After bidding farewell to Li Junfei and the others at school.
Zhang Wei drove all night, following the information provided by the class monitor Lu Lianxue, heading directly to the village where Qian Chengping resided in Wenling City.
Unlike big cities.
Although with development and construction, rural houses are not as dilapidated as depicted in old movies, with small buildings rising from flat ground.
However, the appearance of rural houses varies, and they are scattered unevenly. Even with an address, it's difficult to distinguish one house from another at first glance.
After searching for a while.
Zhang Wei spotted a house.
Seeing the white streamers and lanterns used for funerals hanging on it, he knew he had found it – this was Qian Chengping's home.
...
At this time.
At Qian Chengping's home.
In this not-so-large house, even though it was past midnight, around three or four in the morning, there were still about ten people in the courtyard. They were Qian Chengping's wife, relatives, and villagers who had come to help voluntarily, folding joss paper into ingots.
In the Fujian region, relatives fold joss paper into golden ingots for the deceased. This signifies burning them for the departed, allowing them to receive wealth in the afterlife.
Qian Chengping's wife was folding ingots, tears welling up in her eyes.
Even though she had cried time and time again, the thought of who the ingots were being folded for made her tears seem endless.
In response to this.
Those around her offered words of comfort.
Among them, a middle-aged man spoke:
"Sister-in-law, please don't be sad. If Brother Qian saw you like this, he would also be upset. And..."
As he spoke, he glanced towards the main hall at the back of the house.
In the hall, a coffin was placed, and in front of it, a man dressed in mourning clothes knelt before the coffin.
The man seemed petrified, kneeling there for a very, very long time. No matter how much people tried to persuade him, he refused to get up. This was Qian Chengping's son, Qian Wenbin.
Seeing this.
The middle-aged man continued:
"Moreover, if Wenbin sees you like this, he will be even more heartbroken, and he will feel even more guilty."
"Yes, Wenbin already feels guilty towards Chengping."
"Alas, sister-in-law, why don't you go and try to persuade Wenbin again? He's been kneeling for two days."
The people around them chimed in.
The sister-in-law looked at her son in the hall, wiped her tears, nodded, and got up again to go and persuade her son.
They knew.
Why Qian Wenbin had been kneeling there.
Besides the fact that Qian Chengping was his father, he also felt responsible for his father's death.
It was because he had spoken to his father on the phone, complaining about his work, which led his father to want to come and comfort him and make him chicken soup.
At the same time.
He felt even more guilt because, during their last phone call, he had taken out his frustrations from work on his father. That was their last conversation.
Guilt and self-reproach.
Made Qian Wenbin unable to forget.
At this moment.
In the hall.
Qian Wenbin knelt before Qian Chengping's coffin, silent for a long time, staring at the coffin like a block of wood, as if trying to see Qian Chengping through the coffin.
Even though two days had passed.
He still felt like he was dreaming.
Moments from receiving the call two days ago, his mother crying hysterically on the phone, telling him his father had died, kept flashing through his mind.
The day he received his mother's call.
Qian Wenbin was still at work. When he heard the news, he couldn't hold back. In front of all the company employees, he buried his face in his hands and cried.
Even now, two days later.
Every time he thought of Qian Chengping's death, he couldn't accept it.
"Dad..."
He hoarsely called out towards the coffin again.
Upon speaking.
Qian Wenbin trembled all over, guilt and self-reproach surging back into his heart.
Why had he lost his temper with his dad?
Why had he blamed his father at that moment, saying he didn't understand anything, and lectured him?
Why had he complained about his work to his dad, making his dad's last conversation with him full of negativity?
Why was his dad such a good person, and why did this happen to him?
Why...
"Hello, are you Qian Wenbin?"
Until a voice sounded beside him, Qian Wenbin slowly looked up and realized a young man was standing beside him at some point.
Looking at Qian Wenbin, who bore some resemblance to Qian Chengping.
Zhang Wei politely extended his hand:
"Hello, my name is Zhang Wei."
"Are you also a friend of my father? Thank you for attending my father's funeral," Qian Wenbin said, forcing himself to suppress his distress and thanking him.
Upon speaking.
He saw Zhang Wei gently shake his head:
"I'm not here to attend Uncle Qian's funeral."
Zhang Wei said seriously:
"Although I know what I'm about to say is impolite and rather absurd, I want to ask you one thing, Mr. Qian Wenbin, do you still wish to see Uncle Qian one last time?"
...
Xiamen City, at the intersection of Chunhua Road.
At this moment.
It was 7:20 AM, and the sky had already brightened.
Sanitation workers were already beginning to clean the roadside. There were also a few people moving around at the bus stop.
After a moment.
Zhang Wei, driving, brought Qian Wenbin and his mother to the intersection.
[Ding! Added 10 system points to the eyes and bodies of Qian Wenbin and his mother.]
The system prompt sounded.
The car doors opened.
Qian Wenbin and his mother eagerly got out of the car.
And as they stepped out and looked...
Qian Wenbin was completely stunned.
At the bus stop at the intersection ahead, among the small groups of people, Qian Wenbin immediately spotted a middle-aged man in his fifties.
Unlike the people around him.
The middle-aged man was dressed in old clothes, carrying a large hen in his hand, and had a bundle of vegetables on his back.
He was asking passersby:
"Hello, can you please tell me, how do I get to Chunhua Residential Area?"
However, the passersby seemed not to hear him, completely ignoring him.
Despite this.
He still smiled and repeatedly asked passersby, patiently.
This scene.
Qian Wenbin's tense heart could no longer bear the pain, and tears instantly streamed down his face:
"Dad!!!"
He shouted out loud.
Ignoring the strange glances from the people around him, and not caring about their peculiar looks.
The emotions he had suppressed for two days were unleashed at this moment.
"Huh?"
Qian Chengping, who was asking for directions, was startled and looked over:
"Son?"
Seeing Qian Wenbin rushing towards him, Qian Chengping's sun-tanned, dark face lit up:
"Son, why are you here? Huh? What are you doing, why are you crying, what's wrong?"
Qian Wenbin hugged Qian Chengping tightly.
Tears streamed down his face. Despite being nearly thirty years old, he was sobbing like a child at this moment.
He grabbed Qian Chengping's hand and knelt before him, crying:
"Dad, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
"I shouldn't have complained to you, I shouldn't have lectured you..."
Repeated apologies.
Cries of grief.
Qian Chengping's body stiffened, and in that instant, it was as if something was awakened in him. Fragments he hadn't remembered flashed through his mind.
The next moment.
Qian Chengping gave a wry smile, looking at his son crying before him, and at his own hands:
"So I'm already dead."
He had been wandering here for several days.
Every day he asked passersby how to get to Chunhua Residential Area. Today, he finally remembered that he had died. Two days ago, he was on his way to find his son and was hit by a truck while passing by here...
For a moment.
Qian Chengping felt a mix of emotions, but there was no complaint about death.
He gently crouched down, embracing Qian Wenbin and his wife:
"Son, Xiulan, don't cry, I'm here, it's okay, it's okay, everything will pass."
Compared to complaining about death now.
He cared more about the people in front of him.
...