The prison guard's shouts came from the end of the corridor.
Su Mingqiang quickly got out of bed, folded the quilt into a perfect square, and then lined up to wash up.
The cold water splashed on his face, completely waking him up.
The person in the mirror looked much thinner than before he went to prison, with sunken cheeks and heavy dark circles under his eyes, but his gaze was much calmer than when he first came in.
"Mingqiang, it's your turn to tidy up the library today."
Old Zhou, who shared a cell with me, said this while brushing his teeth.
Su Mingqiang nodded.
"Understood, Uncle Zhou."
Breakfast consisted of thin porridge and pickled vegetables, which Su Mingqiang swallowed mechanically.
In the past month or so, he has already learned not to look forward to the prison food.
After the meal, he and several other prisoners were taken to the prison library.
A small room of less than 30 square meters was filled with all kinds of old books and newspapers.
"Sort these newly delivered newspapers, put away the expired ones, and put the ones from the last three months on the shelves."
"That's what Liu, the librarian in charge, instructed."
Su Mingqiang quietly began his work.
The library was his favorite place; although there weren't many books, it allowed him to temporarily forget where he was.
He carefully sorted each newspaper, arranging them neatly by date.
Suddenly, a short news item in the corner of the social section of the "49 City Gossip" newspaper caught his attention:
"Yesterday morning, a cleaner found a woman's body on a bench in Central Park. The deceased, identified as Ms. Li, was a homeless person. Preliminary investigation suggests the cause of death was organ failure due to an infected wound. Police are appealing to anyone with information to contact them..."
Su Mingqiang's fingers began to tremble uncontrollably.
The report was accompanied by a blurry photo that showed only a huddled figure and disheveled long hair.
But that profile, that familiar blue coat.
Even if he were reduced to ashes, he would still recognize him.
"Golden Flower..."
His throat tightened, and his voice was so low it was almost inaudible.
The newspaper was dated a day earlier. Su Mingqiang frantically searched for follow-up reports, but found nothing.
To the world, Li Jinhua's death was nothing more than a short news item of fifty words in a corner of the social section, not even deserving of a clear photograph.
"No...impossible..."
Su Mingqiang's breathing became rapid, and his vision began to darken.
He stared intently at those few lines of text, as if trying to see through them with his gaze.
"The deceased, Mr. Li... was a homeless person... and suffered from an infected wound..."
Every word felt like a knife piercing his heart.
The once radiant female teacher he fell in love with at first sight, whom he cherished like a treasure and loved more than his own wife, ended up homeless and died alone on a park bench.
"ah!!!"
A heart-wrenching roar burst from Su Mingqiang's throat. He suddenly stood up and overturned the entire stack of newspapers to the ground.
"Su Mingqiang! What are you doing!"
"It's Liu the warden!" he shouted sternly.
But Su Mingqiang could no longer hear.
He felt an unbearable pain explode from his chest, instantly engulfing his entire body.
He turned around and slammed his head against the wall.
One, two, three...
"Stop him!"
Officer Liu shouted.
Two prison guards rushed in and pinned Su Mingqiang to the ground.
His forehead was already broken, and blood was flowing down his cheeks, but he was still struggling, howling like a wounded beast.
"Jin Hua... Jin Hua..."
Su Mingqiang's voice was broken and fragmented.
"It's my fault...it's my fault..."
"Take him to the infirmary for bandaging, then put him in solitary confinement!"
Warden Liu frowned as he looked at the crazed Su Mingqiang and gave instructions to the prison guards.
Su Mingqiang was still struggling when he was dragged out of the library.
As they walked down the corridor, other prisoners peered out of their cells and whispered among themselves.
"Isn't that Su Mingqiang?"
"I heard he's a pretty honest guy, what happened...?"
"Why did he suddenly go crazy?"
Su Mingqiang could no longer hear these sounds.
All that remained in his mind was that blurry photograph and those few lines of cold text.
Li Jinhua died, all alone, while he was imprisoned here, unable to even see her one last time.
In the infirmary, the doctor cleaned his wound briefly.
"The wound isn't deep, but you need to stay calm."
The doctor frowned as he looked at the prisoner, whose eyes were bloodshot.
"If you continue to harm yourself like this, you'll get an extended sentence."
Su Mingqiang sat there blankly, letting the doctor do as he pleased.
After being bandaged, he was taken to the solitary confinement cell.
A pitch-black room that is only two square meters in size.
"Reflect on your actions!"
The prison guards pushed him inside and slammed the door shut.
Darkness instantly engulfed everything.
Su Mingqiang collapsed to the ground, finally letting his tears flow freely.
Memories flooded back like a tide.
He recalled the first time he met Li Jinhua.
At that time, she was a young teacher who had just graduated. Wearing a light blue dress, she stood in the sunlight at the school gate, so beautiful that he couldn't take his eyes off her.
"Hello, I'm Li Jinhua, the new Chinese language teacher."
She smiled and extended her hand.
At that moment, Su Mingqiang knew he was finished.
He awkwardly grasped that soft hand and stammered as he introduced himself.
"I...I'm Su Mingqiang, a driver at the steel rolling mill..."
Everything that followed happened so naturally.
They fell in love and got married. Although Li Jinhua had many flaws in their life, Su Mingqiang loved her, and even her many flaws were sweet to him.
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