Chapter 209 The Truth Comes Out
“It’s not enough to just say who did it.” Chen Zhenzhu silenced the murmurs around her and tilted her head to ask Xiaobai, “Have you checked the bicycle tracks?”
Xiao Bai said, "Checking it now, it'll be ready soon."
Mai Cuiqiu was furious. Pointing at Lao Jiang, she said, "What did you do with my bike? You rode off in such a hurry, did you go to commit a crime?"
"Old Jiang, come with me for a moment." Wu Zhongguo called Old Jiang to a corner on the south side, and Shen Zhenzhu also went over.
Wu Zhongguo opened his notebook and asked Lao Jiang, "Where did the kitchen knife used in the crime go?"
Old Jiang said nervously, "I threw it in the trash heap, but someone might have picked it up."
Shen Zhenzhu stared at him with a forced smile, her arms crossed and she remained silent.
Wu Zhongguo said, "I hope you can tell the truth. We will investigate the facts thoroughly. Interfering with the investigation and fabricating confessions will also incur legal responsibility."
Chiang Kai-shek said firmly, "I'm willing to take the loss."
Seeing that he was unmoved by reason, Chen Zhenzhu leaned against the wall. From this angle, she could keep an eye on Lao Jiang while also keeping an eye on Jiang Yuan'an's every move.
During the brief pause in Chiang Kai-shek's conversation with Wu Zhongguo, Jiang Yuan'an subtly observed Chiang Kai-shek, his eyes revealing both struggle and a flash of ruthlessness.
Shen Zhenzhu spent a lot of time in the tenement, having identified a suspect in mind, just waiting for him to reveal his true colors.
Wu Zhongguo then asked Chiang Kai-shek, "Then say it again, where were you on December 4th?"
Old Jiang's eyes were cloudy and yellow. He slowly recalled, "I borrowed my wife's bicycle, and left right after borrowing it."
Unfazed by their standoff, Shen Zhenzhu beckoned Mai Cuiqiu over and asked, "What happened on December 4th?"
Mai Cuiqiu told the truth: "Old Jiang, Old Jiang, he ran to the door of my shop and wouldn't leave. My husband talked to him for most of the day and even drank some wine with him. He slept in the shop until midnight and said he wanted to go home. My husband was afraid that he would walk too late, so he lent him his bicycle."
Shen Zhenzhu said, "Then he left in the early morning of December 5th?"
Mai Cuiqiu said, "At least three or four points."
"I wanted to kill you that day, but I couldn't find the opportunity," Old Jiang said, his lips trembling. "I did it over the next few days. I... I can't forget you. I had a seizure, and I mistook everyone wearing a red scarf for you. I dragged them all home—"
Shen Zhenzhu observed Jiang Yuan'an's expression, which had changed to one of fear and disbelief, as he gripped the doorknob tightly to control his emotions.
Wu Zhongguo interrupted Chiang Kai-shek: "First, tell me what you were doing on the 6th? How did you commit the crime?"
Old Jiang said, "I was sitting outside a hotel waiting for someone to come and ask me to do some work. I saw a woman come out wearing a red scarf. By the time I noticed her, I had already followed her."
Shen Zhenzhu smiled and said, "According to the investigation, on the 6th, you were invited to a homeowner's house to do renovations, and you even helped to paint the bedroom white."
"Huh? I... I don't remember." Old Jiang looked down at his bandaged right hand, pursed his dry lips, and resolutely raised his head to say, "After I finished my work, I went with that woman, and then took her to Widow Li's abandoned house to kill her, but Dongbao kidnapped her."
Shen Zhenzhu pointed to the victims behind him and said, "Then who did you arrest? Point them out to me."
Old Jiang took two steps forward, swallowed hard, looked around, and pointed at Wang Jingjing, saying, "It's her."
Shen Zhenzhu said, "You're mistaken. Her name is Wang Jingjing. She went missing on the 8th while taking a walk near the neighborhood."
Old Jiang quickly pointed at Meng Wanjun and said, "That's her, that's right, it's her. My memory isn't good, I just remembered it wrong."
Shen Zhenzhu said, "I think you're not quite right in the head now."
Old Jiang's cloudy eyes darted around, and he breathed heavily for a few moments before saying, "I have a bad memory; I don't remember anything."
Shen Zhenzhu said, “It’s okay if you don’t remember, I’ll help you recall. On the 4th, you refused the job offer and stayed at your ex-wife’s hardware store until the early morning of the 5th. On the 6th, the homeowner who invited you to do plumbing and electrical work kept asking for your help for a week. On the 8th and 10th, the days of the incident, you were at the homeowner’s house doing renovations, so you had no time to commit the crime. Old Jiang, who do you want to take the blame for?”
As soon as Chen Zhenzhu finished speaking, everyone's eyes fell on Jiang Yuan'an. Jiang Yuan'an's face turned pale, and he gritted his teeth as he stared at Old Jiang.
Old Jiang suddenly twitched his neck excitedly and shouted at Shen Zhenzhu: "I didn't take the blame for anyone, I'm just stating the facts."
Wu Zhongguo sneered, "Facts my ass, you can't even make something up properly."
Xiao Bai ran over and whispered in Shen Zhenzhu's ear, "The bicycle tracks have been verified. The small gap where the tire was patched matches the scene perfectly."
Shen Zhenzhu nodded, looking at Lao Jiang without surprise, then shifting her gaze from Lao Jiang to Jiang Yuan'an standing at the door, before turning away and saying, "Lao Jiang, let me ask you one last question: you didn't ride your bicycle on the 10th, where did it go?"
Shen Zhenzhu was determined to investigate the case thoroughly and find the real culprit here. The situation was becoming increasingly clear, and the scene was deathly silent.
Even the onlookers outside dared not utter a sound.
A cold wind swept through, making Jiang Yuan'an look rather unwell.
His lips twitched a few times, and he clenched his fists and pressed them tightly against his trouser legs to control the shaking. Standing at the door, he said, "My dad misunderstood me."
Shen Zhenzhu smiled and walked to the eaves. Icicles formed a sharp sword between Jiang Yuan'an and Shen Zhenzhu.
What's the misunderstanding?
“He misunderstood that I was the murderer.” Jiang Yuan’an’s hands trembled as he took off his sweater and then his old vest. He turned around and pointed to the large abrasion on his right shoulder, saying, “He saw me come home with this injury and thought I had done something wrong. He was on edge. When he saw that you had investigated this far, he simply admitted that he did it. Actually, he misunderstood. The murderer was not me, but Dongbao.”
Dongbao, who was quietly keeping watch by Grandma Tong's bedside, heard her name mentioned again. She pushed aside the guard at the door and ran out: "Dongbao didn't do it!"
Jiang Yuan'an sneered, "Then did you inflict my injuries?"
Dongbao stood under the eaves a few steps away from him, dazed, and said, "Dongbao did it. No...it wasn't you. Dongbao didn't mean to hurt big brother. Dongbao wanted to cut you..."
“You see, he can’t even speak clearly. Actually, that night I saw him carrying someone home from Beigang Wharf while I was pushing my bicycle. I was worried about him, so I followed behind. That’s why there are traces of my bicycle there.”
Jiang Yuan'an spread his hands, revealing an incongruous smile, and said to Shen Zhenzhu, "When I saw him go behind the cat cage, I tried to go in through the cage too. Who knew I'd find him with an iron axe, about to kill someone. I tried to save him, but he injured me instead. I had no choice but to run away, never expecting my good intentions to be so misunderstood, with Comrade Ning Dujuan mistaking me for the murderer. I think she might... hehe, maybe her brain has been damaged too, and she doesn't even know who the real good person is."
After finishing his long speech, Jiang Yuan'an grinned at the other victims and said, "You all saw him hurt me with an axe, right? By the way, didn't he say he was going to kill you all? Do you really believe a fool's excuse? Didn't you witness him attacking me?"
Feng Le frowned, sensing something was wrong. He exchanged glances with Zhou Xiaoyang and Wang Jingjing, and nodded hesitantly.
Jiang Yuan'an then looked at the silent Teacher Fang: "You saw that it was Dongbao following you, right?"
Teacher Fang said hesitantly, "I think there was a shadow flash by at the time... but I didn't see it clearly."
Jiang Yuan'an asked again, "Did you see Dongbao following you?"
Teacher Fang nodded: "Yes."
Jiang Yuan'an spread his hands again, revealing an innocent smile and provocatively saying, "Look, everyone says it was Dongbao who did it. I also witnessed Dongbao imprisoning the victim with my own eyes, how can you misunderstand and blame me?"
Shen Zhenzhu said coldly, "Then why didn't you say so sooner?"
Jiang Yuan'an said with a smile, "I'm afraid he'll retaliate."
Shen Zhenzhu laughed too: "Full of loopholes."
Jiang Yuan'an's leisurely demeanor was suddenly stimulated by Chen Zhenzhu's words, like a machine that had been interrupted and stopped for two seconds. Suddenly, his head shook violently, and he pressed his hands to his temples to force the shaking to stop.
Right there, Dongbao broke through the agents' defenses, pointed at Jiang Yuan'an, and shouted, "10, 10!! Mom, 10 is here!"
Jiang Yuan'an seemed startled by Dongbao's shout, and sat down on the ground with a thud. She looked up at Dongbao, who was being controlled by the others, in a daze: "What's wrong?"
By this time, Chen Zhenzhu understood what was going on. She ordered someone to release Dongbao and watched as Dongbao ran towards her.
Dongbao's raised fist stopped abruptly in mid-air, and he murmured, "Big brother...big brother, you're back!"
Jiang Yuan'an looked at Dongbao in confusion and said, "It's me, what's wrong? Why are you all looking at me?"
Dongbao hugged Jiang Yuan'an tightly and cried, "Dongbao doesn't want second brother, I want big brother. Don't leave."
"Ah...don't cry, my head hurts so much." Jiang Yuan'an clutched her head, shaking violently. "My head is going to split open. No, I'm the murderer! I'm going to kill the woman in red scarf who brought me so much misfortune! I hate the woman in red scarf! I hate that woman!"
Dongbao burst into tears, defending Jiang Yuan'an and saying, "Dongbao knows it wasn't big brother who did it, it wasn't him."
Shen Zhenzhu tried to pull him away, but Dongbao clung to Jiang Yuan'an tightly and wouldn't let go, adding fuel to the fire by saying, "Dongbao is going to kill Second Brother. If Dongbao takes Second Brother away, Big Brother can stay."
Mai Cuiqiu was stamping her feet anxiously in the distance, desperately trying to get over, but the operative blocked her way: "Why is he having an attack too? Didn't they say he wouldn't have an attack after taking the medicine?"
Aunt Liu was startled by her words and hurriedly asked, "What illness? Don't tell me he has a mental illness too?"
Mai Cuiqiu slapped her thigh anxiously and said, "His father has a mental illness, otherwise why would I be unable to live with him? Every time he has an episode, I'm afraid you'll look down on us, so I just say he's drunk and causing trouble."
Aunt Liu said angrily, "Good heavens, why didn't you tell us you were mentally ill? Aren't you afraid they'll stab us?"
Mai Cuiqiu hesitated before saying, "Am I scared too?"
Just then, Jiang Yuan'an, whom Dongbao was holding, shouted, took a deep breath, and gasped for air. He pressed down on his uncontrollable right hand and yelled, "Dongbao has already said that he did it, so why aren't you arresting him?!"
Seeing this, Dongbao shoved him aside and swung his fist at him, yelling, "Dongbao will kill you! Dongbao is an idiot, I won't pay you back if I kill you!"
Zhao Qiqi rushed up, grabbed Dongbao by the waist, and threw him aside. The two of them tumbled and rolled into the yard.
Xiaobai helped hold Dongbao down and called out, "Dongbao, don't make things worse! Go inside and see your grandma, okay?"
"No, no, no, no—" Dongbao said a series of "no"s, turning her head to look at Jiang Yuan'an under the eaves while crying: "Give Dongbao's big brother back to Dongbao, waah—Dongbao doesn't want you, Dongbao wants her big brother!"
The investigators outside rushed in, holding the clues they had found inside Widow Li's house. They said, "Sister Pearl, besides human blood, we also found cat blood over there. Although the house had been cleaned up, we still found the fingerprints of the suspect, Jiang Yuan'an. However, we didn't find the kitchen knife."
Shen Zhenzhu looked at the pale-faced old Jiang and said, "You deliberately led us to Widow Li's house to buy time so that Ning Dujuan would bleed to death, leaving no one to testify against her, right?"
Old Jiang covered his forehead, tears streaming through his fingers: "Foolish, foolish!"
Jiang Yuan'an bumped into the threshold, and the wound on his shoulder burst open.
He squinted, took a deep breath, and stared intently at Dongbao, who was throwing a tantrum in the yard: "I'm not like Dongbao. I go to work every day. Being a loader is tiring; I never committed a crime—"
“You have it.” Zhu Min, who had been hiding in the house, pushed open the door and held a letter in her hand. “This is the dismissal letter that the girl next door asked me to give you a few days ago. She said she was embarrassed to give it to you, but she was afraid that her boss would be angry if she didn’t, so she asked me to give it to you. I forgot about it that day and planned to give it to you later, but I saw you going to and from get off work every day and thought that you hadn’t been fired, so I didn’t take it out.”
Jiang Yuan'an's face turned ugly, his complexion alternating between red and green, his face contorting and twitching. He shouted, "Impossible! He said he would go to work, why isn't he going to work?"
Shen Zhenzhu pressed further, "Who is this 'he' you're talking about?"
Jiang Yuan'an was taken aback, gritting his teeth and refusing to speak.
A little head peeked out from the crack in the door that Zhu Min had opened, and the older girl said in a childish voice, "My sister and I always see you wandering around Beigang Park on our way to and from school, and sometimes you even hit yourself!"
Zhu Min pressed her head down and made her go inside: "Children shouldn't talk nonsense."
Then another little head popped up and said, "He doesn't even go to work! I see him all the time! Mom said one mentally ill person is enough, how come there's another one? She told us not to talk about it. She's afraid we'll get beaten up by that idiot and won't be able to pay compensation!"
Now that things had come to this, Zhu Min had nothing left to hide. After handing the resignation letter to Chen Zhenzhu, she said with a bitter smile, "After dropping my child off at school, I go to work as a nanny for others. Sometimes when I pass by Beigang Park, I see Xiao Jiang walking ahead with Dongbao following behind. I can't be sure if they're working together, so I tell my child not to talk nonsense. Sigh, I'm really on edge every day."
Dongbao got up from the ground, spat out the mud from his mouth, and said, covered in dirt, "Dongbao is following the bad guy, but he has to protect his big brother!"
Shen Zhenzhu quickly read the dismissal letter; its contents matched what Zhu Min had said. Jiang Yuan'an had already been dismissed.
Shen Zhenzhu handed the dismissal letter to Wu Zhongguo, then went to Dongbao's side, helped him up, and asked gently, "Dongbao, tell everyone, what are you doing following the other mothers?"
Dongbao didn't want to talk to Chen Zhenzhu at first, but after smacking her lips, she thought that mud was not as delicious as candy, and said in a cooperative tone, "You're so silly. Dongbao follows big brother to protect big brother, and Dongbao follows mother to protect mother."
Ning Dujuan's face was incredibly pale, and she weakly looked at Dongbao, opening her mouth as if to speak. Before she could utter a sound, Dongbao ran over and squatted down in front of her obediently, saying, "Mom, go to sleep. Dongbao will protect you."
Ning Dujuan softly hummed in agreement and said, "I'm absolutely sure I didn't see wrong. The person who hurt me definitely wasn't you. You saved me, and you saved all of us."
Her words left Feng Le, Wang Jingjing, and Zhou Xiaoyang speechless. They exchanged glances, completely taken aback. Ning Dujuan had been "rescued" by that person, only to be brought back covered in blood. They had assumed Dongbao was responsible.
“If Dongbao wanted to kill me, why did he bring me back?” Ning Dujuan leaned on Dongbao’s arm, staring at the blood bag being administered, and whispered, “It was truly a nightmare.”
Feng Le loudly questioned Dong Bao: "Since you wanted to save us, even if we thought you were going to kill us, why did you gag us?"
"Otherwise, we could call for help too." Zhou Xiaoyang wasn't sure what Dongbao meant either. Every time he gave them food, he would quickly stuff it back into their mouths after they finished eating.
Dongbao said unhappily, "You guys are cursing Dongbao. You ate Dongbao's food and you still keep cursing Dongbao. Dongbao doesn't even have food to eat, and you were beaten by the Cat King. The Cat King even scratched Dongbao's hands."
Zhao Qiqi was speechless.
Dongbao is burly and fierce, which is terrifying. So when Dongbao wanted to kill Tielian, the victims thought he was going to kill them and wouldn't let Dongbao get close.
Dongbao wanted to let them go, but they cursed at Dongbao out of fear, so they were gagged again.
Ah, no suffering is ever in vain.
Aunt Liu suddenly realized: "No wonder there was blood on your hands, so that's why."
Dongbao stretched out her hand and chuckled, "Dongbao, it's alright, don't be sad."
"You still know how to comfort me." Aunt Liu sighed, "It's a pity you're such a kind-hearted fool."
Dongbao was happy again: "Yes, Dongbao is a good fool."
The misunderstanding between Dongbao and the victims was cleared up, but Lao Jiang still couldn't believe his ears.
"You didn't go to work?" Old Jiang couldn't believe his son would lie to him. Pointing at Jiang Yuan'an with trembling eyes, he said, "Do you know how much effort I put into getting you a job? Is it easy for people like us to find work?"
Jiang Yuan'an's lips curled into a mocking smile, mercilessly scorning Old Jiang's face: "To get me a job, you borrowed money to bribe the director of Beigang Wharf, but what did they take you for? You knelt down begging them to take me in, and then they made a laughing stock of it all over the wharf. A hundred yuan, what couldn't you do with that? You gave it to a dog?! How am I supposed to work there? I simply can't do it!"
"But you can't kill people!" Old Chiang said, sobbing uncontrollably, "How could I have given birth to a son like you?"
"At first, I only wanted to kill Mai Cuiqiu, but you realized it, didn't you?" "Jiang Yuan'an" said gleefully, "I committed a crime, and you took the blame for me, even willing to go to jail yourself. Losing my job has caused you to break down. Don't you even know what's important? You value a job more than your life?"
Old Jiang raised his arm and rubbed his eyes, saying, "You have no idea how hard it is to find a job. My biggest wish in this life was to have a stable job and a stable life, but I have nothing left, nothing left at all."
"Jiang Yuan'an" shook his head violently back and forth, like a fish that had landed on the shore and was wagging its tail vigorously.
He slapped his uncontrollable cheek, then laughed loudly, saying, "You are what you are, and you give birth to a son like him. I hate you, why did you give birth to me? Why?! And her, Mai Cuiqiu, how can you just abandon your own son like that? Leaving such a young child in front of a mental patient, do you think he'll have a good life? I wasn't sick before, I only became sick because of the two of you!"
Jiang Yuan'an's heart-wrenching accusations echoed throughout every corner of the courtyard. Old Jiang kept rubbing his eyes and muttering, "I should have locked you up the very first day you showed me those photos. I never expected... I really never expected..."
Mai Cuiqiu's nose turned red. She lowered her head to take out her handkerchief and said in a hoarse voice, "Your dad always beats me, but he forgets about it afterward. You're too young to remember, but I don't want to be beaten to death. I can't bear to part with you either, but he's afraid that if I take you away, I'll never see you again, so he insists on keeping you here before divorcing me."
When Jiang Yuan'an heard these words for the first time, in a moment of relaxation, she spoke in the same voice but with a different, urgent tone: "Mother, I don't blame you. It's good that you're gone. From now on, just pretend you never gave birth to me!"
Mai Cuiqiu was stunned for a moment, then burst into tears: "How come you're even sicker than your father?"
Jiang Yuan'an scrambled to his feet, ignoring the officers' attempts to stop him, and tried to speak. Suddenly, his hands went out of his control, gripping his own neck tightly: "Ah!—Let go—let go!"
Jiang Yuan'an and "Jiang Yuan'an" fought inside the same body.
They fell to the ground, then got up again. Their arms were entangled, and they blurted out, "You're crazy, don't take it out!" "No, I'm turning myself in!" "Then we'll die together!" "You're not me!" "I'm Jiang Yuan'an!" "I am Jiang Yuan'an!"...
Shen Zhenzhu and the others rushed forward, restrained Jiang Yuan'an, and handcuffed him.
At this moment, Jiang Yuan'an suddenly knelt on the ground and said clearly, "Quick, I know where the kitchen knife is hidden. Let me go get it."
Shen Zhenzhu let go of his hand and followed closely behind Jiang Yuan'an.
Jiang Yuan'an got up from the ground and went into the house, twitching occasionally, probably because the "Jiang Yuan'an" inside her body wanted to regain control of her body.
With Shen Zhenzhu's help, he moved the wardrobe aside, and behind the wardrobe was a crack in the wall, through which the handle of a kitchen knife was visible.
With tears streaming down his face, he took out a kitchen knife, about to hand it to Chen Zhenzhu, when suddenly his eyes changed, and he grabbed the knife back: "I'll kill you!"
Shen Zhenzhu quickly withdrew her hand and dodged to the side, almost getting her palm cut.
With his last ounce of strength, Jiang Yuan'an swung the kitchen knife toward the door!
Standing at the door, Old Jiang never expected that "Jiang Yuan'an" would attack him!
In a flash, a gunshot rang out, "Bang!"
Jiang Yuan'an screamed and collapsed to the ground, clutching his shot-injured right arm.
Shen Zhenzhu sheathed her pistol and warned, "Don't move!"
In an instant, Wu Zhongguo, Xiaobai, and others pinned him down.
Jiang Yuan'an was crying and laughing at the same time. His incoherent speech caused blood to trickle from the corner of his lips.
He glimpsed Mai Cuiqiu, who was hesitant and fearful, through the gaps in the crowd, and said through gritted teeth, "I hate you all, I hate the red scarf. If it weren't for Dongbao getting in my way, I would have killed you all long ago!"
Dongbao followed Jiang Yuan'an wholeheartedly, protecting him. When Jiang Yuan'an arrested someone, he followed. When Jiang Yuan'an killed someone, he kidnapped them. Jiang Yuan'an couldn't drive Dongbao away, nor could he drive him off with words. He, too, hated Dongbao intensely!
Dongbao was also held down by the police. He sat on the ground and wailed, "Give big brother back to Dongbao, Dongbao doesn't want you."
Grandma Tong, who had woken up at some point, was helped to Dongbao's side and comforted him by stroking his strong back: "Good boy, Grandma knew you were a good boy."
Dongbao cried even louder: "Dongbao listens to Grandma, why don't they listen to Dongbao!"
These words, like a question, struck the hearts of Feng Le and the others.
The events unfolded in a bizarre and unexpected way, completely contrary to their expectations. Who would have thought that a fool would be so devoted to saving lives, while another madman would switch personalities and try to kill them?
Feng Le recognized Jiang Yuan'an. When the words "stevedore" and Jiang Yuan'an's accusations were mentioned, she whispered, "So that person was you. If it were me... I wouldn't have the face to go to work either."
Hearing this, Old Jiang became even more distressed. He held his head in his hands and said in a sorry state, "I just wanted my son to have food to eat in the future, so he wouldn't end up like me. What did I do wrong?"
"No work, no food; kowtowing won't help." When Dongbao was little, he thought that praying to the Bodhisattva could really make his wishes come true. He kowtowed to the Kitchen God statue that others had thrown away, but he still didn't get a bite to eat.
He learned his lesson after that experience and knew that his grandmother was right. He said even louder, "Grandma said that if I help you with more chores, someone will feed Dongbao after she dies!"
These words brought tears to the eyes of everyone present, but Dongbao took them as gospel. Grandma Tong stroked Dongbao's head, kissed him, and said, "Well said, that's how Grandma taught you."
When Wu Zhongguo mentioned the "Jiang Yuan'an" lying on the ground, he sighed and said, "Although the fool is foolish, he is foolish to the best of his ability."
Xiao Bai picked up the kitchen knife and carefully showed it to Chen Zhenzhu, saying, "That's because he was well-educated. His grandmother has a strong sense of values, which is why he has a bottom line."
Shen Zhenzhu noticed bloodstains on the hidden kitchen knife; at this point, it was time to head home.
Jiang Yuan'an was led away from the scene and walked to Dongbao's side. He knelt down with a thud: "Dongbao, your brother didn't mean to frame you. You must believe me. Sometimes I don't remember what I did, sometimes I can't control myself, it's intermittent, and I'm in a lot of pain too."
Dongbao stepped forward and hugged Jiang Yuan'an, sobbing, "Big brother, don't go. Dongbao doesn't blame you. It was other bad guys who did it, not you."
Jiang Yuan'an burst into tears. He looked up at the dark, cloud-covered sky, and the courtyard where he had grown up now felt completely unfamiliar.
He gave a wry smile, his lips twitching uncontrollably. Jiang Yuan'an said, "Dongbao, I wish I were as silly as you."
Dongbao didn't know what to say. His limited vocabulary made him open his mouth and repeat, "Dongbao knows you didn't do it. Dongbao doesn't blame you."
Tears streamed down Jiang Yuan'an's face as she choked out, "Thank you, Dongbao. You're the person who understands me best in the world. It really wasn't me. I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I... I... it was Dongbao who did it! It was Dongbao who did it! I won't confess! I won't confess!"
"Quick, take him away." Shen Zhenzhu saw "Jiang Yuan'an" reappear and stood in front of Dongbao, saying, "Let's go back first."
The medical staff standing next to Ning Dujuan urged, "Let's go, your body can't take it if this continues."
Meng Wanjun was also helped to her feet by Qian Minghai. She walked unsteadily to Dongbao's side and wiped away Dongbao's tears with the back of her hand: "Dongbao, thank you."
She then grasped Grandma Tong's hand and said, "Grandma, thank you. We would have starved to death without your dried sweet potatoes."
Grandma Tong was almost completely exhausted. She choked back tears as she said, "I never expected this to happen. If you hadn't taken me, none of this would have happened—"
Meng Wanjun wiped away Grandma Tong's tears and said softly, "It's all over now, Grandma. If it weren't for me, it would have been someone else. This is the best ending. Thank you for raising such a wonderful Dongbao. He is the best gift this city's winter has given us."
Dongbao was still a little angry with them, and said in a low voice again: "Dongbao wanted to kill Tielian to let you leave, but you refused to leave and even ate all of Dongbao's friend's food. Dongbao was so hungry that she tried to steal Cat King's food, but Cat King beat her up."
Meng Wanjun wiped away her tears and said with a forced smile, "Dongbao, don't be angry. I will definitely thank you properly, really."
She reached out her hand and said gently to Dongbao, "I'll pinky swear with you. From today onwards, I'll be your friend too."
Dongbao's eyes lit up suddenly, and she said happily, "Really? You really want to be my friend? I don't even have a friend with two legs yet!"
Meng Wanjun hooked Dongbao's finger with her own, gently shook it, and said, "Pinky promise, never to change, Dongbao, I will never forget you in this lifetime."
Feng Le, Wang Jingjing, and Zhou Xiaoyang also came over, supporting each other. They felt guilty in front of Dongbao, as they had almost harmed the person who helped them.
"Dongbao, I want to be your friend too. I can cook lots of delicious food, and I'll come find you again later."
"And me, my name is Feng Le, I work at Beigang Wharf, you can come find me to hang out with later."
"Dongbao, I will tell your classmates about what you did so that they can all learn from you."
Surrounded by a group of kind and gentle "mothers," Dongbao rubbed his face vigorously and said foolishly, "Is Dongbao dreaming?"
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Author's Note: Cat King (angry) leaps and bounds: Meow, where is my food!
***
See you tomorrow, there are 100 red envelopes! [Let me see]
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