"Su An and Bai Wei, you two have disregarded the law, disrupted the scene, and provoked trouble. Effective immediately, you are to be confined for one week! You must reflect deeply on your actions! You can only write a self-criticism report when you realize your mistakes!"
"As for Comrade Wang Xiaoya's matter," Zheng Hongyi's voice became more somber, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, each word striking heavily into their hearts.
"This is not a trivial matter, nor is it an excuse for you to speculate and attack each other! This is a painful memory for our Third Battalion! I hereby announce that, starting from this moment, a special investigation team will be established, with myself as the team leader and instructors Qin Ye, Lei Kuan, and Zhang Ruobing as deputy team leaders. We must investigate this matter thoroughly! We must clear Comrade Wang Xiaoya's name and give our Third Battalion an explanation!"
"Until the investigation results are released, no one is allowed to discuss this matter! Furthermore, no one is allowed to collude privately or spread rumors! Anyone found doing so will be severely punished! Do you all understand?!"
"I understand!"
Sparse responses rang out, tinged with the trembling of survivors.
"Speak louder! I didn't hear you!" Zheng Hongyi shouted again.
"I understand!!!" This time, the voice was deafening.
"Lei Kuan!"
"arrive!"
"Take both of them away! Execute immediately!"
"yes!"
Lei Kuan waved his hand, and two other disciplinary team members immediately stepped forward, one on each side, and lifted Bai Wei, who was slumped on the ground, up from the ground.
Bai Wei was completely stunned.
Confinement? For a week?
how so?
She's clearly a "victim"! She exposed the bad guys, she was beaten, and she was threatened! How could she receive the same punishment as Su An, the perpetrator who physically assaulted her?
That's not fair!
She wanted to struggle and explain, but when she met Zheng Hongyi's emotionless, cold eyes, all the words stuck in her throat, and she couldn't utter a single one.
She was being dragged along by two tall male soldiers, her feet leaving two messy marks on the ground. Her swollen face and tear-stained makeup looked incredibly ridiculous in the morning light.
On the other side, the police officers supporting Su Tang also began to exert force.
Su Tang did not resist. Before being dragged away, she took one last, deep look at the crooked tree.
Then, her gaze swept across the crowd and met Qin Ye's for a mere tenth of a second.
No words, no expression.
Qin Ye clearly understood two words from her lifeless eyes: "Don't worry."
His taut jawline finally relaxed.
A dramatic farce ended in a way that no one expected.
Zheng Hongyi waved his hand, his voice weary: "Medical team, handle the scene. Everyone else, take them back and dismiss!"
The crowd slowly dispersed, but everyone carried a heavy burden in their hearts. The wind from the back mountain was biting cold.
Supported by others, Chen Xiaocao kept turning back to look at herself as she cried, almost fainting.
Gao Kai stood there, his fists clenched, his eyes filled with complex emotions as he looked in the direction where Su Tang had disappeared. His chest felt tight and painful.
...
The door to the solitary confinement cell slammed shut behind me, cutting off all light and sound from the outside.
Su Tang stood in complete darkness, quietly listening to the fading footsteps outside until all was silent.
It's very humid here, and there's a musty smell in the air.
She didn't move, like a stone statue, standing in the darkness for a very long time.
Images flashed uncontrollably through my mind.
It was the first time Wang Xiaoya met her, when she was being bullied by Qiao Lin, and she timidly buried her head and cried in the car.
During the assessment, she excitedly shouted in front of her, "Sister Su An, I hit the bullseye!", showing her newfound confidence.
It was the image of that thin girl who mustered all her courage when Qiao Lin insulted her, like a mother hen protecting her chicks, spreading her wings to stand in front of her and angrily confronting Qiao Lin.
It was last night when she carefully and solemnly folded that small candy wrapper into a clumsy paper crane and placed it by her pillow.
Finally, all the images focused on those bare feet, covered in wounds and mud, dangling in mid-air.
A sharp, belated pain pierced her heart without warning, causing her to bend over abruptly and gasp for breath.
She slowly slid down against the cold, damp wall and buried her face deeply in her knees.
In the darkness, the fists that had been clenched tightly the whole time finally opened silently.
In the palm of his hand, four deep crescent-shaped marks, already covered with congealed blood, were clearly visible.
She didn't cry.
His body was trembling uncontrollably and slightly.
Little girl...
sorry.
A drop of scalding liquid finally slid down from the corner of his eye, landing on his rough military trousers, where it instantly seeped out and disappeared.
a long time.
In the darkness, Su Tang slowly raised her head.
In those eyes that had just shed tears, all the sadness, self-blame, and pain had faded away, settling deep within.
Instead, there is an almost divine, absolute calmness.
And an endless, soul-chilling darkness.
Bai Wei.
She silently chewed on the name in her heart with the tip of her tongue.
Su Tang slowly closed her eyes, and the entire scene of the back mountain was instantly constructed in her mind like a high-definition 3D map.
Every expression, every word, every subtle movement, Bai Wei's every glance, Zheng Hongyi's apparent impartiality masking his bias, Qin Ye's minute-second micro-expression... everything began to be slowly replayed, analyzed, and deconstructed in her mind, frame by frame.
She wanted to find the thread in this tangled mess that could completely strangle Bai Wei.
She wanted Bai Wei to pay the most terrible price for Xiao Ya's death.
...
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