called her. Yuan's Father had used this method to force her to change environments, thinking it would help her illness.
Although this idea was wrong, if she hadn't left home back then, Yuan Luoyi might have died on the same day as Yuan's Mother, and she wouldn't have received her big brother Yuan Ao's call in prison.
Yuan's Father said, "I thought you disliked me, after all, you've always stuck to your mother since you were little and never spent much time with me."
Yuan Luoyi said, "No, I'll stick with you from now on too."
Yuan's Father let out a long sigh of relief. "That's good then."
His gaze shifted to his son Yuan Fa, who was wearing a blue and white striped pajamas. Yuan's Father's brows immediately furrowed, forming deep creases like the Great Rift Valley of East Africa.
He said, "What are you wearing?"
Although he was already an adult, when faced with his father's questioning, the second brother Yuan Fa still felt a little awkward, remembering the soul-crushing scoldings from his childhood.
Yuan Fa tried to sound composed as he said, "It's fashion."
Yuan's Father took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He lowered his voice, "What kind of fashion is this? If you shave your head next, you'll look like someone who's been arrested."
Yuan Fa said, "Here's the thing, Father, you don't know—public aesthetics are constantly evolving, and life is busy and dull, so I want to add some excitement to my life."
The second brother Yuan Fa should be thankful for this blood relation.
Because Yuan's Father's fist had already hardened, but considering the current dire situation and not wanting to reduce their fighting strength, he didn't punch him.
A father's love always allowed him to hold back his killing intent in time.
Yuan's Father said, "Alright then, could you step over there?"
Taking a step, Yuan Fa said, "Over here?"
Yuan's Father said, "Yes, lean back against that door to block it, in case they try to break it down and hurt your sister."
Yuan Fa silently leaned against the door, knowing it was best not to say another word, as his father was already on the verge of exploding.
Yuan's Father complained in a drawn-out tone, "I really don't understand why I have such an exotic son. I used the same methods to raise all five of them."
Seeing Yuan's Father and the second brother Yuan Fa interact as usual, Yuan Luoyi felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
There were no more sounds from the bad guys outside. They could only act covertly now. Once the family was all on alert, it would be difficult for them to succeed.
Not long after, red and blue lights flashed outside, and the sound of sirens didn't stop as fully armed police officers rushed over.
In the night, a car stopped at the gate, and the eldest brother Yuan Ao appeared.
Yuan's Father said to Yuan Fa, "You don't need to guard this door anymore. Go open the door for your big brother."
The rising star of the legal world, Yuan Fa, went to open the door with a sullen expression, intending to vent all his grievances after Yuan's Father left.
As soon as the door opened, a crowd of people rushed in. Many of them recognized Yuan's Father and nodded politely at him.
A middle-aged man approached Yuan's Father and said, "Mr. Yuan, you weren't injured, were you?"
Yuan's Father said, "I'm fine, but my daughter is hurt."
Immediately, a group of doctors and nurses in white coats surrounded Yuan Luoyi and began a rapid examination.
The bright flashlights shone into Yuan Luoyi's eyes, making them water. She felt that her injury wasn't serious and that a good night's sleep would fix it, but the adults looked so heartbroken when they saw her that a few young nurse sisters even had tears in their eyes.
"How could those people be so cruel!"
"To do this to such a young child!"
When the eldest brother Yuan Ao saw the blue-black bruise on Yuan Luoyi's neck, his expression darkened instantly. He had just discovered that the company's security system had been hacked long ago, and the intruders had access to their every move.
He would catch that mole and make them pay the price!
The police searched the area. The intruders had already escaped, taking their dead comrade's body with them, leaving only a large bloodstain on the steps.
For safety reasons, the police escorted the Yuan family to a new safe house with many professional security measures in place, while the Yuan residence would be thoroughly checked by professionals for any issues.
After getting into the car, his second brother Yuan Fa became the disgruntled driver serving everyone.
He couldn't possibly let his esteemed eldest brother Yuan Ao, the new head of the Yuan family, drive, and his father was not to be provoked. His sister didn't know how to drive either.
Yuan Fa thought indignantly.
Why was he always the one doing the hard labor in the family?!
Meanwhile, his elder brother Yuan Ao sat in the passenger seat rapidly browsing through information, busy searching for the mole, paying no heed to Yuan Fa.
Yuan's Father sat beside Yuan Luoyi, glancing warily out the window from time to time.
Seeing that only their family members were left, Yuan Luoyi said, "Dad, there was a girl who looked exactly like me at home earlier. She said she would replace me."
Upon hearing this, Yuan's Father's expression changed, while the brothers didn't yet understand what this meant. But Yuan's Father knew, and he slowly digested the information, considering countermeasures. Finally, he put his large hand around Yuan Luoyi's shoulder.
"Don't be afraid, she can never replace you."
Yuan Luoyi leaned against him.
Under the system's influence, she couldn't reveal too much information, but this time, she had finally guided everyone to discover the crisis. Although her neck had been painfully strangled, it was worth it.
Also, regarding Yi Qi, there were too many mysteries surrounding her that Yuan Luoyi couldn't piece together into a complete logical chain yet.
But through the previous memory fragments, she had a guess, and now she needed to ask the system to verify this guess.
Yuan Luoyi asked in her heart, "System, which world line am I currently in?"
[Ding!]
[The host is currently in world line 3]
Her guess was correct!
There were three world lines in total.
The current world line was number 3, where everyone was alive and well.
The old world line was number 2, where the Yuan family perished, and the brothers would meet their demise.
There was also another world line, the original one, where Yi Qi was her sister, and they both grew up together in the laboratory, which is why she would see memory fragments about Yi Qi.
As she was about to touch the truth, Yuan Luoyi felt both anxious and afraid.
Three world lines meant that the bad ending had already occurred twice before. So in the third time, would she truly succeed?
Taking a deep breath to calm her emotions, Yuan Luoyi recalled all the events that had occurred previously.
The hereditary disease gene passed down through the Yuan family, Yuan Jianghai's maddening experiments, the suicide of The Su Couple, and Yi Qi's sudden appearance.
Her once chaotic thoughts finally formed a clear answer.
Simply catching the culprit would not be enough to free everyone from their doomed fate. She needed to do more, and this was her ultimate purpose after traversing across a thousand years and countless darknesses.
She had forgotten for too long, but now she finally remembered.
Yuan Luoyi needed to ask the system one final, and most crucial, question.
