Chapter 30.1

When the rain stopped, everyone had calmed down considerably.

Both families were taken to the police station, where the police verbally reprimanded them. Given that there were no significant injuries and the two sides reached a settlement, no further action was taken.

The Fan family left first. After Ye Ling signed the paperwork, he returned to the lobby to find everyone sitting on the benches.

Huang Guifen leaned against Ye Sibei, crying. Ye Sibei, Qin Nan, and Ye Nianwen all sat with their heads down, saying nothing.

Ye Ling seemed to have aged ten years in an instant. He walked up to his family and sighed softly, “Let’s go home.”

As the family exited the police station, it was already nighttime.

Lin Feng and Zhang Yong stood at the entrance. Lin Feng appeared to have been crying. When she saw the Ye family come out, she stepped forward and stood in front of Ye Sibei. After a long silence, she managed to control her emotions and spoke hoarsely, “I will continue to investigate the case. If there’s new evidence, I’ll let you know. You can still appeal.”

Ye Sibei remained silent, and Qin Nan responded for her, saying, “Thank you, Officer Lin.”

It seemed that Ye Sibei couldn’t hear any sounds from the outside world. She turned around and walked toward the parking lot.

This reaction made Lin Feng feel somewhat upset. She felt guilty but couldn’t express it.

The Ye family left quietly like a group of wandering souls. Once they had walked away, Zhang Yong approached Lin Feng and said, “Don’t be too upset. You’re a police officer; don’t get too involved in one case.”

“I am a police officer,” Lin Feng looked up at Zhang Yong, her eyes red, “but Captain Zhang, I’m also a person.”

“If you’re a person, then you will have a conscience.”

Zhang Yong didn’t respond immediately. He lowered his head, and after a long pause, he finally spoke, “Just now, I asked Judge Gao about the reasons for the not-guilty verdict. He said that, although he emotionally leans towards Ye Sibei, he cannot rely on feelings to decide a case.”

“He said that his predecessor handled a case back in ’96 where a woman accused a man of rape. Although the evidence chain had flaws, it was generally inferred that the man likely committed the act. Back then, testimony was heavily relied upon, and the woman indeed cried heart-wrenchingly, so the man was sentenced to twelve years. After serving twelve years, he was released and spent years appealing his case until a fugitive finally confessed to the crime. No one believed it was such a coincidence.”

“Twelve years of imprisonment, and then eight years of struggle to clear his name; half of his life was consumed by this matter. Judge Gao said,” Zhang Yong’s gaze was calm, “we need to understand that once the law is broken, whether the victim fails to receive justice or the innocent suffer wrongful accusations, it’s a tremendous suffering. We are not gods, and what we see is not the truth, so all we can do is explore the facts that are closest to the truth within the constraints of the law.”

Lin Feng was momentarily speechless. After a long while, she forced a bitter smile, “It’s so hard to be a judge.”

“Someone has to do it, right?”

Zhang Yong patted her shoulder and said, “Let’s go back. You’re really caring,” his gaze grew colder, “just continue investigating this case.”

“This case,” Zhang Yong glanced in the direction Fan Jiancheng had left, “is not over yet.”

Qin Nan first took Ye Ling, Huang Guifen, and the others back to the Ye home.

At the roadside at the entrance of Ye’s alley, Ye Nianwen helped Huang Guifen into the house. Ye Ling checked the time and called out to Qin Nan, “Let’s go home for dinner; it’s been a day since we’ve eaten, let’s eat something at home first.”

Qin Nan turned to look at Ye Sibei, who had no expression on her face. She stared at the light rain outside the car window, as if everything was irrelevant to her.

After considering Ye Sibei’s condition, Qin Nan finally urged her, “Sibei, let’s eat something first.”

Ye Sibei turned her head to look at him. Just as Qin Nan was about to add more words of persuasion, he saw Ye Sibei nod, calmly open the car door, and walk into the rain, following her family inside.

She seemed to have suddenly become extraordinarily rational. Everything had happened, and nothing was different from the past.

Qin Nan went to park the car while the family walked into the small alley toward their home.

The drizzle made the courtyard unusually quiet, as everyone stayed inside their homes, watching TV, cooking soup, or taking naps.

The family, exhausted, reached the door. Ye Ling opened it, and they stepped inside. Ye Ling urged Huang Guifen to rest in bed while he went into the kitchen to reheat the dishes. Ye Sibei and Ye Nianwen sat in their places without saying a word.

“Sister,” Ye Nianwen glanced at Ye Sibei, “why don’t you go rest in my room for a bit?”

Ye Sibei nodded, got up, and went into Ye Nianwen’s room. She took off her outerwear and lay down numbly on the bed, staring at the spider-web-covered ceiling, her mind blank.

It was only after Ye Sibei entered the room that Ye Nianwen found the courage to unlock her phone.

The media were quick to seize the news. The morning trial had ended, and now news articles were everywhere, as everyone feared losing in this battle for information.

These media outlets couldn’t enter the courtroom but had no shortage of sources. They somehow managed to find out about the situation at the scene and even attempted to reconstruct the entire trial.

Among all the related news, besides the initial reports of the trial results, the hottest article was another one titled “Key Witness Speaks Out for the First Time: ‘The Victim Was Cognizant During the Separation.’”

Ye Nianwen clicked on the article and discovered it was an exclusive interview with Zhao Chuchu.

The location was a café. Zhao Chuchu was wearing a mask, and her face was pixelated, with only her voice recorded.

The voice was transcribed into a document, forming the content of the article.

Reporter: “What was the situation like that day?”

Zhao Chuchu: “Both of us had been drinking, and we went home together. My home was only ten minutes away, so I got out of the car first. Before getting out, I told her to text me when she got home, and then I went back home.”

Reporter: “Was the victim cognizant when she got out of the car?”

Zhao Chuchu: “She was still chatting with me before getting out; we were both about the same.”

Reporter: “What were you talking about?”

Zhao Chuchu: “She said life is too hard, and I said no matter how hard it is, we have to keep moving forward.”

Reporter: “So you didn’t ‘abandon’ her?”

Zhao Chuchu: “It was just me and her that day; we were both in similar situations. If my home had been a little farther that day, would you say she abandoned me? It’s either she’s guilty or I’m guilty.”

Reporter: “Did she confirm that she got home safely afterward?”

Zhao Chuchu fell silent. After a moment, she said, “I can only say that I confirmed she was safe before I went to bed. But I don’t want to answer that question anymore.”

Reporter: “The online claims that the victim took out a loan to buy a wedding house for you and her brother, did you know about this beforehand?”

Zhao Chuchu: “I didn’t know. Our families decided to get married. My dad spoke to them about the betrothal gifts and wedding house, and they said their conditions weren’t good and couldn’t provide the betrothal gifts, so they would buy a house instead, putting both our names on it, and we would pay the mortgage together. I always thought the house was bought with his parents’ money. If I had known that the victim also contributed money, I wouldn’t have accepted it. Now, to fight this lawsuit, the house has been sold, and I have nothing to do with his family anymore.”

……

Ye Nianwen looked at Zhao Chuchu’s reply, listening to the sound of cooking in the room. He held his phone, took a deep breath, trying to hold back his tears.

Countless questions filled his mind as he continuously recalled Zhao Chuchu’s appearance in court.

He didn’t understand; he couldn’t comprehend.

After much contemplation, he grabbed his phone, stood up, and rushed out the door.

As he ran, he opened the location tracking for friends and family, seeing Zhao Chuchu’s location on his phone.

She was heading home, and Ye Nianwen hailed a taxi, heading straight to Zhao Chuchu’s house.

While Ye Nianwen was running to Zhao Chuchu’s home, Qin Nan parked his car and returned to the Ye household.

Ye Ling heard Qin Nan come in and looked outside: “Qin Nan?”

“Dad.”

Qin Nan nodded, noticing the house was empty: “Where are Sibei and Nianwen?”

“Maybe they are resting? You should check,” Ye Ling said, raising his voice.

Qin Nan felt something was off; there were only two rooms in the house, Huang Guifen was resting in the master bedroom, and it was unlikely that Ye Sibei and Ye Nianwen were in the same room.

He knocked on Ye Nianwen’s door, and Ye Sibei got up to open it. Qin Nan glanced around the room, frowning: “Where’s Ye Nianwen?”

Ye Sibei was taken aback, looking confusedly around the room. Qin Nan quickly realized what was happening and pulled out his phone. After a brief search, he found the article about Zhao Chuchu’s interview.