She had trouble falling asleep that night, and she had a premonition that insomnia might become the norm. She had a headache so severe that she had no choice but to continue smoking and drinking on the balcony, watching the sun rise and closing her eyes in the morning light.
She only slept for more than two hours before she was awakened by the alarm again and dragged her almost collapsed body to the company.
As soon as she arrived at the company and sat down, she saw Wang Lin rushing to her: "Sibei, have you finished yesterday's report?"
Ye Sibei was stunned. She was so tired that she had no ability to process Wang Lin's words. She just felt that these people's words went in and out of her ears.
She pretended not to hear anything and lowered her head to open the computer. Wang Lin frowned: "I heard that you went back at six o'clock yesterday, so the report is not finished yet?"
Ye Sibei didn't dare to respond. Wang Lin was irritated by her. She raised her hand and turned off her monitor. She raised her voice and said, "What do you mean? Speak!"
"Sister Wang, what are you arguing about?"
Wang Lin's voice was heard by others, and everyone looked over. Wang Lin felt a little embarrassed, so she simply grabbed Ye Sibei's wrist and said in a low voice: "Come with me."
As he said that, he dragged her up from her seat, dragged her to the dark stairwell, turned around and asked her: "Are you trying to trick me?"
"I didn't." Ye Sibei finally spoke. This weak resistance angered Wang Lin, and she became furious in an instant.
"You are not deliberately not doing anything to deceive me? If you don't want to do it, don't promise me. If you promise me, you won't do it. These reports are used to apply for a loan. They must be submitted to the bank today. Now that Sister Tao is asking about it, will you be responsible if the company can't get the money?"
"I'm telling you, you've ruined everyone this time, including me! What do you think we should do now? Can't I take the blame for this?"
"What do you mean by not saying anything? Do you really think this is my business? You should do what you promised. Did I force you to promise me? Did I force you to do something for me?"
Ye Sibei listened quietly and felt her head buzzing, which gave her a headache.
She wanted to be quiet for a while and wanted all the noises to stop.
But Wang Lin seemed to be venting her anger and kept chasing her and scolding her.
She wanted to fight back, but she didn't know how to speak in the silence she was used to. Lack of sleep made her extremely irritable, and a sense of unreasonable hostility spread in her heart. She clasped her arms tightly, as if there were two of her in her body.
One of them listened to Wang Lin's scolding cowardly, while the other one shouted and wanted to do something.
It felt like a fire was on fire in my heart, burning with crackling sounds.
She looked up at Wang Lin.
In front of Tao Jie, Wang Lin is an older sister who is kind and talkative. She will carry Tao Jie's bag and help Tao Jie with things. But in front of these young people, she always relies on her status as an old person to act aggressively, mocking and insulting them at every turn, without showing any mercy.
In the past, she always endured it. She told herself that money is hard to earn and shit is hard to eat, and everyone is the same.
But now she vaguely felt that it was not the case, it was different.
It's always her, why is it always her
Seeing that she didn't say anything, Wang Lin scolded her for a while, and finally felt relieved. She warned her: "This is it for this time. You should explain to Sister Tao that this is your problem. Go and admit your mistake quickly. Don't do this again in the future."
Having said that, Wang Lin walked out.
Ye Sibei stared at her back, her mind full of only one thought.
What did she do wrong
Why should she admit her mistake and apologize
Wang Lin is very nice to everyone else, why is he different to her
Because she is cowardly and can be bullied
So many problems were intertwined that she couldn't tell for a moment what she was angry about. She saw Wang Lin reaching out to open the door, saw the light coming in, and saw that she was about to lose her only chance to resist.
She didn't know what was wrong with her. She suddenly rushed forward, grabbed Wang Lin's hair and pulled it back. When she turned around, she raised her hand and slapped her in the face!
The slap made her hands tremble, but an inexplicable pleasure surged up over her.
Wang Lin reacted quickly, rushed back screaming, and slapped her with her hand, trying to return the slap.
Ye Sibei subconsciously did not dare to fight back. He protected his head with his hands, blocked her slap, and retreated repeatedly.
The people outside heard the noise. Zhao Chuchu was the first to run over. She pushed open the door of the emergency passage, saw the scene inside, and rushed over to hug Wang Lin: "Wang Lin, you are crazy! What are you doing!"
Wang Lin tried her best to shake off Zhao Chuchu and struggled to hit Ye Sibei. Ye Sibei leaned against the wall, trembling. She looked at Wang Lin through her hands that were holding her head. She felt as crazy as herself and she suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
She was breathing rapidly, and she didn't know whether what she did was right or wrong. She stared blankly at Wang Lin, who was being pulled by Zhao Chuchu and became more and more excited.
"Someone come and pull them apart," Zhao Chuchu saw that both of them were not right and shouted outside, "Call the police!"
*** ***
When Qin Nan received Zhao Chuchu's call, he had just sent the information he had found to Zhang Yong.
He analyzed the photos Zhang Yong gave him. There were four tire marks, three of which had been replaced, but one was an original tire.
This type of tire is not common. Currently, there are only two models on the market. One is the third generation of the Taurus series launched by FT this year, and the other is a Crown series sedan that has been discontinued in 2013.
This car is very valuable, with a market price of over 600,000 yuan. In the small town of Nancheng, it is definitely a luxury car that only people of status can drive.
He packed all the information and sent it to the person who was about to clean the store entrance when he received a call from Zhao Chuchu: "Brother Nan," Zhao Chuchu's voice was a little anxious, "Can you come to Huinan Police Station? My sister and someone had a fight and we are now in the process of mediation. The other party's husband is here, and I feel like I can't handle this situation..."
"I see."
Qin Nan understood what Zhao Chuchu meant. He took the car keys from the table and said, "I'll come over now."
After Qin Nan finished speaking, he hung up the phone and drove to Huinan Police Station.
The police station was not unfamiliar to him. He had fought several times when he was young and hot-tempered. However, he never thought that one day he would go to the police station to pick up Ye Sibei.
He went to the door and told the police what he was doing. The police took him to the mediation room. As soon as he arrived at the door of the mediation room, he heard a woman cursing: "She was the one who hit me first. Shouldn't she pay me money? Shouldn't she say sorry to me?!"
Then Zhao Chuchu's voice rang out: "What kind of personality does my sister have? Could she hit you? I think you are just bullying her because she can't speak. You should apologize, right?!"
"She can't speak. Is she mute?"
"Stop arguing!" The police officer who led Qin Nan into the house shouted, "Ye Sibei's family is here."
Hearing this, Ye Sibei was stunned. She turned around and saw Qin Nan standing at the door.
In fact, it was only less than a week, but when I saw him again, it felt like a lifetime.
Ye Sibei looked at him blankly. Qin Nan nodded at her and walked to Zhao Chuchu's side.
Zhao Chuchu quickly gave up her seat, leaned close to Ye Sibei's ear, and whispered, "Wang Lin's husband is here, I was afraid that we would suffer, so I called Brother Nan over."
Having said that, she waved her hand and trotted out.
There were only two couples left in the mediation room. Wang Lin paused for a moment, then reacted and said angrily, "What? You're calling for help? Do you still want to beat me?"
"Did she hit you?"
"Yes," Wang Lin's husband responded immediately after hearing Qin Nan speak, "She started it first and slapped my wife."
"I see." Qin Nan nodded, "So you don't want to mediate now, right?"
Hearing Qin Nan's initiative to propose mediation, Wang Lin and his wife paused, and their arrogance subsided. Wang Lin frowned: "It's not that we don't want to mediate, but she should show her attitude. Even if she doesn't pay the money, at least say sorry, right?"
"How much compensation?"
Qin Nan turned around and looked directly at the mediator: "We will pay the money."
The mediator was stunned for a moment, then replied: "One thousand."
Qin Nan said nothing and lowered his head to get his wallet. Ye Sibei, who had been silent all this time, saw his action and suddenly said, "I'm sorry."
Qin Nan paused, Ye Sibei looked up at Wang Lin and said hoarsely: "I'm sorry, can you forgive me?"
Wang Lin calmed down a lot after hearing Ye Sibei, who had been silent the whole time, speak up. She argued just to save her temper, so she softened her tone: "Okay, let's forget it this time."
Qin Nan turned his head to look at Ye Sibei beside him. She lowered her head. After not seeing her for a week, she looked even thinner. Her cold white skin had no luster at all and looked tired and dull.
There were still wounds on her hands caused by Wang Lin, which looked horrifying. The police handed her the "Confirmation of Consent to Mediation". Ye Sibei picked up the pen and was about to sign it when Qin Nan suddenly reached out and pressed his hand on the confirmation letter.
"Why fight?" He looked at her.
Ye Sibei paused. Qin Nan knew she would not reply, so he looked up at the mediator and said, "Excuse me, I want to ask, why are they fighting?"
"It seems to be because of overtime," the mediator was a little confused by the situation and explained blankly, "They said it was because Ms. Ye agreed to help Ms. Wang work overtime, but she didn't, and the two had a dispute."
Qin Nan understood that Ye Sibei had always worked overtime before. He turned around and looked back at Ye Sibei: "Have you always helped her work overtime?"
Ye Sibei didn't say anything, so Qin Nan continued to ask, "Did you agree to her?"
Ye Sibei didn't want to cause trouble in front of Qin Nan, nor did she want Qin Nan to pay. She said in a low voice: "Forget it."
As she spoke, she reached for the "Confirmation of Agreeing to Mediation". Qin Nan took the confirmation letter and crumpled it up and threw it aside. Wang Lin and his wife stood up in an instant. Wang Lin's husband raised his hand and pointed at Qin Nan: "What are you doing?"
"Apologize to her."
Qin Nan raised his finger and pointed at Ye Sibei.
"Officer," Wang Lin looked at the mediator, "look at his attitude!"
"You ask her to work overtime every day, and she tells you that she won't help you with that. Why do you bother her?"
"And regardless of whether she started it first or not, you hit her, didn't you? You took the initiative to start the fight, hit her, and beat her like this," Qin Nan emphasized, pointing at Ye Sibei, "Either pay her money or apologize to her."
"So what if I don't pay or apologize?"
"Then you try it!"
Qin Nan slammed his hand on the table and yelled.
Wang Lin and his wife were shocked. The police reacted and yelled, "What are you yelling for? Be quiet!"
"forget it… "
Qin Nan's roar actually frightened Wang Lin's husband. Looking at the burly figure of the man opposite him, he couldn't help but think about the future. He was afraid that the other party would cause trouble and seek revenge, so he whispered to Wang Lin: "Just apologize and don't cause trouble."
Wang Lin's eyes turned red. She was coaxed and persuaded by her husband. Qin Nan just sat opposite and watched quietly. After a long time, Wang Lin finally raised her head and looked at Ye Sibei, saying aggrievedly: "I'm sorry."
Ye Sibei was stunned for a moment, and the mediator quickly handed over the "Confirmation of Consent to Mediation". Wang Lin lowered her head and cried, and quickly signed her name. She was unwilling to stay for a moment, so she stood up with her husband and rushed out crying.
Qin Nan raised his hand and handed the consent form to Ye Sibei: "Sign it."
Ye Sibei didn't say anything. She looked at the mediation letter and for some reason, she felt a little sad.
She stared at Wang Lin's name for a long time before she reached out and wrote her own name.
She wrote "Ye Sibei" stroke by stroke, and when she finished the last stroke, she suddenly realized.
Any injustice requires an apology.
Only when the other party admits his mistake can she heal the wound in her heart.
But sadly, there are some apologies she will never get.
After signing and completing all the formalities, Qin Nan led Ye Sibei out.
As soon as the two went out, they saw people from Fuqiang Real Estate surrounding Wang Lin.
Wang Lin was wiping her tears in the crowd and seemed to be saying something.
"Thank you for today."
Ye Sibei knew that Qin Nan was called over by Zhao Chuchu. She was a little overwhelmed and thanked him: "I asked you to run a trip."
"Don't say sorry if you haven't done anything wrong in the future."
Qin Nan said without any tone, turned his head and looked at her: "Send you back?"
"No, I have to go to the company this afternoon."
Ye Sibei listened to Qin Nan's words. Although he was not scolding her, she still felt indescribable discomfort.
She doesn't want to see others disappointed in her, especially good people.
Qin Nan nodded, thought for a moment, and reminded her, "Your father called me and said it's his birthday the day after tomorrow and asked me to come over."
Ye Sibei was somewhat embarrassed by Ye Ling's private behavior. She hurriedly helped Qin Nan think of a solution: "Find a reason..."
"I agree. But you should find a time to talk to them clearly, sign the agreement, and go to the Civil Affairs Bureau."
Qin Nan said this calmly and simply.
He and she are completely different people. Once they make a decision about something, they act cleanly and decisively without any hesitation.
This kind of decisiveness seemed a little cold when it came to human relationships. Ye Sibei stood there, a sad look on her face. She seemed to have tried her best to restrain her emotions before she slowly spoke: "If there is anything wrong with me, I can change it."
Qin Nan didn't say anything. He stood there for a long time before he spoke softly, "When we first got married, we bought a lamp together. At that time, we only bought a light bulb. I thought it was ugly. Then one day when I came home, I found that you had cut a flower out of paper and covered the lamp. You stood under the lamp and asked me if it looked good. I said it did."
Qin Nan lowered his head and looked at the ground. "But later I found that paper flowers are too fragile. They always break. Every time they break, I advise you to change a new one, but you are always reluctant to do so and say that you just need to fix it. I saw you always fixing it, day after day, and I waited day after day. Then one day, I finally saw a petal fall off, but you hadn't fixed it for a long time."
Ye Sibei listened quietly. She understood clearly that Qin Nan said it was not Hua, but her.
Maybe he had expected this marriage at the beginning, but he would soon find out that she was just a paper flower.
A swamp-like family, a self that cannot support itself, an incompetent life, and a boring soul.
No matter how hard she tries to repair it, if she doesn't solve the problem at the source, she will be exhausted sooner or later, and he can only watch the flower wither away little by little, leaving only the bare light bulb to illuminate his life ugly for the rest of his life.
Qin Nan never told her these things, so she pretended not to know and always wanted to maintain this marriage. But when Qin Nan said these words, she felt that even the words "I'm sorry, I will change" were a lie.
She felt that he was right, she was a paper flower that could never be repaired.
People like her will drag anyone into the mud no matter who they are with.
"Last time I saw you, you were still wearing the hairband with diamonds on it," Qin Nan looked up at her, "this time there's nothing on it."
"I know." Ye Sibei couldn't bear to hear it anymore, and didn't dare to say anything more. He turned around and walked out, "I'll go back first."
"Ye Sibei," Qin Nan called her, "If a person can't stand up on her own, no one can save her."
Ye Sibei didn't say anything. She turned her back to Qin Nan. After Qin Nan finished speaking, she lowered her head and strode towards Zhao Chuchu who was waiting for her at the door.
Qin Nan stared at her back quietly for a long time before he withdrew his gaze and looked at the group of people from Fuqiang Real Estate who were still making a lot of noise.
Wang Lin was still crying, and a group of people surrounded her to comfort her. They were covering a black sedan with a smooth and elegant body, which looked quite imposing.
Qin Nan's eyes narrowed slightly.
—It was the F-brand Crown series that he had seen in a picture that morning, which had been discontinued in 2013.