Chapter 33.2

Ye Nianwen continued, “I heard it was my sister’s blind date, but she didn’t hit it off with anyone. Then she ran into my brother-in-law, and when they met and talked, they clicked. At that time, my dad was against it because he thought my brother-in-law was underqualified academically, but my sister insisted on him.”

“Love at first sight?”

“Maybe?” Ye Nianwen thought Zhang Yong was referring to Ye Sibei. “My sister saw a lot of ugly guys back then. My mom yelled at her every day, and she was terrified.”

“I remember Qin Nan is from Nancheng. Which school did he go to?”

“I don’t know that,” Ye Nianwen said as he and Zhang Yong entered a café. They found a private room, and Ye Nianwen walked ahead. “He never mentioned it.”

Zhang Yong didn’t respond. He scanned the café. After they sat down, Ye Nianwen ordered something. He seemed a bit anxious and hesitated for a moment before speaking up, “Is there… progress with my sister’s situation?”

Zhang Yong looked up at him. He had heard that Ye Nianwen had been searching for people who were present during the incident, from the cleaning lady to the employees of Fuqiang Realty. Several times, they had called the police, who warned Ye Nianwen to stop. After the warnings, he continued anyway.

Some people told him that Ye Nianwen had gone mad.

He wasn’t looking for a job, didn’t care about his future, and was solely focused on this case.

The appeal deadline had passed; now, only new evidence could provide a chance for retrial.

So his only hope was the emergence of new evidence.

Zhang Yong observed him and lit a cigarette, his voice soft: “Your sister has given up. What are you holding onto?”

“I don’t know.”

Ye Nianwen shook his head. “I can’t let it go. Every time I close my eyes, it’s this incident. This incident,” his eyes turned red as he looked at Zhang Yong, struggling to contain his emotions, “ruined my mom, my sister, and Chu Chu. Everything I had was destroyed because of this. If justice isn’t served for my sister,” Ye Nianwen’s nose felt sore, “I won’t be able to move on.”

“If public justice fails,” Ye Nianwen looked up at Zhang Yong, “then private justice will run rampant.”

Zhang Yong paused briefly. Ye Nianwen bitterly smiled: “It wasn’t until today that I finally understood the meaning of what the teacher said.”

“Is it appropriate for you to say this to a police officer?”

“I told you, the best thing about this is that it proves I know not to seek private justice.” Ye Nianwen said, realizing they couldn’t stray too far from the topic, “Captain Zhang, why did you come to see me?”

“About your sister’s case,” Zhang Yong brushed off the ash from his cigarette. “I’ve found a lead.”

“What clue?”

“If what Zhao Chuchu said is true,” Zhang Yong pondered, “it means what your sister said isn’t how things were at that time.”

“You think my sister is lying?”

Ye Nianwen frowned, and Zhang Yong shook his head. “What if your sister misremembered?”

Ye Nianwen paused, and Zhang Yong took out some photos of medication. “I considered this possibility earlier. If your sister took some psychotropic drugs, it could lead to memory loss or confusion. Objectively speaking, Meng Xin was right; given the amount of alcohol consumed, it’s unlikely that Ye Sibei lost consciousness completely.”

Ye Nianwen looked at the medication photos on the table, which showed several different types of drugs.

“Your sister didn’t do a blood test, so she missed the optimal time for evidence collection. Fortunately, Qin Nan first confirmed that Fan Jiancheng was the prime suspect. We quickly detained him and checked all the witnesses present. We searched all his known locations and tracked all financial transactions, even reviewing WeChat red envelopes, but found no relevant evidence. Zhao Chuchu initially testified that your sister was already disoriented when she separated from her, which led us to trust Zhao Chuchu, believing that Ye Sibei was intoxicated due to emotional distress.”

“Have you found evidence now?”

Ye Nianwen looked up at him, and Zhang Yong thought for a moment. “This past month, I’ve been pursuing cases involving the illegal sale of controlled substances in Nancheng. The Huai Shui police confiscated a drug dealer’s hideout, and we’ll check the purchase lists provided by these dealers. If even one of them implicates Fan Jiancheng, then he will have shown a tendency to prepare for a crime.”

“That’s not enough.” Ye Nianwen spoke decisively. “If you want to nail this case, you have to prove he had the drugs and that he gave them to my sister that day.”

“Which is why I need you to help me with something.”

Zhang Yong looked at him seriously, and Ye Nianwen frowned. “What?”

Zhang Yong didn’t reply immediately. He pulled out a small listening device and slid it across the table, calmly looking at him. “Go find Zhao Chuchu.”

“What should I ask her?”

“Ask her what exactly happened.”

“She won’t tell me.”

Ye Nianwen shook his head firmly. “I already asked her, and if she had something to say, she would have said it by now.”

“Did you really ask her?” Zhang Yong stared at Ye Nianwen, who met his gaze. Zhang Yong reminded him, “Did you ask about what happened to your sister, or what happened in general?”

“Ye Nianwen,” Zhang Yong thought for a moment and decided to tell the young man, “most people are walking on a tightrope, with good on one side and evil on the other. Ultimately, where they fall depends on how the world pushes them.”

“How do you plan to push her?”

Ye Nianwen fell silent. After a moment, he grabbed the listening device, stood up, and walked out.

Zhang Yong put on an earpiece, adjusting the listening device while dialing Lin Feng’s number.

“Hello, Captain?”

“Can you call Nancheng No. 2 Middle School for me?” Zhang Yong said, listening to Ye Nianwen’s voice coming through the earpiece as if casually. “In the 2006 class, was there a student named Qin Nan?”

“Okay,” Lin Feng responded. “Oh, and Captain, I need to take a leave of absence this afternoon.”

“What for?”

“Qin Nan called me this morning and said Ye Sibei seemed off. She bought a train ticket to G City but used someone else’s ID to buy tickets to Huai Shui and Yunwen, two stops in between. Qin Nan is worried about what she might do, and I want to follow along to check.”

“Oh.”

Zhang Yong rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Alright, just consider it a day off for yourself.”

After hanging up, Zhang Yong waited a moment and then saw Lin Feng send him a phone number and contact information, confirming, “Yes, there was. This Yang Qiyu was Qin Nan’s homeroom teacher back then.”

Zhang Yong looked at the number and thought for a moment, deciding to give himself a day off to satisfy his curiosity.

—

Meanwhile, after Ye Sibei and Qin Nan had finished their meal, they sat at the dining table for a moment. Qin Nan smiled, “I can’t eat any more cake.”

“Then I’ll start cleaning up.”

“I’ll wash the dishes.”

One started tidying up while the other cleaned up the leftovers.

The sun was unusually bright for late autumn. Ye Sibei felt the sunlight on her as she looked up at Qin Nan, who was tidying the room. She couldn’t shake the feeling of reluctance rising within her.

But just for a moment, she suppressed it.

She didn’t want to return to her past life, one filled with murkiness and pain.

She had made her decision and didn’t want to waver.

Quickly lowering her head, she finished tidying up, glanced at the time, and saw it was nearly four o’clock.

Ye Sibei thought for a moment and called out to Qin Nan outside, “Qin Nan, let’s eat cake. After we eat, I have to leave.”

Qin Nan responded, rinsing the cloth he had in his hand under running water, wringing it out, and placing it on the counter.

After washing his hands, he took the cake out of the fridge.

They sat at the dining table, Ye Sibei inserted the candles one by one, then she drew the curtains, instantly darkening the room. Qin Nan stood by the table, leaning down to light the candles with a lighter.

“This is my first birthday celebration.”

He turned to smile at her, and Ye Sibei walked over to his side. “Then I’ll celebrate it for you every year from now on.”

Saying this, she clapped her hands and began singing the birthday song: “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…”

Qin Nan stared intently at the gently flickering candles. When she finished singing, he closed his eyes and silently made a wish.

Ye Sibei gazed at his profile, admiring his smooth and beautiful features.

When Qin Nan opened his eyes, she tilted her chin up. “Blow out the candles.”

Qin Nan blew out the candles, and the two of them ate the cake together before he accompanied Ye Sibei to the train station.

At 4:45 PM, he saw her off at the ticket checkpoint.

“Let’s stop here,” Ye Sibei said as she shouldered her bag. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Alright.” Qin Nan nodded, and they fell into a comfortable silence. After a moment, Ye Sibei chuckled softly. “It suddenly feels like I’ll be gone for a long time.”

“It does feel that way.”

“Okay, then I’ll go first. You don’t have to rush; just take your time.”

“Ye Sibei,” Qin Nan suddenly grabbed her hand, stopping her. “Do you know what wish I made just now?”

“What?”

“I wished for you, Ye Sibei, to be safe, happy, and fulfilled for the rest of your life.”

Ye Sibei was taken aback, an inexplicable unease blooming in her heart, but she forced a smile, pretending to be carefree. “Why not add a wish for wealth?”

“Let’s go.”

Qin Nan released her hand, slowly slipping his fingers into his pockets. He looked at her, urging, “When you go to G City, don’t think too much about me, and don’t look back.”

For a moment, Ye Sibei felt he was hinting at something, but then she thought he couldn’t possibly know.

If he knew anything, he would stop her right now, keeping her from leaving.

She smiled, tightened her grip on her bag, controlled the sting in her eyes, and spoke firmly and earnestly, “Don’t worry, I won’t look back.”

This was the path she had chosen; she wouldn’t turn back.

Qin Nan smiled.

“Let’s go.”

This time, Ye Sibei didn’t say much. Holding onto her bag, she turned and walked away.

Qin Nan watched her enter the station and saw Lin Feng, wearing a cap, follow her in. Lin Feng turned back to look at Qin Nan, who nodded in thanks.

At that moment, Ye Nianwen was sitting in a tea house private room when he heard the door open. He turned to see Zhao Chuchu standing at the entrance, her gaze calm and indifferent.

“I’m here.”

Zhang Yong stepped into Yang Qiyu’s home, looking up at the wall where a photo from 2006 showed two smiling boys. He heard Yang Qiyu sigh as he spoke from behind him.

“Actually, since the day they got married, I’ve wanted to tell Sibei about this.”

“But Qin Nan wouldn’t let me,” Yang Qiyu shook his head with a sigh. “He said the past is the past, and it doesn’t mean anything to him.”

“He hopes that no matter what happens, Ye Sibei,” Yang Qiyu turned to look at the two people in the photo on the wall, “can live her life peacefully and happily.”