Chapter 144 Blackened Bar
Do you need me to thank you?
Shi Nianzhi looked directly at Lu Bing and asked a sarcastic question.
Lu Bing didn't say anything, and Shi Nianzhi was taken away by the police.
He sat anxiously at the police station. The police kept asking him if he had pushed Madam Gu down the stairs, asking him repeatedly and not letting go of any detail.
Shi Nianzhi sat in the chair, handcuffed, and consistently gave the same answer.
No.
He repeated those words over and over again.
Finally, a police officer and the interrogating officer said, "There is insufficient evidence, and you cannot be detained for more than 24 hours. Release him."
Shi Nianzhi was detained for a day. In order to prove his innocence, his lips were cracked and bleeding, and his voice was slightly hoarse.
He rushed to the hospital immediately.
The doctor told him that Shi Er had been transferred to the intensive care unit. If there were no problems within three days, he would be transferred to a regular ward and could be discharged in a week.
Shi Nianzhi breathed a sigh of relief; at least Shi Er had been saved.
Shi Nianzhi was guarding the hospital corridor. He was so tired from guarding that he leaned against the wall and took a nap.
Early morning.
Lu Bing woke him up and handed Shi Nianzhi a set of clothes. "Change into these. I'm going to take you somewhere."
"where?"
"You'll regret it for the rest of your life if you don't go."
What are you planning to do now?
Lu Bing leaned down slightly and whispered as she got closer, "I won't hurt you, baby."
Shi Nianzhi ignored Lu Bing's words. This person called him "baby" repeatedly, but he was a hypocrite.
Shi Nianzhi wanted to refuse.
But he noticed the clothes in the paper bag.
He frowned, took out the expensive black suit, and a white paper flower fell at his feet.
Shi Nianzhi bent down and picked up the white paper flower. For some reason, even though the flower was so light, his fingers trembled slightly when he picked it up.
"This is... whose funeral are we going to attend?"
Lu Bing's tone was indifferent, without a trace of sadness, "Madam Gu."
He paused, then continued, "Yesterday, Old Madam Gu was not well. She kept weakly calling for Zijian. Gu Zijian went in alone, and within two minutes, Old Madam Gu passed away. Do you think Old Madam Gu said anything to Gu Zijian in her last moments? She was thinking of Gu Zijian even on her deathbed, which shows how important Gu Zijian was to her."
Lu Bing kept looking at Shi Nianzhi while she was saying these words.
Suddenly, Shi Nianzhi felt dizzy and lightheaded.
He remembered yesterday when Old Madam Gu lay in his arms, speaking to him so gently and lovingly, "Zijian, have you been having a hard time out there...?"
For some reason, Shi Nianzhi felt an excruciating pain in his heart at that moment.
The paper bag he was carrying fell to the ground. He clutched his chest and backed away, his eyes filled with tears when he looked up.
He looked at Lu Bing helplessly and asked him, "What's wrong with me?"
“My dear, one day you will remember and understand why you feel this pain today. That day is not far off.”
Early in the morning, light snowflakes began to fall again. It was in this midwinter weather that Madam Gu was buried.
The mourners, dressed in black, came forward in waves. White chrysanthemums were piled up in front of Madam Gu's tombstone, and wreaths and elegiac couplets were placed along the cemetery path.
Shi Nianzhi was dressed in black with a white flower pinned to his chest, and he only glanced at her from afar.
Lu Bing stayed by his side, saying, "Madam Gu will be very happy to see you here."
"But she can't see."
Shi Nianzhi watched from afar.
He saw Gu Zijian crying so hard he almost fainted, and Lu Jiunian held him with heartache and pity.
Gu Dongxuan and Li Yuan were both heartbroken.
Shi Nianzhi looked around, "Why isn't Gu Yuanyuan here?"
"He can't come."
"What's wrong?"
"He really played the hero, running to save people, kneeling on broken glass and carrying them out step by step. He might even be crippled."
"Who to save?"
Lu Bing replied indifferently, "I don't know, I didn't ask around, I only know that he was seriously injured."
Shi Nianzhi had a bad feeling. Before he could figure out who Gu Yuanyuan had saved, whether it was Su Hengyi or not, he didn't wait for a moment.
Someone whispered something in Gu Zijian's ear.
Gu Zijian's gaze suddenly turned towards Shi Nianzhi.
"Has he discovered us?"
"Let's go then."
Lu Bing turned around.
Shi Nianzhi followed behind him, not because he was afraid of Gu Zijian—he hadn't done anything wrong, so of course he wasn't afraid of Gu Zijian coming after him.
However, Shi Nianzhi felt that it was best not to make a scene in such a situation, so as not to disturb the peace.
Lu Jiunian grabbed Gu Zijian's wrist, "Zijian, that's enough, don't make a scene here."
"Smack—"
Gu Zijian raised his hand and slapped Lu Jiunian across the face. "You still want to protect him? Now that things have come to this, I don't care what you think, I will not let Shi Nianzhi go!"
Lu Jiunian pulled Gu Zijian, who was heartbroken and had tears streaming down his face, into his arms. "Don't overthink it. I'll always be here for you."
Gu Zijian hugged Lu Jiunian tightly, and then reached out to touch Lu Jiunian's face.
She cried and said, "I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"
"fine."
Hospital.
Gu Zijian still came looking for him, but it was already afternoon.
As soon as Shi Nianzhi came out after visiting Shi Er, Gu Zijian grabbed her wrist and punched her in the face.
When I was taking the taxi, my eyes were seeing stars.
"How dare you go to a funeral? Who were you trying to disgust?!"
Shi Nianzhi held back, looking at Gu Zijian, "Don't cause trouble here."
If Shi Er, who is lying in the hospital bed, sees this, it will disturb his rest.
Gu Zijian grabbed Shi Nianzhi's wrist and said, "You come here."
He dragged Shi Nianzhi to the stairwell where Old Madam Gu had her accident. Pointing at the stairwell, he loudly berated Shi Nianzhi, "You just pushed her without thinking, and it cost my mother her life! Shi Nianzhi, don't you feel any remorse?!"
"I didn't push you. There are only the two of us here, Gu Zijian. Why won't you tell the truth? You're chasing me so aggressively. Actually, Auntie, it was you who pushed me, wasn't it? You murderer!"
Gu Zijian suddenly lowered his voice, "Whether you pushed me or not is irrelevant. If I fell from here too, do you think you could still have a clear explanation?"
"Are you crazy?"
Shi Nianzhi looked at Gu Zijian in disbelief.
But then Gu Zijian, who was standing at the edge of the stairs, began to back away.
Shi Nianzhi's eyes widened in terror, and he immediately reached out to grab Gu Zijian's wrist.
A look of triumph flashed in Gu Zijian's eyes as he pulled Shi Nianzhi back.
He suddenly spun around, as if using Shi Nianzhi's strength to get up, and then his position switched with Shi Nianzhi's.
Gu Zijian's eyes hardened, and he gripped Shi Nianzhi's wrist tightly, forcefully pushing her down.
Shi Nianzhi hadn't expected this. Her body suddenly felt weightless, and her heart leaped into her throat.
Then he rolled down the stairs.
His forehead hit the corner of the stairs, blood blurring his vision. He tried to get up, but fell heavily to the ground again.
Gu Zijian counted softly: "1, 2, 3."
Lu Jiunian appeared in the fire escape. He was shocked to see Shi Nianzhi's face covered in blood. He was about to look down to check the situation when...
Gu Zijian suddenly stopped Lu Jiunian, throwing himself into his arms, his voice filled with fear and terror, "I don't know, I don't know how this happened. Shi Nianzhi was about to push me, so I just defended myself. I didn't use any force, so how did he fall? I'm so scared, Jiunian, I'm so scared."
Shi Nianzhi covered his bleeding forehead with his hand. The intense pain brought him to his senses and made him realize the truth.
From the very beginning, Gu Zijian didn't want to fall; he wanted to push him down and then pin the blame on him.
Shi Nianzhi paused for a while before getting up from the ground and walking downstairs step by step.
Go to the emergency room.
Unlike Gu Zijian, who has everything from Lu Jiunian, he only has himself left. He cherishes his own life and needs to get to the emergency room quickly.
Gu Zijian's panicked voice said, "Will Shi Nianzhi call the police and say that I intentionally hurt someone? I didn't, Jiu Nian, I didn't intentionally hurt anyone, it was him, he started it first."
Lu Jiunian comforted Gu Zijian, "After the incident here, we immediately arranged for surveillance cameras to be installed. Don't be afraid, he can't hurt you."
“I brought him here. I just wanted him to see this place properly. I just hoped that seeing this place would make him feel guilty and turn himself in. The net of justice is vast and its meshes are wide, yet nothing escapes it. I didn’t expect that he would actually try to harm me. I was just, just acting in self-defense.”
"Don't be afraid, Zijian. When the police arrive, we'll check the surveillance footage and it will definitely prove your innocence."
Looking at the bloodstains on the ground, Lu Jiunian felt a sudden, inexplicable pain in his heart. Shi Nianzhi had indeed transformed from that kind-hearted boy into a vicious person.
Perhaps it was all his fault; he shouldn't have brought him from the countryside to the capital.
Big cities have always been places rife with desires; they are a melting pot of temptations.
Monitoring room.
Gu Zijian gripped Lu Jiunian's hand tightly in fear; the police and lawyers were present.
They checked the surveillance footage.
Shi Nianzhi suddenly reached out her hand, and Gu Zijian's hand happened to be raised at that moment. Shi Nianzhi's hand landed on Gu Zijian's wrist. At this moment, Gu Zijian's body leaned back, and his expression was terrified.
Gu Zijian pointed here, "He tried to push me, he pushed me first."
The surveillance footage continued to play, and then Gu Zijian suddenly stood up, grabbed Shi Nianzhi's hand, and pulled her up. After that, Gu Zijian took a step forward.
At this moment, Shi Nianzhi leaned forward. He turned around and looked at Gu Zijian in surprise. Then he leaned back, and Gu Zijian was pulled forward and fell slightly. As if he couldn't hold on, he let go of Shi Nianzhi's hand.
Shi Nianzhi fell down the stairs.
Gu Zijian continued, "I was so scared at the time. So much happened in that instant that I didn't have time to react. By the time I tried to pull him up, it was too late."
The police and lawyer reviewed the surveillance footage repeatedly. Finally, the lawyer said, "Mr. Gu, you don't need to worry. According to the surveillance footage, what you did was completely self-defense. Moreover, Shi Nianzhi only bumped her head, which is not a very serious injury. If the other party doesn't hire a lawyer, there's no need to even go to court."
Gu Zijian seemed to breathe a slight sigh of relief before saying, "But Shi Nianzhi is also innocent, isn't he?"
"It's difficult to convict someone based solely on surveillance footage, even if it's an attempted intentional assault."
Gu Zijian sat in the chair, his voice filled with grief, "There is not enough evidence to prove my mother's case. If Shi Nianzhi refuses to confess, he will continue to evade justice. My poor mother, she has always been very healthy, if it weren't for this accident."
Lu Jiunian's extremely cold voice said, "Not necessarily. He has caused you so much harm, and you still don't know you're wrong. I have ways to teach him a lesson."
A cold glint flashed in Gu Zijian's eyes. He had set up this whole scheme today just to hear Lu Jiunian say those words.
That idiot Shi Nianzhi, what can he possibly fight against?
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