Chapter 108.2

“If we were fated to break up from the start, there’s no need to pretend to keep me. If love were eternal and undying, how could we ever part~”

What had originally been a gloomy gathering for three old classmates turned into a four-man single’s bash after Tan Wenbin joined in.

And at Tan Wenbin’s insistence, the venue was changed from a melancholy little bar to a noisy karaoke room.

Fan Shulin sat blankly on the sofa, watching his two old classmates and Tan Wenbin sing their hearts out. Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought he was the one getting divorced today.

Just then, the pager at Hu Yiwei’s waist went off. He set down the microphone. “I’m going to the front desk to return a call.”

Tan Wenbin slung an arm around his shoulders. “I’ll go with you. I want to order more drinks.”

The two left the private room and went to the front desk, where Hu Yiwei started making the call.

After ordering beer, Tan Wenbin bought a pack of cigarettes as well so he could linger nearby and listen in.

He tore open the pack, tapped it, pulled out two cigarettes, and handed one to Hu Yiwei. Hu Yiwei smiled and nodded, accepting it. Once he had it between his lips, Tan Wenbin took out a lighter and lit it for him.

“Thanks, brother...”

At that moment, the call connected. The instant the woman’s voice came through, Hu Yiwei’s entire expression changed.

Tan Wenbin silently lit one for himself as well.

He had quit smoking long ago, back when he had finally made it through his rebellious, restless teenage years. But now he needed a reasonable excuse to stand here and overhear someone else’s phone call.

“Go ahead.”

“It’s fine. I’m listening.”

“Heh, now you can’t bear to say it? Where was that softness before?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t be upset. I’m out singing with friends to celebrate being single again. Let me tell you, Zeng Miaomiao, even without you, I can live just fine!”

Tan Wenbin blew out a ring of smoke. To be honest, he could really empathize with Hu Yiwei. The man had gone from college sweetheart to wedding vows, only to be inexplicably told by his wife that she wanted a divorce and was going back to her hometown.

Then, all at once, Hu Yiwei froze.

A moment later, tears spilled down his face, and he shouted into the receiver, agitated:

“Zeng Miaomiao, you have no heart. You have no heart...”

The person on the other end hung up. Hu Yiwei slammed the receiver back into place, turned around, leaned his back against the tiled front desk, and slowly slid down to the floor.

Tan Wenbin asked, “Brother Hu, what happened? What’s wrong?”

“Miaomiao said she went on a blind date back home, and she’s getting married next month.

Tell me, why... why would she do this to me? Why is she so cruel?”

Tan Wenbin asked, “Did she know the man she’s marrying from before?”

“No. She only met him today on that blind date.”

“And you believe that?”

“Huh?”

“Brother Hu, think about it yourself. Doesn’t that sound like complete nonsense?”

“You mean they were actually together a long time ago? But when we divorced, I asked her, and she swore to me she wasn’t having an affair, that she hadn’t cheated.”

“Brother Hu, what I mean is, you need to go ask in person. Go to her hometown and get the truth straight. Maybe... maybe she has reasons she can’t talk about. Don’t you think?”

“Go to her hometown and ask her?” Hu Yiwei’s eyes were full of confusion. “But I already tried to make her stay. It didn’t work.”

“Brother Hu, your marriage can end, but it can’t end in a muddle. You need an answer for yourself. Go ask her, and ask the man she’s about to marry too.

At the very least, the next time you feel terrible and want to drown yourself in drink, you’ll know where to begin talking about it.”

“Binbin... I don’t dare face her again. I feel awful.”

“It’s okay. If you don’t dare go alone, then I’ll go with you!”

With someone else encouraging him, Hu Yiwei’s gaze gradually firmed. “All right. Next month, at her wedding, I’m going to get a clear answer.”

Next month?

If I wait until next month to go with you, maybe Brother Yuan and the others will already have finished what they came for and gone back.

“Brother Hu, you need to pull yourself together. Listen to me. We go tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Think about it. There’s still a whole month before then. Day after day, you’re going to keep suffering like this. How are you supposed to work or live properly?

Better to cut through the mess cleanly. Go sooner, ask sooner, say everything that needs saying sooner, and turn the page on life sooner too.”

Hu Yiwei nodded hard.

“That’s right. You’re right. I’ll go ask for leave from work tomorrow morning, then head over to find her in the afternoon. Brother, you...”

“I’ll ask for leave from school tomorrow morning, meet up with you at noon, and in the afternoon the two of us will set out together!”

“Good brother!” Hu Yiwei grabbed Tan Wenbin’s hand emotionally, tears and snot running again. “All these years, our friendship really wasn’t for nothing. Really!”

“Real brothers don’t say things like that.”

Tan Wenbin pulled a roll of tissue from the front desk and handed it to this true brother of his, whom he had known for not even three full hours from start to finish.

“Here, Brother Hu. Wipe up.”

“I’m going to the restroom to wash my face.”

After Hu Yiwei left, Tan Wenbin looked at the desk clerk. “Could you give me a piece of paper? And lend me a pen too, thanks.”

On the paper, Tan Wenbin wrote: One month?

It was obvious that Hu Yiwei still hadn’t let go of this relationship and marriage, so after learning that his ex-wife was remarrying at lightning speed, he would definitely go to the wedding to demand an explanation.

If Tan Wenbin hadn’t shown up, with Hu Yiwei’s personality, he probably really would have waited until the wedding day to go.

In other words, Tan Wenbin had moved the whole process forward by a month.

And then something happened to Hu Yiwei?

And afterward, Fan Shulin got in touch with him and asked for his help?

Then again, it did not necessarily have to be him specifically. People like Runsheng or Ah You, who were in and out of hospitals for surgeries every few days, could have been contacted too.

“Sigh. Brother Yuan really is Brother Yuan. When you reason it out this way, it feels like you’ve already gained a huge advantage.”

...

At noon, Yin Meng and Zheng Jiayi boarded a train bound for Huangshan, while Tan Wenbin climbed into the car Hu Yiwei had borrowed.

At the same time, Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng had already arrived beneath a memorial archway with the words Min’an Town written on it.

The town was full of Huizhou-style architecture, with stone bridges over the water, pavilions and covered walkways, and green mountains and farmland surrounding it on all sides. Every step was picturesque, every corner charming.

It truly was a wonderful place for sketching from life.

Xue Liangliang had said his hometown was beautiful, and he had been absolutely right.

In fact, when Li Zhuiyuan first heard the place-name “Min’an Town, Huangshan” in Fatty Wu’s office, he had immediately thought of Xue Liangliang.

The last time Xue Liangliang had gone to a meeting with Luo Gong, Luo Gong had squeezed half a day out of his packed schedule to go home for a visit, only to run into the incident with Jingjing being possessed. After resolving that, the two of them had hurriedly driven off again to Huangshan for the meeting.

Li Zhuiyuan remembered that Xue Liangliang had said at the time that the place was close to home, and that after the meeting he could conveniently stop by his hometown for a visit.

Once Li Zhuiyuan confirmed over the phone that Xue Liangliang’s hometown really was Min’an Town, he did not ask any further, nor did he page Xue Liangliang later to ask for his exact home address.

He knew Brother Liangliang was very sharp. He might already have gotten suspicious back then. If Li Zhuiyuan had pressed one more time, he might have immediately realized something had happened in his hometown.

Brother Liangliang was a very clear-headed person. He would not choose a moment like this to force his way back and add to Li Zhuiyuan’s troubles. Since that was the case, there was no need to make him worry from so far away either. Li Zhuiyuan would handle things himself.

The town had only one main street. A few small shops lined it, while the rest of the homes sat in alleys branching off on either side, each household separate from the next.

Li Zhuiyuan found a small convenience shop, bought two bottled drinks there, and then asked the shopkeeper auntie where Xue Liangliang’s house was.

In those days, college students were still considered precious. Once he gave the name of the university and Xue Liangliang’s own name, the auntie warmly led Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng into an alley and brought them to the front of a house.

The gate stood wide open. The auntie called inside in the local dialect, saying that Liangliang’s friends had come to visit.

Xue Liangliang’s parents came out. The hardships of the years were written on their faces, but both of them were still sturdy and hale. When Li Zhuiyuan finished introducing himself, the old couple spoke in unison:

“So you’re Xiaoyuan.”

Clearly, Xue Liangliang had mentioned him to his family before, and more than once.

Any trace of possible distance or politeness instantly vanished. Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng were warmly welcomed inside, and the elderly couple started cooking.

It was an old house, though it looked like it had been renovated in the last two years.

There was nothing especially unusual about the furnishings inside. It looked much like any ordinary family home. But in some of the details, one could tell that although they lived simply, they were not strapped for money at all.

Xue Liangliang was not particularly obsessed with money, but that only worked because his basic needs were already taken care of. He definitely sent money home to his parents every month. Even so, his parents still lived in the familiar way they always had, because that was what made them comfortable.

The meal was lavish, especially the stinky mandarin fish, which was wonderfully flavorful.

After dinner, the four of them sat chatting in the courtyard.

Li Zhuiyuan was in no hurry to go searching around or sniffing out clues everywhere. Everyone had a line of inquiry they were responsible for, and the most important thing was to dig as deeply as possible into the one assigned to him first.

Next month would be Xue Liangliang’s father’s fiftieth birthday, and he was planning to celebrate it in grand style. When the subject came up, the old couple were delighted.

Toward dusk, Xue Liangliang’s father took Li Zhuiyuan to the long covered walkway in town by the river. At that hour every day, people gathered there to play chess and drink tea, and now and then someone would even perform storytelling.

Li Zhuiyuan had the strange feeling that he was here as a tourist.

At dinner that evening, Li Zhuiyuan brought up the birthday celebration again and took the opportunity to ask about some local customs.

That night, Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng slept in the room Xue Liangliang used when he was home.

The old house was mainly built of wood, and the soundproofing was not especially good. Li Zhuiyuan’s hearing was unusually sharp too, so he could hear the old couple’s conversation in the bedchamber next door with perfect clarity.

They talked about him first, mostly praising how handsome and clever the child was. That was the opening.

Then they moved on, as expected, to the topic that should have been the focus of many nightly conversations between old married couples: when Xue Liangliang would finally get married, and when they would get to hold a grandchild.

Just as that old topic was winding down, Xue Liangliang’s mother suddenly said:

“I wonder when that exploration team will come back. They’re all such young kids. How are they so bold as to dare go to that village?”

Xue Liangliang’s father seemed to dislike the topic very much and said:

“Stop bringing that up. Go to sleep.”

Li Zhuiyuan opened his eyes.

An exploration team?

“Brother Runsheng, shall we go out for a walk?”

Li Zhuiyuan knew Runsheng was not asleep, because he had not started snoring.

“All right.”

The two of them deliberately slipped out as quietly as possible, went through the alley, and then onto the main street.

At this hour, all the shops on the street were closed, and there were hardly any pedestrians around. As they walked, they eventually arrived beneath the memorial archway at the entrance to town.

“By rights, if everything went smoothly for those two, they should have arrived by now as well. Brother Runsheng, what time is it?”

Runsheng raised his watch, glanced at it, and said, “11:48.”

“Let’s wait a little longer. We’ll go back and sleep at midnight.”

...

Tan Wenbin sat in the car and said, “We’re here, Brother Hu. Look at the archway ahead. Min’an Town.”

Hu Yiwei also let out a long breath. “We finally made it. My back...”

Tan Wenbin looked at the time in the car. “We’ve been driving that long? It’s already 11:49.”

“If we hadn’t had a flat tire halfway through, we could’ve gotten here earlier.”

“So where are we staying tonight? Find a local house to put us up?”

“No. I’m going straight to her home.”

Tan Wenbin nodded and said nothing.

The car continued forward, passing through the deserted archway.

...

Yin Meng and Zheng Jiayi were sitting on an ox cart driven by an old man. The cart was loaded with chemical fertilizer and pesticides, and the two girls were perched on top of them.

The old man said, “Next time, you young girls shouldn’t travel this late. It’s not safe.”

“Got it, Grandpa,” Zheng Jiayi replied with a smile.

“All right, here we are. Your family lives in the front alley, right? My house is at the far end of town, so I’ll drop you here.”

Zheng Jiayi took out her wallet, ready to pay.

“Pay for what? We may not share the same surname, but if you really trace it out, I’m of your grandfather’s generation too. If I took your money, people would talk.” With that, the old man drove the ox cart onward.

Yin Meng looked up at the archway overhead: Min’an Town.

Zheng Jiayi said, “Come on, I’ll take you to my eldest uncle’s house.”

“Your uncle and the others are probably already asleep, right?”

“Definitely. People in the countryside go to bed early. Let me see what time it is... ah, it’s already 11:50.”

...

Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng waited beneath the memorial archway until midnight, but no one came.

“Let’s go. Back to sleep.”

“All right.”

As they turned to walk back, a gust of wind blew through, stirring the treetops ahead and knocking down three leaves.

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