[1]After treating the wounds and extracting the DNA, Xu Qinghe came out of the interrogation room absent-mindedly. Her colleagues then sent her home.
She stood naked in the bathroom, letting the hot water pouring down from her head. Her chest and neck were covered with horrible red scars when looking into the mirror, and one cheek was badly swollen. It seemed somewhat funny.
Her eyes felt sore. She thought she wouldn’t cry anymore, yet the tears kept coming and mixing with the hot water, and then flowed down her cheeks.
Just now in the interrogation room, she concealed the fact that she had been violated by K.
She wanted to talk about it, but in that room under the bright light, right in front of two of her colleagues, and with the computer to record her statement, she thought of the day she had just become a police officer.
A girl came to report to the police. She was crying and said that she was sexually assaulted. As a woman, Xu Qinghe was called over to assist her. Back then, Xu Qinghe was still a bystander and a listener. She questioned the girl to describe what happened in detail. While sitting next to her, Xu Qinghe felt a chill run down her spine.
At that time, the victim described the incident under tears. Xu Qinghe just thought how sickening and outrageous it was. Now that the roles had been reversed and she became the victim, how was she supposed to describe what happened to her? Let alone K would never leak such a matter. Even the so-called DNA should be futile.
Sitting in front of the bright light, Xu Qinghe stared at her colleagues opposite of her for a long time. In the end, she could only swallow her words.
Forget it. She was a coward.
After resting for a few days, Xu Qinghe returned to the police station.
The wounds on her body recovered quickly, and the horrible scars had faded a lot. Only a few faint red marks remained. But every time Xu Qinghe looked at them, the image of K ruthlessly pulling her legs apart and entering her would intrude into her mind. It was disgusting and sickening.
Xu Qinghe rushed to the toilet, retched over the toilet bowl for a while, wiped away her tears, and prepared to tidy herself up. As soon as she looked up, she saw a woman in a police uniform reflected in the mirror. The woman looked at her with some concern: “Are you okay?”
Ji Zizhong stood at the door of the stall. Her slightly raised eyes were full of worry. She looked at Xu Qinghe and started to talk: “There are some things I’d like to ask you, may I?”
Xu Qinghe stared into her eyes for a long time before she nodded: “Yeah.”
She couldn’t bear it anymore.
No matter who it was, she needed someone to accompany her.
“Sit down.” Higher-ranked police officers all had their own offices. Ji Zizhong led her to sit on one side of the sofa and handed her a cup of water. Her eyes moved a bit swiftly: “Why were you avoiding me? Is it because we became colleagues?”
Xu Qinghe held her cup while bowing her head silently. Her expression was hard to read. Only after a long time did she open her mouth: “Is that all you wanted to ask?”
Since Xu Qinghe didn’t want to answer, Ji Zizhong didn’t pursue it any further. Instead, her fingertips tapped on the desktop while she glanced at the record on the computer screen and subtly asked: “Why would K kiss you?”
Looking at Xu Qinghe’s abruptly widened eyes, she nodded and continued: “Or lick you — or bite you?” Ji Zizhong restrained her eyes and took a sip of water: “Why would your earlobe have K’s DNA?”
Xu Qinghe swept at Ji Zizhong’s face without emotion while the latter just quietly looked back at her. She suddenly recalled that night when Ji Zizhong’s eyes were like now — a touch of tenderness, hidden with a touch of softness — different from her usually serious gaze.
“Because–,” Xu Qinghe’s jaw trembled and the grip around the cup tightened. She closed her eyes, and her long eyelashes flickered somewhat excessively. Even her voice was as dry as from an old answering machine: “…Because I was raped by K.”
Xu Qinghe waited for a long time. Ji Zizhong didn’t reply. Only after a long period of silence did she hear Ji Zizhong’s clear and cold voice responding to her in a low tone: “Do you want to talk?”
The author has something to say:
You see, some of you lovely readers with open eyes and brains probably have a lot of small question marks now. Look slowly…believe in me! I can explain!
Actually, you can probably guess the calamity. I have no sense of accomplishment (´△｀)
The translator has something to say:
Sadly I was busy the last days and couldn’t translate as much as I wanted to. Tomorrow work starts again, so my speed will slow down. However, I do aim for weekly releases. No promises though. It often depends on my workload/mood/word count of the chapter. I’m halfway done through ch4.
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