Chapter 4: Returning to the Hometown, the Rich Second Generation's Dream Shatters at Light Speed

At 8:30 in the morning, Li Kangping left for work as usual. His home and workplace were not too far apart, so he rode a shared bike to the office every morning—it was low-carbon, eco-friendly, and good exercise.

Today was no exception. Just as he pulled out his phone to scan the QR code, he inexplicably remembered the words Yang Fan had said: "Do not ride any two-wheeled vehicles for the next three days, or you will face a bloody disaster."

A bicycle is a two-wheeled vehicle, isn't it? How did she know he would be riding a bike?

A coincidence, surely.

Although he didn't really believe in such superstitious nonsense, he still put his phone away and chose to take the bus instead.

The bus stop was only a few steps away.

By taking the bus, he arrived at the office several minutes later than usual.

During lunch, a colleague asked why he was late. Li Kangping waved his hand speechlessly. "Don't ask. I took the bus."

The morning rush hour was too congested; if he had known, he would have just ridden his bike.

Thinking back on it now, he felt like a fool for believing that nonsense about a bloody disaster if he rode a two-wheeled vehicle.

The colleague who asked was the same person who had been on field duty with him yesterday. Hearing this, he laughed, "You didn't actually believe that girl's words about a bloody disaster if you rode a two-wheeled vehicle, did you?"

Li Kangping gave an awkward smile and said nothing.

"What bloody disaster?" Another colleague looked up at them. He suddenly said to Li Kangping, "Old Li, it's a good thing you didn't ride your bike to work today."

Li Kangping asked, "Why?"

The colleague replied, "That fruit vendor whose cart was confiscated last time—he was waiting at the South Gate this morning holding a knife. It’s lucky no one passed by there at that time, or they definitely would have been hurt."

"I heard he’s been lurking there for several days."

Li Kangping froze. The South Gate was the back entrance of their office. Few colleagues used it, but because he took a shortcut on his shared bike, he entered through the South Gate every single day.

If he had ridden his shared bike today, he definitely would have run into that man.

Li Kangping and his colleague exchanged stunned looks. That girl had really predicted it!

...

Elsewhere, on a country road, a red tricycle was moving along at a leisurely pace.

"Little girl, where are you headed?"

"Grandpa, I'm going to Shangyuan Village."

"Shangyuan Village? You've come to the right place! Our Shangyuan Village is a great place to escape the heat. It’s so cool here in the summer!"

The elderly man driving was very enthusiastic, assuming Yang Fan was out for a vacation. "Little girl, have you found a place to stay yet?"

"If you haven't found a place, you can stay at my house. I run a summer resort; I have rooms available."

"Thank you, Grandpa, but I have a place to stay."

Yang Fan faced the window, the cool breeze blowing against her face and tousling her bangs.

Looking at the lush, vibrant scenery outside, a sense of nostalgia welled up in her eyes. She hadn't expected that the original owner of this body would not only be from Jiangxi like her, but that her hometown was actually in a village at the foot of Mount Sanqing.

She wondered how her disciples and grand-disciples at Sanqing Palace were doing.

Suddenly, she felt a fluctuation of spiritual energy in the air! As the vehicle traveled deeper into the village, the spiritual energy grew denser.

Yang Fan stared into the distance, shocked. Although the spiritual energy here couldn't compare to five hundred years ago and was quite thin, it was the only place she had felt any spiritual energy at all since leaving Beijing.

This made her even more convinced that her decision to return was the right one!

The old man wasn't offended that she already had a place to stay and continued to ask, "Then which house are you staying at? I'll drop you off at their door."

Yang Fan turned her head and said, "Grandpa, I'm going to the Yang family—Yang Xiuwen's house."

"You're going where?" Grandpa Li looked stunned, doubting he had heard correctly.

Yang Fan repeated, "Yang Xiuwen's house. I am his niece, Yang Fan."

"You're Yang Fan?!"

Caught off guard by his surprise, Grandpa Li brought the tricycle to a halt and turned around, staring at her in shock.

He studied her for a long time before finally recognizing her. "It really is you. You really are Yang Xiuwen's Yang Fan."

Yang Fan nodded. "It's me, Grandpa Li."

She remembered him now; he was a neighbor who lived near the original owner's home.

Grandpa Li asked, "Why are you only coming back now?!"

Yang Fan replied, "I was too busy with work before. I've quit my job now and wanted to come home to visit."

Grandpa Li looked at her with a complex expression. He wanted to say something, but in the end, he remained silent, turned back around, and started the vehicle to continue forward.

Yang Fan sensed something was wrong with his tone and pressed, "What is it, Grandpa Li?"

Grandpa Li's tone suddenly turned strange. "Your uncle... he passed away last year."

Yang Fan froze. Her uncle passed away? That couldn't be right; she had no such memory.

She asked, "My uncle passed away? Why didn't anyone notify me?"

Grandpa Li's voice grew even stranger, tinged with a hint of sarcasm. "When your uncle was leaving, he wouldn't let us notify you. He said you were busy with work and didn't want to disturb you."

They couldn't understand why Yang Xiuwen wouldn't let them contact Yang Fan—his only relative in this world—to come and see him off one last time.

But before he died, he had begged them countless times not to contact Yang Fan and not to disturb her work.

Because of this, they assumed the uncle and niece had a falling out, and that Yang Xiuwen didn't want his only relative to see him off.

So, the villagers followed his final wishes and didn't contact Yang Fan, thinking they would tell her whenever she happened to return.

They just hadn't expected it would take Yang Fan so long to come back—she hadn't even returned for the New Year last year.

That was why Grandpa Li was a bit angry when he recognized her; he was frustrated that she had stayed away for so long.

Yang Fan was speechless. In the original owner's memories, she had a huge argument with her uncle the year before last. The specific reason was too blurry to recall, but from then on, every time they spoke on the phone, they would argue and end on bad terms.

Coupled with the original owner's debts, work stress, and relationship issues, she had gradually cut off contact with her uncle, even working overtime at the company during the New Year instead of going home.

That was why she didn't know about her uncle's death.

Moreover, the original owner was already dead, her soul nowhere to be found; she was not the Yang Fan of this world.

She remained silent, and Grandpa Li said nothing more. A strange quiet settled inside the vehicle.

Soon, the tricycle arrived at Yang Xiuwen's house. As agreed before getting on, Yang Fan offered Grandpa Li eight yuan for the fare, but he refused to take it.

"Your uncle left your house keys with me when he passed. Wait here a moment, I'll go back and get them for you."

Without waiting for Yang Fan to reply, Grandpa Li drove off on his tricycle.

Yang Fan stood at the gate, observing her surroundings, and discovered that this house held the most spiritual energy in the entire village.

She stepped forward, traced a gesture in the air with her fingers, and the lock on the iron gate clicked open automatically.

Yang Fan pushed the gate open and took in the scene.

The courtyard was large, with a loquat tree laden with golden fruit. A bungalow facing the gate had a sign hanging on it that read "Blue Bird Station," though the paint was peeling, making the "Blue Bird" part barely legible.

The bungalow under the sign looked like a warehouse, fitted with a large rolling shutter door.

Attached to the bungalow was a small two-story building. This was the house from the original owner's memories; the courtyard and the warehouse-like building had been added later.

Yang Fan thought to herself that this station was likely the business her late uncle had started.

*Emmm*... it seems the dream of coming home to be a wealthy heiress has just been shattered.

Regarding the reason why the original heroine didn't return here, based on suggestions from readers, the author has made a slight adjustment to make the plot more reasonable.

Many readers had actually already guessed it: the uncle simply didn't want the heroine to come back and take over the station.

(End of chapter)