For several seconds, nobody moved.
Fang De stood in the doorway with one hand pressed against his side.
Blood had soaked through the sleeve of his coat.
Yulan stared at the black document case.
He knew it immediately.
The scratches along the leather.
The brass clasp.
The small mark near the handle.
His mother had carried it everywhere.
"Where did you get that?" Yulan asked.
Fang De looked at him.
"From the man who wanted me dead."
Chen Hao's face changed.
"That's a very unpleasant answer."
Fang De gave him a tired look.
"I've had a worse day."
Guoren came around the counter.
"Fang De."
"You know me?"
"I knew your brother."
Fang De nodded.
"I heard."
His eyes moved toward Yulan.
"You're Meilin's son."
Yulan swallowed.
"Yes."
Fang De held out the case.
"I was told to give this to you."
"By whom?"
Fang De didn't answer immediately.
Then he looked at Li Wei.
"Your uncle."
The room went still.
Li Wei's expression hardened.
"Li Wenxiu?"
Fang De nodded.
"He gave me the case yesterday."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"You expect us to believe that?"
"I don't expect anything from you."
Fang De's voice was exhausted.
"He told me to take it to Zhang Yulan and tell him that his mother never betrayed anyone."
Yulan stared at him.
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know."
Fang De handed him the case.
Yulan's fingers closed around it.
It was heavier than he remembered.
Or perhaps he was simply older now.
He ran his thumb across the worn leather.
His mother had held this.
Seventeen years ago.
Before the fire.
Before everything changed.
"Is there anything inside?"
Fang De looked away.
"I never opened it."
Li Wei watched him carefully.
"Why should we trust you?"
Fang De smiled bitterly.
"You shouldn't."
That answer surprised him.
"I disappeared because I was afraid," Fang De continued. "I saw something that night. I stayed quiet. Then, seventeen years later, someone decided I remembered too much."
He looked toward the door.
"I'm not here because I'm brave."
He nodded toward the case.
"I'm here because I'm tired."
No one stopped him when he walked out.
They waited until the shop was closed before opening the case.
Guoren sat at the table.
Chen Hao stood near the window.
Li Wei remained beside Yulan.
Yulan placed the case in front of him.
His hands were shaking.
Li Wei noticed.
"You don't have to open it tonight."
Yulan looked at him.
"I do."
"You don't."
"I've spent half my life wondering what she left behind."
His voice softened.
"I can't stop now."
Li Wei said nothing.
Instead, he reached across the table and covered Yulan's hand with his.
Yulan looked down.
Then back at him.
"I'm okay."
"I know."
"You don't believe me."
"I know that too."
Yulan smiled faintly.
"You're annoying."
"So you've told me."
Their fingers remained together.
Across the table, Chen Hao cleared his throat.
"I suddenly feel like I'm intruding."
Yulan pulled his hand away.
"You are."
Chen Hao grinned.
"Good. Just checking."
Guoren sighed.
"Open the case."
Yulan released the brass clasp.
The lid lifted.
Inside were papers.
A small photograph.
A red thread wound around a folded letter.
And a narrow wooden box.
Yulan picked up the photograph first.
His mother stood beside the river.
She looked younger than he remembered.
Beside her was Luo Ming.
And behind them stood Li Jian.
But there was another person.
A young man Yulan didn't recognize.
He was smiling.
His face was clear.
No scar.
Yulan frowned.
"Who is that?"
Li Wei leaned closer.
His expression changed.
"I know him."
"Who?"
Li Wei took the photograph.
"My father's former accountant."
Guoren stood.
"He died."
"When?"
"Three years before the fire."
Yulan looked at him.
"Then why is he here?"
Nobody answered.
Chen Hao stepped closer.
"Maybe that's why your mother kept the photograph."
Yulan turned it over.
There was writing on the back.
His mother's handwriting.
He recognized it immediately.
He didn't die when they said he did.
Yulan stared at the sentence.
Li Wei's hand found his shoulder.
"You okay?"
Yulan nodded.
Then shook his head.
"I don't know."
Li Wei moved closer.
"Come outside."
"What?"
"Just for a minute."
Yulan looked toward his father.
Guoren gave them a small nod.
"Go."
The night air was cool.
They walked behind the shop until the noise of the street faded.
Yulan stopped beneath the old tree beside the wall.
Li Wei stood beside him.
Neither spoke.
After a while, Yulan said,
"I thought finding out the truth would make me feel better."
Li Wei looked at him.
"It rarely does."
"My mother knew something."
"Yes."
"She tried to protect it."
"Yes."
"And my father has been carrying it all these years."
Li Wei reached for his hand.
This time, Yulan didn't pull away.
"I hate that you have to go through this."
Yulan looked at him.
"You're going through it too."
"My family caused part of it."
"That doesn't make it your fault."
Li Wei's fingers tightened around his.
"You always do that."
"Do what?"
"Make things easier than they are."
Yulan smiled.
"Maybe that's why you like me."
Li Wei looked at him for a long moment.
"Maybe."
"Maybe?"
"I was trying to be romantic."
"You're terrible at it."
"I'll try again."
He stepped closer.
Yulan's smile disappeared.
Li Wei gently touched his cheek.
"I like you because you're stubborn."
"That isn't romantic."
"Because you argue with me."
"Still not romantic."
"Because you make me laugh."
Yulan's expression softened.
Li Wei lowered his voice.
"And because when everything in my life feels like something I have to carry…"
He paused.
"You're the one person I don't feel tired around."
Yulan looked down.
"That was better."
"I know."
"You're getting confident."
"I learned from you."
Yulan laughed quietly.
Then he leaned forward and kissed him.
It was brief.
Warm.
Familiar.
When they separated, neither moved far.
Yulan rested his forehead against Li Wei's.
"I missed this."
"So did I."
"Even when we weren't together?"
"Especially then."
Yulan closed his eyes.
For a few seconds, there was no fire.
No ledger.
No families.
No secrets.
Just them.
Then Li Wei whispered,
"We'll figure it out."
Yulan opened his eyes.
"You promise?"
Li Wei hesitated.
Not because he didn't want to promise.
Because he knew how many things stood between them.
Still, he squeezed Yulan's hand.
"I promise I'll try."
Yulan smiled.
"That one I believe."
From inside the shop, something crashed.
They immediately separated.
Chen Hao's voice came through the window.
"I DIDN'T BREAK ANYTHING!"
Yulan stared at Li Wei.
Li Wei sighed.
"Of course he didn't."
Another crash followed.
Chen Hao shouted,
"Okay, maybe one thing."
Yulan laughed.
And for the first time in days, the mystery waiting inside the shop didn't feel quite so heavy.
But neither of them knew that the photograph in the black case had already changed everything.
Because the man Yulan's mother claimed was alive—
had been officially dead for twenty years.