Silent Testimony - Chapter 43

In the emergency room of Wanyang Town Clinic, Cheng Yingqiu waited outside for the results after her X-ray. Qiu Wan sat on a lone stool opposite her, her beautiful brows furrowed, silently recalling the recent sensation. The fingertips had been too soft, like feathers; stroking the red mark hadn’t hurt, but had instead felt ticklish.

More dangerously, Cheng Yingqiu had “pushed her luck” by trying to pull at her clothes: “Let me take a look at your shoulder injury.”

Qiu Wan nearly threw her off her back by reflex.

But she had to admit that for years, prioritizing her career had meant that no one had caused a ripple in her calm heart for a long time. However, Qiu Wan understood that the girl’s boundary-crossing action was only out of concern for her; perhaps she herself hadn’t been in close physical contact with a woman in too long, and it was just a brief surge of hormones.

The on-duty doctor from the radiology department observed the results on the computer, confirmed the injury, and called out a name: “Cheng Yingqiu.”

“Here.”

Qiu Wan gathered her thoughts and stood up. Seeing this, the doctor quickly said, “No need to come in. She just has a minor soft tissue injury, no fracture.”

“Good.”

“The report will be ready in five minutes. Just find Dr. Yu for the prescription.”

Qiu Wan thanked him. Her gaze shifted, meeting Cheng Yingqiu’s open look. She was momentarily stunned for a few seconds. Just as she was about to speak, the girl spoke first: “Sister Qiu, thank you for coming to the hospital with me.”

“Why the sudden formality?” Qiu Wan was a bit unaccustomed to Cheng Yingqiu’s serious tone. However, the next second, it was the familiar Cheng Yingqiu: “To leave a good impression so you’ll agree to teach me how to dance.”

“Isn’t it better to learn the basics from Coach Chen?” Twenty minutes prior, Qiu Wan had declined her request, stating she could dance, but not teach.

Cheng Yingqiu pouted: “Look, I’ve been learning for two months, and I can’t even do the simple moves.”

Qiu Wan was thoughtful: “You’ll learn it if I teach you?”

Cheng Yingqiu deliberately softened her voice: “Teacher Qiu, if you don’t try, how will you know?”

Qiu Wan realized she had stepped into a trap set by Cheng Yingqiu. However, looking at her sincere eyes, she couldn’t bear to refuse again, only saying, “When I’m busy, I can’t guarantee I’ll go to the studio every week.”

Cheng Yingqiu knew she had succeeded, and her smile became even brighter: “On the days you don’t go, I’ll just learn the basics from Sister Chen.”

It was already 3 AM when Cheng Yingqiu knocked on the door.

Wei Yu opened the door and stepped aside. Qiu Wan carried her in, gently placing her on a low stool by the bed, and instructed softly, “Remember to cold compress, and only use the spray after 48 hours.”

“Okay.” Cheng Yingqiu saw her place three bags of ice on the round table nearby and quickly asked, “Sister Qiu, what about you?”

“I’m going back to the police station. There’s still a lot of work to handle.”

Cheng Yingqiu’s heart suddenly swelled: “Are you not getting any rest tonight?”

“It depends. I’ll try to find time to nap when I can.”

“The doctor said your rear shoulder needs a cold compress. Can you cold compress first before going to the police station?” Cheng Yingqiu suggested without thinking. “I can help.”

Qiu Wan repeatedly declined: “I’ll do it myself. You two get some rest early.” With that, she picked up a bag of ice and rushed out the door before the girl at her side could react.

“Good night, Sister Qiu.” Cheng Yingqiu only belatedly realized that there was a third person in the room whom they were not familiar with, making her outburst rather abrupt.

“Good night,” Qiu Wan replied from outside the door, pausing briefly. She attributed her sudden panic to the after-effects of the evening’s emotional turmoil, then lifted her feet and continued walking. She headed straight for the parking lot. A few raindrops fell. She had forgotten her umbrella but wanted to rush to the police station. In her indecision, her gaze inadvertently fell on the bag of ice in her right hand. After a moment of hesitation, she turned back toward the building.

An agreement is worth a thousand pieces of gold. She should try her best to complete what she promised.

She took a two-hour nap at 5 AM. Near 8 AM, she contacted Li Hewei: [Hewei, are you next door?]

[In Yingqiu’s room.]

[Mhm. I’ll wait for you to come back to your room. I need to discuss something.]

Li Hewei had entered the room three minutes earlier. Cheng Yingqiu was on a call with the intern, uncharacteristically serious.

“As journalists, our press releases must be rigorous. Why did you refer to Liu Yemei as ‘Mr.’ (先生, xiānsheng)?”

The intern explained, “Sister Cheng, xiānsheng is just an honorific.”

“Let me ask you, can a highly respected man be called ‘Ms. XX?'” Cheng Yingqiu’s words were sharp. “Some news articles don’t have a photo accompanying them. When readers see the word ‘Mr.’, do they first think of a male or a female?”

“This…” The intern cited various classics and even listed women in modern times who had been addressed as xiānsheng.

Cheng Yingqiu frowned heavily, refuting the opposing viewpoint: “Only exceptional women are called xiānsheng. I think it’s inherently a form of discrimination, so there’s no need to continue promoting some of the dross of the past.”

“Do you understand?”

The intern was convinced: “I understand, I understand. I’ll change it right away.”

Cheng Yingqiu hung up the phone and returned it to Wei Yu. She then gulped down two big sips of soy milk. Li Hewei, who had been silent beside her, then spoke: “That was well said, but now explain what happened last night.”

“Didn’t you already know?” Cheng Yingqiu lowered her head, not daring to look at her.

“If Captain Qiu hadn’t been there, how would you have escaped?”

“Oh, I had already given her contact information to Wei Yu beforehand.”

Wei Yu agreed: “Yes, yes.”

Li Hewei wasn’t fooled, as the matter concerned safety: “Don’t you realize the danger of human nature? Do you think a journalist being violently detained is a novel occurrence?”

Cheng Yingqiu knew she was in the wrong: “I…”

“What ‘I’? If Captain Qiu had arrived ten minutes later, you could have been lying dead on the street the next day.”

“It’s not that exaggerated.” Cheng Yingqiu buried her head in Li Hewei’s arms, whining, “Sister, you’re so fierce. I’m hurt and in pain.”

“You still feel pain?” Li Hewei’s tone softened, and she gently stroked her hair. “Let me see your foot.”

“Oh.” Cheng Yingqiu sat up and carefully took off her sock, revealing her ankle, and exaggeratedly pointed. “Look, it’s swollen!”

“How many days of rest?”

Cheng Yingqiu pouted: “At least five days. It’s a shame, the holiday is starting soon, and I want to go out and play.”

“Indeed. I’m planning a road trip myself.”

“Road trip! Where to?”

Li Hewei poked her forehead with her index finger: “It’s not for you. Go home and focus on healing.”

Cheng Yingqiu disliked the coldness of her hand and tilted her head to avoid it. “Did you tell Old Cheng and Old Wu (her parents)?”

“Not yet, but that doesn’t mean I won’t tell them later.” Li Hewei picked up a small steamed bun and slowly chewed it.

“Sister, please don’t let them know. I’m afraid they’ll nag me till my ears hurt.”

“Oh, now you know the consequences?”

Cheng Yingqiu held up two fingers, her attitude sincere: “It won’t happen again. I’ve also agreed with Sister Qiu on a few rules: I’ll notify her in advance for any dangerous work in the future.”

“Alright. When are you returning to Puchen? Take Tao Ling with you.”

“I think I need to give a statement,” Cheng Yingqiu whined. “Are you in such a rush to get rid of me?”

Wei Yu next to them bit her lip to hold back a laugh. Li Hewei tapped her head. “Be steady. Your colleague is laughing at you.”

“Is she?” Cheng Yingqiu turned to look.

Wei Yu lightly coughed and spoke honestly: “Sister Cheng, the difference between you at work and in real life is huge.” She had joined the company two months after Cheng Yingqiu.

Li Hewei was curious: “What’s the difference?”

“She’s my team leader. At work, she’s very serious and rarely smiles, but now…”

Cheng Yingqiu pretended to be angry and interrupted her: “You, Wei Yu! How can you speak ill of someone right to their face?”

“Sister Cheng, I’m complimenting you!”

After a bit of joking, Li Hewei changed the subject: “Oh right, Tao Ling has a cold. One of you is sick, the other is injured. You two are truly worry-inducing.”

“She’s sick?”

“Yes. She woke up this morning with a hoarse voice and a temperature of 38.5∘C.”

“What happened? Not acclimatized?”

“I don’t know either.” Although Tao Ling explained that the wind from the open car window gave her a chill, Li Hewei suspected she was hiding something, stressing herself out, which led to insomnia and then a cold.

“I’ll take care of her. Can she take sick leave?”

“We’re not busy before the holiday. She probably just needs to write the autopsy report.” Li Hewei sent a reply to Qiu Wan, saying she would be downstairs soon. She stood up. “You rest. I have things to do.”

“Oh, let the injured person offer comfort to the sick one, then.” Cheng Yingqiu watched her leave, opened her phone, and sent a WeChat message: [Photo of an ankle] [We’re suffering together! Hug emoji.]

Ten seconds later, Tao Ling replied: [Hug emoji. Did you cold compress?]

[Yes. I only realized when I got hurt that I should cold compress first. What is it—you can only apply liniment or spray after the acute phase, 48 hours later.]

[Right. Cold compressing can reduce local swelling.]

[How about you? Feeling better?]

[A bit better.] Tao Ling quickly turned her back to type when she heard the card reader beep.

[Get more sleep. I won’t bother you.]

[Okay.] Tao Ling put away her phone. She looked up, directly meeting Li Hewei’s eyes, which were full of concern: “Are you still feeling uncomfortable?”

Tao Ling coughed, a thin fog blurring her eyes, but she couldn’t express the emotions in her heart. “A little better.”

“Let’s take your temperature again.” Li Hewei handed her the thermometer. “I’ll time it. Seven minutes.”

“Sister Wei, I only took the medicine 20 minutes ago. The effect might not have kicked in yet.”

Concern often clouds judgment, so Li Hewei immediately took the thermometer back. “We’ll take it later.” She sat on the low stool beside the bed and said softly, “Sister Qiu will be over shortly. If you’re sleepy, I can go to her room.”

“It’s fine.”

The moment she finished speaking, Qiu Wan knocked on the door.

“The door isn’t locked.”

“Xiao Tao, are you running a fever? Do you need to go to the hospital?” Qiu Wan entered the room and quickly approached the single bed by the window.

Li Hewei answered for her: “She just took medicine. We’ll take her to the hospital if the fever doesn’t break.”

“That works too.” Qiu Wan sat on the garden chair opposite her.

“How are you? I heard you injured your back?”

“It’s nothing. A few cold compresses will fix it. The doctor didn’t even give me liniment,” Qiu Wan said with a tone of regret. “But with Xiao Qiu’s foot injury and Xiao Tao’s sickness, your road trip plan will probably be ruined.”

“We’ll see. Plus, Chief Liu requested that we merge the cases for investigation, which is going to be a hassle,” Li Hewei said, drinking her take-out soy milk. “Oh, right, what did you get out of last night?”

“I’ve brought back for questioning the people whose faces the pinhole camera captured. But they all claim to be mere workers and have remained tight-lipped, not revealing the person behind the scenes.”

“Yingqiu said ‘Third Uncle’ should have real power. Who is he?”

Qiu Wan sighed: “When Xiao Qiu entered the chip room, Third Uncle happened to bend over to pick up a pen, so his face wasn’t recorded. Even speaking to him face-to-face, she could only see his face from the philtrum down. So, I need you to draw a rough sketch of him based on Xiao Qiu’s statement.”