Fu Hanzhou saw "himself" wearing military boots, stepping heavily on the mottled concrete floor of the Civil Affairs Bureau.
The green-painted iron door creaked and shook, like a leaky mouth gnawing at Qin Ying's sobs.
A worker in blue overalls was holding an enamel pot and sipping tea slowly. Tea leaves were floating on the surface of the tea, which was more vivid than the light in Qin Ying's eyes.
The slogan "Break the Feudal Concept of Marriage" on the wall was lifted up by the draft, revealing the yellowed marks underneath - just like Qin Ying's torn life.
He watched "himself" take out a wrinkled divorce report from his military uniform pocket - the four words "improper conduct" on it made his eyes hurt.
"Comrade Fu, divorce application?"
The staff member pushed up his black-framed glasses.
Fu Hanzhou watched "himself" hand over the materials with a cold face, and caught a glimpse of Qin Ying curled up on a wooden bench in the corner.
He was wearing long-sleeved trousers with patches on top of patches, and half of his bruised face was visible under his washed-out floral headscarf.
She bowed her head deeply, her neck still bearing bruises from last night's struggle. She looked timid and cowardly, her fingers constantly twisting the edge of her faded clothes, dried mud still stained between her nails, and her whole body huddled like a crumpled piece of waste paper.
Fu Hanzhou shouted at her:
"Go tell him the truth, tell him you're innocent, and take out the candy wrapper stained with medicine powder. Go quickly..."
Unfortunately, no matter how he shouted, Qin Ying just shrank back and didn't dare to look up.
"Where's the woman?"
The staff member pushed his glasses up again, looked around, and spoke in a businesslike tone.
Qin Ying raised her head and looked over timidly, mumbling:
“I…I didn’t…”
The sound seemed to be squeezed out from the depths of the throat.
Fu Hanzhou looked at her bloodshot eyes, which were filled with fear and despair, but she was also holding on to a faint hope.
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