Chapter 56: Judgment

July 28th.

The Gaokao had already ended, and He Rou’s eighteenth birthday had also passed.

The coming-of-age ceremony had not taken place.

This birthday was just like usual, with only herself alone.

And that day, He Rou was incredibly bored, still going through the daily tasks set by the reformatory as usual.

But there was a difference.

That day, when she went out for labor, the sky was beautiful, with white clouds hanging low.

By the time she returned, it happened to be dusk.

Summer, leaving aside the temperature, has always been like this in people’s memories—so captivating that one lingers and forgets to return.

He Rou really wanted to paint it to celebrate her birthday.

But if she ever really gained freedom one day, she would probably forget about it.

After all, the things she wanted to do were already too numerous to count.

She had been very busy these past few days, busy with the lawsuit.

She didn’t know who had scared He Rou by saying she would face the death penalty.

At first, she thought, ‘This is a joke…’

But after the verdict came down, that Ling Jie and her family were dissatisfied.

Second trial…

He Rou’s punishment became more severe each time.

It was also at this time that the free legal counsel provided by the reformatory was no longer effective.

But even at this point, that person’s help had not yet arrived.

He Rou was afraid that if more time passed, she would really suffer from acute copper metal poisoning.

However, fortunately, at the last moment.

Luo Yun’s lawyer came.

He Rou just watched, not saying a word the entire time.

After all, this person looked very professional.

The final result did not disappoint the clothes this person wore.

Three-year fixed-term imprisonment, four-year probation.

Compensation of 830,000.

When He Rou put her own clothes back on and left the reformatory,

She felt that these past few months had felt somewhat unreal.

It was as if these days had all been simulated in her own mind.

He Rou felt that she had never really left that day.

And everything now was just a protective fantasy under extreme emotional breakdown…

But discovering the truth in a dream, waking up is also in an instant.

Even when He Rou sat in the car that Luo Yun had sent to pick her up, she still hadn’t woken up.

“It’s real…”

The car drove farther and farther.

She looked back, gazing at the traces of where she had first lived.

These were all real.

So, what should she do next…

He Rou stroked the white dress she was wearing.

She didn’t own a dress.

This one was Luo Yun’s, but she didn’t know if it was bought new or had been worn before.

What you can’t have is the most beautiful and the most longed for.

The outside world now was the same for He Rou.

Although she was ostensibly free now, whether she could see the city scenery and the outside world anytime and anywhere was a false proposition.

Had these few months changed He Rou?

Probably even she herself didn’t know.

In the boring days, she had nearly forgotten why she had come there in the first place.

If asked whether she regretted it?

‘Regret…’

But at least she had proven one thing to herself.

She was still a living person, not a puppet controlled by the long string of atonement.

—

The car drove very fast. The driver was the same driver as before.

He Rou’s gaze never left the window.

She watched outside at the phenomenon caused by the first page of the table of contents in junior high physics textbooks—the layered strips seemed to be chased by the wind…

All along the way, she kept thinking…

She didn’t know what she was thinking—it was like a state between daydreaming and thinking.

During this process, time seemed to speed up, and the feeling of time passing disappeared.

Oh… He Rou remembered. She had been thinking about how she should face Luo Yun.

But she couldn’t come up with a solution.

Soon, the destination arrived.

The villa now looked no different from how He Rou remembered it.

Well, real estate couldn’t change much after just a few months of absence.

He Rou got out of the car.

The food at the reformatory was not good, but it was different from prison; there were still some distinctions.

After staying there for a few months, her body was originally malnourished, but at least there was some flesh on her face. Now, however, her whole body was just a skeleton.

But her inherent appearance was still there; even if thinner, she was still different from a skin-and-bones skeleton.

Rather, she looked more like a princess from ancient times whose homeland had been shattered.

The He Rou now and the He Rou before were completely two different things.

He Rou stepped down, the sun shining in the sky.

The air quality in this city had now reached “excellent.”

There were many green plants around the villa, plus the summer sun beating down.

The air didn’t feel like the crispness of high mountains; instead, it felt like the breath of life in a tropical rainforest.

He Rou felt the clear air outside; she hadn’t experienced it in a long time.

She lifted her foot and walked toward the villa.

But just as she touched the door, she felt a layer of dust.

“…”

“No one has been here for a long time.”

He Rou’s heart was complicated; after all, she had worked here for at least three years.

Although it wasn’t her home, it was at least the place she would live in from now on.

It seemed she couldn’t slack off these few days; she had to pick up her work again.

Clean this place thoroughly.

But she hadn’t expected Luo Yun to have never returned, and not even hired someone to maintain the place.

Is that how rich people are?

He Rou pushed open the door.

The scene inside was no different from the day she left with the spirit of Xiang Yu.

And even before entering, standing at the door, she could smell a strange odor inside.

An indescribable smell, like something old and abandoned.

Not very pleasant.

Sunlight streamed in through the glass, making it easy to see the dust floating in the air.

He Rou sighed.

She then stopped thinking about random things.

She tied up her hair, and changed out of the little white dress back into her own clothes.

After tidying everything up, she would go back to her old job.

…

The light of the setting sun can only linger on the horizon.

And the lights of thousands of households at night are what humans have pieced together from the rules of nature.

So why didn’t He Rou turn on the lights? Probably because she wanted to feel nature…

The villa had been cleaned. Somewhat exhausted, He Rou sat on the sofa, looking at the fruits of her labor. For some reason, she felt something was off.

But she didn’t think much of it.

She didn’t know when Luo Yun would come back.

Thinking carefully, the two of them had not seen each other for a long time.

During her time in the reformatory, He Rou’s temperament had been tempered a little.

Her whole being had gained some adult qualities.

A person’s fastest and greatest change is often represented by graying hair overnight.

But He Rou didn’t quite feel that way.

She had also forgotten why she took a craft knife to school that day, and what she had been thinking the night before.

It felt like the change happened in an instant…

In an instant, she understood.

People are really amazing.