One Third Remaining Chapter Forty-One: Save Me

To make someone turn back is not difficult; what is hard is to make them stay.

Even though, when Han Yuan left, that fat man who looked like a pig didn't try to persuade him otherwise, at this moment he still turned around, following the roar of the sports car engine behind him. Just as when he first saw that fat pig, the distance between them closed, the millstone-like face of the fat man growing larger in Han Yuan's eyes, and Han Yuan's heart pounded as it had on that first encounter. Unconsciously, he pressed harder on the accelerator, and the taxi surged forward, never pausing for a moment.

Years ago, when Han Yuan first met Zhang Xiaoman and Wang Jiujiang, his heart had also raced like this. From these encounters, he drew a conclusion: people who make your heart beat at first sight rarely become friends. Zhang Xiaoman was such a person, and so was this damned fat pig. What's more, now beside the fat pig stood a skinny monkey. Monkeys are always trouble, whether this one knows seventy-two transformations or wields a golden staff, Han Yuan wanted nothing to do with him.

Before Wang Jiujiang turned to ashes, he once said in the kitchen, urging Han Yuan to eat more meat, "A face without flesh, friendship won't last." Han Yuan had always treated this as truth, since Wang Jiujiang was far smarter than him and one of the few confidants he’d ever had.

He didn't know why, at such a critical moment, thoughts of that fool came to him. The cook had melted into iron, Wang Jiujiang had turned to dust, and now it seemed Zhang Xiaoman’s path was about to end as well. Han Yuan suddenly felt so lonely; there were so few people in this world who truly understood him, and each departure took away a part of himself. The loss of these people without blood ties grieved him, but didn’t break him. What truly kept him awake at night was only his sister…

Han Qingxue—a name as beautiful as the snow, but Han Yuan never called it aloud. Most often, he used her childhood nickname, Niuniu. Ordinary as it was, he’d chosen it himself; it was a bond between siblings that could not be severed.

He’d often heard people say, people change, the moon waxes and wanes. Han Yuan never believed the first part; he didn’t trust the things his cellmates said about how people in prison only bring trouble to their families outside, and how sooner or later their loved ones would drift away like kites cut loose. He only believed the second part, for he’d seen countless crescent moons become full, and believed that he and his sister would one day be reunited.

Until that day, when Han Yuan, smiling as usual, sat across from Niuniu, but could find not a trace of a smile on her face.

After about five minutes of silence, Niuniu finally spoke, her expression heavy, “Brother, I won’t be coming next month…”

“Oh…” Han Yuan pouted, “I saw it in the entertainment news, you’re joining a film crew next month… If I’d known, I wouldn’t have let you take this path, it’s so tiring, running to events everywhere, flying all over the country…”

Niuniu bit her lip, head buried between her shoulders, shaking it hard. “It’s not because of that… I won’t ever come again!”

“So busy…” Han Yuan sighed, trying to comfort her, “It’s alright, making a trip here every month is troublesome. If you can’t come, it’s fine. Besides, I’ll be out in another year, and then we can meet outside…”

Niuniu suddenly stood up, her breathing quickening. “Even if you get out, don’t come looking for me. Don’t you understand? Brother, we live in different worlds now, we shouldn’t meet again.”

“I don’t get it… We both live on this planet, how can we be from different worlds?”

“If you insist on me spelling it out, then I won’t hide anymore. Do you know how much scorn I’ve endured these years because of you? In school, every time I entered the classroom, my classmates would whisper behind my back. For any task that required two people, I was always the one left out… Then when I started working, whenever something went wrong, everyone would blame me. After all, I’m the sister of a fraudster…”

Han Yuan stared at Niuniu in shock. He’d thought about this before, but since Niuniu never brought it up, he’d ignored it. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“What good would it have done?” Niuniu’s eyes were red. “In the end, you did everything for me. The more I understand that, the more guilty I feel, especially every time I think about breaking ties with you. I feel like an ungrateful traitor… But, Brother! I can’t take it anymore! I finally landed a lead role in this movie, and if anyone digs up our connection, everything will be ruined. Things like this have happened so many times over the years…”

Han Yuan lowered his head, voice subdued. “I’m sorry… But we don’t have to completely cut ties, right? We could meet in secret after I’m out. I could pretend to be your fan…”

“No!” Niuniu said firmly. “You have no idea how scary those obsessive fans are. If they follow me and find out, who knows what rumors would spread online. People don’t care about truth, they say whatever is most hurtful… Do you want to see everything I’ve worked so hard for destroyed in a moment because of you?”

Han Yuan’s shoulders drooped, powerless. “Really… we’ll never meet again?”

Niuniu spread the fingers of her left hand on the table, folded down the middle three, placed her right hand in front of her left, and after completing the gesture, withdrew both hands naturally, her voice trembling with tears. “Brother, I know I’ve wronged you, but I have no choice… Please forgive my selfishness… I brought you some stinky tofu from our hometown, your favorite. Once the guards check it, they’ll let you have it—it’s my last bit of care for you…”

Han Yuan raised his teary eyes to Niuniu, sniffled, and when the guards brought the stinky tofu, he ate it piece by piece, not leaving a single crumb.

“You’ve finished the tofu,” Niuniu turned away, letting out a long breath. “Han Yuan, from now on, we are strangers, our paths will never cross again…”

Han Yuan watched Niuniu’s departing figure without trying to stop her. Suddenly, he stood up, pressed his hand against the glass, and raged with curses too foul to repeat, until the guards subdued him and dragged him back to his cell.

Back in his room, Han Yuan pulled the crumpled stinky tofu wrapper from his pants, his gaze growing cold. He touched his beard and punched the wall where black marks lined up.

He had to get out as soon as possible, had to find Niuniu, and nothing could make him stay!

That gesture Niuniu made was their secret signal—three simple words: “Help me!”