Chapter 51

Time flies, and before they knew it, it was New Year’s Eve.

During the New Year period, family visits were allowed, which was considered a rare extra benefit.

Lin Xuan’er came, carrying her guitar. As soon as An Xiaohai saw her smiling face, he couldn’t help but smile.

“Are you going to sing for me again?”

“Yes!” Lin Xuan’er nodded happily.

“What song are you singing this time? Are you singing our song again?”

“I’m not singing that one this time. I’ve learned a new song. Xiaohai, can you guess what it is?”

“I don’t know!” An Xiaohai shook his head. Actually, he had already guessed it. He deliberately said he didn’t know, because every time he thought he had stumped Lin Xuan’er, this silly girl would be so happy.

“Haha, I knew you wouldn’t guess! I’ll sing it for you first, and then I’ll tell you the song name.”

“Okay.”

“Alright, here I go. Get ready!”

Lin Xuan’er quickly adjusted the guitar strings, and as the prelude began to play, the entire visiting room immediately fell silent. An Xiaohai bit his lip, trying to maintain his smile, while tears silently streamed down his heart.

“I would rather be trapped in your arms, trapped in your gentleness,

I don’t want to be lonely and adrift alone,

Just like a fish swimming in the water, your heart can swim toward me…”

Sure enough, it was the song “The Fish That Swims All Day Long.” Lin Xuan’er had modified some of the lyrics. Although the lyrics became a bit more straightforward and childish after her changes, every line hit An Xiaohai’s heart deeply.

“The fish that swims all day long, the fish, keeps swimming,

The person who thinks of you all day long, love, keeps resting!

The vast sea, how wide it is, but we can never turn back,

As long as you have me in your heart forever…”

When she sang the second chorus, Lin Xuan’er’s tears had already blurred her vision. Her trembling fingers had also messed up the chords, but fortunately, An Xiaohai helped her keep it going.

The two young people finished the song like this, separated by the iron bars and thick bulletproof glass.

“Youth… really is a beautiful thing…”

The older prison guard patted Mo Qinglian’s shoulder, sighed, and turned to leave. Perhaps it was the actions of An Xiaohai and Lin Xuan’er that touched something deep within him.

Mo Qinglian furrowed his brow. Lin Xuan’er, with her ponytail, left a good impression on him. She was clean, simple, and refreshing, like a gentle breeze on a hot summer day.

For such a girl to be so infatuated with An Xiaohai seemed like a waste of talent! For some reason, Mo Qinglian couldn’t control the sourness rising in his heart.

“Xiaohai, you’re bullying me again!” Lin Xuan’er pouted, complaining. She had clearly said she didn’t know what song he would sing, but he sang it better than her!

“I didn’t!” An Xiaohai quickly defended himself. “I just happen to know this song, and I guessed you would like it, so I learned it in advance. Is that a problem?”

“Fine, you win!” Lin Xuan’er wrinkled her nose and said, “Xiaohai, if only you could play the guitar, you could play, and I could sing. That would be perfect!”

Lin Xuan’er learned to play the guitar from An Xiaohai, who was the true expert.

“This… might be a bit difficult!” An Xiaohai bit his lip.

Although the prison encouraged inmates to pursue various hobbies, there were significant restrictions. Any sharp or metallic objects had to be handled with extreme caution.

Inmates could potentially use these objects to harm others or themselves.

Guitars fell into the highly dangerous category. Their fine, tough strings were a deadly weapon—not only could they hurt people, but they could also be used against the steel bars on the windows.

So guitars were banned. An Xiaohai knew that he wouldn’t be able to carry a guitar again until he walked out of this prison.

The song took up most of the time, and An Xiaohai and Lin Xuan’er barely had time to say a few words before Mo Qinglian urged them to leave.

What happened in the prison’s visiting room that day stayed in many people’s memories for a long time.

On the way back to his cell, An Xiaohai felt that Mo Qinglian’s hostility toward him had grown stronger, for some reason!

An Xiaohai didn’t think much about it.

To him, Mo Qinglian was like a machine—a machine that watched over the prison. As long as he didn’t cause trouble for An Xiaohai, An Xiaohai wouldn’t provoke him.

That was it.

It was the New Year, so the prison naturally held some social activities. Inmates were required to perform programs, but the format and content were relatively fixed.

It was either reciting confessional poems or singing songs like “Tears of Iron Bars.”

The inmates sang with great effort, including An Xiaohai; the guards listened calmly, but the prison leaders were excited, surrounding and flattering the visiting officials.

When the social event ended and everyone returned to their cells to rest, the sound of sobbing could be heard faintly, continuing throughout the night.

The New Year’s Eve of 1994 passed quietly in such an atmosphere.

An Xiaohai spoke with Pan Zhuangzhuang. His mother’s situation had neither progressed nor worsened; it was still under endless investigation.

According to Pan Zhuangzhuang, his mother had been handling it decently, which somewhat relieved An Xiaohai’s heart.

——

Haizhou, the capital of Haidong Province. Though not as economically powerful as deep-sea cities, as a provincial capital, Haizhou’s economic strength was not to be underestimated.

Haizhou’s Tianhai Central Business District was one of the three largest business districts in the country during this era, and the largest CBD in South China.

Even though it was the Lunar New Year, the high-rise buildings in the Tianhai Central Business District were brightly lit. In this place, businessmen’s pursuit of profit over personal separation seemed perfectly embodied.

In the tallest building in the central business district, a middle-aged man, dressed in a refined manner, stood in front of a floor-to-ceiling window, quietly admiring the neon-lit world outside.

The sound of high heels clicking behind him made his brow furrow slightly. He recognized the steps immediately.

“Not resting during the New Year?” The middle-aged man didn’t turn around, but muttered to himself softly.

“You’re not resting either,” came the lazy, magnetic voice of a woman, with a hint of allure.

Without speaking, the man turned around, poured another glass of wine, and handed it to the woman, who was now half-lying on the sofa.

The woman seemed particularly fond of the color red. She wore a red dress, red high heels, black stockings, and her hair in large waves, full of temptation.

“What’s the matter? Why did you come to find me?” The man took a sip of wine, clicked his tongue lightly and asked.

“I do have something to say!” The woman swirled her wine glass, but didn’t immediately take a sip. “The incident in Shatoujiao, that was you, right?”

The man didn’t speak, but his expression seemed to confirm it.

“I knew it was you!” The woman gave him a sidelong glance. “I came today to deliver a message from the higher-ups. Don’t do this anymore, it’s too dangerous!”

The woman wiggled her finger, each word punctuated, her fiery red nail polish cutting through the air, casting a red shadow.

“I know it’s dangerous, but it’ll only be this once, I won’t do it again!”

“Won’t do it again? Heh!”

The woman scoffed, “An Zhehao, you need to understand something. Since you’ve chosen this path, you should have severed all worldly attachments long ago. Otherwise, you’ll end up hurting everyone!”

While speaking, the woman approached An Zhehao and lightly tugged at his tie.

“I really don’t understand what’s so good about a fisherman’s wife? Why would someone like you, a man, do something against your principles for her?

If you lack women, you can try me! I guarantee you’ll never forget me, and you won’t be able to leave!”

The woman spoke softly, her gaze full of seduction.

“Enough, I need to keep my life. You’re famous for being a femme fatale, how could I risk it?” An Zhehao said dismissively, finishing his glass of wine and using the opportunity to discreetly break free from the woman’s grasp.

“Hahaha! You, An Zhehao, have a moment of fear too? Hahaha!” The woman laughed loudly. “You’ve been with so many women, if you don’t try me, how can you call it complete?”

The woman was completely unbothered, continuing to flirt with An Zhehao.

“Alright, enough of this nonsense. I’ll handle the official business with them myself. No need for you to come here and put on a show. But I want to ask you, was An Xiaohai’s incident your doing?”

“An Zhehao! How is it that whenever you’re involved with these two people, you start acting like an idiot? You’ve been in this business for over ten years, you know us well enough. Do you think we’d do something so childish?”

“I don’t think so, I hope not

!” An Zhehao was silent for a long time before finally shaking his head.

“Alright, the official matters are settled, now let’s return to private matters. Do you want to try me, this femme fatale?”

“Get lost!”