Leisurely mountain village

Seeing that there was no hope left, Ye Huan prepared to go cultivate when his phone vibrated with a private message.

He was surprised to see that it was from Chen Xixi, and clicked on it: "Do you know about Zhou Ying?"

Ye Huan was puzzled. What did this mean? They were just gossiping in the group chat, and now it's happening to him? Yes, Zhou Ying was his ex-girlfriend who rejected him because he was poor and got a BMW.

"I don't know? What happened? We haven't been in touch since graduating from college."

"She committed suicide," Chen Xixi said shockingly, "just this morning."

"Holy crap, is this for real? Why?" Even Ye Huan's usually calm heart skipped a beat.

"Sigh, I just got the news. Her sister somehow added me on WeChat. She just told me and asked if I had your WeChat. Her sister mentioned you in her diary and wanted you to see her off on her final journey."

"Huh?" Ye Huan was filled with questions. What was going on?

"I don't know the specifics. Her sister didn't go into details, but the gist of it is that Zhou Ying was someone's mistress for several years, but that old man wanted to dump her this year and stopped paying the mortgage on the villa he bought for her. The little money she had saved up wasn't enough."

"She didn't realize that the villa was bought on installment, and that the old man had been playing her all along. So she went to the man's company and made a scene, and happened to run into his wife, and the couple beat her up together."

"Then she went crazy, grabbed a box cutter from the table, killed the couple, then called to turn herself in, and jumped off the building and committed suicide." Chen Xixi sighed deeply.

"You should ask her sister for details. I don't know much either. The body is in Shenzhen right now, and her sister has already gone there. I'll give you her WeChat."

"Okay then." Ye Huan didn't know what to do either. He had never experienced anything like this before. Although the two of them were no longer in a relationship and had long since deleted and blocked each other's contact information, they had still had that encounter after all.

He could have chosen not to go, but Ye Huan ultimately decided to see her off. Even if their past feelings were gone, she was still his classmate. Chen Xixi and the others had already gone there; after all, they were classmates.

After checking, the latest flight was at 8:50, which was too late, so Ye Huan gave up and booked a ticket for tomorrow morning instead.

Driving there wouldn't be necessary; it's too far. Besides, Ye Huan doesn't have that much passion. To him now, Zhou Ying is just an ordinary college classmate.

I took this opportunity to go to Shenzhen to meet some old classmates who hadn't come to the previous gathering. There were a few of them I was on good terms with; we used to work in Shenzhen together and took care of each other.

Today's meditation session was shorter, so I got a good night's sleep. I was woken up early by my phone alarm and had to get up and head to the provincial capital.

At 11:30 a.m., Ye Huan landed in Shenzhen. He did not notify anyone, so no one picked him up. He took a taxi to the morgue of the funeral home and met a group of classmates.

A pretty girl, about twenty-two or twenty-three years old, approached Ye Huan under Chen Xixi's guidance. "Hello, before my sister jumped off the building, she gave me Xixi's WeChat. She asked me to give this to you. She also asked me to say sorry to you."

Ye Huan waved his hand and patted her shoulder: "Please accept my condolences. I won't take your things. If you want, keep them as a souvenir; if not, just burn them together."

Ye Huan looked at the notebook. He didn't want to look at it, nor did he wish to. It was all in the past.

The girl paused for a moment, then nodded and went back. Ye Huan arrived late; they had just received the urn. Although they were involved in a case, the facts were clear: both the confession and the suicide. Zhou Ying's sister completed the formalities and received the ashes. She was preparing to go back in the afternoon.

The students held a simple farewell ceremony in the memorial hall here. Ye Huan missed it, so after arriving for more than half an hour, she went back with the rest of the group.

Zhou Ying's parents were not in good health and did not come. Instead, one of her uncles from the same clan came. He booked a simple banquet at a small restaurant in the city, treated everyone to a simple meal, and that was the end of it. He also said that when they returned, they would be buried directly, and there would be no other arrangements.

Everyone nodded. After all, it was an unnatural death, and the reputation was not good. So they all took out money and gave it to Zhou Ying's sister as a funeral gift.

Zhou Ying's younger sister didn't want it, but Chen Xixi managed to get it for her. It was all 800, and everyone had agreed on it in the group chat.

After giving her the money, Ye Huan patted her on the shoulder and said, "If you have any difficulties, just say so. I'll help you if I can. Go back and take good care of your parents. They're getting old, so take care of your health."

"Yes, thank you." Zhou Ying's younger sister had no more tears. Others could hate her sister, but she couldn't. All her expenses from high school to university had been paid for by her sister.

Her family was so poor that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they were destitute. She couldn't have even gone to junior high or high school on their behalf. Her older sister went to high school and university because of her good grades, which earned her financial aid from the town and scholarships. I just don't know why her sister ended up like this.

No one was in the mood for chatting or reminiscing. Chen Xixi and the other girls quietly helped Zhou Ying's sister tidy up. Zhou Ying's uncle, an honest farmer, was squatting at the door smoking.

Ye Huan and the other boys didn't know what to do and just stood there in a daze.

"I bought a ticket to go back at 6:30 pm, for the old-fashioned green train," Chen Xixi said as she came over.

Ye Huan took out his phone. It was already four o'clock. He searched on his phone and walked up to Zhou Ying's sister, saying, "Give me your uncle and your ID card."

Zhou Ying's younger sister was puzzled, but she did as she was told. Ye Huan booked plane tickets for the two of them on his phone. Of course, the tickets could only go to their city. To go home to the rural towns below, they would have to take a bus.

Fortunately, the city has a Yuyang Airport. Lu Huan checked the time and booked a flight around 6 o'clock. The price was just over 1000 yuan, which he didn't even bother to look at.

"I'll take you to the airport in a bit. After you get off the plane, it'll be over 100 kilometers back to your Mizhi County. We'll rent a car and I'll pay for it," Ye Huan said, handing his ID card to Zhou Ying's sister.

"Thank you, brother. We'll be fine on the train."

"That's settled then." Seeing everyone staring blankly, Ye Huan took out a wad of cash from her bag and stuffed it into Zhou Ying's younger sister's schoolbag. "Keep it safe later, put 1000 in your pocket, for hiring a car on the way back."

Zhou Ying's uncle looked at him, nodded, and said nothing. Zhou Ying's sister nodded while crying, indicating that she understood.

"It's getting late, you guys should head back first. Xixi and I will see the others off to the airport," Ye Huan said to his classmates, then to his brothers in Shenzhen, "I'm not really in the mood for drinking today, maybe next time."

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Today is Chapter 5, and the brothers are working hard.