20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 759: Same Fate, Different Destiny

It's getting late.

The ventilation hole in the cell was only the size of a fist, and a beam of silver-gray light pierced in diagonally, splitting the arrested student in two.

Everyone looked exhausted, even the guy from the drama club looked a little depressed.

The toilet in the corner was full, and the air was filled with a foul smell that was pungent and irritating, and it wouldn't go away.

Woodlice and centipedes were crawling everywhere on the brick walls. Everyone curled up, feeling itchy all over, and it was uncomfortable to sit or lean on them.

There were three or five girls who hugged their knees, sobbed, muttered, and scared themselves.

The boy was strong-willed and didn't say anything, but his eyes were fixed on her, and he had already lost his luster.

After a long silence, the sound of "gurgling" gradually began to be heard all around. Everyone was hungry.

The one from the drama club raised his head, pursed his lips and said, "Here... they should provide food, right?"

"Don't worry, it's not time yet!" A "senior" in prison raised his chin towards the corridor and hummed in response, "We can only eat after they finish eating!"

Everyone leaned forward to look, and following the direction he pointed, they could see the duty room at the corner of the corridor.

The door was half-open, so the food on the table could not be seen clearly, but the "smacking" chewing sounds inside the room seemed particularly real.

To be honest, the jailers’ food was not that good, but everyone was so hungry that they couldn’t help but have endless fantasies.

Jiang Ya moved closer to the cell door, looking at it eagerly, and finally felt a little homesick.

Someone behind me suddenly sighed and said, "I feel like we can't get out..."

"That depends on your individual situations," said the "senior" on the straw mat. "If you just follow the crowd, it won't be a big deal. But if you take the lead in organizing it, it's hard to say. It's hard to say!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ya suddenly remembered the book that someone stuffed into her hand when she was petitioning, and she didn't know what crime she would be charged with.

While I was hesitating, a student who was outspoken had already started discussing.

"I don't think so. I didn't even know there was a group petition today. Someone in the class called me, so I just followed them."

"Then I'm even worse off. I was the first one to arrive at that school, but somehow I was pushed to the front row."

"What does it mean to be a leader? I just helped to send the download—"

"We are all wronged!" Su Run suddenly interrupted the discussion.

His voice was so loud that it attracted everyone's attention, but he only stared at the "senior" opposite him and reiterated: "There is no one taking the lead here, and everyone is being wronged."

Everyone fell silent immediately, with something strange in their eyes.

The "senior" was also stunned, and after a moment's pause, he smiled and said, "Okay, I won't say it, you think too much."

"If he really is the leader of the organization, what will be the result?" the man from the drama club suddenly asked.

"I don't know." The senior shook his head and said, "Among our group of students, two were taken away for questioning. They were gone for three days and there has been no news since. They may have been released or executed. What? Are you afraid of death?"

"I'm not afraid of death!"

The guy from the drama club said in a pretentious tone: "I'm only afraid that the people who love me and the people I love don't know why I died!"

"Do you think you're being beheaded at Caishikou?" The senior sneered. "We are under martial law now. If the charges are proven, it would be treason. The execution would be a secret one. Not only do they not know why you died, they don't even know how and when you died."

The reality is very cruel.

Throughout history, there have been many people who sacrificed their lives for justice. Those who can leave their names behind always need a bit of luck and someone needs to write a book about them.

Hearing this, the guy from the drama club felt like he had been scolded, and his expression suddenly became a little depressed.

At this moment, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from the corridor.

From the sound of big leather shoes tapping the ground and the noise, it seemed like there were quite a few people.

The students rushed to the prison door and looked out, only to see a group of old men walking quickly into the duty room. The old men inside stood up and saluted with a "boom".

"Captain Xia!"

The door slammed shut, but intermittent conversation could still be heard.

"No torture?"

"How dare I? I'm waiting for your news!"

"How many people are we sending over here?"

"Nineteen. There seem to be a dozen more in the West District, but I'm not sure exactly..."

The sound gradually became weaker, and the students looked at each other with confusion on their faces. It was obvious that their situation was being discussed in the duty room.

After a while, Captain Xia led several prison guards and quickly came to the cell door.

The students were so frightened that they quickly shrank back, and some of the timid ones even cried out loud.

Captain Xia, who looked to be in his forties and quite experienced, turned to the jailers with a piece of paper in his hand and asked, "Is everything here?"

The jailer nodded: "They are all here."

Captain Xia cleared his throat, looked at the students in the cell, and said, "I'll read a few names. If you hear me, please squeak. Don't be cunning or try to be smart. Be honest and no one will get into trouble. If you don't agree now, you will have to agree sooner or later."

The students looked at each other, feeling a little nervous.

Everyone knows that basic information such as name and school is impossible to hide.

"Jadenko?" Captain Xia began to call the roll. "Is Jadenko here?"

No one in the cell responded.

"Where's Wu Sanjia? Speak right here, don't play dumb!"

The students looked at each other, but still no one agreed.

"Su Run! Is Su Run here?"

"exist!"

Su Run replied, looking a little confused.

Captain Xia glanced at him and said nothing. He then looked at the list in his hand. His brows suddenly raised, as if he was avoiding something.

"Um...is there a girl named Jiang here?"

"My surname is Jiang!"

Jiang Ya looked at the jailer and responded tremblingly.

Captain Xia frowned even more, holding on to a last glimmer of hope, and asked, "What's your name?"

"Jiang Ya."

"Which school?"

"Fengtian Provincial Girls' High School."

Captain Xia suddenly became annoyed, put down the list, turned around and asked mutteringly: "Whatever you fear will come true, who the hell sent it here?"

The jailer came forward and whispered something in a low voice.

Captain Xia became more and more anxious after hearing this. He waved his hands and said, "Go, go, call and inform them!"

Then he turned around and asked, "Is Zhang Xiulian here? Where's Pang Xingya? Lu Yanzhou..."

The list was not long and was quickly called out. Three or two more students in the cell had their names called out.

Captain Xia marked them one by one, without further explanation, and turned and left.

They came from different schools and classes, and they didn't know each other's background, let alone what the officials were planning.

"You are the leaders, right?" The man from the drama club said with concern, "Don't worry, the government is under great pressure from public opinion right now, they shouldn't dare to do anything to you!"

Other students also came over to comfort Jiang Ya and others.

Su Run didn't say anything, thinking about Captain Xia's actions just now. With the help of a ray of moonlight in the cell, he looked at everyone's shoes. Suddenly he understood, and quietly retreated into the shadows, kicking the straw mat twice.

This action caught Jiang Ya's attention.

She looked down at her sneakers, then glanced at the dozen or so pairs of cloth shoes opposite her, and seemed to understand.

Although Jiang Ya's understanding was not thorough due to her young age and limited experience, she still felt the obvious difference and was convinced that her family would have a way to rescue her, at least more than those "dozen pairs of cloth shoes".

Sure enough, within two cups of hot tea, a series of footsteps were heard again from the corner of the corridor.

This time there were more people, and at first it sounded like a surging tide. It was just as the storyteller said: the clang of swords coming out of their sheaths, the clatter of horses trampling the camp!

It was as if the entire prison was shaking slightly.

All the prison guards in the duty room rushed to the blind spot, as if to greet some important person.

The students were extremely confused; the sound was too far away to be heard clearly. They could only vaguely make out that some people were banging their heads on the table and some were smiling apologetically.

Soon, Captain Xia led his men back quickly, opened the cell door quickly, and waved to Jiang Ya.

"Girl, come out for a moment."

Jiang Ya hesitated for a moment, and finally took a step forward under the gaze of everyone, and walked to the door in a daze.

Captain Xia let her out sideways, then locked the cell door and led her to the end of the corridor.

As soon as they turned the corner and avoided the students' sight, the other two jailers hurriedly took out the keys and opened the handcuffs and shackles for Jiang Ya, saying as they worked: "Miss Jiang, you have to say something fair later. Since you came in, we have never hit you or scolded you!"

Jiang Ya was flattered and nodded blankly, not knowing what to say.

The lights in the corridor were dim, and only at the end could a bright warm yellow light be seen.

The distance is not too far, but the journey of the heart is long, as if exploring some truth.

Somehow, Jiang Ya's heart was beating wildly. As she followed closely, light and shadow slowly moved on her face, alternating between light and dark.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up.

In front of me was an extremely spacious hall, probably where the jailers usually held meetings. Many people were standing inside, with only one exception.

Jiang Lianheng was wearing a black silk gown and sitting sideways at the table with his elbows resting on the table. He had a gloomy face and was not smiling.

"dad--"

Jiang Ya screamed and ran forward, but just as she entered the hall, she suddenly stopped, feeling inexplicably scared.

The number of people in the room was far more than she had imagined, at least fifty or sixty. Half of them were brothers from the Jiang family, and the other half were Old Chai from the government office. The two sides stood facing each other, and the room was as full as it could be.

There are many familiar faces among them, including Uncle Zhao, Uncle Dong, Uncle San, Hai Xinnian, and many uncles and grandpas whose faces are familiar but whose names I cannot remember.

Although Xue Yingqing did not come, her subordinates Lao Dao, Kang Zheng and others were also present.

The people who are most familiar to you on weekdays suddenly become strangers at this moment.

In the past, in Jiang Ya's eyes, these uncles and uncles were all very easy-going. They secretly gave her pocket money, often joked with her, and were even a little frivolous and funny. In short, they all had the demeanor of talkative and funny old children. But today was different. They all had stern faces like zombies.

Jiang Lianheng glanced at his daughter, without expressing his opinion, and just sat there quietly.

It was only at this point that Jiang Ya realized that it was not that she was not afraid of her father, but that she had never actually seen her father get angry.

In contrast, the group of old men on the opposite side of the hall looked more like students who had made a mistake. Some hung their heads and said nothing, while others bent their waists slightly and smiled apologetically. They were trembling with fear and shrinking, without any of their usual majestic demeanor.

Lao Chai was wary of Jiang Lianheng, not only because of the Jiang family's wealth, but also because many of their members were originally disciples of the Jiang family.

It was a piece of cake for him to investigate which police team arrested Jiang Ya, especially since the arrest process involved an impressive "big job".

Over the years, Jiang Lianheng has probably lost count of how many Lao Chai people he has "personally" promoted.

In short, seven or eight out of ten patrol chiefs in Fengtian City have to respect him as "Boss".

The eldest daughter of the Jiang family had never known about these situations.

In the past, Jiang Lianheng never introduced his daughter to anyone.

Firstly, Jiang Ya was too young and a girl, so there was no need for an introduction;
Secondly, Jiang Lianheng knew very well that the best protection he could provide for Jiang Ya was to try his best not to let others know that Jiang Ya was his daughter.

But now, I can't hide it anymore.

Jiang Ya was totally unprepared for this. Now that she suddenly realized her father's power, she couldn't help but stand there in a daze - she thought her father was just a wealthy local tycoon with some money!

Zhang Zhengdong stood behind Jiang Lianheng and waved to his niece. Jiang Ya then walked over blankly.

"dad."

Her voice calmed down, the unfamiliar feeling covering up the previous joy.

"Ok!"

Jiang Lianheng nodded, lifted his daughter's face, and turned it gently. Seeing that her left cheek was red and swollen, he did not ask her if it hurt or anything like that. Instead, he pointed at the group of old men opposite him and asked softly, "Who hit you? Go over and see, do you still recognize them?"

Jiang Ya was a little hesitant.

Zhang Zhengdong put his hand on his niece's shoulder and patted her gently, "Let's go, I'll go with you."

The uncle and nephew walked slowly to Lao Chai and identified them one by one from left to right, as if they were reviewing an army.

Jiang Ya could clearly feel that the patrolman was afraid of her, or rather, afraid of the father behind her.

Although she is still young, this sense of control over life and death is something she will never forget once she has experienced it.

In the old room, Chen Rui's heart was in his throat. He didn't dare to look at Jiang Ya at all. Just listening to the approaching footsteps, cold sweat oozed out of his palms.

"It's him!"

Who rang the death knell?
Chen Rui's stomach cramped. He tried to open his mouth and said in a trembling voice, "Miss, you got the wrong person, didn't you? This kind of thing... we can't joke about it!"

"That's you!"

Jiang Ya would not admit her mistake. She pointed at Chen Rui and turned to shout, "Dad, it's him! I said the book wasn't mine and he hit me!"

Jiang Lianheng nodded in response but said nothing.

Zhang Zhengdong patted Jiang Ya and said, "Okay, let's go!"

Jiang Ya was a little confused. She took a few steps without knowing why. Suddenly she turned around and asked, "Dad, aren't you leaving?"

Jiang Lianheng waved his hand and said, "Go back first, your mother is waiting for you at home!"

However, Jiang Ya didn't want to leave, or rather, she wanted to witness with her own eyes what would happen next.

This time, Zhang Zhengdong did not indulge her and insisted on taking her out of the prison building.

Jiang Ya walked while looking back. It was still the narrow and deep corridor. The room where her father was was getting farther and farther away. It looked like it was falling at a high speed, and the light was gradually dimming.

He turned around suddenly, the evening breeze blowing on his face, and he had actually walked out of the prison gate.

I thought there were enough people in the hall, but I didn't expect there were even more people outside, about a hundred or eighty of them, smart and capable, all experts in various counters. At this moment, they were like a beach by the river, lined up on both sides, all eagerly waiting for her to come out.

There were also a number of strong men standing next to the car in the distance. When they saw her come out, they hurriedly opened the back door.

"Miss."

Everyone bowed to greet him. The sound was not loud, but it was enough to amaze people.

Jiang Ya stood on the steps, stunned.

As if she had an epiphany, she almost immediately understood her family background.

"Xiaoya!"

Xue Yingqing came over from the side, put his hands on Jiang Ya's shoulders, looked her over carefully, smacked his lips distressedly, and said, "Oh, look at your swollen face and your wrists are rubbed raw. Go back and apply some medicine."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Zhengnan came over again, panting and said, "Niece, get in the car quickly. We can talk about it when we get home!"

"Godmother, Second Uncle..."

"Are you scared?" Xue Yingqing and Wang Zhengnan smiled. "Next time, don't join in this kind of fun!"

Jiang Ya shook her head, pointed behind her, and said blankly: "My dad... I don't understand..."

"Let's talk about it slowly when we get home!" Xue Yingqing held her hand and walked quickly towards the car. "Don't forget to take a shower when you get home to wash away the bad luck!"

Jiang Ya walked to the front of the car, and suddenly remembered something, turned around and asked: "Uncle Dong, you are not leaving either?"

Zhang Zhengdong nodded: "I'll go back later."

Without much time to explain, Xue Yingqing and Wang Zhengnan quickly took Jiang Ya into the car.

The driver started the engine and drove slowly towards the north of the city, accompanied by a group of bodyguards running.

Jiang Ya was flustered and suddenly turned around and looked out through the rear window.

In the dark night, Uncle Dong was standing on the stone steps, waving at her...

(End of this chapter)