CITM - 44

Master Zhang tried to block Wen Bin from entering the tailor shop. She straightened her back, her eyes heavy with the weight of years gone by.

“Even if you don’t care about Ye Yun, you should at least show some conscience toward your brother. He risked his life to secure that job for you. Have some decency.”

Wen Bin stormed up to Master Zhang, his tall, lanky frame exuding an aggressive aura. “That job cost me my wife! Should I be grateful to him for stealing her from me?”

“Don’t try to stop me. I must see Ye Yun today. If you interfere again, don’t blame me for being rude.”

With a sharp sound, the curtain was pulled back. Long, smooth hair cascaded over her shoulders as Ye Yun stepped forward, her gaze cold and unyielding.

The moment Wen Bin saw Ye Yun, he froze. His pale face took on a sickly hue, but his piercing eyes burned with intensity as he advanced step by step until he reached her. He grabbed her wrist tightly.

His fingers dug into her flesh like thorns burrowing into her bones. Since that day, he hadn’t been able to see her—she had vanished completely from his world. All he wanted was to see her one more time, but it felt as though he were committing a grave sin, drawing the wrath of everyone around him who tried to stop him.

Wen Bin’s sharp gaze seemed to pierce through Ye Yun’s very bones. “Is my older brother hiding you?”

Ye Yun suppressed her fear and glanced at Master Zhang, who looked flustered, and at the customers peeking in from the doorway but too afraid to enter. She turned to Wen Bin. “Let’s go outside to talk.”

Wen Bin yanked Ye Yun out from behind the curtain and dragged her toward the street. Stumbling along, she collided her knee against a rack and winced in pain, jerking her wrist free. “If you have something to say, just say it. Don’t drag me around.”

Wen Bin turned his head, his gaze fixed intently on her. Ye Yun met his stare without flinching. “There’s no need to look at me like that. I won’t run. Whatever you want to say, say it now.”

They walked to a nearby pavilion, where Ye Yun finally stopped and turned to face him. The soft ends of her hair fluttered in the breeze, and dappled sunlight filtered through the swaying leaves, casting a gentle glow on her delicate brows. Her long lashes blinked, scattering the soft light. Her tranquil expression framed her exquisite features, creating an almost otherworldly beauty that felt untouchable.

Wen Bin stared at the face he had yearned for day and night, his emotions growing more turbulent with each passing second. “You know my older brother, don’t you? Do you know about his past?”

“I do,” she replied calmly. Those three words struck a nerve in Wen Bin.

“Do you not care about your reputation anymore?”

“Do I still have a reputation to lose?” Her voice was tinged with sorrow, her eyes filled with despair.

Wen Bin raised his hand and gripped her shoulders tightly. “We’ll get our marriage certificate. I’ll apply to the company for a separate household registration. Given my condition, the leaders will take care of me. I’ll take you away to live elsewhere. As long as you’re not with my older brother, people will eventually stop talking about you.”

A cold smirk flickered across Ye Yun’s lips as she stepped back, evading his grasp.

“Enough, Wen Bin. There’s no going back.”

Her rejection darkened Wen Bin’s expression, making it chilling and menacing. He clamped down on her wrist again.

“Why can’t we go back? Why is it impossible?”

His eyes were filled with a pathological obsession as he dragged Ye Yun toward home. His icy figure moved like a ghost, relentlessly pulling her toward hell. Fear swallowed Ye Yun whole.

No matter how much she struggled, Wen Bin ignored her completely. Their commotion drew the attention of passersby, and more and more people began to notice the strange scene unfolding. Ye Yun’s face burned with humiliation, as if she were being thrown into a fiery inferno. Familiar faces appeared in her line of sight: Lü Ping, just returning from work; Li Yan, who had paused on her way to the public bathhouse; Aunt Huang, leaning out with a cooking spatula; Xiao Liu and his friends smoking in the corridor; Ai Juan, folding laundry with a smug look on her face; and Feng Biao, who poked his head out upon hearing the disturbance…

Gradually, the surrounding crowd gathered, their gazes converging on them.

The entire building loomed before Ye Yun’s eyes, swaying slightly. The sunset silently drained the light, casting eerie shadows along the horizon. The tube-shaped apartment building resembled a grotesque, jagged mountain pressing down on her. The place she had always resisted returning to, the one she had tried so hard to avoid, had finally caught up with her. After struggling all the way here to break free from his grip, Ye Yun finally stopped resisting.

“What do you want from me?”

The first cry of despair escaped her chest.

“What do you want from me?”

The second cry burst forth from her throat, laced with excruciating pain. The rustling of leaves and whispers of the wind fell silent in an instant.

Everyone froze, staring in shock at the nearly shattered figure before them.

In the nearly two years since moving into the tube-shaped building, no one had ever seen Ye Yun lose her temper. She was always soft-spoken, seemingly endlessly patient. No matter how much abuse or mistreatment she endured, she bore it silently, never embarrassing anyone.

And yet, even someone like her had been dragged into this most humiliating situation, cornered into a dead end with nowhere left to turn.

Wen Bin finally came to a halt and turned to look at her. Her eyes were bloodshot, and with fierce determination, she pried open his grip on her.

“I’m asking you—what do you want from me?”

He closed in on her, relentless. “I want you to come home with me and cut ties with my older brother.”

“It’s impossible.”

“Why is it impossible? I asked him to take care of you, not to take you to bed! How could you let him touch you?”

Each word was like a bloodied blade, slicing away the last shred of dignity covering Ye Yun. It felt as though she had been stripped naked and thrown onto the streets for all to ridicule.

In that moment, all the fears, concerns, and propriety—the virtues a woman holds most dear—were stripped away.

She stood intact before Wen Bin, but her body was already riddled with wounds, both visible and invisible.

“What do you think I should have done? When your unit reported your death, should I have followed you in a joint suicide?”

“When your mother forced me to return the dowry, when I had nothing left, when I was homeless, when I was nearly raped by that man…”

She pointed at Feng Biao, causing a stir among the onlookers. Ai Juan, who had been smug just moments ago, now fell into panic.

“It was your older brother who reached out to help me time and again. Without him, I wouldn’t be standing here talking to you now. I haven’t wronged you. I only accepted your older brother after learning of your death. I’ve already chosen him—how could I possibly go back to you?”

Wen Bin acted as though he hadn’t heard her, or perhaps he had, yet refused to accept the truth. He couldn’t bear to see the once meek and mild Ye Yun now screaming hysterically for the sake of his older brother.

His eyes locked onto her like prey as he roared, “You betrayed me! You and my older brother betrayed me together! You drove me to death—you never wanted to see me come back alive! I shouldn’t even exist in this world. All of you wished I’d die abroad…”

In a fit of madness, he lunged at Ye Yun, grabbing her neck. Her breath caught instantly, her eyes widening in shock.

Lü Ping abandoned her bicycle and rushed over to pull at Wen Bin’s arm, but he shoved her away with his elbow. Just as Ye Yun managed to gasp for air, her neck was seized again. In that instant, she felt the brink of death—the man before her became blurred and unfamiliar. She no longer recognized the cheerful, sunny, carefree person he once was.

Lü Ping shouted urgently, “Someone help! What are you all standing around for?”

The bystanders snapped out of their daze and rushed forward—some pulling, others pleading. Within moments, the area downstairs was crowded with people.

The last fragile thread in Wen Bin’s heart snapped completely upon seeing Ye Yun’s resolute gaze. Like an untamable beast, he was determined to tear apart the frail woman before him, swallowing her whole so she could never leave again.

The crowd was abruptly pushed aside as Bai Wenfu’s unshakable figure charged in. He shoved Wen Bin away, seething with rage: “You’re absolutely insane!”

Ye Yun staggered, coughing violently, nearly collapsing. Bai Wenfu caught her and pulled her protectively into his arms, lowering his head to ask, “Are you alright?”

Ye Yun finally drew breath, her ears ringing as she panted heavily, shaking her head. The clear imprint of fingers around her neck caused Bai Wenfu’s pupils to contract sharply.

Tong Mingfang rushed down and pulled Wen Bin away, but his eyes glared venomously at them. Knowing was one thing, but actually seeing Ye Yun nestled in his older brother’s embrace sent blood rushing to his head. He picked up a large stone used to weigh down the corner of a shed and approached Bai Wenfu from behind.

Ye Yun shivered. The moment Wen Bin raised the stone, she broke free from Bai Wenfu’s embrace and stepped in front of him.

Though she appeared fragile enough to be crushed effortlessly, the determination in her eyes was unbreakable. Wen Bin’s hand froze mid-air as he stared incredulously at Ye Yun’s pale face.

Bai Wenfu turned and swatted the stone away, pulling Ye Yun behind him.

As the stone clattered to the ground, Wen Bin’s spirit seemed drained. His unfocused gaze dragged his feet toward the stairwell.

Bai Wenfu said to Tong Mingfang, “Keep an eye on him.”

Tong Mingfang followed Wen Bin anxiously, while Bai Wenfu wasted no time taking Ye Yun far away from the scene.

Even after their figures disappeared at the alley entrance, the crowd below had not dispersed. People buzzed with chatter, still reeling from the sudden conflict.

Li Yan spoke sarcastically to those nearby: “Does she really think saying she hasn’t wronged him makes it true? Everyone saw her cozying up to the eldest brother right after arriving in the city. Why seduce anyone else when she could seduce her own brother-in-law? If I were the younger brother, I’d go mad too.”

Lü Ping, who had just steadied her bike, stopped again upon hearing this. Turning around, she strode directly toward Li Yan.

Sensing Lü Ping’s hostile glare, Li Yan turned just in time to receive a sharp slap across her face.

The sound startled the lingering crowd. Li Yan covered her cheek, utterly bewildered: “Why did you hit me?”

“You deserved it. I’ve wanted to slap you for a long time.”

Li Yan retaliated by throwing a basin, but Lü Ping, being taller, grabbed her hair and they began wrestling. The same crowd that had gathered earlier simply shifted their focus from the Bai family drama to the two women fighting.

Meanwhile, Bai Wenfu held Ye Yun close, ignoring the strange looks and incessant gossip, leading her away from the chaos and into safety.

Walking into the alley, the wind tousled her long hair but smoothed her thoughts.

Bai Wenfu’s complex expression, his excuses to keep her from leaving, and the books he brought back—all these pieces came together.

College entrance exams, university, the future. He was weaving a beautiful dream for her, immersing her in it so she would no longer yearn for sewing. This way, she could willingly stay home, hidden from Wen Bin.

He hadn’t told her about Wen Bin’s episodes—his frantic search for her, his inability to communicate, his aggressive tendencies, and his obsessive fixation on her that bordered on pathological. Had he told her, the cruel weight of their impossible triangle would have crushed her entirely.

In the end, Ye Yun discovered the truth through this confrontation.

She had thought explaining things would resolve everything. Perhaps Wen Bin would struggle to accept it, perhaps he’d be deeply hurt, or perhaps their relationship would need time to mend. But she never imagined it would spiral into an irreparable disaster. She had never seen Wen Bin like this—his loss of control obscured the carefully woven path Bai Wenfu had crafted for her, shrouding the future in thick fog, its end nowhere in sight.

Master Zhang anxiously waited at the door, relief washing over her when she saw Bai Wenfu bring Ye Yun back.

After escorting Ye Yun to the tailor shop, Bai Wenfu said to Master Zhang: “Thank you for your trouble. She’ll stay here for now.”

“No trouble at all. Hurry back and check on things.”

Bai Wenfu glanced at Ye Yun, who nodded at him.

Master Zhang closed the shop door and handed Ye Yun a cup of hot water. Her wrist trembled slightly as she took it, revealing bruises beneath. Master Zhang noticed and her eyes moistened.

Ye Yun kept her gaze lowered, watching the faint steam rise from the cup. From the hot water, she thought of cold water and suddenly asked, “What did you mean when you said his older brother sacrificed his life to secure his job?”

Master Zhang took a deep breath and sighed slowly: “When his older brother’s case was retried, it implicated their original workplace. After the scandal blew up, the company offered some compensation, which he refused. Instead, he demanded they give his younger brother a position.”

That was how Wen Bin got the opportunity to work on ships—a job many coveted. Without Bai Wenfu’s relentless persistence, repeatedly visiting the company and negotiating with leaders, Wen Bin would never have qualified for such a role.

Later, Bai Wenfu became unemployed, while Wen Bin secured a stable position.

He gave the only chance he had—earned at great personal cost—to Wen Bin. His relationship with Wen Bin was both paternal and fraternal, a profound bond that struck Ye Yun deeply. She gazed hazily at the tangled threads on the table, overwhelmed by a crushing sense of helplessness.

She sat motionless for a long time before setting the cup down and gathering her belongings. She had accumulated quite a few things during her time at the tailor shop. One by one, she retrieved them, tying up unfinished fabrics neatly with string.

“I’ll find a way to finish what’s left and send them to you. I’ll need your help wrapping things up.”

Master Zhang went inside, opened a drawer, and took out a long, brown cloth bag containing the money Ye Yun had saved since starting work. She had always lived frugally, enduring hardships without complaint. Even when her eyes were closing from exhaustion, she persisted. Though the Bai family never stinted on food or shelter, Master Zhang often urged her not to push herself too hard—no matter how young, the body could break under strain.

When she handed the heavy bag to Ye Yun, she suddenly understood the girl’s careful planning. From the day she entered the tailor shop, she had been preparing for contingencies.

Ye Yun took the bag, her voice choking as she said, “Give me your daughter’s address. Someday…”

She paused on those two words for a long time, her gaze stretching endlessly into the distance.

Coming back to herself, she continued, “I’ll visit you.”

Master Zhang escorted her to the shop entrance. Ye Yun secured everything onto her bicycle and turned back to say, “If he comes looking for me, tell him I’ve gone home.”

Master Zhang nodded, her worry softening into a kind smile: “Girl, don’t let your craft slip. You’re my only closed-door disciple.”

Ye Yun’s eyes reddened: “Yes, Master.”

Sparse moonlight spilled into the alley as the small figure rode unevenly over the bumpy brick road, heading toward the darkness ahead. It was the last time Master Zhang saw her.