Rebirth at the Start: This Fate is Too Explosive!

Chapter 339 A Beacon in the Darkness!

Going out at this time... Won't Mom and Grandma worry?

She subconsciously looked at the half-open door, as if she could hear her mother's voice in the main room.

Moreover... she has always been afraid of the dark.

Although her fear of the dark seemed to have lessened somewhat during her time in Jinling due to Ye Fan's "forced" late returns and the ubiquitous city lights, the unease she felt about the dark, rooted in her childhood memories, quietly resurfaced as she found herself in the familiar and quiet night of her hometown.

When Xian Zuling saw the message from Ye Fan, the hesitation in her heart was instantly replaced by a strange sense of relief.

She replied, "Okay! Where should I look for you then?"

"Just wait at home. I'll send you a message before you come out. You don't need to come out in advance, okay?" Ye Fan replied.

She subconsciously whispered "Oh~" at the screen, then immediately felt the response was too childish, and clumsily typed in the reply: "I understand..."

Carefully putting his phone into his pocket, Xian Zuling took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

Inside the main room, there was no light coming through the crack in the door to Grandpa and Grandma's room; they must have gone to sleep.

Under the dim light, only the mother, Li Xiulan, was still sitting at the small table, her fingers deftly threading a needle, doing piecework to supplement the family income.

"Mom," Xian Zuling tried to make her voice sound natural, "I have to go out for a bit."

"Hmm?" Li Xiulan looked up, her brows furrowing slightly, and her needlework stopped. The dim light reflected the weariness in her eyes. "What are you doing out so late?"

His words betrayed his undisguised worry.

"He's my boss," Xian Zuling said truthfully. "He just messaged me saying he wanted to get something to eat and asked me to come with him."

Before he could finish speaking, his phone vibrated in his pocket.

She quickly took it out, and the screen lit up with a message from Ye Fan: "We've reached the intersection."

Xian Zuling's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly replied with his fingertips, "Okay, I'll be right out."

She looked up and met her mother's still worried gaze: "Mom, he's at the intersection, I have to hurry out."

Li Xiulan's brows furrowed even more.

Late at night, a strange boss, daughter... these words combined made her instinctively uneasy.

But the urgency and earnestness on her daughter's face made it impossible for her to forcefully stop her. She stood up: "It's so late, the alley outside is very dark. Shall I walk you to the alley entrance?"

That alley leading to the intersection, without streetlights, was a "safe passage" she had long kept lit for her daughter.

"No need, Mom!" Xian Zuling quickly waved her hand, not wanting her mother to trouble herself any further. "It's very close, I'll be right back! You should go and rest!"

As she spoke, she almost hastily opened the door to the main room and slipped into the courtyard.

The courtyard gate closed gently behind me, shutting out the warm light from inside the house.

Instantly, a thick darkness enveloped us like an icy tide.

There wasn't a single light in the alley, only a few faint barks from dogs in the distance, which made the surrounding silence even more eerily quiet.

Xian Zuling's heart leaped into her throat, and the composure she had maintained in front of her mother crumbled instantly.

Those memories of darkness—the fear of walking alone in such a dark alley on my way home from evening self-study in high school—came vividly back.

She could even feel a chill run down her back.

She clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms, trying to use the pain to dispel her fear.

She had to get out... Ye Fan was waiting at the intersection... She encouraged herself, gritted her teeth, and took the difficult first step, her footsteps so light they were almost silent, as if afraid of disturbing something in the darkness.

Just then!

A few steps away at the alley entrance, a warm and steady beam of white light suddenly shone, like a sharp sword cleaving through the thick darkness!

The light was not dazzling, but it was enough to illuminate the uneven stone path underfoot and instantly dispel all the chill in the heart of the ancestral spirit.

Amidst the flickering light and shadow, a familiar figure was holding up a phone, using the flash as a makeshift "streetlight," and walking slowly toward her.

The footsteps were exceptionally clear in the quiet alley, each step landing on the frantically beating heart of the ancestral spirit, yet bringing unparalleled peace.

The figure stopped a few steps in front of her, the beam of the phone slightly lowered, illuminating the path beneath her feet.

Ye Fan's voice came through the halo of light, deep and gentle, carrying a calming power: "Let's go."

Xian Zuling couldn't see his expression at that moment, but the calmness and concern in his voice enveloped her like a warm current.

Her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled back into place, and her tense body relaxed.

In the darkness, she nodded vigorously, giving a nasal, reassuring reply: "Mmm!"

Without further hesitation, she quickly walked to Ye Fan's side and walked alongside him.

The small beam of light from the cell phone steadily led the way, illuminating the narrow, dark alley into a warm and safe passage.

The darkness that had just terrified her to the point of almost suffocating now seemed to have been completely tamed by the light.

Walking beside Ye Fan, the feeling of being protected and illuminated was so familiar—just like when I came home from evening self-study years ago, and my mother would be quietly waiting at the alley entrance with that dim flashlight.

But at this moment, this sense of security was quietly mixed with a touch of the indescribable flutter of a young girl.

She was no longer afraid of the dark, because the light around her was warm and bright enough.

......

Just as Ye Fan, holding up his phone flashlight, walked out of the alleyway side by side with Xian Zuling, their figures blending into the slightly bright halo of the streetlights—

The gate to the courtyard opened silently, just a crack.

Li Xiulan stood at the door, her figure half-hidden in the deeper darkness of the courtyard.

She couldn't bear to leave her daughter, who was afraid of the dark, so she followed her out.

She intended to call her daughter to see her off, but she happened to witness the scene at the alley entrance.

That tall figure, holding up the light, walked steadily beside his daughter, easily dispelling the thick darkness.

His daughter followed closely behind him, her steps light and quick, her back view showing none of the timidity and stiffness she used to display when walking alone in the dark.

Their silhouettes overlapped for a moment in the dim light at the alley entrance before they walked toward the brighter main road.

Li Xiulan stood behind the door, silently watching their figures disappear around the street corner before gently closing the door. She didn't immediately go back inside; leaning against the cool door panel, her brows furrowed, she fell into deep thought.

My daughter's brand-new smartphone now stands out like a glaring symbol.

A few days ago, my daughter casually mentioned on the phone that her phone "fell into the toilet, and the boss replaced it with a new one."

At the time, Li Xiulan thought it was just an accident.

But now that I think about it carefully—how much was my daughter's old, worn-out mobile phone worth?