Chapter 316: 302 Zhao Chun’s Unfamiliarity
One day, Tian Sangsang found herself with nothing to do, so she picked up her phone to browse her social media.
She had always secretly kept an eye on her younger brother’s activities. But recently, he seemed very busy and hadn’t posted any updates. Only today did she see that he had retweeted something on his Weibo.
It turned out to be news about a long-unsolved case, one that later became quite infamous: the "S Province Military Kindergarten Park Xiaozhen Kidnapping Case." Park Xiaozhen was a student at the military kindergarten, and she suddenly disappeared on a rainy day. Three days later, her body was discovered by police inside an abandoned school near the military district. As for the identity of the perpetrator, it remains unknown to this day.
This year happens to be the final year for legal prosecution in this case. If the perpetrator isn’t caught soon, they may escape justice forever.
Even though this was merely an old news story, with the incident occurring nearly twenty years ago, Tian Sangsang couldn’t help but feel a heavy weight on her heart as she read it.
The visual shock brought by this news was overwhelming.
In the photo, the little girl looked beautiful yet bashful, with large, soulful eyes. According to her teacher and classmates, she had a gentle personality. Such a precious, lovely child had been cruelly robbed of her life. If she had lived, what kind of person would she have grown into?
What would she be doing at age ten? At age twenty? What major would she choose, and what career would she pursue? Perhaps she’d lead an ordinary, unremarkable life, or maybe she’d become someone extraordinary. Her life belonged to her—it should never have been decided by someone else.
Life is only life when it is vibrant; when it withers, there’s nothing left. In this world, there is fairness and there is unfairness; justice and injustice. But for all the darkness, there are always people fighting against it, striving to let light fill every corner of the world.
Justice may be delayed, but it will never be absent.
**
It had been a while since Ji Qin last visited. The last time she came, she had taken quite a lot of things, especially aloe-based skincare products. According to Ji Qin, such products were very popular. With her frequent visits lately, Tian Sangsang had an easier time keeping her workload light.
Tian Sangsang once again found herself at the entrance of the East Sea Film Academy. Some of the female students here knew her and had become regular customers. After completing a simple transaction—money paid, goods delivered—she suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure.
He was standing by the wall near the school gate, with no Yao Yu or anyone else accompanying him. He looked somewhat desolate.
"Zhao Chun." Tian Sangsang stepped forward and greeted him warmly.
Zhao Chun froze, seemingly taken aback to see her, and stood there motionless.
"What’s wrong? Did you turn back into the old Zhao Chun again?" She chuckled, reaching out her hand as if to pat him on the shoulder.
Tian Sangsang had always felt at ease interacting with Zhao Chun, never bothering about gender boundaries. Whenever she encountered him, she couldn’t resist teasing him.
"Don’t touch me." Zhao Chun suddenly retreated several steps, his eyes wide, like a wounded cat rejecting contact.
Not like she hadn’t touched him before—they’d hugged and even kissed.
His overly dramatic reaction made Tian Sangsang narrow her peach blossom-shaped eyes and size him up: "What happened to you? Did you go and pick a fight?"
No, looking closer, it didn’t seem like he was the one picking a fight. He looked more like he was the one who got beaten up. No wonder he didn’t want her to touch him—probably afraid it would hurt.
Zhao Chun created some distance between them and raised his eyes to look at her. Those eyes were different now—detached yet calm.
He bit his lip and, after a long pause, finally murmured, "I’m fine... almost recovered."
He looked so pitiful that Tian Sangsang couldn’t bring herself to joke anymore and asked him seriously, "What happened?"
"Nothing much." He shook his head and replied evenly, "Just got into a fight and lost. Do you want to rub salt into my wounds now?"
"Haha," Tian Sangsang laughed. "Well, you can’t just let them beat you like that. You have to fight back, you hear? Wait until your wounds heal, then pay them back tenfold!" She was always someone who believed in avenging wrongs.
Can’t even fight back. Don’t want to fight back. Zhao Chun muttered weakly in his mind. If you knew who did it, you wouldn’t ask me to fight back.
"What are you doing standing here, anyway?"
"I’m thinking."
"Quit thinking. No amount of thinking will turn you into Einstein."
Zhao Chun said casually, "I have plans with Yao’er. I’m waiting for her."
"Oh~" Tian Sangsang nodded knowingly and looked at him with her beautiful eyes. "I almost forgot—you’re no longer a single dog. You’re a guy with a girlfriend now." She felt an odd, inexplicable emotion. It was like watching a son she had raised be taken away by a pig.
But he truly was growing into a man, the immaturity fading from his brows. His dark, shining eyes now carried a distinct air of complexity.
"There’s no going back," she sighed melancholically.
"Yeah, no going back," he whispered softly, "Not for me, or you."
Tian Sangsang, sharp-eared, gave him a curious glance. What was wrong with him?
"I’m heading back to school." Zhao Chun lowered his head to stare at his toes and walked toward the campus. After taking a couple of steps, he turned around, his gaze intent, and said, "You should head home soon, too."
"Why?"
"You’re a woman, wandering around outside all day."
"What, am I breaking the law by wandering around?" Tian Sangsang grumbled, giving him a sideways look. "I don’t steal, rob, kill, or commit arson. I don’t disrupt public security. I don’t ruin the city’s appearance. I don’t scam, cheat, or abduct. I use my hard-working hands and intelligence to build a moderately prosperous family, contribute to national GDP, and lay bricks and tiles for our harmonious socialist society..."
Zhao Chun interrupted her: "But you don’t realize how beautiful and gullible you look, do you?!"
Whoa. Tian Sangsang froze, staring at his retreating figure. Hey, weren’t you supposed to wait for Ji Yao’er?
"Tian Sangsang!" Just as Zhao Chun left, Ji Yao’er showed up.
Seeing her, Ji Yao’er was visibly annoyed. She took a deep breath and immediately launched into a tirade: "Can you remember your actual identity? You’re a married woman! Always so fickle! Just because you’re pretty, you think you can flirt around as much as you want?!"
"I don’t even understand what you’re saying." The sharp tone made Tian Sangsang’s ears hurt, but she simply chuckled. "So married women are supposed to be locked up in their rooms and not allowed outside? Who made that rule?"
"You can go outside, but don’t hang around with Zhao Chun!"
"Oh, I’m definitely going to hang around with him." Tian Sangsang raised an eyebrow lazily and deliberately provoked her, "He’s my friend."
Ji Yao’er sneered, "Who wants a friend like you? You’ve already hurt him enough. The wounds on his body are the very proof of it."
"What are you talking about?" Tian Sangsang’s face darkened, staring at her intently.
"Do you know who beat him up?"
"Who?"
"Who else? Jiang Jinghuai, of course!" Ji Yao’er said, her voice filled with a mix of frustration and concern. "If you weren’t always hanging around with Zhao Chun, why would Jiang Jinghuai even bother dealing with him? Clearly, it’s women like you who deserve to be punished. Why drag Zhao Chun into it?"
"You said Jiang Jinghuai?" Tian Sangsang raised her eyebrows. "Did Zhao Chun admit it?"
"He didn’t, but I figured it out." Ji Yao’er shot her a hateful look. "Zhao Chun always holds his grievances inside. If you genuinely think of him as a friend, stay away from him."