Lin Wanqing chuckled softly, a laugh more painful than a grimace. "I should have been dead three years ago." She slowly pulled open her collar, revealing a gruesome bullet wound below her collarbone, its bluish-purple gleaming under the light—ironclad evidence of Gu Yanting's cruelty towards her. "Do you know why he spared my life? Because he wanted me to live and witness your suffering."
Ah Yu could no longer control his emotions. He suddenly pinned Lin Wanqing against the wall, hot tears streaming down his face and falling onto her shoulder. "Why didn't you say so sooner? Why did you have to bear all this alone?" Ah Yu's voice was filled with anger and heartache. He hated himself for not discovering Lin Wanqing's suffering sooner.
Lin Wanqing felt Ah Yu's rapid heartbeat, just like back in the abandoned factory when he had shielded her with his body. "Because I am Lin Wanqing," she smiled bitterly, "a pawn born to live in the shadows."
Farewell on a Rainy Night
The clock slowly struck three in the morning. The downpour gradually subsided, and a damp, oppressive atmosphere filled the air. Lin Wanqing took a deep breath, took three train tickets from her bag, and gently placed them on the coffee table. "There's a train to the border at ten o'clock tomorrow morning." Her voice was soft, yet it struck Ah Yu and Zhong Hua's hearts like a heavy hammer.
She turned and walked towards the entrance, her steps heavy and slow. Just before stepping out the door, she turned back and looked at Zhong Hua deeply, her eyes filled with entrustment and reluctance, "Take good care of him for me."
"Wait!" Zhong Hua suddenly caught up and stuffed a bunch of keys into her palm. "These are the keys to the safe my mother left behind...maybe they can help you."
Lin Wanqing gripped the keys tightly and turned to leave. The sky was beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn, the faint light casting a lonely shadow on her. Sitting in the car, she watched through the window as Ah Yu's figure grew smaller and smaller until he became a blurry black dot in the rain. She took out her phone, looking at the photos of herself and Ah Yu in her album—photos that recorded their beautiful memories. However, she knew now that everything was irreversible. She gritted her teeth, deleted all the photos of them together, then broke the SIM card in half and threw it into the river without hesitation.
A turning point before the police station
As dawn broke, Lin Wanqing stood alone at the police station entrance. The puddles on the steps reflected her pale face, which looked haggard and exhausted, much like the night three years ago when she was wheeled into the operating room. She took a deep breath, slowly raised her hand, and as she pushed open the glass door, she heard familiar footsteps behind her.
"Wanqing!"
She turned around and saw Ah Yu and Zhong Hua running wildly down the street, waving the cassette tape they had taken from the safe. Lin Wanqing suddenly remembered that rainy night three years ago, a similar scene, except that back then they were running towards death, while now... A complex mix of emotions welled up inside her—a mix of gratitude, relief, and uncertainty about the future.
Ah Yu and Zhong Hua ran up to her, panting. Ah Yu handed her the tape, looking at her with determined eyes: "This tape contains crucial evidence of Gu Yanting's crimes. Together, we can definitely bring him down. You don't need to turn yourself in!"
Lin Wanqing stared at the cassette tape in her hand, tears blurring her vision once more. At this moment, she felt a warmth and strength she had never experienced before, as if those dark days were about to pass and light was just around the corner. However, she also knew in her heart that the road ahead was still full of unknowns and challenges; their struggle against Gu Yanting had only just begun...
In the hopeful yet unknown morning light, the three embraced tightly, as if declaring their indomitable spirit and resistance against fate. The secret hidden in the tape would become their key weapon to break through the darkness and welcome the light. The road ahead might still be fraught with thorns, but at this moment, with each other, they possessed the courage to confront everything.
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