Under Clear Skies Chapter 97: Donghu Village

Chapter 97: Donghu Village

Translated by KarateChopMonkey of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

 

A new battery was inserted into the projector, and it smoothly powered on, connecting to Tang Heng’s computer.

On the desktop was a folder named “Xiaoqin,” displaying all the evidence they had gathered: cremation certificates, recordings of Wang Lili, recordings of Long Juan, recordings of Bao Lei, and partial evidence of economic issues provided by Fu Liling.

These days, Li Yuechi has written a clear account of the events. A Word document with black text on a white background appeared on the screen, the white light caused Tang Heng to squint his eyes, his heart beating heavily.

Although he had known that Li Yuechi had written this account for a long time, the presentation of one event after another from six years ago, down to the specific dates, still made everyone present hold their breath.

“Take a look,” Li Yuechi said calmly, “and see where it needs to be supplemented or revised.”

As he slowly scrolled down with the cursor, the hunting process appeared before their eyes again.

On September 6, 2011, the new graduate students of the Sociology Department of Han University started school, with Tian Xiaoqin serving as a teaching assistant.

On December 2, 2011, Tian Xiaoqin and Li Yuechi joined the Tang Guomu project team.

On April 26, 2012, Tian Xiaoqin, Li Yuechi, and Wang Lili went to Dawu County to inventory donated supplies.

In May 2012…

Li Yuechi suddenly put down the mouse.

He took out his wallet and said, “Xiaohui, could you buy me a pack of cigarettes? I forgot to buy them just now.”

Tian Xiaohui was a little stunned. “Now?”

“Yes, now. Turn left out of the community and go straight. There’s a convenience store at the first intersection.”

“Oh… okay.”

Tian Xiaohui went out.

Jiang Ya sighed softly. They all naturally understood that Li Yuechi was deliberately diverting Tian Xiaohui’s attention.

Li Yuechi whispered, “There are photos that Xiaoqin sent me that night.”

Tang Heng’s hand hanging at his side clenched secretly.

“The night before she jumped off the building, Tang Guomu took her to a hotel, and later she sent me photos showing marks on her body from being bound. Don’t let Xiaohui see them. I’ll blur them out when I publish them.”

Jiang Ya shuddered. “But how did you—six years ago…”

“I showed them to the dean at the time, but he didn’t believe me.”

An Yun suddenly stood up as if she couldn’t bear it anymore. She walked straight to the balcony and pushed the window open with a whoosh.

Jiang Ya looked at her back and asked Li Yuechi softly, “She saw them before?”

“Yeah.”

Jiang Ya took a deep breath. “Let’s continue.”

However, Li Yuechi still didn’t touch the mouse. He slowly turned his head and looked at Tang Heng.

Tang Heng asked, “What’s wrong?” Only then did he realize that his voice sounded unusually hoarse.

Li Yuechi’s arm wrapped around Tang Heng’s head from behind, his palm covering his eyes.

Tang Heng remained silent for a few seconds and said, “I’m fine.”

Li Yuechi said, “It’s enough that I’ve seen them.”

Tang Heng blinked, feeling his eyelashes brushing against Li Yuechi’s palm. His palm was warm, and the warmth penetrated through the touching skin. Tang Heng belatedly realized that his fist had relaxed.

Just then, he almost jumped up and rushed out, wanting to give Tang Guomu another blow.

The swirling hatred, regret, and pain… filled his chest like a block of ice. And Li Yuechi’s palm slowly melted the coldness within him.

After a moment, Li Yuechi withdrew his arm.

He had already closed the Word document and opened another file.

There was a knock on the door. Jiang Ya, who had furrowed his brows, got up to open it, forced a smile at Tian Xiaohui, and said, “Xiaohui, thanks.” Then he tore open the cigarette pack and asked Li Yuechi, “Want one?”

Li Yuechi silently accepted.

The two of them went to the balcony, gave An Yun a cigarette, and the three of them stood by the wide-open window, puffing smoke without saying a word. Tang Heng felt a slight itch in his throat, knowing he wanted to smoke. He reached into his pocket, took out two mints he had grabbed at the restaurant during lunch.

Tang Heng handed one to Tian Xiaohui.

Tian Xiaohui unwrapped the mint paper and asked softly, “Teacher Tang, you don’t smoke?”

Tang Heng sighed, “I used to… but I’m quitting now.”

“Oh.”

Tang Heng popped the mint into his mouth, and the cool taste spread out, seemingly suppressing his craving for cigarettes.

Tian Xiaohui suddenly asked, “Teacher Tang, were you deliberately not letting me see it just now?”

Tang Heng didn’t know how to respond for a moment. After a two-second pause, he could only tell the truth, “Um, just now there were… some pictures of your sister. We’ll blur them when we release them.”

Tian Xiaohui nodded, surprisingly not pressing further. Tang Heng thought he might have other suspicions, so he explained again, “It’s not that we can’t show you, it’s just that we’re afraid it might scare you or make you… uncomfortable.”

Sitting on the floor, Tian Xiaohui hugged his knees and said, “I understand.”

He was already petite, and in this posture, he looked even more like a child. Tang Heng’s heart felt squeezed, both sour and painful.

Tian Xiaohui continued, “Teacher Tang, you don’t have to worry about me… I’m not afraid. I just want to seek justice for my sister. My parents have always favored me since I was a child, because I’m a boy… I know if I don’t do anything, no one at home will take care of my sister.”

Tang Heng was taken aback. It was the first time in days that Tian Xiaohui had talked so much.

“That day, Brother Yu called me alone and told me about what happened back then. In the end, he said that we might fail, and regardless whether we win or lose, the result would take a long, long time. He asked if I could hold on, and I said I could, because I wanted to protect my sister once… even if it’s already too late. He said he would persevere too, because like me, he also wants to protect someone.”

Tang Heng looked up and saw Li Yuechi with his back to him, the smoke between his fingers emitting a faint blue haze. He stood upright, seemingly lost in thought.

Suddenly, as if they had a connection, Li Yuechi extinguished his cigarette, turned around, and met Tang Heng’s gaze.

He didn’t smile or speak, just looked at Tang Heng calmly.

Tang Heng asked Tian Xiaohui, “Did he say anything else?”

Tian Xiaohui didn’t respond.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell him.”

A few seconds later, Tian Xiaohui lowered his head, his voice so soft it seemed like the words would dissipate into the air as soon as they were spoken:

“He said that you’ve suffered a lot these years, and he also said that from the beginning to the end, you weren’t to blame. He asked me not to hate anyone, no matter who it is, not to hate you.”

The next day, Tang Heng met a journalist in a café. She worked for a well-known newspaper in Wuhan and had graduated from Han University two years earlier than Tang Heng, majoring in journalism.

After reading all the materials Tang Heng had prepared in silence for five minutes, she finally asked, “Have you made a decision?”

Tang Heng nodded decisively.

“In fact, you could have someone else do this entirely, An Yun would be suitable, she was Xiaoqin’s classmate… From a media perspective, I definitely support publicizing this under your name, you’re Tang Guomu’s nephew and a university professor, exposing him will definitely attract attention… ” She paused, looking earnestly at Tang Heng, “But from a personal perspective, I think you should reconsider. This news will definitely explode, and you’ll face a lot of pressure you never expected, really.”

Tang Heng smiled at her. “I’m prepared, don’t worry.”

“Aren’t you afraid that you won’t be able to stay in academia after this?”

“I don’t care.”

“Okay… I understand.”

“Then I’ll leave it to you, senior. Once your newspaper publishes it tomorrow, I’ll post it on Weibo.”

She stuffed the documents into her backpack confidently. “Don’t worry, I’ve talked to the editor-in-chief, and we’ll publish the entire story.”

After she left, Tang Heng remained seated in the café booth. It was a rare sunny day, and it was Saturday. Through the café’s glass windows, he could see students walking in groups of three or five.

“Do you want to take a walk?”

Li Yuechi came to Tang Heng’s side, not sitting down, as if he expected Tang Heng to agree.

Outside was the newly renovated Donghu Village.

Tang Heng stood up, smiling, “Let’s go.”

The name Donghu Village remained the same, but everything was completely different from six years ago. The dilapidated shacks were gone, the rugged narrow alleys were flattened, and a tall building with “Han Yang University Entrepreneurship Center” written on it stood tall, surrounded by restaurants, bookstores, and accessory shops of all sizes…

Tang Heng surveyed the new street scene and shook his head in a daze, “Can you tell where ‘Chang’ai’ might be?”

“Probably over there?” Li Yuechi pointed to a restaurant not far ahead.

Tang Heng shook his head, “I can’t tell at all.”

As they walked forward, passing by the restaurant they had just mentioned, Tang Heng stopped in his tracks, “This name.”

Li Yuechi paused for a second, “Is this person…”

The restaurant’s name was “Robert Park.” Robert Park, anyone studying sociology would know, was one of the representatives of the Chicago School of Sociology in the early 20th century.

Then they both remembered, six years ago, Tang Heng turned down the offer from the prestigious University of Chicago and missed crossing paths with this famous school of thought.

The wheel of fortune turns, Tang Heng smiled, suddenly feeling the wonders of fate.

At that moment, the glass door of the restaurant was pushed open, and a man in a chef’s uniform walked out. Speaking in Wuhan dialect, he grumbled, “Not buying! How many times do I have to say I’m not buying a house! Can’t you understand, you idiot? I’ve got five houses that were demolished!”

Then he hung up the phone, turned around, and suddenly froze.

“You… ” The man frowned, “Oh! It’s you guys!”

Tang Heng hesitated, “Are you the owner of Xiangyang Beef Noodle?”

“Yeah! You—you’re the student who sings! You guys used to come to eat at my place late at night! So noisy!”

“It wasn’t that late, just a bit late,” Tang Heng chuckled, “Did you open this place?”

“Yeah, the old house was demolished, and my son graduated and came back to Wuhan, so we opened this… Look, Italian cuisine!”

Tang Heng asked, “Do you still serve beef noodles?”

“Of course!” The owner pushed open the glass door and warmly welcomed them, “Come, come, come, I’ll make you two bowls! Half price!”

Tang Heng and Li Yuechi glanced at each other and followed the owner into the restaurant.

The décor of the Italian restaurant was indeed on a different level from the Xiangyang Beef Noodle of the past. The chairs were now covered in soft velvet, and rose-colored chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Tang Heng opened the menu and saw a series of “Signature Dishes” on the first page: Chicken with Parmesan, Clam Sauce Spaghetti, Tomato Basil Bruschetta…

Li Yuechi whispered, “Quite a big leap.”

Tang Heng couldn’t help but smile.

Tang Heng said, “Boss, please make five bowls of beef noodles for us, we’ll take them to go.”

“Oh, you have friends too? Call them over to eat together!”

“They’re far away… You remember, right? There was a drummer and a bass player.”

The owner readily agreed, “I remember! That boy that dyed his hair red, quite odd! And that girl, dressed like a boy every day!”

Tang Heng was silent for two seconds, “…Yes, it’s them.”

Li Yuechi squeezed Tang Heng’s hand under the table, “You used to sneak off to pay the bill. Do you think he still remembers?”

Tang Heng’s cheeks grew slightly warm, “Let’s not ask about that.”

Li Yuechi lowered his eyes and smiled.