Filled with guilt, he decided to end his difficult life in hiding after 30 years on the run. But upon voluntarily turning himself into the authorities, he made the least expected of discoveries. He had no criminal record and neither was the police looking for him.
满怀愧疚的他决定结束自己长达30年的逃亡生涯。但在自愿向当局自首后，他有了最意想不到的发现。他没有犯罪记录，警方也没有寻找他。
One day in 2020, a middle-aged man filled with the vicissitudes of life appeared at a police station in Xuzhou of Jiangsu Province. He walked in cautiously, his eyes revealing inner remorse and guilt.
2020年的一天，一位充满沧桑的中年男子出现在江苏徐州的一处派出所。他小心翼翼地走了进去，眼中流露出内心的自责和愧疚。
This man, surnamed Li, firmly told the police that he had committed a crime and wanted to surrender. Officers were immediately alert, believing that he had committed a serious crime. They stole themselves to approach with caution.
这名李姓男子坚定地告诉警方，自己犯了罪，想要自首。警察立即提高警惕，认为他犯下了严重罪行。他们偷偷靠近，小心翼翼。
That’s when they got the surprise of their lives.
就在那时，他们得到了人生中的惊喜。
They could not find any information about Li’s involvement in any active case nor his name on any list of fugitives. They were stumped. How could a person on the run for 30 years have no criminal record?
他们找不到任何有关李参与任何正在审理的案件的信息，也没有在任何逃犯名单上找到他的名字。他们被难住了。一个逃亡30年的人怎么可能没有犯罪记录？
The explanation, it turns out, is a prime example of life’s ups and downs spiralling to become a perfect storm of coincidence and presumption, as the online media portal, 163.com, exposed today, 12 September.
事实证明，正如在线媒体门户网站 163.com 今天（9 月 12 日）所披露的那样，这一解释是人生的起起落落逐渐演变成巧合和假设的完美风暴的一个典型例子。
Li was from a typical rural family, living a simple and unpretentious life. But with little in the way of educational resources, Li’s academic performance was not ideal and he gradually lost his way in life.
李先生出身于一个典型的农村家庭，过着朴实无华的生活。但由于教育资源匮乏，李的学习成绩并不理想，他逐渐迷失了人生方向。
Befriending others in much the same situation, their group was attracted to explore the darker corners of their city together. They lived unfettered lives full of excitement and uncertainty.
他们与处境相似的其他人成为朋友，并被吸引一起探索城市的黑暗角落。他们过着不受拘束的生活，充满兴奋和不确定性。
With his understanding of the law extremely limited, Li was fearful and uneasy when it came to the police. He mistakenly believed that any involvement with the police would lead to trouble and punishment. He was continually walking on eggshells.
由于李先生对法律的了解极其有限，一想到警察，他就感到害怕和不安。他错误地认为，与警察的任何牵连都会带来麻烦和惩罚。他一直如履薄冰。
The fateful day was to come when Li was invited by his colleagues to attend a banquet to celebrate his promotion to workshop leader.
命运的一天到来了，李应同事的邀请参加庆祝他晋升为车间主任的宴会。
Toasting Li a couple of times too many, one of his colleagues accidentally knocked over a drink on a neighbouring table on his way to the bathroom. It turned out the table’s occupants were mafia. While Li and his colleagues made their polite apologies and paid for the spilt drink, they also made a hasty departure from the restaurant.
他的一位同事在向李敬酒多次后，在去洗手间的路上不小心打翻了隔壁桌子上的饮料。原来桌子上的人都是黑手党。李和同事们礼貌地道歉并赔偿了洒出的饮料后，也匆匆离开了餐厅。
But then those at the next table did what they do best; they knew where Li and his colleague lived.
但随后邻桌的人做了他们最擅长的事情；他们知道李和他的同事住在哪里。
When the gang turned up, a physical fight broke out, during which one the gangsters appeared to fall the the ground. Li feared, wrongly, that his blow had in fact been fatal.
当这伙人出现时，发生了一场肢体冲突，其中一名歹徒似乎倒在了地上。李担心他的这一击实际上是致命的，但这是错误的。
Early the next morning, when Li slowly woke up from his sleep, his mind still a little confused, he heard the sound of police sirens outside. He put two and two together and got “arrest for murder”.
第二天一早，当李慢慢从睡梦中醒来，脑子还有些混乱的时候，就听到外面警笛声响起。他将两个和两个放在一起并“因谋杀罪被捕”。
Packing a few belongings, Li immediately fled to the mountains and began a hard life of survival in the wild, relying on river water and fruit to sustain him. He would spend a whole month living in this fashion.
李先生收拾了一些行李，立即逃到山里，开始了艰苦的野外生存生活，靠河水和水果维持生计。他会这样度过整整一个月的生活。
Convinced finally that the police search was over, he ventured back down the slopes to find a black coal kiln which was recruiting workers. In order to avoid police pursuit, Li figured his only option was to resolutely choose to dig coal.
他终于确信警方的搜查已经结束，于是冒险走下山坡，发现一个正在招募工人的黑煤窑。为了躲避警方的追捕，李某认为自己唯一的选择就是毅然选择挖煤。
Many more years of odd jobs at construction sites and other places to make a living were to follow, and Li never slept a peaceful night. No longer able to bear the life of anxiety and guilt, Li made up his mind to voluntarily surrender.
接下来的许多年里，李在建筑工地和其他地方打零工谋生，李从来没有睡过一个安宁的夜晚。再也无法承受焦虑和愧疚的生活，李某下定决心主动投案自首。
When Li made his confession to the police about what had happened over the years, an investigation was launched and Li held in remand. Finally, police were able to trace the retired officer who was responsible for looking in to the incident 3 decades prior.
当李向警方供述了这些年来发生的事情后，警方展开了调查，并将李还押候审。最终，警方找到了负责调查 3 年前这起事件的退休警官。
The retired policeman was able to reveal the truth; the gangster who fell to the ground in the fight that Li thought he had perhaps murdered did so out of being afraid he might be hurt.
这位退休警察揭露了真相；在李认为自己可能被谋杀的打斗中倒地的歹徒是因为担心自己可能会受伤而这样做的。
Li never had reason to be a fugitive. His elderly parents no longer alive and his household registration (“hukou”) cancelled, with the help of the police, Li’s 30-year ordeal came to an end when he made successful contact with what remained of his family.
李从来没有理由逃亡。年迈的父母已不在人世，户口也被注销，在警方的帮助下，李先生成功与家人取得了联系，结束了30年的磨难。
