Chapter 341: Chapter 341: The Arrest
Su Li found a phone and called Wu Qihua.
Wu Qihua was at work at the school. After the call connected, it was a while before she picked up.
"Hello?"
"Auntie, it’s Su Li. Do you know Ge Ba?"
"Of course I do. Little Eight, right? I watched him grow up. He and Wu Sheng used to play together every day. What’s wrong?"
Su Li closed her eyes. "Auntie, could you please go to the Ge family’s place and see if Wu Sheng went looking for him? I’m afraid he’ll... do something rash."
Wu Qihua’s expression turned grim. "What happened?"
"The person who attacked me... I think it was Ge Ba," Su Li said, taking a deep breath.
The other end of the line was silent for a long moment.
"Okay, I’m going right now." Wu Qihua hung up decisively and rushed over.
Unfortunately, she was a step too late.
Wu Sheng had already found Ge Ba.
Ge Ba saw Wu Sheng, but before he could even say hello, he heard Wu Sheng speak.
"Yang Jiu? A nice name."
’Ge Ba was Yang Jiu. To think that the very same Ge Ba he had protected since childhood had treated Su Li that way, had tried to utterly destroy her.’
Wu Sheng closed in on Ge Ba, his eyes dark and somber. With his slow, heavy steps, the very air around them seemed to grow silent and heavy.
Ge Ba felt as if a hand were squeezing his heart. It took all his strength not to retreat.
Wu Sheng walked right up to Ge Ba and looked down into his eyes.
"You told me to trust you. You said you had nothing to do with the case. I told you I believed you... So why did you have to disappoint me?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Wu Sheng threw a heavy punch.
The punch sent Ge Ba stumbling back several steps, and he had to brace himself against the wall to stay standing.
He turned his head and spat bloody saliva, then looked up at Wu Sheng. The viciousness in his eyes could no longer be concealed.
"For a woman... This is the second time you’ve hit me, Wu Sheng."
Wu Sheng stared at the familiar yet alien man before him, utterly bewildered.
"Why? Ge Ba, why?"
Why would he do that to Su Li? No matter how hard he thought, Wu Sheng just couldn’t understand.
Ge Ba looked at Wu Sheng and laughed dryly. "Why? You’re asking me why?"
’Why? What else could it possibly be for?’
Seeing Ge Ba’s expression, Wu Sheng’s face twitched violently, and he smashed another punch into that smiling face.
"You still have the nerve to laugh? You can still laugh?! Ge Ba, I remember every single word you said to me!"
"You said you were truly sorry about what happened to her! You said you really had nothing to do with the case! Is this your ’truly sorry’? Is this your ’nothing to do with it’?"
Ge Ba watched Wu Sheng’s furious face and didn’t fight back at all. He simply let Wu Sheng beat him, the smile on his lips growing ever wider.
’He remembered their conversation, too. And he hadn’t lied. Wu Sheng just hadn’t understood him.’
"’I’m truly sorry about what happened to her...’"
’He was truly sorry... so, so sorry. Sorry that Su Li had been rescued. That she’d gotten away just like that!’
"’I asked you, do you really have nothing to do with the case? Was everything you told the police the truth?’"
"’That’s right. It has nothing to do with me.’ The case had nothing to do with him... because he *was* the case! He created it!
’He had never intended to lie to Wu Sheng. Wu Sheng just didn’t know him well enough. He didn’t understand his heart.’
As Ge Ba watched the furious Wu Sheng beat him without mercy, his eyes grew colder and colder.
"Wu Sheng, you shouldn’t be hitting me over a woman. Stop it. This kind of revenge is truly disappointing."
Hearing the dismissive phrase "a woman" from his lips, Wu Sheng thought of Su Li in the hospital, and his rage surged even higher.
"Ge Ba, you’re wrong. These punches aren’t for her. They’re for you lying to me."
"As for revenge... Heh. Ge Ba, have you known me for only a day? You think a few punches is my idea of revenge?"
’This has to be the biggest joke in the world,’ Wu Sheng thought.
He let go of Ge Ba’s collar and, bit by bit, smoothed out the wrinkles in the fabric.
"You’re really overthinking this. A few simple punches? What’s the point? How could that possibly be my revenge?" he said, an uncontainable, bloodthirsty light glinting in his eyes.
’After what he did to Su Li, he thought a few punches was revenge? What a joke.’
’Su Li wasn’t some pet dog of his.’
Ge Ba stared into Wu Sheng’s eyes, breathing heavily. "Are you going to kill me?"
Wu Sheng looked into Ge Ba’s eyes and let out another laugh. "Kill you? I’d like to, but what would be the point?"
He took two steps back, spreading his hands. "Look at you. You’re not sorry, you’re not scared, and you have no intention of atoning. So what would be the point in taking your life?"
A crack finally appeared in Ge Ba’s expression. "What do you mean?"
The look Wu Sheng gave Ge Ba was utterly frigid.
"What else could it mean? The law will decide what crime you’ve committed, what punishment you deserve, and what price you must pay."
"You will pay the price for what you’ve done. It’s as simple as that."
Wu Sheng hooked a nearby square table with his foot, dragging it closer.
"As for us... In ancient times, men would cut their robes to sever all ties. Today, I think I’ll follow their example."
He looked at the square table. "From now on, what’s between us will be like this table—broken, with all ties severed."
As his voice fell, Wu Sheng lifted his leg and brought it down in a powerful chop.
With a loud CRACK, the square table split in two.
"No!" Ge Ba screamed, but it was too late.
He stared at the two halves of the table, his eyes bloodshot.
"Wu Sheng, you’ll regret this."
Hearing the sound of approaching footsteps outside, Ge Ba muttered the words under his breath.
Mr. Zhang and his team finally rushed to the scene. The moment he entered, Mr. Zhang threw his arms around Wu Sheng.
"Wu Sheng, you have to stop! You’ll kill him if you keep going! We understand how you feel, but let us handle him. The law will deliver his punishment."
Wu Sheng looked down at Mr. Zhang and patted him on the shoulder.
"You can let go. I’m not going to hit him."
Mr. Zhang looked up at the impossibly calm Wu Sheng and dazedly let go.
"Arrest him!"
Ge Ba wiped the blood from his mouth and nose, gave Wu Sheng one last, deep look, and was led away by the officers.
"Try not to take it too hard. Things didn’t reach the point of no return, which is a blessing. We’ll investigate and interrogate him thoroughly."
Mr. Zhang patted Wu Sheng’s shoulder, sighed, and left.
Wu Sheng stood in the empty, messy room, let out a breath, and turned to leave.
At the doorway, Wu Sheng’s gaze fell on a black stone resting on the windowsill.
He stared at the black stone without blinking. As he stared, the hard ice in his eyes began to shatter, piece by piece.
That black stone... More than a decade ago, a young and mischievous Wu Sheng had found it while traveling. He brought it back and tried to trick Ge Bayi, telling him it was a meteorite.
Ge Ba had clearly known it wasn’t real, yet he had kept this stone for so many years.
Wu Sheng’s fist slammed heavily into the wall.
Wu Qihua arrived just in time to see this.
"Stop! You’re bleeding! Your hand isn’t harder than a wall."
Wu Qihua grabbed his hand. He tried to pull free but finally stopped, listless. "Mom, I..."
"I know, I know. I know how much you’re hurting."
Wu Qihua had also seen the black stone.
She knew the story behind it.
Wu Qihua sighed, grabbed Wu Sheng firmly by the wrist, and started pulling him outside.
"You’re a man in your thirties. No matter how much it hurts, you’re not allowed to cry, and you’re not allowed to throw a tantrum. Be careful... or I’ll take a switch to you."
Wu Sheng remembered when they were little, how Wu Qihua would grab a thin switch to spank him. He’d hitch up his pants and run for his life, while that fool Ge Ba would hug Wu Qihua’s legs to buy him time to escape.
Wu Sheng gave a miserable smile. Things used to be so good between them...
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