Tu Ming’s parents lived on a university campus. The two elderly had spent their lives in academia, dealing with knowledge, and knew little about the outside world, which was quite rare nowadays.

Tu Ming was actually quite similar to his parents, having hardly ever left the area. His kindergarten, primary school, middle school, and university were all within a five-kilometer radius, and after graduation, he taught at the university for two years. In his parents’ eyes, his only act of rebellion was resigning from the university to join a corporate enterprise in the private sector.

The home of his parents was very quiet.

The two elderly lived in a 70-square-meter house, which was not cramped, and they had never considered moving out, content with living there. It seemed that the Tu family had little desire for material possessions, and at their core, they retained the pride of scholars. This pride was indeed genetic.

When Tu Ming entered the house, his father, Tu Yanjing, was watching the news, and his mother, Yi Wanqiu, was watering the plants.

Yi Wanqiu noticed his torn lip as he entered and asked him, finding it unusual: “What happened to your mouth?”

“I got into a fight.” Tu Ming said it casually, not thinking much of the injury and fearing the elderly would make a fuss.

“A fight? With whom?”

“Someone was harassing my subordinate, and I stepped in to help.”

Yi Wanqiu took a closer look and saw that it wasn’t serious, just a bit disfiguring, not pretty. She pulled Tu Ming to sit on the sofa and chatted with him: “Harassment in broad daylight? There’s still such a thing? What about the rule of law?”

“It was her ex-boyfriend.”

“Harassing after breaking up? Is the girl okay?”

Tu Ming remembered Lumi’s fierce appearance and knew she hadn’t been at a disadvantage: “She’s fine.”

“That’s good.”

“Could it be the girl we met at the morning market last time?” Yi Wanqiu remembered the girl, quite amusing and not to be trifled with, the type who could get into a fight. The elderly were also smart, guessing correctly at once.

Tu Ming was not surprised by Yi Wanqiu’s sharpness, but he found it amusing. Did Lumi have the look of someone who had been in a fight? He couldn’t help but laugh: “You’re really perceptive.”

“Did I guess right? It seems my mind and eyes are still good.”

“Very good.”

Tu Yanjing’s eyes shifted from the TV to Tu Ming’s face, and after looking for a while, he finally said: “Resorting to violence is not the act of a true hero. Next time you encounter such a situation, call the police first.”

“Okay.” Tu Ming leaned back on the sofa and watched the news with Tu Yanjing. Watching the news was a daily ritual in their household, unchanged for decades, come rain or shine. Tu Yanjing watched the news but did not comment on it.

Father and son quietly watched the news while Yi Wanqiu went to cook, with great skill. When the news ended, Tu Ming went to the kitchen to assist Yi Wanqiu. She handed him a cucumber to wash: “Slice it into strips.”

“Alright.”

Yi Wanqiu glanced at the living room, whispering: “Xing Yun came by yesterday.” She didn’t want Tu Yanjing to hear. Regarding Xing Yun and Tu Ming’s divorce, Tu Yanjing had a different opinion. He believed that once divorced, they shouldn’t maintain close ties.

“What did she come for?”

“Her father’s garden vegetables are ripe, so she picked some cucumbers and tomatoes to bring over, along with a big pumpkin.”

Yi Wanqiu had a good relationship with Xing Yun. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had never had a falling out. Both had calm personalities, similar hobbies, and related professions. When Tu Ming divorced, Yi Wanqiu was sad for a long time, feeling that such a good marriage had ended, which was a pity.

Tu Ming glanced at the pumpkin in the corner and said to Yi Wanqiu: “You have a good relationship with her, so continue to interact as you do. It’s good.”

“Is there any possibility of you two remarrying? I see that Xing Yun seems to have not given up hope.”

“No.” Tu Ming answered decisively: “It’s all in the past, there’s no need. Broken mirrors cannot be mended, and spilled water is hard to retrieve. There’s no need to force it.”

“It’s still a lack of deep feelings.” Yi Wanqiu suddenly said this.

At first, watching them live their lives without any waves, they had the style of a couple married for two or three decades. They discussed things calmly without arguing, and Yi Wanqiu could almost see their future. The elderly thought there was nothing wrong with this, at least it was stable, but they never expected it to end in divorce.

Tu Ming couldn’t evaluate the depth of their feelings. After all, they dated for two or three years, were married for three or four years, and he was also sad when they divorced. Human hearts are all made of flesh.

Seeing that he wasn’t speaking, Yi Wanqiu sighed.

During the meal, Tu Ming’s phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID: Xing Yun.

Not wanting his parents to ask too many questions, he went to the balcony to answer the call: “What’s the matter?”

“Can you come and help me?” Xing Yun’s side sounded chaotic, with a cry in her voice that she couldn’t hold back: “My house was burglarized.” In Xing Yun’s heart, Tu Ming was someone she could trust, even after the divorce.

“Did you call the police? Were any valuables stolen?” Tu Ming asked her.

“I called the police. They’ll be here soon.” Xing Yun paused: “My wedding ring is gone.”

“What about your boyfriend?”

“He’s on a business trip.”

“Alright, I’ll be there in forty minutes.”

Tu Ming returned to the dining table, quickly finished his meal, and left the house. Before leaving, Yi Wanqiu asked him where he was going. He thought for a moment and didn’t mention the burglary at Xing Yun’s house, afraid that the elderly would worry and also fearing they would ask a lot of questions.

Before getting in the car, Tu Ming called Xing Yun’s sister, Xing Lu, and explained the situation. Then he said to Xing Lu: “Come along too.”

Xing Lu wanted to give them some time alone, but she remembered Tu Ming’s somewhat eccentric character. Since they were divorced, in Tu Ming’s view, they were unrelated men and women, and he wouldn’t be alone with her in a private space. He wanted to avoid any suspicion. So she agreed: “Alright, let’s meet downstairs from her place.”

When Tu Ming arrived, Xing Lu was already there.

Xing Yun and her boyfriend lived in Tu Ming’s old house, in a very old residential complex but with good surrounding facilities and a good school district. It was past 10 p.m., and when they went upstairs, the police had already taken their statements, and the house was in a mess.

“How did you get robbed? In this day and age, there are still burglaries. What did the police say?” Xing Lu asked her.

“The surveillance footage shows two men, but they were covering their faces.”

“What about the neighbors? Didn’t they see any clues?”

“The aunt and uncle across the hall are in their eighties and hard of hearing.”

Xing Lu paced around the house. The living room was relatively okay, but the bedroom had been turned upside down. Xing Yun followed her into the bedroom, and after a while, Tu Ming heard Xing Yun sob: “I’m just heartbroken over the ring.”

Xing Yun had loved that diamond ring very much. Back in the day, she dragged Tu Ming to the mall and picked out the diamond ring herself, spending nearly 100,000 yuan. At the time, that was no small sum for them, but she just wanted it. Tu Ming didn’t say anything and bought it for her.

After the divorce, Xing Yun took it off and put it away carefully. She would occasionally take it out to look at it while cleaning the room. The diamond was clear and sparkling, of excellent quality, and it seemed to prove that they had once been in love. Very rarely, Xing Yun would feel that perhaps she was wrong. How could someone as upright as Tu Ming have an affair? And she, why did she betray her marriage? Many things she couldn’t explain or understand, so she could only resolve them in this way.

When they divorced and divided their assets, Tu Ming gave her the house, a relatively good car, half of their savings, and the diamond ring. At the time, Xing Lu looked at the agreement and said: “What’s the difference between this and leaving with nothing?” In the end, he wasn’t the one at fault; he was just a real man. At least it proved that you didn’t marry the wrong person the first time.

Now that the ring was lost, their relationship was truly over, and Xing Yun felt a bit of indescribable sadness.

Xing Lu was getting a bit irritated by her crying, but since she was her sister, she couldn’t say anything harsh. She could only keep consoling her: “Don’t cry. It’s gone, crying won’t bring it back.”

Xing Lu somewhat hoped that Xing Yun could show a bit of character or at least be clear-headed. If there were any issues, she could just speak up directly, even if it meant arguing a few times to get things clear, rather than having delusions of persecution and then actively committing adultery. Like now, she could just tell Tu Ming directly: “I’m heartbroken over the ring because you bought it for me.” That was so hard to do?

Tu Ming waited outside for a while and only knocked on the bedroom door when he heard the crying stop. Xing Yun opened the door with swollen eyes and heard Tu Ming’s first words after entering: “Stay at a hotel tonight. It’s not safe at home.”

Xing Yun knew that this was probably Tu Ming’s way of showing concern. He was rational and thought of solutions first when encountering problems, without too much emotional consideration. So she responded: “Alright.”

“Bring a change of clothes.”

As they went downstairs, Xing Yun noticed the wound on Tu Ming’s lip and asked him: “What happened to your mouth?”

“I got into a fight.”

“You? Fighting?” Xing Yun was a bit shocked, at least in her understanding, Tu Ming wasn’t the type to get into fights.

“Yeah, it just happened.” Tu Ming didn’t elaborate, silently dragging Xing Yun’s luggage.

Xing Lu glanced at Xing Yun. She was clearly curious but refused to ask more. With such personalities, what kind of passion could they have had in their relationship?

Tu Ming and Xing Lu sent Xing Yun to the adjacent hotel. Xing Lu reminded Xing Yun to install surveillance cameras and change the locks the next day, and also asked her: “When will Wang Song be back?”

“He’ll be here early tomorrow morning.”

“Alright.”

After Xing Yun left, Xing Lu asked Tu Ming: “You don’t mind Wang Song living here with her, do you?”

“The house is hers now. Who she lives here with has nothing to do with me.”

“You’re pretty good, a real man.” Xing Lu looked back at the direction of the hotel, pondered for a moment, and said to Tu Ming: “You know that a lot of things were stolen from the house, right? Xing Yun’s other jewelry was also stolen, but she’s most heartbroken over the diamond ring.”

“If I remember correctly, that diamond ring wasn’t cheap. It’s normal to be heartbroken.” Tu Ming said.

“Why don’t you feel…”

“If she regretted our relationship, she wouldn’t have had an affair.”

Talking about these things after the divorce, wasn’t it like taking off your pants to fart—an unnecessary act? Although Tu Ming was gentle and modest, he was stubbornly firm at his core. What he could accept was Xing Yun discussing her dissatisfaction with the marriage properly with him. What he couldn’t accept was her having an affair and suspecting him of having one.

It was quite boring like this.

He got in the car and drove back, almost reaching 1 a.m., missing his ideal bedtime. He simply found a place to park, rolled down the window, and enjoyed the breeze by the roadside. Xing Yun sent him a message to thank him, and he replied after a long time: “The ring is gone, no need to feel regret. Buy another one for the next marriage. Since we’re divorced, look forward.”

“It seems like you don’t miss it at all. That’s the saddest part for me.”

“Don’t be so contradictory. Wanting a divorce on one hand and wanting your ex-husband to miss you on the other. It’s not straightforward. Go to bed early, no need to reply.”

A gust of wind blew onto his face, and his phone happened to ring. He answered it and heard a noisy background on the other end. After a while, a woman’s voice came through: “You’re our Lumi’s savior, right?”

… The term “savior” sounded a bit strange, and Tu Ming frowned: “No. Who is this?”

“Lumi said to thank you. Wait a moment…” The girl lowered her voice: “Just say you’re welcome later. She’s drunk and says she can’t owe anyone a favor. After this call, she’ll go home and sleep.”

After saying that, the girl didn’t wait for Tu Ming’s reaction and put the phone to Lumi’s mouth: “Say it! Ancestor!”

“Is this my boss who stood up for justice?”