The meeting room was eerily quiet. Zhou Shuhua had just finished her righteous accusations, and the three members of the Xu family had also finished their "testimonies" like a theatrical performance. The atmosphere was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.
Every gaze, like a small knife, was fixed on Zhou Qiqi.
But what about Zhou Qiqi?
There wasn't a trace of panic on his face; on the contrary, it was as if he had expected this to happen.
She even had a cold smirk on her lips, as if to say, "As expected, they've come."
The secretary's icy questions had just come down on her when she didn't rush to protest her innocence, nor was she intimidated by his imposing manner.
He simply and calmly unzipped his cloth bag.
He pulled an old envelope out of his bag, opened it, and shook out a few old train tickets and scraps of paper.
"Commander, fellow committee members,"
Zhou Qiqi's voice was clear and steady, standing out particularly well in the quiet conference room.
"The story they told sounds quite convincing. Unfortunately, they overlooked one thing—time!"
She deftly picked out several ticket stubs from the envelope and spread them out on the table.
"This one,"
She picked up a crumpled long-distance bus ticket.
"The bus ticket from the town to the city departs at nine in the morning and arrives at the bus station at four-thirty in the afternoon."
"This one,"
He picked up another train ticket.
"After getting off at the bus station, I rushed to catch the 5:10 train and arrived at the provincial capital's train station at 6:15."
Finally, she showed a train station receipt stamped with a red seal.
"Look, the departure time is around 6:15."
She pushed the old tickets forward and looked directly at the secretary.
"Commander, this is the entire distance I traveled to the provincial capital that day. By the time I got off the train, it was already dark. I went straight to the guesthouse where I had arranged to meet Xu Shu."
She paused, her gaze sweeping over Lin Yao, Xu Shu, and Zhou Shuhua, whose faces were beginning to stiffen, her words laced with sarcasm.
"It took more than an hour to walk from the train station to the guesthouse. By the time I got there, it was completely dark. Less than ten minutes later, the 'catching them in the act' happened."
Zhou Qiqi's gaze swept over Lin Yao, Xu Shu, and Zhou Shuhua, whose faces were beginning to turn ugly, before finally returning to the secretary.
"Commander, leaders, please be the judge! In just over an hour, I had to ask for directions, hurry along, and didn't even have time to drink water. How could I possibly have the time, as Director Zhou suggested, to first 'inquire' about where Regiment Commander Shen was staying, and then rack my brains to figure out how to 'catch him in the act'? The timeline just doesn't match up at all!"
Her voice was not loud, but every word was clear, like a stone thrown into still water, creating ripples.
The secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission frowned.
He stared at Zhou Qiqi, then glanced at the old ticket stubs on the table, said nothing, and gestured with his chin toward the guard standing at the door.
The guard immediately stepped forward, carefully gathered the tickets, and presented them to the secretary.
The secretary picked up the tickets and examined them one by one, running his fingers over the words and red stamps on the tickets with great care.
Shen Huaichuan's tightly clenched fist loosened slightly as he looked at Zhou Qiqi, his eyes gleaming with undisguised pride—his wife was truly amazing!
Zhou Qiqi's gaze also turned to Shen Huaichuan as if by telepathy. She blinked and a smug smile appeared on her lips.
The secretary repeatedly checked the date, time, and location on the ticket, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper.
He raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as a knife, no longer cold as before, but filled with heavy doubt and scrutiny, as he swept his gaze across Lin Yao, Xu Shu, and Zhou Shuhua's faces.
"How do you explain all this?"
All the pressure suddenly fell on the side that filed the complaint.
Lin Yao and Xu Shu's expressions changed instantly, their eyes flashing. Neither of them expected that Zhou Qiqi would keep the train ticket from more than three months ago!
"This...this ticket..."
Xu Zao was the first to react and tried to question it.
"Sir, is this ticket real? So much time has passed, could it be...?"
Xu Shu, as if grasping at a lifeline, hurriedly and stammered in agreement.
"Yes, yes! Commander, maybe...maybe she took a different train earlier and bought a lot of tickets!"
Before anyone could speak, Zhou Shuhua shook her head and said...
“Secretary, the chances are too slim! She’s just a country girl who relies on letters of introduction from the village to get around. The ticket seller at the station won’t let her pick and choose how many trains she wants to take. Besides, the tickets aren’t cheap.”
Although she was convinced that Zhou Qiqi had a problem, she was still reasonable when it came to these common-sense matters.
Only Lin Yao quickly managed to calm herself down from the panic. She quickly found another way out and said urgently.
"Sir! Even if she arrives at the train station around 6:00, that doesn't prove anything! It only costs 15 cents to take the bus from the train station to the guesthouse! It's fast and convenient, taking at most 20 minutes! Who would be stupid enough to walk for more than an hour instead of taking the bus?"
She became more and more excited as she spoke, clapping her hands.
"Yes! That's right! She must have gone there by car beforehand! If she really had bad intentions, wouldn't an hour be enough for her to cause trouble? Leaders, please don't be fooled by her!"
Lin Yao's words had a "why not eat meat porridge" flavor to them.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Qiqi was so angry she laughed, and retorted without any politeness.
"Comrade Lin Yao, you, a young lady from a wealthy family, probably don't know the hardship of toiling in the fields, do you? Fifteen cents is nothing to you, but to a farmer, it can buy half a pound of salt, enough to feed a family for many days! Why not save money if you can? So what if you walk? It wears out your shoes but not your money!"
Although Zhou Qiqi did not approve of the original owner's behavior of enduring hardship, she could still understand it.
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