Chapter 3

The injured man was Luo Kaiming, a night-shift security guard.

His injuries were serious. His right leg had required surgery, and he remained in intensive care.

The insurance paperwork would take time. Although the Xia family had promised to pay his medical expenses, the elders of the Luo family kept vigil at the billing counter, too anxious to sleep all night.

When my brother told me, I was checking the vehicle-damage documents with Lawyer Zhou.

“Advance the surgical fees,” I said. “Use the Ning charitable foundation. No need for anonymity. Tell the family plainly it's traffic-accident relief.”

Lawyer Zhou looked up.

“Aren't you worried people will think you're cleaning up their mess?”

“The victim didn't choose to be hit. Who pays for wrongdoing is one question. Whether the hospital can operate in time is another.”

My brother nodded and went to arrange it.

Two days later, I visited Luo Kaiming.

He was awake but looked terrible. His wife, peeling an apple beside him, started to rise.

“Please stay seated.” I put down the fruit basket. “I've come to see you, and to confirm a few documents.”

Her eyes reddened.

“Thank you, Miss Ning. The police said it was your car, yet you're still willing to help...”

“The car is mine. The person who hit him wasn't me. Focus on recovery. The lawyers will follow the compensation and accountability issues.”

Luo Kaiming spoke with difficulty.

“I remember that man. He got out to look, then pressed the phone off.”

His wife burst into tears.

As he mentioned the canceled emergency call, his fingers clenched until they crumpled the blanket's corner.

I called a nurse to check his blood pressure and motioned for his wife to stay with him.

Leaving the ward, I heard my name at the corridor's end.

Aunt Xia stood there, eyes red.

She hurried over and took my hand.

“Zhaozhao, his father and I won't cover for Wenzhou. Don't turn your anger on yourself because of him, understand?”

I patted her hand.

“Don't worry. I'm only angry with the right person.”

She paused, then cried harder.

I'd once been very close to the Xia family.

Uncle Xia was decisive in business. Aunt Xia had always loved me like her own daughter.

They hadn't come to plead for Xia Wenzhou or mentioned our families' business dealings.

I felt relieved, but sorry too.

He'd learned so little of the principles they'd taught him.

After leaving the police station, the first thing Xia Wenzhou did was send me a long message.

In essence: he recognized his mistake, hoped I'd give him time, and would prove he'd changed.

I read it and replied briefly.

“Cooperate properly with the investigation.”

Much later, he asked, “Don't you remember any of our old affection?”

“I do. Out of old affection, I'm reminding you to prepare enough compensation.”

He didn't reply for the rest of the day.

Su Mian's case moved quickly.

The alcohol test, journey data, club surveillance, cabin video, and Luo Kaiming's testimony left little room for dispute.

Her lawyer submitted an anxiety-disorder diagnosis. Xia Wenzhou wrote a statement saying his mind had been blank when he canceled the call.

The judge examined the evidence without a change of expression.

Su Mian was convicted. Xia Wenzhou also faced penalties for shielding her and interfering with the emergency-reporting process.

When the police notice reached the Xia family, he sat in his study for a long time.

Coming out, he removed his tie and stuffed it into his pocket.

On the day the outcome was announced, he intercepted me outside my company.

Through the lobby glass, after leaving a meeting, I saw him waiting.

No driver today. No assistant. Even his suit looked pitifully creased.

Security asked whether to remove him.

Not yet, I said. Waiting for the elevator was a little dull anyway.

At the sight of me, he spoke urgently.

“Zhaozhao, Su Mian's been punished. Could you ask your father to put in a word with the board for me?”

“Why does your board need my father to speak?”

“They think I've damaged the company's image.”

“They've judged correctly this time.”

A muscle twitched in his face.

“I know you're still angry.”

“I'd just finished a meeting and was perfectly happy. Now you're asking me to beg your board. Even hearing it is irritating.”

He stepped forward. Security immediately moved between us.

He stopped and lowered his voice.

“At the time, I thought if I protected Su Mian, it would all pass. Our families' relationship goes back so many years...”

“Our fathers' cooperation has nothing to do with your asking me to confess for her. Don't conflate the two.”

After a silence, he finally said, “I'll apologize to Luo Kaiming.”

“When you go, settle the compensation properly. And don't tell him how panicked you were. He's in a hospital bed. Hearing that will only distress him.”

His lips moved at the lobby door. Still, not a word came out.

The elevator opened. I stepped in.

He remained where he was.

Reflected in the glass, he looked like an old poster soaked in rain.

The next day, Uncle Xia formally suspended him, reclaiming his projects and supplementary cards.

Aunt Xia sent me a photo.

A medical appointment slip. The department read:

Assisted Reproduction Consultation.

I stared for a while, then sent a question mark.

Her voice message sounded calm, with gritted teeth beneath it.

“Your dad says this Xia Wenzhou build is a complete write-off. His father and I discussed it. We'll have another child. It's safer than handing him the company.”

I nearly sprayed coffee over my keyboard.

Passing by, my brother leaned over to look and solemnly pronounced, “That counts as reinstalling the operating system.”

Suspension proved much harder than Xia Wenzhou expected.

Before, projects meant budgets and resources at a word. Drivers took him out. Others booked his meals.

Now his supplementary cards were frozen. His luxury apartment also ran into trouble over loans and investments.

I didn't have to inquire.

Every few days, he sent the details to my phone himself.

“Zhaozhao, I had an interview today.”

“They said my résumé was too senior for an entry-level position.”

“I moved goods in a warehouse all day. At last, I understand how hard earning money is.”

I saw the last message over hot pot with colleagues.

My phone buzzed on the table. Someone asked who it was.

“My ex-fiancé.” I picked up a piece of beef tripe. “He used to take money and connections for granted. Now he's learning a handsome face isn't enough to hold down a job.”

My colleague asked no more and quietly passed the dipping sauce.

Later, he became a dispatcher at a logistics depot.

On his first day, he still wore leather shoes. Less than half an hour in the loading area covered their soles in mud.

The manager told him to change into safety shoes.

He frowned at their synthetic uppers and said they weren't suitable.

The manager, a woman in her forties, planted her hands on her hips.

“You're here to work, not model. If the shoes don't suit you, go home and lie around in slippers.”

Perhaps no one had ever spoken so bluntly to him. He stood motionless for a long time.

She waited.

In the end, he put on the safety shoes.

Ning Bai told me this as a joke while I was choosing a wedding venue.

“Who are you marrying?”

He dropped his spoon in shock.

“Cheng Yu's my partner. We've only just started dating. I didn't say we're marrying immediately.”

He picked up the spoon.

“Cheng Yu? The legal-aid foundation guy?”

“Yes. Lawyer Zhou's partner.”

Cheng Yu was Lawyer Zhou's partner, responsible for charitable projects at our foundation.

At our first meeting, he read the car-insurance documents, then asked whether I needed any more hospital contacts.

He didn't mention Xia Wenzhou or act as though he understood everything about my situation.

He simply did the work that needed doing.

Once, my throat was uncomfortable during a meeting. He had an assistant remove my iced Americano and replace it with warm pear juice.

Later, I learned he remembered I didn't eat mangoes or drink anything too sweet.

As the glass settled beside my hand, something became clear.

Someone who remembered these little things wouldn't push me out to take the blame when trouble came.

My brother looked up and smiled.

“Good. At least your judgment's normal this time.”

I pushed over the menu.

“One more word, and you're paying.”

Before going to prison, Su Mian still wanted to see me once.

At first, I didn't want to go.

Then I remembered how she'd always summoned Xia Wenzhou with her tears. I grew curious whether she could use the same routine in a visiting room.

She wore a uniform, without her former carefully applied makeup.

At the sight of me, her eyes immediately reddened.

“Ning Zhao, it's come to this. Are you satisfied?”

I sat.

“You called me here especially to ask that?”

Her fingers tightened.

“Xia Wenzhou says he'll wait for me. He'll send money too.”

“Good. You've finally made consuming each other into a long-term project.”

She went pale.

“He truly loves me.”

“Su Mian, have you ever felt anything sincere for him?”

Her fingers stopped on the table. She didn't answer for a long time.

Through the glass, her gaze drifted toward the corner.

Finally, she said quietly, “Can love put food on the table?”

I nodded, unsurprised.

She'd known from the beginning what to hold on to.

His face, the Xia family's money, his habit of cleaning up after her...

All suited her tastes perfectly.