Chapter 74: CH 74

Chapter 74 – World of Cherry Blossoms (2)

“Ruan Ruan, there are too many people over there, it’s not safe.”

Xie Ai held Wen Ruan’s hand and persuaded her patiently.

“Let’s go to another place to take pictures.  Aren’t there some small trees nearby here as well?”

“I promised to take a lot of pictures for grandfather and grandmother today!  And I must go to that biggest cherry blossom tree because grandfather said that this amusement park became famous because of that tree!”

Wen Ruan swung her arms to make a big circle then puffed out her cheeks and acted like a spoiled child.

“Let’s go, let’s go!  Grandmother is sick so she will surely want to see the most beautiful cherry blossom tree!”

Xie Ai shook her head helplessly and led Wen Ruan to the place where it was the most crowded.

The sea of people was constantly flowing.  Someone unexpectedly hit Xie Ai heavily on her shoulder and as a result, her bag and the camera she was holding were knocked to the ground.

With a frown, she let go of Wen Ruan’s hand and squatted down to quickly pick up the things.

When she straightened up again, she subconsciously reached out her hand to the side……..and then realized that Wen Ruan, who was standing beside her, had been carried away by the sea of people in the blink of an eye.

“Ruan Ruan!  Ruan Ruan!”

In the amusement park, the afternoon is the time when the flow of people is at its peak.

Xie Ai shouted until her voice became hoarse and eventually she lost her voice.  However, she could occasionally hear Wen Ruan’s response.

It was only until nighttime that news came from the police station.

It was reported that Wen Ruan was found inside a trash bin that was about to be transported out of the amusement park.

Fortunately, only the back of her head was injured and there were no other visible wounds on her body but she was unconscious.

When Xie Ai and Wen Fengchen arrived at the hospital, Wen Ruan was just slowly returning to consciousness.

She looked very weak and upon seeing her parents, she could not hold back any longer.  With tears in her eyes and her face wrinkled up, she burst out crying aloud.

As parents, they naturally felt distressed and hurriedly hugged and coaxed their child.

About ten minutes later, Wen Ruan’s mood improved a little but she was still gasping slightly and from time to time she would hiccup.

Xie Ai coaxed her softly in a hoarse voice.

“Ruan Ruan, get well quickly.  Let’s leave the hospital as soon as possible and go home to play with the children that you know, okay?”

Wen Ruan leaned into Xie Ai’s arms, nodded vigorously, and replied in her baby voice.

“Mm!”

After thinking for a while, she added.  “I want to get better quickly and leave the hospital quickly……..and I want to show grandfather the photos of the cherry blossom trees.”

But by the time Wen Ruan was discharged from the hospital, the grandfather who taught her to play the Tao Xun had already resigned from his job in the music class.

In the end, the photos were never given to him.

***☆☆☆***

“Are you referring to Old Man Zhang?  I have a deep impression of him.”

The auntie of the neighborhood committee looked at Fu Zhihuan and Wen Ruan.  She sighed as she cracked the melon seeds.

“He passed away ten years ago.  He was actually quite pitiful……..his wife died early and he was left all alone.”

After confirming with his family, Fu Zhihuan realized the art class Fu Yuqing attended back then was indeed the same class that Wen Ruan attended.

And their teacher was the same person.

After so many years had passed, this coincidence finally reappeared as an important clue in the unsolved case.

The old man’s name was Zhang Zhiwei.  He was a street performer in his early years and later he worked in an art troupe for a few years.  His salary was not high and he could barely support his family.

As he grew older, he could no longer stay in the art troupe, so he went to the art training center to work as a teacher.

“Ai, that old man didn’t have a good life.  He went through a lot of hardships to bring up his son but that son is unfilial and good-for-nothing.”

When the auntie said up to here, she stopped cracking the melon seeds and then sneakily looked left and right before she beckoned to Wen Ruan and said in a whisper.

“That son of his never went to school nor learn any skills since young.  It was not known what trouble he caused or how many times he got into trouble and every day the police would come to make arrests.  However, about 20 years ago, for some reason he suddenly became rich.  When he was queried about his job, he refused to say a word.  But whenever he came back, he would be decked in jewelry and his luxury cars would be parked downstairs.”

“But what is the use of having money when one has an evil heart?  At first, he would still come home to see the old man twice a year but later he no longer cared.  The old man struggled to live with the little saving he possessed and could only afford one meal a day, not to mention the miserable state he was in.”

While the auntie spoke, she slapped her thigh angrily.

“Ten years ago, that Old Man Zhang must have had foolish thoughts and probably felt he couldn’t go on living so he decided to jump down from the balcony.  A life was gone just like that.”

Fu Zhihuan frown slightly and asked.

“Please tell me, did the residents in the community feel anything strange or noteworthy about this pair of father and son back then?”

Rubbing her chin, the auntie thought for a while, and then suddenly clapped her hands and leaned closer to the two people.

“Yes, there is!  As you know, we old ladies usually like to chitchat about our daily lives and coincidentally the neighbors who live across Old Man Zhang’s unit have an especially good relationship with me.”

“Whenever the old lady in the neighbor’s house couldn’t sleep at night she would always get up to watch TV.  One night, she unexpectedly heard Old Man Zhang arguing with his son.  She couldn’t hear them clearly but heard a few words like ‘rich man’s child’ and ‘the dead’.  Anyway, those words were creepy.  Ever since then, Old Man Zhang’s spirit started to deteriorate day by day.”

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Wen Ruan inhaled deeply.

“Then do you know where Old Man Zhang’s son lives?”

The auntie shook her head.

“I don’t know.  We’re not well acquainted with him.”

After bidding goodbye to the auntie, Fu Zhihuan and Wen Ruan returned to the car and drove to the nearby police station.

In the car, a female voice was broadcasting the news on the radio.

“Today, the police finally made a breakthrough with their persistent efforts regarding an unsolved case of child abuse and murder which happened 20 years with the murderer still at large.  A person related to the case had come forward to surrender…….”

*Pa-da*

Wen Ruan reached out to turn off the radio.

Fu Zhihuan lowered his eyes and did not turn his head.

“Thank you.”

Wen Ruan shook her head and flashed a smile.

“It’s fine.  Wasn’t the conversation with the auntie recorded just now?  The police are now starting to look at this case again.  Old Man Zhang’s son will be found soon and as long as the DNA is compared, the truth will be known.”

“The murderer will be brought to justice.”

As Fu Zhihuan listened to Wen Ruan’s voice, his calm eyes finally showed some warmth and became a little less cold and a little more amiable.

He seemed to chuckle lightly and it was just that his voice sounded deeply tired.

“Mm, I believe it will be so.”

After the radio was turned off, the car fell into a dead silence again.  The only sound that could be heard was the whirring of the wind blowing on the glass which stirred one’s thoughts into turmoil.

As he got closer to the truth, Fu Zhihuan realized that the emotions he thought were kept under control had become vulnerable at this moment.

He had overestimated himself.

He realized that he could not calmly face any criminal that had hurt his family nor could he maintain absolute rationality to listen to those testimonies that were bathed in blood.

He could not accept that Fu Yuqing died at the hands of such despicable people.

Finally, while stopping at a red light at a traffic junction, Fu Zhihuan pursed his lips, leaned back with his head raised, and stared fixedly at the traffic lights.  There was no emotion in his dark eyes…….it was as if they were empty.

A sparrow flapped its wings and landed on the traffic light.  While flapping its wings, it hopped around to adjust its position.

Fu Zhihuan raised his eyebrows and looked at it very calmly.

It is just like one would never know when a sudden tsunami will strike a calm coast and the next second, only the loud sound is heard……..

Fu Zhihuan clenched his fist and banged it heavily on the dashboard.  The sachet that was hanging under the rearview mirror shook slightly.

At the same time, the sparrow perching on the traffic light seemed to sense the sudden movement and was startled.

When Wen Ruan heard the loud noise, she did not say anything and just turned her head around calmly to look in his direction.

She just stared at him gently and calmly.

The hand that was clenched into a fist trembled.  After taking a deep breath, Fu Zhihuan adjusted his breathing, placed his hand back on the steering wheel, and said in a hoarse voice.

“Sorry, I gave you a scare.”

Wen Ruan laughed, turned her head around, and looked in front of her.  After a long time, she called out softly.

“Fu Zhihuan……”

“Uh?”

“Fu Yuqing has an extraordinarily good elder brother.”

***☆☆☆***

Twenty years ago.

The wind rattled the windows while the depression and panic before the arrival of the storm spread.  The originally bright interior of the house was engulfed in a gloomy atmosphere.

“No, I can’t do it.”

Zhang Zhiwei slapped on the table and paced back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back.  Then gritting his teeth, he pointed his index finger fiercely at his son, Zhang Hongrui, in front of him.

“Ask yourself, how can you do this kind of thing?  Which child is not a family’s precious treasure?  After snatching the children…….how do you expect the parents to carry on with their lives?”

Zhang Hongrui was sitting on the sofa and when he heard the words, his face pleated up into a smile.

“That’s why I’m not kidnapping or selling but just borrowing.  I’ve heard that in your class there are many little girls from rich families.  Just trick them into visiting the World of Cherry Blossoms.  That place is under us so we’ll just simply take one of them to threaten the parents, swindle some money and the child will be released.”

“No!”

Zhang Zhiwei was so angry that his face turned red.  He patted his chest then picked up a feather duster and swung it towards Zhang Hongrui.  At the same time, he also picked up the phone at the side.

“I’ll call the police!  I can’t let you continue harming others again!”

“Yes, call the police!  And just let my mother die in the hospital then you’ll feel happy, is that right?”

Zhang Hongrui stood up abruptly and his voice had risen to a higher pitch.

“Why don’t you think about how much it costs for my mother to stay in the hospital?  Even if you sell your kidneys, you won’t be able to make so much money.  If I hadn’t begged shamelessly, my mother wouldn’t even be able to sleep in the hospital bed!  Call the police if you have the ability!  Tomorrow our whole family can sit down to wait for death!”

The words frightened the old man.

Zhang Zhiwei’s hands trembled and the phone fell to the ground with a thud.  He retreated a few steps and fell onto the sofa.  Hugging his head, he thought about his wife who had been with him for half his life and suddenly started to hesitate.

Humans have always been selfish.

Usually one will have a lot of high-sounding principles but when it comes to making a choice, then the scales in one’s heart will always tip towards oneself.

He refused to admit that he is a bad person, so while he was committing heinous crimes, he would search for compelling reasons to absolve himself.

His wife would die if he was unwilling to do it.

So he was also forced.

He repeatedly told himself ~ For my lover to survive, I was forced to take risks.

However, this is a common problem for all evil people.

Zhang Zhiwei gritted his teeth and agreed to his son’s request.  To show justice, he warned.

“Never take anyone’s life.”

The sentence sounded touching and righteous.

But he was a shameless person who tried to leave himself the last bit of absolution and comforted himself that he is kind.

Later after seeing the shocking case on the news, Zhang Zhiwei realized that he had made a terrible decision.

That night, he and his son had an extremely violent quarrel.

“How could you lay your hands on such a small child?  You’re a beast!  I…..I’ll call the police!”

“Come on, if you call the police, you’ll get arrested as well.  I really admire you, old man.  Now you’re acting like a good person and it’s as if you didn’t dupe the little girls into this!  If I’m a beast, then what are you?  Okay, call the police!  After both of us are caught then my mother can just take off her respirator!”

What is the meaning of the word ‘inferior root’?

All the branches come from the same root that is deeply embedded inside the soil.

There is essentially no difference between the evil that hangs openly on the branches and the evil that desperately conceals itself inside the soil.

Zhang Zhiwei backed away once again.

It was still that excuse.

For my wife and for my family’s survival.

It’s not for myself.

I’m a kind person but it’s just that I’m forced.

However, in the end, his wife passed away.

Before she left, her eyes were opened wide while she tried to shout in a parched voice.

No one knew what she was trying to say but Zhang Zhiwei understood.  It meant that the fig cloth that had always been covering his sins was finally torn to shreds.

His son continued to do those disgusting things under his nose but he never dared to mention calling the police again.

It was not until a few years later he realized that using the excuse of doing everything for his lover was false.  In actual fact, he was using his family as a shield.

In the end, everyone lives for their own sake.

The house became colder day by day and with repeated nightmares, his spirit started to grow weaker and weaker.

Whenever he closes or opens his eyes, he would see all those children of the past.

On his 73rd birthday, Zhang Zhiwei gifted himself a birthday present.

Relief…….