Chapter 10.1

This luxury car is rare to see, causing Qin Nan to furrow his brows involuntarily.

He subconsciously wanted to call Zhang Yong, but then he thought he might be too sensitive.

After all, this didn’t have much to do with him. Zhang Yong asked him to help inspect the tire marks and deduce the car’s identity, not to help find the car. If he made a mistake, it would be his fault.

Qin Nan withdrew his gaze and drove away on his own.

Ye Sibei and Zhao Chuchu took a taxi back to the company together. After a while in the office, Fan Jiancheng and his group also returned.

Fan Jiancheng entered the company and saw Ye Sibei at her desk, so he called her directly, “Sibei, come here.”

With that, Fan Jiancheng went into his office first. Ye Sibei stood up, and Zhao Chuchu quickly grabbed her, whispering, “Sister, when you explain later, make sure to mention she attacked first. Wang Lin and Tao Jie are close,” Zhao Chuchu glanced at the two women entering the door, “be careful not to be at a disadvantage.”

Ye Sibei nodded as she listened.

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“She used to leave work at five every day, leaving all the work for me. I worked overtime every day because of her. Yesterday, I had something and didn’t want to work overtime, but she didn’t listen. Today, the report wasn’t done, and she dragged me to the corridor in front of so many people and scolded me. Isn’t she crossing the line? Shouldn’t she be punished?”

“That’s not a reason for you to hit her, though,” Fan Jiancheng frowned, “Sibei, actions have consequences. You shouldn’t have resorted to violence.”

“But she hit me too.”

Ye Sibei was puzzled, “Why am I the only one being punished?”

“You were the one who initiated the physical altercation…”

“Yes, I did, but when she made me work overtime, you didn’t intervene. When she dragged me to the corridor to scold me, you didn’t intervene. When she hit me, you didn’t intervene. Why suddenly intervene only when I hit her?”

“Ye Sibei!” Fan Jiancheng slammed his hand on the table, “What’s with your attitude?!”

Ye Sibei stared at him, sitting in her seat, clenching her fists. She wanted to ask more questions, to reason more, but deep down, she knew there wasn’t much point in arguing.

Wang Lin, Tao Jie, and Fan Jiancheng, these veteran employees, entered the company together. Ye Sibei had worked hard to maintain relationships with them, but did they not know what she had done? They knew, they just didn’t care as long as the work got done.

When she was young, she couldn’t understand this and would argue and fight. But now, doesn’t she understand?

She wanted to preserve some dignity, so she gathered her emotions, said no more, stood up, left the office, and packed her things before leaving the company.

She took the bus back home, feeling much calmer by the time she arrived.

Numbly, she opened the fridge, took out a can of beer, took a sip, stood there for a moment, then finally faced the problem she least wanted to confront.

She went to her room, fetched a calculator and some scratch paper, returned to her desk, and opened various expense apps, starting to calculate this month’s expenditures, income, and savings.

Her monthly salary was 3500 yuan. After working at Fuqiang for a year, she had given all her previous savings to Ye Nianwen to buy a house, leaving only 3000 yuan for potential loan expenses. In the past few days, she had spent money on cigarettes, alcohol, pepper spray, and surveillance cameras. After deducting these expenses, she had less than 2000 yuan left in savings.

Her credit loan required a monthly repayment of 2400 yuan, due on the 18th. Basic living expenses were 800 yuan. Cutting back a bit, eating noodles every day, maybe 500 yuan would suffice.

But no matter how she calculated it, she couldn’t make it to next month. She couldn’t even repay this month’s loan.

She calculated multiple times, finally stopping, looking at the string of numbers, running her hand through her hair, closing her eyes in exhaustion.

—

Qin Nan went back to the shop after parting ways with Ye Sibei. Business was good that day, and he worked until 7 pm before finally getting a break. Just as he lit a cigarette to relax, he saw a woman in a Fuqiang Real Estate uniform standing at the door.

Qin Nan glanced back, a bit puzzled. “Zhao Chuchu?”

“Brother… Brother Nan.” Zhao Chuchu hesitated. “I want to talk to you about Sister’s situation.”

Qin Nan stayed silent for a moment, then grabbed his jacket. “I haven’t eaten yet. Let me treat you to a meal.”

They found a nearby fast-food restaurant with few people. Zhao Chuchu finished her meal and ordered an orange juice, while Qin Nan placed his order. Then he turned to her. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Sister… got fired by the company today.”

“Mm.”

Qin Nan wasn’t surprised. Zhao Chuchu hesitated before continuing, “Her recent state hasn’t been good, and I’ve heard a bit about your situation too, Brother Nan. It’s not easy for two people to have a connection. After getting married, you should manage things well…”

“Are you here to persuade me?”

Qin Nan looked up at her, and Zhao Chuchu, who had prepared her words for a long time, paused. Qin Nan directly informed her, “No need, I’ve made up my mind. If you came to say these things, forget it.”

Zhao Chuchu fell silent. She sat there for a long time, hesitating before slowly speaking, “Brother Nan, Sister Ye is really a good person.”

The waiter brought their fast food, and Qin Nan picked up a pair of chopsticks, focusing on his meal.

“When I was in high school, I liked makeup and was bullied by others in school. It was she and Ye Nianwen who came to help me. At that time, my grades were poor, and I was not very bright. Everyone thought I was a societal dropout, sure to be a failure. But she could tell me that people don’t become useless in a single moment, as long as I was willing, I could study.”

Zhao Chuchu reminisced about the past, “I admired her a lot back then, thinking she was amazing.”

“To let Ye Nianwen go to high school, her mother made her work. She used subsidies from school to finish high school. After that, she went to college and also worked at school. For four years, she never took a penny from her family. After graduating, she found a job in the provincial capital and did everything on her own, until she was brought back by her uncle and aunt.”

“In our small town, there aren’t many good jobs. When she returned at 23, her uncle and aunt asked her to take the civil service exam. It was from that time onwards that Sister Ye slowly changed.”

“Initially, when I went to their house, I often heard them arguing. Either they were saying that Sister Ye, a university graduate, couldn’t find a good job, or that she still hadn’t found a boyfriend. Later, they stopped arguing, and I only heard Aunt scolding her, saying her university education was useless, that she was lofty but fragile.”

“I felt uncomfortable hearing those words, as if all the efforts in life had no meaning. I’ve thought many times, if I were her, I might not even be able to go to college. It’s not easy for her to have come this far.”

As Zhao Chuchu spoke, she looked back at Qin Nan. He was earnestly eating his food with his head down, as if he hadn’t heard a word she said.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Chuchu hesitated before speaking again, “Brother Nan, Sister Ye isn’t the person you see now. She’s just going through a rough patch and needs someone to lend a hand. If you help her, you’ll understand…”

“I’m done eating.”

Qin Nan interrupted her, put down his chopsticks, and looked up at her. “Do you have anything else to say?”

Zhao Chuchu was taken aback. She looked at Qin Nan in disbelief, feeling a bit incredulous. “Qin Nan, don’t you have any feelings for Sister Ye? After hearing all this, can’t you sympathize with her a bit and help her?”

“How can I help her?” Qin Nan called for the bill, his tone indicating a complete detachment, as if speaking about a total stranger. “Everyone has their own difficulties. I’ve told her countless times to live her life well, but she herself gave up on her life first. Who can help her?”

“What do you mean by giving up on her life?” Hearing this, Zhao Chuchu became agitated.

“She meticulously selects every hairband, uses different cups for drinking water and tea, and even after being forced to drink alcohol, she says she wants to live a good life with you forever. No one who gives up on their life would do these things! Qin Nan, do you really understand her?”