Chapter 25.2

“You like me, and you care about me,” Zhao Chuchu stood on the steps and reached out to hug him, “and that’s enough.”

“Actually, I don’t care that much about the house. What matters to me is your feelings, and you as a person. We can earn money together; it doesn’t matter. We’re still young.”

As Zhao Chuchu spoke, Ye Nianwen crumbled completely.

He leaned into her embrace, sobbing uncontrollably.

Zhao Chuchu sniffled and held him tightly. “You’ve grown up, and you’re doing great. Just always remember, no matter what happens—”

“Ye Nianwen likes Zhao Chuchu, and Zhao Chuchu likes Ye Nianwen.”

Ye Nianwen nodded vigorously, “I will remember. I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

Ye Nianwen likes Zhao Chuchu, and Zhao Chuchu likes Ye Nianwen.

After making his decision, the next day, Ye Nianwen went to the developer and reached an agreement. The developer charged them a 30,000 yuan processing fee and helped them list the house for sale through their company.

Then, he started posting online, seeking inquiries and business opportunities.

Ye Sibei, on the other hand, stopped going out. She spent her days at home. When Qin Nan was around, she would do chores with him, chat, watch TV dramas, and play games.

When Qin Nan wasn’t there, she couldn’t help but go online, constantly checking for news.

People online were different from those in real life. Without so many conflicting interests, their sense of right and wrong was simpler and more straightforward.

Most people were condemning Fan Jiancheng and hurling insults at him.

What made people most furious about this incident wasn’t just that Fan Jiancheng used his workplace power to commit sexual assault. The real outrage stemmed from the subsequent actions, like throwing paint and other attempts to silence the victim through abuse of power.

This drove the online community to extremes, trying to completely expose the Fan family’s moral decay. They resorted to insults, doxxing, and searching for any possible signs of their moral corruption.

Ye Sibei came across a video titled “The Rapist’s Wife and Daughter,” which had a very high view count. When she clicked on it, she saw Zhao Shuhui holding Fan Wenwen, squeezed among a crowd at the entrance of an elementary school. An old lady rushed forward to slap the phone out of the filmer’s hand, shouting, “What are you filming? Hand over the phone!”

People around were all staring at Zhao Shuhui. Fan Wenwen was crying loudly in her arms as Zhao Shuhui, head down, hurriedly walked forward.

Compared to the Fan family’s disgrace, Ye Sibei was in a much better position. Online, Ye Sibei was being portrayed as a perfect, pitiable saint—kind, brave, hardworking, and resilient. Reading these praises made her feel both happy and scared.

She knew she wasn’t as perfect as they said, but she couldn’t help indulging in the compliments.

With influential voices holding people accountable and the media fueling the fire, public opinion quickly intensified. Suddenly, Ye Sibei’s social media was flooded with messages, with many people encouraging her to stay strong.

In addition to the support, every related news post was also accompanied by some odd comments. For example:

“Sigh, so tragic. Girls really need to learn how to protect themselves.”

“A wise person avoids danger. Let this be a lesson to everyone. If someone forces you to drink, just quit your job.”

Out of a hundred comforting messages, none had a greater impact on her than these seemingly bland statements. Beneath these words lurked an echo of the world’s traditional views, shaking the firm resolve she had struggled to maintain.

Especially with some less reputable media outlets, which published photos of her taken on that day. Although many condemned these outlets for their intrusive interviews and exposure of the victim, headlines like “Photos of the Nancheng Sexual Assault Victim Revealed: No Wonder Men Couldn’t Resist” attracted much more traffic than the serious reports.

The comments under such reports were often much more vulgar.

Beyond Ye Sibei and the key figures like Fan Jiancheng and Zhao Shuhui, the media also quickly released the details of the case. Online, people played judge, speculating wildly about what really happened that day.

One of the most crucial witnesses, Zhao Chuchu, was soon dug up by netizens. Photos of her with Ye Sibei were circulated widely. Compared to Ye Sibei, Zhao Chuchu had a more glamorous look, dressed more fashionably. As she was the last person to see Ye Sibei that night, leaving her in a man’s car, all sorts of speculations and comments arose.

“Did she do it on purpose? Who leaves a friend who’s clearly out of it alone in a guy’s car?”

“Big curls, high heels, stockings—wow, this woman really knows how to play the game.”

“Don’t judge a woman’s character by her looks. Just because she’s more glamorous doesn’t mean she’s a bad person…”

There were also labels online like “Vampire Ye Nianwen,” “Selling Daughter for a House Huang Guifen,” and “Freeloader Ye Ling”…

Each person who appeared online seemed to carry some original sin, with labels stuck to their foreheads, open to judgment by netizens.

During those days, it wasn’t just Ye Sibei who was caught up in this. Zhao Chuchu, Huang Guifen, Zhao Shuhui—everyone was constantly refreshing the news online, keeping track of information related to them.

Huang Guifen watched the internet’s criticism of her, analyzing the suffering of women, Ye Sibei’s hardships, and her own failures as a mother. Night after night, she found it hard to sleep.

Zhao Chuchu saw the network’s doubts about her, the insults, and the attacks on her appearance and style. She hid in her room, too afraid to go outside.

Ye Sibei, Huang Guifen, Ye Ling, Ye Nianwen, Qin Nan…

The weight of the information pressed down layer by layer, like a rubber band stretched between two hands, being pulled tighter and tighter, thinner and thinner.

Everyone was suffering. After a few days, Ye Sibei received a notice from the prosecutor’s office asking her to come in to confirm the records.

She agreed, and after hanging up the phone, she took out a cigarette and stood on the balcony, looking out at the city as night fell. Her mind was filled with online comments and the video of Zhao Shuhui holding her child, pushing through a crowd.

Qin Nan had finished making dinner and noticed Ye Sibei wasn’t in the living room. He looked around and found her on the balcony, smoking. He walked over to her and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“The prosecutor’s office wants me to go in tomorrow.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

Qin Nan didn’t understand. Ye Sibei lowered her head, silent, as if struggling with something. After a long while, she whispered, “Qin Nan, I’m scared.”

“At this point, what’s there to be afraid of?” Qin Nan smiled. “I saw a lot of people online supporting us. With so many people behind you, it’s Fan Jiancheng who should be scared.”

Ye Sibei didn’t respond. She kept her head down, and after a long pause, she murmured, “What if one day they realize I’m not who they think I am?”

“What do you mean?”

Ye Sibei took a deep drag of her cigarette, exhaled the smoke, then put out the cigarette in the ashtray. “Let’s go back and eat.”

The news about confirming the records at the prosecutor’s office also reached Ye Nianwen. He received the call and was about to discuss the route with Ye Sibei when he suddenly heard Huang Guifen, who was sitting nearby, speak up, “Are you going to the prosecutor’s office tomorrow?”

“Yes.” Lately, Huang Guifen had spoken very little, mostly sitting by the computer, constantly searching for news about Ye Sibei. Since she asked, Ye Nianwen replied, “We need to confirm the previous records.”

“Is she going alone? There will be many reporters, right? Won’t those reporters just take things out of context and write all sorts of nonsense?”

“I’ll be going with my brother-in-law,” Ye Nianwen sidestepped the many questions, answering only the most crucial one.

Huang Guifen lowered her head. Ye Nianwen was about to head to his room when he heard her raspy voice say, “I’ll go too.”

Ye Nianwen was taken aback. Huang Guifen’s voice was soft, “Your father and I will both go.”

Ye Ling looked back in confusion, and Huang Guifen raised her eyes to meet his, firmly saying, “We’ll go together.”

While Ye Sibei and Ye Nianwen received phone notifications, Zhao Shuhui got the news from her lawyer.

Her lawyer, Meng Xin, was the best criminal defense attorney in Nancheng and also the director of Ye Nianwen’s law firm.

Meng Xin sat at the Fan household and briefly explained the situation to Zhao Shuhui: “Ye Sibei and the other witnesses will be going to the prosecutor’s office tomorrow to confirm the records. Mr. Fan has not confessed to the crime, and there are still gaps in the case that need to be filled. The prosecutor’s office has requested an extension of his detention, so he cannot be released on bail for the time being.”

Zhao Shuhui was somewhat dazed, holding a piece of paper in her hand. It had been stuck to the door, and the words “Home of a Rapist” were written on it.

Seeing her condition, Meng Xin lowered his head, seemingly with a hint of pity: “Is your daughter still attending classes?”

“No,” Zhao Shuhui finally responded when her daughter Fan Wenwen was mentioned. “A few days ago, she got into a fight with a classmate at school, so I’ve been keeping her at home to rest.”

“I’ve also discussed your situation with Mr. Fan,” Meng Xin continued. “He’s been crying a lot in the detention center, saying he’s sorry to you and your daughter.”

Zhao Shuhui kept her head down and didn’t say much.

“Oh, there’s one more thing he asked of you,” Meng Xin recalled. “He said you should pray more to the household Buddha for the safety of you and Wenwen.”

Zhao Shuhui was startled by this and looked up in confusion. Sensing her unease, Meng Xin offered a few more words of comfort before finally leaving.

After seeing Meng Xin off, Zhao Shuhui stared blankly at the Buddha statue in the living room.

This Buddha was worshipped by Fan Jiancheng’s mother. Fan Jiancheng had never believed in Buddha, so why would he suddenly ask her to pray?

Although Meng Xin was their lawyer, he only conveyed minor personal matters and never disclosed any critical information about the case. If Fan Jiancheng wanted to send her a message, he would have to do it in a more subtle way.

Buddha?

Zhao Shuhui walked over to the shrine and began searching everywhere. When Fan Jiancheng was first arrested, the police had already sealed off and thoroughly searched the house. She found nothing unusual in any of the places she searched, and finally, her gaze settled on the Buddha statue.

She cautiously approached, placing her hands on the Buddha’s golden body. After hesitating for a long time, she trembled as she lifted the statue.

Though she wasn’t a believer in Buddhism, at that moment, she felt a deep fear. Holding the Buddha, she hesitated for a long while before finally smashing it onto the ground.

Fan’s mother, who was in the bedroom, heard the noise and rushed out, angrily shouting at Zhao Shuhui: “What are you doing?! You’ve even knocked down the Buddha—have you gone mad?!”

Zhao Shuhui didn’t respond. She stared blankly at the golden Buddha shattered on the floor, the pieces scattering across the ground. In the sound of porcelain breaking, the ugliest parts of human nature were exposed.

The Buddha says that the sea of suffering is boundless, but turning back offers salvation.

Yet, those struggling in the sea of suffering may have long forgotten the distinction between good and evil, even in the eyes of gods and Buddhas.