Fu Bainian came back at noon. Upon seeing him, tears welled up in Lan Jinyaos eyes as she pounced on him. The wire of the landline in the living room was pulled along by her sudden movement, and the receiver dropped to the floor. The call, however, was disconnected long ago.

Whats wrong? Fu Bainian hugged her and asked with a heartbroken look in his eyes.

He was only away for a few hours, three hours to be exact, and shed become like this.

Lan Jinyao threw herself in Fu Bainians arms, and she choked with sobs as she said, I just phoned Jiang Baitao, and I asked him if Jiang Cheng was still alive

Fu Bainian tightened his grip around her, led her to the sofa, sat down, and then he asked softly, What did...