Chapter 37: Sorry, Ye Mo

When Ning Qingxue left the storage room and didn't see Xu Wei, she knew he'd left in a huff, disapproving of her. "Am I really a bad woman?" she wondered, finding no answer.

It was a sleepless night. The next morning, Xu Wei had already gone to work. Qingxue quickly packed her belongings, then stared at a pot in the corner, lost in thought. Ye Mo often used that pot to cook herbs. Was he really using them to swindle people in Bu Xing Street? Her gaze fell on a black bag containing Ye Mo's small medical case—his tools for selling what she now suspected were fake medicines. Just as she picked up the bag, the doorbell rang. It was Li Mumei.

Li Mumei scanned the room, not seeing Ye Mo. "Where's Ye Mo?" she asked.

"He went out yesterday and hasn't returned," Ning Qingxue replied automatically.

"Oh, I brought a bank card. Regardless of whether he wants it or not, we should give him some money. We used him for so long. Your parents are picking you up in Yu State; they won't be coming to Ning Hai, so we'll meet them there," Li Mumei said casually.

Ning Qingxue shook her head. "No need. I already gave him a card with $500,000. That should be enough."

Li Mumei looked at her in surprise. "Where did you get $500,000?"

"From the card you gave me when we left Beijing!" Ning Qingxue replied.

Li Mumei looked helpless. "That card is useless. It was frozen the day we left Beijing. I forgot to tell you."

Ning Qingxue was stunned. "Useless? So I've been using his money? No wonder he was so frugal…"

Li Mumei, noticing Ning Qingxue's distraction, asked, "Qingxue, what are you talking about?"

Suddenly remembering something, Ning Qingxue grabbed Ye Mo's bag, retrieved the medical case, and opened it quickly. Inside were seven or eight bottles, a packet of silver needles, an identity card (including the one she'd given him), several charms with strange symbols, and an unsigned letter.

Ning Qingxue's hands trembled as she held the card. She wished she could disappear. She'd always assumed Ye Mo was using her money; she'd even casually borrowed $2000 from him. She'd lived here without a care. Only now did she realize how wrong she was. She’d been using his money, and he'd never said a word.

No wonder he'd hesitated at Glamorous Cuisine that day, paying with small bills. Even more ridiculous, she'd deliberately ordered a $2000 bottle of wine! At the bottom of the case, she found a stack of receipts. Her face went pale; she almost fainted.

Li Mumei quickly caught her. Ning Qingxue shoved the receipts back into the case. "Mumei, please wait outside." She fled into the room and shut the door.

Li Mumei stood outside the closed door, dumbfounded. She'd seen Ning Qingxue's tears—something she'd never witnessed before.

What had happened?

Ning Qingxue sat on the bed, re-opening Ye Mo's case. Stacks of blood donation receipts confronted her. The most recent was from a few days before her classmate's visit.

Ye Mo had been selling blood, yet she'd borrowed $2000 and insisted on a $3000 meal at Glamorous Cuisine—multiple times his blood donation earnings. She'd laughed at him for becoming stingy and complained about his cooking. Why hadn't he complained? Contempt? Or simply unwillingness? What kind of man was he? Was this really the good-for-nothing son of the Ye family?

If the ocean was vast, Ye Mo's heart was even vaster. But in his eyes, what was she? Heartless? Indifferent? Unreasonable?

Tears fell onto the blood donation receipts, blurring the ink. She felt the weight of 22 years of regret, remorse, and sadness.

Ye Mo's promotional voice echoed in her mind: "A family recipe! Cures everything!" She'd scoffed, hoping the city management would drive him away. She'd had a "golden cake" in her hands—likely bought with his blood money—and laughed at his "shamelessness and ignorance."

Ignorant? She'd been embarrassed by him using small bills at dinner, but now she hated herself.

Li Mumei knocked again, but Ning Qingxue didn't hear her. Only Ye Mo's words reverberated: "No, that restaurant is too expensive… We should only spend $1000…" A thousand dollars. How many times had he needed that much from blood donations? He was just a student.

Ning Qingxue subconsciously pulled out the $2000 Ye Mo had given her—only a few hundred dollars remained. She, who'd always considered money dirty, felt a pang of pain. He'd slept under a tree and on a stone floor because he couldn't afford better accommodation. Xu Wei had understood his frugality; why hadn't she?

I'm so sorry, Ye Mo…