Back in Ninghai, the small courtyard where Ye Mo had once lived had been purchased by Ning Qingxue. Staying in Yuzhou had become too painful for her. She had the heart to go search for Ye Mo—but she had no idea where he had gone.
Unable to remain in Yuzhou, she returned to Ninghai. The place was still the same, but the person was gone.
What Ning Qingxue didn't know was that Xu Wei was still living in the courtyard. Xu Wei didn't know the house had been bought and believed she was still simply renting the room. But lately, people kept coming to ask questions—sometimes even taking away surveillance equipment and computer hard drives. Xu Wei had a strong feeling that this must have something to do with Ye Mo.
Thinking back on the time she spent with Ye Mo—months under the same roof—she realized she didn't even know what he really did.
She opened the courtyard gate to go buy groceries, but froze in place when she saw Ning Qingxue standing there.
After a moment of confusion, she instinctively asked, "What are you doing here?"
Ning Qingxue knew Xu Wei didn't like her. But she didn't think Xu Wei was wrong—in fact, she felt Xu Wei knew Ye Mo better than she ever did.
"I live here now. The rent hasn't expired yet," Ning Qingxue replied calmly. She didn't want Xu Wei to know she had bought the house—if she did, Xu Wei would probably move out immediately, knowing her personality.
Ning Qingxue wanted to keep things as they were, as if nothing had changed. But she also knew—that wasn't possible. Even if everything else was the same, Ye Mo wasn't here anymore.
Xu Wei wanted to criticize her, but she didn't know what relationship Ning Qingxue had with Ye Mo. And besides, Ye Mo had paid rent for the year, so she couldn't really say anything. In the end, she just turned and left to buy vegetables.
Ning Qingxue returned to Ye Mo's old room. Everything was still in its place, but her heart ached with an unexplainable sorrow.
That bed… She and Ye Mo had once posed for a photo together on it. At the time, she had even felt herself getting caught up in the act, and Li Mumei had teased her about it. Was that fleeting feeling her real emotion all along?
She sat on the bed for a while, then started to tidy the room. Everything went back where it belonged, except for Ye Mo's small medical kit, which she had always kept in her suitcase. To her, it might be the last thing Ye Mo had left behind.
She opened it again. Inside was a letter Ye Mo had written—one she had resisted reading until now. But now, alone again in the place they once lived together, she could no longer hold back.
Ye Mo's handwriting was bold and powerful, almost as if the ink would burst from the page.
"Hello, Shi Xiu,
Before I left, I wanted to leave you a note.I had some things I wanted to give you,but you haven't been coming to school lately.
I came here alone, and you were my only friend.I was kicked out of my family, publicly abandoned by my fiancée,and yet you never left me.So you are my one true friend.
Honestly, I'm most grateful for that day when you woke me up.If not for you…maybe I'd never have woken up at all.
Sigh, I don't have a place to stay these days,it's hard to write.I'll write more once I settle down."
The letter ended abruptly.
But Ning Qingxue knew why—he had nowhere to live because she had come. That realization made her feel even more heartbroken.
He was a lonely man, and she had hurt him.
And now… she was the one left alone.
She put the letter away and left the room. In the courtyard, Xu Wei had already returned but was silently washing vegetables.
Ning Qingxue walked over to the flowerbed Ye Mo had once tended, wanting to clean it up and maybe plant something new. As she worked, she spotted a tiny sprout poking through the soil.
She stared at it for a long time.
It was growing in the exact spot where that silver-leafed herb used to be. She remembered how Ye Mo had cherished that plant, and how soon after it disappeared, he left too.
Could this sprout be from the same plant?
Ning Qingxue carefully fenced it off, building a small protective enclosure just like the one Ye Mo had made.
Whether or not this was the same plant, she resolved to nurture it. After all, it grew in the exact same spot as the plant Ye Mo had once protected.
Xu Wei finished cooking and glanced at the woman still fussing over the flowerbed.
Strange, she thought. Do Ning Qingxue and Ye Mo really have some special relationship? How else could they have the same hobbies?
"I made dinner," Xu Wei called out. "Want to eat with me?"
"Thanks, but I'm not very hungry," Ning Qingxue replied softly. After a pause, she asked, "Xu Wei… did Ye Mo eat with you often?"
"Ye Mo?" Xu Wei blinked, unsure why Ning Qingxue asked that. Still, she answered truthfully: "He only ate here once. Said he'd treat me next time, but he never did. Just up and left without even saying goodbye."By the way… Ning Qingxue, what exactly was your relationship with Ye Mo?"
"I…" Ning Qingxue was caught off guard.Yes—what was her relationship with Ye Mo?The engagement had been broken.The marriage was fake.Now, they had no ties at all.So why was she still here?
A week passed.
Xu Wei gradually realized how eerily similar Ning Qingxue and Ye Mo were. Neither liked going out. Both preferred a quiet life, often staying inside all day.
And like Ye Mo, Ning Qingxue loved tending the flowerbed, often crouching there for hours.
The only difference? While Ye Mo lived there, no one ever came looking for him. But now that Ning Qingxue was there, visitors came often. A woman named Li Mumei dropped by a few times. Another stunning woman named Su Jingwen also visited.
Su Jingwen's beauty left Xu Wei a little shaken. Where were all these gorgeous women coming from all of a sudden?
Meanwhile, far away in a private estate in Yanjing, Song Hai—the Song family's head of external affairs—was staring at a map, deep in thought.
A few days ago, he had received intelligence: a man who looked very much like Ye Mo had passed through Fengtang Town over a month ago, riding a private bus to Qi City. But according to the driver, the man got off midway, somewhere in the mountains of Guixiang Dalin.
The trail had gone cold after that.
Song Hai was currently staring at the Guixiang Dalin region—a dense stretch of wilderness. If Ye Mo really was hiding out in those mountains, finding him would be extremely difficult.
Just then, his phone rang.
Song Hai frowned. These days, he was exhausting himself tracking Ye Mo, the man who had killed Song Shaowen. Any interruption annoyed him.
"What is it?" he answered, voice cold.
"Boss Hai, Ning Qingxue of the Ning family has arrived in Ninghai. She's moved into Ye Mo's old place. What are your orders?"
It was a subordinate he had stationed in Ninghai to monitor Ye Mo. Though Ye Mo had eluded them, now they had eyes on Ning Qingxue instead.
Song Hai rubbed his forehead. After a moment of silence, he said coldly:
"Keep an eye on her. Don't act yet.If we still get nothing in a few days,send a few thugs—find an excuse and take her away."
"Yes, Boss Hai," came the crisp reply.
Song Hai hung up and sneered.
"I won't touch the Ning family yet.But Ning Qingxue…don't think you're off-limits.I'll start collecting interest for Shaowen's death—with you."