Light beyond the Road

Ye Sibei first recounted the specific sequence of events, while the journalist guided the conversation and noted down questions from the live chat.

Chen Hui lowered her head to read an online question: "A netizen asks, 'We want to know why you chose to drink that night?'"

"It was part of my job," Ye Sibei carefully chose her words. "Work required it. Shouldn't I have drunk?"

Chen Hui glanced at the screen and continued, "But before drinking, didn't you consider your own safety?"

"I did consider it."

"Then why did you still drink?"

Hearing this, Ye Sibei fell silent. She thought for a long time before raising her head and suddenly countering, "Have any of you gone out at night before?"

Chen Hui was taken aback. Ye Sibei pressed on, "Have you ever sung at a ktv during university? Have you ever gone to an interview alone? Have you ever done anything risky in your life? Did you consider your safety every time then?"

"No one disregards their safety completely, but there are moments in life when we choose to take risks to do certain things."

Chen Hui nodded. "That's true."

"So I don't understand why everyone keeps asking these questions about this incident. It feels like they only serve one purpose—to tell me that I didn't protect myself well enough, that I deserved it."

Ye Sibei looked at Chen Hui and stopped speaking. Chen Hui seemed moved by her words. Controlling her tone, Ye Sibei took a long pause before continuing, "That's why I didn't report it at first—because I was afraid."

"I'm doing this interview today to tell everyone: you can advise people on how to protect themselves in daily life, but you shouldn't ask a victim what they did when they're suffering. No matter what they did, it's never a reason to be victimized." As she spoke, Ye Sibei looked up at Chen Hui, her eyes carrying a hint of uncertain inquiry. "Isn't that right?"

Chen Hui met her gaze and nodded. "Yes, no matter what she did, it's never a reason to be victimized. Alright," Chen Hui tapped her notebook and looked down at the next recorded question, smiling. "What are your hopes moving forward?"

Ye Sibei pondered the question. "I hope that if there are other victims in this world, people will give them more encouragement and support to speak up."

Chen Hui looked up at her. Ye Sibei worried people might think she was preaching, but she finally said, "Let them understand that no matter who they are, what they've done, or what their past is like, they can loudly point out who the perpetrator is..."

"Sex is not shameful, and victims are never at fault. Silencing victims doesn't punish the guilty or protect the innocent."

Ye Sibei turned to face the camera. "The most effective way to protect good people is to ensure criminals are punished, isn't it?"

There isn't a single place in the world where crime decreases just because women cover their eyes.

Yet after every incident, people still ask victims what they were wearing.

Many places in the world have realized that installing more surveillance cameras and fostering a more tolerant cultural environment for women can effectively reduce crime.

But after each incident, few ask why there were no cameras in that location, who pressured the victim to drink, or what we can do to help the victim.After Ye Sibei's interview concluded, Chen Hui and the other staff members escorted her out of the television station.

As they reached the exit, Chen Hui grasped her hand and said, "Miss Ye, although the trial verdict hasn’t been announced yet and it’s not my place to say much, I still want to thank you for speaking out. I believe you will inspire many more victims, and I also believe that the future Ye Sibei will have better choices."

Hearing Chen Hui’s words, Ye Sibei lowered her head and smiled faintly. "If the future Ye Sibei can have better choices, it’s only because there are many people like you, Reporter Chen, in this world."

Not long after the live broadcast, Ye Sibei received news that her case would be retried.

This time, the police had obtained many crucial pieces of evidence, and both Lin Feng and Zhang Yong were visibly happier.

One day, Ye Nianwen came to visit Ye Sibei. Overjoyed, he shared a meal with her, enthusiastically serving her dishes while saying, "Sis, did you know? Zhao Shuhui couldn’t hold out any longer and gave up Fan Jiancheng."

Ye Sibei froze for a moment. "What did she reveal?"

"Actually, she didn’t just get that audio clip and photo back then. She got a USB drive, and on that drive..." Ye Nianwen hesitated briefly before continuing, "There was more than one victim."

More than one victim—yet out of all those victims, she was the only one who had reported it to the police.

Ye Sibei was momentarily stunned. Ye Nianwen went on, "Even Tao Jie—it turns out she wasn’t willing at first either. Somehow, it turned into a long-term arrangement."

"How did you find out?" Ye Sibei took a moment to process this before asking. Ye Nianwen grinned slyly. "I persuaded her."

"I just didn’t believe Fan Jiancheng could be a first-time offender, so I arranged to meet her and told her that this case would eventually reach a verdict. If she voluntarily handed over the evidence, it would count as a meritorious act and could reduce her sentence. But if she kept helping Fan Jiancheng hide things, then both of them would end up behind bars. Then I appealed to her emotions and reason—showed her the video you took of Tao Jie and Fan Jiancheng meeting in secret, analyzed the bleak future Fan Wenwen would face, and urged her to fight for herself. In the end, she broke down."

"You’re pretty impressive."

Ye Sibei laughed. Ye Nianwen lifted his chin proudly. "Of course. I am a lawyer, after all."

Ye Sibei thought for a moment, then hesitated. "But even with the evidence... will those girls..." She trailed off uncertainly. "Will they come forward?"

"I don’t know," Ye Nianwen shook his head. "But you came forward. That’s the beginning."

Hearing this, Ye Sibei couldn’t help but smile.

After the meal, she saw Ye Nianwen off. That evening, as she sat in front of her computer, she suddenly heard a "ding" notification—someone had sent her an email.

She opened it and found a long letter of gratitude.

"Dear Ye Sibui,

I’m writing this letter to thank you. I know you don’t know me, but that’s all right—I know you.

I was once an employee at Fuqiang Real Estate, and I was also one of Fan Jiancheng’s prey. At the time, I was only twenty-one, still in vocational school. Fan Jiancheng was just a manager back then, and I had come to Fuqiang Real Estate as an intern during my break.He was a good man, very caring towards me. To be honest, back then, I did harbor some admiration for this superior deep down. But I knew he was married, so I kept my feelings hidden and decided to leave after the semester started, cutting off these emotions completely.

However, just before my resignation, he said he wanted to have a farewell meal with me. I knew I shouldn't dine alone with a married superior, but I was bewitched at the time. Thinking he didn't know about my feelings, I just wanted one last meal with him.

We went for barbecue that night. He drank heavily and cried about his unhappy life. Seeing him completely drunk, I wanted to take him home, but his phone was dead. He said he'd just sleep at a hotel.

So I took him to a hotel, got him a room card, and helped him inside. I thought I could just leave afterward.

But I couldn't.

I'd always thought of him as a gentle, courteous senior. But that night, he choked me, grabbed my hair and slammed my head against the wall. It wasn't until I thought I might die that I realized how utterly wrong I'd been."

"The next day, I fled in disgrace. I considered reporting to the police but didn't dare. I couldn't even tell my parents because I couldn't explain why I'd had dinner with him that night or why I'd taken a drunk man to a hotel. I knew I'd made mistakes—maybe everything that happened to me was what I deserved.

I've told myself countless times that I was willing, that I liked him too. But in my recurring nightmares of that night, I know clearly—in that moment, I didn't want it.

All these years, I've blamed and punished myself. Whenever I remember that time, I feel utterly disgusting.

Now nearing thirty, my life is a mess. My mother keeps asking why I won't marry, and I can't answer.

I thought my whole life would continue this way—until I met you.

I deeply regret not reporting it back then. Maybe then your tragedy wouldn't have happened. Here, I want to say I'm sorry.

And I'm so grateful to you. Thank you for telling me that nothing I did was reason enough for what happened to me.

This morning, the police called about that incident. I cried so hard I couldn't form complete sentences.

Tomorrow I'll go give my statement. I hope when I see him sent to prison, I can finally forgive myself.

I can erase these nine years and start anew from age twenty-one."

Ye Sibei read the letter, wiped her tears, and replied:

"We both can."

More evidence emerged, more victims came forward.

It felt like starting over, yet completely different.

During that time, Ye Sibei assisted the police while inquiring about Qin Nan's situation and preparing to move and find work.

According to Ye Nianwen's analysis, Qin Nan would likely be sentenced, which would significantly affect her political vetting. So she abandoned plans for civil service exams and resumed sending resumes for accounting jobs in the provincial capital.

Ye Ling tentatively asked what she would do if Qin Nan was imprisoned for many years.After he got out of prison, he would likely be unemployed, unable to find work, and might have to rely on her for support.

Ye Sibei ate her meal, then glanced up at Ye Ling. "So what do you think I should do?"

Ye Ling was momentarily speechless. Ye Sibei continued eating before turning to Ye Nianwen. "Lawyer Ye, you’d better work hard. Your older sister might need your help in the future."

Ye Nianwen immediately felt a headache coming on at her words. He nodded. "Fine, I’ll go beg for food for you right now."

The family laughed. Ye Sibei finished her last bite and looked at Ye Ling. "Don’t worry, Dad. If it comes to that, I’ll take Qin Nan with me to beg. We won’t starve."

Time passed day by day, shifting from late autumn to winter.

Snow was rare in Nancheng during winter, but the damp cold was something northerners could hardly comprehend. Yet, Ye Sibei still insisted on waking up at six every morning.

With Qin Nan gone, she ended up living the life he had always hoped for her.

Qin Nan had wanted her to exercise more, so she started running every morning. Sometimes, she would put on his boxing gloves and practice punches in the air.

She learned how to wrap the gloves herself from online tutorials and picked up many key techniques.

Aside from exercise, she also developed another habit. Perhaps because the last time she saw Qin Nan, she had received a letter from him, she began to enjoy writing letters to him as well. Every night, when the world was quiet, she would sit alone at her desk and start writing to Qin Nan.

She told him about her daily life—how she had sent resumes to several companies in the provincial capital, how she had started preparing for the CPA exam.

When she wrote "CPA," she paused, thinking Qin Nan might not understand, so she changed it to "Certified Public Accountant." She told him about new dishes she had learned to cook, about the first snowfall of winter, and how she had built a snowman that reached up to her calves.

Besides writing letters, she sometimes saw Qin Nan in her dreams.

In her dreams, Qin Nan was sometimes a child, pinned to the ground in front of his father, crying desperately. Other times, he was a teenager, standing in the classroom across from hers, watching her through the window—and this time, in the dream, she turned around to look back.

The dreams came so often that she would occasionally wake up in the middle of the night. Lying in bed, watching the moonlight spill across the carpet, she would remember Qin Nan lying on the floor with his back to her, saying, "I don’t know what love is. But there’s someone I’ve always wished well."

Thinking of that figure, she would sit up in the dark, light a cigarette, and stand on the balcony.

She should have realized it sooner, she thought.

Every time Qin Nan talked about his past—about the girl from his youth, about the helplessness he felt watching his father’s ribs get broken without daring to retaliate, about holding her in the bathroom and saying "I love you," about embracing her on the school rooftop and telling her he admired her for never entrusting her life to anyone—she should have realized that Qin Nan was never invincible.

Somewhere deep inside, he was waiting for her to lead him out.

But it was alright. Standing on the balcony, watching snowflakes drift from the sky, she knew there was still time.

The year 2018 passed quickly. By the time Ye Sibei found a job, it was already the end of January.

Her boss was a highly accomplished woman who had learned about Ye Sibei’s story online. After seeing her resume, she immediately reached out and agreed to let her start after the New Year.

At the same time, Ye Sibei finally received news about the court hearing.

When Ye Nianwen brought over the court summons, Ye Sibei noticed there were two copies."Sis, one good news, one bad news."

Ye Nianwen waved the court summons in his hand. Ye Sibei looked up: "The good news?"

"The trial is about to start."

"The bad news?"

"Brother-in-law is scheduled for the same session as you, so you probably won't be able to pick him up."

Surprised that Qin Nan was scheduled for the same session, Ye Sibei paused. Ye Nianwen explained: "Maybe the court is clearing cases before the New Year?"

Ye Sibei chuckled at Nianwen's remark, then remembered: "What about Chu Chu?"

Ye Nianwen's expression darkened slightly: "She's likely being processed together with Zhao Shuhui on the same day."

After a moment's thought, Ye Sibei patted Nianwen's shoulder: "We'll just wait for them together then."

"Sis," Ye Nianwen hesitated before speaking, "you... really don't resent Chu Chu anymore?"

"She stood up for me so many times before, and I never thanked her," Ye Sibei reflected. "She's paid the price she needed to. I don't hold it against her."

Ye Nianwen nodded without further comment.

On the morning of February 2, 2019, the retrial began.

That morning, after getting up, Ye Sibei went to get her workout clothes as usual. But when she opened the wardrobe and saw the dresses that had been sitting there for so long, she suddenly remembered Qin Nan's promise during the first trial to buy her a dress.

Staring at the dresses in her closet, she eventually selected a light-colored dress set. She carefully applied makeup before the mirror, put on a pearl-adorned choker, and tied her hair into a low ponytail.

Looking at her reflection—at the woman's calm, determined gaze—she told herself:

Win or lose, from today onward she would dress beautifully every day. How she chose to live was her decision.

Just like last time, Lin Feng came with the Ye family to pick her up. The whole family rode in Lin Feng's car to the courthouse. From afar, Ye Sibei could already see many reporters at the entrance.

This time, there were also many other people—mostly young, holding banners that read "Stay strong, Ye Sibei!"—though it wasn't clear where they had come from.

Perhaps because Ye Sibei had already given interviews and said what needed to be said, she walked confidently through the crowd, and the reporters remained orderly and calm.

Her gaze swept over the young faces, and she heard girls shouting at her: "Ye Sibei, winning or losing doesn't matter! Don't be afraid!"

She smiled, nodded in thanks, and entered the courthouse with Ye Nianwen and the others.

Many people had arrived early at the courthouse. When Ye Sibei followed Ye Nianwen to the courtroom door, she saw many unfamiliar women who all turned to look at her. Though no introductions were made, in that moment, Ye Sibei knew who they were.

They were all the silent victims who had once seemed to disappear from this world.

Fan Jiancheng hadn't arrived early, and the Fan family, seemingly anticipating the outcome, didn't come either.

Meng Xin stood at the entrance just like last time. When he saw Ye Sibei, he hesitated before walking up to her.

"Miss Ye."

"Attorney Meng."

After a brief silence, Meng Xin spoke: "Miss Ye, everyone has the right to defense. The truth won't be buried because of my arguments. I hope you understand."

"I do."

Ye Sibei smiled. "I believe that if I were ever the defendant one day, Attorney Meng would defend me just the same."Meng Xin was momentarily stunned before nodding earnestly. "Thank you."

As the group conversed, another commotion arose from the other side. Ye Sibei turned to see Qin Nan entering the courtroom in handcuffs.

Their gazes met across the long corridor. In his eyes, Ye Sibei saw tenderness, longing, and encouragement.

This was actually the first time she had seen Qin Nan like this—as if he had finally shed all his defenses, revealing his most vulnerable and authentic self.

She smiled slowly, and he smiled back.

Then Ye Sibei heard the staff calling them. She and Qin Nan each turned away, heading toward their respective places.

Just like during the first trial, as a witness, she was placed in a separate room. This time, however, she felt no anxiety. She waited for a long time before finally hearing the staff call her name.

The small door slowly opened, and she stepped into the courtroom, taking her place at the witness stand where she had once been interrogated into a humiliated retreat.

The questions were the same as before, but this time, the evidence was so overwhelming that Meng Xin had little room to maneuver. After asking a few simple questions, he finally posed the same one from last time: "Miss Ye, you’ve consistently maintained that you were not a willing participant and had no prior private contact with Mr. Fan. So, could you tell me what reason led you to initially choose silence after such a traumatic experience, only to suddenly decide to press charges later?"

Meng Xin looked at her. "Why didn’t you report it to the police from the beginning?"

Ye Sibei didn’t answer immediately. She slowly turned to look at the empty public gallery, yet it felt as though someone was sitting there.

"Miss Ye?" Meng Xin prompted.

Ye Sibei turned back to face him. "Attorney Meng, do you know how I ended up here?"

"From the moment I tried to report it, my mother stopped me, my brother stopped me. After I finally mustered the courage to go to the police, I was threatened, insulted, and ridiculed. Walking down the street, I felt people whispering about me. Going online, I saw people cursing me. They all questioned what I had done. They mocked my husband and humiliated my family. Then I lost the case. I was cornered, even driven to thoughts of killing the defendant—but my husband acted first. Now he’s being prosecuted for intentional homicide, his trial happening next door. All this hardship and humiliation—I had already foreseen it the moment my case began. Because," she turned toward the small witness room, "I wasn’t the first, and I might not be the last."

"You ask me why I didn’t report it immediately. If you were me, knowing everything you might have to endure, how much courage would it take to go to the police?"

Meng Xin remained silent. Ye Sibei turned to the judge. "If possible, I wish I didn’t have to answer this question today. More than that, I hope one day this question will no longer exist. If I had reported it right away, if I had taken a drug test immediately, this case might never have reached a retrial. But I was afraid. In this case, the greatest harm I suffered didn’t come from the perpetrator—it came from the world."

"Is it really so hard to understand why I didn’t report it?"

Meng Xin nodded and asked no further questions.

After Ye Sibei stepped down, Zhao Chuchu took the stand again."If you already had the evidence, why didn't you submit it during the first trial?"

"Because I was afraid." Compared to the first time, Zhao Chuchu faced this question with much more calmness. "In the past, my boyfriend and my father told me countless times not to attend drinking gatherings and to be cautious. I always argued with them, wanting to prove I was right. But that day, I naively trusted Fan Jiancheng and gave the medicine to Sister Ye. When I found out what happened, their words flooded my mind instantly. I felt it was all my fault, and I was terrified of them finding out it was my mistake. So I came up with a solution that seemed perfect—I tried to give false testimony for Sister Ye during the first trial, hoping to send Fan Jiancheng to prison while covering up the fact that I had administered the drug."

"But I never expected," Zhao Chuchu lowered her head, "that the online backlash would suddenly turn toward me. Because I left Ye Sibei in the car, people tried to dig up all my flaws, constantly proving I was a vicious person who must have deliberately abandoned her. My clothing, my behavior, my past relationships—every action that didn’t fit the 'good girl' standard became a target for their attacks. It plunged me into depression and anxiety. I spent every day scrolling through the internet, desperately trying to prove I was a good person, begging them to stop criticizing me. So in court, I told everyone I hadn’t left her, unconscious, in the car."

"What made you change your mind?"

Meng Xin seemed puzzled.

Hearing this, Zhao Chuchu smiled bitterly. "Because Sister Ye believed I was a good person."

"And I also realized that mistakes don’t disappear unless you face them."

After Zhao Chuchu left the stand, Zhao Shuhui took her place.

Faced with the same question about why she had concealed evidence during the first trial, Zhao Shuhui’s expression was numb. "Because at the time, I thought I couldn’t leave him. I needed him to support the family, to be my daughter’s father. And I was afraid of divorce—I didn’t know how to explain it to my parents, and I worried no one would want me if I remarried. Raising Wenwen alone would have been too hard."

"But even while helping him, I felt guilty. I often couldn’t sleep, terrified that Wenwen would suffer some kind of retribution. And after he was released, his temper grew worse. We fought constantly, and he often hit me. People mocked Wenwen for being a rapist’s daughter. I thought—no matter how hard life gets, it couldn’t be worse than this, could it?"

"Later, Lawyer Ye told me that turning myself in and cooperating could reduce my sentence. I realized my child couldn’t be left with no one to care for her. The sooner I could be free, the better. So in the end, I submitted the evidence, hoping the judge would be lenient… my child is still so young…"

…

While Ye Sibei’s case was unfolding intensely, Qin Nan was in another courtroom, confessing to all his actions without hesitation.

"At the time, I just wanted to die with him. But my wife stopped me. She said she didn’t care anymore, and she told me," Qin Nan smiled, "we still had a good future ahead."

"So I stopped."

"Were there any police officers approaching you at the time?" the prosecutor asked. Qin Nan shook his head.

"Didn’t you feel your life was in danger?"

"I wasn’t planning to live anyway."

"Was your wife really that important to you? When you were about to kill someone, didn’t you think about the future?"

Hearing this, Qin Nan fell silent for a long time before answering softly, "At that moment, I felt like I had no future.""But the moment she reached out to me," Qin Nan recalled that night, his face softening with tenderness, "I felt I had something."

In that instant, he felt he had finally grown up.

No longer the helpless child who watched his brother hang himself, saw his father's ribs broken, and witnessed his mother leave—powerless against life's cruelty.

This time, his resistance had succeeded.

As both cases proceeded simultaneously in court, reporters and spectators who had traveled far waited anxiously outside.

Ye Sibei endured the slow passage of time in the room until a staff member entered and asked, "Miss Ye, the verdict is about to be announced. Would you like to attend the sentencing in court?"

"Can I?" Ye Sibei was surprised. The staff nodded. "You can now attend as the plaintiff."

Hesitating briefly, Ye Sibei nodded, stood up, and followed the staff into the courtroom.

Shortly after she nervously took her seat in the gallery, Fan Jiancheng was also brought in. Their eyes met—Fan initially glared defiantly, but after a moment, he uncomfortably averted his gaze.

Besides Ye Sibei, several other women entered as well, all plaintiffs in the case. Without words, they exchanged glances and nodded in silent acknowledgment.

After a brief wait, the presiding judge entered with the panel and took their seats.

Summarizing the case, the judge read the verdict: "This court finds that Fan Jiancheng, leveraging his privileged social status, employed drugs, violence, and threats to forcibly engage in sexual relations against the will of the victims, constituting the crime of rape. From 2008 to 2018, Fan Jiancheng sexually assaulted nine individuals, meeting the criteria for aggravated circumstances under rape laws. The sentence should thus range from over ten years to life imprisonment or the death penalty. After the crime came to light, Fan Jiancheng, to evade responsibility, instructed Zhao Shuhui to conceal and fabricate evidence during the first trial, leading to the victims' defeat. His complete lack of remorse demonstrates extreme malice and severe social harm, with no mitigating factors. Although China retains the death penalty, its application is strictly controlled and cautiously considered. Based on the above, this court rules as follows: The defendant, Fan Jiancheng, is sentenced to life imprisonment, with deprivation of political rights for two years..."

As Ye Sibei listened, the words "life imprisonment" struck her like a thunderclap, drowning out all other sounds.

Fan Jiancheng's face turned deathly pale upon hearing the verdict. Moments later, he screamed, "I appeal! I refuse to accept this! I appeal!"

Ye Sibei and the other victims turned to see Fan stumbling forward from the gallery, trying to lunge at the judge. Bailiffs immediately intercepted and restrained him.

Watching Fan struggle from afar, Ye Sibei faintly heard someone sob. She sniffed, holding back her tears, stood up, and walked toward Fan.

Fan was still thrashing when Ye Sibei stopped before him. He looked up, stunned.

"Don’t you owe us an apology?"

Ye Sibei asked softly. Fan stared at her blankly before suddenly comprehending."I'm sorry," he cried out in agitation, "let's settle this. I beg you, let me go. Let's settle this. I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Ye Sibei heard his apology, her expression calm.

Fan Jiancheng desperately tried to grab her skirt, but the bailiffs held him down firmly. Ye Sibei looked at the weeping man and spoke slowly.

"Fan Jiancheng, do you think you're the victim here?"

Her voice was quiet, but Fan Jiancheng wasn't listening. Lost in his own world, he wailed: "Let me go! I'll appeal! I'll appeal!"

"Your 'I'm sorry' is just words," Ye Sibei said, her voice strained as she looked at him. "But my 'it's okay' would cost me a lifetime."

"I'm innocent! I'm innocent! This isn't right! It's not right! Judge, did you take a bribe? You took money, didn't you?!"

"You bastard!" At these words, someone in the plaintiff's seat finally snapped. A woman screamed and rushed forward to hit him.

Chaos erupted. After watching for a moment, Ye Nianwen came down and took her hand. "Sis, let's go."

Ye Sibei cast one last glance at the commotion, then nodded and followed Ye Nianwen out.

Though it was winter, the day was clear and bright. As soon as she stepped out of the courtroom, sunlight bathed the courtyard. Walking through the gates, she saw a man with stubble standing further down the corridor, smiling at her.

The light fell on him, and Ye Sibei froze momentarily.

"Sibei," Qin Nan said hoarsely, "attempted murder, suspended. Two years imprisonment, suspended for two years."

Ye Sibei stared at him blankly. Qin Nan smiled. "Released in court. I came straight to you."

"Sis, with a suspended sentence, brother-in-law just needs to stay out of trouble during the probation period," Ye Nianwen nudged her. "Go on!"

Ye Sibei's eyes reddened slightly. After a pause, she sprinted forward and threw herself into Qin Nan's arms.

Qin Nan held her tightly, as if embracing the other half of his soul that had been lost.

"Sibei," Qin Nan said, his voice rough, "I've grown up."

"Me too."

Ye Sibei looked up at him and smiled. "I've become an adult."

Finally, in their late twenties, they had learned how to coexist with the world.

They had learned how to face the kindness and cruelty, the burdens, the obstacles, the harsh condemnations, and the joyous encouragements the world gave them.

Bathed in sunlight, in that moment, they felt as if there were no more dark places left in the world.

That same day, Zhao Chuchu and Zhao Shuhui were also sentenced.

Zhao Chuchu was convicted of perjury, which normally carried a sentence of up to three years in prison or detention. However, due to her voluntary surrender and providing key evidence for the case, her punishment was reduced to six months imprisonment, suspended for one year.

Zhao Shuhui was convicted of aiding in the destruction or fabrication of evidence, which also normally carried a sentence of up to three years in prison or detention. Though she had surrendered voluntarily, the consequences of concealing evidence were severe. She was sentenced to six months imprisonment without probation, but with time served counting double, her actual sentence was four months.

Everyone had received their due judgment. Ye Sibei took Qin Nan home, and they spent the New Year with her family. When the new year began, she packed her last belongings and got into Qin Nan's car as they drove together to the provincial capital.When it was time to leave, Huang Guifen, Ye Ling, and Ye Nianwen came to see her off. Huang Guifen stood by the car, still nagging: "You're going out there, just the two of you, unfamiliar with the place. If you get bullied again, don't come crying back."

Ye Sibei smiled without responding, simply waving at Huang Guifen: "Mom, I'm leaving."

Huang Guifen feigned annoyance: "Go on then, who's stopping you?"

Ye Sibei didn't reply. Qin Nan shifted gears and started the car. Holding their high school group photo, Ye Sibei felt the vehicle begin to move.

The spring day carried a hint of warmth. The car hadn't gone far when Ye Sibei heard Huang Guifen's tearful shouts behind them: "Sibei! Come visit sometimes, Sibei!"

Ye Sibei turned back and waved at her mother.

Both mother and daughter knew—this departure marked her rebirth. She was leaving this family completely, and never again in this lifetime would they be entangled in that same bittersweet dance of love and resentment.

Qin Nan played some music and glanced at Ye Sibei holding their high school photo: "Not sad?"

"Of course I am," Ye Sibei turned with a smile, "but this step had to be taken, didn't it?"

"Why are you holding that photo?"

"Just reminiscing." Ye Sibei opened the photo, seeing the smiling girl and the boy looking down at her.

"Qin Nan," she said softly, "why do you like Snow Beer so much?"

"Because... there's snow in the north."

"Have you ever thought about going north?"

"I have."

"Why?"

"Because your name is Nian Bei (Yearning for North). I thought you must really like the north."

"It wasn't me," Ye Sibei chuckled. "It was my mom. She's actually a girl from the north. When she had me, she saw snow and missed her hometown."

"Do you like the north then?"

"Not sure. Maybe I'll go someday. Will you come with me then?"

They drove on the highway—wide and straight, sunlight painting the road as if whispering: if your heart yearns for it, no place is beyond reach.

"Sure."

Qin Nan's voice was soft: "Wherever you go, I'll follow."

If you wish to meet thousands, I'll go with you.

If you seek answers high and low, I'll search with you.

Qin Nan thinks of north, no need to ask east or west.

The road has its end, life has its limits—this long despair has finally reached its conclusion.