Ye Sibei woke up the next morning feeling somewhat exhausted. Qin Nan took care of everything, having already contacted Lin Feng in advance. The two of them, wearing masks and hats, went downstairs and boarded the van Lin Feng had prepared.
Ye Nianwen, Huang Guifen, and Ye Ling were already waiting in the vehicle. When Ye Sibei got in and saw them, she froze momentarily before Ye Nianwen explained, "Mom and Dad were worried, so they insisted on coming with me."
Ye Sibei's gaze lingered on Huang Guifen's face briefly before she nodded and took her seat.
The family remained silent throughout the journey. When they arrived at the procuratorate, they saw a crowd gathered at the entrance. Somehow, these people had gotten wind of their arrival. The moment Qin Nan and Ye Sibei stepped out of the van, they surged forward, blocking the way. Ye Nianwen, Ye Ling, Qin Nan, and several police officers quickly formed a protective circle around Ye Sibei and Huang Guifen, forcing a path through the crowd toward the entrance.
Encircled by Qin Nan's arms, surrounded by people, Ye Sibei felt as though she had lost control of herself, being pushed along by the throng.
Reporters shouted questions at her from all sides:
"Miss Ye, did the suspect have any private contact with you before?"
"You maintained a relationship with the suspect for so long—why suddenly accuse him of rape now?"
"It's said you borrowed a lot of money before—is it true the suspect lent it to you?"
...
A barrage of half-truths and outright fabrications rained down on her. Qin Nan roared, "Get lost! What nonsense are you spouting?!"
The reporters immediately turned their attention to him:
"Are you her husband? How do you feel about her being a victim?"
"Do you really believe she was forced?"
"We heard you're planning to divorce her—is it because of this incident?"
Ye Sibei trembled uncontrollably as she listened. Huang Guifen noticed her distress and began shoving people aside, hurling curses left and right.
Amid the chaos, a woman's shrill voice pierced through the crowd: "You bitch!"
Ye Sibei turned just in time to see Qin Nan pull her into his embrace, shielding her as filth splattered across his back. The crowd screamed and scattered, the pungent stench filling the air, a few droplets splashing onto her face.
Before Ye Sibei could react, Huang Guifen charged forward like a madwoman, yelling, "Stop her! Police, stop her!"
A scuffle broke out in the crowd. Though many reporters still surrounded Ye Sibei, some split off to chase the commotion.
"Go," Qin Nan urged her, his voice steady and calm.
Pushed forward by him, Ye Sibei twisted around to look through the crowd. She saw Zhao Shuhui, thrashing wildly as officers dragged her back, screaming curses and struggling to break free toward her. Not far away stood Fan Wenwen, held back by an elderly woman, wailing uncontrollably.
A blue plastic basin, still smeared with filth, rolled on the ground. Zhao Shuhui fought desperately against the police, her tear-streaked face locked onto Ye Sibei as if she had abandoned all reason, howling like an actress delivering lines:
"Ye Sibei, you seduced my husband! You framed him! You shameless whore!"
"He got you your job when you had none! He helped you every time you were in trouble! And now you betray him for money? How could you do this to him?!""Stay down and don't move!"
The police restrained Zhao Shuhui, pinning her to the ground. Ye Sibei didn’t look back and continued walking forward.
Zhao Shuhui, pressed against the ground, wailed loudly, "Ye Sibei, you ungrateful wretch! You heartless monster! Everyone, listen—is this rape? Is this rape?!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she must have pressed something, because the entire courtyard was suddenly filled with the sounds of Ye Sibei moaning and whimpering.
The sounds carried tears, misery, and fear, but more than anything, they resembled the noises a woman makes when she’s learned to please someone.
The sounds mixed with a child’s cries and a woman’s curses. Ye Sibei stopped in her tracks, standing frozen in the crowd, watching the woman who was desperately crawling toward her to attack.
Zhao Shuhui howled and screamed, "Ye Sibei, you homewrecker! You ruined someone else’s family! You heartless monster, you deserve to die a horrible death!!"
Hearing her own moans, the woman’s curses, and the child’s wails, Ye Sibei felt as if she had plunged into an icy abyss.
The surrounding sounds faded away. All she felt was cold—so cold it paralyzed her, as if death had suddenly arrived.
She was abruptly transported back to the day she first gave her statement, when Zhang Yong calmly asked her, "What did he say?"
"He told me, ‘Still pretending?’ Then he forced me to kneel and said, ‘Scream, or I’ll kill you.’"
"And then?"
Ye Sibei listened to these words in silence for a long time. Finally, with a quiet despair and stubborn defiance, she answered, "I screamed."
That shameful past, something she had never even confessed to Qin Nan, was suddenly ripped open and laid bare before everyone without mercy.
The sounds announced that history to the world.
She hadn’t resisted with all her strength.
She hadn’t defended her dignity with her life.
In that isolated place, she had complied with her assailant.
Her entire body began to tremble. After a brief moment of shock, the reporters instantly recognized this as a massive twist in the story—everyone wanted the headline.
Microphones were thrust toward Ye Sibei:
"Miss Ye, is this audio recording of you? Is this from the scene of the assault?"
"Miss Ye, how do you explain this recording? It doesn’t sound like you were in pain."
"How do you respond to the victim’s wife accusing you of being the other woman?"
"Move!"
Qin Nan shielded Ye Sibei in his arms and roared, "Keep moving!"
"What are you standing around for?!"
Huang Guifen grabbed her and shouted, "Go!"
Ye Sibei was shaking uncontrollably. Her vision blurred—she could no longer see what was ahead. Countless people surged around her: Ye Ling, Huang Guifen, Ye Nianwen, the police, Qin Nan—all of them fighting to protect her.
She had no choice.
Even though she could barely see and had no strength left, she had to follow them, pushing through the crowd, struggling forward.
The path felt like it lasted a lifetime.
Finally, they forced their way into the procuratorate. The guards shut the gates, and everyone caught their breath. Qin Nan held Ye Sibei, gently stroking her back. "It’s okay now. Don’t be afraid."
She stood motionless, the stench clinging to them permeating the entire hall.
Zhang Yong handed Qin Nan a change of clothes. "Get cleaned up first."
"Thanks."
Qin Nan took the clothes, and together with the Ye family, they tidied themselves up.
Qin Nan was the worst off—he went straight to the restroom, stripped, and rinsed himself under the faucet.Ye Sibei stood frozen in place as Huang Guifen stepped forward, wiping the splattered filth off her with a wet tissue while muttering under her breath, "You wouldn’t even wipe shit off your face—have they scolded you stupid?!"
"The audio..."
The noise outside had ceased. The police seemed to have taken Zhao Shuhui away, and those disgusting sounds had long vanished.
Yet Ye Sibei felt as though those voices still echoed in her ears. She murmured, "I’m not... I didn’t..."
"Sis," Ye Nianwen noticed her distress and moved closer to comfort her. "Don’t worry. The police will handle the audio properly. She wouldn’t dare post it online. If it spreads with high traffic, distributing obscene content is a criminal offense—she wouldn’t risk it."
Though he spoke with conviction, uncertainty gnawed at him. He couldn’t be sure if anyone had recorded the audio, or how many might spread it through more covert channels online.
But he had to reassure her. He looked at Ye Sibei earnestly. "Sis, it’ll be okay."
Ye Sibei’s lips trembled, but no words came out.
Her mind was consumed by the audio. She couldn’t bear to meet anyone’s gaze around her.
They all knew. They all knew now.
She hadn’t resisted. She had complied.
Would anyone still believe her? Could she win this case? And Qin Nan—deep down, would he truly not mind?
In an instant, she felt as though she were walking naked through the world. Voices, images, words, countless online comments flooded her mind, cramming into every crevice of her thoughts.
Dizziness overwhelmed her. She felt nauseous, her breath quickening, completely disoriented, forgetting where she was or what she was supposed to do.
All she wanted was to run, to escape, to vanish somewhere no one knew her, where no one could judge her.
Huang Guifen, alarmed by her state, reached out to pull her close, trying to soothe her. "Sibei..."
But the moment she touched her, something inside Ye Sibei snapped.
She slapped Huang Guifen’s hand away and bolted for the door.
"Sis!"
Ye Nianwen reacted swiftly, grabbing her arm. "Where are you going?"
"I want to go home..."
Ye Sibei trembled, her gaze unfocused, as if deaf to all reason. She kept repeating, "I want to go home... I need to go home..."
She wanted to go home—somewhere safe, where no one could see her, recognize her, or pass judgment on her.
"Sibei, calm down," Ye Ling, hearing the commotion, rushed over and held her back. "Running away won’t help now. Pull yourself together, Sibei."
"I want to go home..."
Ye Sibei shook her head frantically. "I have to leave. I need to go home. I—"
Before she could finish, Huang Guifen lunged forward, seizing Ye Sibei and delivering a sharp slap across her face.
The loud smack stunned everyone.
Qin Nan, sensing trouble outside, dashed out without even turning off the water. He watched in horror as Huang Guifen struck Ye Sibei, then immediately yanked her behind him, shielding her as he glared at Huang Guifen. "What the hell are you doing?"
Ye Sibei looked up dazedly to see Huang Guifen standing before her, eyes red, fists clenched. "You were the one who insisted on reporting this! You said you could handle it! Now the whole family has come this far with you, and you want to go home?!"
"Let me make this clear—no one’s going home today!""You chose this path, and even if you have to crawl, you must crawl to the end!"
Ye Sibei couldn't speak. She looked at her mother, whose hair was streaked with gray, her face more weathered than others her age, now covered in tears. Seeing Ye Sibei's gaze, Huang Guifen met her eyes through her tears: "Do you know how much effort it took for me to decide to stand by you?"
"Do you know how much I've been cursed at, how many fingers have been pointed at my back because of you?"
"Ye Sibei, is your life the only one that matters? Are others' lives worthless?"
With that, Huang Guifen turned and rushed to sit on a nearby bench, burying her face in her hands as she wept quietly.
Ye Ling went over to comfort her, while Ye Nianwen approached Ye Sibei and whispered, "Sis, just one last confirmation. It'll be okay."
Ye Sibei lowered her head, tears welling in her eyes, but she had calmed down somewhat.
Huang Guifen was right. Having come this far, she couldn't turn back now.
The news was already out there. If she ran away now, she'd never be able to clear her name.
She closed her eyes and nodded to Ye Nianwen. "I understand. I'm sorry."
"Let's go."
Seeing that Ye Sibei had steadied her emotions, Lin Feng led her, Qin Nan, and Ye Nianwen upstairs.
At the door, Lin Feng asked the three to wait outside while he went in to confirm the details with the prosecutors.
Sitting on the bench, Ye Sibei couldn't stop trembling.
She couldn't control the flood of thoughts in her mind—that recording kept replaying in her ears.
If Fan Jiancheng had only recorded the part where she was forced to act willingly, could they still win the case?
After today, would anyone believe her if she said she hadn't consented?
How would people see her? As a homewrecker who falsely accused someone?
She even began to wonder—if she hadn't resisted from start to finish, did it still count as rape?
Maybe, in some way, she had tacitly allowed Fan Jiancheng's assault?
These thoughts engulfed her. If not for the pain in her face reminding her, she might have gotten up and left.
Qin Nan noticed her struggle. He stood up and crouched in front of her.
"Sibei," Qin Nan took a deep breath, gripping her shoulders and forcing her to look at him. "Look at me."
Ye Sibei raised her eyes to meet his. Qin Nan's gaze was steady, like a great tree rooted deep in the earth, unshaken by wind or rain.
Those eyes drew her in, slowly calming her.
"You've come this far," he said. "Think about how you got here."
How had she gotten here?
She had once stood at death's door, questioning herself endlessly, interrogating her own actions night after night. Yet every answer told her she had to come here, to expose this evil, to make the guilty pay for what they'd done.
So she stepped down from the rooftop, fought with her parents, argued with her brother, recounted her ordeal over and over, endured the gossip and prying eyes, faced harassment and threats from the perpetrator, watched as her family lost their jobs and suffered humiliation.
She had struggled so hard to reach this day.
"You did nothing wrong," he told her, word by word. "He is guilty."
"Sending the guilty to face punishment, making him apologize to you, say he's sorry—that's how the world should work."
"No audio, no photos, no videos, no rumors can hide the truth."
"Ye Sibei, he is guilty. You did nothing wrong."
They held each other's gaze in silence as Ye Sibei's tears fell.
"Ye Sibei?" A woman's voice suddenly called from the meeting room. "Please come in."Ye Sibei heard the call and lowered her head, steadying her emotions.
Qin Nan gave her hand a firm squeeze, and Ye Sibei nodded.
"I can do it."
She didn’t know if she was telling Qin Nan or reassuring herself: "I can do it. Don’t worry."
With that, she stood up and walked into the meeting room.
The room was filled with people. Zhang Yong introduced them to Ye Sibei—they were all from the prosecution department of the procuratorate, reviewing her case.
Ye Sibei nodded and sat down. The other side went through the records with her one by one, then asked her once more: "Miss Ye, you confirm that the other party forced you, and you wish to proceed with the lawsuit, correct?"
Hearing this, Ye Sibei sniffled and nodded.
After nodding, she worried they might not understand, so she lifted her head and confirmed again: "Yes, I want to sue him."
After verifying all the relevant evidence with the procuratorate and confirming her intentions, Ye Sibei was escorted back by the police, just as she had been when she arrived.
Ye Nianwen took Huang Guifen and Ye Ling to the car through the back door to go home. Before getting in, Huang Guifen grabbed Ye Sibei’s hand. She wanted to say something but fumbled awkwardly, unsure how to begin.
Ye Ling urged her, "Let’s go. Sibei needs to rest."
Huang Guifen took a deep breath and squeezed Ye Sibei’s hand tightly. "Once you’ve come this far, there’s no turning back."
"Sibei," Huang Guifen looked up at her, "you’re right—things are different now. You and I aren’t the same. You can keep going."
"Endure it," Huang Guifen reached out to brush away the strands of hair falling over Ye Sibei’s eyes. She was perhaps the one who could best understand Ye Sibei’s pain among everyone present. With tears in her eyes, she said, "Sibei, endure it a little longer, and it’ll pass."
Ye Sibei kept nodding, choked up and unable to speak.
Huang Guifen reached out and hugged her tightly before turning to get into the car.
As the car drove away, reporters chased after the van. Ye Sibei and Qin Nan got into Zhang Yong’s car behind them. Zhang Yong had brought a colleague, and seeing fewer reporters, quickly drove the two away, heading straight back to their home.
Reporters had also gathered outside their house. Zhang Yong and his colleague escorted the two upstairs, then blocked the stairway. The colleague called the local police station to send officers for backup, while Zhang Yong stood at the entrance and shouted, "Are you reporters out of your minds for a story? Anyone who dares come up, I’ll arrest them!"
"Officer, what do you mean by that? Are you threatening to arrest us for reporting the news?"
"Reporting the news? You call harassing the victim and obstructing police work reporting?"
"Truth only becomes truth when verified," one reporter shouted the same words Zhang Yong himself had once believed. "If the police would just hold a press conference and clarify things, we wouldn’t have to camp out here like this!"
The police and reporters argued noisily downstairs as Qin Nan led Ye Sibei inside.
The moment they entered, the small space was filled with the stench of filth clinging to them.
Ye Sibei had calmed down on the way, as if she had completely severed her connection to the outside world. Everything around her seemed irrelevant. Wherever he led her, she followed.
Whatever he told her to do, she did.
"Let’s wash up first."
Qin Nan turned to look at her, but Ye Sibei stood motionless. Qin Nan felt a pang of sorrow but didn’t press further. He brought over a stool, had her sit down, took off her shoes, and helped her into slippers.Ye Sibei lowered her gaze to the man kneeling before her, watching him intently, scrutinizing him.
Qin Nan changed her slippers, then went to fetch her change of clothes from the room. After hanging them in the bathroom, he came out and saw Ye Sibei still sitting on the chair. He walked over, took her hand, and pulled her up.
Like a wandering spirit, she let him lead her to the bathroom. He took down the showerhead, bending to adjust the water temperature.
Water sprayed onto his palm, steam rising as the bathroom filled with mist. She stood a short distance away, watching him through the haze.
"How did you feel when you listened to the recording?"
Ye Sibei suddenly spoke. Qin Nan froze. The sound of rushing water roared, but it couldn’t drown out her voice in the slightest.
"Did it disgust you?"
"It was nothing," Qin Nan regained his composure, forcing calm into his voice. "I didn’t feel anything."
As he spoke, he hung the showerhead back up, lowering his head awkwardly. "You go ahead and shower first."
"Didn’t you ever doubt me? Not even a little bit of hesitation?"
Ye Sibei pressed stubbornly. Qin Nan kept his head down, silent, as if struggling to suppress some emotion.
Ye Sibei stepped forward, closing the distance between them until she stood right before him.
Water fell onto her, soaking her hair, drenching her entire body.
Slowly, she tilted her head up to look at Qin Nan.
"Will you really love me?"
She asked.
Qin Nan clenched his trembling muscles, lifting his head with difficulty. He looked at her—water had already soaked through her clothes, just like him. They were both wrapped in filth, shrouded in darkness, covered in grime, like mud.
Was she asking if he could love her?
Qin Nan’s eyes grew misty as he gazed at her, understanding clearly.
She wasn’t talking about love.
She was seeking proof, an answer to tell her that even after all this, she could still live like an ordinary person—loving, being loved, spending the rest of her days in peace.
Qin Nan tried to speak. His lips quivered slightly, wanting to give her that answer.
But the word was too heavy. He couldn’t force it out. He didn’t know if he could even give that answer.
For a moment, he saw himself in his youth.
He saw himself walking out of school with his backpack, Teacher Yang chasing after him.
"Qin Nan, you’ll regret this! Stay, just stay!"
He lay under a car, struggling to tighten a bolt.
Covered in grime, he secretly dialed a number he’d gotten from his teacher late at night.
A girl’s clear voice answered, "Hello?"
He stayed silent. She said "Hello?" a few more times before someone called her name: "Ye Sibei, class is starting."
Only then did he finally speak. "Sorry, wrong number."
Back then, he thought that even if he was stuck in the mud, he could still hold the moon high.
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t even keep his grip on the moon.
Qin Nan’s eyes reddened in the steam. Ye Sibei smiled—a desolate, mocking smile. The moment it entered his vision, he lunged forward, cupping her face in his hands and kissing her fiercely.
Water poured down from above, washing away all the filth. They pressed tightly against each other, the warm water cascading over them, soaking their bodies.
They embraced, kissed, tore at each other like starving wolves, stripping away clothes as if trying to merge into one flesh.
Every movement reminded her of that moment—humiliation, disgust, madness.
Yet she clung to him desperately, refusing to let go.
She was like a beast trapped in a cage, fighting with all her might against the world.Sink into madness, erupt in agony.
Until everything came to an end, she sat on the edge of the sink, silently embracing him.
"Si Bei," he held her shoulders and whispered to her, "Sometimes sex expresses humiliation, but other times, it also expresses love."
At that moment, all the suppressed fear, shame, and dread she had felt about this matter poured out. Ye Si Bei sobbed loudly, and Qin Nan pressed his forehead against hers. His warmth traveled from his forehead to hers, and his voice was soft, carrying a rare tenderness and huskiness.
"I love you, Ye Si Bei."
Perhaps neither of us will ever know where this love comes from, but it doesn't matter.
The world may be absurd and unpredictable, but as long as you are here, I will be here.
I love you—this is the only thing I, powerless as I am, can give you in this world.
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