Silent Reading

TL by QuantumC8.26.2019

Chen Chen woke up and found herself hurting all over from lying on the cold hard floor.

It took her a while to realize what was going on. She remembered coming to the home of an older girl who was in the photography class. She lived really close by: right around the corner of the park exit.

Her apartment was neat and tidy, despite not having many furnitures. The phone wasn't functioning well. The reception was poor. The girl promised that she could fix it by re-plugging the wires. She gave her a bottle of soda while she waited. As Chen Chen drank the beverage with a straw, she started wondering if this was too much trouble for her host.

Just when she was debating whether to go back to the YMCA, she started feeling dizzy. It was as though her soul was pulled out of her body. Her limbs suddenly became unresponsive. She struggled a little, then quickly fell unconscious.

Chen Chen's ponytail was messy. Her dress was covered in dirt. Her hands and feet were tightly tied together. Perhaps from being dragged on the ground, there were lots of bruises on her bare skin, all of them sore. Her lips were duck taped and she could taste the stinky plastic in her mouth.

She struggled to curl up in the corner, as Su Luozhan was just a few steps away staring at her condescendingly!

Su Luozhan tilted her head. A strand of long hair flowed down the side of her cheek and she kept curling it with her slender finger, all the while measuring her prey with those chilling eyes like a cold-blooded animal.

Suddenly, she smiled at her: "You are so annoying."

Chen Chen shivered uncontrollably.

"You are the type that I hate the most, who knows nothing but to follow the orders to please the adults. But in fact you are all calculating bitches. Yes, you know how to be sweet. Whatever you wanted, you'd get it. Whenever you went out, you were guarded. You think you are still a baby and the world is supposed to revolve around you, right? "

As she spoke, Su Luozhan bent down to find a wilted chopper blade from the cabinet. The metal was too heavy for her slender arms. The knife dragged on the cabinet surface and made a nerve-wracking squeaking sound.

Chen Chen started struggling heavily. Her mouth was covered by tape so all she could manage was a weak and trembling "Hmmm" sound. Her face was red as she tried hard to get out of the ropes.

"I could do it without him!" Su Luozhan lost her temper. She picked up the blade and charged at Chen Chen.

Under extreme fear and pressure, human-beings sometimes unleash surprising potentials. At that moment, out of blues, Chen Chen found the strength and managed to get on her feet despite the tight ropes! But before she regained balance, the blade had already arrived. Chen Chen closed her eyes and dived forward, barely saving herself from Su Luozhan's first attack. Her forehead hit hard on the corner of the side table. Blood immediately covered her face.

Chen Chen was dizzy from the blow on the head. All she wanted to do right now was cry and scream for help. But she knew that crying wouldn't do her any good. She pressed her shoulder on the side table to try to stand up.

At the same time, Su Luozhan's knife got stuck in the door of a wooden cabinet because she swung it too hard just now and missed. It was, after all, too heavy for her to handle. She pulled the knife with all her strength but couldn't get it out. Outraged, Su Luozhan stepped up and grabbed a handful of Chen Chen's hair.

Chen Chen felt as if her whole scalp was about to be pulled off. She could only bend forward towards Su. The tears had wetted the edges of the duck tape on her face. She was like a lamb about to be slaughtered for the sacrifice, so weak and innocent, yet all the more aggravating in the eyes of a sadist.

Su Luozhan slapped her on the face. Chen Chen, who had never been hurt before even by a fingertip, was completely blanked.

"Bitch!" Su Luozhan said, "You are a bitch!" Thanks to the soap operas on TV, the word "bitch" had acquired popularity among middle schoolers and older elementary kids, especially for the more mature ones who enjoyed acting like adults by speaking their 'grown-up' languages --- even if they were still just kids who fuzz over an ice-cream cone in front of their parents.

Su Luozhan pushed Chen Chen against the side table. Chen Chen's back fell hard onto the short table. Under the glass table top on the yellowed old pictures, the deceased woman was smiling perplexingly at the two living girls.

The tear drenched tape on Chen Chen's mouth was loosen by the action. As soon as the tape loosened, she pleaded: "Help..." The first word after a long time was hoarse and weak. Then, she found her voice again and screamed: "Help -- Help !! "

Su Luozhan was taken aback by her crying at first. Then she realized what had been missing all along -- why the whole thing had seemed somehow 'unsatisfying' -- it was the screams of the victim. Chen Chen's crying plead inspired her. She was like a child who had discovered a present. She looked at Chen Chen pleasantly, then stomped hard onto her fingers on the floor.

The excruciating pain took Chen Chen's breathes away. Rather than screaming louder, she could only pant helplessly. Su Luozhan yelled:"Go ahead, where's your screaming?"

Chen Chen couldn't catch her breath. With what strength was left of her, she squeezed out some words: "Su...uu...please...I really...really admired you...your...".

Su Luozhan was frigid at first. But the word "admire" cracked her icy mask. Her hand stopped reaching for Chen Chen's hair. Her deep, black eyes stared at Chen Chen.

At that moment, there was a sudden loud pounding at the apartment door. A rough man's voice shouted: "Shush! Someone is trying to sleep here!"

Su Luozhan and Chen Chen both jumped.

The angry man continued:" Open up! Or I'll call the police! Are you watching a scary movie at home or something? Jeez...all the screams and yelling in the middle of the night...there are others who live here, you know?"

Chen Chen's mouth was covered by Su Luozhan. From the tissue box nearby, she quickly pulled out a ball of tissue and shoved them into Chen Chen's mouth.

"I'm sorry, uncle." Su Luozhan took a deep breath. Her face was still cold, but her voice was soft: "My parents are not home. I cannot open the door for a stranger. I will keep the voice down."

The man at the door paused. Then he continued, harshly:" What the hell...a kid? Come over you. Someone needs to teach you how to behave..."

Su Luozhan frowned. The hysterical man at the door went on before she answered:" Have you any idea what being a good citizen means? A good citizen need to have concerns for the others. The most basic thing is not to bother the others around you. Yet look at you... Which school do you go to? I need to give a call to your teacher. Her student needs to be disciplined!"

Looked like the rambling wasn't going to stop. Su Luozhan's beautiful face was cold as the frost. "Uncle, I'm sorry. I apologize, alright?"

"What did you say? Can't hear you! You were quite loud a minute ago. Speak up now."

Su Luozhan only wanted to get rid of this retard as soon as possible. She shoved some more paper into Chen Chen's mouth, and walked towards the door. One step, two steps...

At step seven, she suddenly realized something and froze there.

Although this old apartment had been maintained regularly with its water and electricity bills paid for in time, all the neighbors knew that no one lived here. It had been vacant for a long time. Then why would someone who come over in the middle of the night not be surprised to hear that there is a child inside without any adults?

At the realization, Su Luozhan quickly turned around and started running. Meanwhile, the old wooden door was kicked open with brutal force from the outside. Some police officers rushed in. Su Luozhan reached for the knife that was stuck in the cabinet door. Under extreme pressure, somehow she successfully pulled out the blade this time. Before the officers reached her, she pointed the blade at Chen Chen's neck. The sharp blade slit her neck open and left a scarlet red wound on her pale skin. Su Luozhan screamed: "Freeze! No one moves!!"

The fallen door was still shaking on the floor. The air was completely stagnate in the room. Su Luozhan squatted behind Chen Chen, holding the heavy knife shakily. The blade circled Chen Chen's neck and finally stopped above her vain. Her hand couldn't stop trembling. She stared at everyone above, like a young trapped animal, fierce and furious.

Tao Ran quickly stopped his men. They carefully stayed a couple steps away from her: "Su...Su Luozhan, right?"

Su Luozhan did not answer.

A million ideas jumbled in Tao Ran's head and it was hard to pick the best approach on spot to negotiate with an underaged suspect.

Right then, Fei Du stepped in the room too. He turned slightly to hide his broken arm and scanned the room casually. Then he asked: "Where is the suspect?"

Su Luozhan was surprised. Her eyes landed on him unexpectedly.

"Wait, there is a kid." As if just noticing her, Fei Du asked, rather nonchalantly: "Where is the abductor-murderer that's with you?"

Su Luozhan looked down at the knife in her hand, the girl under her knife, and back up at Fei Du, as if not knowing how to reply.

"Come, put the knife down. It's Okay now honey. Don't be scared." Fei Du looked around at the interior of the old apartment. The last owner of the apartment had left but the marks of her chaotic life remained. The walls were yellow from cigarette smoke, and the corner of the room was full of empty beer bottles. "What a jerk -- using a child as the bait and hiding in the back... I have never seen someone so gutless before. Girl, don't you worry. The police had surrounded this place and he is not going to get far. The uncle policemen and the law is going to protect you...That's really a heavy knife for you, isn't it?'

Now that he mentioned it, Su Luozhan suddenly found the weight of the knife unbearable. Her wrist was close to snapping. At the same time, she understood something from Fei Du's words: the police thinks that these were entirely the doings of that man, and she was only a poor bait! Su Luozhan felt a trace of excitement for having fooled everyone. Her eyes watered and she stared at Fei Du with those red bunny eyes. She now looked more helpless than Chen Chen.

Tao Ran immediately picked up on where Fei Du was going. He took a step forward. Seeing that Su Luozhan was scared and grasped the knife firmer, he squatted down too and held his empty hands open towards her. His eyes were at the same level of hers. He tried to look across Chen Chen's shoulder at Su Luozhan directly: "Is it true? Was someone pressuring you?"

Su Luozhan hesitated for a second, then nodded decisively.

Tao Ran's voice was softer. He slowly reached one hand out to her: "Then give the knife to Uncle Tao, and take us to the bad guy, would you?"

Su Luozhao stared at his hand and looked very hesitant. When Tao Ran's hand moved too close, she nervously raised the knife again. The shivering blade left marks on Chen Chen's neck --- She really couldn't hold it any longer.

Tao Ran agreeably stopped his reaching hand in mid-air: "Is the bad guy's name "Xu Wenchao"? He used you to take Qu Tong away, right? Did he do anything to you?"

Fei Du added: "Your mother used to dress you up like a barbie doll to please him, did she? She even put makeups on you?"

Su Luozhan stole a small breath. It seemed that she was trying really hard to contain herself.

"She was getting old. She couldn't hold on to her youthful appearance anymore, so she thought of you. She didn't allow you to wear anything else, or to cut your hair short, right?"

Fei Du looked into her eyes, "Did she mistreat you? Did she hit you?"

Su Luozhan's tears - real or fake - rolled down her cheeks as Fei Du was speaking. The tears blurred her sight. Suddenly, she felt a pull on her wrist. It was Tao Ran who grabbed her knifed hand. Su Luozhan struggled a little, but Tao Ran said gently: "It's Okay...It's Okay. Don't be afraid. I know you are a good girl. He made you do it. There's no need to worry..."

His words were gentle but his grasp was firm and Su Luozhan really had no chance against him. After a brief second, she gave up and let go the blade.

An officer quickly stepped up and took Chen Chen away from Su Luozhan.

Luo Wenzhou just arrived on scene. He heard a colleague reporting over the earphone: "Captain Luo, one of the suspects is under control. She identified Xu Wenchao. Can we apply for the warrant now?"

"Yes. Notify the tails: don't let him slip." Luo Wenzhou helped carrying Chen Chen onto the ambulance stretcher, then turned towards the other girl, Su Luozhan: "Where is Qu Tong? Is she still alive?"

Su Luozhan did not reply, only shook her head at him. As if reminded of something, her delicate lips slightly curved up. Then, realizing that she was letting on more than she should've, she looked down submissively.

Although the music box more or less prepared him mentally, Luo Wenzhou still felt tightness in his chest. He looked at her slightly curled hair and her long and fluffy eye lashes. Suddenly, an eccentric, ridiculous sadness overwhelmed him.

He waved a colleague over to escort Su Luozhan to the police car, then turned towards the ambulance. Some paramedics were treating the wound on Chen Chen's forehead. They were saying something to her but he couldn't hear it from a distance. Her family had arrived. The suffocating separation and sudden reunion had made Chen Chen's mom weak at the knees. She tripped, but Dad quickly caught her by the arm. The quarreling duo reconciled and walked toward their daughter hand in hand.

She had been missing for almost eight hours. Although scared, stressed, and bruised all over, Zhang Yuchen made it back in one piece after all. It was nothing short of a miracle. A full night of roller-coasting and death-racing, at least they were able to get back one of the missing girls.

Luo Wenzhou exhaled deeply, then raised one hand up the usual way, waiting for a high five from his partner. But this time, none was given. He awkwardly looked around, only to find Tao Ran still by Chang Ning's side. Chang Ning was weeping in relief, and Tao Ran was there to console her. He even passed her a handkerchief. Obviously Tao Ran had completely forgotten about his partner.

Luo Wenzhou: "..."

Talking about dates before mates!

In the next moment however, his hanging palm was clapped by someone else. Luo Wenzhou looked around surprisingly and saw the handicapped big boss Mr. Fei had waltzed over here and, for whatever weird reason, decided to do this unnecessary thing. Afterwards, he took his time to tuck his hand back into the pocket, and glanced at Luo Wenzhou with a faint smile: "Tut-tut, how childish, Captain."

Luo Wenzhou speechlessly watched this contract-less extra get into his car. Legs crossed, Fei Du shamelessly waited for the chauffeur Luo to come and drive him. In the name of his ample worldly experience and precise judgment of character, Luo Wenzhou could swear that some naughty flirting was going on with Fei's words and expression.

He couldn't believe what just happened: "So I gave him an inch and now he's taking a mile...a light year?!"