Chapter 57: The Wound
Zhou Tianzui, looking at You Ruxu’s helpless glare through the screen, wanted to laugh. She leaned against the headboard, a smile playing on her lips, and asked You Ruxu, “What time are you going to bed?”
“I’m not sleepy yet.” You Ruxu had napped in the afternoon. She looked at Zhou Tianzui, “Are you sleepy?”
“A little.” She had been busy at the hospital, then busy at home. Now, lying in bed, she felt a wave of drowsiness wash over her. You Ruxu said, “Then go to sleep, I’ll read some more.”
Zhou Tianzui gave a small “mm-hmm.” You Ruxu was about to end the video call when she heard Zhou Tianzui say, “Don’t hang up.”
You Ruxu’s hand froze. She looked at Zhou Tianzui on the screen, her eyes closed, hearing her say, “Don’t hang up.”
She didn’t hang up, didn’t even touch her phone. Occasionally, when she looked up from her work, she would see Zhou Tianzui fast asleep. You Ruxu had never video called someone while they slept before. Back in university, she had seen her roommates in relationships, so clingy that they wouldn’t even hang up after falling asleep. She hadn’t understood it then, but now, she completely did.
She also didn’t want to hang up.
Every time she looked up, she would see Zhou Tianzui’s sleeping face, as if she was right beside her, a strange sense of comfort, making her movements lighter as she worked.
The next day, the weather was good. It was her last day of vacation. She woke up and reached for her phone. The video call had ended. Zhou Tianzui had sent a message at three in the morning: [Good night.]
She smiled, a slight parting of her lips.
Replied: [Morning.]
Zhou Tianzui quickly replied: [So early?]
You Ruxu had stayed up past two in the morning, but she felt surprisingly alert. She took her phone with her to the bathroom, messaging while brushing her teeth, messaging while using the restroom, messaging while making breakfast.
Her phone was practically glued to her hand.
Zhou Tianzui: [Aren’t you off today? Why don’t you sleep in?]
You Ruxu: [I want to go to the school today.]
Zhou Tianzui: [School?]
You Ruxu: [Yes, that child I mentioned last night, Yao Zhao, I’m going to look into the case.]
Zhou Tianzui: [Want me to come with you?]
You Ruxu: [No need, you should spend time with Auntie, Chen Xiang is coming over later, we’ll go together.]
Zhou Tianzui didn’t reply.
You Ruxu checked her phone again.
Still no reply.
She had sent the message ten minutes ago, hadn’t Zhou Tianzui seen it?
After a few more minutes, You Ruxu sent: [Zhou Tianzui?]
Zhou Tianzui: [?]
So she had seen it, then why didn’t she reply?
You Ruxu felt a flicker of annoyance, the emotion surfacing so quickly she hadn’t even realized it, when she saw Zhou Tianzui ask: [What’s wrong?]
You Ruxu: [Nothing.]
Zhou Tianzui: [Unhappy?]
You Ruxu, giving in to her emotions, asked: [Why didn’t you reply to my message earlier?]
Zhou Tianzui: [Because I’m also unhappy.]
You Ruxu: [What are you unhappy about?]
Then she realized and chuckled: [Because of Chen Xiang?]
Zhou Tianzui: [Yes.]
You Ruxu: [Childish.]
After sending the message, she realized she was being childish herself.
Getting upset over such a small matter.
Zhou Tianzui readily accepted the label “childish” and sent an emoji: [Coming for lunch?]
You Ruxu: [Okay, I’ll come after I’m done.]
Zhou Tianzui: [Should I pick you up? I’m going grocery shopping at noon anyway.]
You Ruxu: [Okay.]
After settling their plans, Chen Xiang called You Ruxu, who told Zhou Tianzui she was leaving. It was Friday, a school day. Chen Xiang, seeing You Ruxu, her eyes lit up, calling out, “Teacher You!!”
Her excitement was evident.
You Ruxu nodded, letting Chen Xiang, bundled up in layers of winter clothing, hug her tightly: “I missed you so much, Teacher You!”
Chen Xiang exclaimed, “I missed you so much I couldn’t even eat!”
You Ruxu said, “But you’ve gained weight.”
Chen Xiang: …
She looked at You Ruxu.
After walking a few steps, she looked at You Ruxu again, “Teacher You, you’ve changed.”
She had said this before, and You Ruxu would always just smile. What was going on now?!
You Ruxu thought, she must have been infected by Zhou Tianzui.
She chuckled.
Chen Xiang said, “That’s more like it, Teacher You. Are we going straight to the school?”
You Ruxu said, “Did you tell the boss?”
“No.” Chen Xiang said, “You have no idea, after you went on leave, the boss has been so busy. Guess what our team’s year-end evaluation was?”
You Ruxu looked at her.
Chen Xiang gave a thumbs-up: “All A’s!”
She said, “We made history!”
You Ruxu nodded.
Chen Xiang continued, “So the boss wants to give you a few extra days off, did she tell you?”
You Ruxu said, “Not yet.”
Chen Xiang said, “Then the news probably hasn’t come down yet. Are you coming back to the station tomorrow?”
You Ruxu hummed in agreement. She had nothing to do at home, it was time to get back to work. Chen Xiang said, “That summit you covered should be airing tomorrow or the day after, just in time for your return.”
They walked towards the school, which wasn’t far. You Ruxu asked Chen Xiang, “Have you met Yao Zhao?”
“Yes.” Chen Xiang said, “She’s a bit timid, afraid to speak, but her injuries are real.”
You Ruxu said, “What about her family?”
“Her father?” Chen Xiang scoffed, “He’s at home. It’s difficult to intervene in family matters, even the police, let alone us reporters, can’t easily handle news like this.”
That was also why Shi Qi didn’t want to cover this story. Often, such cases went nowhere. They were most afraid of the victim suddenly changing their story. In many domestic violence cases, at the very end, the victim would decide not to press charges or claim they misremembered. Considering various factors, sometimes because of children, sometimes because they still wanted to stay in the relationship, the cases would be dropped.
You Ruxu asked, “Is Yao Zhao afraid of you?”
“Terrified.” Chen Xiang said, “I’ve never met a child more timid than her, I’m afraid of scaring her even if I speak too loudly.”
It matched You Ruxu’s impression from last night.
You Ruxu nodded.
They registered their names with the security guard, who said, “Here to see Yao Zhao again?”
It seemed many people were looking for her.
You Ruxu asked, “Has anyone come to see her recently?”
“Not recently.” The security guard said, “A lot of reporters came a while ago, several every day, but not in the past few days.”
Presumably because the case had just surfaced, everyone wanted to get the scoop, but they didn’t follow up afterwards. You Ruxu nodded, thanked the security guard, and said to Chen Xiang, “Let’s go inside.”
It was break time between the second and third periods. You Ruxu and Chen Xiang stood at the door of Yao Zhao’s classroom. Chen Xiang wanted to approach, but You Ruxu grabbed her hand. Chen Xiang whispered, “What’s wrong, Teacher You?”
You Ruxu said, “Let’s observe for a bit.”
Yao Zhao was sitting in the fourth row of the first group, the seat closest to the window. Her deskmate, a girl, was doing her homework, her head lowered. Yao Zhao was reading. The sunlight fell on them, warm and comforting. The girl doing her homework looked up and asked Yao Zhao a question. Yao Zhao bit her lip, her eyes darting away, then lowered her head and explained the problem, her expression serious.
A few boys, seeing them studying, chuckled and walked past Yao Zhao’s desk, deliberately bumping into it, making it wobble. Yao Zhao lowered her head, not saying a word. Her deskmate, however, looked up angrily and shouted, “Are you crazy?!”
The boy retorted, “What? It was an accident!”
The girl glared at him, “If you can’t walk, get your legs amputated!”
The boy rolled his eyes, “I bumped into the mute’s desk, what’s it to you?!”
Yao Zhao kept her head down, her grip on the pen tightening. Chen Xiang frowned: “That’s too much!”
You Ruxu watched quietly for a while. The bell rang, and they returned to their seats. Yao Zhao finally looked up at the podium, her fair face bloodless, her bangs thick and dark, a stark contrast to her pale skin, making her look even more frail. You Ruxu said, “Let’s talk to her homeroom teacher first.”
They went to the office.
The homeroom teacher wasn’t surprised they were looking for Yao Zhao. Quite a few people had come looking for her recently, mostly media, but they didn’t follow up after a few days. The teacher said, “Yao Zhao’s grades are decent, but her father…” The teacher shook her head. “He said she should find a job after finishing middle school.”
She had probably talked to the father, her tone indignant yet resigned.
She had mentioned these things to the reporters who came before. She had initially thought that with all the attention on the case, it might help Yao Zhao, but unexpectedly, there was no follow-up. You Ruxu asked, “Did she ever mention her father hitting her?”
The teacher shook her head: “No, but she fainted during PE class a while ago. When Teacher Wu checked her, she found some injuries on her body. When asked, she said it was an accident.”
It was just a small incident. Only after the news broke did they realize it was probably her father who caused the injuries.
You Ruxu: “Where were the injuries?”
“Below her waist.” The teacher gestured towards her own waist. “Around here.”
You Ruxu nodded.
Leaving the office, Chen Xiang said, “That poor child, should we wait until lunchtime and talk to her then?”
You Ruxu said, “I have something to do at noon, I’ll come back later.”
Chen Xiang gave a small “oh.”
You Ruxu said, “Are you going back to the station?”
Chen Xiang nodded.
You Ruxu said, “Then take the equipment back for me.”
Chen Xiang said, “Sure.”
You Ruxu watched from the classroom doorway for about twenty minutes before leaving. Chen Xiang’s legs were numb, while You Ruxu still looked relaxed, which she couldn’t help but admire. After leaving, she kept pounding her legs to restore circulation. You Ruxu had just placed the equipment in Chen Xiang’s car when she received a call from Zhou Tianzui.
She waved goodbye to Chen Xiang and answered the call, hearing Zhou Tianzui ask, “Where are you?”
You Ruxu said, “Downstairs, where are you?”
“I’ll be right there.” Zhou Tianzui hung up. You Ruxu saw a figure in the distance, wearing a white down jacket, light blue pants, and casual shoes, her hair tousled by the wind, revealing her beautiful features. Passersby couldn’t help but turn and look.
Zhou Tianzui pulled up beside her and rolled down the window. You Ruxu opened the door and got in, asking, “Where’s Auntie?”
“At home watching TV.” Zhou Tianzui had said she was coming over and offered to cook, but Zhou Tianzui told her not to bother and said she would come pick her up after she was almost ready. There were two grocery bags in the backseat, filled with vegetables. After You Ruxu sat down, she heard Zhou Tianzui ask, “Did you go to the school?”
You Ruxu nodded, “I did.”
She said, “But she was in class, so I didn’t talk to her.”
Zhou Tianzui handed her a carton of milk, still warm. You Ruxu took it, glanced at Zhou Tianzui, smiled, and took a sip. It tasted sweet. She said, “I’m going to her house later.”
Zhou Tianzui asked, “Didn’t you say she’s scared of you?”
You Ruxu put down the milk and nodded: “Yes.”
Zhou Tianzui said, “Then what if she refuses to be interviewed?”
“That’s a possibility.”
Zhou Tianzui asked, “Then there’s nothing we can do?”
You Ruxu thought for a moment, “She needs to come forward herself.”
Only then could others help her.
Zhou Tianzui gripped the steering wheel. You Ruxu took another sip of milk, then watched Zhou Tianzui drive, her wrist slender and elegant, a red string bracelet loosely tied around it, the peach pit resting against her skin, making it look even fairer and smoother. You Ruxu’s gaze lingered on Zhou Tianzui’s waist, remembering the teacher’s words.
She called out, “Zhou Tianzui.”
Zhou Tianzui, her eyes fixed on the road, just hummed softly.
You Ruxu reached out and touched her jacket, her finger almost grazing the skin beneath, “How did you get this injury?”
Zhou Tianzui followed her gaze and glanced down at the spot below her waist. She tightened her grip on the steering wheel, her eyes on the road ahead, and said casually, “It was an accident.”
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