fissure
"Where have you been all night without coming home?!"
When Tao Guohua received Xu Jing's questioning phone call, he quickly avoided Tao Chu and walked a few steps away.
He hadn't slept all night and was very agitated, so his tone was naturally unpleasant: "It's none of your business, don't worry about it."
"Me, worrying unnecessarily?! Reporters are blocking the door asking if Tao Chu's mother is the disgraced Xu Weirong, and what our family's relationship is with Mayor Wen, and whether Tao Chu works within the system... Which of these questions can I answer? Lingling can't even go to her afternoon classes, and you call that not having any connections?!"
Tao Guohua broke out in a cold sweat; these reporters were there with the intention of ruining him.
"You guys stay home for now, I... I'll contact you later."
He hung up the phone and felt flustered and short of breath.
Tao Chu noticed his unusual expression and walked closer to ask, "Dad, what's wrong?"
Tao Guohua stared at his daughter, who was so close to him, and involuntarily took a half step back—she was like a blazing fire, and sparks had already splashed onto him.
When we took her in, we hoped she would have evidence to fight back.
If she really had evidence, she should have presented it long ago. How could she have been forced to this point?
Tao Guohua decided to give her another chance: "Chuchu, do you have any evidence regarding your mother's murder?"
Tao Chu assumed that Sui Liyong had overheard something and called to ask him.
But she had lost even the clues to her old phone; all she had was a video of Li Yue holding a gun.
She had already witnessed Li Pengcheng's extraordinary connections and influence; even the local police station couldn't detain Li Yue, and a mere video would be blocked as soon as it was posted...
Tao Chu lowered his eyelids and shook his head: "No more."
Tao Guohua stuffed his phone into his pocket and paced back and forth in front of the car, occasionally stealing a glance at Tao Chu—this was no longer just a hot potato, but a ticking time bomb.
If it falls into my hands, it will be blown to pieces sooner or later.
He opened the car door and got in, saying to Tao Chu, who followed him in, "Your Aunt Xu just called and said that the house is surrounded by reporters. If you're worried about going back to your rented room, you can go to your grandma's house to avoid the storm."
Tao Chu said "Oh," and immediately understood what he was anxious about, remaining silent the rest of the way.
Tao Guohua didn't even get out of the car to see her upstairs. He just gave her a perfunctory "Be careful" and immediately put the car in gear and drove off.
Tao Chu knocked on the door and saw her grandmother's surprised and delighted face. Her heart softened. "Grandma, I've run into a little trouble."
Li Yuzhi beckoned, her smile unwavering: "Come on, tell Grandma."
She lay on the sofa, her head resting on her grandmother's lap, clutching the yogurt-filled candy that had just been stuffed into her hand, and began to talk about what had happened in the past two days.
Her speech was disjointed and incoherent, and her grandmother gently patted her belly, just like when she was a child and was put to sleep.
As Tao Chu spoke, he drifted into a dark dream.
Li Yuzhi looked down at the tears in the corners of her eyes and wiped them away with her fingertips.
When Tao Chu came to her door on the 29th day of the Lunar New Year, she already knew about Xu Weirong's death.
She is getting old, but how can a journalist allow himself to live in an environment of limited and slow information flow?
She had long since learned how to use a smartphone, downloaded various new media apps, and started browsing the news every morning as soon as she woke up.
Moreover, she has countless students and old friends in various new and old media circles. Even just by looking at her WeChat Moments, she can know a good deal about Jiang Lin's affairs.
Back then, Xu Weirong was embroiled in a massive scandal, and many people approached Li Yuzhi under the pretext of helping to clear her name, but she turned them all away.
At that time, Tao Chu came to her with tears in her eyes: "Grandma, why are the newspapers writing all this nonsense? You have so many old classmates and students, can you ask them to help clarify things for my mother?"
Li Yuzhi, of course, believed in her daughter-in-law Xu Weirong's character—even if her son Tao Guohua went out and messed around, Xu Weirong wouldn't.
It was just a fleeting thought at the time, but later, when Tao Guohua brought Xu Jing to visit, Li Yuzhi truly lost heart for her son.
No wonder, no wonder Li Yuzhi asked her son privately why Xu Weirong was framed. If there was evidence to clarify the situation, she would be willing to risk her connections of all these decades.
Tao Guohua insisted that it was true and told her not to interfere, lest she ruin her family's reputation.
It wasn't until Tao Guohua, in order to marry Xu Jing, brought his old belongings to Li Yuzhi's place and stuffed them into the bicycle sheds in each household downstairs.
Later, when Li Yuzhi went to the bicycle shed to rummage through books, she found a box of film.
Tao Chu tilted his head slightly across her lap, pulling Li Yuzhi back to reality.
She lowered her head to stroke Tao Chu's hair, but noticed that a few strands of short, black hair were peeking out from the slightly upturned edge of her granddaughter's wig.
Li Yuzhi recalled a video she had seen six months ago, featuring a girl covered in paint who had familiar doe eyes...
She shivered. Tao Chu, still half asleep, felt her trembling and opened his hazy eyes.
Li Yuzhi forced a smile and touched her forehead: "It's alright, child, go back to sleep."
Tao Chu murmured something, turned over, and closed her eyes again.
Li Yuzhi saw her wrinkled hands covering Chu Chu's smooth and delicate face—she was already so old, but Chu Chu was still young.
She worked diligently and cautiously throughout her life, which earned her a relatively decent and affluent life.
She thought she could live a peaceful life, but the undercurrents of recent years eventually dragged her younger generation into it.
Eight years ago, she passively chose to remain silent, failing to lend Xu Weirong a hand amidst the torrent of public opinion.
Upon learning of Xu Weirong's car accident, Li Yuzhi was filled with remorse and grief. Fortunately, Chu Chu returned to Jianglin safely.
But that brat Tao Guohua actually put her in danger, just to extract information in exchange for a mere official position.
However, Tao Chu probably also intended to avenge her mother.
Is she going to just stand by and watch her granddaughter die this time?
When Tao Chu woke up, she was curled up alone on the sofa. She stretched and turned around to find the setting sun shining through the dining room window and onto the square table.
The windows of the old house were spaced out in sections, and as she looked at the warm yellow light and shadows divided into squares, the aroma of food wafted from the kitchen, and she felt as if she had returned to her childhood.
Grandpa and Grandma were busy in the kitchen. Dad brought out the dishes and put them down. He pinched her earlobe and called out to her, "Chuchu, you've been stealing candy again! Call your mother and ask her if she's almost home."
She was the little girl who secretly smiled while holding a jar of candy, not Tao Chu who had experienced the tragic deaths of her mother and friend.
"Chuchu, come and eat."
Li Yuzhi put the last dish down, turned around and called her softly.
Tao Chu looked at her grandmother with her full head of silver hair, got up as instructed, and walked to the table.
Two dishes and a soup, simple and plain, but all of them were her favorites.
The grandfather and grandson answered each other's questions and finished the meal peacefully.
As night deepened, Tao Chu, having just finished washing the dishes, stepped out of the kitchen and saw her grandmother sitting at the table, one hand resting on a wooden box.
"Chuchu, take a look at this." Li Yuzhi handed her the box.
Tao Chu's heart was pounding. She grabbed the clothes at her side, wiped the water off her hands, and then took the box with both hands.
She opened the lid—it was a roll of film, with several photos underneath.
She immediately remembered what Tao Guohua had let slip on the "Dream Seeker on the River" and quickly took out the photos underneath.
There are four people sitting side by side. On the far left is Wen Tao, second from the left is Zou Ming, and on the right are Xu Weirong and Tao Guohua sitting next to each other.
They were in their prime then, with jet-black temples, bright eyes, and full of confidence, wearing radiant smiles.
Xu Weirong was wearing a birthday hat, unlike her serious and solemn demeanor at work. She was all smiles, and a circle of freshly blown-out candles adorned the cream cake in front of her.
A couple and their old friends gathered together to celebrate a birthday, which should have been as warm and joyful as the photo shows.
But who could have imagined that outside the window, there were people lurking, waiting to capture Zou Ming and Xu Weirong whispering and discussing, ready to tear apart their future and destroy their lives with a few candid photos and false evidence?
One of the culprits and his future accomplice was sitting right next to them, having just finished clapping and singing "Happy Birthday."
Tao Chu held the wooden box in his left hand and the photograph in his right, both hands trembling—the film and photograph were enough to prove that Wen Tao and Tao Guohua had committed perjury and were both present!
She raised her tear-filled eyes to look at her grandmother, her lips trembling but no words came out, she just stared at her in silence.
Tao Chu's tears only began to fall when Li Yuzhi nodded slightly to her.
She understood how difficult it was for her grandmother to make this decision, after all, Tao Guohua would also have to pay the price for it.
Which mother would want to see her already good-for-nothing son lose the social status he has worked so hard to achieve and be scorned and criticized by others?
But Li Yuzhi could see the unease in Tao Chu's heart. She took her hand and pulled her into her arms, just like when she was a child and secretly slipped her a big red envelope.
Tao Chu has grown so tall now that she is no longer the little girl who could be embraced and sat on Li Yuzhi's lap.
Li Yuzhi looked up at her with a smile: "Since you've taken it, you should use it well."
Seeing that Tao Chu remained silent, he assumed she still had some reservations, so he had no choice but to be more explicit:
"You probably already know what's going on with your dad. My student Fei Xun—that's Xu Lingling's dad's contact information. I'll give it to you later. You don't necessarily have to tell him the truth, but you have to put on a good show so your dad will be scared."
Tao Chu nodded repeatedly, silently sighing in his heart, "No one knows a child better than their mother."
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