Last month, Qing Ye received a call from Uncle Sun, telling her that there would soon be news about her father, but she never expected him to be released so quickly.

On the way back to school, Qing Ye walked with hurried steps, just short of running, and finally saw her long-absent father in Teacher Yang’s office.

The moment she saw her father, Qing Ye suddenly became too emotional to speak. After not seeing him for more than half a year, he seemed to have changed a lot – the lines on his face had deepened, and several strands of white hair had appeared, yet somehow nothing had changed – he was still the same dignified middle-aged man in his suit.

She stepped into the office and called out: “Dad.”

When Qing Hong Zhi turned his head, he showed his familiar smile. In that instant, the heavy stone in Qing Ye’s heart suddenly dropped. All the worries and troubles of these many days disappeared the moment she saw her father.

She strode forward. Qing Hong Zhi had been worried about Qing Ye for so long, and after staying inside for such a long time, he was finally seeing family after traveling thousands of miles. He was also very emotional, standing up from the stool in front of Teacher Yang and embracing Qing Ye, saying to her: “Xiao Ye, I’ve come to take you home.”

Qing Ye’s body stiffened, and she stepped back in shock. Beside them, Teacher Yang was moved by the scene of father and daughter reuniting, and handed Qing Ye a form, saying: “Your father has already handled all the necessary procedures for you. Qing Ye, just fill this out, and you can return to your original residence to take the college entrance exam with your father.”

Qing Ye looked at Teacher Yang in confusion: “Return to original residence?”

Teacher Yang explained: “Isn’t your household registration still in Beijing? After transferring your student status back, you can take the college entrance exam directly in your household registration location. Your father has already contacted the receiving school for you, and we’ll help expedite your transfer. It’s just a pity – we were hoping you could bring glory to our school.”

Qing Ye’s brows gradually furrowed: “Go back to take the exam? Are you joking with me?”

Teacher Yang looked at Qing Hong Zhi in confusion. Qing Hong Zhi quickly noticed his daughter’s unusual expression and turned to Teacher Yang saying: “We’ll come back to see you later.”

Teacher Yang nodded.

After leaving the school, Qing Ye said to Qing Hong Zhi: “Dad, I’m not going back for the exam.”

Qing Hong Zhi didn’t take his daughter’s words seriously, still smiling gently as he said: “Why not go back?”

Qing Ye couldn’t tell her father that she was in love, that she was dating the son of his supposedly cheap sister-in-law, and that she had promised to wait for him to return, so she couldn’t leave.

But her father had just been released, and she had finally gotten him back – how could she tell him she couldn’t go back with him? She couldn’t say it.

She just kept her head down and said glumly: “Why did you just show up without calling me?”

Qing Hong Zhi was slightly taken aback, hearing a hint of reproach in his daughter’s tone. He looked at Qing Ye calmly and said: “I called you more than once these past few days, but you didn’t answer. Didn’t Sun Hai tell you?”

Qing Ye lowered her head even more. The factory’s external contact numbers had all been transferred to Quan Ya lately. Since Xing Wu entered closed training, she had been focusing entirely on final revision, often keeping her phone on silent mode, and hadn’t paid much attention to unknown numbers.

In just half a minute, Qing Ye’s thoughts struggled constantly. Finally, she took a deep breath, raised her head to look at Qing Hong Zhi, and gathered her courage to say: “Dad, can I… not go back for now?”

Only at this moment did Qing Hong Zhi realize his daughter wasn’t just saying this casually. Although Qing Ye had always been strong-minded since childhood, she had never gone against him on major matters.

Qing Hong Zhi finally dropped his expression and looked at her somewhat sternly: “You mean you don’t plan to come with me? You want to stay here?”

A Mercedes was parked across the street. Sun Hai had been sitting in the driver’s seat, but seeing the father and daughter’s expressions change after coming out of the school, he got out of the car and strode toward the school gate.

He heard Qing Hong Zhi’s questioning of Qing Ye, while Qing Ye never dared to meet Qing Hong Zhi’s eyes, silently nodding her head.

Seeing Qing Hong Zhi’s face darken, Sun Hai tried to mediate, saying to Qing Ye: “Xiao Ye, don’t be stubborn. Your father has been worried about you the whole time he was inside, afraid you were suffering, afraid you were under too much pressure. Whenever he saw me, the first thing he asked about was you. As soon as he got out, he quickly contacted people to find a school for you. We drove for over ten hours non-stop to come pick you up and take you home. How can you be throwing a tantrum with your father now?

Alright, let’s not say more. Let’s find a place to eat first, and in the afternoon you can go back to school to pack your things. Didn’t you always hate this place?”

“I’m not going back.” Qing Ye still kept her head down, only saying this one sentence. She couldn’t go back. How could she leave at this time? What would Xing Wu do when he came back and couldn’t find her? She couldn’t even make a phone call to him now. She couldn’t just leave without saying goodbye.

Qing Hong Zhi was finally angered by Qing Ye’s stubborn attitude and said to her: “You’re being inconsiderate!”

Qing Ye’s eyes instantly reddened. This was the harshest thing her father had ever said to her since childhood. The lunch break was almost over, and people were gradually returning to school through the gate, all curiously staring at Qing Ye. Qing Hong Zhi suddenly became aware of his daughter’s face and didn’t continue scolding her, only saying: “Go to school then, pack what you need to pack. Your Uncle Sun and I will go get some food first, then come to your aunt’s house to say goodbye.”

Qing Ye bit her lip without saying anything. Just as she turned around, Huang Mao’s gang was coming out of the internet cafe, shouting from afar with laughter: “Qing Ye, wait for us, let’s walk together!”

Qing Ye quickly glanced at Huang Mao and the others without stopping, rapidly entering the school. Behind her, Qing Hong Zhi turned to look at that group of delinquent youth, each dressed in bizarre clothes and looking slovenly, with dyed and permed hair, openly smoking cigarettes even at the school gate. He had no idea when Qing Ye had gotten to know such students, but from the way they called out to her, they seemed quite familiar.

When Qing Hong Zhi looked at his daughter’s retreating figure again, deep worry was hidden between his brows.

After returning to class, Qing Ye sat silently in her seat. She didn’t pack anything, just randomly opened a book and lowered her gaze.

Everyone in class turned to look at her. Many had seen Qing Ye’s father come to school at noon and had heard about her transferring back to Beijing for the exam. But her face was cold, with no warmth in her expression, and no one dared to ask her anything. Even Shi Min didn’t dare say a word to her all afternoon.

Qing Ye ultimately didn’t stay until school was over, leaving early after the second period with Teacher Yang’s permission to return to Li Lanfang’s house. She felt she needed to talk to her father again. Her father had just overcome a difficult time and had traveled thousands of miles to take her home as soon as he got out. Her attitude at noon had indeed been poor. She didn’t want to make her father sad, and it wasn’t that she didn’t want to go home with him – she just needed to at least wait for Xing Wu to return, to tell him in person.

But when she returned to Li Lanfang’s house, her father and Uncle Sun were already there. Just as Qing Ye turned into the back courtyard, she saw Li Lanfang pushing back and forth with her father. Finally, Li Lanfang firmly pushed the thick manila envelope back into Qing Hong Zhi’s hands, saying to him: “I absolutely won’t take this money. Stop pushing it on me, brother.”

Although Li Lanfang was greedy, she also knew she absolutely couldn’t take this money anymore. Qing Ye had paid for the house – if she took her father’s money too, Xing Wu would raise hell when he returned.

Qing Hong Zhi caught sight of Qing Ye standing at the corner of the courtyard from the corner of his eye. He put away the manila envelope without insisting further and said to Li Lanfang: “In any case, thank you for your trouble during this time. If you need anything in the future, just let me know.”

Although Li Lanfang usually strutted around in Zhazhating, in front of an imposing man like Qing Hong Zhi, her presence was notably diminished. She smiled ingratiatingly as she invited them to stay for dinner.

Sun Hai couldn’t help but glance at Li Lanfang’s still-unfinished house, having no idea where they usually ate their meals.

Qing Hong Zhi didn’t expose this, leaving Li Lanfang some face as he said tactfully: “No need, we came in a hurry and still have some matters to attend to.”

After speaking, he strode toward Qing Ye, giving her a look indicating she should come out.

Qing Ye turned and followed her father out of Li Lanfang’s house, going from the back courtyard to the front yard. Their car was parked across the street.

After coming out, Qing Hong Zhi didn’t say anything, but Sun Hai walked to Qing Ye’s side and said to her: “We heard from your aunt that you started a factory?”

Qing Ye nodded. Sun Hai glanced at Qing Hong Zhi’s back and lowered his voice to tell Qing Ye: “Your father is quite angry. Originally, he sent you here because he was worried about your former classmates gossiping about you and worried about strange people causing you trouble. He wanted you to focus quietly on your studies for this year. But instead, you’ve put your energy into other things.”

Qing Ye responded glumly: “It’s all business anyway, he started early too, didn’t he? I haven’t done anything illegal, what’s wrong with that?”

Sun Hai said: “How can you compare your era with your father’s? At your age, your main task should be studying. With academic success, why worry about not having a good career later?”

Qing Ye turned her head away. She couldn’t refute Sun Hai’s words, nor could she tell them what she had gone through in the past half year that led her to this point. If she hadn’t fallen for Xing Wu if Xing Wu’s house hadn’t burned down if they hadn’t been forced into a desperate situation, why would she have chosen to fight back from rock bottom?

When they reached the car, Qing Hong Zhi stopped and turned around. In front of Old Qing, Sun Hai said to Qing Ye: “Listen to Uncle Sun. I’ve already talked to your father. We know you have new classmates and teachers here. We’ll find a place to stay in the county town tonight, so you can properly say goodbye to your teachers and classmates. If you can’t transfer the factory, I’ll find someone to help you handle it later. We’ll head back tomorrow, how’s that?”

Despite Sun Hai’s best efforts to mediate between father and daughter, unfortunately, both had identical temperaments – once they’d made up their minds about something, they wouldn’t easily change their decision.

Qing Ye once again appealed to Qing Hong Zhi: “Dad, I don’t want to argue with you. Can I just take the college entrance exam here? I promise I’ll do well and won’t slack off. Friends are helping manage the factory now, and I’ll prepare properly for the exam. It’s not that I don’t want to go back with you, it’s just… I’ve been here for so long…”

Qing Hong Zhi rested one hand on the car roof, looking at his daughter with incomprehension: “What do you mean ‘so long’? You’ve only been here a few months! You studied in Beijing for so many years, and you’ve been here less than a year – now you’re reluctant to leave?”

Qing Hong Zhi carefully observed Qing Ye’s expression. He certainly knew his daughter well. They say daughters should be raised in prosperity, and since Qing Ye’s birth, he had cherished her, trying to provide the best in food, clothing, and all aspects of life, especially materially. If she asked for the moon, he would never give her just stars.

He had heard from Sun Hai that when Qing Ye first arrived here, she had complained about wanting to go back. He could imagine that for Qing Ye, the living conditions in this backward county town were certainly inadequate, which was why he came to take her home as soon as he was released.

But what Qing Hong Zhi never expected was that instead of being overjoyed to return with him, his daughter insisted on staying – staying in this broken place where they didn’t even have a proper house to live in.

Qing Hong Zhi wasn’t foolish, and quickly sensed something, probing: “Did… something happen?”

Qing Ye raised her head to look at her father, her large eyes flickering. Several times she wanted to be honest with her father – yes, I’ve met the man I love most in this life, I’m in love, I don’t want to leave him, I can’t let him down.

But ultimately she held back. Her father hadn’t met Xing Wu, and judging from his attitude toward Li Lanfang’s family, he would likely think she had been deceived by some poor boy, or that youthful passion had clouded her judgment with love. Knowing her father, he would probably be so angry he’d drag her into the car and head straight back to Beijing.

So Qing Ye couldn’t say it, only asking her father again: “Can we go back after the college entrance exam?”

If Qing Ye had said this and pleaded before they visited Li Lanfang’s house, Qing Hong Zhi might have considered it. After all, there were only two months until the exam, and transferring back might affect her emotions and mindset.

But after coming to Li Lanfang’s house and seeing their situation firsthand, hearing that their house had burned down during Chinese New Year, and learning that his daughter had been staying in a shabby hotel full of all sorts of people during these crucial months, Qing Hong Zhi felt indescribable emotions. If Sun Hai hadn’t been there to persuade him, he would have taken Qing Ye back to Beijing immediately.

Especially after seeing Huang Mao’s group calling out to Qing Ye at noon, Qing Hong Zhi became even more determined not to let Qing Ye stay in such an environment.

So he told Qing Ye very directly: “We can discuss how you want to handle other matters, but on this, I won’t agree. Look how many days are left until the exam. I’ll handle the transfer procedures for you. If you don’t return to Beijing with me, you’re jeopardizing your future. Think about it.”

With that, Qing Hong Zhi got into the car. Sun Hai anxiously said to Qing Ye: “Be good, stop making trouble. Look at what time it is.”

After Qing Hong Zhi and Sun Hai left, Qing Ye turned back somewhat glumly and walked into the courtyard, sitting on the threshold of the backyard watching her shadow at her feet. She took out her phone and kept scrolling through her chat history with Xing Wu. The last message was from that night after their video call when she had fallen asleep, Xing Wu had quietly sent her a message: “Wife, I miss you.”

When Qing Ye saw this term of endearment in the morning, she had been so excited yet shy that she rolled around in bed, but now seeing it made her nose sting with emotion.

She dialed Xing Wu’s number, but the phone showed it couldn’t connect. She put down her phone, buried her face between her knees, and ran her hands through her hair, her thoughts in turmoil.

Li Lanfang was cooking in the kitchen and poked her head out to look at Qing Ye. After a while, Qing Ye felt a shadow fall over her. When she raised her head, Li Lanfang was offering her freshly boiled corn. She took it, and Li Lanfang sat down beside her, saying casually: “Your father hasn’t changed much in all these years. I saw him once many years ago.”

Qing Ye quietly took a bite of corn and listened.

“You were just a year old then. I took Wu Zi to Beijing alone to find your mother.”

Qing Ye looked up at Li Lanfang in surprise: “You’ve been to my home?”

Just after asking this question, Qing Ye suddenly remembered that on her first day here, Li Lanfang had indeed mentioned visiting her in Beijing.

Li Lanfang looked up at the patch of sky above the courtyard, reminiscing: “Your mother’s health wasn’t good right after you were born. I went to see her partly out of guilt – I hadn’t visited her since leaving home. When I was still a girl living at your grandmother’s house, your mother was several years older than me. When I went there, your mother was already sensible and never complained about the family bringing back another child or mistreating me. Instead, when I came home late from school because I was playing, she would wait to eat with me, and when her grandmother gave her something good to eat, she would always save a portion for me.”

Li Lanfang spoke about Qing Ye’s mother with great emotion. She sighed deeply and said: “I already had Wu Zi when I got together with Xing Guo Dong.”

Qing Ye’s hand tightened on the corn. Although she had guessed this long ago, hearing it from Li Lanfang’s mouth for the first time still slightly shocked her.

Li Lanfang told her: “I had no choice at the time. I ran to the countryside. My original parents wouldn’t take me in, so through someone’s introduction, I ended up with Xing Guo Dong. I didn’t dare tell him about Wu Zi. When Wu Zi was born not looking like him, he became suspicious. Later he asked around and came back in a rage. Wu Zi was just a few months old when he started hitting him, making him strip naked in the dead of winter. Wu Zi was so small then – I was really afraid he would kill Wu Zi, so I scraped together some travel money and took Wu Zi to Beijing to seek help from your mother.”

Qing Ye stared at Li Lanfang in shock, her first thought being that she and Xing Wu had met when they were one year old.

If she had known about Xing Wu’s childhood experiences earlier, she would have done everything possible to convince her parents to keep Xing Wu. Perhaps that way, Xing Wu’s life would have been completely different, and he wouldn’t have had to endure so many hardships later in life.

But she was only one year old then, and many things had slipped past. Her mother hadn’t forgiven Li Lanfang – she couldn’t forgive how Li Lanfang’s selfishness and rebellion had broken her grandparents’ hearts. Even after Li Lanfang left, her grandmother had fallen seriously ill and undergone surgery. A critical condition notice had been issued at the time, but Li Lanfang still didn’t come to visit.

So Qing Ye’s mother refused to acknowledge Li Lanfang as her sister anymore, and she could only return to Zhazhating with Xing Wu in disgrace.

It wasn’t until a few years ago when Qing Ye’s mother’s health problems were discovered that she had several phone conversations with Li Lanfang during her final years.

Li Lanfang sighed: “I did many stupid things when I was young. The worst was leaving your grandmother’s house. Back then, I thought I could live well on my own – how could others understand? Later, I had to eat the bitter fruit myself.

If I hadn’t left your grandmother’s house back then, things definitely wouldn’t be like this now. There’s no medicine for regret in life. What parents would harm their children?

Qing Ye, when Wu Zi comes back, I’ll tell him. Go back with your father…”