Feeling the Wall Crack

Chapter 1: The Wall Cracks

June 12, 2017.

It had been raining for a long time.

Cheng Yun walked under the gloomy sky, holding an umbrella. Beside him walked a tall young girl, the two of them silent.

The street was so noisy, the patter of rain and the incessant honking, the blaring loudspeakers from sales promotions, the screech of tires on asphalt as cars braked, yet none of it stirred a ripple in their hearts.

They walked past the bustling, prosperous main street, through a narrow alley where only the rain could be heard, and finally entered a rather old residential compound, stopping at the entrance to a building's unit.

"You go back, I won't be going back yet." Cheng Yun held up his umbrella to let her enter the building, but stopped himself. "I still have some goods to deliver to the hotel today; they've been waiting for two days."

No emotion could be seen on the girl's cool, delicate, and pretty face. Her eyes were merely a little red and swollen as she stared at him, nodded, and then faintly uttered a single word, her voice a little hoarse—

"Okay."

"Did you bring the key?"

"I brought it."

"Mm." Cheng Yun turned and left, still holding the umbrella.

"You come back early too." The girl stood inside the doorway, watching his retreating figure. She remained expressionless until he was far away, then turned and went back into the building.

A small umbrella couldn't shield two people, let alone in the fierce wind. To keep Cheng Yan from getting too wet, Cheng Yun's body was soaked more than halfway. But on this June day, it was merely a little cool, not cold at all.

On June 8th, seventeen-year-old Cheng Yan finished her college entrance exams. This was good news for the whole family—

With her incredible scores, getting into Tsinghua or Peking University wasn't difficult. At worst, she could follow in Cheng Yun's footsteps and get into Yizhou University, located right here in Jinguan City, the same university where Cheng Yun and Cheng Yan's parents worked.

Joy turned to sorrow.

On June 9th, Cheng Yun and Cheng Yan's parents were in a car accident while out buying window cushions. The vehicle that hit them was a large truck; the driver, fatigued, couldn't brake in the rain, and four people died at the scene. Cheng Yun's parents weren't hit head-on, but they were struck squarely, their bodies almost crushed.

A bolt from the blue!

But reality wouldn't change for anyone's will. This had happened, and it could never be reversed. From initial disbelief to utter grief, Cheng Yun and Cheng Yan eventually accepted it. With the help of their relatives and their parents' colleagues, they completed the necessary procedures for the accident, cremation, and funeral.

Reaching the entrance of the compound, Cheng Yun hailed a taxi. He closed his umbrella, shook off the water, and got in, then fiercely rubbed his stiff face. His eyes felt incredibly sore and were already bloodshot.

Soon, the taxi stopped at the foot of a three-story building next to Yizhou University. Through the car window, a brand-new hotel sign could be vaguely seen hanging on the building—

Anju Hotel.

Cheng Yun's mother's name was An Lan; the hotel's name took her surname. His father's name was Cheng Jianye; the 'ju' in 'Anju' (安居) meant 'to live in peace', and the 'ye' (业) in 'Anju' (安居) was taken from his father's name, meaning 'career' or 'business'.

The hotel was a recent investment by Cheng Yun and Cheng Yan's parents. Most of the rooms were renovated, and the supporting facilities were in place, just needing some scattered decorative items. It was practically ready to open. A few rooms remained unfinished; Cheng Yun's parents had planned to convert these into dormitory-style rooms, targeting travelers with limited budgets who needed to stay near the university town for exams or business, competing with the daily rental rooms around the school.

But then came the devastating news.

A van was parked in front of the hotel. Its back seats were removed, and it was filled with goods. Two young men sat in the driver's and passenger seats, bored, waiting, smoking cigarettes.

Cheng Yun, still damp, apologized to the taxi driver before getting out and walking towards the van, greeting the two men.

The accident involving Cheng Yun and Cheng Yan's parents had delayed the delivery of these goods by two days. The two men knew about it and showed no impatience in their tone. They extinguished their cigarettes, offered Cheng Yun a few words of comfort, and even helped him move all the goods upstairs. After Cheng Yun settled the payment, they went downstairs and drove away in the rain.

Standing at the stairwell, surveying the small coffee table, bed linens, and a bookshelf that took up a considerable amount of space, Cheng Yun took a deep breath before starting to work.

He hadn't slept properly in three days, but more goods were scheduled to arrive in the next two days, leaving him no time to rest.

The cruel reality of life was that no matter what, you had to keep going, unless you were so cowardly as to choose to end it all. So Cheng Yun chose to take over the unfinished hotel, continue the renovation, and, as Cheng Jianye and An Lan had intended, open it before the college entrance exam scores were released. He aimed to make a profit by capitalizing on the influx of high school graduates visiting Yizhou University with their parents to scout out their future school.

It was also time for him to graduate and figure out his next steps.

In the afternoon, he placed all the items in their designated spots and took another taxi back, finally managing to get a short nap.

The next morning, he would have to start dealing with the party at fault and insurance claims.

Cheng Yan, though not yet an adult, also woke up early. After washing up, she silently followed him, trying to appear strong and mature.

There wasn't much to investigate regarding the accident scene. The traffic management department quickly issued a road traffic accident determination report, clearly placing full responsibility on the other party. The death compensation, funeral expenses, Cheng Yan's living expenses, and emotional damages, along with various other compensations, totaled just under 1.5 million.

Truck drivers usually didn't skimp on insurance. Coupled with their life savings, they could afford this amount. Furthermore, the family of the at-fault driver sold their house and voluntarily offered to increase the compensation, hoping to receive a letter of forgiveness from Cheng Yun and Cheng Yan. This offer increased from 100,000 to 200,000, all in the hope of increasing the chances of a reduced sentence for that scoundrel in court.

Cheng Yan remained indifferent, and Cheng Yun did not agree.

Cheng Yun's parents had always purchased personal accident insurance, and the combined payout for both of them was over 1 million.

Their lives were exchanged for less than 3 million.

In reality, being a university professor was a relatively leisurely job. Cheng Yun's parents had gone from taking on private work to openly having a second business. From the popular tutoring classes of the past to the recently invested hotel, their average annual income over the past decade had been close to a million. Clearly, no amount of money could mend the pain in Cheng Yun and Cheng Yan's hearts, especially for Cheng Yan, who had lost her parents before reaching adulthood.

The 15th.

The truck driver's wife had been pestering the two siblings for three days. Cheng Yan remained indifferent, barely leaving her room.

But Cheng Yun began to waver when he saw the haggard woman, as distressed as they were, trying to comfort her two crying children. This car accident had ruined two families, and this woman and the two children clinging to her represented a third.

Of course, the accident was the fault of that scoundrel. In Cheng Yun's eyes, he was a murderer. But did these two children need to become another sacrifice for this disaster?

On the evening of the 16th, he finally wrote the letter of forgiveness.

The division of the inheritance was also peaceful. Cheng Yun's maternal grandparents had died early. He did have a paternal grandfather, but the old man waved his hand, saying he wanted nothing and would leave all the property to the siblings to decide amongst themselves.

Because Cheng Yan was still a minor and attending school, both family homes were left to her. One was valued at nearly 3 million, and the other at around 1 million. The hotel, which had an investment of nearly 3 million, and the over 1 million funds deposited in the bank by Cheng Yun's parents were inherited by Cheng Yun. At the same time, he would also serve as Cheng Yan's guardian, providing for all her university tuition and living expenses.

As they settled everything, the court's judgment was almost finalized. The compensation payments began to arrive, and as part of the inheritance, the siblings would split it equally. However, Cheng Yan's portion would be managed by Cheng Yun.

At home near the university town, Cheng Yun and Cheng Yan ate dinner in silence, the atmosphere somewhat somber.

Twelve days had passed since the incident. The siblings looked much better than they had right after the funeral, but the emotional blow they had suffered was still too much to process.

Cheng Yun finished his meal, put down his chopsticks, and broke the silence, "The college entrance exam results should be out tomorrow, right?"

Cheng Yan glanced up at him and gave a noncommittal "Mm," before continuing to eat.

Cheng Yun felt a bit lost for words, unsure how to continue the conversation.

Just then, Cheng Yan looked up again and asked coolly, "Your hotel should be opening soon, too, shouldn't it?"

"Almost, we're officially opening the day after tomorrow," Cheng Yun replied. "I'll go over again tonight to handle a few last things and do a final check. If there are any issues, they can be fixed tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll order a flower basket for you then."

"..." Cheng Yun pulled out two hundred yuan from his pocket and handed it over. "This is for the flower basket."

Cheng Yan, while still eating, subtly reached out and took the money, ignoring Cheng Yun.

"I'm heading out then. Wash the dishes after you finish eating. And don't use too much dish soap," Cheng Yun said, standing up to leave. He didn't get a response from Cheng Yan until he had already gone outside and closed the door.

As expected.

The hotel was very close to the north gate of Yizhou University, about a ten-minute walk. Except for a few rooms being prepared as a youth hostel, which hadn't been fully renovated yet, all other rooms were ready. The storefront on the first floor was brand new and fully equipped.

Cheng Yun first checked the equipment at the counter, turned on the computer, and opened the backend pages for various online group buying and travel platforms to see if the store application had been approved.

Then, he went upstairs to check each room, including all the electrical appliances, sofa beds, and cabinets, meticulously and without any carelessness.

He had achieved financial independence through self-employment in his freshman year, so he knew the value of caution better than most.

Suddenly, he heard a noise from the storage room by the stairs—

Creak...

The sound was very faint, like someone tearing paper.

Cheng Yun immediately frowned.

This building was old, but it had just been renovated. It shouldn't have mice this quickly, right?

Cheng Yun shook his head, feeling it wasn't a good omen, and walked towards the adjacent storage room.

Creak. He opened the door and switched on the light.

Inside the storage room were neatly folded bed sheets, duvet covers, and towels. Disposable toiletries were stacked in boxes on the other side. If mice got in here, it would be hard to find them, but he had to try.

The light in the storage room was dimmer than in the guest rooms, somewhat dark. At least, Cheng Yun found nothing unusual and saw no signs of mice or anything similar.

This was tricky.

Just as he was about to start searching thoroughly, he heard another sound—

CRACK!!

This sound was much louder than the one he'd heard earlier from next door, like a wall being torn apart.

Cheng Yun turned his head and his eyes widened abruptly.

The wall had cracked!

Haven't seen you for a month and two days, and you're back.