Bittersweet

The journey of about five kilometers took me nearly an hour to complete.

At last, I returned to my small rented room, barely ten square meters in size. I opened the door, hurriedly stripped off my wet clothes, took a shower, and changed into clean ones. Only when I lay down on the bed and wrapped myself in the quilt did I feel a bit of warmth.

Having just been released from prison, I had little money for daily necessities, so all I owned in this room were two sets of old clothes and a threadbare quilt.

Even this quilt had been gifted to me by the landlady, who pitied my situation; otherwise, I wouldn’t even have a blanket to sleep under.

Lying on the bed, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Not only did the wounds from the beating ache fiercely, but the image of Jin Yulian lingered relentlessly in my mind.

I slept only a few hours before dawn began to break. The numb wounds from yesterday now throbbed with greater pain.

I got up in the morning to find the autumn rain still falling, as it often does in Jiangnan, sometimes for days on end.

My hands and feet hurt so badly that I dared not ride my bicycle. I could only limp all the way to the factory, taking a full hour and a half to walk the five kilometers.

The factory where I worked employed barely thirty people. The manager was the owner’s widow; I’d heard the boss had died in a car accident a few years back, leaving only his wife, now in her thirties, and their seven- or eight-year-old daughter.

Her surname was Yang. She was attractive and easygoing, and on my first day I felt a fondness for her, resolving to work diligently in her factory and even feeling a protective urge toward her.

I wondered why she had called me in today. A slight excitement stirred in my heart.

I hurried into the factory, but sensed that the other workers were looking at me strangely; as I entered, I heard their whispered conversations.

Anxiously, I walked up to the second-floor office. The door was ajar. I gently pushed it open and saw the boss lady sitting at her desk, looking at her computer.

I said, “Ms. Yang, I heard you wanted to see me about something?”

She looked up and said, “Oh, you’re here. I heard you had a bad fall on your way to work last night. Are you badly hurt?”

Surprised by her concern, I quickly replied, “I’m fine, Ms. Yang.”

She said, “That’s good. I called you in today to tell you, I’m very sorry, but I don’t think you’re suited to work here. I hope you understand.”

The words struck me like thunder out of a clear sky. I hurriedly asked, “Ms. Yang, what’s going on? Are you letting me go?”

She replied, “You’re still on probation. The factory can let you go at any time. As for the reason, I believe you know it yourself.”

Confused and wanting clarity, I pressed further, but she became impatient. “There are some things I’d rather not say. If I spell them out, it loses all meaning. Li Shuifeng, you’ve only worked two days here. You came in last night, but didn’t actually work. The probation wage is eighty a day; I’ll count it as a hundred. You worked two days, but I’ll pay you for five, so your wages are five hundred.”

She pulled open a drawer and handed me five bills.

I realized then that my job was truly gone. I took two hundred, handed back the other three hundred, and said, “Ma’am, I only worked two days and didn’t contribute much. Two hundred is more than enough; I can’t accept more.”

With that, I turned to leave, feeling a faint ache in my heart. My feelings for her had been entirely one-sided. Still, there must have been a reason for my dismissal. What was it? I couldn’t figure it out.

As I left her office, I vaguely overheard a few people whispering outside:

“Imagine that, he’s actually a rapist.”

“I heard he tried to assault the heiress of the Han family.”

“The Han family? They’re one of the city’s five major conglomerates. I heard their only daughter is called Han Lingxue, and she’s one of the city’s top three beauties.”

“Right. Who would have thought he’d have such luck, daring to touch the Han heiress.”

“Luck? I heard he never even touched her finger, but got three years in prison anyway. Lost everything and gained nothing—a real misfortune.”

“Of course. If he’d actually laid a hand on the Han heiress, he’d have disappeared long ago. No one who crosses the Han family comes out well.”

“Then again, who knows? If he’d gotten her pregnant, maybe things would have turned out differently!”

At that moment, everything became clear. Someone had told the boss lady that I was an ex-convict, imprisoned for attempted rape, so she had fired me.

Lingxue is the daughter of Han Qianli, a wealthy tycoon. I only learned this later. If Jin Baoqiang had tried to drug any ordinary girl, Jin Yulian wouldn’t have needed me to take the blame for her brother; with their family’s wealth and connections, they could have handled it easily.

But the precious daughter of Han Qianli was targeted, and they wouldn’t let it go. Jin Yulian realized that if I didn’t take the fall for her brother, the matter wouldn’t be resolved. So, one of us had to confess and accept responsibility to settle things. She deceived me, won my trust, and had me take the blame for her brother.

The workers continued their gossip, evidently seeing me as a fool, not even bothering to fear me. Shortly after I left, the boss lady came out as well, her face dark. She scolded the workers, “If you don’t focus on your work and keep gossiping, I’ll dock your pay!”

At her words, they scattered, each returning to their tasks. I had no inclination to dwell on it; after all, I’d already been dismissed.