The Promise Before Her Grave

There was a brief silence on the other end. Ye Zhiqiu could only hear the sound of the pouring rain.

It was louder and more direct than the sound he heard sitting in his room, through the glass window.

“Are you outside?” Ye Zhiqiu asked, instinctively checking his watch.

“Mm.” Qin Jianhe responded quietly.

His voice was low and deep. Though it was only a faint sound, it immediately separated the chaotic noise of the wind and rain outside.

As if right in his ear, that voice tapped softly and steadily against Ye Zhiqiu’s eardrum.

Ye Zhiqiu paused for a moment, not speaking.

“Just got out of the office,” Qin Jianhe added. “Waiting for Uncle Li to bring the car around.”

“Oh.” Ye Zhiqiu replied.

He had noticed lately that Qin Jianhe didn’t always have Uncle Li drive him.

Most of the time, if Uncle Li appeared, it was either because Qin Jianhe had been working heavily and needed rest, or because he had business engagements.

Although it wasn’t always the case, Ye Zhiqiu still asked, “Do you have a dinner engagement tonight?”

Then he regretted it.

Not only was it well past the usual time for business dinners, but it also made him seem especially concerned about Qin Jianhe’s movements.

Instinctively, Ye Zhiqiu raised a hand to rub his own cheek, easing his slight embarrassment.

Sure enough, Qin Jianhe laughed on the other end.

“Not really a dinner,” he said. “Renzhi and the others want to go out for a drink.”

“Yeah.” Unconsciously, a smile surfaced in Ye Zhiqiu’s eyes. Then he heard the sound of a car door opening and closing on the other end, and the environment around Qin Jianhe grew quiet.

“I’m in the car now,” Qin Jianhe said to him. It sounded like a child reporting to a parent.

Again, Ye Zhiqiu instinctively rubbed his cheek.

“Then go ahead,” he said. “I’m also packing.”

“Will you be in your new place the day after tomorrow?” Qin Jianhe said. “I’ve prepared a housewarming gift for you. Let me know when it’s convenient to bring it over.”

Before Ye Zhiqiu could respond, he added, “Nothing expensive. Just everyday things.”

With that, Ye Zhiqiu had no reason to refuse.

“Okay,” he said with a smile. “But you should come a bit later. My friends might all be there.”

“Alright,” Qin Jianhe also laughed. “I’ll come secretly after they’ve all left.”

Ye Zhiqiu: “…”

He pressed his lips together, then couldn’t help but laugh himself. Then both sides of the call fell silent.

The sound of the wind and rain was faint, making it hard to tell where it was coming from. It tapped against his ears as if falling into his heart.

Fine and dense. Everywhere.

“Then keep packing,” Qin Jianhe said. “See you the day after tomorrow evening.”

After hanging up, Ye Zhiqiu was quiet for a moment, then looked down again and started flipping through the photo album of Lan Yue from the beginning.

There were only a few photos.

Probably because they were old and had been handled many times, most were yellowed and faded.

It was probably time to take them somewhere for restoration, Ye Zhiqiu thought.

Then his thoughts returned to the cause of Lan Yue’s death.

Was it simple postpartum depression, or had someone poured fuel on that fire and secretly pushed her?

Having been through another life, Ye Zhiqiu knew better than anyone that for anyone, even in the darkest times, death was not an easy thing.

Even in his past life, when his depression was severe, when he lived like a walking corpse, when he would stand on the balcony smoking and be overcome with the urge to jump, he had never actually done it.

Let alone Lan Yue.

Not to mention that she was so gentle and smiling, clearly the type with a very good personality.

Just before, Lan Hua had mentioned that when he came to take care of her after Ye Zhiqiu was born, Lan Yue had been perfectly normal then.

Lan Hua said she hadn’t been any different from any other new mother. She was immersed in her new role in life.

A person like that, how could she commit suicide just two or three months later?

A two or three-month-old infant is at its most adorable. As a mother “immersed” in her new role, why would she leave her crying child without a backward glance, abandoning him to the cruel whims of fate?

Unless she had truly encountered something so desperate that she could no longer see the future or any hope.

In retrospect, that thing might not have been so huge, but under the influence of postpartum hormones, it could certainly have pushed her over the edge.

Ye Zhiqiu lit a cigarette, frowning as he took deep drags.

Only when ash fell onto the photos did he snap out of it, flustered, and brush it away.

The ash was hot, but thankfully, no damage was done.

Ye Zhiqiu breathed a sigh of relief and stubbed out the remaining half of the cigarette.

He had thought about these things many times before, to be precise, countless times.

But it was so long ago that he could no longer find the traces.

He looked down, pressing his lips together, and stood up.

He carefully put the album into the compartment of his suitcase, then started packing his other luggage.

The house had plenty of suitcases. Although his two regular ones were temporarily at Qin Jianhe’s place, Ye Zheng and Ye Hongxian traveled often, so Aunt Zhao quickly found four large suitcases for him.

One was already full of books and daily necessities. Ye Zhiqiu packed the other three with everyday clothes.

Having studied fashion design, he had developed good organizational habits, so packing wasn’t difficult.

In less than half an hour, the suitcases were lined up against the wall again.

Ye Zhiqiu went back to his desk and opened this semester’s class schedule.

He planned to start both work and school again at the same time.

He had class on Monday afternoon. He would go to the company in the morning, then bring the tools he had bought for Lin Xuehua to school for the afternoon class.

He had actually bought two sets of those tools: one for Lin Xuehua and one for himself.

Since he needed to set up a new workspace, many tools would have to be repurchased anyway.

After closing the schedule, Ye Zhiqiu went online and ordered a sewing machine, a pegboard for tools, and the various tools his own kit was missing.

Once that was done, he habitually took a blank sheet of paper and began his daily review.

This time, he wrote the name “Cui Xuan” first.

Then the tip of his pen paused, suspended in the air for a long time.

The rain outside seemed louder, pounding heavily in Ye Zhiqiu’s ears. It was as if the whole world had gone blank, leaving only the downpour.

Then the hand holding the pen trembled slightly, his fingers tightening.

Ye Zhiqiu slowly came back to himself, lowered his gaze, and continued writing.

This time, he wrote the words “Uncle Wang” on the paper.

Ye Hongxian had never spoken about the circumstances of Lan Yue’s death.

And Ye Zhiqiu had never asked Aunt Zhao.

Not only because he was afraid of alerting anyone, but also because during that time, Aunt Zhao had returned to her hometown for a while due to an illness in her family.

Coincidentally, with Lan Yue’s delivery, they had hired a postpartum nurse. With fewer people in the Ye household, Aunt Zhao had only come back after finishing her business at home. She never expected something like this to happen in the meantime.

In his past life, Ye Zhiqiu had also tried to find that nurse.

Back then, his reason for searching wasn’t because he suspected anything about Lan Yue’s death.

It was because he had just lost that photo album and desperately needed comfort elsewhere.

Asking Aunt Zhao wasn’t really an option anymore.

When Ye Hongxian had kicked him out, he had said that if anyone in the Ye family dared contact him again, they could get out with him. He didn’t want to drag her down.

So the postpartum nurse who had cared for him after Lan Yue’s delivery was the best option.

She had lived in the house, spent the most time with Lan Yue.

She could not only tell him about Lan Yue but also describe what Lan Yue was like as a new mother, what he was like as a baby, whether Lan Yue had liked him, whether she had loved him.

Later, he had indeed found some information about her.

But unfortunately, she had already passed away by the time he was seven or eight.

So later, when he finally saw Tao Ruoqing’s true face and began to suspect the cause of Lan Yue’s death, he had rather prematurely concluded that with the passage of time and loss of life, there were probably no useful clues left in this world about that matter.

But just now, he suddenly thought of Uncle Wang again.

Uncle Wang had come after Tao Ruoqing married into the Ye family. And all these years, the Ye family had only had Uncle Wang as a driver.

So, when Lan Yue was pregnant, hadn’t the Ye family had a driver?

Back then, Yeding was just taking off; it was the busiest time.

Ye Hongxian certainly wouldn’t have had the time, or even the sense of responsibility, to accompany Lan Yue to prenatal checkups or help her with her pregnancy.

So, there must have been a driver before.

Ye Zhiqiu thought quietly for a moment, then drew a star next to “Uncle Wang” to mark it as important.

Then he stood up, stared out the window at the dark rainy sky for a long time, barely steadying his emotions, before sitting back down to finish his work.

By the time he had sorted through his emotions, Ye Zhiqiu was completely calm.

He shredded the paper, then opened his email.

After processing a few emails, he shut down his computer, stood up, and went to bed.

Although it was hard to sleep, he had a meeting tomorrow with the director of the “Building Eight” production team and Zhao Yunzhuang, so he forced himself to close his eyes.

He tossed and turned all night, listening to the rain outside go from heavy to light, until finally, only a faint rustling sound remained. Then, he drifted off.

When the alarm went off, golden sunlight was already streaming in through the gap in the curtains.

The sky had cleared.

He hadn’t slept well all night. Ye Zhiqiu took a moment to collect himself before getting up.

When he went to the bathroom to wash up, he looked in the mirror and was met with a pair of extremely cold eyes.

The gray in those eyes was very deep, as if frozen, staring back at him calmly.

Ye Zhiqiu blinked, then raised his hands to rub his cheeks until they were slightly warm, and the gray in his eyes gradually faded.

But the faint dark circles beneath them became more noticeable as his eyes warmed.

He went out, changed his clothes, and went downstairs for breakfast.

Everyone except Ye Zhixia was at the table.

Probably because Ye Zhiqiu was about to move out, Ye Hongxian uncharacteristically served him food several times and gave him some earnest advice.

Tao Ruoqing’s attitude was beyond reproach. She asked about his packing, whether he needed anything for the apartment, and in front of Ye Hongxian, transferred him some money. She did everything perfectly.

Even the irritation in Ye Hongxian’s eyes, caused by Ye Zhixia’s lack of understanding, instantly vanished.

Ye Zhiqiu smiled and accepted it all, projecting an image of domestic harmony.

Not only Ye Hongxian, but even Tao Ruoqing felt that his six months at VIA last year had made him much more sensible and mature.

Moving out now was a good thing, Tao Ruoqing couldn’t help thinking.

If he stayed around, and Ye Hongxian’s opinion of him continued to improve, that would be bad.

After breakfast, Ye Zhiqiu drove straight to the set.

He had arrived half an hour early for his ten o’clock meeting.

The production hadn’t started filming yet, but the sets were mostly built. A red brick building stood before him, with a temporary meeting room set up on the first floor.

Director Zhou Lian, the producer, and Zhao Yunzhuang hadn’t arrived yet, but Zhao Keqi was already there.

Also present were several teachers from the costume, makeup, and props departments, as well as some assistants to Li Xun, the head stylist who was currently in the hospital.

They were all part of Zhao Yunzhuang’s regular team and knew Zhao Keqi well. When Ye Zhiqiu arrived, they were teasing him.

Seeing Ye Zhiqiu was like seeing a savior. Zhao Keqi half hid behind him and grumbled, “Why are you so late?”

Young and brash, Ye Zhiqiu had never seen Zhao Keqi like this and couldn’t help finding it funny.

“What’s wrong?” he laughed. “Aren’t all these big brothers and sisters very friendly? It’s not like they’re going to eat you.”

“You don’t know,” Zhao Keqi whispered, poking Ye Zhiqiu in the side. “People in this business have seen everything. Their jokes aren’t for everyone. Don’t you end up like that.”

“You haven’t seen my true nature yet,” Ye Zhiqiu smiled. “If I start joking, you might not be able to handle it either.”

They hadn’t tried to keep their voices down. Everyone in the room laughed.

Ye Zhiqiu was the youngest there. Seeing this, he immediately smiled and bent slightly.

“Hello, everyone. I’m Ye Zhiqiu. I look forward to working with you all.”

Instantly, people greeted him warmly. Zhao Keqi jumped out and started introducing everyone.

A young assistant from the director’s team immediately brought him water and smiled. “Director Zhou and Old Zhao will be here soon, Teacher Ye. Please have a seat.”

Ye Zhiqiu thanked him and sat down next to Zhao Keqi.

“Why are you here?” Ye Zhiqiu asked with a smile.

“To cheer you on, of course,” Zhao Keqi said. Then, very practically, he lowered his voice and introduced each person, telling Ye Zhiqiu their personalities, preferences, and areas of expertise.

Ye Zhiqiu listened quietly, making mental notes.

When he got to the last one, the door opened, and Zhao Yunzhuang and Zhou Lian walked in.

“Old Zhou, let me introduce you,” Zhao Yunzhuang said to Zhou Lian. “This is Ye Zhiqiu. Teacher Xiao Ye.”

“Hello, Director Zhou. Hello, Teacher Zhao.” Ye Zhiqiu immediately stood up politely.

“I know, I know,” Zhou Lian said, looking Ye Zhiqiu over. “You’ve been on the trending searches several times. I’ve saved a few of your pictures.”

Everyone laughed again.

“Xiao Zhao,” Zhou Lian handed a stack of documents to the young assistant who had brought the water earlier. “Pass these out for everyone to look at. We’ll have a meeting later.”

Then he pushed open a small door and beckoned Ye Zhiqiu. “Xiao Ye, Old Zhao, let’s discuss business first.”

Zhao Yunzhuang wasn’t old, at most in his early fifties.

Because he was a leading figure in the Beijing entertainment circle, people had started calling him “Old Zhao” ten years ago.

Ye Zhiqiu politely hung back, letting the two seniors enter first, then followed and closed the door softly.

Their discussion was within Ye Zhiqiu’s expectations. For his first try at this type of work, he had no special demands regarding compensation, only regarding his work schedule.

Same as with Q.L., his only requirement was the freedom to arrange his own work hours, as long as it didn’t interfere with his duties.

Neither Zhou Lian nor Zhao Yunzhuang had any major objections to this.

Except for actor fittings, most well-known stylists didn’t stay on set. They usually left the on-set work to their assistants or relevant personnel.

Li Xun was the same way.

Although Ye Zhiqiu wasn’t yet a well-known stylist, as long as he could get the work done, whether he could be on set, or for how long, wasn’t a major issue.

The discussion went very smoothly.

Finally, Zhou Lian raised two points.

Since Ye Zhiqiu didn’t have an assistant, the production team had discussed it with Li Xun and decided to assign one of his assistants to help Ye Zhiqiu with work and to liaise with Li Xun.

Ye Zhiqiu had no objection to this.

“Secondly,” Zhou Lian handed Ye Zhiqiu a copy of the script, “although this film is Old Zhao’s production, it also has investments from Meng Jewelry and your Q.L.”

Ye Zhiqiu nodded, understanding that the brands had probably sponsored quite a few clothing items and accessories.

“Accessories aside,” Zhou Lian continued, “for Q.L.’s sponsored items, I’ll need you to select them after you’ve read the script.”

“Then I’ll probably also need the list of confirmed actors,” Ye Zhiqiu said, his expression unchanged. “Besides character traits, the actors’ own personalities also need to be considered when doing the styling.”

“I’ll have Xiao Zhao give it to you later,” Zhou Lian nodded. “We start filming in half a month. But no rush. Before he was hospitalized, Teacher Li had already made a few looks for the two male leads. Plus the Q.L. sponsorship, we’ll be fine for a while.”

“Mm.” Ye Zhiqiu smiled and nodded.

“After I read the script,” he asked, “would it be convenient to visit Teacher Li in the hospital?”

“Of course.” Zhou Lian was very satisfied that Ye Zhiqiu understood.

The discussion went pleasantly, and the terms were quickly agreed upon.

Knowing they still had a meeting, Ye Zhiqiu stood up first to leave.

“How about lunch together?” Zhao Keqi followed him out.

“No,” Ye Zhiqiu stopped. “I have something to do.”

“I don’t know what you’re so busy with all the time,” Zhao Keqi grumbled.

He was two years older than Ye Zhiqiu, but very childish.

Seeing Ye Zhiqiu say nothing, just unlocking his car, he couldn’t help running after him. “Will you have time for training at the gym soon?”

“Soon,” Ye Zhiqiu smiled.

Zhao Keqi’s expression relaxed. He finally stopped pestering him, just raised a hand in a wave. “See you later, then.”

“See you later.” Ye Zhiqiu opened the car door and got in.

A paved path led from the set to the main road, lined with flowers and trees. It was probably modeled after some residential area.

He drove out the gate, turned onto the main road, and instead of heading back to the city, turned toward the suburbs.

On the way, he stopped at a tiny flower shop and bought a bunch of baby’s breath.

There was no traffic in the suburbs. Ye Zhiqiu drove fast. Soon, he stopped at the foot of a hill.

It had rained heavily yesterday. Although the sky had cleared, the path up the hill was still muddy.

Stepping on the somewhat muddy stone steps, Ye Zhiqiu entered the cemetery.

The weather was cold, it wasn’t yet the Qingming festival, and it had rained last night. The cemetery was deserted.

Only the sound of wind blowing through withered grass and branches and the chirping of birds.

Even the old caretaker had gone for a nap.

Ye Zhiqiu didn’t disturb him. He pushed open the small gate and walked in.

The cemetery was large. Lan Yue’s grave was at the very back. Ye Zhiqiu walked for a while before finding her among the rows of headstones.

It was actually a bit unfamiliar. Ye Zhiqiu couldn’t even remember when he had last been here.

Probably when he learned that the postpartum nurse had passed away, he had come here for a good cry.

Later, he couldn’t even take care of himself, and going out became increasingly difficult, so he never came again.

The headstone was covered in dust, not even washed clean by last night’s rain.

So much so that even Lan Yue’s photo looked somewhat mottled.

Ye Zhiqiu bent down, placed the baby’s breath on the ground, then took off the pure silk scarf from his neck, and knelt down to gently wipe the headstone.

Soon, Lan Yue’s smiling face became clear and vivid before him.

“I came to see you,” he said, smiling, meeting the eyes of the person in the photo.

“Before, I was fooled by people, mistaking a thief for my mother,” he said softly. “So I didn’t come to see you much. I’m sorry.”

The wind blew, his scarf-less neck grew cold, and the baby’s breath trembled on the ground.

He was usually so afraid of the cold, but at this moment, he seemed to feel nothing.

He reached out and gently touched Lan Yue’s smiling cheek on the headstone.

“I didn’t even know what flowers you liked, so I bought baby’s breath,” Ye Zhiqiu said softly. “If you truly are the moon in the sky, you’d probably like having many, many stars accompanying you, right?”

He pressed his lips together, his eyes reddening, but unlike in his past life, he didn’t cry.

The air grew quiet again. Something blew over in the wind. It was some half-burned spirit money.

“Next time,” Ye Zhiqiu looked down, “I’ll bring you lots and lots of spirit money, too.”

“Mom,” he called out, the word difficult. “If there was another reason for your leaving, rest assured. I will find justice for you.”

In truth, he had so much he wanted to say to Lan Yue.

But in the end, only these few words came out.

After saying them, he stood quietly in front of the headstone for a moment, then bent down again to say goodbye.

If, on his way up the hill, Ye Zhiqiu had felt an unsettling, almost timid apprehension, on his way down, his steps were firm and steady, quick and sure.

It already noon. The sun was exceptionally bright.

As he walked, Ye Zhiqiu mentally screened potential people he could trust.

Li Shaojun and Jin Baobao were certainly the most reliable, but for one thing, they were too young and might act impulsively. If they found out, they might cause a scene.

For another, there was Tang Le in the middle.

Li Shaojun and Jin Baobao were out.

Then he thought of Lan Hua.

But Lan Hua had taken so many years to finally put this matter behind him and return to a normal life. Ye Zhiqiu didn’t want to drag him back in, to have him lose sleep over it again.

Then there was Zhang Mian.

He had reached the foot of the hill. Ye Zhiqiu stopped in front of his car.

But Zhang Mian was running the entire operation of Yunkai. He was already overloaded, let alone after New Power’s samples passed inspection, his workload might double.

Zhang Mian wouldn’t work either.

Moreover, someone who had been cheated once was naturally very cautious.

He had already entrusted Zhang Mian with business matters. For personal matters, he still wanted to keep some things to himself.

Zhang Mian was out too.

Then…

For a moment, Ye Zhiqiu felt lost.

The sky was high, the world vast, but only now did he realize he couldn’t even find one reliable person.

The world spread out beneath his feet, but he felt completely shrouded by dark clouds, unable to see the way.

In that dead silence, a phone rang, especially jarring on the almost deserted path at the foot of the hill.

Instinctively, Ye Zhiqiu’s eyelid twitched.

He pulled out his phone and saw Qin Jianhe’s name on the screen.

Like sunlight suddenly piercing through the clouds.

Though very slowly, Ye Zhiqiu’s path brightened again.

He answered the phone, not realizing his own movement was a bit eager.

“Qin Jianhe,” he said.

He didn’t know if it was because his emotions had been turbulent outside or because he hadn’t spoken for a long time, but his voice was very hoarse.

There seemed to be a pause on the other end, then Qin Jianhe’s voice came through.

As steady and calm as always, tapping softly against his eardrum.

He said his name: “Ye Zhiqiu.”

Hearing this, Ye Zhiqiu responded softly, momentarily unable to speak.

“Where are you now?” Qin Jianhe asked.

“I…” Before speaking, Ye Zhiqiu still felt hesitant, but after a long moment, he slowly said, “I’m at the cemetery.”

“I came to see my mother,” he said.

There was silence on the other end. Then Qin Jianhe said softly, “Get in your car and wait for me. I’ll be there soon.”

Soon?

Ye Zhiqiu was dazed for a moment, thinking he had misheard.

“Qingyan and I came to the set today to discuss investment,” Qin Jianhe said. “When I arrived, they said you had just left.”

The sound of a car door opening and closing came from the other end, followed by the voice of a car navigation system. The destination was exactly where Ye Zhiqiu was standing.

Ye Zhiqiu pressed his lips together, his fingers unconsciously tightening on the phone.

“Qin Jianhe,” he asked, “if I asked you to do me a favor, would that be okay?”

There seemed to be a very soft laugh on the other end. Qin Jianhe’s voice was still very steady, and it sounded reassuring.

“Sure,” he said. “It would be even better if you could come over more often and advise me on my cooking.”