Chapter 24.1

After changing her number, Ye Sibei’s life seemed to return to a state of calm.

She didn’t go out, didn’t go online, and didn’t contact anyone. The sound she heard most often each day was the creaking of the ceiling fan above her.

A few days later, she received a notification from the police, asking her to come to the station to accept apologies from Zhao Shuhui, Song Ming, Tao Jie, and others.

When Ye Sibei arrived at the police station, Tao Jie immediately explained, “Sibei, we absolutely didn’t mean to make you testify falsely. We just wanted you to tell the truth. Please don’t misunderstand.”

Song Ming, with a serious expression, also apologized, “There was a misunderstanding before. Don’t take it to heart. The company has always been fair.”

Ye Sibei ignored them and focused her gaze on Zhao Shuhui. Zhao Shuhui raised her head and said in a flat voice, “I’m sorry.”

Ye Sibei nodded, “Don’t trouble the people around me in the future.”

“Don’t worry, we won’t,” Tao Jie quickly promised. “Why would we cause trouble for your family? These matters have nothing to do with us.”

Ye Sibei didn’t say much. She knew Tao Jie and Song Ming were just opportunists, and that Zhao Shuhui, as Fan Jiancheng’s wife, wouldn’t change sides because of this.

After receiving the apologies, she got up to leave, but before she reached the door, Zhao Shuhui called out to her, “Ye Sibei.”

Ye Sibei turned back, and Zhao Shuhui looked at her and asked, “Aren’t you tired?”

Hearing this, Ye Sibei smiled, “Aren’t you?”

Who isn’t tired? But whether tired or not, this path must be walked to the end.

Zhao Shuhui looked at her but said nothing. There was a weary look in her eyes, and for a moment, Ye Sibei realized that she wasn’t the only one who had been enduring suffering during this time.

After being reprimanded by the police, they all became much more restrained. But Ye Sibei still didn’t dare to go out. For a period of time, she stayed home every day, cleaning the house, as if nothing had ever happened.

She even had the feeling that as long as she continued living in this small space, isolated from the world, she could pretend that nothing had ever happened.

At the end of June, she got up as usual, had breakfast with Qin Nan, and stayed home to clean after he left for the shop. After cleaning, she opened a book and began studying.

That day was no different from any other, except that Qin Nan returned an hour earlier in the evening to make dinner with her.

“I heard from Nianwen that there’s been progress in the case,” Qin Nan said as he sprinkled salt into the soup and looked back at her. “I thought I’d come home early to celebrate with you.”

“What kind of progress?”

Ye Sibei was chopping vegetables and didn’t turn around. Qin Nan’s tone was light, “I heard the case was sent to the prosecutor’s office yesterday.”

Ye Sibei’s chopping motion paused. She forced herself to remain calm and said, “Progress is always good.”

Just as she finished speaking, her phone on the table started to vibrate. She put down the knife, wiped her hands on her apron, and walked over to pick up the phone. It was a call from Ye Ling. After hesitating for a moment, she answered, only to hear Ye Ling’s urgent voice, “Sibei, you need to come home now. Something’s happened to your mother!”

Ye Sibei hurriedly turned off the stove and ran out, “What happened to her?”

“She fainted. Just come over quickly.”

“Why didn’t you take her to the hospital?” Ye Sibei asked anxiously. “Why are you keeping her at home?”

“Just come!”

Ye Ling, uncharacteristically firm, abruptly hung up the phone.

“What’s wrong?” Qin Nan looked up at her.

Ye Sibei was uncertain. “My dad said my mom is sick, but he didn’t take her to the hospital. I’m worried something might be wrong…”

“I’ll go with you.”

Qin Nan responded decisively. Ye Sibei glanced at him, took a deep breath, and finally nodded.

The two turned off the stove, quickly went downstairs, and drove straight to the street outside Ye’s family home.

Qin Nan went to park the car while Ye Sibei hurried through the alley and into the courtyard.

The Ye family lived in a traditional teacher’s courtyard. The house had been purchased by Ye Ling when he was still a teacher, and the surrounding residents were all acquaintances. As soon as she entered, people stopped what they were doing, gathered around, and kept glancing at her.

Keeping her head down, Ye Sibei hurried into her home. Inside, she saw Ye Ling and Ye Nianwen sitting separately on the sofa, seemingly having just had an argument. Zhao Chuchu was busy in the kitchen. Seeing Ye Sibei, she cautiously called out, “Sis.”

Ye Sibei nodded at Zhao Chuchu and looked around, but didn’t see Huang Guifen. She raised her voice, “Where’s Mom?”

At these words, Ye Nianwen suddenly stood up and tried to push her back. “You should go home.”

“Stop right there!”

Ye Ling called out to Ye Sibei, his tone unusually stiff. Ye Sibei hesitated, and Ye Nianwen kept pushing her, “Go.”

“Ye Nianwen, have you lost your mind?”

Ye Ling stood up and rushed forward, pulling Ye Nianwen away. “Let your sister in,” he said, grabbing Ye Sibei’s arm and dragging her towards the master bedroom. “Come see for yourself. Look at what your mother has become because of you!”

Ye Sibei stopped at the doorway, staring blankly into the room.

Huang Guifen and Ye Ling’s bedroom was narrow and dimly lit. Huang Guifen sat on the bed, gazing at the window covered with newspapers. Her eyes were unfocused, lost in thought.

In the month and a half since Ye Sibei last saw her, Huang Guifen had grown much thinner. The once assertive woman now seemed directionless, her hair graying, as if she had aged ten years.

“What’s going on?” Ye Sibei couldn’t bear to look for long and turned her gaze to Ye Nianwen. “What happened?”

“Nianwen lost his job,” Ye Ling replied hoarsely. “Your mother hasn’t been eating or drinking properly for days, and she’s too afraid to leave the house. Chuchu lost her job, and now Nianwen’s out of work too. We just bought the house—how are we supposed to pay it off…”

As Ye Sibei listened, her lips trembled. Ye Ling continued, “Your mother can’t take it anymore, Sibei… Our family can’t endure this any longer. We really can’t.”

Ye Sibei didn’t respond. She turned and walked out of the room, quickly finding the number from the previous anonymous texts on her phone and dialing it.

That number hadn’t contacted her for a while—maybe they didn’t know she’d changed her number, or perhaps it was due to the last police warning. Standing at the doorway, Ye Sibei listened as the phone rang. After a moment, someone answered.

No one spoke, but Ye Sibei immediately asked, “Zhao Shuhui, is this you?”

“What?” Zhao Shuhui’s voice was calm, as if she already knew what Ye Sibei was going to say.

“My brother’s situation,” Ye Sibei gritted her teeth. “You’re behind it, aren’t you?”

“I didn’t do anything,” Zhao Shuhui denied, her tone flawless, though Ye Sibei could detect a hint of mockery. “Who is your brother? What happened to him? Why are you calling me? I’m the family of the accused; we shouldn’t be in contact.”

“You’re getting back at me, aren’t you?” Ye Sibei clenched her fists. “Didn’t the police warn you enough last time?”

“They did,” Zhao Shuhui replied nonchalantly. “I haven’t contacted you since, have I?”

“Then why was my brother fired?”

“Ask your brother,” Zhao Shuhui said, as if it were obvious. “Ask yourself—what did you do wrong that led to him getting fired?”

Ye Sibei didn’t say anything. Listening to Zhao Shuhui’s voice, she felt like all her principles and boundaries were on the verge of collapsing. She gripped the phone, unable to speak.

Qin Nan came up behind her and gently took the phone from her hand. “Let’s go check on your mom first,” he said softly.

After a moment, Ye Sibei calmed down. She turned back into the room, hearing Ye Ling berating Ye Nianwen as she entered, “The house has drained all our money. You have to pay off the mortgage, repay your sister, and Mom and Dad don’t have much of a pension…”

“Don’t talk to me like that. I’ll figure something out; I’m not useless!”

“You don’t know what it’s like to lose your job! When I lost my job…”

Ye Sibei pretended not to hear them, walking through the living room into the master bedroom. She pulled up a chair and sat down next to Huang Guifen.

“Mom.”

She called softly. Huang Guifen continued to look at the window, her voice low, “Close the door; it’s too noisy.”

Ye Sibei nodded, got up to close the door, and the sounds of the argument between Ye Ling and Ye Nianwen quieted. She sat down again, unsure of what to say to her mother.

After a long pause, she finally asked, “What happened today? Why didn’t you go to the hospital?”

“I just felt a little dizzy,” Huang Guifen replied, downplaying it. “I’ll be fine after lying down for a bit.”

“Don’t save money—go get checked out,” Ye Sibei urged. But as she spoke, she realized that advising against saving money meant she’d have to cover the costs. She didn’t have much income, and she couldn’t just use Qin Nan’s money to pay for her mother’s medical bills.

The words she had just spoken felt hollow and inconsiderate.

Ye Sibei lowered her head, feeling somewhat defeated. Huang Guifen didn’t say much either. After a moment, she spoke softly, “You don’t know the value of money until you’re the one managing the household, spending recklessly.”

Huang Guifen’s tone was unusually gentle—whether from exhaustion or something else, Ye Sibei wasn’t sure. She looked up at her mother. “Mom…”

“Recently, I’ve been wondering, how did I end up with a daughter like you?”

Huang Guifen didn’t respond to her call, her voice tinged with regret: “You were disobedient since you were little, always arguing with Nianwen, constantly saying we were unfair. You grew up and just wanted to leave. When we brought you back, you resented us. You don’t know how I used to hope for the day you’d grow up, thinking that once you did, you’d understand,” she said, turning her gaze to Ye Sibei, “But you never really grew up.”

“You always thought I didn’t love you, that I was out to harm you,” Huang Guifen said with a bitter smile. “But I never thought that. I just didn’t understand—how exactly do you love a daughter?”

“Your aunt, your grandmother, and I—we all had much harder lives, but we never felt it was unfair. All women live like this, so why do you demand so much?”

Hearing this, Ye Sibei forced a smile. “Let’s not talk about this. It’s not good for you to get upset.”