This passport was one she had gone and applied for after Xu Huaisong’s difficult moment involving Li Shican, finding a window of time to get it done.

She had just received it the day before, intending to wait until today’s meeting at Huan Shi was over and the arrangements for the next phase of her work were clear before discussing it with him.

Her thinking when she applied for the passport had been simple.

During the period they had spent abroad together, the two of them had battled every day against time differences and distance, and still run into problems with communication. Since her work was not subject to strict geographical limitations and she had sufficient means, she thought that perhaps when he next flew to the United States, she could go along, keep him company through the busy stretch, and then come back together.

But that was as far as the idea had gone. When she applied for the passport, she had genuinely not considered the prospect of settling permanently in the United States.

Xu Huaisong had come back to China for her sake — she should have known this long ago, and had even heard him say it in person a few days earlier in Su Shi. But perhaps because he had made that decision so lightly from the very start, and perhaps because she had subconsciously assumed that his return was a matter of “coming home where he belonged” — something that brought nothing but relief and happiness to his family — she had never looked at it the way Lu Shenglan had, never elevated it to that level of significance.

Though emotionally she was not fond of Lu Shenglan’s manner of speaking, looking at it rationally, there was one point where she had opened her eyes: in this relationship, what she had given was truly far less than what Xu Huaisong had given. And she had been gradually sinking into it, growing accustomed to receiving, slowly beginning to take his goodness for granted.

She was someone who looked ahead. Facing the eight years of absence between them, she had not been excessively troubled. But every matter has two sides. In moving past the past and living in the present, she had also turned a blind eye to whatever pain and struggle might have existed for him during that time.

Ruan Yu looked at Xu Huaisong driving beside her and felt a frustration she could not quite put into words.

It was true that he could never bring himself to speak of those things. But she could have tried asking.

Why had she never asked?

Xu Huaisong looked ahead at the road and said: “Did they tear into you at the meeting?”

She shook her head to say no, then was quiet for a moment before saying: “I was thinking about whether I’m…”

“Hmm?”

She looked down and twisted the hem of her skirt in her hands. “Pretty selfish, actually…”

Xu Huaisong’s brow furrowed and he was just about to ask further when her phone gave a sudden vibration, and he stopped.

Ruan Yu glanced at him and casually swiped her phone open, finding a message from Li Shican: Forgot to mention — Director Wei looks like he has plans to go abroad soon. You can relax for a while.

Xu Huaisong caught a glimpse of the chat window and saw who the message was from.

She looked up to explain: “He’s telling me that Director Wei is going abroad soon.”

He gave an “mm,” opened his mouth as though he wanted to return to the previous topic, then reconsidered and let it go. “What do you feel like eating?”

After dinner the two of them came home, and Xu Huaisong went to shower first.

Ruan Yu curled up on the living room sofa. Seeing that he had been in there for a while, she picked up her phone and sent a message to Shen Mingying, glossing over certain personal details about him and briefly describing the events of the day.

Mingying: You’re not about to tell me you’re thinking of going to settle in the United States with him?

This was a matter concerning her whole life and the family behind her — Ruan Yu could not possibly decide in haste. She paused for a moment, just about to say she was only considering it, typing halfway through — when she saw Shen Mingying send a string of question marks: How long have you two been together? Two months at most, and half that time was long distance. Are you sure this isn’t just getting swept up in the moment? And what does he think about it?

She did not address the first two questions directly, and replied: He’s in the shower. I haven’t talked to him about it yet.

Besides, she suspected that the moment she brought it up, she would be met with a single “there’s no need” or even “that’s out of the question” and sent straight back.

Mingying: What about your family?

Soft Jade: I need to sort it out in my own head first before bringing it up with them.

Ruan Yu was not wrong about that — she hadn’t even worked through her own thoughts, so of course she shouldn’t go alarming her parents unnecessarily. But transmitted across the screen to Shen Mingying’s eyes, it might have been misread as planning to act first and ask forgiveness later.

So Shen Mingying absolutely erupted: When you’re head over heels, even sacrifice feels sweet — but can you guarantee it’ll stay that way? Forget everything else for a moment and picture that life. Are you planning to spend the rest of your days as a canary in a gilded cage in some big house in a foreign country?

He’s coming back to China is just starting his career over again, but you’d be there knowing no one and having nothing but him. The daily grind always brings friction, so what happens when you argue? What if things go sour between you?

I’ll say something blunt — you’d be alone in a foreign land. If someone else gives you trouble, he can protect you. But what if he’s the one who hurts you? You can’t just throw yourself completely at the mercy of one man!

What it came down to was simple: everyone stood closest to their own side. Wherever you stood, that was whose interests you naturally looked out for.

Shen Mingying’s blunt words of warning came fast and fierce. Before Ruan Yu had even gathered herself to reply, she could see message after message arriving — and at some point she was not sure of, Xu Huaisong had come out of the bathroom, a dry towel in hand rubbing his damp hair, his gaze resting on her without a word.

Her thoughts already tangled by Shen Mingying’s messages, she looked up at him and felt momentarily dazed, and said the first thing that came to her: “You’re done?”

Xu Huaisong gave an “mm.”

She set down her phone and picked up the hairdryer. “Then sit down — I’ll dry your hair for you tonight.”

Xu Huaisong glanced at her phone on the sofa, still buzzing with a steady stream of incoming messages, and sat down in the chair.

The sound of the hairdryer drowned out the noise of all the messages.

Once she had finished drying his hair, Ruan Yu sat down beside him and said: “Huaisong, I have something I want to talk to you about…”

“Go wash up and get some rest,” he cut her off. “I have to go to Su Shi again early tomorrow morning.”

Ruan Yu had not gone to the law firm with him that day and was not up to date on how the case was progressing. She was briefly surprised but nodded: “Then we can talk when you get back.”

Xu Huaisong was perhaps genuinely exhausted — he said he was going to sleep and was out in moments.

The next morning, Ruan Yu thought to ask whether she could come along, but when she opened her eyes the space beside her was already empty.

A note had been left on the bedside table: Breakfast is in the fridge.

She felt that something between herself and Xu Huaisong had an odd quality to it, though she could not tell whether it was because she herself was preoccupied, or whether something was wrong on his end too.

Unable to make sense of it, she messaged him to ask when he would be back, received the reply “evening,” then went to the supermarket to buy ingredients for dinner. On the way home, she unexpectedly received a call from him.

Xu Huaisong said: “You’re not home?”

“Hm?” Ruan Yu blinked. “I’m on my way back from the supermarket — I’m about to get in the elevator. What is it?”

She did not need an answer to know what it was. Xu Huaisong, who should have been in Su Shi, had come home — he appeared to have just arrived.

She blinked again. “Why did you come back all of a sudden?”

“Changed my mind at the last minute.”

She smiled and held up the shopping bag in her hand. “Perfect timing then — these can be lunch.”

Ruan Yu was just about to turn toward the kitchen when Xu Huaisong suddenly stepped forward, took the shopping bag from her hand, set it on the floor, and wrapped his arms around her from behind.

Without any warning, her heart gave a strange tremor she could not account for.

Xu Huaisong tightened his arms and said nothing, tucking his chin into the hollow of her shoulder.

She turned her head, puzzled. “What’s wrong?”

He did not answer. After a moment of silence he asked: “I still have to go back to the United States in a few days. With the Wei Jin situation unresolved, I’m not comfortable leaving you here alone. Do you want to come with me? I can arrange for your passport to be expedited and use my contacts for the visa.”

Ruan Yu had already been wanting to bring this up with him. Hearing him take the initiative, she answered without a moment’s hesitation: “Yes!” Then turned around to face him and added: “I already have a passport — you just need to arrange the visa.”

Xu Huaisong’s network of connections in the United States was genuinely formidable. The visa Ruan Yu received did not come through a back door — it came on a rocket.

Right up until a few days later when she was getting into the car for the airport with her luggage, she still felt as though things had moved so fast she had not quite caught up — though her mood had sorted itself out and felt a little lighter.

What was there to hesitate over, really? Starting to think seriously about the future now was not too late. Rather than sitting and brooding over it, perhaps it was better to walk the road he had walked, to see the life he had lived — and maybe everything would become clear.

September in Hang Shi was still stifling with heat. Ruan Yu sat in the front passenger seat enjoying the air conditioning, and when it made her feel stuffy she rolled down the window. Taking advantage of a red light, she reached her hand out to feel the air and said: “The temperature difference between San Francisco and here is really something.”

Xu Huaisong had this time asked her to bring several knitted tops and a windbreaker jacket.

“Mornings and evenings will be a bit cool.” He glanced at her. “The light’s changed — bring your hand back in.”

Ruan Yu gave an “oh” and looked ahead at the traffic, noticing a long unbroken line of cars moving at a crawl. She glanced down at her phone to check the time.

“We have enough time — once we’re past this stretch it’ll be fine.” Seeing that she wanted to feel the outside air, Xu Huaisong turned off the air conditioning and drove at an unhurried pace. After a little less than half an hour, the traffic around them had indeed thinned considerably. Once they got onto the cross-sea bridge in particular, you could still make out a few cars ahead, but behind them there were only a sparse handful.

Ruan Yu looked back and asked: “It’s the weekend today — why is the bridge so empty?” Before he could answer, she made a puzzled sound. “Come to think of it, the oncoming lane hasn’t had much traffic coming through either?”

Xu Huaisong’s brow grew more furrowed.

She blinked and it dawned on her: “Could it be that not long after we got on, they closed off both ends of the bridge?”

Something about the traffic situation was genuinely not right. Other than a road closure, there was no other explanation.

But why on earth would they close the bridge without warning?

From Xu Huaisong’s unusually grave expression, and from the strangeness of the black BMW behind them, Ruan Yu felt she was beginning to understand something. She gripped the seatbelt tight.

She kept her eyes on what was behind them, and after a moment she saw Wei Jin suddenly accelerate, bringing his car up close behind them.

“What is he trying to do?” Ruan Yu could not keep her lips from trembling.

Xu Huaisong closed his window, pried her hand from the seatbelt and held it in his palm. “I’m here. Nothing will happen.”

She gave a quiet “mm,” watching the BMW accelerate to a position parallel with them, keeping her gaze fixed rigidly ahead, not daring to turn her head.

Xu Huaisong kept one hand on the steering wheel and glanced to the right, meeting Wei Jin’s eyes for a moment.

After that one moment of eye contact, the BMW began to decelerate and fell back behind them again.

It seemed that the only reason he had sped up at all was to confirm that single glance.

Xu Huaisong maintained a steady speed and continued forward. “There’s a woman in the passenger seat of his car. Her expression doesn’t look right.”

Ruan Yu asked tensely: “Could she be a hostage?”

“Possibly.”

Then they had likely stumbled into a spontaneous police drug enforcement operation.

Ruan Yu’s heart rate quickened. She looked out at the vast, wave-tossed ocean below the bridge.

Both ends of the bridge sealed off. Six lanes on the bridge surface. Only a sparse handful of cars that had not yet passed through. It was like an island unto itself.

She swallowed dryly. In the very next moment, she saw a police car come tearing along the oncoming lane with its siren wailing. Simultaneously, in the rearview mirror, the BMW shifted into reverse and began accelerating backward at speed.

Wei Jin had one hand on the steering wheel. With the other, he was pulling an orange garment over his body.

In a flash of sudden clarity, Ruan Yu understood.

Both ends of the bridge were sealed. He was putting on a life jacket — he was going to jump into the sea.

The police car on the other side of the divider pressed in closer and closer. The BMW executed a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn and began driving against the flow of traffic.

Xu Huaisong looked up and said suddenly: “Hold on.”

Then he reversed his direction as well and gave chase.

Ruan Yu grabbed the handhold with one hand.

She knew why he was doing this.

Jumping from here was the gamble Wei Jin was taking to escape justice — he might successfully flee, or he might find his grave in the ocean.

But Xu Huaisong could not let him take that gamble.

A decade-old unsolved case: this operation was the only breakthrough.

The Xu family, the Jiang family, the Wang family — all of them had been waiting for this day. Waiting for ten years.

Wei Jin could not die.

He had to face the judgment of the law, and return the truth to everyone.

Xu Huaisong glanced at the police car on the other side of the divider, and with the advantage of being closer to Wei Jin, pressed down on the accelerator and hurtled toward him at full speed.

Author’s Note: The road from Hang Shi to Shanghai does not actually pass through a cross-sea bridge — this is a narrative device, and was not intended to reflect geographical reality. (#^.^#)