Several of the faces that appeared on screen were still familiar to He Chuan Zhou. Delving into her memories, she realized that her impressions were deeper than she had thought. The hazy, long-held dreams from the past gradually became clear.
During the period right after He Xu had passed away, He Chuan Zhou walked back and forth between home and school every day. On the way, she often saw people she knew.
They would sit by the roadside or linger at street corners. When they saw He Chuan Zhou, they would smile and ask, "Have you eaten?"
He Chuan Zhou would usually just nod and then walk past them expressionlessly. Thinking back now, she realized they were showing concern.
It was a special gift left to her by He Xu.
The sky in the video looked like it was covered with a thick layer of dust, although it was noon, it appeared more like dusk.
A wind started blowing outside, and a few people touched their faces and looked up at the sky. It seemed like a light rain was coming from afar.
The noise level dropped, and the progress bar quickly reached the end.
The video gained significant attention, with many news outlets and marketing accounts sharing it. Topics reflecting "public opinion" soon trended.
Amidst the dense and chaotic online information, netizens finally spared some time to understand the real cause of He Xu's death and expressed a few poignant sighs and societal warmth.
"So, this He Xu died trying to save someone? Before, people said such awful things about him that I thought he must have done something terrible and couldn't bear the societal condemnation, leading to his suicide."
"A police officer who died ten years ago and still remembered by so many people must have really been a good person."
"So, the person who posted that video was really the son of Guangyi's boss? Not even sparing a police officer who died ten years ago? He Xu saved his mother, right? How can they call this 'suicide out of guilt? "
He Chuan Zhou knew that the netizens' sympathy was genuine, and their kindness was real too. However, the busyness of life hid too much tenderness, and these emotions, like a dragonfly touching water, wouldn't last long.
She read through a couple of pages of comments and then turned it off. Coming back to her senses, she realized the office was completely silent. Everyone was holding their breath, looking at each other, waiting for the right moment to speak until Xu Yu called out first.
"Captain He."
He Chuan Zhou looked over at her. Xu Yu stood up straight, nervously smiled, and said, "Everyone's willing to stand up for your father, which means he really was a good police officer."
The others immediately chimed in, "Yes, exactly!"
"Just like Captain He, cold on the outside but warm on the inside."
"Your father must have been warm both inside and outside!"
"What are you guys doing? Normally, you're all pretty good at complimenting, but today you can't seem to get it right?"
"What are you saying? Those were heartfelt words! Even Shao Zhixin can speak better than you."
"Although Tao Ruiming's actions were despicable, this time he unintentionally gave He Xu a chance to restore his honor, letting us know that He Xu was an outstanding officer."
He Chuan Zhou had always presented a cold and stern image to the outside world, making people think she was somewhat unapproachable.
She rarely explained her actions, usually just doing things without talking about them. She never shared her personal life, creating a distance that made her hard to approach.
Despite having only worked for six years, her daily routine and habits already seemed listless and devoid of youthful vitality. Only those who had worked with her for a long time understood that she could be soft-hearted and agitated at times, although she always suppressed her emotions so deeply that she appeared like a still pond, showing no signs of it.
After He Xu's matter was exposed, many previously incomprehensible things became understandable.
He Chuan Zhou was as strong and sharp as they imagined, with a heart even more resilient. It suddenly dawned on them that her usual reserved and indifferent demeanor was a hidden, enduring pain forged by time.
A young colleague clapped his hands and enthusiastically invited, "Captain He, how about you say a few words?"
Everyone applauded, trying to cover up the intense emotions they were feeling inside.
"Me, say a few words?" He Chuan Zhou turned to look at him. "Are you sure you want to hear it?"
The young man, standing straight and full of righteousness, felt an instinctive apprehension when she questioned him but immediately clapped again, saying, "Yes! The spirit has been conveyed! Let's learn from it!"
"Absolutely pathetic!"
They laughed and joked around for a while before Xu Yu said, "I just wonder how Tao Ruiming is doing."
Tao Ruiming was reflecting in the detention center.
He had called Tao Siyue, but before he could finish explaining the situation, she hung up on him. Shortly after, his mother called back, briefly instructing him to comply with the punishment and pay the compensation, ending the call with a long, weary sigh.
Tao Ruiming's spirit sank into deep despair. He admitted that he was the one who posted the video but insisted that the content was fabricated by Han Songshan, claiming he was unaware of the false information. He handed over all the chat records to the police for verification.
After recording his statement, the police submitted a report to the bureau for approval, completed the paperwork, and sent him to the detention center.
Tao Siyue hadn't visited him, either because she was too busy or too disappointed. Jiang Zhaolin had helped bring his mother to the detention center.
His mother, only forty-six but looking almost sixty, with a clean yet rarely adorned face, wore simple black clothes and cloth shoes, likely bought at a local market. Unlike Tao Ruiming, who wore branded clothes, she appeared plain and unembellished.
In the few years they hadn't seen each other, her hair had turned mostly gray, and Tao Ruiming almost didn't recognize her at first glance.
When she saw Tao Ruiming, she said nothing, holding a cloth bag on her lap. They sat in silence for fifteen minutes. Just before leaving, she stiffly said, "Behave yourself and don't cause your sister any more trouble. She's going through a tough time."
Hearing her voice, Tao Ruiming felt an inexplicable sadness, his chest tight as if something was squeezing his internal organs.
His mother had always been taciturn, rarely speaking to them, but she used to take him out shopping and read picture books with him.
He could feel her love for him, even a reliance on life's passion.
After the family became wealthy, they began to live apart. In seven or eight years, he had only gone to see her three times.
Having grown accustomed to mingling with well-dressed people, he never missed or appreciated her willingness to live alone in the countryside and even felt a bit relieved.
When he visited with his sister after graduating high school, he noticed that even that little bit of passion for life had disappeared. She just looked at him with deep, complex eyes, showing little emotion.
Tao Ruiming hadn't given it much thought.
Now, he realized why his family was so abnormal.
He asked the guards about the outside world, but they didn't dare to tell him the real situation online, fearing he might cause trouble.
Everything was incredibly bleak.
His school, after understanding the situation from the police, gave him a demerit.
Tao Siyue was inevitably facing criticism due to the reversal of He Xu's case, with a barrage of online abuse. Guangyi's stock price plummeted, leading to a temporary trading halt.
With Tao Xianyong's death, Guangyi's internal morale was already unstable. Rumors of internal strife and competition led to a shortage of raw materials, backlog of semi-finished products, and significant cash flow problems, forcing the company to consider large-scale layoffs. Many high-level executives were on the verge of jumping ship.
An industrial company once thriving in City A was now teetering on the brink of collapse.
In private discussions, people lamented that having an incapable child was terrifying. Even after surviving industry competition and transformation pains, in today's highly information-driven era, one couldn't predict how a lifetime's work might be destroyed in a humiliating way.
But what Tao Ruiming was most concerned about right now was Han Songshan.
He set aside his pride and asked the police officer to release the complete chat logs, hoping to drag Han Songshan down with him. He thought that the mastermind would have to accompany him inside for a few days, but even as he was about to be released, there was still no sign of Han Songshan.
As he left the detention center, he was still muttering under his breath, "He Chuan Zhou can't just let Han Songshan get away with this, right? He's much worse than I am!"
He Chuan Zhou did report it to the police, but they couldn't find Han Songshan.
After Tao Ruiming's chat logs were made public, Han Songshan quickly released a statement claiming that the person Tao Ruiming had been in contact with was not him. He said that the police could verify the account's real identity information and accused Tao Ruiming of slander.
This somewhat surprised He Chuan Zhou—Tao Ruiming hadn't even accurately confirmed the other party's identity.
Netizens were also stunned. The twists and turns of this situation were beyond their expectations, and as various sarcastic comments spread, it almost became an online joke.
The colleagues from the economic investigation team specifically came to analyze it for He Chuan Zhou, saying that 80% of Guangyi's current predicament was due to Han Songshan. This included raising the profile of Qiduchunliang online and rallying support for He Xu, Han Songshan had contributed significantly to these efforts.
His goal was to undermine market confidence in Guangyi. He had teamed up with a company from another province and aimed to directly take over Guangyi, making the current situation a prime opportunity.
Tao Ruiming, the idiot, had walked right into a trap set for him, voluntarily exposing himself and getting metaphorically beheaded. He was quite the talent.
Xu Yu and Shao Zhixin were flabbergasted and strangely moved, summarizing that despite his young age, Tao Ruiming's life had been full of ups and downs. He had been detained, trended on social media, and handled billions in assets—an experience beyond the average person's imagination.
"This is karma," Brother Huang sighed. "Years ago, Tao Xianyong and Han Songshan colluded, and now this evil wolf has bitten Tao's beloved son, ruining their family's reputation. Calling it karma is putting it mildly. But this Han Songshan has no sense of loyalty or cooperation—he's ruthless! What is he hiding for?"
Han Songshan had been living in City D in recent years. After contacting the local police for assistance, they found that Han Songshan was not at home.
His phone was unreachable, and his wife didn't know his specific whereabouts. However, a police officer from City A reported that he had been seen near Guangyi's headquarters recently, but his exact residence was unknown.
Since no family member had reported him missing and Tao Ruiming couldn't prove that Han Songshan had tricked him into making the slanderous video, the police didn't have the authority to search Han Songshan's travel records. So, the matter was put on hold.
The online uproar quickly subsided. After a brief period of media attention, Ziyang Street returned to its usual tranquility.
He Chuan Zhou, who usually drove to and from work, rarely passed by their place. After the incident, she took some time to stroll around the area.
She had initially intended to express her gratitude to everyone, but when she saw them, she inexplicably found it hard to speak.
Those warm-hearted elders were still the same as years ago, kindly asking her, "Have you eaten?" This time, regardless of her answer, they stuffed things into her hands.
He Chuan Zhou wasn't good at handling such relationships and reflected that she should bring Zhou Tuoxing along next time.
In the past few days, the team had been busy working overtime due to a new gang r*pe case.
After finishing her paperwork, He Chuan Zhou went home at around eleven.
As she walked past a row of houses with her head down, she thought she glimpsed a dim light through a window. She quickly looked up, but upon closer inspection, she realized it was just a trick of the eye.
This sudden shock woke her up completely.
Wang Yifei used to live there alone, and whenever He Chuan Zhou passed by, she would glance over. If he was at the window, she'd call him over for a meal at her place.
This habit had formed in just over a week and, despite not being useful for seven or eight years, had persisted.
He Chuan Zhou rubbed her temple, opened the security door, and skillfully walked up the stairs.
The hallway sensor light was still broken. Today, the sky was overcast, and the only light came from the elevator door as it opened and closed.
The silver-white light made the air seem murky, and a figure crouching in the corner looked up.
He Chuan Zhou's eyelid twitched. For a moment, her mind went blank. She stood motionless as the elevator doors closed.
The shadow moved cautiously, the plastic wrap of a flower bouquet rustling. He seemed to have been crouching for a while and struggled to stand up, leaning on the wall for support. In a soft, aggrieved voice, he said, "Why are you so late? I've been waiting for you for a long time."
He Chuan Zhou quietly observed him and hesitantly called out, "Yifei?"
Wang Yifei chuckled.
He Chuan Zhou stood still for a couple of seconds before remembering to open the door. She pulled out her keys from her pocket and turned to unlock the door. Wang Yifei stepped forward to light her way with his phone.
He Chuan Zhou glanced at him and, almost instinctively, lowered her gaze, seeing only the pattern on his T-shirt. She then realized he had grown taller than her.
His features and face had become more defined, though still bearing traces of his youth.
The last time she saw him was two years ago during a business trip out of the province. He was there too, and they had planned to eat together but didn't manage to. He had bought her a large bag of snacks to eat on the car ride.
Wang Yifei looked around at the peeling walls and asked, "Why are you still living here? I thought you had moved."
He Chuan Zhou was about to answer when she caught the scent of pancake sauce, prompting another glance at the person beside her.
Wang Yifei lifted the plastic bag hidden by the bouquet and said, "I wanted to treat you to this. Too bad it's cold now."
As soon as he spoke, the old door finally opened.
He Chuan Zhou stepped aside, allowing the light to spill out, and looked Wang Yifei over again. He took off his shoes and instinctively rummaged through the shoe cabinet, only finding two shoe covers and no extra slippers.
She placed a hand on his shoulder and told him not to take off his shoes since the floor hadn't been cleaned for days and was covered in dust. Wang Yifei then stepped inside without removing his shoes.
Past the shoe cabinet, on the right-hand wall, hung a picture of He Xu. It wasn't a black-and-white photo in the frame but a young selfie of him. He was smiling brightly, looking handsome. The reflection from the glass covered his eyes, giving him an energetic look.
Wang Yifei looked at it for a long time and then turned around, smiling, "So this is what Uncle He looked like. I almost forgot. He looks much younger and a bit more handsome than I remember."
When he smiled, dimples appeared on his cheeks, and his eyes curved downward, showing a familiar innocence that He Chuan Zhou recognized.
Her impression of him was mostly from seven years ago. Although they had seen each other a few times since then, their interactions had been brief. She always felt he hadn't grown up.
Back then, He Chuan Zhou was in college in Province B, and her chaotic life had finally settled down. Wang Yifei had graduated from high school, with grades only good enough for a third-tier university.
Perhaps not wanting her to take care of him anymore, or unable to stay in City A, he chose to leave as soon as he could, not even saying a proper goodbye to avoid her dissuasion.
For the first few years, Wang Yifei took the initiative to contact He Chuan Zhou, but technology wasn't advanced, so their communication was limited to a few words via text.
He would occasionally send He Chuan Zhou a few photos to show off his new hairstyle.
Later, after getting a new phone, he began sending her various landscape photos and his own paintings every now and then, proving that he could live well on his own.
He had always been well-behaved, and no one expected that his one act of rebellion would last so long.
While He Chuan Zhou was lost in thought, Wang Yifei found a vase in the small storeroom, arranged the flowers in it, and solemnly placed it in the hallway in front of the study. He knelt down and respectfully bowed to He Xu's memorial photo.
As he was about to finish the third bow, He Chuan Zhou quietly walked up behind him and kicked him.
Wang Yifei leaned sideways, glaring back at her, but insisted on completing his ritual properly. He moved a bit to the side and seriously continued his homage.
Typically, one would bow three times, or for a more formal ceremony, kneel four times and bow twelve times. Not fully understanding this, he finished with ten bows for good measure before finally standing up.
By then, He Chuan Zhou had already sat down on the sofa. Wang Yifei placed the vase in its spot and then sat down beside her.
They sat side by side in a slightly awkward silence due to their long separation. This reminded He Chuan Zhou of the first time she met Wang Yifei when he sat quietly at the dining table, creating a similarly awkward scene.
The specific details, however, she had somewhat forgotten.
Wang Yifei kept glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. Seeing her lost in thought, he nervously called out, “Sister.”
He Chuan Zhou turned to look at him.
After a moment, she remembered that she hadn’t asked him how he had been recently.
Based on her experience, she judged that he was probably doing so-so—his T-shirt had loose threads, his pants looked worn, and their style was simple. His shoes were new but of poor quality.
Noticing her scrutinizing gaze, Wang Yifei felt uneasy and stood up, pacing around the living room before heading to the balcony.
He Chuan Zhou took out a cigarette, twirled it between her fingers for a couple of seconds, then put it back. She followed him out and leaned against the sliding door, opening her mouth to speak, but before she could, a red and green firework exploded in the sky.
The burst of light illuminated the night sky, accompanied by a loud bang. One cluster after another erupted and faded above the silhouettes of buildings.
Wang Yifei immediately brightened up, pushed open the window, stood on tiptoe to look outside, and excitedly said, "Fireworks this time of year? That's surprising!"
He quickly clasped his hands together and earnestly made a wish, “I hope everything goes smoothly this year and for world peace!”
Wow, that's quite a high aspiration.
He Chuan Zhou said, "Can't you tell the difference between a firework and a meteor shower?"
Wang Yifei smiled nonchalantly, "They're all just illusions, as long as they work, that's fine."
Very typical of our country’s perspective.
He Chuan Zhou pondered for a moment and then ruthlessly said, "Fireworks are banned in the city. You're making a wish to a breach in urban safety regulations. I don’t know if it’ll work, but it’ll definitely come with a fine of over 100 yuan but less than 500."
Wang Yifei's face darkened. He couldn't find a rebuttal, nor did he dare to curse at her. After a few attempts to speak, he finally just muttered, “Sister!”
He Chuan Zhou lightly tugged at the corner of her mouth and then asked, "After so long, have you figured things out? How have you fared these past few years?"
The distant noise suddenly stopped, and the silence that followed was as uncomfortable as dry, parched air.
Wang Yifei lowered his head, revisited the mental script he had prepared, and briefly introduced to He Chuan Zhou his life of drifting from place to place over the past seven years.