âIâve already apologized to my comrades just now. I was too eager to get a definite result today and spoke without thinking! I didnât see both of you talented people earlier, so I thought I should apologize to you separately, so here I am! It was my fault today!â
Liao Fugui took a step back, and Xiao Qian noticed that he had goosebumps behind his ears. This big brother must be breaking down inside.
Xiao Qian looked at Liao Fuguiâs ears and smiled with a smirk.
The big leaderâs heart was crying out âdamnâ again and again. This girl was too arrogant. He had already lowered his head first, so why didnât she give him a chance to step down?
Little did he know that in Xiao Qianâs heart, aside from the few people she cared about, everyone else was a big joke to her.
If she didnât like what she saw, she would step on it and usually just ignore it.
âBy the way, Xiao Chen, youâll be graduating soon too. Are you interested in working at the Research Institute? We really need talents like you here. If youâre willing, I can make a decision right now and sign you up. Even if you want to pursue a Ph.D. later, we can reserve a place for you and have the Institute cover part of your tuition.â The big leader extended an olive branch, confident that he could settle the matter with just a word, bypassing the director.
âIs it because of my in-laws?â
The big leaderâs heart was crying out âdamnâ again.
Where on earth did the Old Yu Family find such a woman? She doesnât play by the rules! Shouldnât things like this be implicitly understood? Whatâs the meaning of throwing such a bomb right away?
âWell, thatâs not the case, of course. We value your professional level ââ Of course, it couldnât be said that it had nothing to do with the Old Yu Family. He had originally intended to give Xiao Qian a favor, but she choked him with one sentence.
The big leader was so embarrassed that he couldnât continue, because Xiao Qian and Fu Guiâs synchronized gazes were looking at him with a âyou can keep spouting nonsense, buddyâ expression, making the big leaderâs heart cry âdamnâ again and again.
âWe really value your expertise. To be honest, if this case hadnât been resolved quickly, we would have had to ask Professor Qi to help. His fee is almost astronomical, and the funding aspect⦠Anyway, youâve helped us a lot.â The big leader found that the more he explained, the darker things became.
Simply because he didnât start off well, Xiao Qian didnât believe him even when he was telling the truth now!
The fact that he got so angry was really due to the pressure from above. If Liao Fugui and his team couldnât handle this case, they would have to ask for Professor Qiâs help, which would be extremely expensive and disadvantageous to his political achievements.
Xiao Qian had no interest in getting involved in these office politics, so she casually brushed it off and left alone.
With Xiao Qiang not by her side, she just wanted to find a quiet place to have a drink before it was time for her evening livestream.
She declined Fu Guiâs offer to accompany her and left on her own, intending to go to the parking lot to get her car. Suddenly, she saw the elderly couple sitting on the flower bed at the entrance.
Xiao Qian stood behind a car, watching them through the glass.
They were Zhimingâs parents.
Fu Gui was currently conducting a tense assessment for Zhiming. If it was really proven that he committed the crime during an episode of his mental illness, even if he could escape legal punishment, the government might adopt compulsory medical treatment for this kind of highly aggressive mentally ill patient with major safety hazards. It is unknown how long this illness will take to recover from, and even after being discharged, Zhimingâs family will be ordered to keep a close eye on him.
There is a widespread misconception in society that mentally ill people who commit murder are not punishable by law, but this is a misunderstanding.
Anyone who violently harms others is guilty of a crime, but existing laws hold that punishing those who are completely incapacitated during an episode of mental illness is pointless as it does not serve the purpose of preventing mental illness. Hence, there is special legislation for this.
Mentally ill people in the throes of an episode can be either completely incapacitated or not quite so. Mentally ill people who still have self-awareness while committing a crime or those with a history of mental illness but no current episode are all criminally responsible. Therefore, committing a crime while pretending to be mentally ill to escape punishment is simply impossible.
Even for those completely incapacitated patients like Zhiming, it is not that they are completely uncared for. Being exempt from criminal responsibility has another aspect: ordering their family members or guardians to strictly supervise and treat them and, if necessary, provide compulsory medical treatment.
The forensic doctors in Liao Fuguiâs department have the authority to make judgments, and trying to pass muster with them is simply impossible. Those people didnât force out Zhimingâs alter ego at the earliest possible moment today not because they lacked professional skills, but because time was too tight. Xiao Qian believed that without her, they would have made appropriate judgments within a few days after learning about Zhimingâs background.
Zhimingâs parents were brought back to assist in the investigation along with their son. Thinking about their son getting involved in such a big case, the elderly couple felt helpless. The self-esteem of the uncle was covered with his tear-streaked face as he sobbed, not even caring about saving face anymore.
âHow can we face the villagers in the future? We have no face left to showâ¦â
âYou stop crying, husband. Letâs go back and pack up some money to see if itâs enough to compensate those two girlsâ families. Since our eldest son is possessed and our second son is involved, we canât just ignore it. Weâll pay as much as we can affordâ¦â
Itâs hard for Xiao Qian to imagine that the auntie who sold counterfeit products as genuine ones could say such a thing.
Kindness and evil, frugality and generosity â some things are hard to explain, as people are naturally complex and changeable.
Xiao Qian found a hotel and ordered a private room, a bottle of wine, and a couple of appetizers. She poured herself a glass of wine but didnât drink alone as she usually did after work.
She suddenly thought of the scene of the elderly couple crying and discussing the matter, and the many things that happened in her lifeâs journey. If there is someone to discuss things with when the sky is falling, there is still a glimmer of hope at the end.
She suddenly thought of a song lyric: Who can drink with me, throughout the years?
It seemed like alcohol could not satisfy her need to vent her emotions after her treatment. She suddenly felt that it would be great if Yu Minglang was here right now, even if it was just to hear him say one sentence.
The barrier in her heart formed by her pre-marriage phobia had begun to waver, and a thought was emerging.
Xiao Qian suddenly realized that she wanted to marry Yu Minglang.
She wanted to tell him now.
Zhimingâs parents werenât crushed by the blows of finding out their son was mentally ill and still thinking about how their son could atone for his crimes. What was she still afraid of?
In her past life, she failed to be a good mother. In this life, she would do everything she could to protect her daughter.
Being afraid of the future is meaningless. Who knows the future without experiencing it?
Suddenly, some things she had been struggling with became clear in an instant.
Xiao Qian took out her phone, but found that she couldnât see the numbers clearly because her eyes were filled with tears.
She held back her tears, and now, she had only one thought in her heart.
To find him.
To tell him that she wants to marry him, to get her daughter back, and to try a new life together, no matter how marriage might change her life.
In the future, after every heart-wrenching treatment, she wanted someone to accompany her and get drunk together.
Itâs him. Itâs him!â