Lost on the Wrong Path at the Crossroads

"No oranges..." Li Guanqi arrived at the fruit shop where she had previously made purchases. Her delicate brows furrowed as she scanned the shelves filled with an array of fruits, yet conspicuously absent were the yellow citrus fruits. She turned to the salesperson and asked, "Do you not have any oranges in stock?"

"Goodness, you startled me!"

The shop owner, who had been engrossed in his phone, jumped at Li Guanqi's sudden appearance beside him. He grumbled, "What's wrong with you? Sneaking up on people without a word! You could scare someone to death like that!"

"Manager Zheng, my apologies."

Li Guanqi first glanced at his name tag, noting that the manager was named Zheng Honghui. She then offered a sincere and respectful apology, her tone earnest as she continued, "I wanted to ask if the store currently has any oranges for sale."

"Oh, you know me?"

The manager was momentarily taken aback before realizing the girl looked familiar. After a moment's thought, he recalled that this young woman had visited the shop the day before and bought a considerable amount of fruit.

Such a striking young lady.

He remembered her vividly.

Instantly, the manager's demeanor shifted back to his usual warm and welcoming smile as he explained, "Right now, we only have green tangerines in stock. If you're looking for mandarins or kumquats, you might want to check the fresh produce supermarket nearby."

Hearing that only green tangerines were available, Li Guanqi grew even more puzzled and pressed further, "May I ask what caused the shortage of oranges?"

"Ah..."

At this, the manager let out a sigh, his expression troubled. "Miss, judging by how much fruit you bought before, you must remember how cheap oranges were a couple of years ago, right?"

"They were indeed very affordable. Are you saying the farmers reduced production last year?"

"Not just that. This year's extreme weather has been relentless, further slashing the yield. At the current prices, only regular shoppers at membership-based supermarkets would even consider buying them."

"I see. Thank you for explaining."

By now, Li Guanqi had a rough understanding of the situation. She thanked the manager and left the store.

Once outside, she carefully surveyed the street before choosing to walk behind an elderly woman. Why?

Her presence was too inconspicuous.

If she wasn’t careful, she might accidentally end up in the path of a speeding cyclist—a lesson learned through painful experience.

Still, she had long grown accustomed to it.

About five minutes later, the elderly woman turned onto a different path, forcing Li Guanqi to find someone else to follow. Eventually, she arrived at an upscale import supermarket, where she finally stopped trailing others and stepped inside.

"They have oranges..." The sight of oranges in this store dispelled most of her lingering doubts.

Originally, she had suspected that Ji Qingyi and her household were deliberately preventing her from accessing oranges. Now, it seemed she had overthought things.

Previously, she and Liu Qingyue had tried numerous times to retrieve original items from the ring, but every attempt had failed.

And oranges—she hadn’t even tested them yet.

Today, while visiting Su Cheng in the hospital, she noticed his room was filled with all kinds of fruit—except oranges.

Oranges, which were known to help alleviate fever and infections, would have been ideal for someone in his condition. Yet there were none.

Then, she recalled that she hadn’t seen any oranges when shopping the day before either.

This led her to suspect that the Ji family was intentionally hoarding oranges, keeping them out of her world to prevent her from retrieving the original oranges stored in the ring. But these were just conjectures—she had no concrete evidence.

Even so, Li Guanqi decided to buy some oranges to take home. If she couldn’t retrieve the original ones from the ring, at least she could give them to Su Cheng, who loved eating oranges.

Even if retrieving the original oranges from the system served no practical purpose, succeeding would at least prove that the ring still contained its original contents.

By the time she left the supermarket, she was carrying three or four bags of various orange varieties in each hand, the weight making her uncomfortable.

"This is a bit heavy..." She frowned at the bags, her fingers already red from the strain. With no other choice, she found an empty bench and called her driver.

While she could have stashed the bags in her ring in a secluded spot, the modern world was riddled with surveillance cameras.

She couldn’t risk being caught on footage, so she never used the ring’s storage function in public.

Soon, the driver arrived. His eyes widened at the sight of Li Guanqi holding multiple bags. "Miss, why did you buy so much fruit?"

"Thank you for your help."

Li Guanqi didn’t elaborate. She simply picked up two bags and headed to the back seat while the driver, without further questions, loaded the remaining bags into the car.

The vehicle then set off toward the special residential compound.

Sitting in the car, Li Guanqi gazed out the window, her mood slightly somber.

She was lost in thought. While the orange shortage turned out to be a misunderstanding, Ji Qingyi’s wariness and hostility toward her were undeniably real.

Once home, she locked herself in her bedroom. But just as she was about to close the curtains—

She noticed a young woman in the backyard, swinging on a swing. Dressed in a white dress and sandals, she radiated an air of carefree innocence.

It was her cousin—Li Zhaohao.

As if sensing her gaze, Li Zhaohao turned toward Li Guanqi and flashed a bright, sweet smile, waving enthusiastically. "Want to come down and play?"

She even pointed to the empty swing beside her.

Li Guanqi shook her head gently in refusal.

Seeing her decline, Li Zhaohao’s expression dimmed. She pouted slightly and continued swinging alone, seemingly saddened by the lack of company.

Watching this, Li Guanqi’s heart softened.

After all, on weekends, the two of them would usually go out shopping or play games together. But now...

After a moment’s hesitation, she relented and made her way to the backyard.

Delighted, Li Zhaohao hopped off the swing and gestured for Li Guanqi to take a seat.

Without protest, Li Guanqi settled onto the swing, and Li Zhaohao began gently pushing her from behind.

"Weren’t you visiting a classmate?" Li Zhaohao asked as she rocked the swing, studying her cousin’s face. "Why do you look so gloomy since coming back?"

At this, Li Guanqi sighed softly and cast a faintly resentful glance at Li Zhaohao before murmuring, "It’s nothing."

Then, she stood up, allowing Li Zhaohao to take her place on the swing. Without missing a beat, Li Guanqi began pushing her in return—a routine so familiar that their movements were perfectly synchronized.

"Just some things I can’t figure out," Li Guanqi admitted as she continued pushing.

"Oh? What kind of things?" Li Zhaohao tilted her head back, eyes sparkling with curiosity, her expression one of attentive interest.

Li Guanqi pursed her lips, thinking about her sister's personality. Then, her mind flashed back to the promise she had made to the Ji family's master and servant, as well as to Su Cheng—not to reveal anything about the ring or the marriage to anyone. So she could only shake her head, indicating she didn’t want to speak about it.

"It seems like something very troubling is weighing on you."

Li Zhaohao didn’t press further. Instead, she offered understanding and comfort: "In that case, I think you need to calm down and think things through carefully."

"That’s true."

Li Guanqi nodded in agreement.

"Then let’s go. I’ll take you somewhere nice." Suddenly struck by inspiration, Li Zhaohao stood up, took Li Guanqi’s right hand, and pulled her toward the door.

"Sis, you’re not planning to—" Li Guanqi seemed to realize something and abruptly stopped in her tracks.

"Today! You absolutely have to try it." Ignoring Li Guanqi’s resistance, Li Zhaohao dragged her out the door.

"Sis, don’t do this—people will laugh at us!"

Li Guanqi tried to shake free from Li Zhaohao’s grip, but her sister’s strength was overwhelming. No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn’t break free.

A few minutes later—

The two sat in the backseat of a car.

As soon as the car drove out of the special compound, Li Zhaohao’s sharp instincts picked up on someone watching them from outside the window. The gaze made her deeply uncomfortable.

Though it was only a fleeting sensation, she was certain—whoever had been spying had been focused on their car. Only after noticing her did they retreat, no longer daring to keep watch.

She immediately turned to Li Guanqi and asked, "Guanqi, didn’t you feel like someone was tailing you?"

Li Guanqi tensed up at the question, then slowly relaxed and shook her head. "No."

"Alright, maybe I’m just overthinking it."

Li Zhaohao didn’t press the matter further. Instead, she offered encouragement: "If you ever run into trouble, you can always come to me, okay?"

"I will." Li Guanqi’s mood grew heavier. She quickly took out her phone and messaged Liu Qingyue: "Withdraw your people immediately, or face the consequences!"

If not for her sister’s warning, she wouldn’t have even realized she was being watched. Aside from the Ji family, she couldn’t think of anyone else who would dare to do something like this.

But why not just tell her sister directly?

Because she knew Li Zhaohao’s temper and methods. If her sister found out, she might escalate the situation into the open—and once that happened, there would be no turning back.

Worse yet, her ring might even be confiscated. And right now, she still hadn’t found a way to completely rid herself of the ring’s negative effects.

So, for now, she had no choice but to retreat and maintain stability.

Soon, a reply from Liu Qingyue arrived:

"Li, the ring’s value is simply too high, and you don’t have any bodyguards. To prevent it from being lost, we all need to draw a line."

Unimpressed by this reasoning, she replied with just three words: "Stay further away."

Then, she closed her eyes to rest.

She trusted they would back off.

Another ten minutes passed—

The two arrived at a place filled with sound, light, and upbeat music—a place where all you had to do was hop on and sway freely to experience an exhilarating thrill.

Of course, the "thrill" was purely one of embarrassment.

Because Li Guanqi simply couldn’t bring herself to rock back and forth for three whole minutes to childish tunes while ignoring everyone around her.

"Come play, little friend~"

The rocking horse’s voice was temptingly cheerful. Li Guanqi glanced at her sister, only to find her wearing a gentle, encouraging expression—clearly urging her to go for it.

"Let’s just skip it. Besides, I don’t have any change."

Li Guanqi spoke softly.

"No worries, my treat~" Li Zhaohao cheerfully dashed to the counter to exchange some coins.

Left with no choice, Li Guanqi began surveying their surroundings.

This little shop was located in a rural-urban fringe area, tucked away on a quiet street where few people ever came. Even the shopkeeper was an elderly woman. Only those struggling financially would come here to buy cheap groceries and daily necessities.

Clink! The sound of a coin dropping made Li Guanqi jump. She turned to see her sister already feeding coins into the machine, then gesturing for her to climb aboard.

"Sis!" Li Guanqi watched as the rocking horse began moving, torn between frustration and helplessness.

In the past, her sister had invited her to do this before, but back then, a simple refusal would have been enough. This time, however—

Li Zhaohao kept urging her on, relentless until she got her way.

"Come on, hurry up~ If you dawdle, we’ll waste the ride!"

In the end, Li Guanqi had no choice. Unable to resist her sister’s pleading, she reluctantly stepped forward and gingerly sat down.

After a few rounds of rocking, Li Guanqi’s cheeks flushed slightly, but her body gradually relaxed. The initial embarrassment faded, replaced by a strange sense of comfort and ease.

She had to admit—it wasn’t so bad after all.

"That’s it. Close your eyes and enjoy it."

Her sister’s soft voice guided her from the side.

She obeyed, shutting her eyes.

"Relax. Think of your happiest memory."

"And then…"

"Imagine yourself by a shimmering lakeside…"

"You’re sitting on a large rock, feeling the breeze, sipping tea, admiring the distant mountains, the nearby water, the green trees and grass…"

"Now, you can start thinking about your problem!"

And just like that, under her sister’s almost hypnotic words, Li Guanqi sank into deep contemplation.

So deep, in fact, that she didn’t even notice when the rocking horse stopped.

Until—

"Mom! I wanna ride the horse! I wanna ride it!"

"You’re already six years old. You can’t keep playing with such childish things!"

"No! I wanna ride it!"

"Be good and listen to me!"

The argument between the child and her mother snapped Li Guanqi out of her trance, forcing her eyes open.

Mortified, she carefully climbed off the rocking horse, trying not to make a sound and draw attention.

But then—

Thud!

Flustered by embarrassment, she forgot about the bag on her lap. The moment she stood, it slipped onto the rocking horse with a loud clatter.

The mother and daughter’s eyes instantly locked onto her. Li Guanqi’s mind buzzed with humiliation. She scrambled to pick up her bag and walked away as if nothing had happened.

"Mom, look! That big sister was riding it even though she’s so old!"

"Fine, fine. Just one coin, okay?"

The mother sighed in resignation.

"Yay! Mom, you’re the best!"

In the end, under the child’s grateful gaze and the mother’s exasperated yet amused stare, Li Guanqi achieved a new milestone—utter mortification.

Meanwhile, Li Zhaohao was inside the shop, leisurely eating a popsicle while watching TV.

"So? How was it?" she asked warmly as soon as Li Guanqi walked in.

"Terrible."

Li Guanqi kept her face blank. "I’m going home."

"Wait! Come with me to the mall first!"

Li Zhaohao grabbed her hand, eyes pleading. "Didn’t we promise last weekend? This time, we’re definitely winning that panda plushie from the claw machine!"

Li Guanqi suddenly remembered that last weekend, the two of them had made plans to try and grab a specific plush doll from the claw machine this weekend. However, the week had been so hectic that he’d completely forgotten about it.

"Mm, let’s go then," she nodded.

"Great~"

Seeing this, Li Zhaohao immediately beamed with joy.

About ten minutes later—

"The doll’s still there, but..."

Li Zhaohao’s expression darkened as she noticed that the panda plush inside the machine had shifted positions. Originally placed right on top, it was now wedged in a corner, blocked by other dolls.

The difficulty had increased several times compared to last week.

"What’s wrong?" Li Guanqi asked, concerned. "The doll hasn’t been taken yet, right?"

"Someone cheated and took one of the plushies!"

Li Zhaohao pointed at the bottom of the pile inside the machine and explained irritably, "There used to be a Doraemon plush at the very bottom of the stack, but now it’s gone. Someone must’ve taken it, and now our panda’s stuck in the corner!"