Mud beads

The fluorescent lights in the investigation area were an almost cold, white light.

Yu Zhu sat on a chair against the wall in the interrogation room, her coat undone, a lump throbbing in her temple, sending shivers of electric shock-like pain through her. Her cracked phone, already used for taking photos as evidence, sat on the corner of the table, its screen split in the upper right corner like a frozen bolt of lightning.

The police officer across the table stopped writing: "Ms. Yu, please confirm again, who started it?"

"Yu Zhaozu was the one who did it." Yu Zhu repeated tirelessly, "He hit me on the head through the phone, and Liang Dong only rushed over after he saw it."

"You just said they came to ask you for money?"

"Yes, they wanted money to buy a house for Yu Zhaozu. They blocked me at the entrance of the residential area and wouldn't let me leave. When I said I was going to call the police, they hit me."

The police officer looked up at her and said, "You said Liang Dong acted bravely, but don't judge it yourself yet. Explain what happened clearly."

Yu Zhu licked her dry, chapped lips: "Okay, then please write down everything that happened. There are security cameras in the North Gate temporary parking area, and the spot where I fell was directly opposite the gatekeeper. When Yu Zhaozu lunged at Liang Dong again, Liang Dong accidentally touched the broken temple of his glasses. The last punch was delivered directly to meet Yu Zhaozu's fist; it can be seen on the security camera, and I can testify to that."

"We will investigate whether it was intentional or not." The police officer turned to the previous page of the record. "The property management is reviewing the surveillance footage, and we will verify it carefully."

"Thanks."

Yu Zhu nodded, pulled out a chair, and stood up.

The interrogation room was empty except for the police officers; Liang Dong didn't know which room he had been taken to. If it weren't for the Yu family's affair, perhaps they would already be at home, having prepared a meal and sitting at the same table eating on the same side.

She still didn't have a chance to say a proper word to Liang Dong.

A cry suddenly erupted from the corridor.

Through the thin wall, Liu Guizhen's voice pierced the door, shrill and shrill: "He did it on purpose! He poked that long thing into my child's eye, he's trying to kill Zhaozu! He must be arrested and put in jail!"

Yu Zhu suddenly raised her head.

"Liang Dong really didn't intentionally hurt anyone!" She stared at the police officer in front of her, her voice, which had been restrained for a long time, finally began to tremble. "Those were his glasses—he really did retaliate instinctively to protect himself."

"Okay, please don't get agitated." The police officer opened the door, his brow still furrowed. "Whether it was intentional assault or not, we will investigate and determine the nature of the crime. You can rest assured about that."

Yu Zhu wanted to say something more, but the door to the interrogation room had already closed. She was taken for a medical examination; she had a soft tissue contusion on her forehead, a fresh bruise on her lower back, and several finger marks on her arm. When taking photos, she rolled up her sleeves inch by inch, stood in front of the white wall, turned around, looked up, and then brushed her hair aside.

The flash went off several times.

These are real injuries, but compared to that eye that could not be saved, they are almost insignificant.

Liang Dong's agent arrived at the police station quickly.

He was followed by his lawyer and two company employees, their black coats gleaming with the chill of the outside air. After entering, they didn't surround Yu Zhu with questions. The lawyer went to find the police officer handling the case, while the agent stood in the hallway taking three phone calls: instructing people to preserve the community's surveillance footage, contact the hospital, seal off items from the scene, and tell the company account not to respond.

After arranging all these things, he walked up to Yu Zhu.

"Is the statement completed?"

"It's done."

"The Yu family came demanding money, started the fight, and the glasses broke on the spot—has everything been clearly stated?"

"That's clear."

The agent glanced at her swollen temples and frowned: "Once you're out this door, don't answer any questions. We'll handle the rest."

Yu Zhu couldn't help but ask, "Where's Liang Dong?"

"The interrogation is still ongoing."

"What will he do?"

The agent didn't answer immediately. He glanced at the other end of the corridor, where a gray door was closed, with a red light shining above it.

"Let's wait for news from the hospital."

The hospital called half an hour later.

Yu Zhaozu suffered a ruptured left eyeball, which cannot be saved. The severity of his injury will require further assessment by a specialist.

Upon hearing this, Liu Guizhen slumped down, slapping her knees with both hands, her sobs filling the investigation hall. She cursed Liang Dong, cursed Yu Zhu, and also cursed the Yue family for taking her away years ago, causing her daughter to disown her own family. The on-duty police officer came over to stop her twice, and she lowered her voice for a moment, but soon started crying at the top of her lungs again.

Yu Dahai, on the other hand, remained very calm.

He leaned against the wall, first looking at his agent's coat and watch, then at the business card handed to him by the accompanying lawyer. Finally, he took out his phone and swiped up and down for a while.

"Is the guy who hit someone a celebrity?" he asked.

The agent ignored him.

Yu Dahai pressed further: "My child has lost an eye, who will we talk to about compensation?"

Liu Guizhen paused in her sobs, looked up and yelled at him, "Zhaozu is still in the operating room, and all you care about is money!"

"If we don't talk about money, will your eyes grow back?" Yu Dahai glanced at her. "Are you going to abandon the child in the future?"

After he finished speaking, the corridor was silent for a few seconds.

Yu Zhu stood up. A corner of the gauze patch on her temple, applied after the medical examination, was peeling off, but she ignored it, staring intently at Yu Dahai: "You've finally found something else that can fetch a good price, haven't you?"

Yu Dahai pursed his lips and said nothing more.

The red light above the interrogation room went out.

The door opened from the inside, and Liang Dong was led out by two police officers. The blood on his face had been wiped away, leaving only a few mottled rust spots. His mouth was split open, and a layer of bruises rose on his right cheekbone. His hair was pulled back, and under the incandescent light, his clean-cut face suddenly looked very young.

When Yu Zhu saw him, she immediately went to greet him. She wanted to call his name, but when she opened her mouth, the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned down.

Liang Dong raised his head.

The moment he saw her, his tightly furrowed brows relaxed. His gaze passed over the police officers standing in the middle and landed on the gauze on her temple. His lips moved, and he asked her silently.

"Does it hurt?"

Yu Zhu shook her head and wiped away the tears that welled up in her eyes. She couldn't touch him, so she just followed behind the policeman, changing positions as if trying to get closer to him, just a little closer.

Liang Dong's hands were behind his back, and despite his best efforts to hide them, the silver handcuffs were still visible.

The injury assessment results were not yet available, but the decision to detain him was made first. The police handed the legal documents to the lawyer, and Liang Dong needed to be transferred to the detention center overnight.

Yu Zhu wanted to move forward, but her manager grabbed her wrist from behind.

"Let the lawyer handle it," he said in a low voice.

The glass doors at the end of the corridor slid open to both sides, letting a cold draft into the lobby. Liang Dong was led out, glancing back at Yu Zhu as he passed the doorway. The police lights outside didn't sound; their blue beams swept across his face, illuminating the faint smile on his face.

The car door closed quickly.

Moth

The company sent a car to take Yu Zhu back to her apartment.

Although it was late at night, the lobby downstairs was still brightly lit. She swiped her access card, and the elevator came up from the underground parking garage. The door opened, and two young girls stood inside, carrying convenience store paper bags.

"It must be true, it's trending at number one." The girl handed her phone to her best friend beside her.

"Holy crap, he's channeling Chen Ye! He's hitting so hard!"

"Didn't he just become popular?"

Yu Zhu pressed her back against the cold metal sedan wall.

The elevator doors opened, and she ran out as if fleeing, tripping over the edge of the elevator and almost falling.

My phone vibrated in my pocket.

On the shattered screen, message notifications piled up one after another. The top one was a newly released news article with only four words in the title.

[Liang Dong assaults someone]

It was followed by a deep red "Explode".

She opened the news, and the video started playing automatically.

The camera, positioned at a distance, trembled violently. The scene begins with the black suitcase lying overturned in the middle of the road. Liang Dong rushes in from off-camera and punches Yu Zhaozu in the face. Immediately, the two begin to fight. He is surrounded by the Yu father and son; his hat and glasses fall off. The video zooms in, revealing a stubborn and upright face.

Seventeen seconds later, the progress bar returned to zero.

Yu Zhaozu didn't knock the phone away, she didn't bump into the stone platform, and Liu Guizhen didn't kneel on the ground to grab her.

The black suitcase fell over again.

Liang Dong rushed in from off-screen, and that punch landed again.