Chapter 63: She Isn’t
Yao Zhao’s case didn’t attract much media attention at the end of the year. After she recanted her initial statement, there wasn’t much follow-up. There was always a lot of news around the New Year. Not to mention the TV stations were busy preparing for the Spring Festival Gala, even the news teams had plenty of material to cover: weather, snowfall, the Spring Festival travel rush. Every topic was a major focus, so the domestic violence case, sandwiched between these major events, seemed insignificant.
As soon as You Ruxu returned to work, she was sent to report on the Spring Festival travel rush, stationed at the train station and airport, the wind biting at her face, but she held the microphone steadily, standing tall and straight in her beige professional attire, her hair neatly tied up in a bun.
Her image appeared on the TV screen, her clear voice reporting live. Zhao Mingqi, carrying a thermos of hot water, walked past Zhou Tianzui and said, “It’s so cold, I wonder if my goddess is cold too.”
Zhou Tianzui glanced at him and said, “Is she made of iron? Of course she’s cold.”
Zhao Mingqi was speechless.
He Wei quickly approached: “What’s wrong, Dr. Zhou?”
Zhao Mingqi shrugged, “I don’t know, she’s been like a firecracker all morning.”
Although she was usually like this, they could clearly sense her heightened irritability today. He Wei didn’t dare provoke her and, besides the morning rounds, avoided her. Lin Luo, watching them whisper, fidgeted with the carton of milk in her hand, thought for a moment, then knocked on Zhou Tianzui’s office door and called out, “Dr. Zhou.”
Zhou Tianzui looked up: “Something the matter?”
“This is some milk from my hometown. Everyone’s tried it, and I saved some for you since you weren’t here before.”
Zhou Tianzui frowned slightly and said, “Thank you.”
She looked down, “But I don’t really drink milk, you can have it.”
Lin Luo gave a small “oh” and left the office.
Zhou Tianzui sat in her chair, her typing pausing. She turned her head and looked at her computer screen. You Ruxu had sent her a message: [Cold.]
The photo attached showed her wearing the station’s blue down jacket with the Jindu TV logo, the jacket large and puffy, making her face look small. Zhou Tianzui’s expression softened slightly, and she replied: [Drink more hot water.]
You Ruxu: [I am.]
Zhou Tianzui: [More filming this afternoon?]
You Ruxu: [Yes, at the bus station this afternoon.]
Zhou Tianzui: [When will you be done?]
You Ruxu: [Probably around four or five.]
She was already in the car, the heater on full blast. Shi Qi handed her a lunchbox, with rice, vegetables, soup, and a chicken leg. Chen Xiang said, “This is the only time I feel alive.”
She looked at You Ruxu, “Teacher You, are you taking Yao Zhao to the hospital after work?”
Shi Qi looked up, “Going to the hospital for what?”
You Ruxu said, “For the injury assessment.”
“Didn’t she already have one?” Shi Qi said, “Does she need another one?”
You Ruxu said, “The last one was done at the clinic.”
Shi Qi nodded.
She said, “This story won’t make it to prime time.”
Prime time meant being broadcast on TV. Their material was generally categorized into urgent news, current affairs, and social news. Yao Zhao’s case belonged to social news. They could mention it briefly in their reports, but with the New Year approaching, there was too much urgent news, no time slot available. So, this story would be relegated to secondary coverage.
Secondary coverage usually meant online reports on the station’s official website. The viewership was much lower, especially at this time of year, even fewer people would pay attention.
You Ruxu said, “It’s okay.”
In fact, she didn’t want the story to become a big deal, she just wanted to minimize the harm to Yao Zhao as much as possible, after all, she was still young.
Chen Xiang nodded, “Yes, she’s really young, and it wouldn’t be good for her if this became a big deal. Last time, when we went to her school, seeing her classmates’ attitudes, it made me so angry.”
“Some netizens even said it was Yao Zhao’s fault, that if her mother hadn’t run away, she wouldn’t be beaten.”
Shi Qi said, “Typical victim-blaming, they can’t find fault with her, so they blame her mother.”
You Ruxu took a sip of soup and heard Shi Qi ask, “Will this case be closed before the New Year?”
You Ruxu said, “Probably.”
It wasn’t a complicated case. As long as they pressed charges against her stepfather and settled Yao Zhao’s living arrangements before the New Year, it could be closed before then. Shi Qi said, “She’s quite lucky. When I first joined the station, I covered a domestic violence case, the wife had been abused for four or five years, every time she was about to press charges, she would back down.”
Chen Xiang was surprised, “Endured it for four or five years? How? If it were me, I would have fought back long ago, either you die or I die.”
Shi Qi said, “Later, she finally couldn’t take it anymore and decided to press charges.”
Chen Xiang looked at Shi Qi, “Was she successful?”
Shi Qi shook her head, “No.”
She lowered her head, “The man beat her to death.”
Chen Xiang bit her chopsticks, silent.
You Ruxu looked at Shi Qi: “That was many years ago.”
“Over twenty years ago.” Shi Qi said, “I had just graduated, a senior colleague took me on that case.”
It was the first domestic violence case she had ever handled, and it left a deep psychological scar. After that, whenever she encountered similar cases, she became very passionate, determined to help, to persuade the victims to press charges. But after seeing so many people choose to forgive their abusers, she became disheartened, exasperated.
Chen Xiang sighed, “Save one life at a time.”
Shi Qi chuckled, “Do you think you’re a savior?”
“I’m not.” Chen Xiang grinned. “But Teacher You definitely is!”
You Ruxu said, “Don’t put me on a pedestal.”
Chen Xiang said, “It’s not a pedestal, Teacher You, think about it, you’re helping her now, and Yao Zhao will definitely be grateful. She’s a resilient girl, she can achieve great things. Maybe ten or twenty years later, she’ll become someone successful, and she’ll mention You! Ruxu! in her thank you speech…”
You Ruxu knocked on Chen Xiang’s lunchbox, “Are you still eating?”
Chen Xiang lowered her head, “Yes, yes, yes.”
Her playful banter lightened the mood. They continued filming in the afternoon. Shi Qi knew she had to take Yao Zhao to the hospital, so she let her leave early. You Ruxu went home, took a hot shower, changed her clothes, and went to the school. She saw Yao Zhao walking out, carrying a few books, and called out, “Yao Zhao.”
Yao Zhao looked up and saw You Ruxu in the distance.
You Ruxu was wearing a white down jacket, her hair tied up in a bun, with air bangs, light makeup. Just standing there, she looked like a painting. Several students, passing by, turned to look back, their eyes shining. She heard them whispering, “Who’s that?”
“I don’t know, she’s looking for Yao Zhao.”
“Wow, she’s gorgeous, she looks familiar.”
“I also think she looks familiar, is she a relative of Yao Zhao’s?”
Yao Zhao, under the curious and envious gazes of her classmates, walked over to You Ruxu. It was the first time she didn’t feel ashamed of being the center of attention, a small, youthful vanity satisfied. She even greedily thought, if only time could stop at this moment.
She reached You Ruxu, who took the books from her and said, “Let’s go to the hospital first.”
Yao Zhao nodded.
You Ruxu said, “Did your stepfather come to find you today?”
Yao Zhao said, “He came at noon.”
The security guard hadn’t let him in, knowing who he was. She had heard from her classmates that he had stood at the school gate yelling insults, but when she secretly went to check after lunch, she hadn’t seen him.
She had lunch in the school cafeteria today. For the first time since the start of the school year, she had sat in the cafeteria. You Ruxu had paid for her meals for the semester. Yao Zhao had secretly noted it down, determined to pay You Ruxu back as soon as she started working.
But by then, would You Ruxu still remember her?
She probably wouldn’t. You Ruxu met so many people every day. Perhaps they would never meet again. It would be normal for You Ruxu to forget her, but she still hoped You Ruxu would remember her, even just a little.
Yao Zhao, lost in thought, heard You Ruxu say, after parking the car, “We’re here.”
She followed You Ruxu out of the car and into the hospital, obediently trailing behind her. You Ruxu made a phone call, her every movement elegant and composed.
You Ruxu said into the phone, “We’ve arrived.”
Then she looked down, a faint smile playing on her lips, her smile beautiful. After hanging up, she turned to Yao Zhao, “Let’s wait here.”
Soon, someone in a white coat emerged, it was Dr. Zhou from last night.
Yao Zhao instinctively tensed up, her body aching slightly, her breathing shallow. She fidgeted with her pants, taking deep breaths, but her face remained pale. Zhou Tianzui walked over to them and said, “Let’s go, I’ve already talked to my colleague.”
She led them towards the outpatient clinic, You Ruxu walking beside her, the two seemingly engaged in casual conversation. Yao Zhao was tense, her breathing still uneven. Reaching the clinic, You Ruxu said, “Go on in, we’ll wait for you outside.”
Yao Zhao looked at You Ruxu and nodded.
After Yao Zhao went in, Zhou Tianzui said, “Come to my office for some tea.”
You Ruxu followed her to her office. Two other doctors were inside. You Ruxu greeted them with a smile. The two doctors offered her some snacks and biscuits, complimenting her makeup from today’s live broadcast. You Ruxu sat with them, chatting and laughing.
Zhou Tianzui, glancing up, saw her smile. She took a sip of tea, noticing a movement at the doorway. Zhao Mingqi poked his head in, looking for the other two doctors. You Ruxu also greeted him. The two doctors left, and only You Ruxu and Zhou Tianzui remained.
You Ruxu asked, “What time do you finish work?”
“Six o’clock.” Zhou Tianzui said, “Waiting for me?”
“I’ll wait until Yao Zhao’s checkup is done, then I’ll go back.” She said, “I won’t wait for you.”
Zhou Tianzui chuckled softly.
You Ruxu felt a tingling in her ears, hearing that laughter. She had heard Zhou Tianzui laugh like that many times in her dreams, right beside her ear. You Ruxu touched her earlobe, it felt slightly warm.
Zhou Tianzui said, “The report should be ready tomorrow.”
You Ruxu was typing on her phone. Zhou Tianzui asked, “What are you doing?”
“Writing the case report.” You Ruxu said, “It’ll be published in the next couple of days.”
“So soon?” Zhou Tianzui said, “You’ve already investigated the case?”
You Ruxu looked at Zhou Tianzui, as if not understanding what she meant by “investigated.”
Zhou Tianzui paused, “Haven’t you thought about the possibility of something being wrong?”
You Ruxu said, “What could be wrong?”
Zhou Tianzui didn’t beat around the bush, “Have you considered that Yao Zhao might be lying?”
You Ruxu said, “What do you mean?”
Zhou Tianzui said, “I mean, what if there’s no domestic violence, what if…”
“Impossible.” You Ruxu said, “She was abused.”
Zhou Tianzui said, “She’s still undergoing the assessment, the report isn’t out yet, how can you be so certain?”
You Ruxu said, “We saw her injuries with our own eyes, we even went to pick her up last night, you were the one who treated her eye, she wouldn’t lie.”
Zhou Tianzui said, “That doesn’t necessarily mean she was abused.”
You Ruxu said, “She was abused.”
Zhou Tianzui said, “She wasn’t.”
You Ruxu started to say, “She…”
Zhou Tianzui interrupted her, “The injury below her waist, it’s self-inflicted.”
You Ruxu’s voice trailed off. She looked at Zhou Tianzui, then down at the area below her own waist. A sudden silence fell over the room.
Zhou Tianzui: Won the argument, lost my wife.
You Ruxu: …
Leave a Reply