After reporting to the police, Ye Sibei returned to the hospital.
Huang Guifen and Zhao Chuchu had already left, leaving only Ye Ling at the hospital. Ye Sibei lay back on the bed, letting the nurse reinsert her IV, then turned to Qin Nan and said, "Go take care of things at the shop. I’ll be fine here."
Qin Nan nodded, tucking the blanket around her. "I’ll check on things and come back soon."
"It’s fine," Ye Sibei shook her head. "It’s just an IV. My dad can watch over me."
Qin Nan didn’t respond. He picked up his coat from beside her and left.
After he was gone, Ye Sibei closed her eyes. Ye Ling sat beside her, hesitating for a moment before speaking softly, "You should have told me earlier."
Then, as if realizing his words were pointless, he paused before adding, "Since you’ve decided to press charges, then do it. Qin Nan is a good man. You should try to be more accommodating to him in the future—"
"Stop."
Ye Sibei cut him off, her eyes still closed. "I’m tired."
Ye Ling froze, then after a moment, nodded awkwardly. "Alright, then get some rest."
By evening, Zhao Chuchu came to take over. After sitting with Ye Sibei for a while, Zhao Chuchu suddenly spoke up, "Sis, I’m sorry."
Ye Sibei, who had been scrolling through job listings on her phone, looked up to see Zhao Chuchu’s reddened eyes. "I should have taken you home that night."
Ye Sibei thought for a moment. "You’re a girl too. If you had taken me home, maybe I’d be the one apologizing to you now."
"That night, I—" Zhao Chuchu’s eyes welled up. "When I got out of the car, I really didn’t notice you—"
"You were drunk too," Ye Sibei said, knowing what she wanted to say. She reached out and patted the back of Zhao Chuchu’s hand. "It’s over. I don’t blame myself, and you shouldn’t blame yourself either."
Just then, the door opened, and Qin Nan walked in carrying a thermal lunchbox. Zhao Chuchu quickly stood up. "Brother Nan."
"Yeah," Qin Nan nodded, setting the lunchbox on the table. He took out a small bowl and poured some congee into it. "Have you eaten?"
"I’ll grab something after you take over," Zhao Chuchu explained. "I just came to keep Sis company."
With that, she bid them goodbye. "I’ll head out now."
Ye Sibei watched her leave before turning to Qin Nan. He sat beside her, scooping up some congee with a spoon, blowing on it to cool it down, then bringing it to her lips.
Ye Sibei quietly studied the man taking care of her. There were so many questions she wanted to ask, so many things she wanted to say—but in the end, she swallowed them all. Leaning forward slightly, she took a sip from the spoon.
That night, Qin Nan set up a small cot beside her bed. Ye Sibei turned her head to look at him, studying the outline of his figure for a long time before finally closing her eyes.
After three days in the hospital, Ye Sibei woke up on the third morning feeling much better. Huang Guifen came to relieve Qin Nan, helping Ye Sibei take a walk around the hospital. Though she still felt a little weak, there were no other issues. Huang Guifen, usually so talkative, remained silent the entire time. Ye Sibei knew she was upset with her but didn’t acknowledge it, finding the quiet somewhat refreshing.
As the two walked around the courtyard and headed back to the ward, they overheard murmurs from nearby: "Did you hear? Fuqiang seems to be in trouble."Hearing this, Ye Sibei and Huang Guifen halted in their tracks, watching as two elderly women passed by, chatting animatedly. One of them was vividly recounting, "Early this morning, a police car was parked right at the entrance. The officers called in a lot of people for questioning."
"What happened? Did someone die?"
"No one died," the gossipy old woman said mysteriously. "But my nephew works there, and they said it might involve a woman who was... you know."
...
As the two women walked away, Huang Guifen's eyes reddened. Supporting Ye Sibei, she lowered her head and said, "Let's go back and rest first. I'll ask the doctor if you can be discharged."
With that, she helped Ye Sibei back to the ward, quickening her steps.
Ye Sibei's expression remained blank. Once they reached the ward, Huang Guifen went to consult the doctor while Ye Sibei sat on the bed. After a long silence, she finally took out her phone.
Opening WeChat, she saw her work group chat exploding with messages and images. Scrolling through, she noticed people in both the work group and smaller private groups asking repeatedly:
"Who called the police?"
"Was it Sibei?"
"@Ye Sibei Sibei, are you there? What happened? Are you okay?"
"General Fan was taken away? Who do I get to sign off now?"
"Chuchu and Xiaoyang were also called in for questioning. Everyone who was there that night has been summoned by the police."
...
The group was in chaos, and many had messaged her privately.
Some were genuinely concerned, while others seemed to be probing for information, tentatively asking, "Sibei, was it you who called the police? What happened to you?"
She quietly scrolled through the messages until Huang Guifen hurried back, looking somewhat relieved. "Sibei, the doctor said you can leave as long as you feel fine. Just observe at home. I've already completed the discharge procedures."
Huang Guifen began packing immediately. "Let's go. Right now."
Ye Sibei didn’t respond. She looked up and noticed people peeking in from the doorway.
"Isn’t this the room where that girl who tried to kill herself the other day was staying?"
"Didn’t some employees from Fuqiang visit her yesterday? Is it her?"
Huang Guifen seemed to overhear. She abruptly drew the curtain, handed Ye Sibei her clothes, and after changing, the mother and daughter left together.
Along the way, Ye Sibei felt as though people were staring at her, but when she turned around, no one seemed to be looking.
Huang Guifen kept her head down the entire time, gripping Ye Sibei’s arm as if clutching all the shame in her life, desperate to hide her daughter from prying eyes.
Seeing her mother’s urgency, Ye Sibei spoke softly at the exit, "Mom, I’ll go back by myself."
"What are you talking about?"
Huang Guifen seemed to think she was causing trouble again and was about to scold her when Ye Sibei took the luggage from her hands. "Seeing you like this hurts me. Don’t come looking for me anymore. I don’t want to bring you trouble."
With that, Ye Sibei hailed a taxi and got in under Huang Guifen’s stunned gaze, leaving without another word.
Only as the car door closed did Huang Guifen snap out of it, calling out frantically, "Sibei! Mom didn’t mean to—"
"Brocade Community, please."
Ye Sibei directed the driver firmly. "Let’s go."The car moved forward, and Huang Guifen's words grew fainter until they could no longer be heard.
Ye Sibei sat in the taxi, gazing out at the pedestrians coming and going on the street.
She returned home alone. When she opened the door, she found the house had already been cleaned up.
The liquor bottles and filth from before were all cleared away, the floor mopped to a shine, and the bare light in the living room had been replaced with a bright ceiling lamp.
Ye Sibei stood at the doorway, taking in the sight of her home for a moment before stepping inside.
Even though she had only been away for two days, it felt like a lifetime had passed.
She walked into the house, took a shower, and then noticed numerous missed calls and messages on her phone.
After skimming through them briefly, she set the phone aside.
News always traveled fast in their small town. By the afternoon, it seemed like everyone around her knew.
Some relatives and friends were particularly concerned. When she didn’t answer their calls, they sent messages:
"Sibei, are you okay? Should I come over to see you?"
Reading such messages, she hesitated before finally replying, "I'm fine, don’t worry."
Some people genuinely cared, and she didn’t want them to worry, so she responded to each one.
"I'm fine."
"It’s okay, I’m alright."
Her grandma also found out about it and called. When Ye Sibei answered, she heard the old woman’s sobs.
"I’m okay," Ye Sibei reassured her. "I’m fine, don’t worry. Just focus on taking care of yourself."
"As long as you can accept it," Grandma said, her voice full of concern. "But you’re still so young… how will you live from now on…?"
"Sibei," Grandma wept, "why did it have to be you? How could this happen to you?"
Ye Sibei listened silently.
After a long pause, she lowered her eyes and murmured, "Grandma, my phone’s about to die. I’ll hang up now. Please don’t cry or be sad. I’ll live well."
"Sibei, you must stay strong. I’ll come see you soon."
"Okay."
After saying goodbye, she hung up.
She turned her phone to silent and tossed it aside, then leaned over to retrieve a cigarette and lighter from the nightstand with practiced ease. Lighting the cigarette, she sat by the bed and watched the sunset outside the window.
Before the sun had fully set, there was a sound at the door. Footsteps approached, but she didn’t move.
The footsteps paused briefly before someone came to sit gently beside her.
Ye Sibei turned, cigarette in hand, and smiled faintly at the newcomer. "You’re back?"
"Have you eaten?"
"No, not hungry."
Watching the sunset through the curling smoke, she said, "Let’s wait a bit."
Qin Nan sat beside her in silence, simply keeping her company. His presence alone made her feel anchored.
After a while, she spoke softly, "They must be investigating the case today. They’ve questioned a lot of people."
"Yeah."
"And now everyone knows."
"And then?"
"So many people called to comfort me." Ye Sibei flicked the cigarette ash and glanced back with a wry smile. "They told me not to dwell on it, said I was pitiful, asked how I’d live the rest of my life."
Qin Nan looked at her, his gaze as steady and calm as always. It soothed her nerves. Meeting his eyes, she asked, puzzled, "What does the rest of my life have to do with this?"
"What does it have to do with it?"
Qin Nan echoed her question.Ye Sibei smiled: "Originally, there was no connection," she said, turning her head away. After a long pause, her voice came out hoarse, "But because of them, there is one now."
"But they meant well," Ye Sibei lowered her head. "I understand."
"Change your clothes."
Qin Nan suddenly spoke up. Ye Sibei turned back in confusion, only to see him push himself up and go to the wardrobe to pick out clothes for her. "I'm taking you somewhere."
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