Chapter 10: Investigation
He Wei and the other newcomer looked out upon hearing the noise and also saw You Ruxu. He Wei’s eyes lit up: “Teacher You.”
You Ruxu looked at Zhou Tianzui, the atmosphere falling silent for a moment.
Zhou Tianzui asked the man, “Who let you in here?” Her face was dark, her tone cold. She looked at him: “What did you take pictures of?” The man said, “Nothing.”
He tried to leave as he spoke. Zhou Tianzui said, “Stop!”
You Ruxu, being closer, subconsciously grabbed the man’s wrist. Reporters often encountered special situations, so the station regularly arranged combat or self-defense training for them. Due to her upbringing, You Ruxu had trained with her relatives and had no problem restraining someone. The man’s wrist hurt as soon as she grabbed it. He looked at You Ruxu: “What are you doing?!”
Zhou Tianzui walked over to him and picked up the camera. It didn’t look like a professional camera. Zhou Tianzui asked, “Which news outlet are you from?”
The man stiffened his neck: “None of your business. I have the right to report on any news.”
“Right?” Zhou Tianzui said, “If you don’t know the rights of a reporter, you can ask Teacher You here. Don’t tarnish the reputation of reporters and bring shame to the profession.”
The man clearly wasn’t a reporter, he wasn’t even wearing a press badge.
She said, “This room is off-limits to non-hospital personnel. Moreover, you just took pictures without our consent. We can sue you!”
The man’s arrogance diminished somewhat, and he said, “Then I’ll just delete them.”
Zhou Tianzui stood beside him, watching as he deleted the photos from the camera. The man turned to leave, but Zhou Tianzui took the camera from him, went back, found slot 2, opened it, and permanently deleted the photos.
This camera was new, with two SD card slots. It could be set to automatically save to both cards. The man had just deleted the photos from slot 1.
Zhou Tianzui returned the card to the man, his face dark.
He glanced at Zhou Tianzui and turned to leave.
You Ruxu stood where she was. Zhou Tianzui asked, “Why are you here?”
Her tone was softer than when she spoke to the man. You Ruxu said, “I followed him in.”
Zhou Tianzui nodded.
He Wei looked at You Ruxu and bit her lip, greeting her: “Teacher You.”
You Ruxu looked at her, her gaze indifferent, nodding slightly. He Wei wanted to say more, but Zhou Tianzui’s cold voice came: “Both of you go inside first.”
He Wei wanted to steal a few more glances, but with one look from Zhou Tianzui, she immediately lowered her head and went into the inner room.
You Ruxu looked at their backs for a few seconds, then at Zhou Tianzui, and said, “I have to go too.”
The people she contacted were still waiting for her at the shop, so she couldn’t stay long. Seeing her turn to leave, Zhou Tianzui asked, “Did you go into the explosion site?”
You Ruxu shook her head: “Not yet, I can’t go in for now.”
Zhou Tianzui’s expression relaxed a little.
It was quiet outside. You Ruxu went directly to the area near the factory after leaving the hospital. The police cordon was still in place, but there were far fewer people than in the morning, with almost no one entering. Someone was guarding the entrance. She walked directly to a nearby breakfast shop and saw two young people sitting inside, probably recent graduates, who looked like a couple. Before You Ruxu approached, she heard them discussing the explosion.
“I can’t believe he’s like that. He seemed so honest usually.”
“I don’t know what he was thinking. Did he think destroying the evidence would make it disappear?” The man’s voice was laced with complaint. “Now that such a big incident has happened, we can’t go to work. I don’t know how long we’ll be off.”
“We’re lucky. Didn’t you see Old Dou and the others come out covered in blood? I heard Chen Mo…”
The topic hit a nerve with both of them. They were both grateful to be alive and worried about the potential job loss. It was hard to say which emotion was stronger. You Ruxu sat opposite them and greeted them: “Hello, I’m…”
“I know, Reporter You.” The girl said, “I often watch your news reports.”
You Ruxu said, “Yes, that’s me.”
The girl asked, “Are you here to find out what happened? But we don’t know much.”
You Ruxu said, “Don’t be nervous, I just want to know your impression of Zhang Xiaojie.”
“Zhang Xiaojie?” The girl said, “I’m in HR, so I haven’t interacted with him much. My boyfriend works in the warehouse, he knows more than I do.”
The man nodded: “He’s been with the company for more than three years. He’s always been hardworking, doesn’t talk much, but if anyone needs help, he’s always there. He always seemed like such an honest person. I don’t know why…”
The girl said, “I heard he’s related to Mr. Zhao.”
“Mr. Zhao?” You Ruxu asked, “Has Mr. Zhao returned?”
The girl said, “He’s already gone to the police station to assist with the investigation.”
You Ruxu nodded, looked at the two, and asked, “Do you also know Chen Mo?”
“Yes.” The man’s eyes reddened. “Chen Mo was our classmate.”
You Ruxu made a note of it.
The girl said, “Chen Mo’s family wasn’t well-off. His parents were both ill and couldn’t work, so he was the sole breadwinner. Actually, Chen Mo wanted to go to a bigger city, but he couldn’t leave his parents, so he came back after graduation.”
Her tone was filled with regret and sympathy.
“Chen Mo was also a hard worker.” The man said, “We’re both responsible for warehouse receiving and shipping. Every morning, Chen Mo was the first to arrive and the last to leave. His family lives nearby, he always said he would work overtime whenever he could, as his family depended on him.”
The girl continued, “Actually, he could have continued his studies after graduation. His professor also hoped he would stay at the university, but he still came back. He left early and returned late every day. Sometimes I think, maybe it was because he wanted to escape but couldn’t…”
The man chuckled softly: “Don’t talk nonsense.”
“How is that nonsense?!” The girl said, “Chen Mo even had a fight with his father two months ago, saying he couldn’t take it anymore.”
The man lowered his head: “He’s gone now, what’s the point of talking about this?”
“What do you mean there’s no point?” The girl’s eyes reddened. “Just because he’s gone, he’s gone? We can’t even reminisce? He suffered so much during his lifetime, and we can’t even mention it?”
“Suffering? No one wants to be born into a family like that, and it’s not easy for parents to raise their children. How is that suffering?”
“That’s not the suffering I’m talking about! I’m saying it’s a pity that he could have had a better future! What do you mean?!” The girl started arguing with the man.
You Ruxu, looking at the arguing couple, said, “Please calm down.”
The girl glared at the man: “You have no empathy at all, did a dog eat your conscience?”
“You’re the one whose conscience was eaten by a dog!” The man said, “If you felt so sorry for him, why didn’t you lend him money last year when his mother needed surgery and we all chipped in?”
“I didn’t have any money at the time!” The girl bristled like a cat, her voice rising. “So it’s my fault now? Should I have sold my blood and kidneys to lend him money?”
The man’s face flushed: “I didn’t say that!”
You Ruxu noted down their words and said, “Thank you both for your cooperation with the interview.”
The girl finally swallowed her words. She had gotten carried away with the argument and almost forgotten about You Ruxu. She said, “Sorry, we didn’t control our emotions very well today.”
She nudged the man with her elbow.
The man also said, “Sorry, Reporter You, we—it’s just that with Chen Mo gone, we—”
You Ruxu said, “I understand. Thank you both very much.”
The girl said, “Actually, we didn’t really help much. Is our factory going to close down?”
You Ruxu said, “The police are still investigating the specific situation. They should notify you of the results.”
Her voice was soft and gentle, and with her smiling eyes, she was very calming. The girl’s emotions stabilized, and she felt she hadn’t performed well earlier, so she actively tried to help You Ruxu. You Ruxu smiled: “Have you had breakfast yet?”
The man scratched his head and gave a dry laugh.
They usually had breakfast at the factory. With such a big incident today, they hadn’t had time to eat yet. Now, reminded by You Ruxu, they realized they were hungry. You Ruxu smiled: “I’ll treat you.”
The girl quickly waved her hand: “No, no need.”
You Ruxu said, “It’s okay, I took up your time, I’m sorry.”
The girl was embarrassed: “Actually, we didn’t really help, and we even made a scene.” She looked at You Ruxu: “If you have any further questions, you can call me directly.”
You Ruxu nodded: “Thank you.”
Her phone rang. You Ruxu smiled at the two and answered the call. Shi Qi said, “Zhang Xiaojie is out of surgery.”
You Ruxu asked, “Is he awake?”
“No.” Shi Qi said, “He’s being transferred to the observation room. He hasn’t regained consciousness yet. How’s the situation on your end?”
You Ruxu said, “No major issues.” She said, “I’ll be back soon.”
Shi Qi said, “There’s a lot of controversy online about this incident. Don’t come back to the hospital, come directly to the station for a meeting. I’ll send you all the information.”
You Ruxu said, “I understand.”
She hung up and saw the news notifications, all about the explosion today. It was currently the most talked-about event online. You Ruxu clicked on the news page and saw many comments from netizens.
[Although I don’t know the casualty figures yet, I hope everyone is okay.]
[I heard the culprit is fine, but a university student died on the spot in the warehouse, a recent graduate, only worked for a few years.]
[I know him, he was my classmate, a really good guy. He had excellent grades in school and went back to his hometown to take care of his parents. Filial and polite. I was stunned when I saw the news, I couldn’t believe such a good person was gone. The culprit is the warehouse manager, right?]
[I’ll be blunt! I don’t care about the fireworks factory, I only care about when that manager will die!]
[I also care about when the manager will die!]
[The manager should die! Even dying a hundred times wouldn’t be enough!]
[Please update us on the progress! And announce the manager’s death along with it, thanks!]
You Ruxu scrolled through several hot news items. The top comments were all filled with such radical remarks, many already tagging the Jindu police and the capital police, urging them to release the results quickly. You Ruxu pursed her lips, her finger resting on the phone screen, silent for a moment.
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