They surrounded me right after the breakup.

The motion-activated light at the entrance of the building flickered on and off.

There was no one there, and no unusual sounds.

Several discarded cardboard boxes were piled up at the base of the wall, rustling in the wind.

Liu Meng continued walking forward, quickening her pace.

The high heels tapped the ground faster and faster.

Once inside the apartment building, she stood by the window in the stairwell and looked down.

The street she had just walked on was deserted, with only the shadows of trees swaying in the wind.

Liu Meng gripped her bag tightly and rushed upstairs.

I only realized my fingers were trembling when I inserted the key into the lock.

The door opened, and the lights were on inside. Zhao Xiulan was washing dishes in the kitchen.

Liu Meng locked the door from the inside, leaned against the door panel, and her chest heaved several times before she calmed down.

"Mengmeng?" Zhao Xiulan poked her head out from the kitchen. "What's wrong? Your face is so pale."

"It's okay, Mom."

Liu Meng changed into slippers and walked into the living room to sit down.

She didn't tell Zhao Xiulan what had happened on the roadside.

But she didn't turn off the light.

I always feel safer when it's lit up.

Liu Meng inexplicably recalled her last blind date.

Jiang Han stepped forward to shield him.

She hadn't felt that way in a long time—that someone was there to shield her from harm.

Liu Meng has always been the eldest sister in her group of girlfriends.

Shen Qingning and Lin Yaoyao pinched each other while she pulled someone away.

Qiu Siyao and Xia Yutong often confide in her when they have troubles.

She was used to being the one to cover for others.

I'm used to putting everyone else's emotions before my own.

But just now in the alley, Liu Meng suddenly felt like making a phone call to Jiang Han.

I don't want to say anything specific, I just want to hear him say that I'm here.

Liu Meng shook her head with a wry smile.

Again.

Whenever something happens, I can't help but think of the Yangtze River.

When I stood up for her on blind dates, it was like that; when I helped her analyze her business strategy, it was like that.

I feel the same way now when I'm terrified by a stalker who I don't even know if they really exist.

This sense of dependence made Liu Meng feel both unfamiliar and uneasy.

I'm already 28, I run a company and manage dozens of people, I have my own place in the business world.

How could she act like a little girl, wanting to lean on someone at the slightest sign of trouble?

My phone screen lit up; it was a message from my best friends' group chat.

Xiao Xiao was reporting on the achievements in commercial real estate, Lin Yaoyao was praising her for being reliable, and Xia Yutong sent a thumbs-up emoji.

Zhao Xiulan served the dishes: lotus root and pork rib soup, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, and a plate of golden-brown fried ribbonfish.

The two people sat facing each other, the images on the television screen switching silently.

Liu Meng picked up a piece of ribbonfish, chewed a few times, and noticed that her mother's chopsticks had barely touched it.

Zhao Xiulan sat opposite, holding a bowl of soup in her hand.

His gaze was fixed on the rim of the bowl, but his eyes were unfocused.

Mom has been absent-minded like this for several days now.

Liu Meng assumed she was just worried about her working too late and didn't ask any further questions.

That's why she came back for meals for several days in a row.

Halfway through the meal, Liu Meng put down her chopsticks.

"Mom, when I came back just now, I felt like someone was watching me from outside the community."

The bowl in Zhao Xiulan's hand wobbled, and a few drops of scalding soup splashed onto the back of her hand.

The bottom of the bowl hit the marble tabletop with a dull thud.

"What did you say?" Her voice suddenly became very tense.

"Maybe I'm overthinking it. I've been too busy with work lately and haven't been feeling well."

Zhao Xiulan pressed her chopsticks down on the table, her fingers slowly clenching into a fist on the surface.

Liu Meng noticed several fine blue veins on the back of her mother's hand.

Unpleasant memories flooded Zhao Xiulan's mind.

First, I saw a stranger downstairs, and then I received a phone call from an unknown number.

Then I received a letter without a signature.

Finally, someone came to our house and blocked the door.

Zhao Xiulan was in a daze and didn't even notice that she had spilled the lotus root and pork rib soup on the table.

Liu Meng noticed that her lips were trembling slightly.

"mom!"

"Mengmeng." Zhao Xiulan looked up at her daughter.

Liu Meng was frightened by the look in her mother's eyes.

Gone is her familiar gentleness and meticulousness.

It was a kind of resolute determination I had never seen on my mother's face before.

It's like something someone has kept hidden in their heart for a long time, finally deciding to bring it out.

"Finish your meal first. After you're done, Mom has something to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Something that happened many years ago."

"Someone you've heard of."

Zhao Xiulan did not get up to get anything.

She handed over all the evidence she had.

"Mom, who are you talking about?" Liu Meng asked.

Jiang Yuantao.

Zhao Xiulan looked up and her gaze fell on the photo frame on the coffee table in the living room.

In the photo, she is wearing a white shirt and standing in front of a gray office building.

Her hair was tied up tightly, and her eyes crinkled as she smiled.

"He was my mother's former boss, the founder of Yuantao Building Materials."

Liu Meng listened quietly without interrupting.

"Later, when the company went under, President Jiang stood downstairs and told me to prepare in advance and not to testify for him."

Zhao Xiulan looked away from the photo album and turned to Liu Meng.

"Not long after that, President Jiang left."

"His wife died in the hospital, and their son was squatting in the corridor, clutching the death certificate."

"A teenage boy..."

Zhao Xiulan paused, then took a deep breath.

It was as if the words he was about to say would require a great deal of energy.

"That child... is named Jiang Han."

The restaurant remained quiet for a long time.

The television in the living room was still silently playing the late-night news.

"Mengmeng, Jiang Han looks just like his dad, even the way he talks is similar."

"Do you know what he said when he learned what had happened?"

"He only asked Liu Meng if she knew?"

Liu Meng's eyes reddened.

It turns out that the person who always stood in front of others was once so isolated and helpless.

Liu Meng couldn't imagine how Jiang Han had managed to endure it.

"Mengmeng." Zhao Xiulan placed her hand on the back of her daughter's hand.

"Mom isn't a brave person. Back then, President Jiang told me not to testify for him, and I really didn't."

"That year you had just been admitted to university, and all I wanted to do was send you off safely out of the school gate."

As she said this, tears silently streamed down Zhao Xiulan's face.

There wasn't even a twitch or a sob.

She must have shed those tears alone many times in the dead of night.

"mom!"

Liu Meng suddenly stood up, walked to her mother, and hugged her tightly.

"Mengmeng." Zhao Xiulan held her daughter's fingers in her palm.

"You just said someone is watching you downstairs. Many years ago, someone also came to your house and blocked your door."

"Mom dodged it once, but this time, Mom doesn't want to dodge it again."

"Mom, are those account books and documents still there?"

"I gave it to Yutong, and someone is investigating."

Liu Meng squatted down and placed her hand on the back of her mother's hand.

"Mom! I'll help you finish what you didn't finish back then."

Zhao Xiulan looked at her daughter and remained silent for a long time.

Then she reached out and touched Liu Meng's head, just like she used to do when she was a child to lull her to sleep.

After a long while, Liu Meng stood up, picked up her phone, and scrolled to Jiang Han's WeChat profile picture.

"My mom told me everything that happened back then. I'll come see you tomorrow."

Jiang Han's reply consisted of only two words.

"Wait for you."