Chapter 28: The Dark World

"Yi Yi, don't you want to ask why?" Her silence was unexpected.

She bit her lower lip gently, lifted her eyes to look at him, then shook her head, her hand instinctively pulling back, trying to slip from his grasp.

Her clear, mirror-like eyes were veiled in mist, masking her true emotions. Xie Chenjing's gaze flickered, and his slender fingers stroked her long hair. "We have plenty of time!" He had enough patience to wait, to let her adjust to her new life.

The elevator was silent. She could not answer, nor did she know how to. Her past remained a chaotic blur, and her future was hazy and indistinct. She had to search for the answers with her heart; only then could she find the way home.

Meanwhile, Uncle Hai, having left, stopped a few streets away from the Qingcheng Group. He walked through several blocks until he reached a public telephone booth and dialed a long-forgotten number. Before the call connected, he held the receiver away from his ear. A few seconds later, a roar erupted from the other end: "Ye, if you have any guts, don't you ever contact me again!"

"How did you know it was me?" Uncle Hai brought the phone closer. His voice, stripped of its usual elderly frailty, was deep and resonant, laced with a hint of a smile.

"Damn it, what don't I know? Other than you, who else would call me from a public phone?" The man on the other end was explosive. Through the line, his heavy, ragged breathing could be heard as he muttered incessantly, "Damn it, damn it all! What the hell happened back then? You vanished into thin air, not a word for fifteen years. I didn't even dare to change my number, and you, you..."

"An, I'm sorry." Uncle Hai fell silent for a long time before speaking in a low voice. He felt he had never wronged anyone, except for this dear friend. In their darkest hours, they had supported each other, and under those circumstances, disappearing had been his only choice.

"I hate those two words more than anything." For fifteen years, he had never given up the search. He had suspected that Ye might be dead, yet his heart refused to accept it; he couldn't believe such a brilliant man could simply vanish without a trace, not even leaving a corpse behind. Driven by that conviction, he had hidden his efforts from everyone, leaving no possibility unexplored. The news he received a few days ago had nearly made him give up, but thank goodness!

"I..." Any further explanation seemed futile. Only the word "sorry" remained. At that time, he had lacked the power to bring his friend out, or even to send word, and afterward...

"What actually happened?" An did not believe that Ye would have abandoned him without a reason. Could it be related to the news he had received? Was it all true, and not just rumors? "Was it because of her?"

"An, we grew up in the orphanage together and spent so much time side by side. I thought that no matter what the future held, as long as we held onto our beliefs, we would be invincible." In reality, he had been wrong—terribly wrong. In this world, beyond bonds of affection, there exist fame and fortune. Too many people are willing to forsake conscience and loyalty to embrace the lure of profit.

"Is it true?" He had speculated, pondered, and invented countless reasons, yet he had never wanted to believe it. Now that he had received a definitive answer, the feeling was indescribable.

Having lived in the shadows for so long, he had thought he saw the world clearly, never imagining that a shred of naive hope still lingered in his heart. Some say a woman's heart is as elusive as a needle at the bottom of the sea, yet he had firmly believed she was transparent, simple, and steadfast—a snow lotus in the darkness. It turned out it was all a facade, all just a joke.