After a long while, Ju Nian did not push away the clothes in her hands. Prosecutor Cai felt relieved; she knew she had convinced the girl.
"You were drunk and afraid of your parents' scolding, so you didn't dare go home. You forced yourself into a taxi and stayed at the Sweet Honey Hostel. You didn't leave until almost seven o'clock. Because you were worried about Wu Yu, you found Lin Henggui's small shop and called him to help. Then you found Wu Yu at the Martyrs' Cemetery. You tried to persuade him to turn himself in, but he refused. The two of you argued. Han Shu, who had been playing games all night at an internet cafe, went to the suburbs for some fresh air. He saw his classmate and was worried that something might happen to you, a girl alone. He followed you to the Martyrs' Cemetery and found Wu Yu trying to escape. He went up to stop her, and Wu Yu had a seizure and fell down the stairs. That's the whole story."
Perhaps it was fate, but the owner of Sweetie disappeared on the day of the incident. It is said that he was a gambler, and when his gambling addiction kicked in, he would go to a certain gambling den and stay there for ten days at a time, not returning until he had lost every last penny.
Before the most crucial witness in the case was found, and with Wu Yu already dead, Ju Nian, the sole suspect in Lin Henggui's robbery in the early hours of August 14th, was reported to the procuratorate by the public security authorities on suspicion of robbery. Investigations revealed that her fingerprints, footprints, and socks stained with Lin Henggui's blood all matched those collected at the crime scene. Furthermore, a nearby vegetable farmer easily identified Ju Nian's silhouette from among a group of girls her age during the criminal identification process, and Lin Henggui's confident identification from his hospital bed further complicated matters. Ju Nian's situation was far from optimistic. Meanwhile, Prosecutor Cai tirelessly used her connections to assist the police in finding the hostel owner. Aside from Han Shu and Ju Nian, no one knew why she was so devoted to a young female suspect she barely knew.
During his detention, Han Shu requested to visit Ju Nian several times, but was refused each time. The clothes, daily necessities, books, letters, etc. that he kept sending in were all returned untouched, except for a photo taken by Fang Zhihe of a badminton competition award ceremony, which showed Han Shu, Ju Nian, Wu Yu, and Chen Jiejie.
Han Shu heard indirectly that Chen Jiejie had run away from home again. Before she could leave G City, she was caught by her family and brought back. For a very long time, no one saw her again, and no one had any news of her. She seemed to have evaporated from people's sight like a drop of water.
A month later, the hotel owner, whom Prosecutor Cai and the police had been searching for in vain, unexpectedly contacted the police. He said he had heard about the case from his family and agreed to be a witness in the case. At this point, the evidence collection work was basically completed, and the trial was scheduled to begin at the Chengxi District Court of the city soon.
Before the trial, Han Shu remained deeply worried, repeatedly asking Chief Prosecutor Cai, "Godmother, is he reliable?"
Chief Prosecutor Cai said, "That guy is ruthless; he only cares about money. But don't worry, I've taken care of everything. He has also preliminarily admitted that he did greet Ju Nian that morning and still remembers it."
On the day of the trial, not many people showed up. Not even Ju Nian's parents were present. From the day Ju Nian's accident happened, they had publicly declared that they were severing all ties with their daughter, as if she were already dead. This was just an ordinary case of a penniless, marginalized teenager robbing a mediocre small shop owner, stabbing him, and then accidentally falling to his death while on the run. It didn't grab attention and didn't occupy much space in the daily tabloids reporting things like roosters laying eggs. Ju Nian, who was left behind, lived in a forgotten corner. Apart from her status as a freshman at Renmin University briefly attracting some discussion, people quickly forgot about it, or perhaps never even remembered it.
The love, hate, conflict, reluctance, desire, blood and tears within are so insignificant in the vast world.
After a month of detention, Ju Nian stood alone in the dock, giving off a feeling of indifference. Her features were indifferent, her expression was indifferent, and her body was indifferent. When you looked at her, even though she was in the most prominent position in the entire courtroom, she seemed more like a gray and blurry shadow, as if she would turn into smoke in a gust of wind.
All the previous tedious procedures went by in a flash. The presiding judge announced the composition of the collegial panel and the court clerk, the list of prosecutors, defense lawyers, and expert witnesses, as well as the powers of each party, and the prosecution and defense made their statements.
Ju Nian did not hire a lawyer; her defense attorney was a young man arranged for her by Prosecutor Cai. The defense attorney and the prosecutor debated the most contentious issue: whether Ju Nian had a definite alibi for the period around 5 a.m. on August 14. Then, with the court's permission, the owner of the Sweet Honey Hostel appeared in the witness stand.
“Zhang Jinmin, did you personally witness Xie Junian, the defendant in this case, walking out of the entrance of the Sweet Honey Hostel you operated around 7:00 AM on August 14, 1997, and confirm that she had checked into the hostel the previous night and had not left since?”
The hostel owner, Zhang Jinmin, squinted at Ju Nian for a long time, "It looks a bit like her."
Soft whispers could be heard from the few remaining seats in the audience.
"What's going on? What do you mean by 'somewhat similar'?" Han Shu grabbed his godmother's arm nervously and confusedly.
Chief Prosecutor Tsai also showed some confusion.
"Somewhat similar? In your previous statement to the police, didn't you confirm that you did greet the defendant and say good morning to each other?"
The hostel owner chuckled twice: "I always say 'Good morning' to anyone who leaves my hostel before noon."
"I'll ask you one more time, can you be sure that she walked past you at that time?" the prosecutor asked.
Han Shu held his breath.
“Every day, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of people moving into Sweet Honey. There’s a constant flow of people coming and going. There’s a university nearby, so there are quite a few young girls around that age. How can I possibly remember them all? I wouldn’t dare make a 100% guarantee.”
Ju Nian, sitting in the dock, slowly straightened her back and stared intently at the man named Zhang Jinmin.
"Does your hostel have any relevant accommodation records?"
Zhang Jinmin laughed again: "Haha, in my place, people who want to stay don't need to be recorded. But it's not uncommon for people to insist on being recorded. That night, I checked and there weren't any young girls staying alone. The police know that too."
"Are you saying that you have no way to prove for certain that the person who walked past you at 7 a.m. on August 14 was Xie Junian, who is in the dock?"
It seemed like an eternity before Zhang Jinmin replied, "There is indeed no way to guarantee it."
Ju Nian seemed to hear a sob in her throat, but it died in her heart before she could utter it. Her tightly clenched fingers loosened one by one.
In a corner of the audience, sat two well-dressed middle-aged men and women. Ju Nian had an excellent memory; she could still recall the frantic and anxious scene at a birthday party when the parents, who had lost their beloved daughter, rushed down the stairs.
Ju Nian understood; it was either her or her.
This choice of fate has never ended.
Therefore, Zhang Jinmin suddenly had no way to prove it.
......
Han Shu was about to stand up almost immediately, but Prosecutor Cai, who was beside him, held him down firmly.
"What do you want?" she squeezed out through gritted teeth.
"She is innocent. I shouldn't have listened to you!" Han Shu was covered in sweat.
"It's too late. Will the court accept your words now?"
"She'll go to jail..." Tears streamed down her face without warning.
"Han Shu, be rational, control yourself, don't act impulsively. Think about your father, think about your future, your prospects..."
Han Shu's older sister, Han Lin, graduated from a university in Belgium and abruptly married a local man. She quickly became pregnant and declared she would become a full-time housewife. This caused Dean Han, who had always been proud of his daughter, to suddenly have many gray hairs. He had always thought his daughter had inherited all his virtues and was the best person to carry on his legacy, but the exceptionally talented Han Lin had unexpectedly broken his heart by becoming pregnant, revealing her marriage to his parents. On the morning of the court hearing, before leaving home, Han Shu overheard his parents talking in their room. His mother comforted Dean Han, telling him not to get too upset. Dean Han's voice sounded several years older as he said, "Luckily, we still have our second child; that child is looking more and more like me these past few years."
Han Shu had never heard such words from his father before. It was the first time in eighteen years that he had received affirmation under the pressure of his parents and the glory of his sister. He felt that all the sacrifices he had made to be an outstanding person since childhood were not bitter. As long as Ju Nian was alright, his life would be a complete microcosm.
"Han Shu, don't move. Don't do anything you'll regret..."
My godmother said something else, it seemed like she said a lot, but then she stopped talking.
In the vast courtroom, all the people and props were like a blurred background in a photograph, except for one point that was alive. (Ju Nian - a reference to a specific year or event).
At this moment, Han Shu suddenly longed for Ju Nian to look at him. Just one glance, one look, even without any dialogue, would give him the power to overturn everything and the reason to abandon everything.
But she didn't, and he knew it, not even for a second.
Even though she knew he was there.
The defense attorney, You Zai, upheld his duty and tried to exonerate Ju Nian.
“A hostel like Sweet Honey is rarely a place where a girl would stay alone. Is it really true that no one else could prove that you stayed there that night? Xie Junian, think about it carefully.”
The courtroom was completely silent.
Ju Nian's hollow yet clear voice echoed within.
"I don't remember."
Han Shu slumped back in his chair and closed his eyes for a long time.
A week later, the court formally sentenced Xie Junian to five years in prison and deprived him of his political rights for one year for being guilty of accomplice robbery and harboring a criminal.
At that time, Xie Junian was eighteen years and twenty-seven days old.
The past is like yesterday's death.
Han Shu did not attend the court hearing and sentencing that day, even though his godmother repeatedly assured him that she would find a way to get Xie Junian a lighter sentence.
He wandered aimlessly through the streets and somehow ended up in a department store. With the enthusiastic help of the saleswoman, he bought a pair of white canvas shoes, size 6.
As he left the mall, it was a cloudy day with a slight breeze—his favorite kind of weather.
Fang Zhihe called him.
"Han Shu, are you getting bored at home lately? School's starting soon, and we're planning to get together somewhere and have some fun. Do you want to come?"
Han Shu opened the shoebox with one hand and stroked the unique rough marks on the canvas.
A drop of rain fell from the sky. Damn it, the weather has changed.
He casually tossed his shoes into a roadside trash can.
"Come on, why aren't you here to have fun? Where are you all?"
—End of Part 1—
[, a TXT forum and BBS, gathers all kinds of TXT novels. Welcome to recommend good books!]
[Synopsis]
Zhu Xiaobei left for a distant place for her love, while Ju Nian still had to make a living in her own world.
Life in prison is a dark period that no one wants to look back on, yet every nightmare brings Ju Nian endless unease.
In an attempt to atone for his past mistakes, Han Shu repeatedly tried to help Ju Nian, but Ju Nian refused each time.
Fei Ming was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and Ju Nian worked tirelessly every day to save Fei Ming's life.
At this moment, Fei Ming's biological mother, Chen Jiejie, whom he had been separated from for eleven years, appeared. She took Fei Ming back, and Ju Nian was alone again. The memories she had been struggling to hold onto about the little monk were taken away by Chen Jiejie.
Ju Nian had already made plans to live alone, but how could Han Shu, another figure in her life, bear to leave her all alone?
And what about Tang Ye, the man who wanted to take Ju Nian away? What kind of grudges and entanglements do he have with the two of them?
【text】
Let me look at you (Part 2)
Author: Xin Yiwu
Chapter One: If you don't die, you come back to life.
After Xie Junian finished telling a story, in the cramped, humble beef noodle shop, only the old fan continued to creak and groan as it blew towards them. Zhu Xiaobei wasn't a silent person, but under Junian's guidance, she felt as if she had truly walked through the old days. Those people, those events, those faces were so vividly real that she could close her eyes and trace every subtle change in the boy's face back then... She felt that everything shouldn't end there, but Junian's story had indeed come to a close.
Only then did they notice that it was completely dark, dinner time had long passed, and the once bustling shop was now empty. Apart from the proprietress calculating accounts under the dim light bulb and the waiters busy preparing to close, only the two of them remained. The beef noodles in front of them had long since cooled to ice-cold, covered with a layer of red oil. Zhu Xiaobei also felt as if her heart was covered with such a thick layer, which felt even more stuffy and greasy after it cooled down.
"Wu Yu... he just died like that? And you just went to jail like that?" Zhu Xiaobei finally managed to squeeze out these words after a long while. Although she already knew about Ju Nian's criminal record, and from all the signs she knew, she couldn't find any other possibility, she still felt that it shouldn't be like this, it shouldn't be like this! Two children running hand in hand in the sunlight, a boy and a girl as pure as white under the pomegranate blossoms, they were so good, so kind, living peacefully in their own little world, why did they end up with one dying a violent death and the other being imprisoned?
A faint smile played on Ju Nian's lips, the shadows of her short hair obscuring her eyes. "Xiao Bei, you read martial arts novels too, right? In these novels, every protagonist who falls off a cliff is rescued by a master, or by chance, learns unparalleled martial arts and is transformed. But in reality, most people aren't so lucky; if they fall, they really die."
Before Zhu Xiaobei could recover, Ju Nian called the waiter over to collect the money, saying, "It's agreed that this bowl of noodles is on me."
Seeing her smile, Zhu Xiaobei felt that refusing was a pointless thing to do, so he smiled and pushed the bowl in front of him aside, saying, "It's quite remarkable that the proprietress didn't kick us out. Ju Nian, consider this meal a farewell treat for me!"
"Are you really leaving?"
"certainly."
"What about this side..."