51st oil painting

Chapter 27

Ah Hu tried dialing the number; it was a payphone located inside a Tesco supermarket in Putuo District.

There are two possibilities: First, An Ruohong was a customer who happened to be passing by and used the phone. Second, her new job is in that area. Hopefully, it's the latter; otherwise, the only option is to place a missing person ad.

Ahu and Nuonuo arrived at the Tesco, holding a group photo from the clinic's opening. Pointing to An Ruohong in the photo, they asked around, until finally a security guard pointed to cashier number 36 and said, "Isn't that her?"

At the checkout counter, a female cashier was busy. Compared to the photo, she was noticeably thinner and looked somewhat haggard. It seemed that Xiao Yu and Xiao Hui were right; in the clinic, Zoe's closest friend was An Ruohong, so Zoe's death was the biggest blow to her.

Looking at the two strangers who suddenly appeared and could call her name, An Ruohong seemed bewildered and at a loss.

Who are you?

"I'm Zoe's cousin." Nono used the same version.

An Ruohong paused for a moment, then, seeing customers queuing up behind her with their purchases, she said, "Wait for me to get off work."

An hour later, An Ruohong left work early.

In a McDonald's restaurant on the ground floor of Tesco, the three of them had just sat down when An Ruohong couldn't hold back her tears as soon as she heard Nuonuo mention Zoe's name.

"I know you want to ask me why Zoe committed suicide, and I'll tell you later. Before that, I want to tell you two things. The first one is related to a letter."

Oil painting No. 51: 773 Horror Series 13

Section 65: A Letter of Whistleblowing

"Yes, a whistleblower letter."

As the medical director, Zoe had the authority to decide which brand of dental materials to use. Previously at the Ninth People's Hospital, Zoe's dentistry department used several brands, but she personally preferred products from Dunsworth Dental. After leaving the Ninth People's Hospital, she brought this preference to her clinic, consistently using Dunsworth Dental's products. Consequently, a whistleblower letter was sent to White's headquarters in Beijing, accusing Zoe of taking kickbacks from Dunsworth Dental. In fact, Dunsworth Dental did offer kickbacks to clients; it was company policy. Based on the number of treatment chairs used in a clinic, a kickback was given if the average amount exceeded a certain threshold per chair. Because the revenue of private clinics cannot compare to that of large hospitals—for example, the Ninth People's Hospital has forty or fifty treatment chairs and treats hundreds of patients daily, acting like a processing plant—it's fair to base the kickbacks on the materials consumed per chair. Zoe reportedly set up a slush fund to cover the clinic's happy hour expenses. However, the whistleblower letter alleged that Zoe concealed the amount of the kickbacks, secretly pocketing a portion of them. The letter also accused Mr. Li of protecting Zoe at every turn.

The letter bypassed General Manager Li and was sent directly to the board of directors. The board sent people to Shanghai to investigate, interviewing Zoe and Mr. Tong, the sales representative from Deng Sibo's company. The amount of the kickback stated by both parties was the same, and Zoe had indeed handed it over to the clinic in full. Therefore, the contents of the letter appeared untrue. However, another explanation exists: Zoe and Mr. Tong are old friends, having known each other since their time at the Ninth People's Hospital. Since this kickback was a legitimate company expense, even if Zoe pocketed it all, it wouldn't involve Mr. Tong. Especially in this critical situation, why didn't Mr. Tong play the good guy and help Zoe through this difficult time? This way, everyone would know the truth later. Therefore, it's highly likely that the two had already reached an agreement regarding the specific amount of the kickback.

The person in charge of the investigation could not report to the board of directors based on conjecture without evidence, especially since the person under investigation was the person in charge of the Shanghai region. Therefore, the turmoil of this matter was quickly quelled.

An Ruohong noticed that Zoe had been feeling down for a while. Zoe had never been this depressed, not even when Zhu Chuan passed away or during the SARS outbreak.

Later, Mr. Li obtained the letter from a member of the board of directors. The letter was written by Wu Laogan and signed by two other people, Tu Bonian and Yao Zhizi. At that time, Tu Bonian had already left White and was the medical director of "28 Dental Clinic". They also used Deng Sibo Company's materials. Tu Bonian's actions had a bit of a "watching from the sidelines" feel to them. In Shanghai dialect, it's called "pushing the board".

Mr. Li comes to Shanghai almost every month. He wanted to show this letter to Zoe, but Zoe refused, saying that she could guess who these three people were.

"So, Zoe's suicide is related to this letter?"

Ahu asked An Ruohong anxiously, but An Ruohong shook her head.

"This letter is just one factor; the direct factor is related to a painting."

painting?

Upon hearing this word, whether it's Nuonuo, Du Yaofeng, or Ahu, their entire bodies would involuntarily tremble.

This word evoked so many thoughts in them.

You see, that painting, "Zoe on the Windowsill," is still in the storage room. Although it's completely covered by parchment, the eyes peeking out from behind the mask shoot out two cold, sinister gazes. They seem to pierce through the parchment, through the thick wooden door of the storage room, spreading and spreading throughout the space...

An Ruohong took a sip of her McDonald's coffee, frowned, and thought it tasted really bad compared to Starbucks. Spending time with Zoe had gradually made An Ruohong, who used to rarely drink coffee, more accepting of the coffee culture. Now working as a cashier at a supermarket, she could buy discounted Nestlé instant coffee, but she didn't like it; she wanted freshly ground coffee.

"When the clinic opened, every consultation room, including the waiting area, was decorated with a painting."

In the memories of several people, when they stepped into the clinic, the walls were spotless, without a single painting, because they were so hypersensitive to paintings that they would never overlook them.

"Perhaps the clinic's layout was rearranged after Zoe's death," An Ruohong explained.

"What kind of paintings are hanging there?"

"Oil paintings. There are abstract works, landscapes, and copies of world-famous paintings. In Zoe's consultation room, there's a religious painting hanging on the wall, depicting the Nativity of Jesus—of course, it's a copy."

Everyone at the clinic knew that Dr. Li's favorite doctor was Zoe. Every time he came to Shanghai, he would sit in Zoe's consultation room for a while and chat with her. I was there once, and I remember him saying, "Why hang this kind of painting? It's really incongruous." Zoe joked with him, "Why not hang one of my paintings?" To our surprise, Dr. Li said, "Okay!" He took out his digital camera, had Zoe sit on the windowsill, and took a digital photo. We all thought he was joking, but unexpectedly, not long after, he actually brought over an oil painting titled "Zoe on the Windowsill." Dr. Li said he had a painter friend paint it based on the digital photo, and he had even paid a considerable sum for it—of course, this was his personal expense.

The painting, hanging on the wall of the consultation room, became big news at the clinic. Everyone came to see it. Some said it looked quite like her, while others said it didn't, and that Zoe in the painting wasn't as pretty as she was in real life.

Two days after the painting was hung up, Zoe said to me and Xiaohui during lunch that it felt strange to hang one of her own paintings in her clinic, especially since the scenery in the painting was exactly the same as the surrounding environment.

"Do you think this counts as a narcissistic tendency?" Zoe asked us earnestly.

Xiaohui and I looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh.

"Maybe a little," I said.

"Who isn't narcissistic these days? People who look in the mirror are narcissistic, people who use cosmetics are narcissistic, what's wrong with being narcissistic? I'm a narcissist, long live narcissism!" Xiaohui said.

Later, Zoe took the painting down and returned it to Mr. Li. Mr. Li shrugged and said, "Fine, I'll take it back to Beijing and hang it in my apartment. Since I paid the artist's fee personally, the painting is mine. As long as you don't accuse me of infringing on your portrait rights, I plan to keep it permanently. Who knows, it might become a masterpiece in the future and be auctioned by Sotheby's."

Because of this painting, rumors started circulating in the clinic, and these rumors were spread via text messages.

Oil painting No. 51: 773 Horror Series 13

Chapter 66: A Kind Urban Woman

Everyone at the clinic, including Zoe and me, received this text message. Zoe just laughed it off.

A few days later, everyone who had their inbox linked to the clinic's website received an email. Upon opening it, they found a graphic, pornographic image—the person in the picture was Zoe. We were all shocked. A closer look revealed the image had been downloaded from a pornographic website and Zoe's face had been cut and pasted onto it. This kind of petty trick of image manipulation had already been used in Shanghai in the 1930s, where the image of silent film star Ruan Lingyu was spliced together with that of a naked woman and published in tabloids.

We've swam and showered together, and I've seen Zoe's body more than once. Her breasts are a C-cup, but the breasts in the picture are at least a D-cup. That's definitely not Zoe's body.

I really admire Zoe. Anyone else would have either been furious, cried their eyes out, or even called the police. But Zoe chatted and laughed with us as if nothing was wrong. She told me, "Ruohong, look, this guy is jealous of me, and not just any jealousy, he's practically going crazy! I've always wanted to have such an alluring figure, and now my dream has come true. I really want to thank him, haha!"

A few days later, I noticed Zoe seemed a bit off; she definitely had something on her mind. A little worried, I asked her, and she said it was because of the hot weather; sitting in air-conditioned environments all the time made her feel uncomfortable. That morning, she left work early, entrusting her afternoon appointment to Dr. Teng—something that was unprecedented for her.

She didn't come to work that afternoon, and the next day news came that she had committed suicide by falling from a building...

An Ruohong burst into tears once again.

"Is that picture still there? Can we see it?" Ah Hu asked cautiously.

"I deleted it a long time ago, it was disgusting."

"And that text message left the sender's phone number, do you remember what that number was?"

An Ruohong said, "Xiao Hui and I both tried dialing this number, wanting to give the other party a good scolding, but the other party's phone was always switched off. Thinking about it, that makes sense; how could the other party possibly turn their phone on?" Xiao Hui then sent a reply text message, cursing a few times.

"You bastard! Go act like a slut! Get hit by a car and die!"

"I can't remember this phone number," An Ruohong said helplessly.

"Who do you think created these pictures, including the person who sent the text message earlier?" Nono asked her.

"I think it's Wu Laogan," An Ruohong said almost without thinking.

An Ruohong had her reasons. Wu Laogan had sexually harassed Zoe in some minor ways, such as telling erotic jokes in front of her; sitting next to Zoe during meetings and gently touching her leg with his thigh; Wu Laogan had also asked Zoe out and offered to teach her how to play golf, but Zoe declined, saying that golf was a gentleman's sport and not suitable for women.

These actions occurred before Zoe became the medical director. After becoming the medical director, Zoe was on equal footing with Wu Laogan. Later, she was promoted to acting general manager, and her position actually surpassed Wu Laogan's, making her the head of the clinic. Naturally, Wu Laogan dared not act recklessly again.

After Zhu Chuan's death, Wu Laogan failed to become general manager and harbored resentment. He complained to others more than once that he had suffered gender discrimination, saying that if he were a woman and prettier than Zoe, the situation would be very different. He was subtly criticizing General Manager Li.

Wu Laogan, along with Tu Bonian and Yao Zhizi, wrote a letter to the board of directors, hoping to bring down Zoe, but failed. Therefore, they wanted to vent their frustration in this way.

In Shanghainese terms, his behavior was so childish and unbecoming of a respectable person.

Ironically, this childish behavior had a miraculous effect: Zoe committed suicide.

An Ruohong believes that Zoe pretends to be indifferent on the surface, but she is actually very depressed inside. Just think, which woman can act nonchalant in this situation? It's completely understandable that she can't think straight for a moment.

After Zoe's death, Mr. Li rushed from Beijing to Shanghai to hold a memorial service for Zoe. Throughout the service, he kept a straight face and didn't say a word.

After returning to Beijing, Mr. Li submitted his resignation to the board of directors, left White Dental Clinic, and returned to Taipei. Later, it was said that he went to Singapore, where he found a new place in a dental clinic.

After Zoe died, I was the second person to leave the clinic, and Xiaohui was the third.

Every time I pass Huaihai Road, I can't help but look up at that clinic, that large window, that wide windowsill. Once upon a time, the light inside was bright, filled with busy activity and laughter. If I left work on time, but Zoe was still working overtime, I would always turn back for a glance after crossing the street. Because from the other side, the view was wider, and I could see more clearly. I could always see a figure in a light blue doctor's coat sitting in front of the treatment chair, leaning forward to treat a patient…

Now, looking up, the examination room is completely dark, like a cold cellar.

An Ruohong burst into tears and could no longer speak, which made Nuonuo feel a pang of sorrow.

Over the past few days, after hearing so many stories about the clinic and Zoe, my impression of Zoe has gradually shed its mystique and become clearer. Zoe, sitting on the windowsill, is a dedicated dentist and a kind-hearted urban woman. She is almost unassuming, only wanting to serve her patients well, contribute more to the clinic, live up to Mr. Li's trust, and be worthy of the profession she loves.

The Zoe in real life is completely different from the Zoe in the painting.

The four of them sat there silently, the atmosphere somewhat heavy. Inside McDonald's, they were surrounded by a group of chattering middle school students, creating a very discordant atmosphere.

"Do you know what that painter's name is?" Ahu asked An Ruohong.

An Ruohong thought for a long time, then shook her head: "It seems her surname is Zeng... Yes, her surname is Zeng. I don't know her given name."

After a moment of silence, An Ruohong continued speaking.

After Xiaohui and I left the clinic, three people died in quick succession within a week, which easily leads one to think of the word "retribution."

Wu Laogan died in an accident while playing golf, Tu Bonian was killed when a falling air conditioner struck him on the street, and as for Yao Zhizi, it is said that she hanged herself.

Oil painting No. 51: 773 Horror Series 13

Section 67: Bombs are no joke.

The following article is from Xinmin Evening News, Shanghai's largest circulation newspaper:

Yesterday afternoon at 4 PM, a tragic incident occurred on Guoquan Road in Yangpu District where an air conditioner unit fell and killed a pedestrian. According to witnesses, an outdoor unit of an air conditioner suddenly fell from the sky, striking a middle-aged man crossing the road squarely on the head. The man fell backward, bleeding profusely, and was rushed to the nearby Xinhua Hospital, where he died despite resuscitation efforts. It has been confirmed that the deceased, surnamed Tu, was the medical director of a well-known dental clinic in the city and was an experienced dentist.

According to police investigation, the fallen air conditioner came from an apartment on the seventh floor of a building on Guoquan Road. This standing air conditioner, a 2.5-horsepower unit, was placed in the living room and was purchased in 2000. It was in good working order and had no prior repair records.

Following the incident, the technicians responsible for installing the air conditioner conducted an inspection and found that the two iron triangular brackets supporting the outdoor unit were intact and showed no signs of loosening. This makes the question of how such a 52-kilogram outdoor unit fell remain a mystery. The Yangpu police are currently conducting further investigations.

Starting in the 1990s, air conditioning became widespread in Shanghai. Initially, window units were the norm, but after 1995, split-type units gradually replaced them. The widespread installation of split-type air conditioners made building design appear outdated. At that time, buildings didn't have pre-designed locations for outdoor air conditioning units; the usual installation method was to install two triangular brackets on the building's exterior wall, place the outdoor unit on them, and secure it with screws. After 2001, the municipal government mandated that new residential buildings must pre-designate locations for outdoor air conditioning units—concrete shelves integrated into the exterior wall. The hundreds of thousands of homes built before this deadline used these triangular brackets, exposed to wind and rain year after year. With the corrosion and peeling of the walls, safety issues began to emerge.

This accidental injury and death led to a lawsuit. The plaintiff was Tu Bonian's widow, who sued the owner of the apartment on the seventh floor and the technical service department responsible for installing the air conditioner, demanding a huge compensation of more than 1.7 million yuan.

In court, the defense attorney presented two pieces of evidence.

The first document is an appraisal report from the authoritative Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision. The report states that there were no flaws in the air conditioner installation, and the triangular bracket on the exterior wall remains very sturdy, capable of supporting a 52-kilogram outdoor unit, with enough room for a person to stand on it. This is because during installation, the worker had to sit on the outdoor unit, bend down, and use a wrench to tighten the screws.

The defense attorney argued that if the outdoor unit fell along with its tripod, it indicated an installation problem or corrosion and peeling of the wall. However, the fact remains that the outdoor unit fell while the tripod remained intact. Therefore, the only explanation is that the outdoor unit was subjected to some external force; in other words, it was pushed.

The second piece of evidence came from the family's nanny, who was from Anhui province. She confirmed that at the time of the tragedy, only two people were in the house besides her: an elderly woman in her seventies taking a nap in the bedroom, and an infant under three years old playing in the children's room. Both the bedroom and the children's room had air conditioners running, but the standing air conditioner in the living room was not turned on. This living room air conditioner was usually only used when the couple returned home and the family had dinner.

The nanny was making chicken soup in the kitchen when she heard an unusual noise coming from the living room. Going out of the kitchen, she saw that the air conditioner unit in the corner of the living room had been magically moved from its original position, crashing violently into the glass sliding door leading to the balcony, shattering the glass. It lay across the balcony with a hollow sound, startling her and leaving her speechless and too afraid to approach. After a moment, she faintly heard shouts coming from downstairs. Mustering her courage, she went to the balcony and saw that the gas pipe connecting the outdoor unit to the indoor unit was completely severed, as if it had been forcibly torn off. The outdoor unit was gone. Peeking down from the balcony, she saw the outdoor unit lying on the ground, shattered into pieces, completely broken. A pedestrian lay on the ground, surrounded by blood. A crowd of onlookers were watching; some were calling the police, others were looking up and pointing at the building…

The defense attorney pointed out to the court that neither a person in their seventies, an infant under three, nor an eighteen-year-old caregiver possessed the strength to move an outdoor air conditioner unit weighing as much as a person. Furthermore, even if they had the strength, it would be impossible for them to carry out such a reckless act. A standing air conditioner costs six or seven thousand yuan, a considerable sum for a middle-income family. Moreover, anyone with common sense knows that an air conditioner unit falling from the sky is no less powerful than a bomb; it's not a trivial matter.

The defense lawyer argued that since there were no problems with the installation or use, the cause of the air conditioner's outdoor unit falling needed to be thoroughly investigated to determine who was responsible. Therefore, the issue wasn't about the amount of compensation, but rather who should pay it.

The Xinmin Evening News has reported extensively on this case, but to this day, the court has not yet issued a verdict, presumably because the judge is also having a headache over this bizarre case.

Regardless of the outcome of the lawsuit, at a district government safety production meeting, the district head mentioned this accident and demanded a comprehensive safety inspection throughout the district, checking the triangular brackets of every air conditioner outdoor unit for any signs of loosening, in order to prevent similar accidents from happening again.

The district head gave these instructions, but how the lower-level staff actually implemented them was another matter entirely, since air conditioners are installed in every household. Many residents didn't take it seriously; in their view, unless there was a typhoon, and a powerful tornado at that, how could a heavy outdoor air conditioner unit possibly fall down?

This viewpoint is not without merit.

Ah Hu and Nuonuo shared this view. In fact, their conclusion was more authoritative than any appraisal institution, but the problem was that probably no one would accept it.