Silent Testimony - Chapter 45

In a typical family, parents provide financial support for their daughters to buy homes or cars; at the very least, they wouldn’t reach out and ask for money. Yet, despite Tao Ling proactively giving her parents 2,000 yuan every month, her parents were now asking for additional funds because their fish stall business was poor.

The soundproofing in the room was inadequate, and Li Hewei heard clearly. Her heart ached as if being ground down. She pressed her lips together, hesitant about whether she should interrupt their phone call. Finally, considering that Tao Ling was sick and shouldn’t be distressed for long, she raised her hand, swiped her card to enter the room, and deliberately made a noticeable noise.

“I have to go.” Tao Ling hastily stuffed her phone into the pillow, wiping her tears as she did so.

Li Hewei watched the back of the girl who was struggling to control her emotions. Her eyes stung with soreness. She approached silently, sat down beside Tao Ling, and said softly, “You don’t need to hide it.”

The thin shoulders trembling before her were visible to the naked eye.

“And don’t feel ashamed. On the contrary, I know you are excellent, kind, and courageous.” Li Hewei placed her right hand on the back of the girl covered by the quilt, her voice clear and gentle. “You did the right thing; some things cannot be compromised.”

Tao Ling gripped the bedsheet, unable to suppress her coughing.

Li Hewei suddenly grew anxious and instinctively reached out to check her forehead. It was slick with what felt like sweat or tears, hot and slippery to the touch. Her beautiful brows were tightly knitted. Without asking for permission, she turned Tao Ling’s body to face her. However, seeing the girl’s tear-stained face and red, blurred eyes, all that remained was heartache, and she couldn’t utter a single word.

Tao Ling’s shoulders were gently held. She gazed at Li Hewei, who was so close, with misty eyes. The girl’s heartstrings vibrated as her mind echoed the sincere words Li Hewei had just spoken.

Cough, cough, cough.

The rapid coughing brought Li Hewei back to reality. She turned her head, picked up the nearby glass, and poured a little hot water from the thermos to moderate the temperature: “Here, drink some water.”

“Thank you, Sister Wei.” Tao Ling felt a sudden warmth from Li Hewei’s tenderness. She recovered slightly, supporting herself on the bedboard to sit upright, holding the cup, and taking small sips.

“Is your back soaked with sweat?”

“Wh-what?” Tao Ling was dazed and hadn’t heard clearly.

“Touch your back. Is it wet?” Li Hewei walked to the foot of the bed, dragged out the suitcase, rummaged through it, and finally pulled out a fog-gray short-sleeved T-shirt. She turned to ask, “How is it?”

Tao Ling understood her concern and quickly refused: “Sister Wei, there’s no need to change. Wiping it dry with a hot towel is fine.”

“The clothes are soaked. How can wiping them dry help?” Li Hewei sat back on the edge of the bed. Though still worried, she managed to force a smile: “Two choices. First, I accompany you to the hospital. Second, you listen and change your clothes.”

Her expression was firm, and her tone allowed no rebuttal. Tao Ling found it impossible to decline again and reluctantly agreed in a muffled voice.

“This is a shirt I bought recently. I’ve only worn it once.” After Li Hewei finished speaking, she noticed Tao Ling’s right hand, clutching the T-shirt, suddenly tightening. Blaming herself for talking too much, she watched mutely as the girl got out of bed and entered the bathroom.

In a moment of distraction, the phone on the bedside table vibrated with a buzzing sound. Li Hewei focused her gaze and saw a call from Tao Ling’s mother. Her eyes instantly darkened, and she ignored it. However, the other party was persistent, calling three times consecutively. She sighed helplessly, walked to the bathroom, and knocked on the door: “Your mother is calling.”

The voice inside was muffled: “I’m not answering.”

“Alright.”

Li Hewei’s sight moved down and saw a WeChat message displayed on the screen.

[You have a bad temper, you won’t even answer my calls.]

A WeChat message came in, followed immediately by another phone bombardment. Li Hewei was furious. Regardless of whether it was appropriate, she tapped to answer.

“She only wants 1,000 yuan, why bring up old scores?”

It was Tao Ling’s father, Tao Lühai.

Li Hewei’s face was clouded with anger: “Let me settle an account with you.”

“You…” Tao Lühai’s tone softened slightly. “She didn’t answer, so why are you speaking for her?”

“It’s all the same,” Li Hewei continued without stopping. “I heard you sell 150 catties of fish every day, making an average profit of 4 yuan per catty, correct?”

“That was before. Competition is fierce now; we can only sell 100 catties, and everyone is undercutting prices. We only make a maximum of 3 yuan per catty. Minus water, electricity, stall fees, and garbage disposal, the net profit is 200 yuan a day.”

“200 yuan a day is 6,000 a month. Tao Ling gives you 2,000, and Auntie’s pension is 1,200. Is 9,200 not enough?”

Tao Lühai replied self-righteously: “We have daily expenses, and we need money for when we get sick.”

“What about Tao Ling? Have you considered her?”

“She lives in police dorms and eats in the canteen. What money does she spend? Other people’s daughters bring their husbands over, buy cigarettes and alcohol, and give red envelopes as filial piety. What about her? She’s nearly 25 and has nothing.”

This was typical emotional manipulation (PUA). Li Hewei fought back in kind: “The parents of my friends pay the down payment for their daughters to buy homes. What about you? Did the money you saved go toward building a house in the village to save face for Tao Yang to marry a wife? Spoiling your son and exploiting your daughter, and now you blame your daughter for being unfilial?”

“I think Tao Ling is too kind. If it were me, I wouldn’t even give 2,000.”

Tao Lühai on the other end of the line whispered to Liu Yun beside him: “Don’t air our dirty laundry. Your daughter is capable; she tells everyone everything.”

“Tao Ling keeps it bottled up and is tight-lipped. It’s because you call and harass her every now and then. I’m right beside her, how can she hide it?” Li Hewei scoffed coldly. “The grass carp at the Lin family stall on East Street is 6 yuan a catty, but you sell it to us for 7 yuan. If it weren’t for Tao Ling, I wouldn’t have strongly objected when Old Wu suggested changing suppliers.”

“Think carefully, which is more important: 1,000 yuan, or at least 35 catties of fish every day?” Li Hewei hung up the phone. She looked up at Tao Ling, who stood stunned by the door, and apologized in a low voice: “I’m sorry. I might have been a bit impulsive and didn’t consider the consequences for you when you return home.”

Tao Ling choked up, shaking her head: “You were doing it for my own good.” She bit her lower lip, raising her head to suppress the turmoil inside, but tears still rolled down uncontrollably.

“Cry if you want to cry, but the floor is cold. Lie down on the bed first and cover yourself.”

Li Hewei’s voice was low and gentle. Tao Ling became even more overwhelmed, clenching her fists. Her normally straight spine hunched over, requiring her to lean against the wall to barely stand steady. She knew deep down that she liked Li Hewei, but this realization was not followed by joy, but by infinite self-reproach and fear. Especially at this moment, compounded by her father’s pressing demand and Li Hewei’s strenuous defense of her, she was overwhelmed by multiple emotions, suffering physically and mentally.

Tao Ling’s warm tears slid down her chin, scorching Li Hewei’s heart. She reached out, silently led the trembling girl to the bedside, and wrapped the shivering person in the quilt.

“Some people’s minds you can’t change. It’s best to stay away from them as early as possible, or stop troubling yourself over them.”

“Just like you said you owe him nothing, that wasn’t just spoken in anger, was it?”

Tao Ling lowered her head, her breathing heavy: “No, it wasn’t said in anger. For five years in university, I worked part-time during holidays to earn tuition. I only went home for half a month during Chinese New Year.”

“Right. He raised you until you were 18. The alimony you’re giving now more than offsets that. Don’t feel any psychological burden because of it.”

“I actually know he favors the son over the daughter. After all, it’s not surprising where I grew up. Many families desperately provide for their sons to study, while daughters only finish junior high school before coming home to help with farm work or getting married early.”

“I didn’t want to live like that, so I studied with all my might. I ranked first in elementary school to save him face, which is why he agreed to let me study in the county seat. The students there had better grades, and my foundation was weak, so I had to work from dawn till dusk, chasing after them even harder.” Tao Ling wiped her tears with her hand, her voice choked with sobs. “I ranked fifth in the high school entrance exam. He felt a junior high diploma was enough and told me to learn how to butcher fish and help with deliveries. Thankfully, Grandma was still alive then and said girls could also be successful with an education, and Mom also pleaded with him, so he reluctantly agreed.”

“After high school, my score was 103 points above the benchmark for top universities, and I was admitted to Sichuan University. But he poured cold water on me, saying tuition was five thousand a year, accommodation was one thousand, plus living expenses. I was angry and said I wouldn’t spend a penny of his money, and he truly didn’t give me a single cent.”

The pain from thousands of memories churned in her chest. Tao Ling’s eyes were blurred with tears: “So, I never relied on him. I originally planned to apply for dormitory accommodation immediately after finding a job and save money to buy a house, but my brother went missing, and Mom was having a hard time, so I thought I should help out at home a little.”

“Tao Ling…” Li Hewei could no longer hold back. She reached out and embraced the girl who was weeping before her, gently patting her back. “It’s all in the past. Things will get better and better in the future.”

Tao Ling in her arms trembled, her entire body instantly stiffening. Li Hewei sensed her subtle movement and coaxed gently: “You need to talk, you need to release this. Can we just not think about some things for now, okay?” She guided her patiently: “My shoulder is here. You can lean on it.”

Tao Ling finally shed her façade of strength and leaned her head against Li Hewei’s chest, sobbing aloud.

The suppressed sounds of crying lingered in the air. Li Hewei reached up to wipe away the hot tears that had involuntarily streamed from the corners of her eyes, hugging the girl tighter. After an hour of emotional distress and the toll of the fever, Tao Ling was completely exhausted. Li Hewei’s windbreaker sleeve was clutched tightly in her right hand, and the sound of her breathing gradually became even.

Sleep. Everything will be better after a sleep.

Li Hewei carefully laid Tao Ling down. Unwilling to separate the hand that gripped her sleeve, she sat quietly beside the bed, gazing at the person whose brow was still slightly furrowed in sleep.

“Don’t be too good to me…”

“What?” Li Hewei leaned in, listening carefully to her mumbling.

“I’m afraid of becoming dependent, afraid I won’t be able to leave…”

Can’t leave whom? She leaned closer, her ear almost touching Tao Ling’s lips. The girl, caught in a deep sleep, was entangled in a dream. Occasionally, a few scattered words were spoken, making it difficult to form a complete sentence. Li Hewei sat up, pulled out her phone with her free left hand, scrolled through the screen, and checked for unread messages.

[Third Uncle’s composite sketch was posted on the public notice board. Someone recognized him as Jiao Yong, the third eldest in his family.]