The rain began before sunset and had not stopped since.
By nightfall, the entire village of Qingshan was wrapped in darkness and the steady sound of rain hitting the old tin roofs. Mud filled the narrow paths between the houses, and the cold wind carried the smell of wet soil and smoke from distant cooking fires.
Inside a small, worn-out wooden house at the edge of the village, Li Wei stood silently beside the door.
A single oil lamp flickered weakly on the table, casting trembling shadows across the cracked walls. The room was small—too small for dreams. A broken chair leaned against the wall, and in the corner sat a nearly empty sack of rice.
Li Wei tightened his grip on the old travel bag in his hand.
It contained everything he owned.
Two shirts. A pair of worn trousers. And the last twenty yuan he had managed to save.
Behind him, Mei Lin stood quietly.
She had been watching him pack for the past hour, her hands trembling slightly as she folded and refolded the same piece of cloth over and over again. Her long black hair was tied loosely behind her head, and the dim light made her tired face look even paler.
"You don't have to go tonight," she said finally.
Her voice was gentle, but it carried a quiet desperation.
Li Wei didn't answer immediately.
He stared at the wooden door in front of him as if it were the only path left in his life.
Outside, the distant sound of a bus engine echoed faintly from the road that connected their village to the city.
The last bus.
If he missed it, the next one wouldn't come until morning.
And if he stayed until morning… he might lose the courage to leave at all.
"I have to go," Li Wei said at last.
Mei Lin took a slow step closer.
The wooden floor creaked under her feet.
"We've survived this long," she whispered. "We can survive longer."
Li Wei let out a quiet laugh.
But there was no joy in it.
"Survive?" he repeated bitterly.
He turned around and looked at the room.
At the leaking ceiling.
At the empty rice sack.
At the patched clothes hanging near the window.
"This isn't living, Mei Lin," he said.
His voice was calm, but something inside it had already broken.
Mei Lin lowered her eyes.
She knew he wasn't wrong.
Their days had become the same endless struggle—working in the fields, borrowing money from neighbors, praying every harvest would be better than the last.
But it never was.
Still, leaving felt worse than suffering together.
"How long will you be gone?" she asked quietly.
Li Wei hesitated.
The truth was… he didn't know.
The city was a world he had never seen. A place full of opportunities—or dangers he couldn't even imagine.
But he refused to show uncertainty.
"I'll come back when I've made enough money," he said firmly.
Mei Lin looked up at him.
The weak lamp light reflected in her watery eyes.
"And if that takes years?"
Li Wei didn't answer.
Silence filled the small house.
Finally, Mei Lin forced a small smile.
"Then I'll wait."
Those three simple words should have made him stay.
For a moment, Li Wei felt something twist painfully in his chest.
He remembered the day they married.
A simple ceremony in the village temple.
No expensive gifts. No grand celebration.
Just two young people promising they would face the world together.
But promises were easier to make than to keep.
Outside, the bus horn sounded again.
Longer this time.
The driver wouldn't wait much longer.
Li Wei grabbed his bag.
"I'll send money when I can," he said quickly.
Mei Lin nodded.
But neither of them truly believed it.
Li Wei walked toward the door.
When he opened it, cold rain rushed inside, carried by the wind.
For a moment, he stood there.
The rain hit his face as he stepped outside.
Behind him, Mei Lin followed him to the doorway.
"Li Wei!" she called suddenly.
He stopped.
But he didn't turn around.
Her voice trembled slightly.
"Come back safely."
The rain fell harder.
For a brief second, Li Wei considered turning around.
He imagined staying.
Living the same poor life.
Watching the same mountains every day until he grew old and tired.
The thought suffocated him.
Without another word, he began walking down the muddy path.
Step by step, the small house disappeared behind him.
Mei Lin remained standing in the doorway long after he was gone.
The rain soaked her clothes, but she didn't move.
She kept staring into the darkness where her husband had disappeared.
That was the night Li Wei chose the city.
The night he left his wife behind.
And the night the kind, hopeful man named Li Wei began to slowly vanish.
The city would give him power.
It would give him money.
But it would also turn him into something else entirely.
Something the village of Qingshan would never recognize again.
And years later…
When fate finally brought him back to the past he had abandoned...
It would be too late to undo the sins waiting for him.