Chapter 30
"Yesterday at 4:07 PM, an explosion occurred at the Donghe Refining and Chemical Hydrotreating Unit, located southwest of Donghe Town. As of 12:00 AM this morning, the accident resulted in one death and two injuries."
The room was dim, lit only by a faint light strip under the bed, mostly obscured by the draped sheets. The curtains were drawn, shutting out the city lights and moonlight. On the wall directly opposite the foot of the bed, a large television screen became the only intermittently bright object in the room.
"According to relevant sources, the two injured employees received timely medical treatment and are no longer in danger of death. The specific cause of the accident is under investigation by relevant departments."
On TV, the young news anchor has a clear voice and articulate words.
Tang Ruxin sat cross-legged on her bed, the light flickering in the television. Scattered around her were bags of three different flavors of potato chips, a half-skinned plate of pistachios and pecans, two unopened lollipops, and a pack of cigarettes. Five cigarettes, each half-smoked, were stuck like swords in the blue gel of an ashtray nearby.
She held a lollipop in her mouth, puffed out her cheeks, and bent down to fold a paper airplane. After folding it, she blew on it twice and flew it towards the TV.
The wall below the TV is covered with all kinds of paper airplanes.
This was the method her late stepmother had taught her—whether it was a wish or a grudge, write it on a piece of paper, fold it into the shape of an airplane, and let it fly into the sky, the place closest to the gods. If the gods in heaven saw it, the wish would be fulfilled and the grudge would be resolved.
So, as a child, she folded many paper airplanes. To make them fly higher, she learned countless ways to fold them. It wasn't until after her mother died that she realized no matter how many paper airplanes she made, they wouldn't be able to get rid of Yu Zhe. She knew it was fake, but she didn't feel sad. She knew her mother was just trying to make her happy.
Jiang Yueyao died early and fell ill even earlier, leaving her nothing, so she left behind this useless habit of folding airplanes.
After folding paper airplanes in all the ways she could remember, Tang Ruxin rubbed her stiff neck and raised her head. After looking up at the sky for a few seconds, she looked at the TV.
The news anchor on TV was already reporting other news: a child was lost and was sent to the police station by a kind-hearted person; a truck overturned and everyone worked together to retrieve the fruit... The announcer's expression and tone were no different from when reporting a fatal accident.
Tang Ruxin sighed silently, turned off the TV, and then collapsed on the bed with her arms and legs spread out.
She had a green apple-flavored lollipop in her mouth, and her hands fumbled around within the reach she could reach without moving her body, then she found her cell phone in a bag of potato chips.
Tang Ruxin rubbed the phone screen upside down on the bed sheet and called Tong Jiayu.
"I'll come find you." Tang Ruxin whispered in the darkness, "I'm so bored."
"The lights in the hospital have been turned off. It's past visiting hours." Tong Jiayu's voice was so low that it was almost a whisper.
"Then I'll go tomorrow morning." Tang Ruxin muttered.
"You will meet reporters and people from self-media." Tong Jiayu said with a hint of smile.
Tang Ruxin curled her lips and had to give up.
"Does your leg still hurt?" Tang Ruxin asked, "Tell me if you need anything, and I'll have someone run errands for you."
"That sounds familiar. I told you that not long ago." Tong Jiayu finally couldn't help laughing, and then immediately lowered her voice, "It must hurt. It's a broken bone, and the plaster is half a meter thick."
Seeing that Tang Ruxin didn't say anything for a while, Tong Jiayu immediately said:
"Don't worry, you'll be discharged in half a month. You just need to recuperate and do rehabilitation training."
After a long while, Tang Ruxin said "hmm" softly.
"You should eat well at home, don't stay up late, and don't smoke so much. Got it? Have some conscience and don't make me worry about you while I'm in the hospital."
Tang Ruxin took a deep breath, steadied her throat, said "I understand", and immediately hung up the phone.
At the same time, her tears burst out of her eyes and rolled down.
Perhaps Yu Zhe was right; she was indeed unsuitable for a safety management position. For over twenty years before her, no one had died at Donghe Refining. But after her, in less than three years, or even less than a month, two people died.
Even if someone intentionally committed the crime, it was within the territory and personnel under her jurisdiction, and they took advantage of the territorial conditions to commit the crime. This alone cannot be said to have nothing to do with her.
Her appointment did not receive support from anyone except Tang Jiulin.
Her pride made it hard to swallow this insult, and so what had been a no-brainer became a "must." She wanted to slap everyone in the face, but ended up getting bruised and battered herself. This gave everyone who had opposed her the chance to say, "I knew it."
Pressing her hand against her eye sockets, Tang Ruxin fell into a frenzy of self-blame in the silent darkness. The most painful thing for her was that even now she still didn't understand how it had happened, and she couldn't even think of how to prevent it or save it. Besides blaming herself, she had nothing else to do.
It felt like being covered by a heavy pot upside down, with no sunlight or hope, and no way out.
Just when Tang Ruxin felt she was about to be suffocated by self-blame, the cell phone in her palm began to vibrate and buzz.
She was too lazy to open her eyes to see who was calling. It hurt her eyes to look at the bright phone in the dark.
She answered the phone and heard "Hello", but there was no answer. Just as she was about to hang up, she heard Yu Zhe's voice.
"You, didn't go to work today?"
"What kind of work is this while on suspension?" Tang Ruxin's voice was low and hoarse, as if she had just woken up.
Yu Zhe was silent for a long time, then spoke with some hesitation and caution:
"How are you?"
Tang Ruxin frowned and forced herself to look at the phone screen, suppressing the discomfort in her eyes. It was indeed Yu Zhe.
"Are you ill?"
After saying this, she hung up the phone. She didn't understand Yu Zhe's madness. Was he crying too sincerely? Did they need to fake warmth in private? If they didn't fight each other when they met, they were considered civilized.
After the accident was handled yesterday, the company convened a board meeting overnight. She was suspended on the spot, becoming the primary person responsible for the fatal accident, the cause of which remains uninvestigated, and was thrown into the fray to silence the Emergency Management Bureau and the media. Wasn't this the scene Yu Zhe had been waiting for? He'd probably already reached the limit of his patience by resisting the champagne on the spot. What was wrong with his cautious tone now?
However, after Yu Zhe's disturbance, she felt that the pot that was covering her with the mask seemed not to be so tightly pressed down, and at least she could breathe.
In the darkness, Tang Ruxin slowly sat up and took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.
The phone vibrated again and she rolled her eyes before answering the call.
"It's not over yet, is it?"
"Don't you know whether it's over or not?"
Tang Ruxin was stunned for a moment, then she took a look at the caller ID - Door God.
She immediately cleared her throat, adjusted her tone, and said softly, "Captain Yu, what's the matter?"
"Come to the police station and do me a favor. Of course, it's also for yourself. Hurry up and don't waste time." Yu Lei spoke quickly and in a bold manner. Usually, what he said was not a negotiation, but sounded like an order.
What Tang Ruxin hated most at the moment was orders. To be more precise, she hated orders from everyone except Tong Jiayu.
To pretend or not to pretend, that was the question. She thought about it for two seconds and decided not to pretend.
"Just write an arrest warrant and I'll go right away."
Yu Lei on the other end of the phone was silent for a moment and asked:
"Did you cry? Or do you have a cold?"
Now it was Tang Ruxin's turn to be quiet. Were the police officers particularly perceptive? Yu Lei, who had known her the shortest time, had heard something that Tong Jiayu and Yu Zhe hadn't noticed.
"Whoever can avoid going can go." Tang Ruxin softened her tone.
"Stop it, everyone has to come. We've found the bombing suspect."
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