Zhuang Zi indeed didn’t have any important friends.

However, there were two people who called her today.

One was Pei Zheng, and the other was Lu Yuze.

When she received Lu Yuze’s call in the morning, she was very surprised: “How did you get my number?”

She had to know, six years ago she had longed for this call.

She hoped he would apologize, that he would at least show her some respect, give her a reason why she was abandoned.

She had once poured her heart out for someone, not seeking equal return, only hoping that the other party would understand her painstaking efforts.

And the result? The result was that in the end, she was pushed into a deep abyss of pain.

Winter passed and spring came, autumn went and winter returned, he seemed to have vanished from the world, without any news.

She even once doubted if she had done something wrong, something that drove people away from her, making them look down on her.

She had hated, complained, and despaired.

Now she could barely remember how she got through those days of disappointment and pain.

There are always some wounds that no one knows about, which can only be slowly licked and healed when you are alone.

It’s like the rebirth of a phoenix, which must go through a long period of shedding feathers and peeling off old skin before it can fly into the sky again.

She finally believed that there was nothing time couldn’t change, no matter how tormenting, time could heal everything.

When everything started anew, looking back, those heart-wrenching nights were not such a big deal. It was just that she had put in too much effort back then and felt a bit unwilling to let go.

Thinking carefully, except for the very few lucky ones favored by fate, weren’t those experiences the tests most people had to go through in their growth process?

As long as it was something or someone she had once liked, and she had tried hard to fight for it, she would feel no regret or remorse.

Lu Yuze was exactly that.

What did she like about him back then?

A boy who liked to wear white shirts, with a clean and handsome appearance, like a graceful young man who had stepped out of a book, was exactly the type of boy she liked at that age.

It was love at first sight, and he just happened to respond to her.

Because she was always very attentive to everything she liked, she fell deeply in love.

However, with no experience in relationships, she didn’t understand at the time that love, unlike work or studies, doesn’t guarantee a return for your efforts.

But everyone has to go through some storms to learn how to better protect themselves.

Later, as she saw more of the world, she realized that those experiences were just fleeting clouds, not worth mentioning.

But after that, she seemed to mature overnight and learned many truths.

She also learned to be more cautious in matters of the heart, no longer giving her all to someone easily.

This is why, in the later relationship with He Yue, she was able to let go so easily.

…

On the phone, Lu Yuze chuckled and said, “I didn’t expect you to keep the same phone number all these years.”

Zhuang Zi, reminded by him, realized that she indeed hadn’t changed her number. However, she had deleted and blocked many people she hadn’t contacted in a long time, including Lu Yuze.

But she didn’t expect that after so many years of separation, he still had her number.

“Even though I never contacted you, I’ve always remembered your number,” Lu Yuze said. “I never reached out because I didn’t know what to say to you.”

Zhuang Zi paused for a moment, then said indifferently, “Indeed, there’s nothing to say.”

If you don’t say something when it’s time, it becomes pointless to say it later.

She thought for a few seconds, just about to find an excuse to hang up, when Lu Yuze continued, “Is the place you’re living in now still safe? Last time at the police station, I heard from the officers about your recent situation, and I…”

“It’s fine,” Zhuang Zi interrupted bluntly. “Thank you for your concern. I’m about to have lunch, so I’ll—”

“Zhuang Zi.”

Lu Yuze suddenly called her, “Don’t hang up, listen to me for just one minute.”

Zhuang Zi stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, arms crossed, looking at the river in the distance.

“I’m not trying to explain myself or ask for your forgiveness. I just want to apologize,” he said, his deep voice full of remorse. “Otherwise, I can never find peace within myself, nor can I forgive myself.”

Zhuang Zi’s gaze remained fixed on the Yangtze River stretching into the distance, its waters carrying away the memories of the past, erasing all grudges and emotions, leaving no attachments or follow-ups.

After a long while, she spoke to the person on the other end of the phone with a calm voice, “Lu Yuze, everyone has been young and made mistakes. I forgive you. Please don’t disturb me anymore. Let’s just go our separate ways peacefully.”

…

When Si Hang and Xiao Meng returned to the police station, it was ten in the morning.

After being out for a day, there was a pile of documents waiting to be processed on the desk.

They were so busy that they didn’t even have time to drink a cup of tea. When they had handled most of the tasks and put down their pens, a glance at the computer showed that it was almost eleven.

He leaned back comfortably in his chair, tilted his head, and closed his eyes for a brief rest of two minutes. Suddenly remembering something, he sat up and picked up the desk phone to make a call.

After the line connected, he directly asked, “How did the call records I asked you to check last time turn out?”

“They were completed just yesterday. I heard you were out of town, so I didn’t send them over.”

“Okay,” Si Hang said. “I just got back. Send them to me now.”

…

When Zhuang Zi received Si Hang’s WeChat message, she was changing clothes to go out.

She had promised Pei Zheng last night to have lunch together today.

Last time, Pei Zheng had helped her get some documents, which resulted in him getting fined. Zhuang Zi had transferred the amount of the fine to him via WeChat, but he insisted on not accepting it.

Coincidentally, he called her last night, reminding her that her birthday was coming up and asking if he could treat her to a meal.

Zhuang Zi felt it wouldn’t be appropriate to let him treat her again.

So she asked Xiao Zhao when he would be available to accompany her out, planning to return the fine to Pei Zheng in person.

But just as she was about to leave, she received unexpected news—Si Hang said he had obtained the call records of her sister before her death.

…