Chapter 34.2

“That was right after sophomore year ended; he did pretty well on the exams,” Yang Qiyu spoke as he looked at the birds perched on the windowsill, recounting the past during the moment when Ye Nianwen’s voice cut off in Zhang Yong’s earpiece.

Zhang Yong knew that Ye Nianwen didn’t want him to know about this conversation, so he relaxed and waited for Ye Nianwen to come back to discuss it.

After all, this was Ye Sibei’s case, and Ye Nianwen could not go against her.

He picked up his teacup, leaned back on the sofa, and listened as Yang Qiyu spoke about the past.

“Before the holiday, I told him to bring his report card back to show his dad. He even told me that his dad wouldn’t care as long as he didn’t annoy his parents.”

“Then during that summer, he suddenly called me in the middle of the night. He didn’t say anything on the phone, just cried, and finally sobbed out that he was sorry for his dad and that he should die.”

“I went to find his grandfather to learn that his dad had died,” Yang Qiyu recalled with a hint of sadness. “Later, I heard that it was quite a scene in their village; they blocked the construction site for a long time. His dad’s coffin was placed at the entrance of the site. He wanted to take the coffin back, thinking that although there was a commotion, at least his dad could be buried properly, but it didn’t succeed. His mom hit him and had his uncles pull him back inside.”

“They went too far,” Zhang Yong frowned. “He was just a kid back then, right?”

“Seventeen or eighteen,” Yang Qiyu took a sip of tea. “He grew up without anyone caring for him. His mom didn’t have much affection for him; only his grandfather kept an eye on him, but his grandfather was old and couldn’t protect him much in that situation.”

“What about later? Did they compensate him?”

“Yes, five hundred thousand,” Yang Qiyu laughed mockingly. “I heard that the village even held a meeting to distribute that money. In the end, it seemed like they didn’t even get ten thousand. When his dad was buried, I saw him kneeling on the ground, unwilling to leave as they buried the coffin. It was heart-wrenching to watch. Then, shortly after the new school year started in senior year, I heard his mom ran away. He just sat in the classroom, staring blankly every day, not studying, not doing anything. A few days later, he came to ask me why Ye Sibei hadn’t come to school. I inquired and heard that her parents didn’t let her come, wanting her to work instead.”

Zhang Yong paused in his tea-drinking, frowning. “How could the Ye family do that?”

“The family didn’t have enough money,” Yang Qiyu shook his head. “I’ve seen it many times; it’s common.”

“What happened afterward?”

“Later, on the day Qin Nan went back, the next day he came to tell me he wanted to drop out. He said his grandfather was getting old. Even if he got into college, he would still need to spend money, and he wouldn’t get into a good university anyway. If he learned a trade, he could take care of his grandfather sooner.”

“His mom left him with twenty thousand, which he refused. He asked me to talk to Ye Sibei’s family. He donated that entire twenty thousand to her.”

Zhang Yong stared blankly at Yang Qiyu. “Doesn’t he regret it now?”

Yang Qiyu smiled slightly. “He regrets it.”

As he spoke, he poured himself more tea. “When he placed the money on my desk and walked out of the school with his backpack, I tried to persuade him to stay. I chased after him, telling him he would regret it, but he didn’t look back.”

“Years later, one day he came back to see me. He placed the tea leaves on the table and told me, ‘Teacher Yang, I saw Ye Sibei.'”

Yang Qiyu looked up at Zhang Yong and then turned to the photo on the wall. “He said, ‘I regret it.'”

“What does he regret?” Zhang Yong frowned. “Does he think he should have continued studying?”

“Officer Zhang, do you think Qin Nan gave the money to Ye Sibei because he liked her?”

Zhang Yong didn’t respond; he did think that way, but when Yang Qiyu asked him, he hesitated to speak up.

Yang Qiyu shook his head. “In fact, after Qin Nan sent the money, for many years, he only called Ye Sibei a few times, and each call was when he was at his lowest.”

“Qin Nan had a deep-seated self-loathing from a young age. Do you know about the incident with the group of left-behind children in the suburbs of Nancheng over a decade ago? It was a case where an older child hanged himself along with two younger children at home.”

Zhang Yong nodded. “I remember.”

“One of those children was Qin Nan’s brother. He wasn’t an only child; after his brother died, he became one.”

Zhang Yong was stunned. Yang Qiyu continued, “I once thought he liked Ye Sibei. But later, he told me that he never felt happiness in his life. Every time he looked to the future, he felt no expectation. He felt like living his life like his father was meaningless, and yet deep down, he thought it was impossible to live differently. It was Ye Sibei who gave him the courage to struggle.”

“That twenty thousand was his tuition, his future. By giving it to Ye Sibei, he was essentially projecting himself onto her. He hoped she could do what he felt he couldn’t. When she succeeded, it encouraged him, making him believe there was new hope in the world. So he took Ye Sibei’s number from me and over the years, he only called her four times. He told me that when he heard Ye Sibei studying, heard her voice, he felt that if she could persist, so could he.”

“Was his relationship with Ye Sibei romantic?” Yang Qiyu smiled and shook his head. “If you think that way, it may be hard for you to understand his behavior.”

“He didn’t love Ye Sibei,” Yang Qiyu asserted. “What he felt for her was a form of faith.”

Zhang Yong was taken aback; at that moment, Lin Feng’s words from the afternoon flashed in his mind.

Qin Nan told her that Ye Sibei was acting strangely, bought three train tickets, and asked Lin Feng to follow her in case she did something foolish.

If Ye Sibei represented the faith that Qin Nan had held for so many years, the hope for his life, and a projection of his hopes for the world, would he really sit idly by when she was pushed into such a desperate situation?

Would he allow her to endure such humiliation?

Zhang Yong suddenly realized, immediately standing up to call Lin Feng.

Just five minutes before Zhang Yong called Lin Feng, Ye Sibei received a call from Qin Nan.

As she watched the train enter the city and begin to slow down, she stood up to gather her things. Suddenly, her phone rang; she glanced at the name and found it was Qin Nan.

After hesitating for a moment, she put on her Bluetooth headset, continuing to pack while answering Qin Nan’s call.

“Hello?”

“Don’t get off at the next stop.”

Ye Sibei froze. Qin Nan’s voice was calm. “Lin Feng is following you to G City; don’t stop.”

“What do you mean?” She suddenly reacted, a bit shocked. “Do you know what I’m planning to do?”

“The things I want to say are in the letter I left in your backpack. Read it and then burn it; leave no traces.”

“Qin Nan,” Ye Sibei said, feeling a bit scared, “don’t do anything foolish.”

“Si Bei,” Qin Nan said softly, “don’t come back. Don’t let this have anything to do with you. You promised me—”

“Go to G City and don’t look back.”

After saying this, Qin Nan hung up. Ye Sibei calmed down for a moment, then quickly took out her backpack and searched frantically until she finally found a letter in one of the compartments.

She swiftly opened the letter and saw Qin Nan’s handwriting.

Qin Nan’s writing wasn’t particularly beautiful, but it was neat and legible, like the most formal document written during his student days.

“Si Bei, I hope this letter finds you well.”

“When you read this letter, you should already be on the train, perhaps nearing Huai Shui.

This decision was very difficult for me. I don’t understand what love is, and I don’t like to rely on others for my life. So, I pondered for a long time about whether to kill Fan Jiancheng for you.

But when we stood together on the roof of the second middle school, looking at the whole campus, I suddenly made the decision that your existence in this world is far more significant than mine.”

“I’m sorry for deceiving you. In fact, we should have been schoolmates. Twelve years ago, we both attended the second middle school; you were in Class One and I was in Class Seventeen, just at opposite ends, making us neighbors.

You sat in the third row of the fourth group in Class One, and I sat in the last row of Class Seventeen. Our first meeting was during a heavy rain. I didn’t have an umbrella, and you saw my school uniform and came over to ask if I needed one.

From that moment on, I started to notice you. I often watched you study, saw you not going to eat after school, and diligently doing exercises. I even saw your mom scolding you at the school gate and heard other classmates laughing at you for being a bookworm, but you never seemed to be affected.

I was born in a village, and to my parents, my existence seemed more like a responsibility and instinct. From birth, the most I heard was that kids like us would just muddle through until a certain age, then go out to work, earn money, and get married.

Such a life made me feel hopeless, but I lacked the courage to rebel. When I met you, it was like someone suddenly gave me an affirming voice, making me feel that I could try.

Since then, I’ve always hoped for your well-being. It seems I unconsciously placed all my hopes for this world onto you.”

“Later, when my father left, I realized belatedly the difficulties and sacrifices he made, and I felt even more like a sinner. I left school to work, wanting to make a name for myself, but once I stepped out of school, I realized the vastness of the world; I was nothing.

I succumbed to this world, obeyed the rules. Years later, when we met again, I felt sad at first. I regretted how you had become, but I also thought it was only natural. After all, I’ve become a walking corpse myself, so how could I expect anything different from you?”

“So I just thought we were settling. You were the best choice within my options. We were compatible, at the right age, so it was time to get married.

But after marriage, I saw your weakness. It was like a thorn in my heart, and I began to realize that you were different from anyone else in this world. I could accept others surrendering to fate, but I couldn’t accept it from you.

Every day with you was a double burden of pain. Not only did I have to endure the trivial matters of life, but I also had to face the disappointment of seeing my youthful expectations completely crushed. After several arguments, seeing you so recklessly lending money to Ye Nianwen without any regard for the future, I made the bold decision to divorce, wanting to escape that kind of life.

Until you had your accident.”