Two years had passed. Everyone’s outfits had changed, but their characters remained the same.
Jin Ziyang had never been to a place like the “Seventh Prison”. Thus, he was curious about even the lamp on the wall.
They didn’t look down on Pei Chuan and bumped their fists with him. Zheng Hang said, “Don’t look at Jin Ziyang’s happy appearance. In fact, he wants to overturn everything here right now. When the incident happened, he almost cried on the street.”
Jin Ziyang blew up. “Who’s crying! Zheng Hang, what are you talking about!”
Bei Yao laughed.
She was the only girl in the room; her smile was like the spring air, bright beyond compare.
Her pair of almond eyes watched curiously as she had never seen how men’s friendship worked before. Though Pei Chuan felt a little helpless, he couldn’t help but laugh.
To tell the truth, the feeling of meeting again after a long time with Jin Ziyang and the others was not bad.
Pei Chuan saw that Ji Wei still held onto the “Pass the College Entrance Examinations in 5 Years.”
“Ji Wei, are you still preparing for the college entrance examinations?”
Ji Wei nodded and scratched his head. “This year will be the third. I always think I can pass the exam.”
No one laughed at him. In fact, Ji Wei wasn’t smart and hadn’t been born to study. However, his love was very simple; when he loved, he would love for the rest of his life.
Meanwhile, Bei Yao stood to the side quietly. She was too shy to talk to Pei Chuan as there were boys here.
She rarely saw him smile, but today she could see that Pei Chuan was truly happy.
The men, who only had money in their pocket, hadn’t brought anything else when visiting. However, everyone knew that Pei Chuan dearly loved Bei Yao. So they couldn’t give it to him in front of her and would have to wait until Bei Yao was away. So, Zheng Hang—the most sensible one—took Jin Ziyang and Ji Wei away and spoke while walking, “We’ll take a look around. Chuan Ge, you talk with Bei Yao.”
After they were gone, he looked at the shy girl at the side. “Yaoyao.”
She was inexplicably a little shy, yet she still went over and sat down on the stool opposite to him. None of them had the heart to ask, but she really wanted to know. “Pei Chuan, the prison guard said you fought last night. Why did you fight?”
His black eyes looked at her, and answered after a long while, “Nothing, the prison is messy, and conflict is inevitable when you live together.”
Nonetheless, she only cared about one thing. “Is anyone bullying you?”
The silly girl thought that he was still the little boy who had been pushed to the ground and had been incapable of resisting. His eyes were soft. "No, don’t think of such nonsense.”
Looking at her watery eyes, he had no choice but to explain in a low voice. “It’s me who hit him, so I was punished. Do you understand?”
She sighed and nodded.
Bei Yao knew that it was chaotic inside the prison, but she was far away from him and didn’t know what kind of life he had.
She raised her eyes, looked up, bit her lip, and smiled shyly. “Pei Chuan, huggie.” It wasn’t easy for her to see him.
Seeing that he had just gotten out of the confinement room, he just lightly touched her hair. “Be good, I’m dirty.”
Last time she hadn’t brought anything for Pei Chuan, and he was a proud man that wouldn’t accept her money.
She remembered the bag that she brought and lowered her head to take out the clothes in it. It was her first time buying something for a man; her cheeks flushed red. “Take a look, do they fit?”
His gaze fell on the clothes. His heart felt sour.
However, Pei Chuan could not change his clothes in front of her. There were a lot of variables in this world, and what he cared about the most in this life was the body that her mother despised. But he could not stand her disappointment, so he took it and said, “En, they look good.”
She smiled happily.
In fact, Bei Yao wasn’t obsessed with hugging and kissing. She just felt that it was sad to be stuck inside, and he needed a hug.
The nineteen-year-old girl liked the feeling of being with him more.
Though the man was mostly silent, no matter what she said, there would only be her figure in his dark eyes. Pei Chuan never interrupted her, nor said that he had suffered. But she knew that this man was here because of her.
They chatted for a while until there was a thumping noise from the outside, accompanied by the prison guards’ scolding.
Bei Yao turned her head, and Pei Chuan said, “Let’s go take a look.”
Bei Yao opened the door and was greeted with a mess.
The middle-aged man was a prisoner of the "Seventh Prison", while the cursing Jin Ziyang was being held back by the guards. "What's wrong with this young master beating you! Fight back if you have the guts, hahaha. Coward, come beat me!”
He sounded so shameless.
The middle-aged man with gauze on his head was shaking with anger. Zheng Hang saw the opportunity, and went over to kick him.
The middle-aged man: "….…."
Zheng Hang was then carried away by force.
Ji Wei looked blankly from the side. Furthermore, the especially unwilling Jin Ziyang was also being dragged away. He took out a key from his pocket and threw it at the man, but hadn’t expected it to miss and go straight to Bei Yao. Pei Chuan grabbed the key with a cold face. “Enough, what’s going on!”
Everyone was silent.
The prison guards also felt speechless. These young masters would beat the prisoners as soon as they came and they couldn’t control them. But they weren’t prisoners, so how should they control them? Regardless of the fact that the “Seventh Prison” didn’t lock up ordinary prisoners, Jin Ziyang and the others had still gone too far.
The prisoner couldn’t fight during the reformation period, thus the middle-aged man could only bear it. Jin Ziyang had been so happy with this, and had beat him to get even. Worst came to worst, he would just be caught. But if that person fought back, he would definitely get punished.
Bei Yao also didn’t know how they’d started fighting in just a short time.
The prison guard could only say, “Whoever fights will lose the qualifications to visit the prison in the future!”
At last, the people went as quiet as chickens.
Jin Ziyang refused to accept it, and still wanted to say something. Yet, Pei Chuan’s eyebrows sank. “Jin Ziyang, come with me.”
Pei Chuan looked at Bei Yao. When he talked to her, his tone was benign, and there was even a little bit of coaxing in it. “Yaoyao, go out for a while, okay? I want to talk with him.”
Bei Yao nodded. Once Bei Yao was gone, Jin Ziyang said, “Chuan Ge, I helped you give that son of a b*tch a lesson.”
Pei Chuan lowered his eyebrows coldly. "You want to go to jail, too?"
Jin Ziyang didn’t concede: "He deliberately provoked you to hit someone last night, causing you to be locked up."
When they’d come out, they’d met Cheng Zhenghai. The senior had told them that the middle-aged man named Xiang Lei had deliberately talked about Bei Yao the day before the prison visit.
That year during Chinese New Year , someone had also come to see Xiang Lei. Therefore, Xiang Lei had also seen Bei Yao coming, through the window.
What Xiang Lei had said last night was hard to hear. He had said that Bei Yao might have a man out there, so she had come to see Pei Chuan just to see his miserable appearance. How many of those beautiful women could wait for their man to come out?
This was in light of the fact that Xiang Lei's wife had run away.
At first, Pei Chuan had been working and hadn’t said a word.
Later, Xiang Lei’s words had gotten more excessive. He’d even said, “You guys may not know, but even with a down jacket, it could be seen that the woman had a good body. Hahaha, will she let this cripple touch her? Is there a woman who’ll actually ‘desire a disabled’?”
At that moment, all the experimental materials in Pei Chuan’s hand had been crushed on Xiang Lei’s head.
The prison had been in chaos when the doctor had come. Xiang Lei had rolled on the ground, shouting in pain. Pei Chuan had then been directly confined.
Cheng Zhenghai had said, “You know he’s provoking you. Why did you do it?”
Pei Chuan had pursed his lips and kept silent.
Today Cheng Zhenghai had told this to Jin Ziyang and the others. Thus, Jin Ziyang hadn’t been able to hold back his hands. So what if Brother Chuan couldn’t fight Lei? They could!
Pei Chuan closed his eyes and said, "Don't make trouble."
Jin Yang still had something to say, but Pei Chuan said in a low voice, "I can't get into trouble for the next two years."
He wanted to go out.
He wanted to be a good man and stay by her side.
This was the first time Jin Ziyang had seen Pei Chuan like this. He immediately fell silent.
Pei Chuan knew that a man couldn’t lose his courage and integrity, so he’d made a hole in Xiang Lei’s head. But upon meeting Bei Yao today, he understood that in this world, neither courage, integrity, nor dignity was as important as her.
If Cheng Zhenghai hadn’t pleaded for him, he would still be locked up in the confinement room, unable to see her.
From New Year to spring, all he looked forward to was seeing her.
Today, in the confinement room, he had despaired. He had been afraid that she would be disappointed in him, afraid that she would walk away, afraid that she would leave.
Pei Chuan said, “Jin Ziyang, I beg you one thing.”
Pei Chuan had lived for 20 years and this was the first time he had used the word "beg". Jin Jinyang was a bit flustered. "Hey, we are all brothers. Just say it if you need help, don’t beg.”
Pei Chuan said calmly, “Before I was arrested, I made a complete software. The flash drive is held by the manager of Qin Shi. I’ll tell you the password, go and sell it. If you need to, you can set a price and your company can take it.”
Jin Ziyang said, “Chuan Ge, if you’re short of money, I have it here. You can keep it.”
Pei Chuan insisted, “Take it, then sell it. It’s estimated that you can sell it for 3 million; it’s not a harmful software. After you sell it, think of a way to send it to Aunt Zhao every month, whether through a lottery or company welfare. In short, don’t tell her it’s from me.”
Jin Ziyang muttered, “Okay.”
Pei Chuan said, “Thank you.”
The time for visiting the prison soon passed. When the group left, Pei Chuan watched them leave.
She walked a long way away, smiled back, and waved at him. Pei Chuan read her lips. She said, 'I'll see you next time.’
He curled his lips, his eyes very gentle.
~
Jin Ziyang and the others had been taught a lesson by the prison guards. They also paid a fine and finally left in a forlorn manner.
However, this kind of self-reflection was impossible. The more he thought about it, the more Jin Ziyang felt he hadn’t been cool enough.
Zheng Hang said, “What did Chuan Ge talk to you about?”
Jin Ziyang said, “I’m also confused, ah. He told me to sell his previous software and send the money to Bei Yao’s mother. Besides, Chuan Ge was too polite; he even used the word ‘beg’. What does he want to do?”
Zheng Hang looked at the silhouette of the departing girl. The spring had come and the new buds had bloomed from the branches.
Wildflowers bloomed all the way where Bei Yao passed by.
Zheng Hang said, "Have you seen Chuan begging anyone before?"
“Of course not.”
They’d known him for three years. Pei Chuan’s bones were harder than anyone else’s*.
*t/n: Has unyielding character.
Zheng Hang said quietly, “He’s just distressed for her.”
Jin Ziyang didn’t understand, but Zheng Hang did. It was said that Bei Yao was studying medicine. Studying medicine was very hard; they had a lot of schoolwork. A girl like Bei Yao should live the best life, but the clothes she wore were far less expensive and beautiful than other girls.
The girl who should’ve been well taken care of was dead set on waiting for him.
When Brother Chuan had been rich, he hadn’t dared to give anything to her. Now that he was in dire straits, a voice of heartache screamed with no way to pour it out.
When Pei Chuan was doing this, he never thought of getting anything in return, so he asked Jin Ziyang to give it through another method. No matter who Bei Yao married in the future, the entire Bei family wouldn’t feel burdened.
This man felt distressed for Bei Yao as he had no other way.
Only then would he put down his pride and beg Jin Ziyang to find a way to make her life better.
Jin Ziyang said, “Hehe, although I don’t understand what you’re saying, Zheng Hang, do you think Chuan Ge trusts me the most? Otherwise, wouldn’t he have looked for you or Ji Wei? Why else would he give such an important task to me alone?"
Why… not Zheng Hang.
Zheng Hang coughed, his ears red. Of course, it was because in the second year of high school, he’d used to… have some thoughts about Bei Yao.
Although Chuan Ge remained acting the same, which man didn’t mind?
However, it was impossible to tell Jin Ziyang about this kind of thing. Zheng Hang gritted his teeth. “It has nothing to do with trust or mistrust. It must be because your company’s headquarters are in C City, ah.”
Jin Ziyang thought about it and accepted this statement in the end.
~
Zhao Zhilan felt that she was particularly lucky in 2010 and that the company was also very good. Forget about those summer camp coupons from before, now they were giving out lotteries to their employees to celebrate their good performance this quarter.
Mrs. Zhao didn’t have any ambition. She thought to herself, It’s all in vain anyway. It’s fine for me to draw a towel and a pack of toilet paper.
So she happily went to the lottery.
The first few colleagues more or less drew something, either a bar of soap or 50 yuan.
Zhao Zhilan thought, 50 yuan, you’re quite lucky, ah.
As a result, when she handed over number 6 to Zhang Meihua, she told her, “Yo, Zhao Jie, you got the first prize! You are so lucky, ah.”
Zhao Zhilan said, "What’s the first prize?"
"Our boss personally packaged 120,000 yuan in cash!"
Zhao Zhilan: "….…." In this life, even if she had to die, she would be buried in this company!