Chapter 34.4

A brutal fight broke out, and soon, the sound of police sirens echoed faintly from below. Qin Nan couldn’t hear the sirens or see the people around him. The hits from the rods no longer registered as pain. His only focus was Fan Jiancheng, who was being forced to retreat with every step.

He was going to kill him.

No matter what, he was going to kill him.

Blood dripped from Qin Nan’s head, and his body was covered in bruises. The others, hearing the approaching sirens, looked toward the bald man, who hesitated before gritting his teeth. “Let’s go.”

“But, Brother Wang!” someone protested.

Without another word, the group quickly scattered. Seeing them flee, Fan Jiancheng tried to follow, but Qin Nan blocked his path. He stared at Fan Jiancheng, who trembled and took a step back.

“Qin Nan, I was wrong, I was wrong,” Fan Jiancheng said, realizing he had nowhere left to run. He knelt down and started frantically knocking his head against the ground. “I apologize to you, I apologize to Ye Sibei. I’ll turn myself in. I’ll give you money. I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

Qin Nan remained silent, standing in the rain as blood dripped from his body into the puddles at his feet.

Slowly, he pulled out a dagger from behind his waist, his voice soft. “I don’t believe you.”

“I don’t believe in the law.”

“I,” Qin Nan paused as he stood in front of Fan Jiancheng. Fan lifted his head, looking up in a daze at the young man, soaked in rain and blood, who towered over him. “I only believe in myself.”

With that, Qin Nan, trembling slightly, took out his phone. It was filled with missed calls from Ye Sibei. He let out a faint smile.

He opened the camera, switched it to video mode, then crouched in front of Fan Jiancheng and held up the phone. “Say sorry to Ye Sibei.”

“I’m sorry,” Fan Jiancheng hurriedly nodded. “I’m sorry, Ye Sibei, I wronged you. I’m worse than a pig, I’m a beast. I hurt you, I hurt myself, I hurt my entire family.”

“Say, Ye Sibei didn’t frame you. It was you who raped her.”

“Yes, yes,” Fan Jiancheng nodded. “That day, it was me who raped her. I drugged her. I knew she was short on money recently, and I knew her relationship with you… wasn’t going well. I thought she had a soft temper and that after something like this, she wouldn’t dare make it public. Even if she did, for the sake of paying off her loans, for being with you, for her reputation, she’d have to listen to me.”

As he listened to this, Qin Nan looked down at him and said, “You deserve to die.”

“No, no,” Fan Jiancheng shook his head. “What I did isn’t worth a death sentence. Qin Nan, calm down. I’ll compensate you. I’ll turn myself in. I’ll apologize to you. I was just momentarily overwhelmed. I couldn’t control myself—”

“Couldn’t control yourself?” Qin Nan laughed. “Even animals can control themselves. You’re worse than an animal.”

“Yes, yes,” Fan Jiancheng nodded vigorously. “I’m worse than an animal, I’m a monster. But Qin Nan, I have children, my mother, my wife—they all still need me. Please don’t kill me. I’m begging you, please—”

“Too bad for them,” Qin Nan said as he stopped recording, sent the video to Ye Sibei through WeChat, and tossed the phone aside. He stood up, looking down at Fan Jiancheng, “I don’t.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he swung the dagger down at Fan Jiancheng!

Fan Jiancheng frantically rolled to the side, but Qin Nan grabbed him by the neck and dragged him back. Using all his strength, Fan Jiancheng kicked at Qin Nan and managed to roll away. But Qin Nan lunged at him again, slamming him into the ground and raised his hand to stab him!

At that exact moment, Zhang Yong shouted, “Qin Nan!”

Qin Nan turned his head to see the rooftop surrounded by police, with several officers pointing their guns at him. He held Fan Jiancheng by the throat, pressing the blade against his neck.

He looked at Zhang Yong calmly. “You got here fast.”

“Ye Sibei asked me to give you a message!” Zhang Yong yelled, desperately trying to stop him. Hearing Ye Sibei’s name, Qin Nan hesitated. Fan Jiancheng was trembling uncontrollably, not daring to move. The two of them were at the edge of the rooftop—one wrong step and they could both fall.

Fan Jiancheng looked to Zhang Yong for help, while Zhang Yong, gasping for breath, said, “I went to see Yang Qiyu today. I know everything about your past, and I’ve told Ye Sibei about how you helped her.”

Zhang Yong deliberately slowed down his speech, trying to buy time.

At that moment, Ye Sibei and Lin Feng finally arrived downstairs. Seeing all the police cars, Ye Sibei dashed upstairs like a madwoman.

As she ran, she saw reporters had already arrived, and others were heading toward the adjacent buildings.

Her heart pounded violently, and Lin Feng followed her closely, gasping and urging, “Sibei, when you go up there, you need to act fast. The police have already positioned snipers. If things go south—”

“There won’t be any ‘going south’!” Ye Sibei shouted back at him, then kept running up the stairs.

Zhang Yong continued speaking slowly, explaining the situation. Qin Nan stared at him intently. In his earpiece, Zhang Yong heard the voice of another officer: “Snipers in position.”

“She says she’s let it go. She doesn’t care about it anymore,” Zhang Yong said, hearing the words about the snipers, feeling a chill run down his spine.

“I don’t believe it.”

Qin Nan, seemingly unaware of everything else, spoke in a calm voice. “I know her. She hasn’t let it go.”

“I’ve already found the evidence,” Zhang Yong continued persuading him. “Give me a little more time, and we can reopen the case. This time, we’ll win for sure. You don’t need to throw away your whole future. You’ve still got a good life ahead of you. Ye Sibei is still waiting for you. Have you thought about what would happen to her if you died?”

Upon hearing this, Qin Nan chuckled softly.

“Zhang Yong, this is a hurdle in her life. Without Qin Nan, Ye Sibei will have other people in her life. But without justice, Ye Sibei will spend her entire life questioning the world.”

“This justice will come through the law!”

Zhang Yong shouted, but Qin Nan shook his head. “It’s not enough. What will the law give him? Just a few years? How can a few years compare to a lifetime for Sibei?”

“So what do you want? You think killing him will give you the justice you’re looking for?!”

“Yes.”

Qin Nan’s voice remained steady. “That is the justice. And this justice, which Sibei can’t get, if Heaven won’t give it to her, I will.”

“Who asked you to give it?”

Ye Sibei gasped as she stepped onto the rooftop. Everyone turned to look at her, and Qin Nan stared at her in shock. Her eyes were red as she repeated, “Who asked you to give it?”

“Come over here,” she said, extending her hand toward him. Qin Nan didn’t move. Ye Sibei looked at him—though it had only been a day since they last saw each other, for some reason, the man in front of her felt both completely foreign and strangely familiar.

It was only now that she realized, for the first time, she understood just a little about the real Qin Nan.

His obsession, his passion, his madness, and even his brokenness.

She looked at the person in front of her and cautiously walked toward him.

“Qin Nan, one incident of rape won’t ruin my life.”

“One loss in court, one failure, one insult—none of these will ruin my life.”

Qin Nan looked at her, his expression unchanged from before.

Calm and steady, as if nothing could stir him.

“I always thought that I was in pain because of what happened, because of the insults and the mockery,” Ye Sibei glanced at the hidden sniper’s position not far away, her body trembling. “But today, I finally realized, that’s not it.”

“The reason I was afraid, the reason I cared so much, is because deep down, there was no voice affirming me. From childhood, I never received affirmation from my parents. I felt like no one ever loved me. I never got a sense of complete affection from anyone in this world, so I’ve always been denying myself. When this happened—or anything happened—I couldn’t face it.”

“I didn’t love myself enough. I didn’t realize how precious I am, which is why I was so desperate to kill him.”

She stopped in front of Qin Nan, Zhao Chuchu and Ye Nianwen gasping for breath as they climbed up behind her, while reporters hovered above them with drones, capturing everything.

Ye Sibei looked at Qin Nan. “But now I understand. When I saw you fighting so desperately, I suddenly realized—it’s not worth it.”

“Qin Nan,” Ye Sibei’s voice was hoarse, “this incident won’t ruin my life. It’s just a small episode. In the future, I’ll have a good life. I’ll have you. I’ll learn how to handle my relationship with my mom and my family. I’ll know what’s right and what’s wrong. For the things I got wrong, I’ll apologize. But for the things I got right, no one will be able to defeat me.”

“It wasn’t my fault that I was raped. The one at fault is the person who raped me.”

“It’s not my fault for what I wore, for the job I did, or for how cautious I was or wasn’t. Who says it’s my fault? Who has the right to talk?”

“If my nude photos, my audio recordings are put online, it’s the people who spread, listen, and comment on them that are trash.”

“The ones who did wrong don’t feel ashamed,” Ye Sibei became emotional. “So why should I feel ashamed?!”

“If I lose the case, I’ll appeal. If I fail, I’ll try again. I’m ready to fight for the rest of my life, Qin Nan.” Ye Sibei raised her hand, her eyes red as she spoke hoarsely. “Justice shouldn’t come at the cost of sacrifice. If the justice you seek can only be achieved through your sacrifice, then it’s not true justice.”

“You’ve already given me your first half of life. I can’t bear the weight of your second half.”

“Come here.”

Ye Sibei looked at him. “No matter what kind of world this is, whether it’s filled with despair or darkness,” she paused, holding back her tears, her voice raspy, “we’ll change it together.”

“Captain Zhang,” Zhang Yong listened to the voice in his earpiece, “should we take the shot?”

“Follow my lead,” Zhang Yong whispered. “Don’t act rashly.”

All eyes were on Qin Nan. He looked at Ye Sibei, unmoving. Ye Sibei wasn’t sure if he would agree. She couldn’t even be certain if Qin Nan was trying to kill Fan Jiancheng for her sake, or for his own obsession.

The light rain drizzled down. After a long time, Qin Nan slowly smiled.

“There is no suffering that can’t be overcome.”

His voice was soft, but Ye Sibei heard it.

Tears welled in her eyes, but she smiled. “There is no despair that can’t be endured.”

Qin Nan slowly let go of the knife, and Zhao Chuchu covered her mouth with her hand, afraid that her sobs would disturb him.

Qin Nan stood up, raising his hands in surrender, and walked toward Ye Sibei.

As he took a step forward, the surrounding police officers suddenly rushed in, pushing him down into the mud.

Ye Sibei collapsed to her knees, looking at the young man not far away, pinned down by the crowd, his injured face lifting out of the muck.

He looked at her, his eyes red, smiling.

Ye Sibei looked at his expression, crying and laughing at the same time.

“We made a promise,” he said, handcuffed, his head tilted up, eyes fixed on Ye Sibei. “Together, we’ll change the world.”

The world may be absurd and unjust, but light and love always hang in the sky.