Chapter 14: Waiting in Ambush
Hearing Zhou Tianzui’s words, He Wei looked at her: “Dr. Zhou, are you alright?”
Zhou Tianzui looked up at her, her eyes cold and indifferent, her expression unreadable. He Wei coughed lightly: “Good to hear you’re okay.” You Ruxu supported Zhou Tianzui, noticing the warmth of her hand on her waist, burning hot even through the fabric. She looked sideways at Zhou Tianzui. Zhou Tianzui said, “Take me to my office.”
You Ruxu paused, then helped her to her office.
He Wei wanted to say something as they walked away, but remembering Zhou Tianzui’s piercing gaze, her heart trembled, and she didn’t dare utter a word. She waited until You Ruxu emerged from the office a while later.
He Wei quickly offered a carton of milk: “Teacher You, would you like some?”
You Ruxu looked at her flushed face, recalling Zhou Tianzui’s words.
Can’t you tell she likes you?
You Ruxu said, “Thank you, but no.”
Her smiling eyes remained, but her demeanor was distant, yet not making it too awkward. He Wei stood there, feeling deflated: “Oh, okay. Then I’ll treat you to tea next time.”
You Ruxu smiled: “We’ll talk about it next time.”
She nodded at He Wei and went to the wards. He Wei’s shoulders slumped. She looked at Zhou Tianzui’s office door. Had Dr. Zhou already told You Ruxu?
Told her that she had taken credit for Lin Luo’s work?
No, You Ruxu was a reporter, Zhou Tianzui wouldn’t tell her about this.
But what if?
What if Zhou Tianzui had told her? What would You Ruxu think of her then? He Wei bit her lip, her fingers picking at the edge of the milk carton. She heard the head nurse greet her, “Morning, He Wei.”
She looked up: “Morning.”
Turning around, she saw Lin Luo.
Lin Luo didn’t say anything, just brushed past her. He Wei’s face darkened slightly. After a moment of hesitation, she knocked on Zhou Tianzui’s office door.
Zhou Tianzui was looking at a patient’s file. She looked down again when she saw He Wei enter. He Wei approached and asked, “Dr. Zhou, is your waist feeling better?”
Seeing her making small talk, Zhou Tianzui asked, “Is something the matter?”
He Wei said, “I…”
She looked at Zhou Tianzui: “I wanted to ask Dr. Zhou, what should I say in the interview?” She added with emphasis, “After all, I’m under your guidance, Dr. Zhou.”
Zhou Tianzui caught her implication, looked at her for a few seconds, and with a faint smile, said, “I don’t have much experience with that.”
“But hasn’t Dr. Zhou been interviewed before?” He Wei said, “By the TV station, even.”
Hearing this, Zhou Tianzui lowered her gaze, her long eyelashes casting a shadow beneath her eyes, her pupils hidden in the shadow, making it difficult to discern her expression. The atmosphere became heavy.
He Wei swallowed.
Zhou Tianzui said, “There’s nothing special to say, just tell the truth.”
He Wei asked, “Just telling the truth, will that lead to a win-win situation?”
Zhou Tianzui pursed her lips. Before she could speak, the landline rang. She answered the call and heard the voice on the other end say, “Dr. Zhou, Director Song wants to see you.”
She held the receiver, glanced at He Wei, and left the office. Patients and their families bustled in the corridor. A warning sign hung on the door of the room at the very end. She stood at the door and looked inside. You Ruxu was sitting there.
Zeng Jing had woken up.
The baby was beside her, having just finished feeding, sleeping soundly. Zeng Jing’s eyes were red and swollen from crying, her face pale. She lay on the bed with no family to care for her. Both sets of parents couldn’t leave their homes, and only a caregiver was helping her. Seeing You Ruxu, Zeng Jing blurted out, “Zhang Xiaojie wouldn’t do such a thing, he wouldn’t.”
You Ruxu sat beside her, before even handing over her business card. Zeng Jing said, “I know you, Reporter You, from the TV station. Your colleague was just here.”
Chen Xiang had come earlier to lay the groundwork.
You Ruxu nodded and asked, “Has Zhang Xiaojie displayed any unusual behavior recently?”
Zeng Jing said, “No, nothing…”
You Ruxu asked again, “Is he related to Mr. Zhao?”
Zeng Jing’s voice choked in her throat. She looked at You Ruxu, momentarily unsure how to answer this question. You Ruxu said, “Don’t worry, I won’t write anything inaccurate.”
Zeng Jing remained silent.
You Ruxu closed her notebook and said, “Do you know what was on the Jindu midday news yesterday?”
Zeng Jing hadn’t watched the news. She hadn’t had the time, nor did she dare to pick up her phone, which was filled with curses and insults. She was afraid. Seeing those curses directed at her and the words wishing her and her baby’s death hurt more than her physical wounds. Zeng Jing shook her head.
You Ruxu said, “Yesterday’s midday news reported on your hospitalization due to heavy bleeding.”
Zeng Jing’s expression changed slightly as she looked at You Ruxu.
You Ruxu said, “It was my report.”
“You!”
You Ruxu said, “Ms. Zeng, please don’t get agitated. I know you and your child don’t want to be disturbed right now, but if the case isn’t thoroughly investigated, the pain you’ll suffer will only increase.”
Zeng Jing said, “It’s already enough!” She choked back a sob. “Why are you still here disturbing us? What do you want to hear? Do you want to hear me say with my own mouth that Zhang Xiaojie caused the explosion?”
“No.” You Ruxu’s voice was calm and clear, calming. She looked at Zeng Jing, “Do you know what kind of comments are online yesterday?”
Zeng Jing didn’t speak.
How could she not know?
It was because she saw those comments that she hadn’t dared to sleep all night, afraid that someone would take her baby away in revenge.
You Ruxu said, “I took a look today, and public opinion about Mr. Zhang has shifted.”
Zeng Jing looked at her.
You Ruxu took out her tablet, searched for the morning news and the Weibo accounts of several other news groups, and showed Zeng Jing the comments. Zeng Jing instinctively closed her eyes, only opening them after a few seconds.
[I heard Zhang Xiaojie’s wife is pregnant and just gave birth, so why would he destroy evidence?]
[Regardless, Zhang Xiaojie deserves to die!]
Unlike yesterday’s comments, the public opinion now had a different narrative.
[Why does he deserve to die? He just had a child, why would he destroy evidence?]
[I’ve been wanting to say this since yesterday, why is there so much malice towards Zhang Xiaojie? It’s so strange. Shouldn’t the focus be on the fireworks explosion itself? Even if it really was Zhang Xiaojie, he must have been instructed by someone. Why aren’t you all scolding the boss, but Zhang Xiaojie instead?]
[Yeah, why is everyone scolding Zhang Xiaojie?]
Seeing these comments, Zeng Jing’s eyes welled up. She couldn’t hold back and started crying. She said, “I don’t know, I don’t know why this happened. He just went to work, why, why…”
You Ruxu said, “Ms. Zeng, please calm down, you can’t get too worked up right now.”
Zeng Jing’s face was covered in tears.
You Ruxu handed her a tissue, looked at Zeng Jing, and thought about the online public opinion.
Everyone had the ability to think independently, but the internet could weaken this ability. Because the information received was limited, and coupled with the extreme comments from yesterday, people in such situations would develop conditioned reflexes, subconsciously believing those aggressive remarks, actively participating, their emotions heightened, uttering even more biased words. Often, public opinion was swayed this way. But as long as they were given a buffer period, a moment to calm down, they would start to unravel the truth and gradually regain their rationality.
Zeng Jing and her baby were this buffer.
They were the sedative that allowed netizens to calm down and regain their ability to think.
After hearing this, Zeng Jing looked at You Ruxu and said, “I thought…” She looked apologetic. “I’m sorry, Reporter You, I…”
“It’s okay.” You Ruxu said, “You’re doing great.”
Hearing this, Zeng Jing tried to force a smile, but it didn’t quite work, looking worse than crying. She said, “Xiaojie and Mr. Zhao are related, but we don’t usually interact.”
“We do visit each other during holidays, after all, he’s Xiaojie’s boss.”
You Ruxu nodded.
Zeng Jing said, “But Xiaojie would never do such a thing. He knew I was about to give birth, how could he…”
Thinking of Zhang Xiaojie lying unconscious in the ICU, and the barrage of criticism outside, wishing him dead, Zeng Jing’s tears flowed uncontrollably. She said, “I’ve been busy preparing for the birth recently, I haven’t asked him about work, but he would never do such a thing.”
She repeated her assertion over and over.
You Ruxu glanced at her and said, “I understand.” She asked again, “Then how was your relationship with Chen Mo?”
“Chen Mo…” Zeng Jing paused for a few seconds, looked at You Ruxu, her eyes red. She said, “Chen Mo and Xiaojie had a very good relationship. His family wasn’t well-off, and Xiaojie lent him money several times to help him through difficult times. He often came to our house as a guest. Chen Mo was a very good person.”
Zeng Jing lowered her head: “Is he really gone?”
Although she had already known, she still held a sliver of hope.
Perhaps the news online was only one-sided, perhaps Chen Mo was only injured, perhaps…
Although she knew that these “perhaps” were just self-deception.
You Ruxu said, “Yes, he passed away.”
Zeng Jing’s face turned even paler, tears rolling down her temples. The baby beside her moved its arm in its sleep. Zeng Jing held its small hand. The baby moved a couple of times, then settled down. Zeng Jing looked at the baby, biting her lip hard, not making a sound.
There was a knock on the door. You Ruxu turned around. Chen Xiang said, “Teacher You.”
She looked at Zeng Jing: “You should rest, you’ve had a hard time today.”
Zeng Jing said, “Reporter You, has Xiaojie woken up?”
You Ruxu said, “Not yet.”
Zeng Jing nodded. You Ruxu left the ward and heard Chen Xiang say, “Teacher You, something’s happened online again.”
You Ruxu looked at her: “What is it?”
Chen Xiang whispered, “Chen Mo’s parents are going to do an interview, a live broadcast.”
You Ruxu frowned.
Chen Xiang said, “Not with our station, with another TV station. The news is already out, and the internet is in an uproar.”
You Ruxu looked at the tablet Chen Xiang handed her, seeing the news of Chen Mo’s parents’ interview trending online. Below, there were many posts describing Chen Mo’s character. There was a photo of Chen Mo’s mother holding a picture of him, leaning against a cabinet, looking lonely and desolate against a gray background, the atmosphere oppressive. You Ruxu asked, “Can we interview her?”
Chen Xiang said, “It’s a bit difficult now. Many people want to interview them. I called a few times earlier, but they hung up. Our station hasn’t been able to contact them either.”
You Ruxu only thought for a moment before saying, “Let’s go.”
Chen Xiang asked, “Go where?”
You Ruxu said, “Wait in ambush.”
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