Chapter 36 A Familiar Back View (Two Chapters Combined)
The parents of the other children in the village all got into the village chief's tricycle and headed to the police station in the town.
On the other side, after Gu Yin and the others arrived at the police station, they were separated. Gu Yin was taken to a small room, where Officer Wang, who was leading the team, was sitting opposite her.
When Officer Wang saw Gu Yin enter, he smiled and said, "We meet again, Miss Gu Yin. Please have a seat. I've come to ask you about what happened last night. Don't be nervous."
Gu Yin smiled and nodded, then sat down.
Then came the usual questions.
Officer Wang looked at Gu Yin: "I heard from your village chief that you were the first to discover the victim yesterday? Tell me what happened."
So Gu Yin recounted what had happened yesterday.
Officer Wang frowned: "With the rain so heavy, how could you hear his voice?"
Gu Yin looked at Officer Wang quietly: "When I arrived at the scene, there was still a lot of blood, so I knew the person was in the cornfields on both sides. After stopping the car, I put away my umbrella and heard intermittent painful groans. I looked more closely and saw that the grass in the cornfield below had been dragged, so I was sure he was in there. It took me a while to find him."
Officer Wang looked at the file and nodded: "Aren't you afraid?"
Gu Yin's eyes widened: "How could I not be afraid? But when I think that there might be people from our village inside, what will happen to them if I leave? What will happen to their families? I might be the last ray of light in their lives. And when I think of the scene when my brother was taken away and our family was utterly devastated, I'm not afraid anymore. I brought a flashlight and a whip. It's been raining heavily lately, and that three-way intersection is the only way for three villages to go to the town and the reservoir. There will definitely be people fishing there with electricity. And I don't think the criminals will stay there for that long. The people from our village have already gone back to call for help. They wouldn't dare to stay that long."
Officer Wang sighed, "You're still so reckless, young man. You need to be careful. What if those people haven't left? What if you happen to run into them? What if there are many of them?"
Gu Yin didn't speak, she just smiled foolishly.
Officer Wang shook his head: "Did you encounter any suspicious people along the way?"
Gu Yin thought of the person wearing the raincoat and then told Officer Wang.
Officer Wang frowned: "You mean he stopped to look at you?"
Gu Yin shook her head: "I'm not sure if he was looking at me. When I looked over, there was a flash of lightning, and then I saw him stop there, look in my direction, and then he started tidying up the fishing gear on the back seat." But she was 100% sure that the man was looking at her.
Officer Wang noted this information down and then instructed her, "Don't go home at night recently, stay at school."
Gu Yin nodded, and then asked other questions.
Gu Shu and the others asked simpler questions. Since everyone was together and saw the same things, they came out earlier.
Not seeing Gu Yin, Gu Shu became a little nervous: "Why hasn't my sister come out yet? Could something have happened to her?"
Da Long patted him on the shoulder: "It's okay, we're not bad people. A Yin just saw more, so she asked for a longer time. Don't worry."
Before Gu Yin could even leave, the parents from Lijia Village arrived. They learned quite a bit about the situation on the bus, and seeing their children standing there unharmed, each family breathed a sigh of relief.
Li Mengxin didn't see Gu Yin, so she looked at Gu Shu and asked, "Where's my sister? Wasn't she with you?"
Gu Shu shook his head: "Ayin hasn't come out yet, she's still inside asking questions."
The old lady was confused: "Didn't you say that Ayin came back with you last night? You two were together, so why did she keep asking for so long after you were all out?"
Gu Shu felt guilty: "Last night, last night I didn't know Ayin would be coming back, so I went back with the people from our village. Ayin went back alone, so, so..."
Before she could even speak, she received a slap on the back: "I told you to look after the house and take care of your younger sister and brother, and this is how you take care of them? Couldn't you have asked a single question? How could you let her come back alone?! Are you out of your mind?! I'm so angry! In the middle of the night, in the pouring rain, and with bad guys around, she was all alone. How can you be a brother like that?!" The angrier she got, the more Li Xiang beat him up.
Li Mengxin quickly stepped forward to stop him: "Sister-in-law! This isn't Ashu's fault, don't hit him! When Asin comes out later, you can hit Asin! It's Asin who's disobedient. Asin is all grown up now, as stubborn as a bull. I can't even control him, let alone Ashu!"
Gu Yin had just come out when she heard her mother say this, and she stopped in her tracks, unsure whether to go out or not.
Officer Wang couldn't help but laugh when he heard what Gu Yin's mother said.
People outside heard the laughter, looked over, saw Gu Yin, and then, thinking about Li Mengxin's words, couldn't help but burst into laughter as well.
Li Xiang couldn't hold back any longer, and Gu Shu quickly ran behind Gu Yin, saying, "She's really my mother, she doesn't hold back at all, my back must be red and swollen!"
Gu Yin felt guilty and quickly hugged Li Xiang who came over: "Auntie, I was so scared yesterday, I haven't recovered yet. I'm still afraid when I think about that scene. It's so good to see you and Grandma back!" She then rubbed against her and acted coquettishly.
Li Xiang: "...I'm not buying it anymore!" After saying that, she slapped her butt twice.
With so many people around, Gu Yin couldn't manage on her own, so she quickly hid behind her grandmother. The fiercest person in the family was her grandmother, followed by her aunt. Her grandmother would get dizzy and forget her purpose as long as they acted cute, while her aunt was more rational and acting cute didn't work for her either!
Looking at her pitiful granddaughter, the old lady sighed, "Alright, alright, stop hitting her. We'll talk about it when we get home!"
Then he looked at Officer Wang and asked, "Officer Wang, can we go back now?"
Officer Wang nodded: "That's fine. If anything happens, we can talk to the children later. Now that everything's alright, you can go back."
After everyone left the police station, Li Sen looked at them and asked, "Are we going back together or what?"
The old lady looked at everyone and said, "Li Li's family consists of only an old lady. She probably doesn't even know yet. Let's buy some fruit and go check on him."
"Fine, let's go. It's pathetic. I wonder who they offended. They're too ruthless!"
"The police will definitely find out! Don't worry!"
Li Sen looked at the children: "Then you go to school, we're going to the hospital. Don't skip class! Gu Shu! You take them with you. If anyone skips class, I'll make your dad beat you up when we get back!"
Gu Shu nodded with a bitter face: "Understood, Village Chief!"
After the adults left, Gu Shu looked at them and said, "Let's go back to school. Now we can go back and have our last class."
Gu Yin walked behind the group. When they arrived at the internet cafe, Gu Yin looked at Gu Shu and said, "You guys go back first. Our last class is music, so it's all self-study. I'll go to the internet cafe to update my novel and send the manuscript over later. After I'm done, I'll go home for lunch."
Gu Shu said with a headache, "The three big shots at home just gave me a task, and you've already disobeyed them in such a short time. How am I supposed to be your brother? Go back to school! Come back this weekend!"
Seeing that he wouldn't budge, Gu Yin reached into her pocket and took out 20 yuan: "Hush money."
Gu Shu turned to look at the other young men, and Li Dalong and the others quickly turned around: "We don't know anything, we didn't see anything."
Gu Shu glanced at Gu Yin, then looked away absently: "Uh, well..."
Gu Yin took out another 20.
Gu Shu immediately took the note: "Then be careful! Just this once, and don't you dare skip class again!"
Gu Yin smiled and nodded: "I know, I know. Goodbye?"
Gu Shu ruffled her hair helplessly: "Let's go! I'll treat you to steamed buns!"
After everyone had walked away, Gu Yin turned around and went into the internet cafe.
It took me over an hour to update the 30,000-word article I had written, clicked to sign the contract, and then waited for the website editor's reply. I closed the website, registered an email address using my mom's ID card, so I can contact her by email if anything comes up. It's really inconvenient not having a mobile phone. I'll consider buying a basic phone for seniors next semester.
Gu Yin had mailed the letter, but her original plan to go straight home was wrong; her bicycle was still at school, so she still had to go back.
After getting the car, they passed by the elementary school and picked up Gu Le from school. When they got home, before anyone else had gone home, Gu Yin started cooking, while Gu Le picked and washed the vegetables.
The three old ladies returned halfway through their work.
"Why did you come back so quickly? Did you skip class?" Li Mengxin asked Gu Yin suspiciously.
Gu Yin feigned helplessness and said, "Dear Mom, we can leave early for our last self-study period, so I came back a little early! I didn't skip class!"
Li Mengxin was half-believing and half-doubting: "That's for the best!" Then she took the vegetables from Gu Le's hand and went to wash them herself.
Gu Yin touched her nose, pulled Gu Le's cold hand over to warm it, and then looked at the old lady: "How is Li Li? What did the doctor say?"
The old woman sighed as she mixed feed for the chickens and ducks: "The tendons in my hands and feet have been reconnected, but the doctor said there might be aftereffects. I've lost my right eye. Tell me, who did I offend? How could they be so cruel! The old woman and the young child are already struggling enough, and now this has happened. Sigh. The village chief said he'll apply for some subsidies for him, and every household in the village will donate some money to get through this first. We'll deal with the rest later."
Gu Yin pursed her lips: "What did the police say? Does the village chief know?"
Li Xiang took out the bowl to rinse it. Hearing her question, she sighed and said, "It's a bit difficult. The rain is too heavy, and it's hard to find clues. Besides, Li Li said he hasn't offended anyone, and he couldn't see those people's faces that night."
Gu Yin knew this would happen. There were hardly any surveillance cameras in the entire town, making it extremely difficult to find suspicious people. Moreover, the methods for solving cases were not as numerous as they would be ten years later. That's why she chased after Gu Le immediately after he was arrested. Once those people escaped, finding them would be as difficult as climbing to the sky.
"I don't know what he'll do in the future, sigh!" The old lady sighed and took the chicken feed inside.
Gu Yin recalled the person she met on the road last night, thinking of those eyes, and then thought of everyone she knew, but she couldn't find him. Could it really be someone she just passed by? Or perhaps Li Li offended someone elsewhere without her knowing?
Since that terrible incident, the junior high school students in Lijia Village have never come home at night. Even when they go to school for evening self-study after dinner, they always go in groups.
After Gu Yin arrived with a basket of sweet potatoes, Mo Wen agreed that he could bring a few people to train together. Anyway, he did morning exercises every day, so bringing a few people wouldn't be a problem.
Gu Yin would also join in the morning runs, but she wouldn't participate in the other training sessions.
After receiving the contract from the website, Gu Yin began to update regularly every week. Because she had to attend classes during the week, she would write all the articles she needed for the week on the weekend and then post them on the weekend. She also chose to post them on a timed basis so that she would not stop updating and would not lose readers.
A week before the final exams, Gu Yin was called to the English teacher's office.
The English teacher is named Cai Yu, a recent college graduate who is currently in her internship. She is very beautiful and gentle, and Gu Yin likes her quite a bit. In her previous life, Cai Yu also taught them, but she left before her internship ended because the students at the school were fighting too much. It seems that she had some connections in her family.
Cai Yu handed a flyer to Gu Yin: "Take a look at this first."
Gu Yin took the document and read it in two minutes. She looked up at Cai Yu and asked, "Does the teacher want me to participate?"
Cai Yu smiled and nodded: "I found that your spoken English is excellent! You have no accent at all. I saw this competition and wanted to encourage you to give it a try."
Gu Yin nodded: "Sure, can the teacher help me register?"
Cai Yu was surprised that Gu Yin agreed so quickly and clapped her hands happily: "No problem! I have some materials on English speech here. Take them back and take a look. Try to bring the draft to me after the final exam! I'll help you polish it! By the way, I'll listen to your speech first and see where it needs to be corrected. This competition is at the city cultural center, so you may need to go there the night before. Tell your family later and arrange for a parent to go with you."
Gu Yin nodded: "Okay, I will finish writing the manuscript as soon as possible."
Leaving the office, Gu Yin looked at the promotional flyer again. This time, the speech directly gave a title: the word "dream." This was interesting. Dreams of going abroad, getting rich overnight, and becoming a powerful nation were all easy to write about. On her way back to the classroom, Gu Yin had already thought of the central theme: to witness firsthand the rise and fall of China over five thousand years from a first-person perspective, from being treated as a tributary state by all nations to being backward and vulnerable to attack, and finally to becoming a superpower. The title would be "The Dream of Rebirth."
Because I was confirmed to participate in this English speech contest, and with the final exams coming up, the system directly issued two tasks.
"Task 1: Rank in the top 100 in the county in the final exam. Success will reward you with 2 points and unlock all items in the system shop. First prize in the city's English speech contest. Success will reward you with 3 points. Good luck, host!"
Upon hearing about the reward of opening up the entire store, Gu Yin didn't even blink. Without points, opening it would be useless. Why would she be tempted?
001 comforted her, "Hey, don't think like that. Temptation is what motivates you. Your place is too backward. There aren't even any spots for competitions. Study hard and try to get into the city! Then we'll go to every competition, and we'll accumulate points, right?"
Gu Yin sighed: "The students here don't do very well academically. The competition from schools in the city is too fierce. I still don't know how my grades compare to those in the county or the city."
001 patted his chest and said, "I'm here for you! This time, your exam papers are the same as those in the county, and there are rankings for the whole county. It's just that your school's scores are usually too low, so when your school announces the exam results, it's only based on your school's ranking. After the exam, I can help you see what your ranking is in the county! So, you have to work hard!"
Hearing the system say this, Gu Yin was happy. Having a goal and knowing her current performance made her more motivated to work hard. Otherwise, what's the point of always being number one in school? When the exam papers are different, she wouldn't even know where she was at.
The final exams took two days. After the exams, students had to take all their belongings back to their dormitories and bring them back when school started.
There were too many things, so the elders in the family came to help carry them. Gu Yin didn't have that many things either, so she quickly finished packing. Li Xiang and Li Mengxin took her to wait for Gu Shu outside the boys' dormitory.
People were coming and going, and the three of them had buckets of water, blankets and mats in their car. They finally found a quiet spot under a tree to stand.
"Ayin, you stay here and watch the things. Your mother and I will go help Ashu." Li Xiang parked the bicycle and instructed Gu Yin.
Gu Yin nodded, secured the car, and stood under the tree to wait.
After waiting for a while, Gu Shu and the others came out, along with Li Dalong and others. After Li Xiang took Gu Shu's things, Gu Shu said goodbye to them. The other people's families also came to help, so they didn't go back together.
Gu Yin was greeting them when she was drawn to the back of a man next to Li Dalong. The man was talking to Li Dashan's son, Li Chenggong. There were too many people, so Gu Yin couldn't see clearly. She stood on the flower bed and saw the man helping Li Chenggong tuck in his blanket. Before she could get a good look at him, the man turned around.
He looked to be in his early twenties, very tall and strong, with a buzz cut and dark skin. Gu Yin was certain she didn't recognize him, but why did his back view seem so familiar?
"Ayin, turn the car around and go home. Stop looking!" Seeing Gu Yin staring blankly, Gu Shu waved his hand and shouted loudly.
Gu Yin snapped out of her daze, quickly turned the car around, and when she looked back, the person was already gone.
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