Chapter 143

Chapter 143

By the time Hu Heng rushed home and hammered on Hu Yonglan’s bedroom door, it was already past midnight.

Hu Yonglan yanked the door open, her face dark with irritation. “It’s the middle of the night. What the hell is wrong with you?”

Hu Heng reached in and switched on the light. Cutting straight to the chase, he asked, “Did you really go on a trip a few days ago?”

The sudden light made Hu Yonglan squint. She raised a hand to shield her eyes. “Obviously.”

Hu Heng’s eyes were red as he growled, “I know you went to find Qin Zhiyuan!”

Hu Yonglan slowly opened her eyes and looked at him with a complicated expression.

Hu Heng started crying. “You killed Qin Zhiyuan! You forced him toward that truck on purpose! You killed two people!”

Hu Yonglan stared at Hu Heng in silence for half a minute, then tilted her head slightly. “How did you find out?”

Hu Heng let out a sigh and suddenly collapsed onto the floor.

Hu Yonglan leaned against the wall with her arms folded. The light shone down from above her head, and Hu Heng couldn’t make out her expression.

Hu Heng lowered his head. “Mom, you killed someone. This is murder.”

Hu Yonglan crouched down and held out both arms. “Then take me to turn myself in. Have me arrested and sentenced to death. It’s not like there’s any point in living anyway.”

Hu Heng shot her an angry look. “Why?”

Hu Yonglan said, “Why what?”

Hu Heng said, “Why would you do something like this?”

Hu Yonglan laughed. “If you’ve got that much fire in you, why didn’t you go ask Qin Zhiyuan back then why he did something like that to us mother and son?”

Hu Heng said, “It’s been so many years. I’m already in my thirties!”

Hu Yonglan said coldly, “Just because many years have passed, we can pretend it never happened? I simply chose not to let go instead of letting go. Was I wrong?”

Hu Heng’s lips trembled. “But this is murder, Mom. He was wrong, yes, but… but it’s like someone running a red light. Does that mean he has to get hit and die in the road?”

Hu Yonglan slowly rolled her eyes. “Then what else? If you run a red light, you should be prepared for someone to collect your body.”

Hu Heng was rendered speechless.

After calming down a little, he raised his head again. “Then can you tell me why you suddenly decided to act against him, and why you had to go so far away to do it? All these years, I never saw you have any intention of killing him. Why did you suddenly become like this now?”

Hu Yonglan lifted a hand and smoothed her hair, then sat down on the edge of the bed.

As her lips moved, opening and closing, Hu Heng finally learned the whole story.

Originally, Hu Yonglan had never intended to kill Qin Zhiyuan. For decades, day after day, she had immersed herself in spying on Qin Zhiyuan’s family. That secretive thrill had long since become her comfort zone.

The first time that comfort zone was shattered was when Hu Heng was in middle school. Qin Zhiyuan moved away then, vanishing from her sight all at once.

That time, she moved right after him. Within two days, she was happily back to her spying again.

From Hu Yonglan’s perspective, Qin Zhiyuan had never once noticed her existence. Her sense of luck had swelled to the point of absurdity, as if even Lady Luck herself was indulging her little habit.

So she grew more and more practiced, more and more bold. At first, she still wore a mask and hat to hide herself, but later, whenever she went out, she often forgot the mask, or had no idea which corner she’d tossed her hat into… Yet Hu Yonglan had an inexplicable confidence that no matter what, Qin Zhiyuan would never see her.

The turning point came a month ago.

Qin Zhiyuan was buying honey at the supermarket, while Hu Yonglan pretended to be choosing yogurt as she secretly watched him from several shelves away.

But for some reason, Qin Zhiyuan suddenly lifted his head and looked straight in Hu Yonglan’s direction.

Hu Yonglan jumped in fright and quickly turned around, pretending to read the production date on a yogurt package while watching Qin Zhiyuan out of the corner of her eye.

Qin Zhiyuan walked directly toward her and called her by name. “Hu Yonglan?”

Seeing that there was no way to hide, Hu Yonglan could only reluctantly lift her head and greet him. “Mm.”

With that, she turned to leave in a hurry, but Qin Zhiyuan stood behind her and asked, “What exactly are you doing?”

Hu Yonglan stopped and turned back. “What did you say?”

Qin Zhiyuan looked around. After making sure no one was nearby, he asked quietly, “I’ve noticed it several times lately… Have you been following me this whole time?”

Hu Yonglan sneered. “Why would I be following you?”

Qin Zhiyuan said, “There can’t be that many coincidences, where I see you everywhere I go. I haven’t been following you, so isn’t that proof you’ve been following me?”

Hu Yonglan said, “Nonsense.”

Qin Zhiyuan said, “How exactly did I offend you? I’m standing right in front of you. If you have something to say, just say it.”

Hu Yonglan smiled strangely. “Why don’t you guess?”

Qin Zhiyuan shook his head helplessly. “We’re both getting on in years. Let’s not talk like children anymore.”

Hu Yonglan’s smile faded. “You’re flattering yourself. I walk my own path and do my own things. What does any of that have to do with you? You’re the narcissist here, insisting that I’m following you!”
Qin Zhiyuan was getting angry. “To tell you the truth, it hasn’t just been recently. I’ve seen you countless times over the years! I’ve put up with it for a long time, and I only called you out to your face because I really can’t take it anymore. If I see you following me like this again, I’ll have no choice but to move! I’ll leave City A, all right? Then I won’t be around to get in your way!”

Hu Yonglan tossed out a “What the hell does that have to do with me?” and walked out of the supermarket without looking back.

Hu Yonglan had not expected Qin Zhiyuan to mean it.

A few days later, while she was “staking out” the area near Qin Song’s home, she saw Qin Zhiyuan’s daughter-in-law, He Qian, come back with a large amount of fresh vegetables and meat.

Hu Yonglan guessed that the Qin family must be expecting guests, or perhaps it was someone’s birthday.

Before long, the aroma of He Qian’s cooking drifted out. Hu Yonglan took a few sniffs, and her stomach began to rumble.

Just then, another business van pulled up outside Qin Song’s home. Hu Yonglan saw the driver get out and help Qin Song carry things.

They loaded several boxes of City A specialties into the vehicle, then dragged out two suitcases and put them in as well.

Song Fengmei came out of the house carrying a plastic bag. “Hey, we forgot a bag!”

Qin Song took it and glanced inside. “What’s this?”

Song Fengmei said, “My blood pressure medicine! Put it in my little brown bag for me.”

Qin Song nodded. “Okay, I’ll put it in. You go back inside.”

Hu Yonglan suddenly realized that Qin Zhiyuan and Song Fengmei were going on a long trip!

Where were they going? Traveling? Back to their hometown to visit relatives? Or… were they really moving?

Hu Yonglan hurried home, hastily packed a small bag, and went back out.

She hired a car and had it wait near Qin Song’s home. After Qin Song’s driver set off with Qin Zhiyuan and his wife, Hu Yonglan’s car followed them the entire way.

She desperately hoped they were only going on a trip and would be back in three to five days.

However, Qin Song’s business van did not head for the high-speed rail station or the airport. Instead, it got onto the expressway. After more than two full hours on the road, the van finally wound its way to an area on the edge of the city, half urban and half rural.

After watching Qin Bao escort Qin Zhiyuan and his wife upstairs, Hu Yonglan got out of the car with her luggage, feeling lost. The unfamiliar surroundings filled her with panic and anxiety. She had never traveled this far alone before.

Wearing a mask, she slowly walked along the roadside. Every household here seemed busy with its own life: elderly people basking in the sun, women hanging laundry, children chasing one another with water guns…

They were immersed in their own happy lives. Not a single person knew Hu Yonglan. Not a single person would speak to her.

Hu Yonglan suddenly regretted coming here.

She found a small inn nearby and checked in for the time being. But after staying in the room for two hours, she could no longer sit still and secretly went to the foot of Qin Bao’s building.

She crouched beside the green belt and stared up at the third-floor window of Qin Bao’s home, but all she could see was the chandelier in their living room.

Forced out of her comfort zone, Hu Yonglan felt as though thousands upon thousands of insects were gnawing at her bones.

Qin Zhiyuan had brought so much luggage. Hu Yonglan believed he would definitely stay here for a long time, perhaps even settle down.

It was impossible for Hu Yonglan to follow him to this unfamiliar city and settle here. And she had no way to come up with a reason to deceive Hu Heng.

But it was also hard for her to imagine what her life would be like if she returned to City A alone. The only pleasure in her life would be gone. The only person she could observe would have left. What meaning would there be in such a life?

Most importantly, he was not “gone.” He had run away! He had done it purely to avoid her! Even if she moved here, he would simply move on to the next place.

In a certain sense, Qin Zhiyuan had abandoned her twice. This was the second time.

At that moment, Hu Yonglan’s urge to kill Qin Zhiyuan inexplicably surfaced.

Early the next morning, Hu Yonglan rode a shared electric scooter and stopped near Qin Bao’s home to wait. In her pocket was a fruit knife she had just bought.

She had no concrete idea in mind, nor any detailed plan. She only wanted to follow Qin Zhiyuan one last time. Once she had enjoyed that final time, she would find some random opportunity to rush up and simply send that fruit knife into his body.

Qin Zhiyuan would never have dreamed that Hu Yonglan had arrived in this place almost at the same time as him yesterday. Even less could he have imagined that his attempt to hide had completely enraged her.

When Qin Zhiyuan rode out on a bicycle with Song Fengmei on the back, he did not notice Hu Yonglan by the roadside at all. He pedaled slowly along a narrow road with her riding behind him. Hu Yonglan started her electric scooter and kept a distance as she followed behind them at a leisurely pace.

After several right turns, the bicycle finally reached a remote, open stretch of road.

Seeing that there was no one around, Hu Yonglan felt an itch in her heart, as though this empty stretch of road had become a world belonging solely to her and Qin Zhiyuan.

She completely ignored Song Fengmei on the back seat of Qin Zhiyuan’s bicycle and shouted, “Qin Zhiyuan! Qin Zhiyuan!”

Qin Zhiyuan turned and glanced behind him, looking as if he had been startled. He quickly said something to Song Fengmei, then pedaled even harder.

Song Fengmei turned back and glared at Hu Yonglan in disgust, shouting at the top of her lungs, “You shameless old bitch! You’ve actually followed us all the way back to our hometown to embarrass us!”
Song Fengmei shouted as she slapped Qin Zhiyuan on the back, trying to make him stop. Qin Zhiyuan ignored her completely, focused only on pedaling furiously ahead.

Hu Yonglan took a deep breath, then rammed herself toward that flimsy bicycle at top speed.

…

Hu Heng had no choice but to consider that question again:

When the end of the world came, would he save Qin Song, or would he save Hu Yonglan?

He began to regret, more than anything, that he had ever racked his brains over such a pointless question – because now, it had actually come true.

Hu Heng did not sleep all night. He sat beside the bed from darkness until dawn.

If he chose Hu Yonglan, then Qin Song would only be “scared a little” by Huang Yuanrui in her own way. Qin Song owed her, and now Hu Heng would pay it back for him. That seemed reasonable enough.

But if he chose Qin Song, Hu Yonglan would definitely face judgment under the law. No matter what the sentence was, the rest of her life would be completely ruined. With her personality, she might even do something impulsive to hurt herself on the spot.

After thinking it through, Hu Heng suddenly felt his mind grow exceptionally clear.

And just like that, between his older brother and his mother, Hu Heng chose the latter.

Coincidentally, at the very moment he made his decision, Qin Song had just boarded his flight back to China.

At the time, Qin Song thought about Hu Heng a great deal on the plane. Their past replayed in his mind like scenes from a movie.

It was hard to explain. Perhaps people connected by blood really did share some kind of telepathy – when you were churning up waves in my heart, I was raising a storm in yours as well.

Hu Heng had an apartment in Mingdu. Qin Song had known that for a long time.

In truth, Hu Heng very much wanted Qin Song to stay at a hotel first. That way, when Huang Yuanrui said she wanted to “meet him once,” the two of them would only need to meet at the hotel.

Guests came and went in hotels, so Huang Yuanrui definitely would not dare do anything too outrageous. Besides, he would only be staying there for one night. As long as Qin Song changed locations the next day, it would be very difficult for Huang Yuanrui to find him again.

But an apartment building was different. If she learned Qin Song’s long-term address, then things between her and him would not be as simple as “meeting once.”

She said she wanted Hu Heng to arrange for her and Qin Song to “meet once.” Did that really mean she only wanted to “meet once”?

Hu Heng knew very well that in the adult world, there were people who refused to honor contracts written in black and white and stamped with seals, let alone a verbal promise.

If someone like Huang Yuanrui set her mind to hiding in the shadows and spending a long time getting revenge on Qin Song, then even if she did not get him killed, she would leave him half-dead. Hu Heng did not dare think about it at all.

But Hu Heng could not take the initiative and suggest Qin Song stay at a hotel. That would be too abnormal. Qin Song would definitely sense something was off.

What he had not expected was that when he braced himself and told Qin Song to stay at his apartment, Qin Song found the idea of cleaning up the place that night too exhausting and actually suggested staying at a hotel himself.

Hu Heng saw hope at once.

As long as they got through that night, he would help Qin Song move to another location, ensuring Huang Yuanrui could “meet him once” while also making sure she would not be able to find him afterward.

That way, Hu Yonglan would be safe, and Qin Song would be safe too. It was practically foolproof.

Hu Heng took the initiative to book a hotel for Qin Song. He even confirmed the room number with the front desk in advance, then immediately gave all that information to Huang Yuanrui.

He called her and pleaded, “What I sent you is Qin Song’s detailed address. He’ll be staying there tonight. If you have something to say to him, then go! I’m begging you, for the sake of me helping you, please delete the video of my mother!”

Huang Yuanrui said impatiently, “I haven’t even seen him yet, and you want me to delete the video? What if you’re lying to me?”

Hu Heng was so anxious he nearly burst into tears. “Then I’ll wait. I’ll wait until you see him. Once you’ve seen him, then you can delete the video, okay?”

Huang Yuanrui said, “Fine. As long as I see him, I’ll delete the videos from my phone and my cloud drive. You think I want to keep a video of your mom going crazy? It scares me every time I watch it. She’s sick.”

Hu Heng quickly said, “Okay, okay, okay. I’ll wait for your message! I’ll be waiting!”

…

That night, Hu Heng did not sleep again. He sat at the head of the bed, clutching his phone as he waited.

At twelve thirty, a call finally came in. When he saw the caller ID was Qin Song, he fumbled to answer it in a panic.

“What’s wrong, Old Qin?”

Qin Song said in a trembling voice, “I saw a ghost.”

Hu Heng understood at once – Huang Yuanrui had already seen him.

He paused, then said, “…What did you say?”

Qin Song lowered his voice. “I saw Huang Yuanrui again.”

That sentence left Hu Heng a little confused.

He asked, “What do you mean… again?”

Qin Song told him that he had hallucinated while he was in Singapore. That was the first time. But just now, he had clearly seen Huang Yuanrui standing in the hallway through the peephole. That was the second time.

Hu Heng did not know how to respond. Dryly, he asked, “Old Qin, and then…”

Qin Song said, “And then… then I called hotel security. But when they came, there was no one in the hallway, and the surveillance cameras here are broken.”
With the conversation at that point, Hu Heng finally blurted out what he had been trying to say. “Go somewhere else. Don’t stay there tonight!”

Qin Song sounded tormented and terrified. He said that no matter where he stayed, he could see Huang Yuanrui. Then he said he wanted to die.

After arguing for ages and trying to comfort him for just as long, Hu Heng sent Qin Song the address and door lock code and ordered him to move right this second.

But only then did Hu Heng belatedly realize something – what if Huang Yuanrui was nearby? What if she followed Qin Song to the new place? Then what was the point of changing locations?

After hanging up on Qin Song, Hu Heng immediately video-called Huang Yuanrui. He had to hold her gaze and attention long enough to buy Qin Song time to relocate.

Huang Yuanrui answered. “What?”

Hu Heng put on a panicked act. “What did you do to him? He just called me scared out of his mind, like he’d gone crazy!”

Huang Yuanrui said, “Nothing. Just caught up for old times’ sake.”

Hu Heng said, “I’m calling him now, and he won’t even pick up! You didn’t kill him, did you?”

Huang Yuanrui said, “Kill someone? Who do you think I am, him?”

Hu Heng said, “Then why won’t he even answer my calls?”

Huang Yuanrui snapped, “How the hell should I know?”

She narrowed her eyes and asked slowly, “Did you say something to him?”

Hu Heng made a gesture as if swearing to the heavens. “I couldn’t say anything, not with my mother’s life on the line!”

Then he said solemnly, “Don’t worry. Between him and my mom, I’ve already firmly chosen my mom. And even if you go after him, that’s justice. The fact that I chose to help you already proves my position and attitude. You don’t need to suspect me.”

Huang Yuanrui gave a cold laugh.

Hu Heng said, “It’s pretty bright around you. Where are you?”

Huang Yuanrui said, “In another room at the same hotel.”

Hu Heng said, “Then you… didn’t lose control, right? The two of you didn’t get into a physical fight or anything, did you?”

Huang Yuanrui said, “We just had a simple chat about old times. Anything else? I’m hanging up.”

Hu Heng hurriedly said, “No, no, no! Don’t hang up!”

Huang Yuanrui said irritably, “What else do you want? My head is spinning right now!”

Hu Heng reminded her, “Sis, delete the videos. Delete the videos.”

Huang Yuanrui said, “Oh. Then I’ll hang up and delete them now, okay?”

Hu Heng said, “No, no, no… I… you have to prove you deleted them. Otherwise how am I supposed to relax?”

Huang Yuanrui shrieked, “How am I supposed to prove it? Prove what?”

Hu Heng said in a small voice, “You… record your screen right now and send it to me. Use a screen recording to prove you deleted them.”

Huang Yuanrui said, “Can’t I record it tomorrow morning? Do you have to make me do it in the middle of the night?”

Just then, through the video, Hu Heng faintly heard a door slam in the hallway. In the video, Huang Yuanrui looked up sensitively toward the door.

He pleaded even louder. “I’m begging you, do it now. Please, Bodhisattva, goddess, this is a matter of life and death! People’s lives are at stake! We can’t delay for even one minute. I’m begging you!”

Huang Yuanrui glanced toward the door again, then lowered her head and cursed, “You are so fucking annoying. I already promised you I’d delete them, delete them, and you still have to force me to do it tonight. I told you, my head is spinning right now. Everything I look at is swaying!”

Hu Heng thought for a moment, then started sobbing. “Ah… I-I-I-I only have one mom… If my mom g-g-g-goes to prison, I won’t live either… If you w-w-w-won’t live, I won’t live, and he won’t live either. None of us will live… Ah… Yuan – Yuan – Yuan – Yuanrui… wh – wh – wh – what do we do… I c-c-c-can’t go on like this either…”

Hu Heng whimpered for several minutes straight without squeezing out a single tear.

Huang Yuanrui was annoyed to the extreme. She roared at Hu Heng’s distorted face in the video, “Cry, cry, cry! You’re a grown man, what the hell are you crying for? Are you sick? Are you some kind of pervert? If you’re going to cry, then cry. Why are you stuttering?!”

During those few minutes, Qin Song successfully left the hotel and even managed to hail a car on the road.

Sniffling, Hu Heng said, “Record your screen. Delete the videos. I promise I’ll never bother you again.”

Huang Yuanrui shouted, “Fine! Fuck you, you win. I seriously can’t take you anymore!”

With that, she hung up the video call with a snap. But Hu Heng waited several minutes and still never received the screen recording from her.

Hu Heng video-called her, but Huang Yuanrui didn’t pick up again.

Hu Heng called twice more. Still nothing.

It was as if she had suddenly fallen asleep, or suddenly lost signal.

Hu Heng felt unbearably anxious, as if his heart had been set over a fire to roast.

At one thirty in the morning, he received a WeChat message from Qin Song. Qin Song said he had safely arrived at Hu Heng’s place.

Only then did Hu Heng finally let out a slight breath of relief and collapse onto the bed.