Chapter 76: Between People

Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Between People

Su Yunzhou pieced together the final truth from her fragmented words. To save her child from suffering an unjustifiable burden and endless torment, Li Yan’s mother had ended it all with her own hands on the night her daughter was hospitalized. She had tidied up everything at home, recorded all their finances in a small notebook, left clear instructions, and then gone to the police station to turn herself in.

The incident caused quite a stir at the time. Those who didn’t know the truth simply thought a wife had murdered her husband. Little did they know that it was the ultimate sacrifice a great mother made for her daughter.

Li Yan’s mother was convicted of intentional homicide. However, with the help of a lawyer and testimonies from many people, she ultimately received a lenient sentence.

The court’s verdict: Mr. Li was found guilty of intentional homicide and sentenced to eleven years in prison.

Li Yan didn’t know how she survived those early days after her mother was imprisoned. She spent every day in a daze, completely numb, until she found the letter her mother had left for her.

"My child, Mom is incompetent. I couldn’t give you a good life or a proper family.

"You are such a sensible girl, but Mom feels so deeply sorry for you. Because of my soft-heartedness and my mistakes, you had to endure things you never should have.

"Please forgive me for saying goodbye to you like this.

"But no matter where I am, I will always love you and miss you, just as I always have.

"From now on, you’ll have to start living on your own.

"I hope you can get into college. I hope you’ll be healthy and happy. I hope you..."

The white letter paper was wrinkled, stained with dried tears. Li Yan didn’t know what state of mind her mother was in when she wrote the letter, but she cried her eyes out reading it. At the same time, she made a firm resolution: once her mother was released from prison, she would make sure she lived a happy life.

From that night on, she studied like a madwoman. However, with very little time left before the college entrance examination, she only managed to get average scores. After careful consideration, she ultimately chose to enroll in a teaching program.

During her college years, she participated in work-study programs and successfully graduated by relying on scholarships and part-time jobs. She worked as a teacher for over a year, but the income was far from what she had envisioned. So, she decisively quit her job and entered the sales industry. Relying on her attractive appearance and hard work, she quickly earned her first pot of gold in the real estate sector.

Yet, despite her diligent efforts, she was constantly surrounded by gossip, unspoken industry rules, and harassment from various colleagues. Sometimes, being beautiful was the original sin. One could easily imagine how exhausting it was for a woman to survive when she possessed peerless beauty but lacked a powerful family background to protect her.

Throughout those difficult years, Liu Yiyi gave her tremendous support and encouragement. That was the only reason she hadn’t fallen into darkness and managed to hold on to her moral bottom line.

She had also met a decent man, but they didn’t end up together. She knew no one would ever look favorably upon her family background. Furthermore, deep down, she was unwilling to trust any man again. Due to her tragic past, she made it clear that she didn’t want children and chose to be childfree. Very few men could accept such conditions, so she had remained single ever since. Relying solely on her own two hands, she clawed her way through the vanity fair, eventually accumulating a decent amount of savings.

Now, she only wanted to work hard, make money, and build her wealth. When her mother was finally released from prison, she would give her a wonderful life.

After understanding the whole story, Su Yunzhou let out a long, heavy breath.

"PHEW."

He hadn’t expected this beautiful, strong-willed woman to have such a tragic past. Anything he said at this moment would seem incredibly pale, so he simply held her tightly and gently wiped the tears from her face.

Li Yan cried until she finally drifted off to sleep. He kept his arms around her, remaining perfectly still, until a gust of wind blew the curtains and startled him awake.

Li Yan looked up. It was pitch black outside the window, and the man beside her had stayed with her the whole time.

They sat in silence for a moment before she spoke up.

"I’m sorry. With everything that happened the past few days, my mind has been a mess. That’s why I talked so much..."

Su Yunzhou shook his head. Seeing her severely swollen, red eyes, his heart ached for her even more. "Are you hungry?" he asked softly.

Li Yan sniffled her stuffy nose. "Yeah, I am."

"Ordering takeout will take too long. My cooking isn’t great, but you’ll have to make do."

"Okay."

Shortly after, Su Yunzhou got up, went to the kitchen, and made two bowls of noodles.

Li Yan held her chopsticks, staring at the egg noodles sprinkled with chopped green onions. Having finally poured out everything weighing on her heart, she felt significantly lighter. She lowered her head and earnestly began to eat.

She quickly finished the entire bowl. The taste was honestly quite average, but it felt exceptionally warm.

After eating, she felt much more energetic. "Thank you so much for everything these past few days, and for this bowl of noodles."

Su Yunzhou smiled. He cleared the table and prepared to leave, knowing that what Li Yan needed most right now was a good rest.

Between people, the most important thing is feeling seen and understood. His actions truly touched Li Yan’s heart on a deep level.

[Affinity +1]

Standing by the door, Su Yunzhou opened his arms. Li Yan hugged him tightly. He smelled wonderful, emitting a faint, pleasant scent like trees basking in the sunlight.

After a gentle kiss, Su Yunzhou released her and affectionately rubbed her fair forehead. "Get some good rest! I’ll come see you again tomorrow."

"Okay." Li Yan nodded obediently, a hint of reluctance rising in her heart.

After Su Yunzhou left, she lay in bed, watching the moonlight cascade through the window. The figure of a certain someone drifted into her mind as she fell into a deep slumber once more.

Over the next few days, Su Yunzhou and Liu Yiyi came to visit her whenever they had free time. Her injuries steadily improved as the days went by. However, every time she saw Liu Yiyi and Su Yunzhou appear together, a twinge of guilt and cowardice would well up inside her.

She was truly terrified of losing Liu Yiyi, her closest friend, and equally afraid of letting Su Yunzhou advance any further into her heart. The better Liu Yiyi treated her, the heavier her psychological burden became.

Time passed just like that.

Everyone’s lives gradually returned to normal. After going in for a follow-up checkup and confirming she was fully recovered, Li Yan returned to work.

Liu Yiyi, owing to her status as a certain someone’s "sister" and the enthusiastic recommendations of the client company, took on a much more important role at work. This left her exhausted but happy. Often, after working up a heavy sweat, she would trace little circles on a certain someone’s arm and chatter about her recent days. Whenever Su Yunzhou got slightly annoyed listening to it, he would simply change positions to help her change the subject.

In the blink of an eye, Saturday arrived.

Su Yunzhou changed into a handsome outfit and pulled up to the high-speed rail station’s parking lot in his Panamera.

He glanced at the time, thinking that this guy was taking way too long. It had been over ten minutes since the train arrived.

Just as he was silently complaining, a "refined scumbag" appeared ahead, sporting a white polo shirt, black casual pants, and gold-rimmed glasses.

The man’s voice carried its usual cheeky, punchable tone.

"Yo!

"Good going, kid!

"I circled around twice and didn’t even dare to recognize you. With an outfit like that, if you stood at the gates of some media college, who knows how many ignorant young girls would throw themselves at you..."

Su Yunzhou laughed and cut off his childhood friend’s speech. Acting incredibly pretentious, he pressed the button on his car key.

The Panamera’s headlights flashed, accompanied by a crisp honk.

"Stop your yapping and get in the car!

"Back when we were younger, I said that if I ever made it big, I’d take you out to party.

"Tonight, I’m taking you, you cheeky bastard, to experience the debauchery, wildness, and freedom of the big city!"