Amidst the passing cars and flashing lights, I turned my back. I didn't want to face the Maybach that was carrying Ye Zhi away. At that moment, I felt a sense of loss, as if I were standing at the center of the world, yet abandoned by the entire world.

It was my fault; I drove after drinking.

I took several deep breaths, then put the breathalyzer to my mouth and blew hard.

Chen Jin tried to argue for me, but the traffic police ignored him. He first took notes, then said to me, "Your blood alcohol content has reached the standard for drunk driving. Please show me your vehicle registration and driver's license."

I silently handed over my driver's license and vehicle registration.

Chen Jin then said to the traffic police officer, "Comrade, he wasn't driving the car..."

He paused briefly, then gritted his teeth and said, "I drove it, it really was me... I'm the one who should be punished!"

I didn't expect Chen Jin to be so loyal; he actually wanted to take the blame for the drunk driving. Touched, I didn't let him take the fall for me. I whispered to the traffic police officer who was looking at Chen Jin, "Comrade, I admit my mistake. Don't listen to his nonsense. You can check the surveillance footage for evidence... He was sitting in the passenger seat the whole time. I was driving."

My words had no effect. Another traffic officer handed the breathalyzer to Chen Jin and asked him to undergo the test as well.

In my opinion, this is meaningless, because I know very well that Chen Jin never actually touched the steering wheel.

...

Soon, the traffic police retrieved the surveillance footage from the area and confirmed that I was driving at the time... I asked to take the breathalyzer test again, and this time I got 85, which still met the standard for drunk driving.

I disagree with this result and request a blood test.

The blood test result was 87.

I was very unlucky; I was just a little short of meeting the legal limit for drunk driving.

Given my good attitude in admitting my guilt and the fact that no traffic accident occurred, I was ultimately exempted from prosecution, but I was still fined 6,000 yuan, detained for 15 days, and banned from driving for five years... a truly heavy price to pay!

...

I entered the detention center, changed into an identification uniform, and began a completely different life from the outside world. In the same cell, there were two people who came in for prostitution, one who was transferred from the detention center, and two others who were in for fighting.

Although it was a short time, I still felt extremely distressed by this intense constraint.

At the same time, a sense of shame also arises.

I hate being locked up with people who've been arrested for soliciting prostitution, because I've never done anything like that in my life; those two who got into a fight weren't any better, with dragon and phoenix tattoos on their arms and a domineering style... If it weren't for not wanting to cause any more trouble, I would have fought them long ago.

On the third day, the two who had solicited prostitutes were released, and then a drunk driver and a farmer who had stolen state-owned cables were brought in.

Drunk drivers don't deserve sympathy, and there's not much to say about them; but the farmer who stole the cables is truly pitiful... He decided to take the risk because his second son was sick and he couldn't afford the high medical expenses. However, he was discovered by a passing patrolman while dismantling the cables... Fortunately, his crime was not completed, otherwise it wouldn't have been as simple as just going to the detention center.

On the seventh day, another graduate student came in who had been arrested for soliciting prostitution... It's a very real problem. This guy was already 27 years old and had never had any sexual experience. So he spent 60 yuan to try it out at a roadside hair salon. Unexpectedly, he was arrested on his first time.

He was filled with remorse and felt ashamed to face anyone, which would greatly affect his future. However, when we chatted, he would still ask me what it felt like to have sex with a woman. He didn't want to rely on his right hand for the rest of his life, as he had developed a phobia of it.

He hated that he was a man with a face full of pimples, because no girl would like him because of his bad appearance; he also hated that a postgraduate degree was no longer a special qualification in today's society, and he had no special advantage in this competitive society.

He told me that during his days in detention, he was so desperate that he felt like he was dying... Every day he would think about writing something on his tombstone.

...

In this different world, I've thought a lot because of all sorts of people, and then I've become a little depressed... I'm in a bad mood. At least everyone else has a reason for coming in, but what about me?

On the eighth day, someone came to visit me. Before we met, I made many assumptions. I felt that anyone who would offer me comfort at this time was a truly good person.

Actually, I'm quite conflicted myself; three days ago, some friends came to visit me, but I yelled at them and they left... I know they meant well, but when I heard those words of comfort that didn't sound like words of consolation, I got really angry...

What does it mean to accept reform peacefully inside?

If it weren't for the emergency, I would never have chosen to drive under the influence. Subjectively, I had no inclination to make a mistake.

...

In the detention center's visiting area, Yang Sisi was sitting in a chair waiting for me. Today, she was wearing a denim jacket and had her hair in a ponytail. She didn't look like a working woman who was helping her father with his work. You could still feel her youth and vitality... It's only because she works at her father's company that she can retain this charm. If she were working for someone else, she probably wouldn't look like the person she was when we first met.

When she faced me, she didn't smile. Instead, she took out her driver's license from her pocket, waved it in front of me, and said, "You were the one who drove me from Shanghai to Dali... If one day I want to drive back to Shanghai from Dali, I'll have to rely on myself... I have a driver's license, and this month I'll have five years of driving experience... Isn't that ironic? You've also been banned from driving for five years... Do you know how long five years is?... You don't know, but I do... When I got this license, I had just turned 18... Now I'm almost an old auntie..."

I chuckled and replied, "Don't joke around, you have nothing to do with the term 'old auntie'."

"But five years later, you really have become a greasy middle-aged man... You haven't been able to drive for five years, just like a healthy person who suddenly loses a leg. Don't you regret it at all?"

I frowned, but I just couldn't bring myself to say the word "regret".

Tears welled up in Yang Sisi's eyes, then she nodded and said to me, "Okay, the day you leave, I'll have all my friends drive over. I'll make you understand how painful it is to have a car but not be able to drive it!"

"Isn't this a bit much to do to me?"

Yang Sisi looked at me with resentment, then suddenly sighed and said, "Forget it, I know you're not having an easy time in there... I won't say anymore... Anyway, it was all your own choice... Just like me, I came to see you willingly, knowing I shouldn't have come, shouldn't have been nice to you, you beast... but I just couldn't control myself... Oh, by the way, I brought you a few sets of underwear, change them often... I just deposited another five thousand yuan into your cash account, eat whatever you want... It's enough for you to eat until you get out... Just don't lose weight when you leave..."

I looked at Yang Sisi, wanting to say something, but in the end I lowered my head.