To make up for the debt owed to Lin Qingping and Gu Juncheng

Zhiyuan stood at the door of Qingtian's house.

At that time, Qingtian's house was quite lively, as if relatives had come to visit. Zhiyuan's appearance seemed somewhat abrupt, at least that's what he thought.

Qinglang was overjoyed. "Zhiyuan, you're back? Come in quickly!"

After arranging for Zhiyuan to sit down, Qinglang added, "This is my aunt."

One of them was my aunt, and there were others.

Sunny wasn't home.

Aunt Qinglang glanced at Zhiyuan a few times, quite curious. After hearing that he was Qinglang's friend, she smiled and prepared to leave.

Outside the door, Zhiyuan overheard Aunt Qinglang telling Qinglang's mother, "The other party really likes Qingtian. If Qingtian seizes this opportunity, your whole family will turn your lives around. Their family is very well-off. If Qingtian marries into their family, she will have no worries about food and clothing. The dowry is set at this amount."

Zhiyuan frowned slightly.

Actually, this was Zhiyuan's first time visiting Qingtian's new home.

When I first met Qingtian's family, they lived on a boat. Over the years, their lives have improved significantly. They now live in a spacious new house, and there's no indication that they need to rely on others to improve their situation.

The only exception is Qingtian's father, who is now paralyzed due to years of alcoholism and various bad habits. He lies in bed and needs to be taken care of all year round, but according to Qingtian, he has hired a professional caregiver.

Zhiyuan chatted with Qinglang for a while, but Qinglang's mother was too enthusiastic, so Zhiyuan felt a little uncomfortable and decided to say goodbye.

Just then, Qingtian returned.

The two of them were stunned the moment they saw each other.

But Zhiyuan had already said goodbye.

"Then you and your siblings should go see Zhiyuan off," said Qingtian's mother.

After a moment's hesitation, Qingtian agreed.

As Qinglang went downstairs, she received a phone call, as if it was urgent.

"Go ahead, just walk with me on a sunny day," Zhiyuan said.

Upon hearing this, Qingtian couldn't help but glance at him.

"Alright then." Qinglang patted his shoulder. "We two brothers will meet again sometime in the future."

Zhiyuan nodded.

If you walk any further, you'll only see Zhiyuan and Qingtian.

Sunny accompanied him as they walked towards the ferry.

Zhiyuan walked very slowly, making Qingtian's pace seem particularly hurried, and she would turn back every now and then to wait for him.

"Why are you walking so fast? Are you urging me to hurry back?" Zhiyuan said behind her.

Upon hearing this, Qingtian panicked, feeling both embarrassed and anxious. She explained, "That's not what I meant... I... I was afraid you'd miss the ferry and wouldn't be able to get home."

"If I can't go back, I'll stay here," Zhiyuan said softly, gazing at her.

Qingtian didn't know how to answer, and her face turned red with anxiety.

Zhiyuan sighed, "Am I putting you in such a difficult position?"

"No..." Qingtian suddenly didn't know what he meant by 'difficult,' and what she was even saying when she answered no...

"Alright, let's go." Zhiyuan quickened his pace. "Where did you go just now?"

"Something came up just now," Qing Tian said. Actually, it was a student who needed to talk to her about something.

"Did you go on... a blind date?" Zhiyuan suddenly asked, his face joking.

"No, no..." Qingtian stammered, "I..."

"I just arrived at your house. Your aunt told me she introduced you to a boyfriend. Have you met him? What do you think?" Zhiyuan asked her with a smile.

After a long silence, Qingtian finally said, "Yeah, he's alright, he's a nice person."

A bitter feeling welled up inside Zhiyuan.

He smiled. "Didn't you say you were against marriage?"

“That’s because… I haven’t met the right person.” Qing Tian lowered her head, not daring to look him in the eye. “Besides, my family is very worried and hopes… someone can take care of me.”

"That's great..." Zhiyuan was at a loss for words. "Congratulations!"

A simple "Congratulations" sounded pale and stiff.

Zhiyuan felt that this wasn't quite right, so he changed to a joking tone, "Don't do it without telling me this time! You must let me know when you get married. I'm your brother, and I'll be contributing to your dowry! If he dares to treat you badly, I won't let him get away with it!"

As Qingtian listened, a strong pang of sorrow welled up in her heart, but she still managed a smile. "Okay."

Zhiyuan looked at her small face, her eyes crinkling with laughter, and the shallow dimples on her cheeks, and said softly, "No need to see me off, let's stop here, I'll go to the ferry myself."

"Well... okay." Actually, I wish this stretch of road were longer, and the ferry crossing were farther, but even if it's an extra 500 meters, an extra kilometer, or an extra 10 kilometers... so what? We'll always reach the end eventually.

"Okay. Goodbye," Zhiyuan said goodbye, but didn't leave. He had lived for almost thirty years and had said "goodbye" countless times, but he had never felt this inexplicable soreness rising in his throat before.

Qingtian stood still, looking at the sunset glow behind him, and looking at him as well.

After a few seconds of eye contact, Qingtian asked him, "How have you been lately? Is work going well?"

Zhiyuan had no idea what the special meaning behind her question was, and took it as just a casual greeting, nodding, "Okay, everything is fine."

"That's good." Qingtian smiled too. She wasn't sure if Zhiyuan was telling the truth, or if his work was really going smoothly, but she believed in Zhiyuan. Such a wonderful person like Zhiyuan would definitely have a bright future. "Then I'll head back now?"

Returning to her life and place, the brief joy in the capital was the most radiant light in her life.

She turned around and strode back, not daring to look back. She was afraid that if she looked at his back again, she would run towards him. But what she didn't know was that if she turned around, she wouldn't see Zhiyuan's back, but rather his eyes watching her leave.

Zhiyuan kept watching her until she disappeared from sight before walking toward the ferry.

"Zhiyuan!"

Before he even reached the ferry, he heard someone calling his name.

He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a young man running towards him. As he got closer, he realized that it was Wang Yufei!

Wang Yufei ran over and excitedly bumped into him on the shoulder, "It really is you! I thought I was seeing things!"

Zhiyuan was also very surprised, as he and Wang Yufei had not seen each other for many years.

"Come on! I'll treat you to dinner!" Wang Yufei grabbed him and left without saying another word.

Although Zhiyuan was filled with sorrow at this moment, he was also overjoyed to be reunited with his brothers.

The two went to a restaurant, sat down, and began to say goodbye. It turned out that Wang Yufei was working in the provincial capital, and Wang, the deputy division commander, was also transferred to the provincial capital. They were here on a business trip, and because train tickets were hard to buy during the National Day holiday, they stayed here for two more days.

"I have a ticket for tomorrow. Isn't that a coincidence? If I had been any later, I wouldn't have run into you. Come on, let's drink until we drop tonight, brothers!" Wang Yufei opened a bottle of wine.

Zhiyuan actually has a high alcohol tolerance, but he drinks very little. Due to his work, he has to be ready to make house calls at any time, so how could he allow himself to drink alcohol? But now he is on vacation at his hometown, and he has reunited with old friends. In addition, he has something on his mind, so he drank too much as soon as he opened the bottle.

An unprecedented intoxication.

Wang Yufei was worried about him and asked him for his family's phone number and whether he wanted to send him home. In his dazed state, Zhiyuan recited Qingtian's number.