This kind of luxury car is rare, Qin Nan couldn't help but frown.
He subconsciously wanted to call Zhang Yong, but after thinking about it, he felt that he was too sensitive.
After all, this had little to do with him. Zhang Yong asked him to help identify the car by looking at the wheel marks, but he didn't ask him to help find the car. If he got the wrong person, he would be meddling too much.
Qin Nan retracted his gaze and drove away.
Ye Sibei and Zhao Chuchu took a taxi back to the company together. After a while, Fan Jiancheng and his group also came back.
Fan Jiancheng entered the company and saw Ye Sibei at her seat, so he called her directly: "Sibei, come here."
Fan Jiancheng went into the office first. Ye Sibei stood up. Zhao Chuchu quickly held her back and whispered to her, "Sister, you should insist that she was the first to do it. Wang Lin and Tao Jie have a good relationship." Zhao Chuchu glanced at the two women who came in from the door. "Be careful."
Ye Sibei listened and nodded.
When she entered the office, she saw Fan Jiancheng frowning and thinking about something. Ye Sibei pushed the door open and called out softly, "Mr. Fan."
"Oh, Sibei, sit down first."
Fan Jiancheng pointed to the seat in front of him. Ye Sibei sat down. She didn't say a word. Fan Jiancheng thought for a long time before speaking: "Sibei, I heard about what happened this morning. Wang Lin was wrong, but you were too excited. Originally, Wang Lin wanted you to apologize, but I heard that you didn't mediate the matter at the police station. Now Wang Lin is also very emotional and requires the company to deal with it."
Fan Jiancheng pondered and chose his words carefully: "You haven't been in good shape recently and have repeatedly violated the company's regulations. For the sake of team discipline, I have to make some decisions. You go back and rest for a few days. After you've rested, we'll see what to do next. How do you think?"
Just take a few days' rest and you won't have to come back.
Ye Sibei understood what Fan Jiancheng meant. She lowered her head and remained silent for a long time before she calmed down and looked up at Fan Jiancheng: "Mr. Fan, I think I am right in this matter."
"This has nothing to do with right or wrong." Fan Jiancheng waved his hand, "You don't have to worry too much about this."
"If it doesn't matter," Ye Sibei emphasized, "why punish me?"
"She used to get off work at five o'clock every day and throw all the work to me. I worked overtime for her every day. Yesterday I had something to do and didn't want to work overtime, but she didn't listen. Today, when the report was not completed, she dragged me to the corridor and scolded me in front of so many people. Isn't that excessive? Shouldn't she be punished?"
"That's not your reason to hit her, is it?" Fan Jiancheng frowned, "Sibei, let's put things in perspective. It's wrong for you to hit someone."
"Then she hit me too."
Ye Sibei didn't understand: "Why punish me alone?"
"You go first..."
"Yes, I did hit her, but you didn't care when she asked me to work overtime, you didn't care when she dragged me to the corridor and scolded me, you didn't care when she hit me, why did you intervene when I hit her?"
"Ye Sibei!" Fan Jiancheng slapped the table, "What's your attitude?!"
Ye Sibei stared at him. She sat in her seat, clenching her fists. She wanted to ask more questions and argue more, but she knew clearly in her heart that there was actually nothing to argue.
Wang Lin, Tao Jie, and Fan Jiancheng, who were all old employees, joined the company together. She flattered them and worked hard to build their connections. Didn't they know what she was doing? They knew, but they didn't care. As long as the work could be done, it was fine.
When she was young, she didn't understand and would argue and quarrel. Doesn't she still understand now
She wanted to maintain her dignity, so she calmed down, said nothing more, stood up and left the office, packed up her things and left the company.
She took the bus back home and felt much calmer when she got home.
Mu Ran opened the refrigerator and took out a can of beer. She took a sip and stood for a moment before facing the problem she least wanted to face.
She went to the room to get a calculator and some draft paper, returned to her desk, opened her spending apps one by one, and began to calculate her expenses, income, and savings for this month.
With a monthly salary of 3,500 yuan, she had worked in Fuqiang for a year and had given all her previous savings to Ye Nianwen to buy a house, leaving only 3,000 yuan for loan preparation. In the past few days, she bought cigarettes, alcohol, anti-wolf spray, and surveillance cameras, and after spending them bit by bit, she had less than 2,000 yuan left in her savings.
Her monthly credit loan repayment is 2,400, which she pays on the 18th. Her basic living expenses are 800, and if she saves a little and eats noodles every day, maybe 500 will be enough.
But no matter what, she couldn't make it to next month, and she couldn't even pay off this month's loan.
She counted several times and finally stopped. She looked at the strings of numbers, put her hands in her hair, and closed her eyes tiredly.
*** ***
Qin Nan returned to the store after separating from Ye Sibei. Business was good that day and he worked until seven in the evening. When he finally had some free time, he was about to light a cigarette and take a break when he saw a woman wearing a Fuqiang Real Estate uniform standing at the door.
Qin Nan looked back and was a little confused: "Zhao Chuchu?"
"Nan... Brother Nan." Zhao Chuchu hesitated, "I want to talk to you about my sister."
Qin Nan was silent for a moment, then took his coat and said, "I haven't eaten yet, so I'll buy you a meal."
The two of them found a fast food restaurant with few people nearby. Zhao Chuchu ate and ordered a glass of orange juice. Qin Nan placed the order and turned to look at her: "What do you want to say?"
"Sister... I was fired from the company today."
"Um."
Qin Nan was not surprised. Zhao Chuchu thought for a moment and said, "She hasn't been doing well lately. I've heard about your story, Brother Nan, it's not easy for two people to be together. Once you're married, you should manage it well..."
"Are you here as a lobbyist?"
Qin Nan looked up at her. Zhao Chuchu paused for a moment after preparing to speak. Qin Nan told her directly, "No need. I've already thought about it. If you want to say this, forget it."
Zhao Chuchu didn't say anything. She sat there and hesitated for a long time before she slowly spoke: "Brother Nan, Sister Ye is really a very good person."
The waiter brought the fast food over. Qin Nan picked up a pair of chopsticks and lowered his head to start eating.
"When I was in the second year of high school, I liked to wear makeup and was bullied by others in school. It was she and Nianwen who came to help me. At that time, I had poor grades and was stupid. Everyone thought that I would be useless if I got involved in society. But she told me that people will not be useless at a certain point. As long as I am willing, I can study."
Zhao Chuchu talked about the past: "At that time, I admired her very much and thought she was amazing."
"In order to pay for Ye Nianwen's high school education, her mother asked her to work, and she received subsidies from the school to finish her senior year. After that, she also worked in the school and did not take a penny from her family for four years. After graduation, she found a job in the provincial capital and did everything by herself until she was brought back by her uncle and aunt."
"There aren't many good jobs in our small town. When she came back, she was 23. Her uncle and aunt asked her to take the civil service exam. It was from that time that Sister Ye gradually changed."
"When I first went to their house, I always heard them quarreling. They were either complaining about how Sister Ye couldn't find a good job as a college student, or that Sister Ye hadn't found a boyfriend yet. Later, they stopped quarreling and I only heard Auntie scolding her, saying that her college education was useless and her ambitions were high as the sky and her life was fragile as paper."
"I feel sad when I hear these words, as if all my efforts in life are meaningless. I have thought many times that if I were her, I might not even be able to go to college. It is not easy for her to get to where she is now."
Zhao Chuchu said this and turned to look at Qin Nan. He lowered his head and ate seriously, wolfing down his food, as if he didn't hear her at all.
Zhao Chuchu thought for a moment and spoke carefully: "Brother Nan, Sister Ye is not what you see now. She is just at the bottom of the valley and needs someone to help her. If you help her, you will know..."
"I'm done."
Qin Nan interrupted her, put down his chopsticks, and looked up at her: "Do you have anything else to say?"
Zhao Chuchu was stunned. She stared at Qin Nan in disbelief. "Qin Nan, don't you have any feelings for Sister Ye? After hearing this, won't you sympathize with her and help her?"
"How can I help her?" Qin Nan asked someone to pay the bill, his tone as if he was talking to a complete stranger, "Everyone has their own difficulties. I have told her countless times to live a good life, but she gave up her life first. Who can help her?"
"What do you mean by giving up your life?" Zhao Chuchu became angry when she heard this.
"She would carefully select each hair tie, would use different cups for drinking water and tea, and would say she wanted to live a good life with you after being forced to drink. No one who gives up their own life would do these things! Qin Nan, have you really understood her?"
Qin Nan paused and lowered his head. Zhao Chuchu said in a hoarse voice, "She didn't give up. She just had too much on her shoulders. You can't see her struggle."
"Do you think she was particularly cowardly at the police station today? Yes, you weren't cowardly, you vented your anger, so she was fired."
"You think she didn't do well, but if you were her one day, do you think you would do better than her?"
After saying that, she quickly walked out of the fast food restaurant.
Qin Nan sat there without moving for a long time before he calmed down and stood up and left as if nothing had happened.
He worked until eleven o'clock that day. After closing the shop, he washed up and went to bed. He felt as if he was back in high school.
In my dream, there was a girl standing on the flag-raising platform. She was so dazzling and sunny.
The classmates next to her laughed and said she looked like a fool.
But he listened to every word she said.
Then the scene went to the cafeteria where they were getting food. He happened to be queuing behind her. He deliberately took a step to the side, and she turned around with the food in her hand and bumped into him.
She hurriedly apologized, and he asked, "Can a person's fate really be changed?"
At that time, the girl looked at him blankly, and he explained awkwardly: "You spoke very well today, I just..."
"OK."
The girl looked up at him.
At that time, he was already very tall in the class, and the girl was not even as tall as his chin. But her eyes were firm, and she told him seriously: "As long as we work hard, there is nothing that cannot be changed."
There is no hardship that cannot be overcome, and the best things are always in the future.
The phone vibrated, waking him up from his dream. He turned over impatiently and hung up. Then he heard someone banging on the door, accompanied by Zhang Yong's shouting: "Qin Nan, Qin Nan, are you there?"
Qin Nan was awakened by the clanging sound of the iron door. He put on some clothes, stood up, opened the door, and saw Zhang Yong standing at the door with some excitement. He frowned and asked, "Captain Zhang, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
"I found the video, can you help me identify it?"
Zhang Yong took out a USB drive. Qin Nan took a moment to understand what he was talking about. He pushed the iron door open and said, "Come in."
Zhang Yong didn't hesitate and walked into the house with his back bent. Qin Nan pulled down the iron door and locked it again, then took Zhang Yong into the inner room.
The inner room is where Qin Nan usually lives. There is a bed, a small table piled with things, and a small toilet which also serves as a convenient bathing room.
Qin Nan managed such a narrow space in perfect order. Zhang Yong was amazed: "To be honest, judging from your living habits, you look like someone who can accomplish great things."
"Where's the video?"
Qin Nan turned on the computer. Zhang Yong reacted and patted Qin Nan on the shoulder: “Make way.”
Qin Nan gave him a seat. Zhang Yong took out the USB drive from his pocket and plugged it in. As he opened the USB drive, he reminded Qin Nan, "These are all my personal activities. They are private. You can just read them, but don't tell anyone else."
Qin Nan was not happy to be woken up in the middle of the night, so he ignored him.
Zhang Yong happily clicked on a pre-edited video: "We are working against the clock in this case. I want to find some evidence to convince the client to file a case, so I came to bother you in the middle of the night. Watch this first."
Then Zhang Yong pointed to the video and said, "Take a look at this car and see if it's the one you sent me this morning."
I clicked on the video to play, and first a path in the middle of a reed field appeared. The path was just wide enough for a car to pass through, and the reeds were swaying in the wind. The video was dark, so it should be late at night, and I could faintly hear the sounds of cicadas and frogs.
Qin Nan watched the video and casually lit a cigarette. A black car slowly appeared in his field of vision. Because of the camera angle, only the upper half of the car could be seen, and the license plate was not visible at all. Qin Nan distinguished the lines of the roof, took a puff of cigarette, and couldn't help asking: "Where did you get the video? Only half of the car is shown."
"Half of it is good," Zhang Yong heard his disdain and quickly argued, "There are no cameras in that place. I went door to door asking people. This video was obtained from the cameras that people installed to prevent thieves."
Qin Nan didn't say anything. Although only the upper half of the car could be seen from the front, the lines of the Crown series sedan were very distinctive. He looked at it again and nodded: "It's this car."
"Then watch this video again."
Seeing his confirmation, Zhang Yong opened other folders and asked casually, "By the way, I remember you said you were married before. Why are you still living here?"
"I'm leaving."
Qin Nan watched Zhang Yong click on the video. Zhang Yong was curious: "Why?"
This video is a bit long and shows the parking area around the roundabout in front of a big hotel.
Qin Nan smoked a cigarette: "We have different personalities."
"So you still married her?"
"She wasn't like this before."
As the two were talking, a group of people wearing Fuqiang Real Estate uniforms passed by the camera, talking and laughing.
They surrounded a man in a fawning manner, saying nice things to him. Qin Nan paused smoking, and Zhang Yong whispered in his ear, "Women are all like this. They are one way before marriage and another way after marriage. My wife is the same, but no matter what, I like her."
As Zhang Yong was speaking, two women supporting each other appeared in the video.
One of them was supported by the other and cried as he walked.
She cried miserably, a look she had never seen before.
As she approached the camera, her voice was finally recorded amid the noisy crowd.
"I had a dream last night. I dreamed about my high school years. At that time, I felt very good about myself. I gave a flag-raising speech and many people watched. But I have never felt this way again in my life."
"I really want to spend my whole life with him," Ye Sibei cried, "I don't know what like or dislike is, I can't feel it, but I really want to spend my whole life with him, why is it so difficult?"
"But everything has a reason. How can there be changes without reason?"
Zhang Yong said as he pointed at the car the two women were sitting in: "This is it, is it this one?"
Qin Nan looked at the person in the video without saying a word. He watched the man close the car door and the car drove away, revealing a distinct blue and white license plate number.
—It was the license plate number of the Crown car he saw in the morning.
He remained silent for a long time. Zhang Yong couldn't help but feel a little strange. He turned around and looked at him: "Qin Nan?"
"Play it again."
Qin Nan spoke in a hoarse voice.
The video was repeated once more, and the woman's crying could be heard again.
"I felt really good about myself then... and I've never felt that way again in my life."
"I really want to spend my whole life with him... Why is it so difficult?"
Qin Nan looked at the people in the video and thought of what Zhao Chuchu said during the day.
"No one who gives up on their life would do this. She just had too much on her shoulders. She struggled, but you couldn't see it."
"Play it again."
Qin Nan's eyes were red as he replayed the video over and over again.
And in his mind, he kept thinking about those fragmented and forgotten past events.
I remember the moment when they looked at each other through the window in the rain, I remember Ye Sibei who pointed at the paper lantern under the light and asked him with a smile if it looked good, I remember Ye Sibei who took pictures with him holding hands in her wedding dress on their wedding day, I remember Ye Sibei who stood in front of him in the morning, wearing a sportswear, with messy hair and a face as pale as a ghost.
"She just needs someone to give her a hand. If you give her a hand, you will know..."
You will know.
Ye Sibei, what a shining person he is.
But he didn't.
As a husband, he not only did not pull her, he also told her: "Last time I saw you, you were still wearing a hairband with diamonds, this time there is nothing."
"If a person can't stand up on her own, no one can save her."
He didn't ask her why she stopped wearing a hairband, why she didn't have the energy to mend the paper flower, he didn't even ask why she didn't throw it away and get a new one.
He was just like everyone else, condescending and looking down on her, asking her why she didn't try harder, stand up, be a braver, more likable person, and just live her own life.
But he never realized that there are some people in this world who, no matter how hard they try, cannot live an ordinary life.
There is no bravery that comes out of thin air, and no strength that comes without roots. For those who are abandoned by the world, desperately trying to survive is their silent yet great struggle.