Come back safely
It was the last weekend of June, and Linxia No. 1 Middle School had just started its summer vacation. Yu Chen stuffed her boxing gloves into her bag, the ends of her bright red hair peeking out from her baseball cap like an unquenchable flame. She pushed open the door to her room, only to hear a very low conversation coming from the study—
"...What happens when the debt comes due?"
"Keep it quiet for now, don't let her know."
"But the document has already been copied..."
The sound stopped abruptly, as if someone had unplugged the power source.
Yu Chen paused in the entryway, her knuckles unconsciously tightening around the doorframe—photocopies, debts, something weighing on her? She was about to knock when the door opened from the inside. Qin Yu stood in the hallway, her makeup perfect, but her smile too bright: "You're back? Mom and Dad are going to America tomorrow for vacation."
Yu Jing then walked out, his suit jacket draped over his arm, carrying a black file folder sealed with thick tape, like a hidden bomb. He reached out and ruffled her hair, his voice low and steady: "I'll be back in two weeks. Focus on your training."
On the day of departure, at the airport VIP lounge.
Yu Jing pushed a "Guardianship Authorization Form" in front of Xiao Wei, his voice so low that only the two of them could hear: "Contact us immediately if anything happens, don't let her shoulder the burden alone."
Xiao Wei looked up and his gaze fell on the seal of the file bag—there, the English letters “PRIORITY DEBT” were faintly visible, like a sword that had not yet been drawn.
After my parents passed away, everything returned to normal.
Qin Yu posts a photo every day: a Los Angeles sunset, afternoon tea in Beverly Hills, fireworks at Disneyland... The filters are gentle, the location is precise, like a carefully edited vacation vlog. Yu Chen's concerns are gradually dispelled by the photos, and she even begins to plan for summer training camp.
Until one late night, she returned from training, but Kexin was already asleep, yet light shone through the crack in her dormitory door—
An international express document bag lay on the ground, its seal torn open. Recipient: YU JING.
She bent down and pulled out half a stack of photocopies—
PRIORITY DEBT NOTICE
Share Pledge Expiration Reminder
Leaked Confidential Documents Memo
Each page was stamped with a bright red demand stamp.
She stood in the corridor, her knuckles white from gripping the documents so tightly.
The sunset in the photo is fake, the Disney fireworks are fake, even the "vacation" is fake—
The parents didn't go on vacation; they went to put out a fire.
The fire had already reached between his eyebrows.
The next morning, she made an overseas call and got straight to the point:
How much debt?
There was a two-second silence on the other end, followed by Yu Jing's weary voice: "...Don't worry about it, Dad will handle it."
"The document has already been copied, how can I not do anything about it?"
Her voice was low and steady, like a boxing ring countdown: "If you don't come back, I'll fly over there—right now."
On the other end of the phone, an airport announcement came over the loudspeaker—
“Passengers on flight AA136 to Los Angeles…”
Yu Jing's voice was hoarse and raspy: "Chenchen, listen to me—"
“I won’t listen,” she interrupted, her knuckles tightening silently. “I want to hear the truth.”
The truth was revealed in the third phone call—
Qin Yu's voice was filled with an unprecedented weariness:
"The family trust was copied by an insider. Taking advantage of the lull in financing for your father's new project, the rivals withdrew loans and shorted the stock. We have to go to the US to negotiate a lower price for the buyback, otherwise—"
She paused, her voice barely audible, "Otherwise, you'll have trouble making ends meet next month."
Yu Chen stood on the dormitory balcony, the night wind whipping the ends of her bright red hair wildly, like a flame that had lost its way. She looked up at the dark sky—
There was no sunset, no fireworks, only photocopies covered with red stamps demanding payment, like a pre-announced bell tolling.
She took a deep breath, her voice low but clear:
I earn my own living expenses.
“I’ll shoulder the debt too.”
"But you must promise me—"
"Come back safely and don't lie to me about going on vacation again."
After hanging up the phone, she folded the photocopy into a small square and stuffed it into her red boxing glove bag.
That was her equipment for the National Youth Championships next month, and now it had an extra layer of weight.
She lowered her head and touched the photocopied "PRIORITY DEBT" red stamp with her fingertip, her voice so soft it was almost a whisper:
"I'll use the prize money from the competition to pay off the first step."
As the night deepened, the dormitory lights went out one by one.
Yu Chen hugged the boxing gloves to his chest, like holding a gun with the fuse still lit, but no longer afraid of it exploding.
Because she had decided to be the one to cut the fuse first.
Outside the window, there were no stars, no moon, yet a fire quietly ignited in the darkness—
This time, it's not about victory, but about turning the lie of "vacation" into a real journey home.
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