Kim Nam-ji also tilted his head back, his face slightly flushed, but he boldly kissed her.
"If you dare to break up with me, I will never speak to you again for the rest of my life."
Yin Jiayi extended her little finger.
"Pinky promise".
"childish."
The person who said it was childish still reached out their hand.
Their hands were clasped together, fingers interlocked.
At that time, Yin Jiayi thought that she loved Jin Nanzhi and Jin Nanzhi loved her, so they would be together forever, and only life and death could separate them. Later she realized that forever was not a unit of time, but just a moment, the moment when they fell in love.
***
There were no meals served on the night flight, only some fruit and yogurt. When the plane landed, it was just getting light. Jian Changnian's stomach was growling with hunger, so the group decided to go get something to eat before returning to the training base.
"Three bowls of beef noodles, please."
After ordering his meal, Xie Shi'an returned to his seat. The wall-mounted TV in the restaurant finished showing the flight information and then started playing the morning news.
She glanced at it casually and then knocked over the water glass on the table.
"This station has learned that Cheng Zhen, an athlete who recently won gold medals in the men's 400-meter freestyle and 4×200-meter relay at the National Swimming League, has been arrested with the approval of the Jiangcheng People's Procuratorate on charges of intentional homicide."
Jian Changnian also opened her mouth wide in surprise, rubbing her eyes as if she hadn't seen clearly.
Although the TV station had digitally altered Cheng Zhen's face, Xie Shi'an recognized him immediately. No wonder he wouldn't answer his calls; something had really happened.
"The case is still under further investigation..."
The female host's mouth was still opening and closing when Xie Shi'an couldn't listen anymore. He picked up his bag, turned around, and left.
Yan Xinyuan and Jian Changnian exchanged a glance and followed after them.
"Hey, Shi'an, wait for us!"
Xie Shi'an turned his head, his eyes a little red.
"Impossible! How could Orange Juice kill someone! He wouldn't even step on an ant... I have to find out!"
When the waiter brought out the prepared beef noodles, the seat was already empty. He scratched his head, somewhat puzzled.
"Hey, I've already paid, where are they?"
Xie Shi'an reached out and flagged down a taxi.
"Master, Jiangcheng City Detention Center."
She remained eerily silent the entire way.
Jian Changnian tried to speak several times, but swallowed her words back each time.
She also felt that it was impossible for Cheng Zhen to commit murder, but since it made the news, it was probably true.
The two of them arrived at the entrance of the detention center with trepidation.
Yan Xinyuan went to knock on the door.
The prison guards came out.
"Who goes there? Show your identification."
"We are Cheng Zhen's friends. Is he being held here? Can we go in and see him?"
Jian Changnian said urgently.
"No, the case is under investigation, and no one is allowed to meet with the suspects."
The prison guards refused their visit and turned back to their post.
This indirectly confirms that Cheng Zhen was indeed temporarily detained here for intentional homicide.
Xie Shi'an gritted his teeth, turned around and left.
Jian Changnian chased after him.
Where are you going?
Once in the car, Xie Shi'an gave the driver Cheng Zhen's home address.
Upon hearing this and noticing that they had boarded the bus from the detention center, the driver glanced at them through the rearview mirror and said...
"What are you going there for? There was a murder there a few days ago. A young man beat someone to death with a baseball bat. I heard he was some kind of national champion."
Jian Changnian's heart sank, and she glanced at Xie Shi'an cautiously.
"Then...do you know why?"
The driver was driving the car.
"I don't know. Investigating the cause is the police's job. I'm just a taxi driver."
Xie Shi'an put on his headphones again, his lips pressed tightly together, staring silently at the street scene rushing past the window.
She does this when she's feeling agitated.
The closer she got to the villa area, the more anxious she became. When she arrived at the gate, she pushed open the car door and practically ran inside.
"Hey, I haven't paid yet."
Jian Changnian turned around, threw down some change, and ran after her.
"Shi'an, Shi'an, slow down! You're still injured, you can't do strenuous exercise!"
Xie Shi'an gritted his teeth and rushed to Cheng Zhen's house. He was stunned and stood there. The yard was overgrown with weeds, and there were some garbage and old, broken furniture scattered everywhere.
A minivan was parked at the entrance of the courtyard.
Then, workers carried the television out of the truck and loaded it onto the vehicle, with Cheng's mother following closely behind.
"This TV cost five or six thousand when I bought it."
"Five hundred, five hundred at most, take it or leave it."
After hesitating for a moment, Cheng's mother still snatched the money from his hand, smiling apologetically.
"Sell, I'll sell. There's a refrigerator and washing machine inside, and you can take the air conditioner with you."
She almost didn't recognize the middle-aged woman in front of her, who was dressed simply, had gray hair, and looked haggard.
Xie Shi'an stepped forward and tentatively called out.
"Aunt Cheng...?"
When Cheng's mother turned around and saw that it was her, she was pleasantly surprised. But after a moment, she remembered that her son was still in the detention center and her eyes welled up with tears.
"Oh, it's Shi'an. Look how messy this house is, I won't invite you in."
"Auntie, Cheng Zhen, he..."
Xie Shi'an had barely uttered half a sentence when tears welled up in Cheng's mother's eyes and she swayed precariously.
She helped the person to a bench nearby.
"Auntie, I just went to the detention center, but they won't let me in to visit. You have to tell me what happened so I can find a way to help Cheng Zhen."
Through Cheng's mother's intermittent sobbing, Xie Shi'an finally understood the whole story.
"Cheng Zhen's father and I have reached an agreement to keep it from him for as long as possible. We told him to stay away for training and not come back. I don't know why, but although he said he wanted to stay away for a few more days, he went to Jiangcheng that very night and even went to his father's industrial park to witness his father's..."
Cheng's mother covered her mouth, sobbing uncontrollably.
"He couldn't be saved... He was only eighteen years old... Even if he had come back a day later, just one day..."
Xie Shi'an sat there, feeling as if she had fallen into an ice cave, a deep sense of guilt engulfing her from head to toe.
It was her; it was her phone call that urged Cheng Zhen to come back.
If he weren't so kind, and didn't treat her as a friend.
If he had come back a day later, he wouldn't have suffered such a shock, which led to him accidentally killing someone.
Xie Shi'an was too ashamed to stay here and continue to face his family.
She stood up groggily, took only two steps, and then collapsed. She woke up again in the hospital.
Xie Shi'an sat up, staring at the snow-white ceiling. Jian Changnian, seeing that she was awake, also stood up.
"You're awake? Don't move around, the doctor said you have low blood sugar..."
Xie Shi'an propped his head up with his hand, the IV tube still attached to the back of his hand.
"Oh, where's Coach Yan?"
"Coach Yan went back to the training base to put his luggage away first. He asked me to stay here and watch over you. He will come to pick us up later."
Xie Shi'an removed the needles himself, lifted the covers, and got out of bed.
"I can't lie here, I need to go find Yu Chu."
She has already lost one friend; she can't afford to lose another.
"She's not answering her phone, how are you going to find her!" Jian Changnian stamped her foot and chased after her to stop her.
Xie Shi'an stumbled and shook off the person.
"I...go home! She'll have to go home eventually, won't she? You...don't come with me...back to the training base!"
By the time she got up from the ground and chased after Xie Shi'an out of the hospital, he had already gotten into a taxi, and the car door closed right in front of her.
"Driver, start the car."
She calmly gave him the address.
As the vehicle started to leave, Jian Changnian took a step back, looking utterly dejected and heartbroken.
Xie Shi'an put on his headphones, turned the music up to the maximum, and forced himself to stop thinking about her, he said to himself.
"I'm sorry, there are some things I want to face on my own."
***
Today was a rare good day. Qiao Yuchu got up early to accompany her mother to the court hearing. She had just sat down when she saw the woman walk in with her child and sit in the audience.
Following her gaze, Qiao's mother looked over, and Qiao Yuchu, fearing that she might be upset, tightened her grip on her hand.