Chapter 16
Li Qingyao's memory of that night was also hasty, chaotic and painful.
She remembered very clearly that night, after Luo Huaizheng went to Si Ling's house, she took the wrong answer book and looked at it. She saw a small heart drawn behind one of the questions and smiled slightly. I thought to myself, who would have thought that Luo Xueshen has such a shy side. She planned to wait for him to come back, give him a good laugh, and seriously point out that one corner of the heart was not round enough, as he never lost points on any geometry problem, no matter how difficult it was.
An evening study session has passed and he hasn't come back yet.
Xiang Siling's seat was still empty.
Li Qingyao felt a little empty.
When the second evening self-study class was about to end, a teacher suddenly came and called the head teacher out on the podium. The two said a few words, and the head teacher's face turned pale. He left in a hurry without even saying a word.
This was a very unusual situation, and the classroom began to become a little restless. But the college entrance examination was coming soon, and no one was making loud noises, just whispering to each other.
Li Qingyao was focused as he finished another paper and looked up at the empty seat next to him.
At this time, Ma Junhong, who was sitting behind Luo Huaizheng, poked Li Qingyao's back with a pen and whispered, "Why hasn't Brother Zheng come back yet?"
Li Qingyao: "How should I know?"
Ma Junhong chuckled and said, "You have to take care of him. Let him come back and kneel on the washboard later."
Li Qingyao nodded: "Okay, kneel down if you want, who's afraid of who?"
Ma Junhong sighed again in a pretentious manner: "I am very worried that Brother Zheng will not be able to be a good husband in the future."
Someone rushed into the classroom. It was another classmate who had asked for leave. He had gone to tutoring classes outside the school and had just returned from evening self-study. But this classmate looked terrified, his eyes were frighteningly bright, and he shouted, "Murder! Murder!"
The whole class was in an uproar, and everyone was shouting at him to explain himself.
The student stumbled inside and said, "I just passed by Lanxinyuan Community. The police came and said that the murderer was a student from our school... I was still at the school gate and saw the principal and our class teacher. They were so anxious that they ran out! Many people were talking about it, saying that the murderer was a student who was recommended to Tsinghua University, but... class monitor, isn't that the class monitor?"
After saying this, the classmate started to cry.
Everyone was stunned.
Before anyone could react, a figure rushed out like an arrow. It’s Li Qingyao.
Ma Junhong was the second one to rush out.
The whole class was shocked, and then more people rushed out.
Many people started crying, and many people panicked. They didn’t believe it and thought it must be a mistake. How could Luo Huaizheng kill someone? The security guard at the door saw a group of students rushing out and hurriedly stopped them. However, Li Qingyao and Ma Junhong, who were at the front, came too fast and rushed out all at once.
That night was the beginning of Li Qingyao’s dark life when he was eighteen years old.
Li Qingyao was running on the bumpy road. She didn't believe it either. She couldn't believe it at all. But a certain ominous premonition loomed more and more strongly in her heart.
Her vision gradually blurred due to the bumpy ride, and she cried as she ran. In Li Qingyao's smooth and free life from childhood to adulthood, except perhaps when he was an infant, he had never cried so fearfully.
She ran to the Lanxinyuan residential area and easily identified the building where the incident occurred - it was full of police cars and surrounded by many people. Neither she nor Ma Junhong had time to squeeze in, and they only caught a glimpse of a thin and frail young man among the crowd. He was pressed face down in the police car by the police, and the handcuffs flashed silver between his wrists.
Li Qingyao suddenly screamed hysterically: "Luo Huaizheng - Luo Huaizheng -"
The boy, who was originally in a daze and like a walking corpse, woke up as if he had been electrocuted and began to struggle violently, but was suppressed by the police with even more brutal methods. He cried out: "I didn't kill anyone! I didn't kill anyone! I didn't! Li Qingyao, Li Qingyao!"
The police held his head down and twisted his arms as he was stuffed into the police car.
The crowd seemed to be finally startled by the tragic shouting of the young men and gradually parted ways. Ma Junhong was in tears as he pulled Li Qingyao out of the crowd, but he only saw a few police cars speeding away.
They didn't even get to see Luo Huaizheng.
Ma Junhong's hand loosened, and Li Qingyao fell to the ground. He was also in a daze, and sat on the ground, muttering: "Am I dreaming, am I dreaming... Damn, what a joke! What a joke!"
Ma Junhong roared, but the voice seemed to be very far away from Li Qingyao. She slowly lay down on the ground, looking at the dark blue sky. There were a few stars shining with cold light above her head. She just opened her eyes and looked at it, stunned.
——
After the incident, the police kept the case highly confidential for fear of affecting the students' emotions. However, various rumors still spread. Some said that Luo Huaizheng attempted to rape Xiang Siling but failed, and killed her father; others said that Xiang's father was actually a beast and had bad intentions towards his own daughter, and Luo Huaizheng accidentally killed her because he was brave enough to do something right; others said that Luo Huaizheng and Xiang Siling were in a premature relationship, and were discovered by her father, which led to an unexpected conflict.
Li Jincheng participated in the investigation of this case, but he is a very principled and disciplined person. No matter how Li Qingyao begged or threatened, he refused to say a word.
But Li Jincheng quickly came to his senses and asked, "You and him..."
Li Qingyao just looked at his brother with a pair of clear, cold and tearful eyes.
Li Jincheng felt a pain in his heart when he looked at his sister. He touched her head and said, "Don't worry, if he is innocent, we will definitely clear his name. Do well in the college entrance examination, otherwise... otherwise..." Li Jincheng held his breath and said, "He will be worried about you if he is in there."
"Could you give him a letter for me?"
"You're crazy! Impossible." Li Jincheng looked at his sister's eyes which darkened instantly, and said hesitantly, "At most... at most, bring a message, and don't say anything sensitive."
[Luo Huaizheng, you must persevere. I believe the police will soon clear your name. 】
Luo Huaizheng's message soon came back:
[Study hard for the college entrance examination, including my share.] 】
A month and a half later, Li Qingyao took the college entrance examination. Her parents told her that her brother had gone out of town on a mission and could not be contacted. During that time, Li Qingyao was studying almost at the risk of his life, almost burning himself out, and did not notice the strange looks on his parents' faces.
She did not fill in any colleges in BJ, but only filled in local universities in Xiangcheng. When the parents heard about it, they just said that this was a good idea.
On the day after the exam, her father took her home. Although he looked happy, he was still reluctant. After the two entered the house, mother Yuan Ling smiled at Li Qingyao and asked her how she did in the exam. Li Qingyao replied that he did very well in the exam. Yuan Ling said, “That’s great,” and then she burst into tears and said, “I’m sorry, we have been hiding this from you. Your brother has been missing for a month and we can’t find him.”
After saying this, Yuan Ling fainted.
…
The police didn't let Li Qingyao follow, and her father didn't let her interfere. So Li Qingyao spent the entire summer looking for his brother all over Xiangcheng, leaving early and returning late, exhausted, but still unable to find him.
Two months after college started, Luo Huaizheng was found guilty and made the news. Li Qingyao, sitting in the dormitory, put down his phone and could no longer cry.
——
“Boom boom boom—”
“Boom boom boom—”
The light and rhythmic knocking sound rang in my ears annoyingly.
Li Qingyao opened her eyes, and the bright light shone into them. There were still chaotic dreams in her mind and tears in the corners of her eyes. For a moment, she didn't know what day it was. She slowly raised her head and looked at the person in front of her before she regained her senses.
She had nothing to do on Saturday, so she came to the office to work overtime and fell asleep.
Chen Pu was carrying a box of lychees. Looking at her red eyes and slightly pale face, his heart skipped a beat. The vague feeling of anxiety rose in his heart again. There was no expression on his face, and he didn't smile. He just said, "Let's talk. Come on, I'll treat you to dinner, and we can talk while we eat."
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