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Qiu Ruru took a day off, went home to shower and wash her hair, changed her clothes, and carefully put on her makeup, pinning on her earrings in front of the mirror.
As she was going downstairs, she received a call from Shen Yihuan.
“Are you coming down? I’m waiting for you downstairs.”
“Yeah, I’ll be right there.”
Today was Gu Minghui’s trial.
In the courtroom, Gu Minghui stood at the other end. His hair was cut very short, his eyes were sharp, and he had shed the frivolous and nonchalant demeanor of his past. He stood upright in a prison uniform in front of the table.
The trial began. All sorts of witness testimonies and physical evidence were presented, and his crimes were revealed. It was like a documentary playing out clearly in front of Qiu Ruru.
“When was the first time you came into contact with an international arms group?”
He was logical and clear, explaining everything from the cause to the process.
Qiu Ruru, who was rarely dressed up so elegantly, looked straight ahead, her gaze fixed on Gu Minghui’s back. Her expression was serious, as if she were engraving every word he said into her mind.
She didn’t cry, nor did she seem overly sad. She was just an observer.
Waiting for a result.
A result that was decades overdue.
“According to Article 125 of the Criminal Law... those with serious offenses shall be sentenced to ten years or more in prison, life imprisonment, or death... given that Gu Minghui has a good attitude in pleading guilty and has assisted the police in solving cases...”
“Sentenced to 12 years in prison.”
The gavel struck.
Qiu Ruru sighed in relief, suddenly feeling all her strength drain away.
The court adjourned. Everyone stood up, and Gu Minghui was led away by the police.
At the last turn, he stopped and looked at Qiu Ruru. He didn’t say anything. Qiu Ruru looked back at him, also without saying a word.
Gu Minghui was taken away.
The boy who, on an afternoon after a monthly exam, rode her on his bike to the hospital to see her grandfather.
The boy who often fought for her, always reckless and unruly.
The boy who was the common thread throughout her entire youth, whom she had a crush on for her entire youth, but never confessed to.
That boy.
In the end, he was burdened with a multitude of crimes, condemned by others, and thrown into jail.
Qiu Ruru’s major in college was journalism. In class, her teachers taught that they were responsible for exposing the truth, upholding justice, being good people, and being good journalists.
Gu Minghui, in every way, could not be considered a good person.
But Qiu Ruru was still grateful for his presence in her life.
How good was he? He was so good that her life had a purpose and hope. He was so good that she had something to look forward to and be passionate about for the next twelve years.
________________________________________
Sentenced to 12 years, but due to good behavior, he was released two years early.
Over these ten years, Qiu Ruru often went to visit Gu Minghui.
Gu Minghui’s father was an older father, and the news of his son’s imprisonment was a huge blow to him. His health had been poor over the years, and Qiu Ruru often went to visit him as well.
The Qiu and Gu families were old friends, with a deep bond.
But what parents would be willing to marry their daughter, whom they had doted on since childhood, to a man who had been in prison for ten years?
Qiu Ruru was set up on countless blind dates over the years.
But she had been stubborn since she was a child. No one could change her mind about something she had decided on, except for herself.
In the end, her parents gave up. If she wanted to wait, then she could wait.
In the end, she waited until she was 35.
Her friends were all getting married and having children, living happily. Some had even remarried or had a second child.
She was the only one who remained single.
When people asked her why she didn’t date, she would just smile and say she wasn’t interested.
Everyone assumed she was a confirmed bachelorette.
There are gains for every loss. The girl who used to not have much of an opinion had now grown into the editor-in-chief of a newspaper, acting decisively and with great depth.
She had countless secret admirers and people who respected her.
On the day Gu Minghui was released, Qiu Ruru and Shen Yihuan went to pick him up together.
The man was thinner and more mature, with a certain depth that came with age. He had shed the frivolous and lazy facade he once had.
It had been ten years.
In these ten years, Shen Yihuan had become a wife and a mother. Her daughter, Lu Ying, was already in elementary school.
In these ten years, Qiu Ruru had grown from a small editor to an editor-in-chief, becoming more mature and beautiful.
“You’re finally out,” Shen Yihuan said, opening her arms and hugging him.
“Yeah.”
Gu Minghui looked at Qiu Ruru.
Standing under the bright sun, he could more clearly feel the obvious changes in Qiu Ruru. She was so radiant and charming, and it was the result of her experiences over the years.
It also made him acutely aware of his own sense of inferiority.
And his powerlessness.
Qiu Ruru stood on the side with her arms crossed, watching him for a while, then raised her eyebrow and smiled at him. “Hug?”
“Yeah,” Gu Minghui said, smiling and opening his arms.
Qiu Ruru almost ran into his embrace.
She hugged him tightly.
For ten years, they had only been able to talk through a pane of glass. This was the first time they had a real connection.
“Let’s go to Ruru’s place for a meal. We just bought a bunch of ingredients last night,” Shen Yihuan said.
Gu Minghui asked, “Is Yingying coming, too?”
“She has class. We’ll pick her up after school. I told her that her Uncle Gu will be able to play with her soon, and she was very happy.”
The three of them got into the car, with Shen Yihuan driving.
As soon as the car reached the first traffic light, Qiu Ruru’s phone rang.
After she hung up, her face changed.
“What’s wrong?” Gu Minghui asked, looking at her.
Qiu Ruru snapped back to reality and said to Shen Yihuan, “Yingying, hurry to the hospital!”
“The hospital!?”
Qiu Ruru looked at Gu Minghui and said with difficulty, “Uncle Gu... is suddenly not doing well. He’s being rushed to the ER.”
In the past two years, Gu Minghui’s father’s health had been deteriorating. Later, he lived in the hospital every day. He had just been resuscitated last week. He had looked well recently, so how could he suddenly have an attack today?
For a parent to bury their child is one of the greatest tragedies in the world.
But for a child who has been gone for ten years to not even get to see their parent one last time, isn’t that just as tragic?
There aren’t that many perfect coincidences in this world.
Just when I arrived, you were successfully resuscitated.
When Gu Minghui rushed to the door of the operating room, it was already empty, and the operating light was off.
The resuscitation had failed.
Qiu Ruru watched him collapse to his knees, his hands pressed tightly against his eyes. His shoulders shook violently and silently. A moment later, he burst into a heartbreaking cry.
It was an unsuppressed, cathartic, and unrestrained wail, like the cry of a baby, or the roar of a wounded beast.
Her feet felt like they were filled with lead, stuck to the floor, unable to move forward.
In this situation, no amount of comforting words from her could soothe him. This kind of regret and guilt would linger and extend to every day of Gu Minghui’s life.
And another kind of fear spread through Qiu Ruru’s heart.
She had never seen Gu Minghui like this, kneeling on the ground, so defeated and broken, crying uncontrollably.
Not in the desperate situation in Xinjiang, not when he was handcuffed after turning himself in, and not when he was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
She had a fear that Gu Minghui would fall into a state of despair, and the light in him would slowly extinguish.
________________________________________
Qiu Ruru and Shen Yihuan didn’t stay at the hospital for long. Gu Minghui told them to go back first.
Gu Minghui’s father left behind a huge company, Gu Corporation. Although he had already handed the company over to a professional agent due to his health, the company immediately fell into chaos after the chairman of the board passed away.
Originally, if Gu Minghui had been released a little later, his uncle would have become the new chairman. But he was released right on time. According to his father’s will, Gu Minghui would take over the company.
This made Gu Minghui’s uncle despise him.
In the days following his release, he was busy with the funeral and then with the company.
The huge and complex company projects left him with almost no time to rest. He had to seize every minute and every second to get the company’s business back on track.
He had studied finance in college, but he never paid attention. Now, he had to be grateful for those years of arms smuggling, which at least gave him some practical experience.
He was being chased by an invisible beast and didn’t even have time to grieve. He spent a huge amount of energy and time, and finally, three months later, he truly reclaimed the company his father had left for him.
He had even lost another ten pounds since he was released from prison.
In these three months, he barely contacted Qiu Ruru, and Qiu Ruru barely contacted him.
The shareholders’ meeting that morning decided that Gu Minghui would have the highest executive power in the company, but it was also stated that he would only be given a one-month trial period. If there were any major errors, he would have to unconditionally hand over all his shares.
After the shareholders’ meeting, he had his first moment of free time since being released from prison.
Gu Minghui sat at his desk, his phone’s screen showing Qiu Ruru’s contact page. He hadn’t made the call yet.
After a moment of hesitation, the phone screen turned black again. He flipped it over and opened the document in front of him.
He was insecure.
Gu Minghui was now past the age of thirty, and for the first time, he felt a genuine sense of inferiority.
Growing up, he was doted on by his parents, envied by his classmates, and adored by many, many girls.
But now, he had served ten years in prison. He was out of touch with society. He didn’t understand many of the internet slang words his colleagues used during their free time. He was overwhelmed by a series of trivial matters at the company, and the suit he was wearing hadn’t been ironed in three days, looking wrinkled and lifeless.
And Qiu Ruru?
In these ten years, compared to Gu Minghui in prison, she had grown rapidly. Her every move exuded confidence and decisiveness.
Gu Minghui, by chance, once heard Qiu Ruru give clear and logical instructions to her subordinates, and the gap between them became even more apparent.
He would think.
What right did he have to be with Qiu Ruru? What right did he have to have her?
Furthermore, Qiu Ruru was such a good girl. Would marrying a man who had been in prison for ten years be a disservice to her?
In the days to come, she might have to face questions from others or strange looks.
________________________________________
After work, Qiu Ruru went to Shen Yihuan’s house for dinner.
“Godmother,” Lu Ying ran over to greet her as soon as she entered the house.
After Lu Ying started elementary school, her facial features had become more defined, and she was even more beautiful.
“Yingying, look what Godmother brought you,” Qiu Ruru said, handing her the bag she was holding behind her back.
Inside was a custom-made Snow White cosplay dress. Lu Ying gasped in delight and excitedly shouted, “Thank you, Godmother.”
“I only asked you to come for dinner, and you still brought her a present,” Shen Yihuan said, tossing her a pair of slippers. “Yingying, go do your homework first.”
Lu Ying skipped into her bedroom, hugging the dress.
Lu Zhou wasn’t back yet, so it was just the two of them in the living room.
“Gu Minghui has been out for a few months now. Why is there still no progress between you two?” Shen Yihuan asked, taking a can of orange juice from the fridge for her.
“He’s busy with his company. Besides,” Qiu Ruru said, pulling the tab and taking a sip. “I feel like he’s deliberately avoiding me lately.”
“Hmm?” Shen Yihuan frowned. “What are you thinking?”
“Spending ten years in prison means he needs to adjust. It’s up to him. There’s nothing I can do to help him now; he has to get through this himself,” Qiu Ruru said, leaning back into the sofa, sitting cross-legged. She tilted her head and smiled at Shen Yihuan. “You know, I need him to be the one to reach out to me.”
________________________________________
At the end of the month, the newspaper partnered with a new brand. Qiu Ruru, as the editor-in-chief, was invited to dinner with her assistant.
“Ruru, I have to toast you,” a man in a suit stood up with a wine glass.
Qiu Ruru smiled and stood up. “Mr. Han, you’re too kind.”
She smiled radiantly, her eyes bright and clear, looking at the man in front of her.
Han Fang.
Her ex-boyfriend.
If you counted the first person she dated, he was her first love.
But there was no lingering sense of first love between them.
Not long after, Qiu Ruru got up to go to the restroom.
After she washed her hands, she looked in the mirror to reapply her lipstick and saw a man standing behind her in the mirror.
She turned around. “Mr. Han, why are you out here?”
“Don’t call me Mr. Han,” Han Fang said with a smile. “We’ve known each other for so many years.”
Qiu Ruru curved her lips and wiped her hands with a tissue. “Then let’s catch up. Did you marry that other person?”
Han Fang’s smile froze. “No, we broke up in our senior year.”
“Is that so?” Qiu Ruru responded carelessly.
After a few more words, it was clear that Qiu Ruru didn’t want any kind of relationship with him outside of work. Han Fang felt unwanted and made an excuse to leave a moment later.
When Qiu Ruru went out, she saw Gu Minghui in the hallway.
She was stunned. “What are you doing here?”
Gu Minghui held up the cigarette between his fingers to show her. “Work.”
“You must be swamped lately.”
“Yeah,” Gu Minghui smiled at her. “That guy... was he a suitor of yours?”
Qiu Ruru’s heart skipped a beat. “You saw him?”
“Nah, I just saw his back. He seemed pretty handsome.”
Qiu Ruru looked up at him, and her back straightened slightly at his answer.
“Gu Minghui.”
She gave a bitter laugh.
“You really are... a scumbag, as always.”
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