Chapter 32.1

While Ye Sibei and Qin Nan were sleeping in each other’s arms, Fan Jiancheng hummed a tune as he returned home.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw the living room brightly lit, and Zhao Shuhui sat on the sofa, lost in thought.

Fan Jiancheng paused, feeling a bit guilty. “You’re not asleep yet?”

Zhao Shuhui looked up at him. “Where have you been?”

“Busy with work,” Fan Jiancheng said, taking off his coat nonchalantly. “Just overtime.”

“Do you think I would still believe you?”

Zhao Shuhui suddenly stood up and walked over to Fan Jiancheng, scrutinizing the clothes he had just taken off, smelling and inspecting them closely.

Fan Jiancheng casually changed his shoes, loosened his tie, and turned to scoff at his wife’s actions.

Hearing his laughter, Zhao Shuhui turned back, grabbing his collar with a fierce expression. “Where did you go? Where exactly did you go?”

“I told you to chill out,” Fan Jiancheng seized her hand. “I just went to gamble. Don’t be so sensitive.”

“Am I too sensitive?” Zhao Shuhui stared at him in shock. “How can you say I’m sensitive? Don’t you know what you’ve done?! How can you still go on the show? Everyone knows you cheated now! What about Wenwen? Do you still have any shame?!”

“If I didn’t go on the show, would everyone still know I cheated?” Fan Jiancheng leaned closer to her. “This is called clearing my name, and I get paid to be on TV—I’ve never had this treatment before.”

Looking at her husband’s angry and worried eyes, Fan Jiancheng tried to soothe her. “It’s just cheating. I’m not a woman; it’s not that big of a deal. Which man doesn’t cheat? You don’t question it; why do you care what others think?”

Zhao Shuhui looked at him in disbelief. She had never imagined that one day, Fan Jiancheng would say something like this to her.

Ever since the ruling, Fan Jiancheng seemed to have lost all restraint, no longer pretending to be the good husband in front of her.

She caught a glimpse of his darkest side and chose to tolerate it, which made it clear to Fan Jiancheng where her bottom line lay.

He pulled her hand away, humming a tune as he walked towards the bedroom.

Watching him enter the master bedroom, Zhao Shuhui suddenly couldn’t hold back anymore. She rushed in, lunging at him and hitting him wildly.

“Bastard! You bastard!”

“Are you crazy?!”

Fan Jiancheng slapped Zhao Shuhui hard across the face, and she was thrown onto the bed by the force. As he touched his face, he felt the wound she had scratched, letting out a soft hiss. “What are you doing?”

“You transfer all the money to my account and put the house under Wenwen’s name,” Zhao Shuhui lifted her head, covering her face and looking agitated. “Otherwise, I’ll report you.”

Hearing this, Fan Jiancheng was unconcerned. He put his hands on his hips, loosened his buttons, and raised his hand to slap her again. Zhao Shuhui screamed, and he pressed her head down, forcing her face into the pillow.

“Are you out of your mind?”

Zhao Shuhui felt she couldn’t breathe, struggling desperately as her voice was muffled by the pillow, only managing to emit faint whimpers.

Fan Jiancheng held her head down, reminding her, “This family is supported by my earnings. Without me, what will you and Wenwen eat? What will you drink? Think about what you’ve done for this family. While I’m out there facing the wind and rain, you stay at home as your comfortable wife. I have so much pressure; I need to relieve it outside.” He grabbed her hair, pulling her up close, and asked, “What are you messing around for?”

“I have evidence,” Zhao Shuhui trembled as she spoke, panting, “Fan Jiancheng, don’t go too far.”

“Are you threatening me?” Hearing this, Fan Jiancheng couldn’t help but laugh in anger. He gently brushed Zhao Shuhui’s face. “Zhao Shuhui, get this straight: if you report me, you won’t escape either. It won’t just be me going down; Wenwen will lose both her parents.”

Zhao Shuhui was taken aback. Fan Jiancheng lifted her up, turning her to face away from him, holding her close. The reflection in the vanity showed two distorted figures—her face was bruised and she looked disheveled, while Fan Jiancheng’s face was close to hers as he gently embraced her. “I’m guilty, but what about you? Just shut up; you’ve already gained a lot. Like before, don’t ask questions, and let’s continue to coexist peacefully. Otherwise…” He pinched her face, forcing her to turn and look at him. “No one will have it easy.”

Zhao Shuhui couldn’t speak. She stared at the twisted reflections of the two in the mirror, trembling lightly. She wanted to cry but was afraid to make a sound, fearing it would wake their child, who was still sound asleep.

She remembered the year they got married when Fan Jiancheng bashfully told her that he would treat her well for a lifetime.

She wanted to ask him how things had turned into this when he had promised to treat her well forever.

Fan Jiancheng, do you even remember what you said?

That night, the rain fell all night. The next morning, Ye Sibei woke up and peeked out of the window to see the sky as blue as washed silk. She lazily lay on the bed, listening to the sounds of clattering coming from the kitchen.

After a while, she got up and walked into the room, seeing Qin Nan cooking. She leaned against the door, watching him for a moment. When Qin Nan noticed she was up, he smiled at her. “Awake?”

“Aren’t you going to the shop?”

“I’ll go after I finish making breakfast for you.”

As he spoke, Qin Nan scooped rice noodles into a bowl and sprinkled some chopped green onions on top.

They ate together, and Qin Nan casually mentioned, “I’ll be leaving at the end of the month. Do you have anything you need to do?”

Ye Sibei thought for a moment. “Not really. Before I go, I plan to visit my grandma and other relatives, and then see Teacher Yang.”

Qin Nan paused for a moment, then took a bite of the rice noodles, pretending not to recognize the name. “Teacher Yang?”

“My high school homeroom teacher, Yang Qiyu. He’s a really nice person.”

While eating, Ye Sibei casually recounted the past. “In my senior year, I almost dropped out, but he told me about a scholarship program. He applied for a spot for me, and it was a two-thousand donation that allowed me to continue my studies.”

“He sounds like a great person,” Qin Nan nodded. “You should go thank him properly. Do you know who that kind-hearted person is?”

Ye Sibei shook her head. “No idea.”

She thought for a moment and said, “If I find out, I should really thank them. But…” She hesitated. “I don’t have anything to give right now.”

“Then let’s do it later,” Qin Nan agreed. “I’ll earn more money, and we can thank them properly.”

As they talked and ate, once they finished the rice noodles, Ye Sibei urged Qin Nan to head to the shop while she washed the dishes at home.

As she washed, her mind was racing.

Next Wednesday, September 20, was her best opportunity.

If Fan Jiancheng died, she would definitely be the prime suspect, so she needed a perfect alibi to clear her name completely.

It would be best if she could survive, and then she could leave with Qin Nan.

If she didn’t make it…

It wouldn’t matter.

With these thoughts swirling in her mind, Ye Sibei finished washing the dishes and walked over to her desk, opening the train ticket purchasing page.

She took out a notebook and began calculating the timing.

From Nancheng to City G, a slow train took 24 hours, departing at 5 PM and arriving the next day at 5 PM. However, a long-distance express train only took 10 hours.

If she bought a ticket from Nancheng to City G, she could get on at 5:30 PM at the second station, Huai Shui, get off there, head towards the casino, meet Fan Jiancheng at 7 PM, take care of everything, then catch a long-distance bus for 10 hours straight to the previous stop in City G, Yunwen County, arriving at 3:30 PM with someone else’s ticket, and finally leave the City G train station at 5 PM with her own ticket.

This way, there would be surveillance footage of her at both Nancheng and City G train stations. As long as they didn’t check the entry and exit footage from Huai Shui and Yunwen stations, she would have an alibi.

The risk was high, but there was no better way.

Having made her decision, Ye Sibei immediately got up, determined to go through her planned route.

She took the train to Huai Shui, got off there, and found a driver for an unlicensed cab to take her to the casino. She confirmed the timing along the way and saved the driver’s number.

From then on, every day when Qin Nan was out, she would wear a hat and a mask to prepare everything.

Buying train tickets, preparing gloves, and the weapon…

Sometimes she felt exhausted, and at those times, she would go to a spot not far from the entrance of Fuqiang Real Estate to watch Fan Jiancheng.

Each glance at him made her feel energized again.

She felt all her attention and focus were on Fan Jiancheng.

Her mind was consumed by a single thought: he must pay the price.

It hadn’t always been like this.

In the past, even in numbness and pain, even when the incident occurred, the case hadn’t consumed her entirely. She always wanted to escape, always wanted a better life, so she fought, desperately sought to survive, and was tortured by thoughts of death.

But now, she didn’t want anything else; her mind was focused solely on this matter.

She needed to end it before she could move forward.

As she carried out these tasks, Qin Nan was always following behind her. She rarely noticed the surrounding happenings, and she was unaware of him shadowing her.

She liked to jot down her thoughts in a small notebook using strange symbols. Qin Nan would read through these notes while she was asleep. He could barely understand them but recognized some of the numbers.

He didn’t dare to speak up and didn’t know how to bring it up. He knew what he needed to do; he couldn’t advise her against it, but he also couldn’t just stand by and watch her continue down this path.

Every time he saw her standing far away at the entrance of Fuqiang Real Estate, staring at Fan Jiancheng as he walked out, he felt a deep, helpless pain.

It was like when he was young, watching his father have his bones broken by someone, writhing on the ground in agony.

He could only watch it all happen, powerless to intervene.

On Saturday, while Ye Sibei was eating, she suddenly told him, “I’m planning to find a time to go out for a bit.”

Qin Nan paused for a moment; in that instant, he sensed something.

He pretended not to know anything and replied, “Where to? Can I come along?”

“I want to go for a walk alone, planning to go to City G.”

“When?”

“Wednesday,” Ye Sibei smiled, “I’ve already bought the tickets, so don’t blame me for telling you after the fact.”

Qin Nan nodded without saying anything. Ye Sibei studied him and asked, “Are you angry?”

“When are you going to see Teacher Yang?”

Qin Nan didn’t show much expression. Seeing that he didn’t object, Ye Sibei felt relieved and responded, “Is tomorrow okay? I’ll call him and ask.”

Qin Nan agreed.