She recalled her once respectable life.
A respected teacher, with a husband and children...
Now, she has nothing left, not even her health.
"Hahaha..."
Li Jinhua suddenly burst into laughter, a laugh tinged with madness.
"Karma...this is all karma..."
That afternoon, the hospital indeed sent someone to urge Li Jinhua to be discharged.
After confirming that she was truly unable to pay her medical bills, two caregivers roughly lifted her into a wheelchair and pushed her to the hospital entrance.
"Go away, don't come back."
An impatient caregiver put Li Jinhua, who was in a wheelchair, to the side of the road, then pushed the wheelchair back to the hospital.
Li Jinhua sat on the main road, holding her ugly rag doll in her arms, staring blankly at the bustling street.
The sunlight was so bright she couldn't open her eyes, and the pain in her right leg made her break out in a cold sweat.
"Baby...Mommy's here to see you..."
Li Jinhua muttered to herself as she began to crawl forward little by little.
After climbing several dozen meters, she had to stop and rest.
Passersby avoided the filthy, foul-smelling madwoman.
Some people pointed and whispered, some covered their noses and walked by, but no one was willing to lend a helping hand.
Li Jinhua wandered aimlessly through the streets, rummaging through trash cans when she was hungry and drinking tap water from public toilets when she was thirsty.
At night, she curled up under the bridge, hugging the tattered rag doll as if it were her own child.
"Baby, don't be afraid... Mommy's here..."
Li Jinhua hummed a lullaby softly, but her eyes were empty.
Her mind had completely collapsed, and she could no longer distinguish between reality and hallucination.
Sometimes, she would suddenly shout and curse Zhang Erhe and Zhang Haiyang into thin air.
Sometimes, she would speak gently to the dolls, as if they were truly her children.
One week later, one morning, a cleaner found Li Jinhua on a park bench.
She was curled up in a ball, clutching the rag doll tightly in her arms, and she was no longer breathing.
The forensic examination determined that she died from a high fever caused by a wound infection.
This once beautiful and proud woman died silently on the street, like a withered leaf, drifting away in the wind, forgotten by all.
...
On the other side.
Liu Zhiqiang placed the order with Su Jianguo.
The more I think about it, the more wrong it seems.
Having no other choice, Liu Zhiqiang had to go to his father-in-law's place in person.
Liu Zhiqiang stood in front of the carved iron gate of the Zhang family mansion, his fingers trembling slightly as he hovered above the doorbell.
"Come in."
Zhang Erhe's hoarse voice came through the walkie-talkie, and the iron gate opened automatically with a "click".
As Liu Zhiqiang walked through the meticulously manicured Japanese garden, his leather shoes crushed a few fallen cherry blossoms.
In the study, Zhang Erhe was playing with a Japanese samurai sword.
Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating half of his face, revealing a scar that stretched from his brow bone to his chin with a menacing gleam.
"Is the order signed?"
Zhang Erhe asked without looking up, the blade scraping against the whetstone with a harsh sound.
"Signed, signed."
Liu Zhiqiang took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat.
"Su Jianguo will personally deliver the goods next Wednesday morning at seven o'clock."
The knife tip suddenly pressed against Liu Zhiqiang's Adam's apple, the icy touch making his whole body stiffen.
A dangerous glint flashed in Zhang Erhe's single eye.
Why is your voice trembling?
"Dad! This is too risky!"
Liu Zhiqiang finally broke down and shouted.
"Those are children! What if someone gets killed..."
"We're going to cause a death!"
Zhang Erhe abruptly sheathed his sword, the sound of the wooden scabbard striking the ground like a slap.
"Su Jianguo killed my two sons, I will make him pay with his blood!"
He suddenly started coughing violently, took out a medicine bottle from the drawer, and swallowed two pills.
Liu Zhiqiang noticed that his father-in-law's hands were trembling.
This once powerful figure in the education bureau is now just an old man consumed by hatred.
But the resentment in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest.
"Tell me more about your plan."
"The sports meet is scheduled for next Wednesday afternoon."
Liu Zhiqiang swallowed.
"As is customary, a free lunch is provided, and all teachers, students, and parents eat there. I...I plan to tamper with the spinach that the Su family sent."
Zhang Erhe smiled with satisfaction and took out a brown paper bag from the safe.
"Here's 20,000 yuan in cash, enough for you to bribe the people in the cafeteria."
He then took out a small glass bottle containing a pale yellow powder.
"Parmethrin is a highly toxic pesticide; even 0.1 gram can be fatal."
Liu Zhiqiang retreated in fear.
"This is too obvious! An autopsy would definitely reveal it..."
"idiot!"
Zhang Erhe slammed the bottle on the table.
"It's not like I'm telling you to pour it all in! Just a tiny amount, enough to make the kids vomit and have diarrhea. Then, when the media reports it, the news that the Su family's vegetables are poisonous will spread throughout the entire province!"
The cicadas outside the window suddenly started chirping sharply.
Liu Zhiqiang stared at the small bottle, thinking of the lively children at school.
Little chubby Zhang Wei always loves to raise his hand to ask questions, and Li Xiaomeng, who wears pigtails, always greets him sweetly with "Hello, Principal!" whenever she sees him...
"Liu Zhiqiang!"
Zhang Erhe suddenly yelled at him using his full name.
"Don't forget how you got your position as principal!"
He opened the drawer, took out a stack of photos, and threw them on the table.
"Do I need to remind you of last year's Teacher's Day incident and that intern teacher?"
The horrific images in the photos plunged Liu Zhiqiang into despair.
His legs buckled and he collapsed to his knees.
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