Volume One, Chapter Seven: Taking Medicine Too Late Tonight
As the black Mercedes pulled away from the prison gate, Du Yimei took her phone from her uniform pocket and dialed a number showing an IP address in Pucheng.
"A man came looking for you, surname Zhao."
"I told him about you, just like you asked."
"Hmm, thank you."
The voice on the other end was Yu Jin’s, clear and cold.
Zhou Jincheng arrived at the prison sooner than she had expected.
The child was dead, and he came to grieve.
Du Yimei was a prison guard and also a friend Yu Jin had made inside.
Without Officer Du’s kindness, she really might have met a grim fate within those walls.
Yu Jin had just finished work at the company, her eyes heavy with fatigue. She carried a backpack holding a heavy laptop and several reference books for her writing.
The sultry weather shifted suddenly, like a child’s temper—unpredictable.
With a rumble, the azure sky darkened, layers of black clouds swirling overhead.
Thunder rolled a few times, and raindrops began pattering down, growing from the size of mung beans to soybeans, drumming on the ground and her clothes, soaking her through.
Yu Jin’s long hair was half-wet. She fished a hair tie from her pocket and hastily tied her hair into a ponytail. She removed her backpack and hugged it to her chest, hurrying toward the nearby bus stop.
The black Mercedes parked by the roadside had its dark brown window half-lowered, rainwater slipping inside with the wind, drenching Zhou Jincheng’s expensive white shirt.
Several buttons at the collar were undone, and a gray tie lay carelessly on the passenger seat.
Half his body soaked, his muscular arms revealed taut lines beneath the wet fabric.
He resembled a classical Greek white marble statue—noble, aloof, motionless—silently gazing out the window.
His narrow, deep black eyes pierced through the rain’s haze, resting on Yu Jin with a faint sadness at the corners.
Yu Jin reached the bus stop, her shoes soaked, pants wet up to the knees. The cold raindrops pricked her lower body like fine needles.
After giving birth to Xiao Jing, her body had not fully recovered during confinement, leaving her prone to chills and uncontrollable shivers.
She sank onto a bench, shoulders trembling uncontrollably, her body temperature colder than the rain.
The black Mercedes nearby slowly pulled away, stopping at a red light at the intersection.
The rain fell harder, and few cars were on the road.
Yu Jin tilted her head toward the intersection, waiting for the bus. She caught sight of the black Mercedes and recognized the figure inside from afar.
Before she could get a clearer look, a man ran through the rain from the opposite direction, holding a black umbrella.
“Sister Yu, this rain’s getting heavier. Let me give you a ride.”
A Wei had just finished work too, driving out from the underground parking. He immediately spotted the familiar figure at the bus stop.
At that moment, the green light at the nearby intersection turned on, and the black Mercedes sped off, tires spraying water into the air.
Yu Jin didn’t refuse and got into A Wei’s car. If A Wei had started the car even a second later, the Mercedes behind would have crashed into his rear bumper.
As he pulled away, he muttered, “What kind of driver doesn’t watch the road in the rain?”
Yu Jin glanced at the side mirror, her pupils contracting as she locked eyes with a pair of deep, ink-black eyes.
In the small mirror was a man’s face, his perfect features blurred by rain but unable to conceal his noble, cold aura.
Zhou Jincheng’s shirt collar was open, revealing a smooth, deep collarbone. His long, pale neck flushed faintly red. His slightly narrowed eyes met hers unflinchingly.
“A Wei, drive faster.”
The words slipped out before she could stop them. She dropped her gaze and lowered her head.
Hadn’t he come to the prison today and found nothing?
A Wei floored the accelerator, and the Mercedes behind failed to keep up. Yu Jin exhaled deeply.
Her phone vibrated in her bag. She saw a message from an unknown number.
“Court notification: trial date set for twenty-five days from now.”
“I need to discuss some matters further. Come to the law firm when you’re free.”
“Okay.”
There was no doubt it was from Zhou Jincheng. They had no WeChat contact between them, relying only on calls or texts.
Yu Jin opened the message and saw the extremely familiar number.
He hadn’t changed his number in five years.
Though she never saved it to her phone, she had seen it so many times it was etched in her mind.
Zhou Jincheng forbade her from initiating contact; he was always the one calling.
He summoned her to meet at places like hotels outside schools, the gym’s equipment room, or inside his car.
To him, she was worthless, like a blade of grass to be toyed with at will.
She had some unconventional interests she found shameful, unbefitting a lady of her standing.
He had discovered them by chance, manipulating her with ease and tightening his grip.
It seemed he enjoyed it.
Watching her blush, her fair skin turning a delicate pink, her large, watery eyes utterly adorable.
Zhou Jincheng drove home; it was already past eleven.
He lived in a high-end apartment beside the law firm, convenient for work but offering little entertainment. He rarely attended even the firm’s celebratory dinners.
He suffered from insomnia and couldn’t stay out late, needing to take medication on time.
Tonight, he took his pills late.
He lay awake, eyes open, watching the second hand tick on the wall clock. The incessant “tick-tock” echoed loudly in his ears.
Finally, he closed his eyes, his eyelids trembling twice. He lay flat, his long arms resting at his sides.
The seconds stretched endlessly. Exhausted but unable to sleep, he was not the restless type nor one to show emotion. His brow furrowed tightly as he reopened his eyes and turned on the bedside lamp.
The dim yellow light illuminated the window, where white gauzy curtains fluttered slightly in the breeze. Outside, the wind whispered. When he couldn’t sleep, his senses sharpened.
Upon hearing this, Pu Zhuqing joked he should become a detective, staking out criminals in the dead of night.
His mind was restless. Finally, past one in the morning, he couldn’t lie still. He got up and walked out of the bedroom.
In the kitchen, he poured himself a glass of strong liquor and downed several cups in a row.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a figure in the living room. Setting down his empty glass, he staggered toward it.
The woman stood with her back to him, slightly plump, dressed in a deep blue prison uniform—long sleeves and pants—with her loosely curled, voluminous hair cascading down her back.
“Chu Nanqing…”
He froze, his thin lips moving several times before he finally called her name.
The woman turned around. Her forehead framed by straight bangs, her face rounded and fair, her skin pale as porcelain, and her eyes large and always shimmering with tears.
A gleam flashed in Zhou Jincheng’s eyes as he took in the familiar face. His gaze slowly dropped, his pupils shattering.
Her belly was swollen beneath the prison garb, one hand resting gently on it.
Suddenly, she smiled—a chilling smile.
“Why didn’t you come to see me and the baby sooner…”
“The baby’s angry with you. He says he wants to return to heaven and take me with him.”
Zhou Jincheng frowned deeply, his eyes reddening. He shook his head.
“Didn’t you say once you got out, you’d kill me? You can’t die!”
That had been Chu Nanqing’s bitter words when the judge handed down the verdict.
The woman looked like a wronged child, lowering her head as tears rolled down her fair cheeks.
“But there’s endless work in prison. I’m so tired. I can’t do it right and always get scolded for mistakes.”
“There are even rats in the cell. You know how scared I am of rats…”
“All right, I understand. I’ll find a way to get you out, okay?”
His voice was gentle, indulgent, coaxing her with sincere determination.
He was so clever—he would find a way to save her.
The woman’s eerie smile froze for a moment, her expression turning fierce. She raised the hand on her belly and pointed at him.
“Don’t forget, it was you who sent me here. You killed me.”
“Why do you think I would want to save you?”