Chapter 48
I was completely baffled. Li Ying'an beside me shrugged slightly, "Children tend to imitate others, especially at this age when they love watching cartoons. They like to say all sorts of weird things like the characters in the cartoons. Since this is a family matter of that aunt, there's no need for us to worry about it. After all, none of us knows her son better than she does, right?"
I think Li Ying'an is right, but I also feel that there is something wrong, such as who knows Deng Yu's son better.
If I were to say Sui Jiangbao, it might be Deng Yu, but if I were to say Sui Yusheng, the first person I thought of was Wen Liangxi.
Because I was transferred to the night shift, I had two days off this time. I should have slept for one day but I was too hot to sleep. In the morning, I held Li Ying'an's mobile phone and played Candy Crush for several hours with the fan blowing on me. In the afternoon, under Li Ying'an's constant persuasion, I closed my eyes and took a short nap. In the middle of the night, I really couldn't stand the hot weather and pestered Li Ying'an for half an ice cream.
Finally, the sun set. Although there were still hot molecules in the air, it was still cooler than at noon.
We had takeout for dinner, and Li Ying'an ordered a cold dish, including a steamed bun made from date cakes. Because I loved the taste the first time I tried it, he'd make it every time, seemingly constantly, as long as I didn't tell him I was tired of it.
After dinner, accompanied by the setting sun in the sky, Li Ying'an and I went to our respective units.
Before I even entered the room, I saw Wen Liangxi and Sui Yusheng sitting on the sofa through the glass. They were talking face to face. Sui Yusheng looked quite serious, but Wen Liangxi looked calm and composed. Occasionally, he would pick up the drink in his hand and take a few sips, as if he didn't care much about the other person.
Thinking about what happened between Deng Yu and her youngest son that night, I guess Sui Yusheng was probably telling Wen Liangxi about the hardships of that day.
When I arrived at my post, Deng Yu greeted me warmly. She didn't feel uncomfortable with me at all because I witnessed the dispute between her and her son that night. It was as if this incident had never happened. She talked and laughed with me as usual, and her voice was as cold as ever. She had a wooden face from the moment she saw me, and gave me a ruthless glance when she left.
Just because Wen Liangxi chose to stay with me again.
I stared at Wen Liangxi as he walked towards me, not understanding why he stayed this time.
He was straightforward, unlike Deng Yu who was so polite. He got straight to the point and told me the reason for meeting me without hesitation: "Haven't you gone to the hospital to see Teng Zheng yet?"
His bluntness startled me, and I actually hoped he'd beat around the bush a bit, so I could adjust. I was confused and panicked: Why was he in the hospital?
"I knew you didn't know," Wen Liangxi said with a hint of helplessness. "Teng Zheng was stabbed multiple times. Luckily, he was lucky. He only had a minor concussion and is recovering."
Stabbed repeatedly...concussion...hospitalized...
Wen Liangxi said this easily, but it sounded extremely terrifying to me. I couldn't imagine that Teng Zheng, who was so shameless and lively, would be lying in the hospital dying.
I tried to calmly ask why: Why would he be like this?
Wen Liangxi asked me if I had watched the news. I shook my head without even thinking. Suddenly, something flashed through my mind.
I thought about the fact that the village where Li Ying'an grew up was wiped out, and the possibility that the destruction of this village would trigger a series of chain reactions, including the factory owner disguised as a driver whom Teng Zheng and I learned about when we went there. Moreover, the little trick of secretly investigating that village was proposed by Li Ying'an and me.
I suddenly understood everything and didn't have the courage to ask any more questions, but Wen Liangxi told me the whole story.
As expected, the reason Teng Zheng was hospitalized this time was because he suffered revenge from that boss.
The boss's workshop was raided for no reason around the same time that Teng Zheng and I went there, and no one asked about the cat, so he undoubtedly identified Teng Zheng and me as the biggest suspects.
When the police received orders from their superiors to investigate, the first place they found was this factory.
The boss was quite skilled, unexpectedly escaping from the clutches of numerous police officers, and even while being wanted, he still managed to □□. The taxi number he used was Teng Zheng's phone number. If they couldn't find me, how could they find Teng Zheng?
He may have tricked Teng Zheng into meeting him with the mentality of dragging someone down with him even if he had to die, and then stabbed Teng Zheng several times, leaving him unable to resist on the spot.
Then he escaped, not knowing that Teng Zheng was a lucky man favored by fate. Even though he was covered in blood, he was not killed. Maybe the god of death was taking care of him at that time.
Of course, this was all what Wen Liangxi heard from the police. As for why he had met the police, it was because the criminal had been arrested. The criminal confessed everything, including Wen Liangxi's anonymous contact with him through the dark web, which was also traced by the police. So, Wen Liangxi was invited to the police station for tea.
I was already heartbroken that Teng Zheng had suffered such misfortune due to my lack of consideration, and now Wen Liangxi has been implicated as well. For a moment, I felt a little guilty facing both of them.
Wen Liangxi didn't blame me. In his own words, he was simply describing a fact calmly. His expression was calm, a faint smile on his lips, and he described his summons as a trivial matter, like a daily meal, even though he hadn't suffered any substantial harm in this regard.
But he is him and I am me. Ultimately, it was my recklessness and carelessness that hurt the two friends around me.
I pursed my lips and faced Wen Liangxi, staring at him with a deep and powerful gaze, my tense jaw slightly retracted. I bowed to him solemnly and said: I'm really sorry.
Wen Liangxi didn't expect me to be so formal. He was visibly stunned for a moment, and then a light and graceful laugh slipped out from between his lips: "It's nothing."
He said that instead of being embarrassed with him here, it would be better to save some emotional cards and perform well in front of Teng Zheng.
I asked him to help me contact Teng Zheng. If Teng Zheng has not been discharged from the hospital yet, I will rush to the hospital after get off work today.
But before that, I will receive another blow.
Before the factory owner was arrested, the news reported this incident. Although the person's identity was not clearly stated, Wen Liangxi still cautiously cancelled the account registered on the dark web in advance.
This mentality isn't surprising; after all, everyone fears being implicated in a crime. Wen Liangxi was simply using the internet to rescue animals, and he hadn't done anything harmful, so it's only natural that he feared being caught and imprisoned. However, he underestimated advanced science and technology. Even if he deleted his account, the police still found evidence and legally summoned him for questioning.
His explanation was very simple. He said that he cancelled his account early and ran away because of fear. Moreover, no illegal or criminal content was found on his account. His browsing history only showed that he was following some texts and videos about abusing cats and dogs.
What I am going to say next is not very relevant to this point.
A few days before Wen Liangxi's account was closed, he unexpectedly discovered that someone had posted several videos of cat abuse. The behavior was extremely cruel and the scenes were extremely bloody. He didn't want to continue paying attention to it, but the cover of the video was a yellow cat, similar to a purebred orange cat, which made him hold back his vomiting and click on it for some reason. It was this unwilling click that made him discover my friend Xiaoju.
That’s right…
I watched the video he saved, and my heart couldn't stop sinking and my blood couldn't stop freezing.
The orange cat that was abused and trembling in the video is Xiaoju. Its fur is the most conspicuous sign to me. I only need to glance at it to know whether it is my friend who is away from home.
Now, in the video, it's huddled in a corner, even its protective instinct, its breath, completely silenced. It's being pulled out by a hand wearing a black leather glove, then placed in a pen, where a metal bucket immediately covers it. There's no sound of laughter or playfulness in the video; it's eerily quiet, with only the scraping of tools and the scraping of shoes.
Then, a wooden stick hit the barrel, followed by a second and third knock...
The speed increased, the sound became louder, and the cat's howling gradually faded away.
Outside the video, I seemed to be deaf and blind, staring blankly at the phone, motionless like an ice sculpture.
Until Wen Liangxi put away his phone and gently woke me up.
I grabbed his arm.
This has little to do with Wen Liangxi canceling his account, but it does have a connection because he can no longer track the publisher.
Now Wen Liangxi only has this video in his hand, and he knows nothing about the news related to the publisher. The existence of this video has become a joke that mocks their incompetence.
I stood in front of the cashier in a depressed mood. My body was like a piece of paper and I was shaking as I held on to the table.
I couldn't even find a way to temporarily alleviate the pain. I dared not close my eyes, or the image of Xiaoju's suffering would replay endlessly in my mind. He had always been a very timid cat, frightened by the slightest disturbance and would flee in panic. He must have had a very hard life in this world, and now he was being targeted by evil people, locked up in the house and toying with his fear.
Rather than being tortured so cruelly, I gritted my teeth and decided that it would be more painful to have my neck cut open with a knife.
I was so lost in my imagination that I completely forgot that there was a living person next to me. When I came to my senses and saw Wen Liangxi observing me out of the corner of my eye, I realized where I was.
I swallowed all my vulnerability, pretending that sand got into my eyes and rubbed them a few times to wipe away the tears welling up in my eyes.
Wen Liangxi saw through it but kept silent. He held my gaze for another second before comforting me, "Don't be too sad. I have to tell you, a small animal like that would absolutely not survive in the hands of those people. Since he posted the video, it means the cat is most likely dying, or dead."
In fact, ever since I learned that Xiaoju was bought by someone else, I guessed that it would not have a good ending. Now that I hear this news with my own ears, I still can't help but feel a pang of heartache.
But no matter what, I can only accept this fact.
For almost the entire day, I kept replaying Xiaoju's suffering in my mind, which dealt a severe blow to me mentally and caused me to be in a daze at work that night.
I finally made it to the end of the day, and the first gentle rays of morning sunlight penetrated the glass and shone onto the shelves. Only then did I gradually get out of this terrible state and devote my attention to another person.
I didn't forget to go see Teng Zheng.
This morning when Deng Yu came to take over her shift, she told me exactly what Wen Liangxi had relayed to Sui Yusheng, which was Teng Zheng's hospital address.
Before leaving, Deng Yu asked a question that probably everyone except Li Ying'an was curious about. She didn't understand why I didn't buy a mobile phone after working for several months.
Accustomed to hearing such things, my response is always to smile politely and brush them off by saying that I will donate to small animals.
Perhaps Deng Yu thinks this reason is weird, because most humans are not so selfless as to omit leaving themselves a way out, but my true self is not human, and even if I give my salary to Li Ying'an, Li Ying'an will give back to me in daily life, so the reason of donating small animals is not false.
If Deng Yu was still like Teng Zheng or Wen Liangxi, and knew that I was a wanderer with no place to stay, he would be shocked and would discuss this as a topic for the whole day!
But then again, Teng Zheng repeatedly tried to sell me his rental houses. I think it was probably because his mother was a landlady.
But Wen Liangxi, ever since that time he injured my leg, he showed concern for me that one time, but otherwise he's never wanted to get to know me in depth. He's a complex person that makes me feel conflicted. Maybe I didn't feel anything when we first met, but now the closer I get to him, the more I feel he's a bit empty, like a floating shell, his soul unreal.
My brain was in a trance all night, and I felt like I was floating in the air. Every step I took was like I was slipping and flying.
I walked out of the supermarket, basking in the morning sun, and shook my heavy and dizzy head wantonly. Then I ran to Li Ying'an's workplace, told him my plan for the day, and asked him to take a taxi to take me to the hospital after get off work. I left some banknotes before I was willing to go alone.
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