On a summer night in June, the air was so stifling it made people restless. The boy who had confessed his feelings finally walked away with a flushed face.
Who in Class 136 didn't know Pei Chuan by now?
The renowned top scorer in the science division of the college entrance exams, yet no one could have imagined the relationship between Pei Chuan and Bei Yao. The boy's expression was complicated as he left, but after all, graduation had come, and these rumors would never be fully unraveled.
The roadside trees swayed gently in the breeze. Bei Yao curved her eyes, her pupils sparkling as if filled with stars.
She turned to face him, calling his name crisply: "Pei Chuan, Pei Chuan!"
He gritted his teeth, ashamed and frustrated by his uncontrollable emotions. Time and again, his resolve shattered—her eyes were simply too bright, the stars within them blinking joyfully.
Pei Chuan lowered his gaze and, after a long pause, said, "That guy just now wasn't good enough. He lacked courage. A girl shouldn't settle for that kind of boyfriend."
He didn't even dare to fight for you—what kind of courage is that?
She laughed heartily. "Yeah, you're right."
He fell silent again.
After a long while, Pei Chuan asked, "What if I weren't here?"
If someone confesses to you next time and I'm not by your side?
Bei Yao said, "I'd tell him I already have a boyfriend."
He clenched his fists. Silly girl.
As they walked home together, Bei Yao asked him, "Pei Chuan, what major did you apply for?"
"Computer science," Pei Chuan replied, looking at her. "What about you?"
Bei Yao said, "I'm not telling you now. You'll find out in July."
He lowered his eyes.
In truth, Bei Yao had chosen medicine—she had decided to become a doctor.
She didn't have Pei Chuan's brilliant mind; she wouldn't invent anything to contribute to the nation in the future. But by becoming a doctor, she could best care for this sensitive and insecure man.
Just like that night at B University when Pei Chuan insisted on carrying her on his back—to this day, she had no idea what kind of pain and damage that inflicted on someone wearing a prosthetic leg.
No one else loved him, so she poured all her love into him.
When Bei Yao boarded the bus home, she waved at him. "Pei Chuan, see you at university in September!"
His knuckles turned white as he watched the girl's retreating figure.
The bus slowly drove away. On the street, a boutique shop played a distant song.
The shop owner was playing Teresa Teng's 1980 song "On the Other Side of the Water," the woman's voice singing leisurely—
"...I wish to go against the current,
To nestle by her side.
But alas, there are dangerous shoals ahead,
The road is long and far."
Pei Chuan watched the bus grow increasingly distant and suddenly took a few steps forward. "Yao Yao!"
The summer night was long and chilly.
The wind brushed through his black hair, but she was already drifting further away. He began to run through the night.
Yet the song still echoed in his ears—
"I wish to go with the current,
To seek her direction.
But I only see vaguely,
As if she's in the center of the water."
He forgot about his severed limb, forgot that he was a man without lower legs, and chased after the bus. "Yao Yao!"
Look back at me one more time—a farewell shouldn't be so bleak. He wanted to see her a little longer.
But in the end, the song faded into the distance, and the streetlights dimmed. Pei Chuan stumbled, collapsing in the middle of the road.
The bus had long vanished from sight.
On this summer night in 2009, for Bei Yao, it was a beginning. For Pei Chuan, it was a quiet farewell.
~
In July, universities would send out admission notices one after another. When Bei Yao checked her admission status online, she was overjoyed. Only Zhao Zhilan gasped in shock. "Yao Yao, you chose to study medicine? Do you have any idea how tough that is? Being a doctor is incredibly hard."Bei Yao said with a smile, "I know, and I like it."
"I heard there will be dissections and such. Aren't you afraid, being a girl?"
Bei Yao replied, "Mom, there are so many female doctors in the world, and none of them are afraid."
Zhao Zhilan was still worried. Since she got into B University, wouldn't it be better to choose something like business and work in an office later?
Bei Licai came over and said, "Alright, alright, as long as our daughter likes it, why worry? Besides, teaching and medicine are both good professions."
Bei Yao nodded as well. "Yes, the employment rate is high. Hospitals will hire you right after graduation."
With her husband and daughter on the same side, what could Zhao Zhilan do? She glanced at her younger son at home, eagerly training to become an Olympic champion, and thought to herself that although her daughter's future job might be tough, at least it was secure. Her son was the real headache.
What every city paid the most attention to was which universities the top scorers in arts and sciences would choose.
The top arts scorer in C City went to X University, while the top science scorer, Pei Chuan, chose B University.
On the day Pei Chuan checked his admission notice from B University, the sky began to drizzle again.
Summer rain was always like this—sudden and lingering.
When police cars, one after another, drove into the apartment complex, Pei Chuan calmly closed his laptop.
The police broke down the door, and the one leading them raised his gun, looking at the only young man in the room. "Are you Pei Chuan?"
Two officers in the back exchanged glances. The young man in the room didn't look very old, nothing like the mastermind behind the chaos of the past year.
So young, yet capable of creating something like that.
Pei Chuan stood up and extended his hands.
As the handcuffs were placed on him, the room fell into silence.
They had arrested criminals for years, but this was the first time they had encountered someone like Pei Chuan. He had sent them all the evidence and hideouts, from Singapore to domestic, a total of thirteen locations, detailing the number of people involved, their criminal histories, family backgrounds, and the total of 56 key figures. Cases that the police had failed to solve for years—he had provided all the information.
Based on the details he provided, the police arrested every single one of them.
The evidence was extensive and solid, each charge carrying the death penalty.
That night, every officer trembled as they reviewed the materials.
And this young man was their accomplice, or rather, the creator of the dangerous items.
He had betrayed everyone and turned himself in.
As the officer pushed him forward, Pei Chuan asked, "Officer Cui, have you caught them all?"
Officer Cui had mixed feelings about Pei Chuan. He replied, "We've caught them all."
"That's good," Pei Chuan murmured. "Not a single one can remain."
No one in the room spoke.
The July rain fell softly, and the sound of police sirens made the apartment residents poke their heads out to see what was happening.
Pei Chuan stood in the rain, gazing in the direction of the old neighborhood for a long time before finally getting into the car.
No one could harm her, not even himself.
~
The biggest news in July was the arrest of C City's top science scorer for alleged criminal involvement.
B University ultimately revoked the admission notice sent to Pei Chuan.
The name "Pei Chuan" had made the news three times: first in the 1996 drug bust case, second for being the top science scorer, and third for his crimes. Media reports flooded the airwaves.
He was like a firework in the dark night, brilliant for a moment, followed by a lifetime of silence and obscurity.
Sociologists published analyses of Pei Chuan's upbringing, using it as a cautionary tale for future generations.
Even a genius must not tread the wrong path and become a madman.The court hearing for Pei Chuan's case was scheduled for January of the following year.
The case was too complex, involving too many people, and required considerable time to sort out.
When Bei Yao saw the news on television, her mind went blank with a buzzing sound, and she immediately turned and ran toward the door.
At that moment, Zhao Zhilan was also stunned. Her eyes widened in disbelief. For ordinary, hardworking citizens like them who had watched the child grow up, it was hard to imagine that one day he would become a criminal.
Bei Licai frowned, "Yao Yao! Where are you going?"
"Dad, it can't be true. I need to find Pei Chuan and ask him clearly!"
Bei Licai grabbed his daughter's arm, "You are not allowed to go! Where do you think you can find him? Look at the words on TV—'key criminal'! Get a grip on yourself!"
Zhao Zhilan also snapped back to reality and stopped her daughter from leaving.
Bei Yao cried, "He promised me. We were supposed to go to university together, to visit B University and see the snow. He promised me..."
Zhao Zhilan was shocked, "You and him..."
"Mom, I beg you, let me go see him."
Zhao Zhilan's mind was in turmoil. It was the first time she had seen her daughter cry so bitterly. But this was not an ordinary matter of compromise; it no longer involved an ordinary young man but a criminal.
Zhao Zhilan said, "No, he is a criminal now! Yao Yao, you're about to start university. You can't be involved with him anymore."
Bei Yao shook her head. She wiped her tears and calmed down instead. "I want to see him. Mom, if I can't see him today, I'll try tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then next month. If that doesn't work, then next year. You can't stop me forever. Since I was little, I've been stubborn and slow-witted. If he is a good person, then I fell for a good person. If he is a bad person, then I simply fell for a criminal. If I don't go see him, I'll never move past today."
Outside the window, the rain had been falling for several days, and the roads were now dotted with puddles.
Zhao Zhilan's heart chilled for a moment.
But she was also deeply shocked.
For the first time, Zhao Zhilan realized that her daughter had grown up. Yao Yao said, "If Pei Chuan is a good person, then I fell for a good person. If he is a bad person, then I simply fell for a criminal."
As long as Pei Chuan was still Pei Chuan, she had to see him again in this lifetime.
Zhao Zhilan's eyes stung with tears. Her heart was filled with anger and pain. Finally, she opened an umbrella and said, "I'll take you."
Mother and daughter went to the police station together.
A police officer glanced at Bei Yao and said, "He's not here. Suspects like him get transferred. We don't know exactly where he is. Little girl, go home with your mother."
Bei Yao said, "You're lying to me!"
The officer frowned.
Zhao Zhilan said, "Yao Yao! Watch your tone!"
Bei Yao broke free from her mother's grip. "Did he tell you to say that, didn't he?"
The officer's expression turned cold. "If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do. I'm just a small police officer. I don't have the authority to help you track someone down."
The young girl refused to leave and stayed outside the police station all night.
That night was particularly cold, with thunder and rain. A female officer felt pity and opened her mouth several times to speak, but her male colleague shook his head at her. The sentence for that person was still unknown—why ruin a young girl's life? Besides, the suspect had indeed been transferred. Their small city didn't have the authority to handle such a major case.
The female officer gritted her teeth and remained silent.
Zhao Zhilan said, "Yao Yao, let's go home. You haven't eaten, and it breaks my heart."Bei Yao's teeth chattered as she shook her head.
Mother would feel heartache, and he would feel heartache too. Once his heart ached enough, he would see her.
Zhao Zhilan's eyes reddened as she brought a blanket and embraced her daughter: "Yaoyao, Yaoyao, listen to your mother. You're still young now, and someday you'll be able to forget all these things. Let's go home, let's go home."
When dawn broke, he still hadn't come to see her. Only then did Bei Yao realize that this time, he truly didn't want her anymore.
He couldn't keep her, couldn't afford to keep her anymore.
She had always believed that once they made it through their youth, she would be able to stay by his side for a lifetime. Pei Chuan's life had been too bitter, and she wanted to give him a warm home. But that bastard ultimately abandoned her in the end.
After daybreak, Bei Yao took out the small yellow talisman from her collar.
She quietly unfolded it and retrieved what was inside.
By then, the sun had risen, and the police officers were all present.
Bei Yao sat on the steps, sunlight spilling over her hands. The stone in her palm fractured the sunlight, radiating brilliance.
Everyone turned to look.
Tears streamed down Bei Yao's face.
In her palm was a diamond. A round diamond cut countless times, as large as a pearl.
In 2009, its value was equivalent to seven or eight of the finest houses.
It was the last thing Pei Chuan had left for her.
The diamond was originally meant to be set in an engagement ring, but Pei Chuan knew he couldn't give her that ring. So, like an oyster enduring pain to polish a pearl, he had it crafted into this form.
Pei Chuan had never lied to her about anything. He truly had worked extremely hard, striving desperately to get into University B.
She also remembered that afternoon when she gave him a grass-woven ring. Bei Yao had smiled and said: "I'm particularly greedy. I'm giving you this now, but in a few years, you have to return the favor with a real one, understand?"
What had he said then? He had gently replied: "Okay."
Gazing at the diamond in her palm, she burst into tears.
"Mom, let's go home."
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