0051 56 Reciprocity
As soon as Zhou Xiye's plane landed, he received a call from Li Qingshan, Ling Xingzhi's secretary.
"Director Zhou, your parents are here with us."
Zhou Xiye was stunned for a moment, "With you?"
"Yes, they went to the funeral of District Chief Zhang's child. They were kneeling outside and couldn't get in, so Secretary Ling kindly took them away... The secretary asked me to tell you that they are in Beizhugan Hutong, at Huaixuan Teahouse."
Zhou Xiye hung up the phone immediately and put it in his bag. Was he taking it with good intentions? Or was he hiding to watch the show?
Zhou Xiye, who had been anxious, calmed down and took a taxi home. It was truly winter in Beijing; the sky was clear and bright—not the Lhasa blue, but more like a piece of deep blue agate. A nauseating smell, a mixture of tobacco and gasoline, filled the taxi and reached Zhou Xiye's nose.
She rolled down her window, and the driver in front glanced at her in the rearview mirror. "Young lady, I have the air conditioning on here."
Zhou Xiye's hair was blown by the wind through the gap. She looked out the window without blinking and replied with a single word: "Stinky."
The driver immediately rolled his eyes, rudely turned off the air conditioning, and turned up the radio volume.
Zhou Xiye didn't care. When she was little, she always thought that's what cars smelled like, until she got into a car driven by a woman. The car smelled nice and had cute cushions inside. It turned out that the smell she had always hated and found nauseating was the body odor emanating from a middle-aged, down-on-his-luck man.
The car stopped in front of her house. The driver saw the name of the residential complex. When Zhou Xiye scanned the QR code, the driver changed his attitude from before, "Young lady, you live here? People in this complex..."
A notification sounded in the car that the money had been credited to her account. Zhou Xiye ignored the driver's idle chatter, got out of the car, and slammed the door shut with a loud "bang." The driver's smile vanished, and he cursed, "Stupid bitch, I wonder which man she's sleeping under every night. How many times does she have to sleep with someone to end up in this neighborhood? Her cunt will be as black as a fungus by now!"
The car window wasn't rolled up, so every word reached Zhou Xiye's ears.
Zhou Xiye didn't hesitate. He turned around and walked to the car, knocking on the driver's side window. The driver frowned and rolled down the window. "What are you doing..."
Before he could speak, Zhou Xiye grabbed his collar and pulled his head out of the car, laughing as he said, "What am I going to do? I'm going to do you."
Then, he grabbed the driver's hair and kept slamming his head against the car window frame. The driver's head was the only part of his body outside, and Zhou Xiye was holding his collar, restricting his movement. He could only listen to Zhou Xiye's beating.
Soon, blood appeared on his nose and at the corners of his mouth. His head had been hit multiple times, and the man was already somewhat delirious.
Several security guards ran over from the entrance of the residential compound. When they saw that the person who had assaulted the woman was Zhou Xiye, they were in a dilemma. They had all heard that Director Zhou was going to be promoted, and if she went up now, wouldn't that just be asking for trouble? But they couldn't just let her continue beating her; what if someone filmed it and uploaded it online?
What if the higher-ups blame us?
Two security guards ran over and stood aside, trying to persuade Zhou Xiye, "Director Zhou, please stop hitting him. Please be magnanimous and don't stoop to the level of a petty citizen..."
Hearing this, Zhou Xiye stopped what she was doing, grabbed the man's head and made him look up at her, almost tearing his scalp off. "Apologize to me."
The driver laughed upon hearing this, "You bitch, what are you apologizing for..."
Zhou Xiye swung the chain bag in her other hand and smashed it directly at the man, leaving him a bloody mess.
The security guards were terrified; they had never seen such a brutal and ruthless woman before. They rushed forward to stop her, shouting, "Director Zhou, if you hit her again, someone will die..."
"I know what I'm doing; at most, it'll be a concussion."
Zhou Xiye's gaze never left the man's face. "Apologize."
The man looked at her, his eyes already bruised and blood clotted. He then looked at Zhou Xiye and suddenly laughed, "You filthy bitch, and you call yourself the director? This is an abuse of power, an official beating a commoner..."
Zhou Xiye swung the bag and smashed it down again.
The security guards couldn't stand it any longer. Some people had already parked their cars on the roadside to watch the commotion, and others were even filming with their phones. Zhou Xiye regained her senses, and she waved the bag in her hand, startling the security guard beside her. "Hold this for me."
The security guard nervously took Zhou Xiye's bag. Zhou Xiye then reached into the car window with her other hand, opened the door, grabbed the man by the hair, and pulled him out. The man collapsed to the ground, but Zhou Xiye ignored him, let go, and got in.
Taking advantage of the situation, the driver shouted loudly at the door, "She's an official! She slept with him! And she even beat me up for no reason! Good heavens, is there no law under the emperor's nose... How can I, a taxi driver, survive if I offend an official... God..."
Zhou Xiye's attention was drawn to the driver. After a short while, he got out of the car, took out his bag, and made a phone call.
"Hello, is this xxxx taxi management company? I'm a passenger, and I want to file a complaint. Your driver verbally abused me and refused to apologize. I have evidence; there's video footage from my dashcam. Would you like to hear it?"
Zhou Xiye took out a voice recorder and played back what he had just recorded. The huge road suddenly fell silent, and everyone heard it—
"Stupid bitch, who knows which man she's sleeping with every night? How many times would she have to sleep with him to get to this neighborhood? Her cunt would be as black as a fungus by now!"
Two or three seconds later, the video, which had been paused, suddenly started playing again, and the noise from the street resumed.
Zhou Xiye walked home with her bag and phone, recounting the driver's information and his attitude as she went, launching into a long complaint. Once home, the complaint was over. Zhou Xiye reclined on the sofa, panting heavily. After a while, she got up, took some pills from the cabinet beside the sofa, filled a glass with water from the tap, and drank the pills.
She stood in front of the pool, her chest still heaving dramatically, but gradually her heartbeat and breathing returned to a normal rhythm.
Not everyone who goes to the battlefield returns unscathed. Some may appear unharmed, but their hearts have been destroyed and rebuilt by the war. The war left many indelible marks on Zhou Xiye, like a slave owner branding a slave with a scalding hot brand to tell everyone that this person is his slave.
War, too, marks itself either with physical mutilation or with psychological attacks—it made Zhou Xiye brutal and ruthless. She had witnessed countless scenes of torture inflicted on prisoners of war, and from initially being unaccustomed to it to later becoming indifferent, to the point that when faced with someone who maliciously attacked her, Zhou Xiye would subconsciously resort to violence to solve the problem.
She was cruel, excited by the sight of blood, and bloodthirsty—a fact she took a long time to accept. She also spent a long time using civilized society to shield herself, imprisoning what she considered her most fundamental humanity within itself.
The phone rang again. Zhou Xiye picked it up and saw it was her mother calling. After hesitating for a moment, Zhou Xiye answered, "What is it?"
"Your brother had an accident! Why are you only coming back now? Come pick us up quickly, let's talk about your brother."
Zhou Xiye looked down at the clear glass in his hand, "What did Ling Xingzhi say to you?"
"Come quickly and take us home!"
Zhou Xiye threw the water glass into the pool, "Let Ling Xingzhi answer the phone."
"you……"
Zhou Xiye took a deep breath. "I have limited patience. Let Ling Xingzhi answer the phone."
Soon, there was a commotion on the other end of the phone, followed by footsteps. A few seconds later, a gentle voice came from the other end, "Director Zhou?"
With his eyes closed, Zhou Xiye could picture Ling Xingzhi's expression at that moment—a calm smile on his lips, always composed. Even on the night he was arrested, he faced it with equanimity. Zhou Xiye knew that it was the arrogance that power brought him: you know he doesn't care about these petty squabbles at all, and even gave a lame excuse: Kong Lingqi isn't a member of the Kong family, so it doesn't matter if she cheats.
He knew the reason was ridiculous, but you had no choice but to accept this explanation; they told you it was a form of charity.
The arrogance of power.
Contempt is the greatest challenge to their rights.
"Director Ling, you've had to rush to two funerals in a row. You must be exhausted."
Ling Xingzhi smiled, "That's not as hard-working as Director Zhou, who came back from Lhasa and immediately started dealing with the troubles here..."
Zhou Xiye pressed his temples. "Since Secretary Ling is so understanding, then I would like to trouble you to help me settle my parents. With you as their powerful backer, they must have long forgotten about their daughter."
Ling Xingzhi chuckled lightly, seemingly trying to control himself, "Okay, I'll arrange for someone to take your parents home."
Zhou Xiye seemed to sense danger. She hung up the phone, thought for a moment, and then called a friend she knew at the Ministry of Commerce, mainly to ask about the recent exam at the Ministry of Commerce.
What kind of magic could make Zhou Guodong, who is about to get married, come to Beijing to take the exam? He had never succeeded in taking the civil service exam before, so how did he pass the Ministry of Commerce exam so easily?
"To be honest, I don't know much about this exam. It's a matter for the Ministry of Commerce, but the municipal party committee insisted on getting involved, saying they needed talent... I think it's just creating an opportunity for the third-generation officials to get into the system."
Zhou Xiye nodded, leaned on the balcony, wearing a tight tank top, took a drag of his cigarette, and then asked, "Old classmate, my brother secretly went to take the exam, right? I want to see his exam paper... When are you free? I have two ski passes here, for the national high school... I know you like skiing, I don't really need them for myself..."
After making the arrangements, Zhou Xiye still leaned on the balcony to look at the scenery outside. The sky gradually darkened; winter nights come early.
This old classmate is Yao Jinling, a fellow alumnus of Zhou Xiye. The two met through a debate competition. Both are ambitious and naturally admire each other.
Even if we don't interact much, I can still help out with a small favor.
A short while later, there was a knock on the door. Zhou Xiye got up, stubbed out his cigarette, and went to the door, but his parents were standing outside the door.
"Why are you here?"
Zhou Xiye's father snorted and walked in with his head held high. "Why can't we come? You are my daughter, your home is my home, why can't I come?"
His mother followed behind him as the two walked in. When Zhou Xiye closed the door, he smelled their perfume.
It was the scent emanating from Ling Xingzhi.
She smiled slightly, then turned around and saw them sitting on the sofa, taking the initiative to act as guests.
"Zhou Xiye, your brother is in trouble, don't you even feel sorry for him?"
Zhou Xiye laughed in surprise, "Did I tell him to drive and kill someone?"
The parents' expressions changed. Zhou Xiye sat down in front of them, took a sip of water, and said, "So, what brings you here this time?"
The mother was too embarrassed to speak, but the father hesitated for a moment, then took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, poured one out, and lit it.
Zhou Xiye watched as her own parents treated her like an outsider, as if they wished everything she had should go to her younger brother.
“It’s true, it was wrong of him to kill someone with his car, but it was an accident after all… Everyone has accidents…” After saying that, the father took another drag of his cigarette, the smell of cheap nicotine spreading in the air, and Zhou Xiye frowned.
“You know your brother passed the exam for the Ministry of Commerce, a good position with a bright future,” her father said, his gaze sweeping over her as if he had made up his mind. “Secretary Ling said that with today’s advanced technology, it’s possible to change people’s faces and heads… We thought, since you’re just a girl and don’t have much of a future in the Beijing Liaison Office, why don’t you… go to jail in place of your brother?”
Zhou Xiye was shocked to hear this, but she did not rush to question him and listened attentively to her father's words.
“I’ve also discussed it with Secretary Ling. You can go to jail in place of Guodong. The lawyer said the other day that it won’t be for long, and since it’s a traffic accident, it’ll probably only be ten years. You’ll be out in ten years… After you get out, your brother will be very successful, and he can support you!”
Zhou Xiye straightened up and looked around. Suddenly, everything in the house felt extremely unfamiliar. It was as if a million invisible needles were pricking her in the air. Two seconds later, she looked at her father and said, "You are my parents. I never thought you would treat me like this."
The mother's expression was also helpless. "You've always been a good student since you were little. You're more capable than your brother. If you get out of prison, you can still support yourself... It's different for your brother. He... he doesn't have your abilities. In the end, he can't even find a wife, and the Zhou family line will end..."
The surprise and disbelief on Zhou Xiye's face gradually disappeared, and she looked at them calmly, "Do you know how Zhou Guodong got into the Ministry of Commerce?"
The two elderly people looked at her, puzzled.
Zhou Xiye chuckled, took a pack of cigarettes from the coffee table, and lit one in his mouth.
It was the first time her parents had seen her smoke, and their eyes were full of disgust. Zhou Xiye took a drag of her cigarette and twirled the lighter in her hand. "Zhou Guodong cheated. I was just chatting with some colleagues from the Ministry of Commerce, and we found that among the papers with similar answers, there was Zhou Guodong's one."
Zhou Xiye sighed and said slowly, "My classmate's intention in calling me was very clear: this matter can be resolved by giving some money to do him a favor." She looked at them and smiled, "But you want me to go to jail for him? Well... why not let him go to jail with me? The Zhou siblings should do everything together so they can help each other."
"You're talking nonsense! How could your brother possibly cheat!"
Zhou Xiye shrugged. "Why don't you wait? Once the notice comes down, he'll never be able to take the civil service exam in his lifetime, and he'll have to spend ten or eight years in jail with me."
The mother panicked immediately, "Xi Ye, you must stand up for your brother! Help him!"
The two elderly people were immediately thrown into disarray again, "How can there be cheating right after a car accident...?"
Zhou Xiye squinted at them and smiled. Sure enough, old people are prone to making stupid mistakes. All's fair in war, and they couldn't even understand the threats they were being made to understand.
She sighed, "Mom and Dad, don't worry, let's deal with things one step at a time. How long until the trial for the car accident?"
The two elderly people were stumped by the question, their faces blank. Zhou Xiye sighed again, "How about this, give me the contact information of the lawyer in charge of this case. I'll take care of his exam first, and then I'll deal with the car accident... It should only take about a week, not long. Please wait."
The parents were somewhat happy to hear this.
However, Zhou Xiye gave them a final order: "Don't go looking for Ling Xingzhi. He's an outsider. How could he be as caring as his daughter?"
The two of them didn't know what to say. Since Zhou Xiye could handle these matters, they decided to let her handle them first.
After her parents left, she quickly contacted the lawyer handling the car accident case and rushed over to meet with him that very night. The lawyer, seeing Zhou Xiye, knew he couldn't be fooled and could only tell the truth.
"Director Zhou, your brother's case will likely result in a minimum sentence of ten years..."
Zhou Xiye didn't understand, "A car accident, neither intentional homicide nor premeditated murder, why does it take at least ten years?"
The lawyer sighed and tossed over a document, saying, "These are the latest traffic regulations published by Beijing. Please take a good look at them."
Zhou Xiye picked it up with a skeptical look and began to read it word by word. The regulations numbered only eight chapters, but considering Zhou Guodong's case, Zhou Xiye was terrified.
"Lawyer, what was this document issued by? Who drafted it?"
The lawyer opposite Zhou Xiye adjusted his glasses and met his gaze. "The January 1st policy was just implemented. It was personally overseen by Secretary Ling, after communicating with the Transportation Bureau..."
Zhou Xiye smiled, his fingers gripping the last page of the regulations.
The map was unrolled, and the dagger was revealed.
A shrill ring broke the silence between the two.
"So, do you like the gift I gave you?"
Almost subconsciously, Zhou Xiye narrowed her eyes and looked up at the dark night outside the window, where she could only see her own shadow.
With his smile undiminished, he said, "It seems Secretary Ling really likes the gift I gave you."
Ling Xingzhi said with great regret, "Yes, it's always good to reciprocate."
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