Chapter 20: Anniversary
You Ruxu and Chen Xiang arrived at the police station around lunchtime. Captain Zhou was eating instant noodles and waved at You Ruxu when she saw her: “Perfect timing, come eat.”
The little troublemaker on her team chuckled: “Captain Zhou, aren’t you going to take Teacher You out to a restaurant?”
Captain Zhou glared at him: “Just eat your noodles!”
You Ruxu smiled faintly, hearing their exchange. The troublemaker’s heart skipped a beat seeing her smile, immediately stopping his teasing, his face flushing. You Ruxu said, “I’m not eating, Chen Xiang hasn’t eaten yet, get her a portion.”
Chen Xiang was surprised: “Teacher You, you’re not eating?”
She hadn’t seen You Ruxu eat anything at the station either.
You Ruxu said, “My stomach isn’t feeling well today. You go eat, I’ll go see Mr. Zhao.”
“He’s a tough nut to crack.” Captain Zhou said, “Couldn’t get a word out of him all morning. It was all his lawyer talking. Don’t get frustrated when you go in.”
You Ruxu said, “I understand.”
The interview was conducted in an interrogation room, without the lawyer present. You Ruxu greeted him: “Mr. Zhao.”
They had met once at the beginning of the year. Mr. Zhao, as a representative of Jindu’s business culture, had been interviewed by You Ruxu, so they weren’t complete strangers.
But they weren’t exactly acquainted either.
Mr. Zhao looked at You Ruxu. Although he had been interviewed countless times, he had a strong impression of her, not only because of her beauty, but also her persistent nature. He wasn’t surprised at all to hear that out of the three news teams at Jindu TV, the midday news team was responsible for him.
You Ruxu sat down and asked, “Should we wait for your lawyer to arrive?”
“No need.” Mr. Zhao looked amiable, his speech slow and measured. He said, “Shall we begin the interview now?”
You Ruxu said, “Not yet, please wait a moment.”
She set up the equipment on another table. Chen Xiang was eating outside. She was alone. Mr. Zhao, behind her, asked, “Need any help?”
His attitude was very friendly, completely different from the tight-lipped clam Captain Zhou described. You Ruxu paused, then said, “Sure.” She said to Mr. Zhao, “Could you please help me place this a little higher?”
Mr. Zhao stood up, walked over to her, took the camera, and adjusted its height. You Ruxu said, “Is Mr. Zhao always this helpful?”
“I help whenever I can.” Mr. Zhao said, “Although it often brings trouble.”
You Ruxu sat opposite him and said, “What kind of trouble?”
“All sorts of trouble.” Mr. Zhao said, “You know, people are always greedy. Help them once, and they’ll want you to help them countless times.”
You Ruxu nodded, taking notes, then asked, “Did Zhang Xiaojie ever ask you for help?”
“Zhang Xiaojie?” Mr. Zhao said, “I don’t have a strong impression of him. Maybe I helped him, I don’t remember.”
You Ruxu said, “He’s your relative, and you don’t remember?”
“I have too many relatives.” Mr. Zhao said, “I really don’t remember.”
You Ruxu lowered her head: “There are rumors online that you hired Zhang Xiaojie to destroy the illegal fireworks. Is there any truth to that?”
“Absurd!” Mr. Zhao said, “When did I ever ask him to destroy anything?!”
He seemed a little angry at the mention of this. You Ruxu, however, remained calm: “So you’re saying, you didn’t ask him to destroy them?”
“Of course I didn’t ask him to destroy them!”
You Ruxu pressed further: “Then who did you ask?”
“I!” Mr. Zhao froze, then suddenly laughed, “Reporter You, that’s not right. I agreed to this interview, not for you to fabricate stories about me. And we didn’t produce any illegal fireworks, you’re welcome to investigate.”
You Ruxu nodded and took notes.
Mr. Zhao quickly resumed his slow and measured demeanor. He said, “I’m accepting this interview today to give you an exclusive, Reporter You.”
You Ruxu looked at him: “An exclusive?”
“Yes.” Mr. Zhao said, “I’m planning to sue Zhang Xiaojie.”
“He set off the fireworks without authorization and spread rumors that our factory produced illegal fireworks.” He looked at You Ruxu, “I have evidence that he set them off himself.”
You Ruxu asked, “What evidence?”
“Zhang Xiaojie is never early for work.” Mr. Zhao said, “On the day of the incident, he arrived half an hour early and disabled the security camera.” He said, “Another camera captured it all, I have the video as proof.”
You Ruxu stood outside, watching the video of Zhang Xiaojie tampering with the camera. Captain Zhou said, “This is the only footage we recovered after the explosion.”
But this short clip was enough to incriminate Zhang Xiaojie. Moreover, there was no evidence of Mr. Zhao and Zhang Xiaojie “communicating” before the incident. Tracing back their communication records, the last time they contacted each other was during the Dragon Boat Festival, exchanging holiday greetings.
It could be said that they weren’t close.
Let alone Mr. Zhao asking Zhang Xiaojie to destroy evidence.
The case suddenly took a turn. You Ruxu stood at the entrance of the police station, listening to Chen Xiang ask, “Teacher You, are we publishing this interview?”
You Ruxu knew that if this interview was published, Zhang Xiaojie would be definitively labeled the culprit. But why would he do such a thing?
Captain Zhou said, “We’ll probably have to wait until Zhang Xiaojie wakes up to find out. There’s no motive at all. Of course, we can’t rule out the possibility of mental health issues.”
But these were all just speculations.
Speculations left no stone unturned.
If this was really the case…
You Ruxu said, “Publish the first part of the interview.”
She still needed to verify the “exclusive” part.
Chen Xiang nodded.
They left the police station. You Ruxu said, “You go back to the station. I asked the boss for leave, I’m not going back this afternoon.”
Chen Xiang was surprised: “What’s wrong?”
Remembering that You Ruxu hadn’t eaten lunch: “Teacher You, are you feeling unwell?”
You Ruxu said, “I’m fine.”
“You must be exhausted. You’ve been working non-stop these past few days, your body can’t take it.” Chen Xiang said, “Alright, I’ll go back to the station first. Do you want me to drive you home?”
“No need.” You Ruxu said, “You go ahead.”
Chen Xiang nodded and drove away from the police station. It was still raining. You Ruxu stood outside, holding an umbrella, waiting for a taxi. One arrived, and she gave the address, but it wasn’t her apartment.
Zhou Tianzui’s disciplinary action was issued swiftly. It wasn’t too severe, but it affected her chances for the deputy director position. After the evaluation, the director submitted Fu Shushu’s name.
In the bathroom, Fu Shushu saw Zhou Tianzui and said, “Was it worth it?”
Zhou Tianzui looked at her, ignoring her.
Fu Shushu clicked her tongue: “Don’t think I’ll be grateful to you for this.”
Zhou Tianzui said, “You’d be better off spending this time educating your interns instead of talking to me.”
Fu Shushu was speechless, seeing Zhou Tianzui leave the bathroom with a calm expression. She cursed inwardly. Even winning felt unsatisfying.
Zhou Tianzui returned to her office. She hadn’t even had a sip of water all afternoon. He Wei, being tactful, followed her into the office and even poured her half a glass of warm water, saying, “Dr. Zhou…”
There was a commotion outside. Zhou Tianzui didn’t take the water, asking, “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know.” He Wei said, “I’ll go check.”
Zhou Tianzui brushed past her and left the office, seeing a group of people gathered at the door of the ward at the end of the corridor.
“I heard this is Zhang Xiaojie’s wife.”
“Zhang Xiaojie? The one from the explosion?”
“His wife just had an argument with someone…”
Zhou Tianzui quickly walked over and heard Zeng Jing shout, “Zhang Xiaojie didn’t do it!”
“If it wasn’t Zhang Xiaojie, then who was it?!” A woman shouted at Zeng Jing, “It was Zhang Xiaojie! He’s evil! He’s not human! He’s an animal! He doesn’t deserve to have children!”
Seeing the woman look at the baby, Zeng Jing clutched the child tightly in her arms. A nurse stopped the woman: “Please calm down, everyone disperse!”
The woman pushed the nurse’s arm away and shouted at Zeng Jing, “Animals don’t deserve to have children! An animal’s offspring is also an animal!”
“He’s not!” Zeng Jing roared, “He didn’t! He didn’t do it!”
“What if he did?!” The woman’s eyes were clearly swollen from crying. Hearing this, Zeng Jing said, “If it was him, we’ll pay with our lives together!” She said, “If Zhang Xiaojie did it, we’ll pay with our lives! We deserve to die!”
Zhou Tianzui stood in front of the woman and said, “What’s all this shouting?!”
Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was commanding. The woman, seeing her, forgot to reply, just stood there. Camera flashes went off, capturing Zeng Jing and the newborn baby. The commotion was so loud that the baby started crying, and Zeng Jing cried along with him.
Zhou Tianzui said, “Everyone out!”
The others glanced at her and dispersed. Nurses and security guards escorted the woman and the media out. Zhou Tianzui entered the ward. Zeng Jing’s parents arrived shortly after and requested a ward change.
This ward was a private room, very suitable for Zeng Jing, but yesterday, she had given an interview, and after the interview, netizens had identified the location from the photos. Zhou Tianzui said, “I’ll go see if there are any other available rooms.”
Zeng Jing’s parents sighed, standing by the bed, tears in their eyes.
Zeng Jing lowered her head, still holding the baby, her expression dejected.
Zhou Tianzui left the ward and looked at the media with their cameras, then fell silent. She lowered her head, entered her office, and asked Zhao Mingqi, “Is 408 still available?”
408 was a VIP ward, usually vacant. Zhao Mingqi said, “Yes, it’s empty, but…”
He Wei said, “I’ll arrange it.”
Seemingly wanting to please Zhou Tianzui, she said, “I’ll arrange the ward transfer.”
Zhou Tianzui glanced at her and said, “Go ahead.”
He Wei breathed a sigh of relief and immediately left.
Zhou Tianzui packed her things. Zhao Mingqi asked, “Aren’t you on duty tonight?”
“I switched with Dr. Li.” Zhou Tianzui said, “I have something to do today.”
Zhao Mingqi understood.
Zhou Tianzui left work promptly at 5:30. Before getting into her car, she went to a flower shop near the hospital and bought a bouquet, holding it in her arms. After getting into the car, she placed it on the passenger seat. She didn’t go home directly, but to the cemetery.
It was raining. The cemetery was empty, only tombstones standing tall, the sky a dull, overcast gray.
Zhou Tianzui, holding the flowers and an umbrella, walked inside, stopping in front of the third to last tombstone. She looked down. A few small yellow flowers seemed to have fallen carelessly in front of the tombstone, their petals glistening with raindrops. She looked at them for a moment, brushed them away, and placed the fresh flowers she brought.
“Dad, I’m here to see you again.” Zhou Tianzui crouched down, the umbrella partially covering the tombstone. The wind carried the fragrance of the flowers. She said, “She’s been in good spirits recently, and her health is good, but she keeps forgetting the date.”
She remembered Yu Qiao asking her to accompany her to the cemetery three or four times a year, each time asking, “Did I get the date wrong?”
She would say, “No.”
Whatever day Yu Qiao remembered was the anniversary.
Zhou Tianzui stood quietly for a moment, then said, “I’m leaving.”
She looked down at the small yellow flowers, paused, then picked one up and placed it in front of the tombstone. The rain intensified. Zhou Tianzui placed the umbrella in the gap beside the tombstone, keeping it open, sheltering the fresh flowers.
Sheltering the small yellow flower.
Author’s Note:
Thirty red envelopes, love you all.
The story will be premium tomorrow. Thank you to all the lovely readers who support the genuine version. The theme, characters, and setting of this story are very different from previous ones. It’s a new attempt. I seem to always enjoy trying new things. I still hope to bring you a different reading experience.
The next pre-ordered story will be either “Love Letter” or “Princess Syndrome,” haven’t decided yet. Which one do you want to read more? Please add the one you prefer to your collection! Both will have happy endings.
[“Love Letter”]
Qin Zheng was strikingly beautiful, with countless admirers. During her school years, she received so many love letters that they wouldn’t fit in her locker. One of them was especially unique, containing only one sentence: [It rained today.]
She recognized Yun Kai’s handwriting. The Yun Kai she loved for seven years, the one she had a passionate relationship with, who later abandoned her without a word.
Qin Zheng angrily tore up the letter, then carefully pieced it back together. She thought, even if she were to tear it up, she would wait until Yun Kai appeared and tear it up in front of him.
She waited and waited, but Yun Kai didn’t appear. Instead, she received another ninety-eight letters from him.
It turned out that the first letter wasn’t a love letter, but a suicide note.
[“Princess Syndrome”]
Su Lingyue was the apple of the Su family’s eye, pampered and spoiled since childhood. She was arrogant, domineering, and self-willed. The most outrageous incident was during a sophomore winter camp, where she publicly humiliated Ji Zhiyi, calling her a beggar, unworthy of sharing a tent with her. Not long after returning to school, Ji Zhiyi dropped out, disappearing without a trace. Many classmates guessed she couldn’t bear the humiliation, feeling sorry and pity for her.
Later, the Su family’s fortunes suddenly changed. The company was split in two, half remaining with the Su family, and the other half going to Ji Zhiyi. Along with the company, Su Lingyue also fell into her hands.
Everyone speculated that Ji Zhiyi was back for revenge, waiting to see Su Lingyue’s downfall. Su Lingyue thought so too.
On the day she took Su Lingyue home, Ji Zhiyi personally designed a pair of princess shoes. Socialites were eager to buy them, the price skyrocketing. At the company’s annual meeting, Ji Zhiyi took the princess shoes from the display case and, under everyone’s astonished gazes, knelt down and carefully put them on Su Lingyue’s feet.
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