Chapter 20

Listening to her words, Tao Jie stared at the phone in Ye Sibei’s hand and comforted her, “Sibei, calm down. I’m not telling you not to call the police, but you can’t distort the facts…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Tao Jie suddenly lunged towards Ye Sibei’s phone, but Ye Sibei was already prepared, grabbing a nearby paper cup and smashing it towards Tao Jie!

Water splashed onto Tao Jie’s face suddenly, and instinctively she closed her eyes. With Ye Sibei’s force, she stumbled and fell to the ground.

Ye Sibei turned and rushed outside, and Tao Jie shouted loudly, “Catch her!”

Song Ming and Zhao Shuhui, standing outside the door, stood up upon hearing this. By this time, Ye Sibei had already reached them. She overturned a bookshelf and aimed it towards Song Ming. Song Ming caught the bookshelf just in time. At the same time, Ye Sibei kicked Zhao Shuhui away and dashed into the lobby.

People in the lobby stood up in shock, watching Ye Sibei rush outside.

Tao Jie, still wiping her eyes that hadn’t fully opened yet, chased out of the office, shouting, “Catch her, catch her!”

Chen Xiaoyang was closest to Ye Sibei. He stood up to intercept, but Zhao Chuchu, seeing the situation, immediately stood in front of Chen Xiaoyang, shouting, “Don’t run!”

Then deliberately slowed down and jogged in front of Chen Xiaoyang.

With this delay, Chen Xiaoyang watched helplessly as Ye Sibei dashed out.

Once outside, Ye Sibei saw security guards running from both sides, with Tao Jie and others chasing behind. Ye Sibei turned her head and saw Qin Nan still under the tree where he had parked at the beginning. She seemed to see a savior and ran wildly towards Qin Nan, shouting, “Qin Nan! Save me, Qin Nan!”

Qin Nan sat on the motorcycle, watching Ye Sibei rush out frantically, unable to help but laugh. The motorcycle slid forward and stopped in front of Ye Sibei. Ye Sibei, without caring about anything else, hurriedly sat on the back of the motorcycle, grabbed onto Qin Nan from behind. Just as she stabilized herself, she felt the motorcycle suddenly start up, and she hugged Qin Nan’s waist tightly, screaming in shock.

“Stop!”

“Ye Sibei, stop!”

The shouts from Tao Jie and Song Ming and others chased after them from behind, but Ye Sibei couldn’t hear them at all. She held onto Qin Nan tightly, feeling the motorcycle speeding away.

The traffic and pedestrians rushed past her swiftly, and she was too nervous to open her eyes.

“What did you do?”

Amidst the whistling wind, Qin Nan shouted to inquire, while Ye Sibei hugged him, eyes closed, and shouted back, “I splashed water on her.”

“Why?”

“She insulted me!”

Upon hearing this, Qin Nan burst into laughter.

His laughter spread in the wind, and Ye Sibei gradually got used to this speed, opening her eyes behind him.

He wore a helmet, so she couldn’t see his face clearly. But holding onto him like this, listening to his laughter in the rushing wind, miraculously dispelled all her fear and tension.

Her heartbeat gradually calmed down. It was then she realized that Qin Nan hadn’t slowed down. He was taking her through the city, heading up a mountain road. Ye Sibei, sitting behind him, asked loudly, “Where are we going?”

“To celebrate!”

“Celebrate what?”

“Celebrate you, Ye Sibei,” Qin Nan’s voice was full of smiles, “becoming an adult!”

This made Ye Sibei laugh, “I’m 27, I’ve been an adult for a long time!”

Qin Nan didn’t respond, just accelerated, heading up the mountain.

When they reached the top of the mountain at the scenic lookout, Qin Nan stopped the motorcycle. After parking, he took out a water bottle from the bag on the motorcycle and walked to the side.

Ye Sibei got off the motorcycle and followed him, “You didn’t answer my question earlier, why are we celebrating my adulthood?”

“Being of legal age and being an adult are different,” Qin Nan took a sip of water and handed it to her, “Learning to face the world in your own way, that’s the beginning of a person’s life.”

Listening to this, Ye Sibei walked to the side while drinking water.

From here, the city below looked like a flatland, with the setting sun in the distance. She looked at the sunset, and Qin Nan looked at her. “So, tell me, why was there so much excitement earlier?”

As soon as Qin Nan brought up the topic, Ye Sibei became animated. She vividly described how she resisted the temptation of money, turned the tables on Tao Jie, and fought off the security guards. Qin Nan leaned against the railing, listening and laughing continuously.

After Ye Sibei finished speaking, the sky had darkened. She calmed down a bit and seemed a little embarrassed, “That’s all.”

“Are you scared?”

Qin Nan tilted his head to look at her. Ye Sibei thought for a moment, “I used to feel scared, but now that I’ve actually done it, I’m not scared anymore.”

“I just don’t understand,” Ye Sibei’s voice was soft. She turned her head to look into the distance, “Why do people always rush to protect the wrongdoer instead of defending the good person?”

“Some do it for their interests, like the people in your company, making an employee without a background admit to slandering their superior is better for their reputation than admitting that a well-connected senior violated the staff.”

Qin Nan followed her gaze, and the glow of the sunset spilled over the city, “Some do it to comfort themselves. It’s easier to accept that someone is punished for making mistakes than to accept a crime without reason, because they can tell themselves that as long as they don’t make mistakes, they are safe.”

“And some do it because of tradition, habit. But regardless of the reasons, there are all kinds of people in this world, and many support you, thinking you’re right,” Qin Nan turned to look at Ye Sibei, “It’s just that good people are more easily overlooked and more likely to stay silent. Look more at them, don’t lose heart.”

Listening to his words, Ye Sibei didn’t speak. She put her hands in her pockets, thought for a moment, then looked up at him, “Do you have a cigarette?”

Qin Nan raised an eyebrow, but still took a cigarette from his pocket and handed it to her, instructing her, “Just one.”

Ye Sibei took the cigarette and Qin Nan lit it for her with his lighter.

Apologies for the confusion. Here’s the corrected version:

Ye Sibei took a deep breath, exhaled a smoke ring, and turned her head to look down at the city below the mountain.

The sunset had completely disappeared, and the entire city was shrouded in darkness. Then, scattered lights began to illuminate the darkness, and finally, at a critical point, the city streetlights all lit up like an unfolded scroll, casting a warm glow over the night sky.

Ye Sibei held the cigarette between her fingers, gazing at the myriad lights below the mountain. The cold wind brushed her profile, adding a touch of cold beauty to her face, which was quite striking.

Qin Nan gazed at this girl, finding it hard to take his eyes off her for a moment.

After a while, she turned to look at him.

“And what about you?” Ye Sibei met his eyes, “If the goodness or evilness of people all have reasons behind them, then why are you by my side?”

Qin Nan remained silent, his gaze fixed on her eyes. Ye Sibei flicked the cigarette ash and chuckled softly, looking down, “Actually, I know that no matter what happens, whether it’s out of morality or pity, you’ll lend a hand.”

“Thank you for bringing me here,” Ye Sibei looked at the ground, “But as you can see, I can go on by myself now. I can handle the lawsuit alone, go to the provincial capital alone, live alone, without bothering you to follow me around. When we go back,” Ye Sibei paused, raising her eyes to him, “let’s go to the Civil Affairs Bureau and handle the formalities.”

Qin Nan didn’t speak. Leaning against the railing, he looked into her eyes. After a long while, he spoke slowly, “What if I don’t?”

Ye Sibei awkwardly smiled, pretending to be calm as she turned her head, “I’m really fine, you don’t need to worry. Although we’re husband and wife, I don’t want you to feel burdened by a sense of responsibility…”

“What if I’m not here?” Qin Nan interrupted her. Ye Sibei froze, raising her head in confusion to see Qin Nan holding an unlit cigarette in his hand, leaning calmly against the railing, looking at her.

Moonlight fell into his eyes, and there was no trace of turmoil in his expression. “Even without me, you could continue on your own. Without me, you would still call the police, suffer, struggle for justice, start to resist, fail in your resistance time and time again, accumulate resentment in your failures, and then one day, you might come across a book, a sentence, an online friend, who would tell you that you’re right, and you would walk back into the police station, call the police, and continue on alone.”

“Ye Sibei decides everything, and anyone can be Qin Nan. If it was out of a sense of responsibility, you wouldn’t need me long ago. Why do you think I’m here?”

“Why?”

Ye Sibei subconsciously spoke up.

Qin Nan choked for a moment. He lowered his head, held the cigarette between his lips, and pretended to be calm as he turned to look at the city below the mountain, seemingly lost in thought.

Ye Sibei realized she had asked a rather awkward question and didn’t know what to say to ease the atmosphere. After a while, she saw Qin Nan turn back and wave to her.

Ye Sibei, feeling bewildered, approached, and Qin Nan gently held her hand, bringing his body closer. He lifted her cigarette to her lips with his warm hand, then lowered his head, aligning the cigarette tips.

The tips of their cigarettes touched, sparks spreading. His face was close to hers, and she could even count every eyelash on his eyes.

This inexplicable ambiguity made her heart suddenly beat faster. She dared not move, staring at him in a daze.

The smoke rose, intertwining between them, like breath, like two people entwined together.

He lifted his eyes slightly, and she fell into his calm gaze. She looked into his eyes, unable to look away. She could hear her own heartbeat, pounding like a drum in the night breeze, heavy as thunder.

Sparks flickered in the wind, igniting the cigarette, and he calmly stood up.

Ye Sibei stood still, at a loss, staring at the ground like a guilty child.

Qin Nan looked down at her, took a deep drag from his cigarette, and exhaled heavily.

“Must it be so clear?” His voice was soft but enough for her to hear.

Ye Sibei quickly shook her head, and Qin Nan looked at her, chuckled softly after a while.

“Forget it,” he turned and walked towards the motorcycle, “Let’s go back.”

Ye Sibei snapped back to reality, quickly regaining her composure.

She followed behind Qin Nan to the motorcycle, and he raised his hand to help her put on the helmet.

Standing in front of Qin Nan, she felt her face burning intensely for some reason.

Qin Nan straddled the motorcycle, noticing her still standing there. He raised an eyebrow impatiently, “Why are you standing there?”

“Oh.”

Ye Sibei quickly sat on the pillion seat. At first, she subconsciously reached for the iron railing, but soon she realized her mistake.

As the motorcycle started, she tentatively, carefully wrapped her arms around Qin Nan’s waist.

Feeling somewhat uneasy, as if she were stealing something, she felt Qin Nan’s impatience and he pulled her hand over, clasping it around his waist. “Hold on properly.”

Ye Sibei was taken aback, but then she suddenly felt inexplicably happy. Like a child, she replied loudly, “Holding on properly!”

This time, Qin Nan didn’t drive too fast. He slowly descended the mountain, with the night breeze gently blowing around them, the moon overhead, and the lights flickering in the distance.

Ye Sibei held onto him, feeling countless questions but not knowing how to articulate them. She struggled internally, but finally, she asked, “Why did you sleep on the floor? Did you want to start over with me, thinking that sharing a bed progressed too quickly?”

“Weren’t you going to divorce me? Why did you change your mind?”

“Ye Sibei,” Qin Nan chuckled at her questions, “Why do you have so many questions?”

“Then just answer me one question,” Ye Sibei leaned over, one hand holding onto him, the other raising a finger, looking at him earnestly and cautiously, “What’s good about someone like me?”

Qin Nan rode the bike, listening to the girl’s inquiries behind him.

Actually, he didn’t like answering these questions directly. In the past, he always felt that many things shouldn’t be said but done. But as he listened to Ye Sibei’s questions, he realized that she rarely received such affirmation in her life, and she needed it.

We always need to be strong, work hard, and discipline ourselves alone. These seem to be the standard answers to solving problems, so when we fail, we often blame ourselves for not being strong enough, not working hard enough, not disciplined enough, not brave enough. It seems that this is the reason for all failures.

But few people discuss why someone, on their own, can be smart, resilient, magnanimous, and hardworking.

Everyone’s heart is like a flower, needing positive feedback from the world to flourish.

They need recognition, tranquility, and someone to give them hope.

She needs to understand and accept that she’s just an ordinary person.

And this kind of self — not strong enough, not hardworking enough, not disciplined enough, not brave enough — also has many strengths and can persevere on the struggling path, step by step, towards the light.

Thinking about Ye Sibei’s state of mind when he saw her suffering, Qin Nan didn’t hesitate to praise her.

He spoke softly, “You are good.”

“You’re resilient, stubborn, rebellious, and never give up.”

“You’d make paper flowers even when you’re poor, buy a hair clip, match different dishes for meals, and iron your clothes properly on weekends.”

“You have many, many virtues.”

“Ye Sibei, you’re good.”