Life is Like a Journey – Chapter 95
by Little PandaVolume 3: Transition
Interrogation
But the one I want to hit more is that scumbag
In the afternoon after work, Yu Gui also heard about this incident. She couldn’t understand how Qin Xuan had become what others called a xiaosan. She went to the obstetrics department to find her, but she was no longer at the hospital. She had no choice but to go eat alone at the cafeteria, with night shift still ahead and her thesis still unfinished.
Before, when eating, Qin Xuan would usually sit beside her, while Lu Qingshi would arrive fashionably late and sit across from them. The two would eat while bickering, though even with two against one they were no match for Teacher Lu. Now, several unfamiliar medical staff members came with their trays and sat beside her.
Yu Gui scooted inward to make some space, shoveling rice into her mouth while taking out her phone to message Fang Zhiyou that she wouldn’t be coming back tonight.
Those people’s whispers reached her ears: “Hey hey hey, have you heard? That Qin Xuan from our department, Dr. Qin, don’t be fooled by how she’s always wearing gold and silver and acting all high and mighty, turns out she’s a xiaosan!”
“That can’t be, I think Dr. Qin is a good person…”
“How is it not possible? Look, I have photos. The legal wife even came to confront her!”
“Send it to me, send it to me!”
“Ding dong” Yu Gui’s phone also vibrated. Opening the hospital’s internal messaging group, several photos and a video came into view. She turned down the volume. In the video, Qin Xuan was being chased and beaten by a middle-aged woman, who was pulling her hair and slapping her face.
Yu Gui felt uncomfortable watching it. She glanced at the doctor who was talking, finding her familiar – wasn’t she the colleague who ate with her and Qin Xuan last time?
“Now that Dr. Qin is gone, there should be a spot for you as Associate Chief Physician, right?”
Several people started jeering: “That’s right, that’s right. I’ve disliked her for a long time. Her temper is terrible. This afternoon she even beat up a junior nurse in our department. If she becomes Associate Chief Physician, how could we have any peace?”
Yu Gui slammed her chopsticks onto her lunchbox with a “pa” sound, making a moderate noise. Several people looked over at her as Yu Gui stood up with clenched fists, staring at them intently.
“Hey, why are you staring at us like that? A resident physician like you should go mind your own business”
“It’s bad enough that as colleagues you just watched Qin Xuan getting beaten without helping, but you’re also chewing on tongue roots behind her back (meaning to spread malicious gossip).” Yu Gui raised her phone, pointing at the video on it: “And you even recorded it to spread around. Are you even human?”
The other person spoke with a cold tone, looking at her with mockery: “What’s this? The way you’re defending the mistress, could it be you’re a mistress too?”
Yu Gui felt a lump in her throat that wouldn’t go down, feeling anger rushing to her head. She quickly walked over and snatched the phone: “Delete the video!”
That person tried to grab it back, but she quickly turned to avoid it. The other people also gathered around, reaching for the phone with many hands: “What are you doing, what are you doing? Robbing someone in broad daylight!”
Someone pulled her out from the circle of people. She looked up to see it was Chen Yi wearing purple scrubs.
The other person threw her a look that said: Delete it quick.
Yu Gui deftly opened the photo gallery.
“Calm down, calm down, we’re all colleagues here, bound to see each other’s faces daily.” “Yu Gui, are you done? Quickly return the phone.”
She cleared even the recently deleted folder before handing the phone to Chen Yi. Only after repeatedly apologizing did Chen Yi pull her away.
“Thank you.” After walking a few steps, Yu Gui felt she had been too impulsive today. If Chen Yi hadn’t been there, she might have ended up being beaten badly too.
“What are you thanking me for? I can’t stand those people’s faces either, acting like they’re afraid the situation isn’t chaotic enough. But Dr. Qin’s case isn’t as simple as you think. The hospital has already formed an investigation group to start reviewing. You don’t have a professional title and you’re still in standardized training (standardized residency training program), don’t get involved blindly.”
“I understand,” Yu Gui said dejectedly. She didn’t understand – was character really more important than medical skill?
Chen Yi patted her shoulder: “Alright, go do your shift. Call me if anything happens.”
“I request to join the task force!” Xiang Nanke had been standing outside the door for over two hours, and took the chance to follow Chief Li out as soon as the meeting dispersed.
Chief Li turned around and pointed at her nose while scolding: “You’re dreaming! Can’t catch the fox but stirred up trouble (meaning to bring trouble upon oneself)! I haven’t even settled accounts with you yet! Before the 4.13 major international drug trafficking case is closed, all your duties are suspended. Go home and stay there!!!”
Xiang Nanke chased after him two more steps but was held back by several colleagues: “Chief Li, it’s fine if I don’t join the task force, but as a criminal investigator I request to participate in Qin Xuan’s interrogation.”
As she flipped through the chat records page by page, time seemed to open a window, and among those bleak life moments were scattered bits of warmth. Old Bao’s existence had filled the part of her childhood that lacked a father’s love.
Because she had been molested by her biological father since childhood, she dared to be angry but not speak up. On one rainy night, after being severely beaten by him when he was drunk, she was thrown out of the house, and he threatened not to let her continue schooling.
That year she was sixteen, and already deeply understood the principle that knowledge could change one’s fate. School was the only way out she could see.
Old Bao also entered her life on that rainy night. Strangely enough, at that time he straddled both the criminal and legitimate worlds (literally “mixing in both black and white paths”), running a KTV with several drinking buddies. Besides committing murder, arson, and robbery, he did everything evil from loan sharking to being a thug collecting debts.
He snatched an umbrella from his friend’s hand and ran over to hold it over her: “How old are you, why are you crying?”
Perhaps it was that tiny bit of sympathy at work, but when the girl opened her tear-filled eyes to look at him, he heard the sound of his heart blooming.
“Sixteen, I want to go to school…”
“Then come work at my shop. Food and lodging provided, two thousand monthly salary, we operate at night, and you can go to class during the day.”
The youngest sister in Old Bao’s family was about her age too. For convenience in staying in touch, he gave her his old phone. When saving his number, the first message Qin Xuan sent him was: “Thank you, Brother Bao.”
That year she was sixteen, and Bao Fengnian was approaching the age of thirty.
Qin Xuan lay on the bed, opened his chat window, deleted and rewrote repeatedly, had many things she wanted to say, but in the end sent nothing.
Xiang Nanke’s voice echoed in her mind: “Any adult with a conscience would never lay hands on a minor…”
She threw her phone away, hugged her pillow and turned over, burying herself in the soft bed, letting out a long sigh.
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Qin Xuan covered her head, but the knocking at the door grew more intense. She had no choice but to get up listlessly to open it.
“Who is it?”
“Police. Are you Miss Qin Xuan?” Several criminal investigators wearing navy blue uniforms stood at the door, with the lead officer showing his badge.
Qin Xuan’s heart skipped a beat, surely it couldn’t be about her hitting someone this morning…
“Yes, what’s the matter?”
“This is a search warrant. We now suspect you’re involved in a major international drug trafficking and manufacturing case. Please cooperate with our investigation.” Two tall and burly officers flanked her on both sides, while the others rushed into the house. Her expensive carpet was turned over, the bedding in her bedroom was thrown to the floor, and cosmetics from her dressing table were scattered everywhere.
Qin Xuan started struggling: “On what grounds are you arresting me?! This is absurd, I’ve never been involved in any drug trafficking! I want to see your Captain Xiang!”
The lead officer gave a cold smile: “Whether you’re innocent or not isn’t up to you to say. Take her away!”
The light in the interrogation room was bright, with four high walls surrounding her. Her eye sockets stung with soreness. She had been sitting here for a long time, her limbs gradually becoming numb. Qin Xuan felt anxious about her unknown fate.
Until that iron door opened, and someone familiar to her walked in. Xiang Nanke wore her uniform with meticulous precision, buttons fastened up to the very top one. Her soft-soled shoes made no sound on the floor, and her face showed no expression.
“Xiang—” she became somewhat excited.
“Sit down!” A harsh shout, the record book slammed on the table making a huge noise. She had never seen Xiang Nanke so intimidating, and was frozen in place. The way she looked at her was like looking at a criminal suspect, without a trace of warmth.
The routine questioning began, with the camera on the wall recording their entire conversation, while a group of people sat in the adjacent interrogation room.
“Name?”
“Qin Xuan”
“Where are you from?”
“Xinji Town, Jinzhou City”
“Do you know this person?” Xiang Nanke pulled out a photo from the file folder and pushed it across the table.
In the photo, Bao Fengnian was in his forties, with a crew cut, wearing a suit and leather shoes.
“Yes, I know him.”
“What is your relationship with him?”
Qin Xuan looked up at her once, with an expression between a smile and not.
“Doesn’t Officer Xiang already know?”
She changed her posture to appear more composed, without even a flicker in her eyes: “Don’t say useless things. Leniency for those who confess, severity for those who resist.”
“We were lovers,” Qin Xuan sneered, pulling at her lips. In one day, the wound had been repeatedly salted and dragged out whipping a corpse (meaning to continue attacking something already dead/finished). She felt she was becoming numb to it all.
“He was my sugar daddy.”
“What did you do together? Did you work at this KTV?”
She pulled out another photo of the KTV where she had once worked as a server. More than ten years had passed, and it had now become the golden signboard (meaning premier establishment) of Jinzhou City’s entertainment industry.
Qin Xuan relaxed against the chair back, her lips curling into a contemptuous smile, her eyes showing a hint of suggestive ambiguity.
“Of course we did… things that lovers do. What, Officer, are you interested too?”
Faced with her uncooperative and provocative demeanor full of worldliness (suggesting the air of someone who’s seen the darker side of life), Xiang Nanke’s anger rose, and her gaze turned cold.
“Do you know what this is? According to Article 347 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China, smuggling, selling, or transporting 50 grams or more is punishable by death.”
Looking at the small packet of powder she threw out, Qin Xuan’s pupils suddenly widened. Xiang Nanke saw shock in her eyes, and a flash of fear.
Xiang Nanke felt relieved inside: “This was found in the KTV operated by Bao Fengnian.”
She had actually been worried that Bao Fengnian had hidden things in Qin Xuan’s home too. If that were the case, Qin Xuan’s suspicion would be impossible to clear – just hiding drugs alone could get her sentenced to several years.
“No, impossible… I worked there for over two years, I never saw anything like this. You must have made a mistake!” Qin Xuan became agitated, putting her hands on the table. The officer behind her immediately stood up, demanding she remain calm.
Xiang Nanke looked at her with particularly pitying eyes: “On December 15th last year, we received a notice from Yunnan police requesting assistance in investigation. A university student had encountered danger while hiking in the mountains. Initially this was just a simple missing persons case, but further autopsy revealed combined preparations of methcathinone and amphetamine in his body. As a doctor, surely you understand what these substances are? And in his fingernails, they found tissue residue that didn’t belong to him. Guess whose it was?”
Xiang Nanke took out hair strands in a clear plastic bag: “The DNA matches Bao Fengnian’s samples collected from Miss Qin’s home, and the fingerprints from the cups are also a perfect match.”
Two identical photos were laid out. Qin Xuan wasn’t stupid – these pieces of evidence must have been collected in advance, and the only person who had contacted her and been to her home was—
She began to smile, laughing until she was rocking back and forth, laughing until tears splattered everywhere.
This was truly laughable, how foolish of her to think Xiang Nanke genuinely cared for her, how foolish to feel that tiny bit of emotion when she had protected her.
Her judgment of people was really quite poor.
“You—” Xiang Nanke choked up, gripping the pen tightly, slightly biting her lower lip. For a moment, her heart softened and she very much wanted to hug her.
Someone pushed open the door behind her, whispering a few words in her ear. Xiang Nanke stood up: “You can go now, but you’re still a key person under police surveillance. When the police summon you, you must respond immediately.”
Gu Yanzhi stood at the Criminal Investigation Brigade’s entrance smoking, waiting for her to come out. Lu Qingshi’s car was parked not far away. The doctor, wearing a smoke-gray sweater and wide-leg pants, couldn’t stand too long and was slightly leaning against the car, also turning her head to look in that direction.
“Not bad, bro, you’re really loyal.” Qin Xuan still had tears in her eyes but forced a smile, throwing an arm around her shoulder.
Gu Yanzhi quickly shrugged her off, putting out the cigarette on the trash can: “It wasn’t me, it was her.”
Qin Xuan’s smile faded slightly as she was dragged over: “Qingshi still cares about you a lot. She even used her grandfather’s connections to get you out on bail.”
Not long ago, they had just had a big argument. Even though both had good intentions, meeting again was somewhat awkward, especially since the morning’s incident had spread throughout the hospital and even made the news – Lu Qingshi couldn’t possibly not know about it.
Seeing that neither moved, Gu Yanzhi ran over and pulled her, whispering: “I’ll go buy some food. You two talk properly, don’t get angry.”
Lu Qingshi glared at her: Mind your own business.
She smiled and ran away in a flash.
Watching their sweet interaction, though Lu Qingshi had lost weight, her spirit seemed good. Qin Xuan was genuinely happy for her, but there was also an inexplicable hint of envy.
She envied how Lu Qingshi was born into comfort and security, carefully protected and treasured like a precious pearl. While she herself had struggled alone, fallen into dust and been ground to mud. Her disheveled appearance formed a stark contrast with Lu Qingshi’s polished look, she couldn’t help but feel distressed.
Lu Qingshi opened the car door for her: “Come on, I’ll take you home.”
Qin Xuan stood still: “Did you come to laugh at me?”
Lu Qingshi paused, straightened up, taking in all her miserable state: “Honestly, I really hate homewreckers. No matter what the reason, destroying someone’s family crosses a moral line.”
Remembering the pain of being beaten on the ground, that woman’s look was just as condescending as hers. Her eyes reddened slightly as she gritted her teeth: “What do you know! Old Bao and I truly love each other! She doesn’t deserve Old Bao!”
Once upon a time, someone had also knelt before her, crying and begging her to let her be with Fu Lei. Lu Qingshi gripped the car door handle tightly, pain flashing across her eyes. Just for what Qin Xuan said, she wanted to go over and slap her hard, but remembering Gu Yanzhi’s words, she held back.
“You know what?” She looked at her coldly, her black pupils devoid of warmth.
“If you weren’t my friend, I’d really want to go over and hit you right now.”
“But the one I want to hit more is that scumbag.”
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