Xia Xiaolan had previously kept things from Liu Fen because she didn’t want her to worry. Besides, Liu Fen wouldn’t have been able to handle it anyway.
Today, Liu Fen’s initiative to visit Officer Ma at the police station caught Xia Xiaolan by surprise. As mother and daughter, they shouldn’t have kept secrets from each other. Moreover, now that Zhang Cui had started stalking people, Xia Xiaolan feared her mother might not be vigilant enough without knowing the true venomous nature of Xia Ziyu’s family of three.
While Xia Dajun and his group were like annoying buzzing flies – disgusting but not lethal, Xia Ziyu’s family of three were like poisonous snakes hiding in the darkness, ready to strike with their venom at any moment!
Liu Fen was different from her former simple and naive self. Running a business in the city had broadened her horizons, and Xia Xiaolan felt her mother could now handle learning about these matters.
Liu Fen truly had no idea that her daughter was in such a crisis. She gripped Xia Xiaolan’s hand tightly, “…Mom will listen to you. Whatever you say, Mom will support you!”
“Mom, don’t overthink it. I have a bright future ahead, and I won’t do anything illegal. Those who have done wrong will face justice through the law.”
Xia Xiaolan spoke without a hint of discomfort about the hand-breaking incident since she hadn’t personally carried it out.
After returning home, Xia Xiaolan called Pengcheng.
Besides catching up with her uncle, Xia Xiaolan was looking for Ge Jian:
“Go to Shangdu. The events from last summer can’t just be left unresolved.”
Xia Xiaolan had wanted to say that it was time to detonate the bomb they had planted last year, but she wasn’t sure if phones were being tapped in ’85, and words like “bomb” sounded too severe.
Ge Jian immediately understood what she meant by ‘last summer’s events.’
This matter was a secret between him and Miss Xia, even Senior Brother Li Dongliang didn’t know the inside story. Miss Xia had shown both him and his senior brother great kindness, and despite his high salary, Ge Jian felt the weight of failing to protect Xia Xiaolan.
Now that this matter was going to be resolved completely, Ge Jian had been waiting for this day.
If they had turned over the evidence last year while the Strike Hard campaign was still ongoing, Xia Changzheng would likely have faced more severe punishment.
Of course, Ge Jian didn’t fully understand Miss Xia’s thoughts, so he just followed her instructions.
“I understand, Miss Xia.”
With Zhang Cui arrested by the police station and knowing Xia Changzheng’s whereabouts in their hometown in Yunan, it was convenient for Ge Jian to act.
“He’s in our Yunan hometown. Be careful and protect yourself. If anything unexpected happens, go find Officer Zhuo Weiping. Even if she can’t help you, she won’t harm you.”
While Ge Jian agreed verbally, he had already decided that if things went wrong, he would take full responsibility. He wouldn’t implicate Miss Xia or seek help from Officer Zhuo.
Two days later.
The South Shangdu Police Station received a strange case. A thug turned himself in, confessing to a crime from last summer – breaking a female student’s right hand under someone’s instructions to prevent her from taking the ’84 college entrance exam. This student was Xia Xiaolan, the top science student in Yunan Province for the ’84 exam!
The thug wept loudly at the police station, expressing his guilty conscience:
“I was wrong! I didn’t know she was a scholarly star, our pride of Yunan! It was Xia Changzheng, that food stall vendor who ordered me to break Xia Xiaolan’s hand!”
The thug wasn’t truly remorseful, but he genuinely hated Xia Changzheng.
For just one thousand yuan, he had gotten involved with such a dangerous person.
Turning himself in meant prison time, but he dared not avoid it – freedom meant nothing compared to his life! Besides, leniency for confession meant he could push most of the responsibility onto Xia Changzheng as the mastermind.
Now that the Strike Hard campaign had ended, according to Ge Jian, he wouldn’t face many years in prison.
A confession due to guilty conscience for a case from last year?
The police station found it suspicious.
However, they had to take it seriously.
Xia Xiaolan wasn’t just the top science student of Yunan Province in ’84; the TV station had already broadcast six episodes of the English competition finals. Though contestant number 17 Xia Xiaolan’s oral test hadn’t officially appeared yet, she was already quite popular.
Since each episode could only show the oral tests of 2-3 contestants and only aired two episodes per weekend, to prevent viewers from forgetting previously featured contestants during the long broadcast period, each episode began with a contestant highlight reel – though Xia Xiaolan hadn’t appeared yet, she was shown in the rotation like other contestants.
While people like Principal Sun might have gotten carried away with pride, some ordinary viewers in Yunan Province recognized Xia Xiaolan.
After all, she was last year’s top scorer, whom the provincial TV station had specifically interviewed.
So even in university, the top scorer continued to excel!
Xia Xiaolan had become a symbol of positive energy, gaining significant attention in Yunan Province. The program’s broadcast rekindled her impression in the hearts of the Yunan people.
This included those in Yunan’s education circle.
Educators were naturally pleased that Yunan could produce such a student.
It’s hard to say what contributions Xia Xiaolan has made to China yet, but just looking at her student status, she has been extremely successful, never giving up on improving herself – surely such a person would become a model figure in building socialism once she completed her studies!
But this model figure almost couldn’t take the college entrance exam last year. Xia Xiaolan had taken the exam wearing a cast, which the provincial TV station had prominently covered last year.
The police station dared not conceal the thug’s confession and reported it to their superiors. Deputy Police Chief Yang of the city police was extremely angry: “The college entrance exam is a matter of national importance. Xia Xiaolan was already first in the practice exams, and someone tried to break her hand – this was sabotaging Yunan’s educational achievement!”
The thug’s words were easy to verify.
The individual food vendor outside County No. 1 Middle School could testify.
Teacher Sun Tian from County No. 1 Middle School had witnessed it personally.
The doctors at Anqing County People’s Hospital still had Xia Xiaolan’s medical records from that time.
Principal Sun and others were pained and furious:
“Student Xiaolan took the exam wearing a cast, answering questions while on painkillers. If this was deliberately done, the Xia family would be truly vicious. Student Xiaolan’s total score was third in the nation, just 4 points behind the national first place!”
Did this premeditated crime cost Xia Xiaolan the national top score?
Just 4 points difference – Yunan Province could have had a national top scorer last year?!
The leaders in charge of education were also furious.
“Quickly arrest the suspect Xia Changzheng. We can’t let this matter ferment and cause adverse social impact.”
If this matter wasn’t handled properly, it would certainly cause anxiety among the student population. Any malicious cases targeting students weren’t minor issues – if students couldn’t study with peace of mind, what would become of the nation’s future?
From the thug’s confession at the police station to Xia Changzheng’s arrest at the Anqing County Guest House, less than 36 hours had passed!