Returning to the apartment close to eleven, Ruan Yu went straight to bed after her shower. Xu Huaisong, as usual, kept to his American work schedule in the living room, typing away on his laptop.
In the middle of the night, she got up once and saw him still at his computer, typing with an unusually serious expression.
Xu Huaisong looked up when she emerged, his tense face softening instantly. "What's wrong? Can't sleep?" he asked.
She shook her head to indicate no and turned on the overhead light for him. "Do you still have a lot of cases left from the U.S.?"
He hummed in agreement, then added, "But right now, I'm reviewing Zhou Jun's case."
"You specialize in criminal law," Ruan Yu said, sitting down beside him. "Can't you leave this to Zhang Jie?"
Xu Huaisong fell silent.
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Ruan Yu propped her chin on her hand, puzzled. After a while, he turned to look at her. "This case... it's somewhat similar to the one my father handled ten years ago."
Her drowsiness vanished instantly. "How so?"
Xu Huaisong pressed his lips together, then looked back at the screen. "No eyewitnesses, lack of decisive evidence, all clues pointing to a single suspect, and the suspect refusing to confess while offering a story that seems highly theatrical to most people."
"What happened to the suspect from ten years ago?"
"Released due to insufficient evidence. Probably still living in Su City."
"And the real culprit?"
Xu Huaisong lowered his head with a faint smile. "Who knows? Maybe it was that suspect, maybe someone else."
"Ten years without resolution... what about the victim's family?"
She trailed off.
Xu Huaisong was quiet for a moment before saying, "The victim's family firmly believed the suspect was the real killer and that my father was an accomplice in helping him escape justice. They harassed our family for two whole years. If my father hadn't moved to the U.S., it might not have stopped even now."
Even as a writer, Ruan Yu found herself at a loss for comforting words. She could only reach out and gently touch the back of his hand.
Xu Huaisong turned his head slightly and smiled. "It's fine. The family's reaction was completely understandable. My father's defense did significantly influence the case's outcome. Besides, ten years ago, the concept of 'presumption of innocence' was still vague to the average Chinese citizen. If you told them that sentencing isn't as simple as matching a suspect to a crime—that just because someone is the only suspect doesn't mean they're guilty—they might not have grasped it."
"Even now, in theory, many might agree with 'innocent until proven guilty,' recognize the rights of the accused, and uphold procedural justice. But when faced with the bloody reality of a crime, most bystanders' emotions will override objective judgment—let alone the victim's family."
"And your father?"
"I used to wonder about that too. I kept asking myself whether he truly knew if the suspect was guilty or innocent. But eventually, I realized that question might not have an answer at all."
"Because lawyers aren't gods—their understanding isn't necessarily the truth. More often than not, their 'knowledge' is also 'ignorance.' Without divine insight yet barred from human emotions—that's the dilemma many criminal defense lawyers face."At this point, Xu Huaisong turned his gaze to the computer screen: "I want to try walking the same path my father took, then give this answer to my mom, even though... it's ten years too late."
Ruan Yu smiled and rubbed her sleepy eyes, leaning over to wrap her arms around his. "Then I'll go with you."
Xu Huaisong lowered his head with a chuckle. "Go to sleep first."
She shook her head with a yawn. "I have nothing to do at home tomorrow anyway. Aren't you adjusting to the time difference? Once you do, we'll be on the same schedule."
After a brief silence, he replied, "In a few days."
Ruan Yu gave an "Oh" and snuggled against his arm, hugging a pillow and closing her eyes. When she opened them again, it was broad daylight, the sun high in the sky, and she was in bed.
It wasn’t hard to guess—she must not have lasted long last night before Xu Huaisong carried her in.
She jumped out of bed and opened the door to find him still in the same position as the night before, typing away at the keyboard.
"Xu Huaisong, are you trying to kill yourself?" She walked over and blocked his screen. "Still not sleeping?"
He looked up. "I slept for a bit last night."
"Really?"
"Really. In your bed, with you clinging to me and refusing to let go."
Ruan Yu turned and hurried back to the bedroom, burying her face in the blankets and sniffing wildly.
Xu Huaisong followed her in, laughing. "Alright, I lied. I’ll sleep now."
She turned back, gritting her teeth and glaring at him before swallowing her irritation. "Then you might as well eat breakfast first."
Ruan Yu headed to the kitchen to make breakfast, and Xu Huaisong followed again, saying, "I need to make a call."
Did he really need to announce that? She grabbed pots and pans as she replied, "Go ahead." Then, as if remembering something, she added, "Wait—who are you calling?"
"Lü Shenglan. I need her to send me some documents."
No wonder he felt the need to announce it.
Ruan Yu waved a hand. "Go ahead."
Xu Huaisong dialed the number in front of her. "Hello, I’d like to speak to Attorney Lü."
Ruan Yu suddenly turned around. "What did you just say?"
Even someone as sharp as Xu Huaisong was momentarily confused. "What do you mean?"
On the other end, Lü Shenglan answered the call. Ruan Yu motioned for him to go ahead, waiting until he hung up before asking, "What did you just call her? Lü Lü?"
"..."
Xu Huaisong stifled a laugh. "It’s Attorney Lü."
Ruan Yu let out a dry chuckle and handed him the warmed milk and sandwich. "I just thought the nickname sounded nice, so I pointed it out..."
He gave an "Mm" and turned away with a smile, heading to the living room.
Once Xu Huaisong went to sleep, Ruan Yu started working in the living room, drafting revision notes for the script scenes she’d reviewed and sending them to Huanshi. By evening, she received a reply inviting her to attend the second script meeting the next day, which would last the entire day.
She accepted and, seeing that Xu Huaisong had slept for a full eight hours, went to wake him. Just then, his phone on the bedside table started ringing.
The noise roused him, and he began fumbling for it.
Ruan Yu picked it up for him. "No caller ID. It’s a number from Suzhou."
Still half-asleep, it took him a moment to process before saying, "Answer it for me."
Ruan Yu answered the call and immediately heard Xu Huaishi’s voice on the other end. "Bro!"
"Huaishi? Your brother’s still sleeping. What’s up?"
On the other end, Xu Huaishi let out a soft gasp of surprise. "Sister Ruan?"
Ruan Yu started laughing. "What other sister would be answering your brother’s phone?"
"No, no! Sister, can you wake him up for me? I’m at the police station."
"Police station?"Xu Huaisong snapped out of his daze and sat up, taking the phone from Ruan Yu. "Did you get into trouble with someone?"
"Bro, it's not me causing trouble. My classmate got into a fight and ended up at the police station."
"Then why did you go along?"
"Ugh, he fought because of me!"
Xu Huaisong immediately sensed something. "Because of you how?"
"I don't know either! Some boys in my class were saying something behind my back, and my classmate beat up the whole group. Oh my god, it was like a life-or-death brawl on the street—scared me to death. The police brought me in as a witness, but it shouldn't involve me."
"Are there teachers or parents handling things for your classmate?"
"They're on their way. I just wanted to give you a heads-up. The teacher will definitely contact my parents again, so can you cover for me this time?"
"If it doesn't involve you, why cover?"
"Bro, you don't get it! The classmate who fought this time is the same one who got caught with me in the piano room last time. The teacher's gonna accuse me of puppy love again! Last time, I explained forever, and Mom still half-believed it. If it happens again..."
Xu Huaisong sighed. "Then give them my number later."
"Thanks, bro! Also, our finals are over, and there's a parent-teacher meeting the day after tomorrow. If Mom comes, won't the truth come out?"
"Xu Huaishi," Xu Huaisong said through gritted teeth, "don't push your luck. You want me to spend four hours round-trip just for your parent-teacher meeting?"
Xu Huaishi started shouting into the phone, "Sis! Sis, are you there? Do you see how calculating and stingy my brother is? Someone like him—dating is fine, but never marry him!"
Xu Huaisong: "..."
His phone volume wasn't low, so Ruan Yu had heard most of it. Suppressing a laugh, she said, "Just go for her."
Then she mouthed to him: Li Shican.
Clearly, Ruan Yu had also guessed that the reason Xu Huaishi's classmate had "fought in a rage" might be related to the news about Li Shican.
If rumors were spreading at school, Xu Huaisong really should go to assess the situation.
Xu Huaisong gave a noncommittal "Hmm" and said to Xu Huaishi, "Tell me the exact time." After hanging up, he sighed. "I'll be in Suzhou all day the day after tomorrow. What do you want to do tomorrow?"
Ruan Yu blinked twice. Was he... formally inviting her on a date?
She sniffled and said, "I have a meeting at Huanshi tomorrow."
Xu Huaisong fell silent for a moment before saying, "Then come with me to Suzhou the day after."
Ruan Yu didn't know why he'd suddenly become so clingy, but since she was free that day, she accompanied him to Suzhou No. 1 High School.
The parent-teacher meeting was in the afternoon. Since classrooms were being used, most of the soon-to-be senior students were resting in their dorms.
Xu Huaisong went to the auditorium for the briefing first, while Ruan Yu went to the dormitory to find Xu Huaishi. Seeing her whine miserably about her phone being confiscated by her mom—with no sign of having heard any rumors—Ruan Yu relaxed slightly.
In the summer heat, Ruan Yu had brought watermelon for the girls in the dorm. Xu Huaishi called her classmates over to eat, then pulled Ruan Yu aside and whispered, "Sis, you're saving my life this time. I'm counting on you from now on—your word carries the most weight with my brother."
Ruan Yu smiled and casually asked, "How's your classmate doing after that day?""Just a scolding and that's it?"
"Were you hurt?"
"Mmm," Xu Huaishi answered while munching on watermelon. "Just some scratches, nothing serious. But the way his mom looked at me—like in those Korean dramas—'Here's five million, leave my son alone.' Tell me, isn't this unfair? I still don’t even know why he suddenly got into a fight. The guys who got beaten up said it was because of me, but I don’t buy it."
"Didn’t you ask him?"
Xu Huaishi shook her head. "I did, but he wouldn’t say. Feels like I’m taking the blame for something I didn’t do."
Ruan Yu lowered her head, lost in thought, when suddenly she felt a poke at her waist. Turning around, she saw a group of girls gathered together, peacefully eating watermelon.
Just as she was puzzled, one of the girls winked at her and tilted her chin toward the door.
Understanding the hint, Ruan Yu excused herself and waited at the end of the dormitory hallway. Sure enough, the girl soon approached her. "Hi, sis. I’m Huaishi’s bunkmate. Does her family know about that news?"
Ruan Yu frowned. "You know about it too?"
The girl nodded. "Huaishi’s phone was confiscated by her mom, so she hasn’t seen Weibo. A few classmates saw it, and since she mentioned meeting a big celebrity in Hangzhou during the Dragon Boat Festival, we figured it was her. There were some rumors in class, but before they could spread, one of our male classmates..."
"Did what?"
"Beat them up..."
Well, well.
Ruan Yu smiled. "No one from other classes talked about it?"
"Probably not. The gossipy ones got punched by that guy in our class, so they all shut up."
"Can you tell me his name?"
"Zhao Yi."
The name sounded familiar to Ruan Yu. After a moment’s thought, she remembered—he was the boy she’d met on the soccer field during her last visit to No. 1 High School.
Before leaving that day, she had slipped a note into his uniform pocket: "Confess to her during your graduation trip. You must confess to her."
"Che Shi Yi?"
"Yeah, Che Shi Yi."
Ruan Yu blinked and looked out the window at the far end of the hallway, her gaze landing on the distant soccer field. In an instant, everything became clear.
Author’s Note: No time for extra notes—off you go!
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