Yin Xi walked barefoot on the scorching sand. The sea breeze blew her skirt up, like a blooming snowflake. She walked towards the boiling sea, the waves flying, at first wetting her ankles, and then her skirt as well. She looked at the end of the sea with empty eyes. There were only floating clouds there. She squinted her eyes, as if seeing the person who had been gone for a long time.

He had told her that when he had money in the future, he would take her to the seaside. She asked if they could have a wedding by the sea, and he said he would have to work even harder to earn money then.

Times had changed, things were different, and people were no longer the same. She really did have a wedding by the sea, but the hand she held was that of her enemy.

She sighed and took another step into the sea. Suddenly, a familiar shout came from behind her: “The person you want to see is not in the sea.”

She turned around and saw that the police officer named Ling Lie was wearing flip-flops, the cuffs of his cotton and linen trousers rolled up to his calves, his hands in his pockets, looking at her nonchalantly. His gaze was like that of someone looking at a person contemplating suicide. But it was strange. When an ordinary person found someone about to jump into the sea, wouldn’t they rush over to rescue them immediately?

“I…” Yin Xi turned her face away. “I wasn’t thinking of committing suicide.”

Ling Lie shrugged. “I thought so too. You haven’t gone back to your hometown to tell a certain someone that Lu Dongyue is already dead.”

Yin Xi’s pupils contracted slightly, but there wasn’t much surprise on her face. She smoothed the bangs that had been messed up by the sea breeze, revealing a look of relief, as if everything was already over. She struggled against the receding seawater, walking towards the shore step by step, and stopped five steps away from Ling Lie. “You know everything.”

Ling Lie’s answer was beyond her expectations. “I don’t know.”

She was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly.

Ling Lie: “That’s why I told you, if you want to talk, you can come to me anytime.”

The sea rose and fell, bringing with it a sound like the footnotes of time. Immersed in this sound, one seemed to be able to easily touch the shape of time. It was flowing by in a hurry, grand and magnificent, not stopping for anyone’s joys and sorrows, partings and reunions, births and deaths.

“I was going to look for you.” Yin Xi’s eyes were very calm. “I admit, I did come here to get close to Lu Dongyue.”

Ling Lie turned sideways and pointed to a canopy not far away. “A lady shouldn’t get too much sun.”

The two came to the canopy. Perhaps Ling Lie’s gentle attitude just now reminded her of the person who would never return to her life. The tip of her nose tingled, and her eyes reddened.

Ling Lie: “Was that person’s name Yang Xiao?”

Yin Xi’s breath caught, then she exhaled, her voice trembling slightly. “Yes, he was my lover. We were about to get married.”

Yin Xi was an invisible person at her aunt’s house, living in a small room partitioned off from the living room, barely able to get by. As for family affection, that was a luxury she had not enjoyed since her parents passed away.

Before she had even finished junior high, she left her aunt’s house. To support herself, she had done all kinds of jobs. The temperature in the factory in the summer was as high as 40°C, and in the winter, it was freezing. The late-night food stalls always had unreasonable and lecherous customers, and the boss always sided with the customers. When she set up a street stall in the bustling city, she was like a mouse seeing a cat when she saw the city management officers. Sometimes she was caught and fined, and half a month’s profit would be gone.

But for someone like her, what else could she do?

She had also worked in a hair salon, the kind whose main business was not washing, cutting, and blow-drying. The lady boss, seeing she was beautiful, brought her many customers. That winter, the hair salon was raided for prostitution. She happened to be sick at home, turned over a new leaf, and stopped taking such jobs.

Although the lady boss of the hair salon had a bad character, she was an excellent cook. She learned the basics, bought pots, pans, and a cart, and sold boxed lunches outside various construction sites in the cold weather.

At that time, the conflict between the migrant workers and the citizens was already very sharp. There was no good food on the construction sites, and the food in the restaurants was expensive, so the migrant workers couldn’t afford it. Although she was considered half a Huangming City person, she had no sense of belonging to the city. She had been struggling in the mud, how much nobler was she than these migrant workers?

So she looked at them with even more kindness than she did the city people. She automatically classified herself as part of their group, waking up early and working late to buy vegetables and cook, trying to lower the price as much as possible. Soon, she became the “designated” chef for the workers.

It was also at that time that she met Yang Xiao, a migrant worker of the same age.

Most of the workers on the construction site were around thirty, dark-skinned, rough, and strong. Yang Xiao, however, was just in his early twenties, fair-skinned, and very thin. When he worked in a tank top, you could even see his “ribs.”

Yang Xiao was also not like the others who liked to use foul language. He spoke softly and gently, and he didn’t get angry when others bullied him, just laughing it off. The people on the construction site didn’t really bully him; they just treated him like a younger brother, a child, occasionally playing the big brother and lecturing him, but they would still share good things with him.

Yin Xi had a very good impression of Yang Xiao. She was a beautiful girl, and Yang Xiao was a handsome young man. After spending a long time together, they were naturally attracted to each other.

Every time Yin Xi served Yang Xiao, she would “accidentally” scoop a little more—Yang Xiao was too thin, and she wanted to fatten him up. Yang Xiao would “return the favor,” saving the pastries his big brothers gave him for Yin Xi. Whenever he had free time after work, he would come and help Yin Xi clean up and ride his cart to take her home.

By the time the work on that construction site was finished, the two had already confirmed their relationship. But there were some unpleasant incidents when the money was settled—someone knew they were dating and, out of jealousy, spread rumors that a woman like Yin Xi would never stay with a poor boy like him forever, and that they would break up sooner or later.

Yin Xi was very unhappy. She also knew that people’s hearts were sometimes filled with jealousy. She didn’t care about others gossiping about her, but it would be troublesome if they made things difficult for Yang Xiao on the construction site.

She told Yang Xiao her thoughts, and Yang Xiao sighed, “It’s my fault I can’t give you a stable and dignified life right now.”

In terms of upbringing, Yang Xiao’s was even harder. He had come from the countryside to make a living, and having endured much hardship, he had developed a “perseverance” of being flattened and kneaded, and of being submissive. He completely understood Yin Xi’s anxiety, so the two agreed not to show affection in front of their coworkers. Wherever Yang Xiao worked, Yin Xi would go to another construction site to sell boxed lunches.

Two years passed, and their lives were still very tight. The farthest they had gone was a scenic mountain on the outskirts of Huangming City. In fact, Huangming City was not far from the sea, but they were reluctant to spend money on travel.

What they liked to talk about the most was the future. What they would do in the future when they had money. For young people with no economic foundation and no competitive strength, the only comfort they had was the ethereal “future.”

That year, Yin Xi was featured in the local newspaper. A reporter had focused his lens on the ordinary people struggling to survive in the streets and alleys. The candid photo of Yin Xi cooking was very artistic. Soon, a businessman offered to pay Yin Xi to take photos for clothing. The price for one set was higher than what she earned from a week of hard cooking.

Yin Xi was flattered. After discussing it with Yang Xiao, she temporarily stopped selling boxed lunches. Yang Xiao was very supportive of her, saying that since his wife was so good at making money, he had to work even harder.

Soon, the renovation project for the east gate of Huangming Engineering College began, and Yang Xiao became one of the workers.

He had told Yin Xi more than once that after working on construction sites for so many years, this was his favorite time, because not far from the east gate was the old library. The university students found the facilities old and the books few, so they usually didn’t come over, which was “convenient” for him.

He loved to read and also wanted to go to university, but his family’s financial situation did not allow it. He definitely wouldn’t dare to go to the grand new library, as he was afraid his dusty clothes would dirty the tables and chairs, and even more afraid of the disdainful looks from the university students.

Yin Xi counted the money she had just received. “Brother Xiao, do you want to take the self-taught exam? Look, I’ve saved some money now. I can’t study, but if you want to go to a night school or a vocational college, I can support you.”

Yang Xiao smiled happily and held her face. “So happy. My wife will support me.”

Yin Xi was embarrassed and pushed him away. “Stop joking.”

Yang Xiao said seriously, “But I can’t sit comfortably in a classroom while you work hard alone to earn money. Remember? We have to save money to get married by the sea.”

Yin Xi had long understood that there were many helpless things in the world, so she had to put aside the matter of supporting Yang Xiao’s studies. After that, she took on a job that required her to leave the city and go to the mountains for a shoot. She used to talk to Yang Xiao on the phone every day, but for a few days, there was no signal. When she returned to a town with a signal and called Yang Xiao again, his phone was surprisingly turned off.

She was restless and afraid something had happened to Yang Xiao. At that time, Huangming City was not very peaceful, and there had been several incidents of assaulting migrant workers. She didn’t finish the shoot, took several bus transfers, and finally returned to Huangming City. The reality before her was a cruel splash of cold water.

Yang Xiao had indeed had an accident. His head was smashed and bleeding, and he lay quietly in a hospital bed, not having woken up.

The school had people coming to visit every day, sending flowers and fruit. His coworkers also came often, all filled with righteous indignation. Yin Xi learned that Yang Xiao had had the accident on his way back to the temporary dormitory from the old library.

That day, the generator on the construction site had malfunctioned and couldn’t work at night, so the foreman simply gave everyone a day off. Yang Xiao took his water bottle to the old library and hadn’t returned by the time the lights went out. The workers knew he liked to read, and it wasn’t the first time he had come back late at night, so they weren’t worried.

But as dawn was about to break, several cleaning staff suddenly shouted from outside the construction site, “It looks like one of your people is in trouble! Come out and see!”

Yang Xiao was lying face down on the tree-lined path, his head and face covered in blood, motionless, as if he were dead. The workers immediately thought of the recent incidents of assaulting migrant workers, and the campus was locked at night. The person who had beaten Yang Xiao like this must be someone from the school. They immediately went to the school to reason with them, delaying the time to send him to the hospital.

It was after ten in the morning when the school representative finally sent Yang Xiao to the hospital. After three days of rescue, his condition finally stabilized. During these three days, the workers had been wrangling with the school and had also called the police.

But when Yin Xi returned, the workers had already reached an understanding with the school and agreed to classify the incident as an internal brawl. The workers, who had received a large amount of compensation and future work arrangements, all remained silent. When Yin Xi asked who had injured Yang Xiao, the workers said that person had already returned to his hometown, and that the school would bear all the treatment costs, nutrition fees, and lost wages.

Yin Xi still wanted to seek justice, but Yang Xiao needed someone to take care of him. Plus, the school representative had also met with her, half persuading and half threatening that if she made a fuss, the school would no longer cover the various expenses.

Besides being pragmatic, she had no other choice.

Later, Yang Xiao woke up. He only remembered leaving the old library at a little past one o’clock and walking along the familiar path back to the construction site. Then his head was hit from behind. He hadn’t lost consciousness at that time, but his vision went black, and he couldn’t see anything clearly. He only knew that the person who attacked him was a man, probably a student. After he fell to the ground, that person was still hitting him. He passed out in severe pain, and after that, he knew nothing.

It was only then that Yin Xi knew it wasn’t an internal fight among the workers at all. But what could she do even if she knew? The workers had taken the benefits and shut up. If she insisted on making a big deal out of it now, what about Yang Xiao’s subsequent treatment?

Learning the result of the coordination between the various parties, Yang Xiao smiled bitterly and comforted Yin Xi, “If I had been awake, I would have made the same decision.”

Some people’s lives were just not as valuable as others’.

Both Yin Xi and Yang Xiao understood this truth. They were used to hardship, used to being lowly. They just wanted to find a foothold in this city.

After Yang Xiao was discharged from the hospital, Yin Xi thought things would gradually get better. She started taking on shooting jobs again. It wouldn’t have mattered if Yin Xi didn’t work for a while, but Yin Xi was unwilling to be supported by her and went to the construction site with his body that had been left with chronic problems. Because he couldn’t do heavy work, he was always fired after a few days.

At that time, Yin Xi was often not at home. When Yang Xiao felt unwell, he would just endure it, having successive fevers and just buying some medicine to eat. After about half a year of this, Yang Xiao suddenly fell ill and died.

Yang Xiao’s relatives were all in the countryside. They rushed over to arrange his funeral. Yin Xi did not show up and was unusually calm. It was only then that she realized that she had made a huge mistake from the very beginning—she shouldn’t have compromised. She should have urged the school to find the person who had harmed Yang Xiao.

But people at the bottom were used to getting by. A little bit of sweetness after suffering was enough to make them grateful, not knowing that it wasn’t sweetness, but just cheap medicine given as charity after being hurt.

Yin Xi cut off all contact with the migrant workers. She spent a year working intensely. After saving enough money to support her life and investigation, she began to search for the murderer.

This was undoubtedly a very difficult task, but she believed Yang Xiao’s words—it was a male student.

Why would a male student attack Yang Xiao for no reason? Yang Xiao was a gentle person and rarely had conflicts with others. Thinking of the phenomenon that many people in Huangming City looked down on migrant workers, Yin Xi judged that the problem was not with Yang Xiao, but with the male student himself.

The male student hated migrant workers. But why the hatred? There were many reasons for this.

Nearly two years had passed since the incident. That person had most likely already graduated. Yin Xi took advantage of the opportunity of a photography event held by Huangming Engineering College, mixed in as a judge, and became very close with several sisters in the student union and the academic affairs office, obtaining a list of male students from the previous few graduating classes.

The list was as dense as a scripture. She patiently investigated them one by one. This tedious work took her a year. She preset various criminal motives for these students and then eliminated them one by one, until she discovered a student named Lu Dongyue, whose father was also a migrant worker.

She came to the old residential area where the Lu family lived, pretending to be a staff member of a welfare agency, and went to their door to investigate the living conditions of the fifty-year-old group. In the conversation, she led the topic to their children.

As soon as Father Lu spoke of Lu Dongyue, he was full of anger. “I raised him with painstaking effort, and he looks down on me, resents me for being a migrant worker, for embarrassing him, for not being able to arrange a job for him or send him abroad like his classmates’ parents!”

Yin Xi asked if Lu Dongyue was no longer living at home. Father Lu said they had long since severed ties and that he didn’t know where he had run off to.

His father was a migrant worker, yet he hated and looked down on migrant workers. In Yin Xi’s heart, the possibility that Lu Dongyue was the murderer grew larger and larger.

She also paid a high price to have a hacker online retrieve Lu Dongyue’s academic records and found that before Yang Xiao was attacked, Lu Dongyue’s major had a very important exam. Lu Dongyue’s grades were not ideal, and compared to the previous exam, there was a very obvious decline.

Could it be that because Lu Dongyue had failed the exam, he had a belly full of resentment with nowhere to vent, and coupled with his inherent hatred for the migrant worker group, he saw Yang Xiao reading in the old library and exploded, injuring him?

Yin Xi wanted to find Lu Dongyue and make contact with him in person, but she had no idea where Lu Dongyue was. Later, she thought of the method of chatting with Lu Dongyue’s classmates online. Using her relationship with the sisters in the school, she got a student ID card, lied that she was a junior, and added the accounts of several male students, chatting about school and their major, and then turning the topic to Lu Dongyue.

She learned a very crucial piece of information—just before Yang Xiao’s accident, Lu Dongyue often went to deliver hot water to the migrant workers, and was very enthusiastic.

Why? To find a target for attack? To case the joint?

She could no longer convince herself that these were just coincidences. The Lu Dongyue she had never met became extremely detestable in her eyes. She often dreamed that she had found Lu Dongyue and killed him.

One day, she suddenly thought, why did Lu Dongyue leave Huangming City?

At that time, the police had launched a campaign to clean up, arresting a group of people who had harmed migrant workers. Was Lu Dongyue afraid of being exposed, and so he fled?

Lu Dongyue’s graduating class was having a reunion. The organizers wanted to confirm where everyone was and whether they could come. Yin Xi took the opportunity to learn that Lu Dongyue was in the distant Feng City.

She came to Feng City, followed Lu Dongyue, and found out his workplace and where he lived. At this time, she fell into a daze. She had found the person, but she didn’t know how to take revenge.

Stab him to death? She wasn’t sure she could win.

Before killing Lu Dongyue, she wanted to get the truth from his mouth.

She thought about how she had once worked in a hair salon. Pleasing those filthy men was her old trade. She made a plan—get close to Lu Dongyue, become his girlfriend, and then find an opportunity to ask for the truth and take revenge.

But getting close to Lu Dongyue was very difficult. This submissive man was very different from what she had imagined. He was timid and didn’t dare to resist anything, and he was even more resistant to contact from strangers.

She returned to Huangming City, waiting for an opportunity while working. She didn’t have to wait long. She discovered that Golden Oak was planning an absurd “underworld” wedding and needed a bride and groom with strong psychological endurance. At that time, she didn’t know the groom would be Lu Dongyue, but she felt it was a good opportunity to infiltrate Golden Oak. As long as they became colleagues, there would be a possibility of development.

There was no competition for her at all. She came to Golden Oak to sign the contract. The ordinary employees did not know she was from Huangming City. Getting the opportunity to observe Lu Dongyue up close, she once suspected she had found the wrong person. This man was so cowardly and timid it was outrageous. Why would he have the courage to kill someone?

But she soon found a reason—it was precisely because Lu Dongyue had a life on his conscience that he had become so cautious and didn’t dare to let anyone notice him.

This gave her an inspiration. She would do the opposite and provoke Yin Dongyue.

The “Ten Thousand Ghosts Patrol the Island” event on Fengchao Island was about to begin, but the choice for the groom had not yet been decided. Yin Xi took the opportunity of a dinner party to drop hints. When everyone heard it, they thought, yes, why didn’t we think of Lu Dongyue? With Lu Dongyue’s personality, he definitely wouldn’t refuse, right? And by using one of their own, they could save a lot of money!

Lu Dongyue was very unwilling, but the leaders put pressure on him one by one. Yin Xi watched Lu Dongyue’s reaction from the shadows. If he exploded and lost control, hurting the people who were forcing him, it would be a good opportunity for the police to come and investigate his past thoroughly. If he didn’t refuse, then she would become his nominal bride and have more opportunities for private contact.

The result was that Lu Dongyue did not refuse and was tied together with her at the company’s request to get to know each other. Since they had to get to know each other, there was no shortage of chatting. Yin Xi was very talkative, saying that she had traveled all over the country for her shoots and had the most contact with migrant workers.

The moment she heard “migrant workers,” Lu Dongyue’s expression changed. The disgust that came from the bottom of his heart could not be concealed at all. Yin Xi’s heart sank heavily, but she still pulled Lu Dongyue into her net. When she mentioned the case in Huangming City, Lu Dongyue became a little excited, saying those people deserved it.

Yin Xi said all the criminals had been caught. Lu Dongyue showed a trace of satisfaction, but when Yin Xi asked again, he stopped talking.

After arriving on the island, Lu Dongyue vaguely expressed his admiration for Yin Xi. Yin Xi was disgusted, but she could only tell herself over and over again that she had not yet induced Lu Dongyue to tell the truth, and that she had to endure it a little longer.

“I did want to do something to him, but not now.” Yin Xi finished her long narrative, as if walking out of the heavy years of the past, her eyes full of fatigue. “There were still many days of parties after the wedding. I wanted to find an opportunity to get him drunk and ask him about what happened back then, but someone beat me to it.”

Yin Xi was very disappointed. “I’m sorry.”

Ling Lie: “This apology is probably not meant for me, is it?”

Yin Xi smiled and wiped away a tear. “It’s for Yang Xiao. I spent so much time and found the murderer, but someone else got to him first.”

Ling Lie: “He wouldn’t want you to take revenge for him.”

Yin Xi was stunned. “What right do you have to say that? You don’t even know him.”

“Didn’t you just let me get to know him? He was gentle, kind, and ambitious. He loved you very much. Would such a person want you to commit a crime and go to jail for him?”

Yin Xi covered her mouth, two streams of tears falling.

“He probably wouldn’t even want you to pursue the murderer.” Ling Lie looked at the sea surface. The sound of the waves was distant, it was unknown whose confession and admonition it was. “The woman he loves should live a happy life—even if he is no longer here.”

Yin Xi squatted on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

Ling Lie looked down at her. “The Huangming City police have already reopened the investigation.”

Yin Xi looked up in surprise, unable to believe it.

“The police made mistakes in their investigation, but this time, I believe they can find the belated truth.”

Yin Xi choked and shook her head.

Ling Lie said, “You don’t believe the police, but actually, there’s a police officer who, like you, has been working hard all these years.”