There had been times of downfall, times of pride, but she could never succeed in anything. All these years, she's been deeply repressed, unable to forget the man who was so good to her.
When she was with him, she disliked him in countless ways. After they parted and she met different kinds of men, the more she compared, the more she realized how good that person had been to her. But... she could never go back. Whenever the night was quiet, the regret in her heart would make her feel immense pain.
She missed Mom so much that she returned home five years ago, only to find everything had changed. Her brother rarely came home after finishing college, and her mom had passed away the fifth year after she left.
Lin Wan regretted it endlessly, crying in front of Mom's grave for a whole day.
She learned from her uncle that her brother had gone to Z City, so she came here too, wanting to see her brother.
Her brother used to adore her, accommodating her in everything. Right now, she missed her brother's doting gaze immensely but feared seeing his resentful eyes. Lin Wan moved around the city for a long time, knowing where her brother was, yet she couldn't summon the courage to meet him.
...
Lin Wan took tools from her rented room and headed straight for South City Road.
She had never lived in such a grand and mysterious courtyard but knew it was very strict. "I am a cleaner going to clean Building Eight," Lin Wan explained to the person on duty.
"Hold on, I'll make a call home."
This family is surnamed Han. Every time she heard the surname Han over the years, she would subconsciously look up.
The guard quickly dialed the internal line, spoke a few words, pointed Lin Wan to a location, and let her in.
So, Building Eight was a small villa. When Lin Wan rang the doorbell, the gate just happened to open.
A green figure stepped out, causing Lin Wan to feel slightly dazed, staring at that green figure in a complete stupor.
Gradually, that splash of green became clearer; upon seeing Lin Wan, there was a moment of daze too. Lin Wan could see surprise and disbelief in his eyes. But it was not as obvious as Lin Wan's; Han Yi merely glanced at her and hurriedly went out the gate.
He was still so handsome; although time had climbed over his face, it hadn't added any flaws but rather made him more attractive.
As for her? Her figure had changed shape. To make a living, her skin had turned rough, and the wrinkles were too numerous to count.
Han Yi wanted to step forward, pull her outside, but thinking about the people inside, felt a bit repelled. He could only suppress the longing and head outward.
"Lin Wan?"
Lin Wan didn't know how long she had been standing at the door when she suddenly heard someone in the yard calling her.
Looking up, she met Ye Qing's mocking gaze.
Mocking?
Lin Wan opened her mouth, facing her unfriendly eyes, holding a bellyful of words with no idea what to say.
Was this a former classmate? Fellow townsman?
"What a coincidence, how come you're here?"
Ye Qing glanced at Lin Wan in surprise and said, "This is my home... Lin Wan, you wouldn't be the cleaner the guard just mentioned at the gate, right?"
The word "cleaner" twisted at Lin Wan's heart, wrenching her in a stuffy silence, yet she had no reason to argue. Reality is always that hurtful.
"You guys...?" Lin Wan didn't answer her question and asked straightforwardly.
Ye Qing was first taken aback, raised her eyebrows, then gave her a strange smile without immediately responding. She casually dusted nonexistent dust off her expensive clothes, lifted her head, and gave Lin Wan a meaningful look, making Lin Wan's heart tremble.
"Yes, within a few years of your leaving, Ai Yi and I got married." Ye Qing finished speaking, looked up. The sky was gloomy, the October weather outside somewhat cold. She said to Lin Wan, "Let's go inside and talk, it's too cold out here."
"No need, I just suddenly remembered I have something to do, so..."
Before finishing her sentence, Ye Qing interrupted, clasping Lin Wan's arm and leading her inside. "There's been no news from you these years. You wouldn't know, after you left, your mom cried for a long time and fell ill within days. Your brother had to drop out of school. When did you come here? Judging by your appearance, life hasn't been good these years, has it?" Speaking with a face full of sincere smile, yet the words that came out were just that discomforting.
With that, she led Lin Wan into the house, "How's this house? Judging by your appearance, you probably haven't lived in such a house, right?" Ye Qing smiled as she gave Lin Wan the once-over.
The house was large, beautiful, but it didn't belong to her.
"Yi is quite a character now. Speaking of which, I suffered a lot following him over the years too, but it was okay. Three years after you left, I married him."
"Ye Qing, sorry, I'm feeling a bit unwell, you should hire someone else." Lin Wan spoke as she hurriedly walked out.
Ye Qing stood there with arms crossed, unmoving, watching Lin Wan's panicked escape, a tinge of ridicule playing on her lips like a ripple on water, quickly crossing her face before solidifying into two sparks in her eyes, vanishing in the depths of her gaze.
"Remember Li Liang? These years, he often gained favors from me. One of his paintings now is worth hundreds of thousands."
Lin Wan's hurried step suddenly halted, turning back, looking at Ye Qing in shock, a wave of melancholic bitterness spreading throughout her body. "Why?"
Ye Qing just relished seeing her defeated, sarcastically said, "Why? What do you think? Haha..." Seeing her living like a fool all these years, Ye Qing felt somewhat pity and said, "I dislike you, purposefully."
Lin Wan could no longer suppress the anger in her heart, moved forward suddenly and gave Ye Qing a fierce slap, "It was you who ruined me, it was you!"
Ye Qing covered her face, not bothered, instead laughed even louder, "That's right, but you knew too late, want to know why?... Remember that summer when we were sixteen? Obviously, we went out together, why did you leave ahead without waiting for me? Why? Tell me!" Ye Qing said as if mad, face contorted, originally delicate features now looking extremely ugly.
Lin Wan was stunned, unable to recall things from when she was sixteen!
"What is that expression? You even forgot what happened that day! Why? Why? How could you forget?"
Looking at Ye Qing for a long time, Lin Wan finally remembered that year, there was a movie screening in a neighboring town.
Everyone in the villages within a radius of ten miles knew, despite the miles, they scrambled to watch.
Her brother, her, and Ye Qing went to watch together late that night.
"That night at the movies?... There were too many people on the way back, I couldn't find you. My brother and I waited for you for a long time, finally, someone from the village told us you had already gone back, and then my brother and I left."
Ye Qing suddenly burst into laughter, "You remembered?"
"Just because of this? You were angry, so you got Li Liang to set me up?"
Lin Wan only now realized that Ye Qing hated her so deeply.