CH 50.1

Fu Zheng left Gao Yuan and returned to the community. He didn't rush to contact Shu Ning. It was impossible to contact her right now - Yu Feiyuan was likely relying on his old pickup artist techniques to placate her, so no matter how much one spoke to Shu Ning and Yu Feiyuan, neither of them would withdraw the complaint against Ning Wan.

Be indirect to save the country1; Fu Zheng bought a good deal of in-season fruit, and then proceeded to visit Shu Ning and Yu Feiyuan's neighbors on the same floor, upstairs and downstairs.

"You mentioned Yu Feiyuan... he looks like quite an honest man, I haven't heard them quarrel, but I have seen injuries on Shu Ning's face a few times. When I asked about it, she said that she had slipped and fallen in the shower, so I didn't probe further..."

"The lady of the house doesn't associate with us very much. I'm a full-time housewife too, but I haven't really seen her very much. She doesn't seem to take part in any group activities. Every once in a blue moon, she'll drop in when we're doing a community fund-raiser, and I had the impression that she was very nice, but not long after her husband came and called her away."

"That's right, when we had our last school committee meeting we asked her to join us. When we asked for her WeChat, her husband came over and asked us to use his instead..."

As expected, after having a number of such conversations Fu Zheng managed to piece together the facts - Yu Feiyuan had strict social control over Shu Ning, using every excuse in the book to prevent her from making new friends, not even any of the neighbors. Therefore, most of the neighbors didn't know their family. No one knew that Yu Feiyuan was abusive toward Shu Ning, and there was no one to be a witness--

"I don't know what their family situation is like, but they have a daughter around six years old. She seems to be a rather withdrawn and gloomy child. How should I put it? She's not ugly - she takes after her mother and is quite cute. She's just very mature for her age. She doesn't seem like a six-year-old at all, doesn't like to talk to people or play with the kids around her age. My grandson is in the same class as her, and he says that she's quite strange; doesn't talk and isn' very responsive to others."

Speaking of the little girl, Fu Zheng had a vague impression of her. When Shu Ning had wanted a divorce, she had given them relevant information about her family. He remembered that her daughter's name was Yu Shiyin, and that she was still in kindergarten.

How could a child be cheerful growing up in a mentally controlled, abusive family like Yu Feiyuan's? He was afraid that her life must be gloomy, constrained, and constantly apprehensive, always walking on eggshells. When Fu Zheng heard this, he couldn't help but think of Ning Wan. For her to have such a brilliant smile now, who knew how much she had secretly digested and borne?

None of the other neighbours had anything to offer either, and were all generally of the opinion that the less they said, the less trouble it would be. Only Aunt Lin, who lived below Shu Ning, spoke a lot with Fu Zheng. She was an out of towner, and was in Rong City to see her grandson. Since she had no one to talk to usually, she was obviously feeling cooped up, and chattered to him non-stop on a wide range of topics from Rong City's climate to the recently increased price of fruit. Just as Fu Zheng was ready to find an excuse to leave, she mentioned Shu Ning's daughter, sparking his interest.

Hesitating, he asked, "Aside from being introverted, are there any other differences about this child?"

Aunt Lin thought for a moment before saying in a low voice, "She doesn't talk much since she's withdrawn, but when she does she loves to lie!"

"Lie?"

"Oh yes." Aunt Lin fell into a gossipy posture and seemed about to pull out the popcorn. "In the last six months she's made four or five false reports to the police."

"What did she report?" Fu Zheng frowned.

"That her father beat her mother, that her father was going to kill her mother..." Aunt Lin tutted, shaking her head. "Just listen to such words! From what I can tell her father seems like quite an honest man. When the police came around to inquire about it, her her mother said that no such thing had happened. The injuries on her face were due to a careless fall. She's a clumsy woman and prone to falling whenever she dozes off a little..."

"Thanks to that, the father later brought fruit to the police station in apology for having sent them on a wild goose chase. As it turns out, he had reprimanded his daughter for not studying, and since she was angry with him she made a false report." Aunt Lin shook her head, saying, "Can you believe how precocious kids are nowadays? When the girl is still young you can pass it off as saying that she likes to make up stories, but when she's older, she'll be a vindictive one... That's why it's so important to educate one's kids nowadays! Look at how many kids are..."

In the background, Aunt Lin was still going on, but Fu Zheng's face had turned grave.

Shu Ning had not reported her abuse to the police, but unexpectedly, her six-year-old daughter had reported it in her stead. Unfortunately, six-year-old children had no authority, and due to Shu Ning's cowardice and Yu Feiyuan covering up the matter, her reports had been glossed over as false reports.

There was no time to be lost. Fu Zheng decided to make an immediate trip to the Yuelan area police station.

He had intended to go there to scope out the situation and to see if there were any useful details in the police records, but in an unexpected coincidence he had just stepped into the police station when he heard a policeman driving someone out--

"Kid, I've told you many times that you shouldn't lie. Your father works hard to earn money to support the family, so if you don't study hard, it's quite right for him to reprimand you. You shouldn't slander him by calling him a wife-beater..."

The speaker was an older policeman. Though he was being gentle and friendly, he was obviously not taking the person seriously. "Uncle Policeman isn't all-powerful, and has many other things to do, while your reports are always false. If you do this again, we will inform your teacher!"

A childish voice answered, small but firm, "But Uncle Policeman, my dad really hit my mom. He's done it many times, until my mom's face was covered with blood. He just hit mom again..."

The child's voice was interrupted by the ring of the police hotline. The policeman picked it up, and waved the child out as he spoke on the phone, "Come on kid, uncle will take you back to school. Don't come here next time. Remember, lying is wrong. At your age, you should be listening to your teachers and parents..."

The little girl instinctively retreated back to the door, and bumped into Fu Zheng's leg.

She had her hair in a ponytail, a small schoolbag on her back, a pink dress, a clean face, and a still and serene expression. Although she was still very young, her eyes were deep, gloomy and sad. It touched his heart.

"Yu Shiyin?"

Sure enough, when he said that the little girl looked up at him. Aunt Lin had been right. The child's expression was as indifferent and dull as if neither joy nor sorrow existed. Despite being so young, there was no hint of childlike innocence in her at all. Instead, her eyes were dull as stagnant water. Looking at her, Fu Zheng felt pity.

He crouched down to keep his eyes level with her. "Are you here to make a police report?"

The girl looked at him warily, but nodded, "But no one believes me." Her head drooped and she sounded depressed. "Because I'm a child no one believes me, but I'm not lying…"

"I believe you."

Sure enough, Fu Zheng's words gave her pause. Looking at him, her eyes lit up for the first time. "Since you're here, are you also a policeman? Can you-- can you help me save my mom? My dad beats my mom, he keeps beating her and beating her, can you put my dad in jail?"

Though her words were somewhat incoherent, Fu Zheng still understood them.

"I'm afraid I'm not a policeman. I can't help you put your father in jail."

Her eyes dulled upon hearing this.

Fu Zheng smiled warmly and continued, "But I am a lawyer, and I can help you use the law to protect your mother." He patted the little girl's head. "Alright, first I'll take you in to see Uncle Policeman. With me here, he'll believe you. You tell me everything you know, and we'll see how we can help your mother, okay?"

The child hesitated, but in the end, she nodded and followed Fu Zheng back into the police station.

……

On the other side, Ning Wan was having a headache. She really hadn't expected Shu Ning to lodge a complaint. She had clearly meant it for Shu Ning's own good, but she had underestimated Yu Feiyuan's control of Shu Ning. After having completed the mediation that Director Ji had asked for, Ning Wan walked back to the community office, feeling agitated, depressed and down.

Once one had a record of complaints, applying to join any partner team was impossible for a year. Zhengyuan Law had finally acquired a senior partner who needed a new team, and if she missed this opportunity was really missed, she would end up wasting the best years of her career.

Although it might not be useful to plead with Shu Ning right now, Ning Wan decided to give it a try anyway. It was the best hope she had, both for her own future and for Shu Ning's.

Unfortunately, reality was harsh. When Shu Ning saw her through the pinhole of the door, she wouldn't even open it--

"Leave, I don't want to see you again. My husband and I are doing well together, and because of someone like you goading me on, I might have gotten divorced!"

Even though she knew that this had a high probability of being completely useless, Ning Wan made a last-ditch effort. Through the door, she began telling Shu Ning about the results of their research at her company and university.

Although there was no reply, Ning Wan knew that Shu Ning was listening from behind the door.

……

"Shu Ning, please carefully consider. Is Yu Feiyuan really doing all this on your behalf, or is he isolating you so that you become just a tool to him, unable to resist? Don't you think that having the man taking care of the outside world and the woman taking care of the home is ridiculous? The whole time while he married and had children with you, did he really never mean to take advantage of your position?"

She let out her entire analysis in one breath. "Because he was in love with you, he managed to publish papers where he was the first and second author; because of an unexpected pregnancy, he persuaded you to give up Deep Blue Machinery's offer; because he claimed that he would get jealous, he had you cut off all your friends; claiming that a man needs face, he doesn't allow you to go out to work; and after you quit, he got the promotion he had wanted, a position which had originally been yours..."

At some point as she spoke, Ning Wan just began letting it all out. Even if Shu Ning wouldn't withdraw her complaint, she just hoped that Shu Ning would see the light.

"Please calm down and carefully consider. What has Yu Feiyuan's love for you really gotten you in the end? Yu Feiyuan's favorite person has always been himself!"