Su Rongcheng placed Su Rongxing behind him, his face full of gloom.
The man saw that the newcor wasn’t friendly and didn’t want to stir up trouble. He muttered a few curses to save face and slunk away.
"You’re getting bolder and bolder! Not coming back all night! And now drinking?" Su Rongcheng turned around, giving her a scolding.
If there was anyone Su Rongxing allowed to scold her in this world, it could only be Su Rongcheng. In her eyes, only Su Rongcheng was impartial, sharing the sa blood as her.
She grinned and shook the glass in her hand, "Just setting the scene, I’m not foolish enough to get myself drunk."
"Then what are you doing here?"
"I’m waiting for soone." She glanced toward the entrance; no one had arrived.
"Who are you waiting for?" Su Rongcheng also looked over.
She linked arms with him, "Never mind, since you are here, there’s no need to wait. No one is more important than you! Let’s go ho with you!"
Su Rongcheng was amused, "Stop with the flattery!"
"I’m serious!" She looked at him; she really ant it.
"Then let’s go ho!" Su Rongcheng led her away, asking as they went, "Where were you last night?"
"Well, I drank, and fearing a scolding, I just slept at the hotel!"
"When you want to drink in the future, call to join you. Girls can easily suffer..."
"Got it!" Distracted, she glanced at the door. A man flickered into her sight. She pretended not to see and followed Su Rongcheng’s lead. The man sensibly stopped and concealed himself.
That day was cloudy; early in the morning, the clouds were heavy and low. When Tu Hengsha left the house, Shu Hui reminded her to take an umbrella. She nodded but didn’t tell Shu Hui where she was going.
Su Ronggui’s car waited downstairs for her, his expression as dark and oppressive as the sky.
As the car door sounded, his gloom quickly reined in.
Tu Hengsha got in, smiled at him, "Drive."
He started the car but hesitated several tis, wanting to speak but not.
"What’s wrong?" She asked, looking at him.
He smiled, "It’s nothing, let’s go."
Beishan Prison.
It wasn’t their first visit. The prison commissar was sowhat familiar with them, greeting them with a smile and offering cooperation, "Coming here for research is good, finding the social and psychological roots of their cris and writing about it serves as a warning with educational significance. We’ve selected so representative cases for you. You can first look at the materials to see if these subjects align with your interview goals. Feel free to make any requests."
The commissar handed them a stack of files.
The files weren’t allowed to be taken out; they could only read them there. The commissar didn’t disturb them, leaving the ti and space to them.
"I’ll take a look!" Su Ronggui reached to grab the stack.
Tu Hengsha held it tightly, "No, I’ll look first!"
She rifled through the files, finally finding Tu Chenggong’s na.
She couldn’t wait to open it, but before she could read closely, three characters caught her eye: Xu Pingzhang...
Xu Pingzhang... Xu Pingzhang...
A black-and-white baby photo flashed through her mind, labeled: Pingzhang’s Hundred Days Photo...
It turned out reality was always harsher than she imagined.
She thought the worst had passed, but it hadn’t. This was the heaviest blow; she couldn’t foresee any future blows...
Her face turned pale, her lips trembled, and the hand holding the files shook. The words blurred before her eyes into small squares, none able to penetrate her brain.
"Tu Hengsha!" His hand reached over.
She hastily covered the files with her hand, protecting them, looking up at him.
Had he seen? Had he seen clearly? But even if he didn’t see, how could she face him again?
Her tears stread down, leaving him behind, abandoning the files, she ran out frantically.
She heard him calling her na behind her. She covered her ears and fled, tears spraying in the wind.
She couldn’t outrun him; she felt his hand on her shoulder. She shook it off forcefully, turned back and wailed, "Don’t touch ! I don’t want to see you...don’t!" I don’t want you to hate , can’t bear the contempt in your eyes, so please, let return to my corner...
A car approached; she lost control and almost got hit.
He shouted, "Be careful!"
"Don’t co near ! If you don’t co, I’ll be fine!" she cried tearfully.
A taxi arrived. The person inside exited, and she imdiately got in, closing the door and telling the driver, "To Hongliu Road Primary School."
He knocked on the window, intending to get in.
"Ignore him! Lock the doors and go!" she urged anxiously.
The driver didn’t know what was going on, this being a prison, he feared the girl might be in so trouble, imdiately locking the doors and driving off quickly.
Xu Pingzhang’s na kept repeating in Tu Hengsha’s mind, the image of the Hundred Days photo, and the files left open on the table.
The car drove far away. She looked back; his figure was no longer visible now. If he returned, he would see everything in the files. The person nad Tu Chenggong, the person nad Tu Hengsha, to him, would no longer be the sa as before, right?
She rembered once thinking: if soday Xiao Xu let go of her hand, she would not bla him, only be grateful for everything he’d given her. Even today, if Xiao Xu hated her deeply, he would still be in her heart as Xiao Xu, even though today she was the one who first let go. Consider it, a sensitive self leaving herself the last dignity...
The car brought her back to school; Shu Hui should be at work now. She wandered into Shu Hui’s office, lost.
Shu Hui was working with her head down. Another teacher told her that her daughter had arrived. She turned to see her daughter standing at the door, not coming in, looking dazed and not right. For no reason, she had a sense of foreboding.
"Little Sha!" She got up, pulling her daughter to a private corner before asking, "What’s wrong?"
Tu Hengsha’s gaze slowly focused on Shu Hui, recalling Shu Hui’s advice during the Mid-Autumn Festival, trembling as she asked, "Mom, you knew all along..."
"Knew what?" Shu Hui tidied her hair, oblivious to where she’d been, her hair a ss.
Tu Hengsha shook her head, struggling to say the na that stung her heart, "Xu Pingzhang..."
Shu Hui’s face changed.
Tu Hengsha understood, feeling as if a knife twisted in her heart, "Xu Pingzhang...why? Why did he kill Xu Pingzhang back then?"
Shu Hui sighed, "Who told you? The Xu family? Shang Qingi?"
"Does it matter who told ? You always knew, why didn’t you tell ?" Never having cried before Shu Hui, her eyes reddened.
"Mom just wanted you to live the life you wished for..." Shu Hui’s gaze was complex.
"But this kind of life will eventually beco unbearable, won’t it?" Tu Hengsha clutched Shu Hui’s sleeve, "Why?"
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