CITM - 18

A clear and strong hand covered Ye Yun’s shoulder, trapping her within Bai Wenfu’s arms. His gaze had a burning intensity, like a power that could consume her. Their breaths tangled rapidly, and the strength inside Ye Yun seemed to be drained away; her legs went weak, and the camellia branch slipped from her hand.

The setting sun poured light into the narrow stairwell. The cramped space, where neighbors might walk in at any moment, made Ye Yun so nervous she broke out in a cold sweat.

Her voice was like a feather brushing softly, weak and trembling: “You are Wenbin big brother, and I am...”

She lifted her uneasy, trembling lashes, her eyes misty, looking at him with a plea: “I only want to live a peaceful life.”

When she said this, her nose was already red, and her voice quivered as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

A breeze blew into the stairwell, scattering stray strands of hair across Ye Yun’s cheek. The light in her eyes, startled, was scattered and fragile—I found it heart-wrenching.

Bai Wenfu’s brows gradually furrowed. He raised his hand to brush away the strand of hair resting on her cheek. His fingertip touched her skin and paused briefly; her body trembled slightly. He released her shoulder, bent down to pick up the fallen camellia branch, handed it back to her, then turned and left the stairwell.

That night, Bai Wenfu did not return until Ye Yun went to her room.

For a long time afterward, she rarely saw him. He always left home before she got up and only returned after she had finished dinner or fallen asleep. Sometimes she wouldn’t see him for several days.

At home, Ye Yun no longer needed to be on edge, fearing moments alone with him or wondering what to say if they suddenly met. Just as she had said, she wanted a peaceful life—and indeed, he gave her that.

Even when they occasionally crossed paths in the corridor, Ye Yun carrying a basin and passing by him, he showed a cold expression and didn’t give her a glance. Their relationship suddenly reverted to the distant state it was in when Wenbin still lived at home.

However, this did not ease Ye Yun’s heart. At night, she would subconsciously listen for noises from next door. When he was late returning, she couldn’t sleep peacefully. When he came back, she still couldn’t fall asleep.

Although she did not want to have much interaction or meet him, when they did meet, she couldn’t help but care about his every move.

When he spoke with Tong Mingfang at home, Ye Yun would pretend to be busy nearby, occasionally stealing a glance at him.

When he turned around, she would hurriedly retreat into her room.

Such days were a kind of torment, though this torment was masked by an appearance of calm—a temporary calm.

Tong Mingfang also had her own concerns. Before the New Year, she saw Ye Yun wearing that new outfit and grew suspicious. After returning to her own family for the holiday, she left Ye Yun and the eldest brother alone at home, intending to return and see what was going on. The result was that the relationship between the two grew even more strained. The eldest brother was rarely home now, and Ye Yun’s days passed quietly, like still water.

The Chinese tradition of bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the new meant people usually left bad feelings behind in the old year and embraced the new year.

After the New Year, opening a new chapter, Tong Mingfang’s worries gradually faded, and she became less stubborn.

One day, while picking green beans with Ye Yun at the table, she suddenly said to her: “I’m not an unreasonable person. Let’s not talk about the past anymore. You’re still young, and our family won’t hold you back. If you really want to leave, have your family return the betrothal gifts, and we’ll call it even. You’ve seen for yourself, the bride price we gave wasn’t small. If it were less, I wouldn’t even mention it. The things we brought to your home last year were worth more — you don’t need to return those.”

Ye Yun kept her head down, listening quietly.

Though life seemed calm, Tong Mingfang’s words stirred waves beneath the surface. Ye Yun thought carefully and decided that leaving the Bai family was probably the best choice for her at present. The relationship with Bai Wenfu was delicate. Staying meant she would either constantly worry or be on the edge of morality. Either way, she should leave before things got worse.

So soon, Ye Yun wrote another letter to her family. This letter was no longer seeking advice but explicitly requesting her family to return the betrothal gifts. She also wrote that as long as they took her back, she would do everything she could to support them.

She took the letter to Ma Jianliang again. When he saw Ye Yun, he asked with concern: “I wanted to ask you before the New Year, but I didn’t see you come by. What did your family say?”

Ye Yun gave a bitter smile: “They didn’t say much, so I need to trouble you to send another letter.”

Ma Jianliang readily agreed: “That’s no problem, give me the letter.”

Ye Yun handed him the letter from her pocket. Ma Jianliang asked her worriedly, “Have you thought about what you’d do if, I mean, what if there’s no news from your family?”

Ye Yun’s eyes were full of irresolvable sorrow, and she could only say: “Take it one step at a time.”

After the letter was sent, Ye Yun kept going to the supply and marketing cooperative to check on the situation. Over time, she got familiar with Ma Jianliang, who would secretly save persimmons for her whenever he guessed she might come.

Ye Yun refused to accept them at first, but he chased after her and pressed them into her hand. Since their pushing and shoving looked bad in public, she had to thank him and accept.

When she went home, Tong Mingfang saw the persimmons and asked where they came from. Ye Yun vaguely replied, “Someone gave them to me.”

Tong Mingfang turned and muttered in front of Bai Wenfu, “I don’t know who gave Ye Yun a bag of persimmons. I asked her, and she wouldn’t say.”

Bai Wenfu glanced at her and lowered his head to bite his cigarette.

...

Next door, Chun Di’s cousin got married and invited her to the banquet. Chun Di urgently came to the Bai family. The reason was that her pants had been snagged a few days ago. Normally a few stitches or a patch would suffice, but her city cousin going to the wedding in torn pants would be very embarrassing. So Chun Di borrowed some cloth tickets here and there and bought a piece of fabric at the last minute.

However, Zhang the tailor had a bad back and couldn’t stand straight, and all his work was backed up. He said the earliest he could finish it was next week.

Next week was too late for the cousin’s wedding, so Chun Di thought of Ye Yun. She came to the Bai family and explained to Tong Mingfang. Tong Mingfang quickly called Ye Yun to see if she could finish it in time.

Ye Yun figured she could manage by staying up two nights, so she agreed to help. It wasn’t a big deal at first, but halfway through the pants, one day after coming out of the washroom, someone carelessly pushed open the door. She tried to block it with her hand; her right hand was pinched painfully by the door. Later, when she returned for the needle, her hand was less dexterous.

Seeing the wedding date getting closer, Ye Yun decided to bring the fabric to the tailor’s shop to borrow Zhang’s sewing machine.

Zhang agreed but didn’t have time to teach Ye Yun, so she had to figure it out herself and not break the machine.

Ye Yun sat quietly by the sewing machine for half a day, observing silently, not disturbing Zhang the tailor, occasionally helping pass scissors or re-thread the machine, showing good awareness.

At noon, Zhang the tailor took a break as usual, and Ye Yun sat at the sewing machine with the fabric.

After Zhang the tailor woke up from her nap, Ye Yun had already gotten the hang of it. Zhang stood beside her and watched for a while, noticing how quickly the girl learned and how meticulous her work was. Later, Zhang gave her some pointers on how to sew the pants so they would fit better.

Ye Yun was quick to understand—once Zhang explained, she got it immediately. With the sewing machine, her speed improved a lot. Zhang was busy rushing to finish orders, and Ye Yun followed suit, finally finishing Chun Di’s pants after dark.

Ye Yun was about to thank her and head home, but seeing Zhang massaging her aching lower back, she stayed to help until closing time.

Zhang was old, and her health was not as good as before, but her craftsmanship was impeccable. People nearby liked to come to her for clothes, so she had many customers and was often overwhelmed.

Back when Zhang was young, she was just like Ye Yun—quick and steady with her hands. Zhang saw a reflection of her younger self in Ye Yun.

When they closed the shop, Ye Yun helped latch the door. Zhang glanced at her clothes and asked, “Did you make those yourself?”

Feeling shy under the experienced tailor’s gaze, Ye Yun admitted, “This is the first time I’ve sewn like this.”

Zhang looked closely at the dense stitches and said kindly, “Your hands are steady.”

After saying goodbye, Zhang turned into another alley, but Ye Yun lingered, watching her back. Suddenly, she blurted out, “Can I come help tomorrow?”

Zhang stopped and looked back. Moonlight shone on her bent back, and she squinted with a smile, “I can’t pay you much.”

Ye Yun’s face relaxed, and a smile appeared.

Zhang agreed to take Ye Yun as an apprentice. Although she wouldn’t pay much, having a purpose each day made Ye Yun happy. She told Tong Mingfang at home. At first, Mingfang wasn’t happy about her going to the tailor’s, but when Zhang showed up with eggs as a gift, Mingfang eased up.

Zhang was willing to help Ye Yun partly because her shop was short-staffed and partly because she sympathized with the young girl’s situation.

At first, Zhang was strict with Ye Yun—sometimes deliberately watching for mistakes to make her redo the work and train her patience. Tailoring requires a calm temper. Ye Yun didn’t disappoint her. She kept unpicking and sewing without complaint, sometimes even surprising Zhang with new patterns. Life slipped by in the steady rhythm of needle and thread.

Ye Yun had already decided that after learning skills from Zhang, she could return home and sew clothes to support herself, so she wouldn’t need to get married.

Busy with work, Ye Yun could no longer visit the supply and marketing cooperative regularly. When she went for the last time, she told Ma Jianliang that she would be staying at Zhang’s to help and wouldn’t have time to come anymore.

Ma Jianliang breathed a sigh of relief. “I was wondering what you’d do next. Not to mention your mother-in-law, but her eldest son is enough to worry about. Now you have something to do during the day, and when your family gets back to you, you can get out.”

Ye Yun caught the implied meaning in his words and became suspicious, fearing there might already be bad rumors outside.

She kept her guard up and asked, “Why would I... have to worry about Wen Bin?”

Ma Jianliang was taken aback and asked, “You don’t know about him?”

Ye Yun frowned, “What about him?”

Ma Jianliang knitted his brows and stared at Ye Yun, unsure if he should tell her the truth. Seeing her waiting for an answer, and since they were from the same hometown, he finally decided, “He killed someone.”

Ye Yun’s expression visibly darkened, waves of shock rising in her eyes. She tried to control her voice, “Killing someone means paying with your life. How can he still be okay?”

“He did two years of labor reform. How he got out, no one knows. Most people around know this. I’m not close to his family; it’s just what I’ve heard.”

Outside the cooperative, the blazing sun beat down, but Ye Yun shivered, a chill creeping into her chest. Many things she hadn’t understood before suddenly surged over her like a tide.

“At the time of the room division, Wen Bin wasn’t home. Since he was unmarried, he only got a two-bedroom. Later, when he came back, the big room was divided into two.”

“He had an accident before, was badly injured. Most places recovered, but his broken leg never got back to normal. He left the factory... Anyway, the girl I mentioned before gave up, and after he came back, he probably didn’t think of finding anyone else.”

“Where did the eldest brother go?”

“He... went away for a while.”

Tong Mingfang was helpless, Wen Bin evasive. Looking back carefully, everyone avoided talking about Bai Wenfu’s past. Xiao Liuzu looked away, Li Yanhua paled, Sun Baoguo’s face changed suddenly. People in the apartment block either took detours to avoid him or approached him cautiously—no one dared to confront him.

Only once did Sun Baoguo pick up a shovel and freeze when he saw Bai Wenfu. That day, Ye Yun sensed something was wrong; everyone was watching Bai Wenfu with wary and fearful eyes.

“Because I’m not a ‘good person’ in the traditional sense.”

He had told her this long ago—he told her the answer a long time ago.

Those memories echoed in Ye Yun’s mind, confirming Ma Jianliang’s words. The fact was so cruel it split the Bai Wenfu in her mind into two different people:

One was steady and considerate; the other was bloodthirsty and cruel.

Ye Yun didn’t know how she got downstairs. Her consciousness was drained, her features twisted, and a heavy expression lingered between her brows and eyes.

Bai Wenfu leaned against the corridor smoking, his gaze falling on the small figure approaching from afar. She walked slowly, her steps hesitant and lost in the fog.

As if sensing something, Ye Yun raised her head.

The coal stove burned; shadows moved. Noisy chatter filled the corridor, scented with the smell of daily cooking.

Amid the bustle of everyday life, they looked at each other from afar.