Chapter 144 Brave

◎Can you really catch bad guys?◎

The past that had been hidden in his heart for six years was suddenly revealed by Zhao Xiangwan, and Yun Dehou's heart beat frighteningly fast.

If he didn't control himself, he felt like his guts would fly out of his throat.

At this moment, the gurgling sound of bubbles coming out of the rotten mud in his heart became louder and louder, and more and more frequent.

[Covering up something shady... What does she mean? What does she know?! ]

[No one ever doubted that countless eyes in the community watched the jerk leave with a big suitcase.]

[Kyoto is so big, there is no place to bury your body! ]

[I'll make you go abroad! I'll make you get divorced! You bastard!]

Yun Dehou's thoughts gave Zhao Xiangwan another clue about the case.

——Xie Lin did leave Yao City, but was killed by Yun Dehou on the way to the airport. Her body is still somewhere in Kyoto.

However, Kyoto is so big, and six years have passed, how can we find Xie Lin's body?

Zhao Xiangwan's silence gave Yun Dehou a chance to adjust his mentality.

He clenched his fists and dug his nails into his palms. The pain sobered him up.

Yun Dehou took a big step back, putting some distance between him and Zhao Xiangwan.

After withdrawing one meter from the psychological distance, the tightness of the skin and the stiffness of the neck disappeared, and Yun Dehou's pupils, breathing, and heartbeat gradually returned to normal.

The bubbles swirling in the mud disappeared.

The beach was filled with foul-smelling, sticky mud and became lifeless.

Yun Dehou raised his hand and pushed the black-framed glasses on his nose, narrowed his eyes, and his attitude became very sharp.

"Comrade police, what are you doing? Are you interrogating me?! Xie Lin disappeared as soon as she went abroad. Do you know how many rumors I have endured? Some scolded me for being useless, some laughed at my incompetence, and most of them felt sorry for me. It was pitiful that I sold my parents' house to send her abroad, but she threw me away like a rag!

Let me tell you, I am also a victim, a poor man who was deeply hurt by my ex-wife.

How would I know who spread the rumor? There are so many bad people in this world! They have nothing to do all day long, and after dinner they gossip about other people's sad things, and make some imaginary scenes look very detailed.

Although Xie Lin did not call or write to me, she wrote to her parents after she went abroad. You can ask her parents about this. You asked me if she was alive... How could I know if she was still alive after she went abroad? As for who said that she settled abroad and married a foreigner, I don't know! If you are so interested in our family affairs, go check it out! Go check it out!

Yunjie is my daughter. How I treat her is a family education issue and has nothing to do with you so-called experts! Who allowed you to keep harassing me and my daughter? Go away! Leave the hospital and don't bother us again!"

Hearing Yun Dehou's calm analysis, Zhao Xiangwan secretly said what a pity.

She knew that Xie Lin had written a letter to her family after she went abroad, and Xie's parents burned the letter in front of everyone and claimed that they would never contact their daughter again. However, Zhao Xiangwan wanted to catch Yun Dehou off guard to see if she could get some useful clues.

Unfortunately, Yun Dehou is very strong-willed. Continuing to ask about Xie Lin's whereabouts now will only arouse his vigilance and make him build a high wall in his heart, which will bring difficulties to the subsequent interrogation.

Lei Ling stepped forward and said in a cold voice: "Yun Dehou, the neighbors called the police and reported that you were abusing their daughter. We, the police, intervened to protect the child. If you do not cooperate with our investigation, we can only issue a personal restraining order against you, not allowing you to approach Yun Jie."

A personal restraining order is a legal order that requires the restrained person not to approach or harass the victim. Yunjie is still young, so her close relatives, public security organs, women's federations, residents' committees, and relief management agencies can apply for it on her behalf.

Zhao Xiangwan turned his head and looked at Lei Ling: "Okay, let the Municipal Bureau apply for it, the reason is long-term psychological abuse."

Lei Ling was stunned for a moment.

Are you really applying?

It is 1996, the Anti-Domestic Violence Law has not yet been promulgated, and there are no written standards for identifying violence and abuse between members of a domestic violence family. At this time, personal restraining orders are usually used in economic disputes.

In Yaoshi, a county-level city, people's ideas are relatively conservative.

——When a father scolds and punishes his daughter, how can that be considered abuse?

——Just a few scoldings, a few beatings, and a lock in a small dark room. That’s nothing.

——Are there any bad parents in the world? Children today are too fragile psychologically.

Even someone as enthusiastic and kind as Grandma Fang, while condemning Yun Dehou, would give him a chance to reform, believing that as long as he corrects his mistakes, he will still be a good father.

Yun Jie and Yun Dehou depend on each other for survival and have no close family members. The public security agency applied for a personal restraining order to prevent Yun Dehou from getting close to Yun Jie, so who will take care of the child?

After all, the public security organs are not welfare institutions and have their own functional attributes. It is unrealistic to ask criminal police responsible for solving cases to give up their jobs and take care of a nine-year-old child for a long time.

Facing Lei Ling's stunned state, Zhao Xiangwan urged calmly: "Go quickly."

Lei Ling reacted and realized that Zhao Xiangwan must have seen something, so he replied, "Okay," and left in a hurry.

Yun Dehou was a little flustered when he heard what Zhao Xiangwan said, and he started to yell, "What on earth do you police officers want to do? My daughter is still in the hospital, and I have to take care of her! You are depriving me of my power, I will sue you!"

Zhao Xiangwan looked at him coldly: "Go ahead and sue me. I'll wait."

Having said that, she turned back to the ward.

How could Yun Dehou dare to sue the public security organs? He ran forward in a hurry and grabbed Zhao Xiangwan's arm: "Hey! You..."

Zhao Xiangwan raised his hand and swung it back suddenly.

A great force attacked and Yun Dehou was quickly thrown away. He staggered back a few steps until he reached the wall of the corridor, with his back pressed against the wall before he could stand firm.

Zhao Xiangwan turned around, his face as cold as frost: "Get lost! Otherwise I'll sue you for assaulting a police officer."

Yun Dehou rolled his eyes, wanting to make a fuss and use public pressure to force the police to give up their application for a personal restraining order.

He raised his voice, echoing in the corridor: "What's wrong with the police? Can the police disregard human ethics and force a father and daughter to separate?"

Hearing the noise, doctors and nurses rushed over.

The doctor said sternly: "What's going on? Stop making noise in the corridor!"

The nurse was also a little unhappy: "What if the children are frightened?"

Yun Dehou pointed at Zhao Xiangwan, his face full of worry and sadness. "Doctor, you came at the right time. This person is a police officer. She doesn't allow me to have contact with Jiejie. She said she wants to put her under personal restraint. It's ridiculous! I am Jiejie's biological father. She is sick. If I don't take care of her, how can I let these big-talking police officers take care of her?"

The doctor frowned and walked up to Zhao Xiangwan: "Are you a policeman? I've never seen you before."

Zhao Xiangwan showed his police officer ID.

The doctor looked more carefully and questioned: "You are from the Xing City Public Security Bureau, why are you here to take care of the affairs of our Yao City?"

Zhao Xiangwan responded calmly: "I am a psychological expert invited by the Yao City Public Security Bureau."

The doctor looked at Zhao Xiangwan and said in a negotiating tone, "Yun Jie's psychological problems have been resolved. She can eat, dress, and sleep on her own. Her health is also recovering. She will be discharged tomorrow. What are you police going to do then? Are you going to take her to the Public Security Bureau dormitory?"

The doctor pointed at Yun Dehou and said, "This parent has been taking good care of the child. He went to the cafeteria to get food, boil water, wash clothes, talk to the child, and take walks with the child... His previous education method may have been too rough, and the child is relatively introverted, so the child has a strong psychological reaction. I have talked to this parent several times, and he also said that he will change his methods in the future and be gentler and more patient with the child. The winter vacation is over and school is about to start. Even the neighbor who called the police has withdrawn the lawsuit. You police should stop pestering him and let him take the child out of the hospital."

Zhao Xiangwan knew that this would be the situation.

When it comes to family conflicts, most Chinese people think that they are just "conflicts".

If it's none of your business, just ignore it.

——When a husband beats his wife, it is of course because the husband has a bad temper, but the wife’s unreasonable behavior and sharp tongue are also the fuse that leads to the “conflict”.

——When parents scold their children, it is of course because the parents’ educational methods are wrong, but the children’s inability to appreciate their parents’ hardships and being too self-centered are also factors that lead to them being scolded and beaten.

The way to resolve family conflicts is usually to give both sides a slap on the wrist.

If it really doesn't work, just say "Home is a place for love, not a place for reason", and use the word "love" to smooth things over, and everyone will be fine.

However, everyone has overlooked one thing: family conflicts are often the most complicated and difficult to resolve. If you only talk about "love" and not "reason", the conflicts will only become more and more serious and more and more difficult to resolve.

What's more, the conflicts in the Yun family are not a problem of education methods at all.

Rather, Yun Dehou is a mentally twisted pervert!

Just as Zhou Rulan guessed, he transferred his hatred for his ex-wife to Yun Jie.

Perhaps because Yun Jie looked like his ex-wife, Yun Dehou regarded his daughter as a tool to vent his anger, and abused her both mentally and physically. He had no love for his child, only hatred and endless mental torture.

Killing people is not enough.

And he wants to continue to destroy the next generation. Zhao Xiangwan will never allow such a scum to get even a step closer to Yun Jie!

Zhao Xiangwan raised his eyes and met the doctor's gaze.

"Doctor, are you married?"

The doctor was a little confused and nodded: "Yes, my son is six years old."

[What did the police mean? I told her to let the parent pick up the child from the hospital, but she avoided the question.]

趙向晚問：“那你在靠近兒子的時候，他是什麽反應？”

出于對警察職業的尊重，醫生認真回答着趙向晚的問題：“很高興啊，我平時工作忙，一下班到了家，他就跑過來抱着我的腿，親親密密喊爸爸。”

趙向晚意味深長地說：“可是，雲潔對所有男性的靠近都十分排斥，包括她的父親。”

醫生愣了愣。

九十年代的兒童醫院，對心理方面的關注還不夠。雲潔送到醫院之後，經過了仔細的全身體檢，并沒有發現性.侵，性.早熟以及毆打傷痕，除了營養不良沒有什麽器質性的病變，因此醫生沒有對雲德厚産生惡感。

想到自己每天查房時，雲潔的沉默與僵硬，醫生有些猶豫。

雲德厚氣得一張臉通紅，聲音從牙齒縫裏擠了出來：“你無恥！你們警察是不是見多了壞人？把我想得那麽龌龊惡心？潔潔是我的孩子！是我的親骨肉，我能對她怎麽樣？”

他看着醫生，态度誠懇，聲音裏帶着祈求：“我是個男人，心比較粗，沒有注意到她因為長期缺乏母愛變得比較敏感內向，對她的關心與愛護做得不夠好。這一回因為她寒假作業沒有完成，我生氣懲罰她，這才導致鄰居們報了警。玉不琢不成器嘛，我們小時候爸媽不都是不聽話打一頓？怎麽到了我這裏，警察就非要把我認定成一個十惡不赦的壞人？求求你們，不要讓警察把潔潔帶走，她是我唯一的孩子，是我的命啊！”

剛才趙向晚點到為止，卻已經讓雲德厚警醒：不能再讓警方介入。

警察是什麽人？如果讓警方懷疑謝琳出國的真相，到時候事情曝光，死罪難逃！雲德厚現在只有一個念頭：息事寧人，趕緊把雲潔帶離警察的視線。

醫生聽了雲德厚的話，感情的天平又開始搖擺。

一會覺得孩子身體沒有被虐待痕跡，雲德厚平常表現得很關心孩子，可能是趙向晚看多了刑事案件，把事情想得太複雜；一會又覺得孩子的确表現得敏感而緊張，一緊張就抽搐嘔吐，可能真的有精神或者心理疾病，應該繼續留院觀察。

趙向晚知道今天如果不表現得強勢一點，恐怕很難阻止雲德厚繼續靠近雲潔。

“我要開始治療，你們不要打擾。”她當着醫生的面，邁步走進病房，轉身将門關上。

雲德厚想要推門，卻被趙向晚壓低聲音警告：“滾！”

有時候，人與人之間拼的就是氣勢。

趙向晚一幅不怕惹麻煩、誓要将這樁家庭矛盾管到底的架勢，讓雲德厚膽怯了。

他心虛地看了一眼半掩的病房，咬了咬唇：“那，我在走廊等你們治療結束。”

趙向晚冷着臉，輕輕将房門關閉。

這個狗東西，是打算采取“拖”字決，和自己對抗。雲德厚肯定想着，警察有警察的事情，不可能一直守在病房裏，只要讓他逮住一點空閑時間，他就能把雲潔帶回家去。

在雲德厚看來，一個和自己沒有血緣關系的孩子，哪個陌生人會願意攬麻煩上身？鄰居們一時擔憂，出于義憤報警，偶爾幫忙照顧一下可以，但誰願意長期承擔撫養責任？

幫別人帶孩子，帶得好了那叫理所應當，帶得不好了千夫所指。

警察怎麽了？警察又不是慈善機構的工作人員，警察忙得很。

雲德厚懂得人情世故。

把大多數人的心理摸得很清楚。

可是，這一回，趙向晚卻要讓他失望了。

将雲德厚關在門外之後，趙向晚看着病房裏的三位同事：“從現在開始，我們兩人一組，輪班照顧孩子。我和祝康一組，周如蘭和朱飛鵬一組。我和如蘭負責陪伴，祝康和朱飛鵬負責聯絡、保護。雲德厚要是敢靠近孩子，立馬把他趕出去。”

祝康問：“那，要是雲德厚非要進來呢？畢竟他不是犯罪份子，難道我們真能強行趕人？”

趙向晚道：“雷淩去申請人身禁止令了。”

周如蘭眼睛一亮：“這個好。”

只要有了法院簽署的人身禁止令，大家就能名正言順地将雲德厚趕離醫院。

對于父親的離開，雲潔并沒有表現出不舍。她安靜地吃光餐盤裏的米飯、蔬菜與雞蛋，将飯勺放回餐盤，弱弱地彙報：“我，吃完了。”

趙向晚走近，将餐盤拿走，遞給祝康，再将小桌板撤下，放回原處。

因為趙向晚幫助自己倒掉了極其厭惡的肉丸子，雲潔對趙向晚的靠近并沒有排斥，反而有一份淺淺的信任。

轉過身将枕頭放倒，雲潔乖乖地鑽回被窩，安靜躺下。

剛剛吃完飯就睡覺？

雖然這樣做對身體并不好，但此刻趙向晚并沒有阻止孩子的自發行為，而是拿過來一個板凳坐在她身邊，專注地看着這個瘦弱、聽話的小女孩。

長期的心理虐待，讓小女孩非常敏感，求生本能讓她知道自己一定要聽話，這樣才能降低父親的厭惡感，才能讓自己過得好一點。

趙向晚伸出手，輕輕搭在床沿。

這個距離，既不讓雲潔緊張反感，也能增進兩人之間的熟悉感。

趙向晚身上有一股淡淡的女性馨香，這味道令雲潔很安心。

仿佛回到母親的懷抱。

母親？

雲潔瞳孔一縮，整個人滑進了被窩。

潔白的被子底下，小小的身影在微微顫抖。

趙向晚再一次“看到”了雲潔腦中的畫面。

一道妙曼的身影，穿着件米色風衣，拖着一口行李箱在前面走。行李箱的輪子在地面摩擦，咕嚕咕嚕地響着。

“媽媽，媽媽……”雲潔帶着哭腔地叫喊着。

謝琳沒有絲毫停留。

“媽媽，媽媽……”雲潔繼續追趕，邊跑邊喊。

謝琳突然停了下來，緩緩轉過頭來。

一張精致的面龐出現，她的臉上挂着兩行淚水。

謝琳終于還是為孩子停下了腳步。

雲潔跑過去，謝琳蹲下來，将她抱了個滿懷。

淡淡的馨香襲入鼻端，這就是媽媽的味道。

謝琳聲音哽咽，滿是不舍：“潔潔，你等着。等媽媽在國外安頓下來，争取把你接出去。到時候，我們就能夠永遠在一起了。”

雲潔顯然不太懂，依然哭泣：“媽媽，不要走。”

謝琳又說了一些話，終于還是下定決心，将雲潔硬生生推開，頭也不回地走了。

畫面一轉。

雲德厚面露猙獰之色，舉着一個不鏽鋼的飯碗，碗裏放着兩顆圓溜溜的肉丸子，他惡狠狠地将肉丸子用飯勺舀了起來，往雲潔嘴裏送去。

聞到一股濃烈的血腥味，雲潔死死将嘴閉着，拼命搖頭。

雲德厚眯着眼、壓低聲音威脅：“你不是總是想念你媽媽嗎？那就吃啊，吃進肚子裏你們就永遠在一起，絕對不會再有分離了。”

雲潔哇地一聲哭了起來，拼命叫喊：“不吃！不吃！”

趁着她張嘴哭喊的機會，雲德厚強行将肉丸子喂了進去，陰恻恻地說：“不吃，就把你也剁成肉丸子！”

雲潔一邊往外吐肉丸，一邊喊：“媽媽，媽媽，我要媽媽……”

雲德厚笑了，笑得不懷好意：“你想要的媽媽，被你吐了哦。”

雲潔開始嘔吐。

身體劇烈抽搐。

無邊的恐懼感，将她整個人包裹。

趙向晚雙手緊握，這應該是雲德厚第一次喂食肉丸子的記憶畫面。

雲潔的心理創傷，應該就源于此。

不管雲德厚是真的剁碎了謝琳，然後作成肉丸喂食女兒，還是他只是威脅，故意令雲潔害怕，反正他已經達到了目的。

從此，雲潔不敢再要媽媽，不敢再說想念媽媽。

同樣，她也有了肉丸恐懼症。

只要看到肉丸子，就會讓她陷入痛苦之中。

而雲德厚，一定很享受這個結果。

接下來，畫面一轉，趙向晚看到雲潔被關進了小黑屋。

她的小屋，長年挂着厚厚的窗簾，窗外爬山虎藤遮光蔽日，房間裏光線非常昏暗。

雲德厚說：“不聽話，就一個人呆着。像你那個不要臉的媽媽一樣，永遠呆在那個深深的水庫裏。叫天天不應、叫地地不靈，死了、爛了、臭了也不會有人知道。”

深深的水庫裏？

——這是第二條重要的線索。

趙向晚不忍心再讓雲潔陷入病理性重現症狀，手掌在她的枕頭邊輕輕拍了拍。

幹淨、蓬松的被褥，在手掌輕拍之下發出輕微的“撲、撲”之聲。

趙向晚的動作輕柔而有節奏。

均勻、清脆、簡單的重複，宛如母親哄嬰兒睡覺，手掌在嬰兒後背輕拍。

雲潔的情緒漸漸好轉起來。

不斷閃現的畫面，消失不見。

趙向晚的聲音裏帶着三分憐惜、三分溫柔、四分肯定：“潔潔，你是一個勇敢的孩子。”

雲潔在被窩裏開始搖頭，聲音悶悶的：“不，我不勇敢。”

趙向晚道：“你知道什麽是真正的勇敢嗎？”

雲潔顯然被她的聲音所吸引，細聲細氣地問：“是什麽？”

Zhao Xiangwan said softly but firmly: "True courage is not about not being afraid of anything, but about moving forward despite being afraid."

The quilt was stirred.

A pair of small hands reached out from under the quilt, pulled it down, revealing a face full of tears.

Yun Jie looked at Zhao Xiangwan and asked with a trembling voice, "Really?"

Zhao Xiangwan nodded without hesitation: "Of course. We are police officers, and we will be afraid when facing criminals. Some colleagues who have just joined the company don't even dare to raise their guns. But does this mean that we are not brave? No, no matter how scared we are, we will still rush forward to stop the bad guys from hurting the good people."

Yun Jie's tears flowed quietly, sliding down her temples and onto the pillow.

She turned her head and looked at Zhao Xiangwan intently: "Can you really catch the bad guys?"

Zhao Xiangwan's eyes were peaceful, yet filled with great power, as if a mountain stood there, not far away nor near, but making people look up to it.

Zhao Xiangwan raised his hand and gently wiped the tears from Yun Jie's eyes.

The sudden physical contact made Yun Jie shrink.

Zhao Xiangwan smiled and said, "The job of the police is to catch bad guys and protect good people. Jiejie is a good kid, so we will protect you."

A nine-year-old child is already sensible.

Yun Jie had been mentally abused by his father for many years and had accepted his fate and became increasingly silent.

She didn't dare to resist, fearing that she would be chopped into meatballs;

She didn't dare to speak out, fearing that her father would find out and lock her up in a dark room.

From childhood to adulthood, the education she received was: you must be obedient, otherwise I am your father, and I can kill you if I give birth to you.

In such an atmosphere, Yun Jie did not go crazy. She continued to study and live quietly, and was praised by all the neighbors around her. How could this not be considered brave?

What Zhao Xiangwan needs to do now is to cultivate Yun Jie's self-confidence first.

Praise is a must.

To make your child no longer timid, first put the crown of "bravery" on her. Through constant psychological hints, let her regain her confidence and have the courage to say "no" to bad people and bad things.