Light beyond the Road

"My name is Lin Feng, from the Criminal Investigation Team of Guantian Sub-bureau. You're the mother of the caller, right?"

In the hospital corridor, a plainclothes policewoman led a slightly overweight woman carrying a vegetable basket deeper into the hallway.

She appeared to be around fifty-six or fifty-seven years old. At first glance, her hair seemed unnaturally black and shiny, but upon closer inspection, one could spot the gray strands faintly hidden beneath the dark dye.

Her name was Huang Guifen, mother of Ye Sibei, fifty-six years old, making a living by running a breakfast stall outside a school.

Her husband, Ye Ling, had originally been an elementary school teacher but was dismissed for violating family planning policies, after which he joined her in running the breakfast stall. She sold sticky rice, while he sold soy milk, fried dough sticks, and porridge.

The family wasn't well-off, with two children. The elder daughter, Ye Sibei, was now twenty-seven, working as an accountant at Fuqiang Real Estate and married for half a year. Their younger son, Ye Nianwen, was twenty-four, a recent law school graduate who had just gotten engaged and was about to marry soon.

For parents, life was simply about having children, raising them, and seeing them start their own families—that was considered a complete life.

Soon, she and Ye Ling would have nearly fulfilled their roles, and they could begin to live for themselves.

So recently, she had been quite happy. Although she knew her daughter seemed to have some disagreements with her son-in-law, she didn't dwell on it. After all, what couple didn't argue? She and her husband had quarreled their whole lives, yet they still carried on together.

But this morning, she suddenly received a call from Ye Sibei. Her daughter was uncharacteristically cold, uttering only five words over the phone: "Come to People's Hospital."

Then, she hung up without another word.

With over fifty years of life experience, Huang Guifen sensed something unusual in that call and rushed to People's Hospital, only to be stopped by police at the entrance.

Clutching her vegetable basket tightly, she followed the young policewoman, barely in her twenties, as they hurried down the corridor. Hearing the officer's question, she nodded repeatedly. "Yes, I'm her mother. What's wrong with her? Her voice didn't sound right."

"An hour ago, we received her report saying she needed a coat. We found her in the reed fields on the outskirts of the city, hiding in the reeds. There was no financial loss—her wallet and phone were still with her. She wouldn't speak, so I asked her to notify a relative or friend to come, then brought her to the hospital for a checkup. The others are still collecting evidence at the scene."

Lin Feng gave a vague explanation, but Huang Guifen's focus was elsewhere. "Reed fields?" she asked nervously. "Why was she in the reed fields?"

Lin Feng didn't answer. She stopped outside the gynecology examination room, where two plainclothes officers stood. The three exchanged brief greetings before the policewoman turned back to the woman, who now seemed to have an inkling of what might have happened. After a moment of silence, Lin Feng finally spoke: "Based on the scene, your daughter... may have been sexually assaulted."

Huang Guifen froze in place, staring at the officer in shock—a shock tinged with dread and helplessness.The young policewoman, perhaps reminded of her own mother, averted her gaze and spoke as professionally as possible: "She hasn’t provided any information yet. She requested a rape kit examination first. We’ve just confirmed there are no other physical injuries and collected tissue samples from under her nails. Once she’s done here, we’ll take her for blood and urine tests. Please wait here. If it’s confirmed that such an incident did occur, we’ll need you to comfort her and encourage her to cooperate with our investigation."

"You have my word," Lin Feng promised solemnly. "We’ll do everything in our power to apprehend the perpetrator and ensure he faces the consequences."

"No!"

Huang Guifen snapped out of her daze, her voice firm. Lin Feng was taken aback as Huang Guifen hurriedly added, "You don’t need to handle this. I know my daughter—nothing happened to her. Let me go in and talk to her..."

The expressions of everyone present darkened. The officers immediately recognized her as a difficult person to deal with. Lin Feng stepped forward, attempting to reassure her: "Auntie, don’t worry. We won’t disclose any case details to unrelated parties—"

"Case? What case?" Huang Guifen pointed at the policewoman. "Watch your words! My daughter has always been proper. She just had a fight with her husband last night—I know all about it. I even have the call records on my phone from when I phoned her. If you dare smear her reputation, I’ll tear your mouth shut!"

Her tone was fierce, though her voice remained low.

But it was loud enough for Ye Sibei to hear from inside the hospital room.

She lay on the bed, legs spread apart.

She desperately wanted to flee—the position was unbearable. Yet she knew it was necessary.

Only this way could evidence be preserved.

This was what her rational mind dictated. She didn’t dare dwell on anything else. From the moment it happened, from regaining consciousness until now, she had avoided crossing any boundaries beyond "rationality."

But Huang Guifen’s arrival seemed to yank her violently out of her vacuum-sealed world. A cacophony of noise flooded her mind, forcing her to confront everything beyond the realm of "the law."

Yet Huang Guifen was also the only person she could rely on at this moment.

She couldn’t tell her father. Even less could she tell her husband.

She and her mother resented each other, yet they were also each other’s only support.

"She just called the police to get some clothes, and you’re jumping to all these wild conclusions? You’re a woman too—can’t you put yourself in her shoes? If you handle it like this, how will my daughter face people in the future?"

"If something happened, it’s not her fault? You’ll catch the culprit? Are you out of your mind?"

"What happened to her? You say it’s not her fault, so it isn’t? What’s the point of catching the criminal? What’s the point of justice? Do you think people won’t talk? Let me tell you—this world isn’t just about the law. You’re still young, you don’t understand. You’re going to ruin her life like this!"

Huang Guifen was like a mother hen desperately shielding her chick, lashing out at Lin Feng, denying every assumption.

Ye Sibei lay on the examination table, staring blankly at the ceiling.

The female doctor examining her glanced up, then lowered her eyes without a word.

Soon, the examination ended. Ye Sibei calmly got up.She had already changed into a hospital gown, draped with a trench coat brought by the police, her hair loose on either side, still carrying the lingering scent of alcohol that refused to fade.

The doctor glanced up at her complexion, then stood to help her and opened the door. As soon as it swung open, Huang Guifen turned around, spotted Ye Sibei, and immediately grabbed her, agitated. "What are you doing here making a scene?! Come on, let's go home!"

"No."

Lin Feng stubbornly held onto Ye Sibei, glaring at Huang Guifen. "We've already filed a case. You can't take her away."

"I'm her mother!" Huang Guifen lashed out. "She hasn't broken any laws—why are you holding her?!"

"If you're her mother, shouldn't you be thinking about what's best for her?!"

"Stop arguing."

The doctor, watching the standoff, softly intervened. "The patient isn't in good condition. Help her rest in the side room first."

Then, lowering her voice, she added, "And discuss things properly."

Hearing this, Lin Feng hesitated before letting go. Huang Guifen quickly supported Ye Sibei as they entered the adjacent room.

She guided Ye Sibei to sit down, bombarding her with questions. "Are you okay? Where does it hurt? Nothing serious, right?"

Ye Sibei shook her head. Lin Feng followed them in, while her two male colleagues decided to wait outside the door.

Lin Feng watched Ye Sibei sitting numbly on the bed, about to speak, when Ye Sibei suddenly said, "Could I have some water, please?"

Hearing this, Lin Feng guessed Ye Sibei wanted to talk to Huang Guifen alone. She hesitated briefly until Ye Sibei raised her voice slightly. "Thank you."

Lin Feng understood. Outside, her older colleague urged, "Lin Feng, come out."

Lin Feng lowered her head, took a deep breath, then turned and left, closing the door behind her.

The room was now silent, just Ye Sibei and Huang Guifen. Seeing the others gone, Huang Guifen immediately sat beside her, gripping her hands anxiously. "Sibei, are you really alright?"

Ye Sibei shook her head again. Huang Guifen relaxed slightly, then, after a pause, forced out the difficult question. "Did something really happen last night?"

Ye Sibei nodded. Huang Guifen's eyes reddened instantly. She pressed her lips together, struggling to control her emotions before finally asking hoarsely, "Do you know who it was?"

"They blindfolded me," Ye Sibei replied coldly, as if detached from the situation. "I didn’t see."

Huang Guifen exhaled in relief, as if the worst-case scenario had been avoided.

The blindfold meant the perpetrator didn’t want Ye Sibei to make a scene—likely wouldn’t talk.

Turning back, Huang Guifen carefully chose her words. "Sibei, let’s pretend this never happened. In a bit, tell the police you just had a fight with Qin Nan, and we’ll go home right away."

Ye Sibei didn’t respond. Slowly, she lifted her head, her icy gaze sweeping up Huang Guifen’s face before locking onto her eyes. "What about the culprit?"

"Why worry about that now?"

Huang Guifen lowered her voice, urgency sharpening her tone. "The most important thing is to keep this hidden—no one can know!"

Ye Sibei’s heart trembled. She couldn’t name the feeling, only that it was as if someone had suddenly clenched her heart, suffocation and pain flooding in.

"Why?" Ye Sibei pressed.

Why, when she was the one hurt, was she the one who had to hide?Huang Guifen resented her for being foolish, yet still tried to reason with her: "If this gets out, what will you do? Will Qin Nan still stay with you? How will people around you see you? Forget that you don’t even know who it was—even if you knew, even if you won the case and sent him to prison, so what? He’d serve a few years, but you’d be sacrificing your entire life!"

Ye Sibei’s eyes flickered slightly, but she continued staring straight at Huang Guifen, silent.

Huang Guifen, afraid she was too shocked, deliberately softened her voice, as if comforting herself too: "Mom doesn’t want to wrong you, I just want to choose the easiest path for you. Those police only care about catching criminals—do they think about your future? Listen to me, Mom only wants what’s best for you."

"Think about it. If this blows up, if word spreads—people will say you were dressed like that, that you drank. If you report a rape, what will they say?"

This made Ye Sibei’s eyes redden. She rasped, "It was a company dinner. I wasn’t fooling around."

"Will others believe that?"

Huang Guifen looked at her: "I’m your mother, I know you. But what about everyone else?"

Even uglier words went unspoken, but Ye Sibei already knew them.

In the long life of a woman, she must witness the fates of countless other "wrongdoers." When observing, they are strangers—but when disaster strikes, the tragic paths of those she once judged immediately become her own possible future.

Ye Sibei felt her vision blur with tears.

She didn’t know why, but she could no longer see Huang Guifen clearly. All she saw were vague figures sitting beside her, talking endlessly.

The voices of Tao Jie and Chen Xiaoyang from days ago still echoed in her ears.

"I always tell my daughter—never go out after 8 p.m. What kind of decent girl wanders around late at night?"

"Girls need to be raised right. Honestly, men can tell who’s easy prey. Not that I’m blaming the girl, but think about it—out at 1 a.m., in high heels, a tight skirt, and makeup? Isn’t that just a lamb walking into a wolf’s den, asking for it?"

Their words were mere sparks, but in an instant, they ignited a fuse, detonating a flood of memories.

Countless past judgments and warnings about women surged forth, densely weaving together into an impenetrable net that descended from the sky like a mountain crashing through the clouds.

She was wrapped layer by layer, every struggle rendered absurd.

Had she done wrong?

She couldn’t even voice the question—because deep down, she already had an answer she’d desperately buried, now unearthed by Huang Guifen.

She even began to realize why she had called Huang Guifen here.

Neither her father nor Qin Nan could truly understand her fear. Only Huang Guifen could.

She was her mother—the woman who should love and understand her most in this world.

She waited for Huang Guifen’s judgment, waited for her to say, "It’s okay, we’ll fight this."

Then she’d have the courage to do what she wanted.

But Huang Guifen didn’t. Instead, she pulled her in, drowning that faint hope: "I’m doing this for you, Sibei. You’re already married. If this doesn’t get out, just treat it like a dog bite. Let it go, okay?"Ye Sibei looked at her through blurred vision.

She couldn't understand.

Her mother, who had so earnestly admonished her in her youth, who had been so concerned about her relationships with men, repeatedly emphasizing the sanctity and exclusivity of sex—as if any woman who had been with two men was somehow flawed.

Yet now, she was casually telling her that as long as no one else found out, this incident was no different from being bitten by a dog—utterly inconsequential.

She couldn't reconcile this contradiction, nor could she forget the humiliation and pain of that moment.

But she also lacked the courage to face everything Huang Guifen had said alone. She struggled, locked in a stalemate, as mother and daughter stood in tense opposition. Suddenly, a familiar voice called from outside: "Hey, Sister Lin, Brother Zhang, Brother Wang, you're here?"