Chapter 30: He Daqing and Bai Guafu Leave

"Then it depends on whether you know what's good for you," Yi Zhonghai said coldly, "Leave the Siheyuan first thing tomorrow morning and disappear completely; we'll pretend nothing ever happened."

He Daqing's face was ashen, his drunkenness long gone; he knew he had nowhere to run.

"Give me three days," He Daqing finally lowered his head, his voice full of bitterness, "I... I will pack my things and find a place to stay."

Yi Zhonghai and Long Laotai exchanged a look of Victory, and Long Laotai sneered: "You don't have that much time; you must leave today. If you are still in the Siheyuan, bear the consequences yourself!"

The two turned and left, leaving He Daqing sitting alone in the dark, tears sliding down silently.

He sat blankly for a long while, finally seeming to make up his mind, and stood up unsteadily.

"Zhuzi, Yushui, Dad has failed you..." He Daqing muttered to himself, his eyes full of pain and helplessness.

He Daqing put on that old cotton-padded jacket that had been washed until it was white, walked out of the room on tiptoe, and carefully closed the door, not wanting to wake his sleeping children.

His goal was clear: turn right and go through the small alley, and that was the gate to the neighboring courtyard.

Bai Guafu lived there; she was a kind middle-aged woman whose husband had died a few years ago, and she had been living alone ever since.

The two of them—one a widower, one a widow—had gotten together after seeing each other back and forth.

"Knock, knock, knock," He Daqing's knocking was very light, for fear of disturbing the neighbors sleeping nearby.

The door soon opened a crack, and Bai Guafu poked her head out; seeing it was He Daqing, she appeared somewhat surprised.

"Brother He? What is the matter so late?" she asked vigilantly, her voice kept very low.

"Yingzi, I have an urgent matter I want to discuss with you," He Daqing's voice was filled with pleading, "Can you let me come in and talk?"

Bai Guafu hesitated for a moment, but seeing He Daqing's haggard appearance, she finally sighed and stepped aside to let him into the courtyard.

In the simple room, Bai Guafu poured a cup of hot water for He Daqing, sat down herself, and looked suspiciously at this neighbor who had visited in the middle of the night.

"Brother He, what exactly happened? You look very bad," she asked with concern.

He Daqing drank the water in one gulp, as if gathering his courage, and finally spoke: "Yingzi, I have to leave the Siheyuan, the sooner the better."

"Ah? Why leave so suddenly?" Bai Guafu appeared very surprised.

He Daqing gave a bitter smile and told her about the threats from Yi Zhonghai and Long Laotai, his voice full of helplessness.

"They actually treated you like this?" Bai Guafu was greatly shocked after hearing it, then lowered her voice again, "Just because you used to be a cook at a landlord's house?"

He Daqing nodded, his eyes full of despair: "I was young and ignorant back then; how was I to know that later..."

"Brother He, don't worry too much," Bai Guafu said after thinking for a moment, "I have a distant relative in Baocheng. No one knows you there; you can go there and start over."

A glimmer of light flashed in He Daqing's eyes: "Really? But at my age, to go to a strange place so rashly..."

"Actually..." Bai Guafu hesitated for a moment, a blush appearing on her face, "I was also planning to go to Baocheng to rely on relatives. Life here is too hard; we can go together."

He Daqing was stunned, and it took him a long while to come back to his senses: "Yingzi, this..."

"Don't overthink it," Bai Guafu waved her hand, "We are both people of bitter fate; if we help each other, life will be easier."

Gratitude flashed in He Daqing's eyes, and he finally nodded: "Then it's settled; we will leave first thing tomorrow morning."

"Are you really willing to just leave the children behind?" Bai Guafu asked with some concern.

A look of pain appeared on He Daqing's face: "Zhuzi and Yushui are both good children; I cannot implicate them. Rather than letting them be mocked or even have their futures affected because of my problems, it is better to..."

Bai Guafu sighed and handed him a piece of paper and a pen: "Then at least you should leave them a note, don't let the children think you don't want them."

He Daqing picked up the pen, pondered for a moment, and began to write the letter with a trembling hand.

The handwriting was crooked, but between the lines was a father's reluctance and helplessness: "Zhuzi, Yushui, Dad is leaving..."

He hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, and added another sentence: "Dad is going away to start over; I don't want you to drag me down. Take good care of yourselves, don't look for me..."

Writing this sentence made He Daqing's heart ache like a knife, but he knew that only such cruel words could make the children give up and not come looking for him.

"Yingzi," He Daqing looked up, his eyes full of pleading, "If one day my children come to Baocheng to look for me, could you..."

Bai Guafu nodded in understanding: "I will take good care of you, and I will also tell them the truth at the appropriate time; don't worry."

The night grew deeper, and He Daqing dragged his heavy footsteps back to his small room; looking at his sleeping children, his heart felt like it was being cut by a knife.

He Yuzhu was lying on his side, a smile still on the corner of his mouth, perhaps having had a good dream; He Yushui was curled up on the small bed in the corner, her thin, small body rising and falling slightly with her breathing.

He Daqing walked gently to the bedside, leaned over, and gave each of the two children a light kiss on the forehead.

"Dad has failed you," he said in a low voice, his voice full of choking, "but this is the last protection Dad can give you..."

He pressed the written letter onto a prominent spot on the table, looked at his sleeping children again, and finally turned and walked out of the room without looking back.

At the courtyard entrance, Bai Guafu was already waiting there, carrying simple luggage in her hand.

"Let's go," she said softly, "The first bus to the train station leaves at four o'clock; we must hurry."

He Daqing nodded, and the two walked silently on the dark street, their figures gradually disappearing into the night.

Under the dim lights of the train station, He Daqing looked toward the direction of the Siheyuan for the last time, his eyes full of reluctance and pain.

"Children, Dad is gone; I hope you can live a good life..." he muttered to himself, his voice drowned out by the shrill sound of the train whistle.

The morning sun spilled into the room through the window paper; He Yuzhu rubbed his sleepy eyes and called out habitually: "Dad, I'm up. What are we eating today?"

The room was unusually quiet, without the usual sound of He Daqing being busy.

He Yuzhu called out a few more times, but there was still no response; only then did he realize something was wrong and scrambled up from the bed.

"Dad? Dad?" He put on his clothes and walked around the room, but did not find his father's figure.

Just then, he noticed a piece of paper pressed on the table; he picked it up curiously to look, and his face instantly turned deathly pale.

"Dad... Dad is gone?" He Yuzhu could not believe his eyes, reading the short letter over and over again.

He Yushui was awakened by her brother's voice and asked while rubbing her eyes: "Brother, what's wrong? Where is Dad?"