Chapter 342: Chapter 342: No Confession
Wu Qihua took Wu Sheng back to the hospital. After getting the wound on his hand treated, they went to see Su Li together.
"We still don’t know why this happened, but it seems the trouble started with Wu Sheng, and you were the one who ended up suffering."
Wu Qihua couldn’t believe such a disaster had struck right after Wu Sheng’s successful proposal. Seeing Su Li’s condition made her heart ache.
"Auntie, please don’t say that. It was just a stroke of bad luck," Su Li replied hastily.
Although Su Li was doing much better, Wu Qihua was afraid of tiring her out, so she left after a few more words.
When Wu Sheng returned to the room, Little Tang Mo had already been taken home by Li Hongqin to get a bath and change his clothes.
Soon, only Wu Sheng and Su Li were left in the hospital room.
"I never thought it would be him... I still can’t wrap my head around it..."
Wu Sheng couldn’t believe he was the one who had brought this disaster upon Su Li.
If Tang Yuanxiao hadn’t saved Su Li, he couldn’t bear to think about what might have happened.
Su Li looked at Wu Sheng, seeming to want to say something but holding back. ’I have a suspicion,’ she thought, ’and my gut tells me I’m right, but I can’t bring myself to say it.’
After a moment’s hesitation, she reached out and took his hand. "Thank goodness he was caught. That’s what’s important. Don’t be too hard on yourself."
Wu Sheng gripped her hand back, cradling it in his palms. He closed his eyes and murmured.
"Yes, thank goodness..."
Seeing his distress, Su Li reached out her other hand and somewhat stiffly patted his head.
"Don’t blame yourself. Don’t be scared..."
Wu Sheng opened his eyes and looked at her. "You’re the one who shouldn’t be scared, Su Li. I swear I’ll protect you from now on."
When Su Li nodded, Wu Sheng lowered his head and kissed her hand.
The moment he kissed it, Wu Sheng felt her hand go rigid.
An instant later, Su Li snatched her hand back, pulling a bit too forcefully.
Seeing Wu Sheng’s questioning gaze, Su Li forced a smile and explained, "My hand is dirty... I haven’t washed it..."
Wu Sheng sighed in relief and smiled. "It’s not dirty. I think it smells nice."
Su Li gave a weak laugh. "What’s so nice about it?"
A look of exhaustion crossed her face. "I’m going to rest for a bit."
"Okay, get some rest. Don’t worry, I’ll be right here."
Su Li nodded, lay back down, and closed her eyes.
After a little while, Su Li turned over in her sleep, and the blanket slipped off her shoulder.
Wu Sheng got up and gently pulled the blanket back over her. After he sat down, a few seconds passed before he suddenly looked up at her back.
As Wu Sheng watched without blinking, Su Li’s tense back gradually relaxed.
The hand resting on his lap slowly clenched into a fist, and blood began to seep through the gauze bandage.
When Li Hongqin returned with Little Tang Mo, she shooed both him and Wu Sheng out of the room.
"I’m going to give Su Li a sponge bath. Wu Sheng, why don’t you take Little Tang Mo somewhere to play for a bit?"
Li Hongqin had been giving Su Li a sponge bath every day. Wu Sheng hadn’t thought much of it before, but today he couldn’t help but ask quietly.
"It can’t be easy to give her a sponge bath, especially with her injuries. Does she really need one every day?"
Li Hongqin nodded. "That’s what I said! She’s just in this room all day, not even breaking a sweat. There’s no need to wash every day, but Su Li insists on it."
"For the first two days, you know how she was drifting in and out of consciousness? The moment she’d wake up, the first thing she’d ask me to do was help her wash up. What was I supposed to do?"
Wu Sheng remembered.
Li Hongqin waved them off. "You two, go on. Su Li has always liked to be clean, but now she’s even more particular about it. She’s always wanting to wash her hands or take a bath. I bet if she could move on her own, she’d wash herself several times a day."
Li Hongqin closed the door, but Wu Sheng could still hear her chattering to Su Li from the other side.
"Back in my day, I’d only bathe a few times a year! You wash every single day and still say you’re dirty. Where could you possibly be dirty..."
"Sorry to trouble you, Sister Hongqin," Su Li’s embarrassed voice replied.
Hearing this, Wu Sheng’s face paled, and he stood frozen in place.
"What’s wrong, Uncle? Let’s go. You better not be thinking of peeking."
When Wu Sheng didn’t respond, Little Tang Mo grabbed his shirt and pulled him away.
Wu Sheng, who normally would have shot back a reply, was uncharacteristically silent.
Little Tang Mo gave him a strange look. "Uncle, what’s wrong?"
Wu Sheng looked down at Little Tang Mo, saw the concern in the boy’s eyes, and ruffled his hair. "It’s nothing."
As they passed the doctor’s office, Wu Sheng paused for a moment to peer inside. When he saw that Su Li’s attending physician wasn’t there, he frowned before walking on.
Once downstairs, they heard a vendor selling popcorn outside the hospital, so Wu Sheng bought a bag for Little Tang Mo.
"Can Mama have some?" Little Tang Mo asked as he ate the sweet popcorn.
"We’ll have to ask the doctor." Just as Wu Sheng was about to head back with Little Tang Mo, Mr. Zhang screeched to a halt in front of them on his bicycle.
Mr. Zhang’s expression was grim. Before he even spoke, Wu Sheng had a bad feeling.
"What is it?" Wu Sheng asked immediately.
Mr. Zhang let out a breath, glanced at Little Tang Mo, then pulled Wu Sheng aside to speak in a low voice.
"Ge Ba hasn’t admitted to anything. He’s sticking to the same old story, completely denying any involvement."
Seeing the ugly look on Wu Sheng’s face, Mr. Zhang sighed. "A lawyer showed up just now, claiming to represent Ge Ba. He said if we don’t find any evidence, we can’t wrongfully accuse someone and will have to release him."
"A joke!" Wu Sheng erupted in fury. "How could you possibly let him go?"
"We don’t want to release him either. He won’t admit it, but we all know he’s the culprit."
Mr. Zhang scratched his head in frustration. "The problem is, we have no physical evidence. No witnesses. We found nothing in Su Li’s home or in his car."
"But he did it! So many people saw him! Didn’t all those homeless men see him?"
Wu Sheng felt like he was listening to the world’s biggest joke.
Mr. Zhang sighed. "Forget the homeless men. I don’t know what happened, but now they’re all swearing they never saw Ge Ba. They’re saying it wasn’t him."
"Are they blind? How could it not be him? I’m going to go find them—"
Before Wu Sheng could finish, Mr. Zhang grabbed him. "Whoa, you can’t go. Those men have changed their stories. Now they’re all claiming you beat them up."
"Besides, Ge Ba’s lawyer is a real piece of work. He keeps threatening to take Ge Ba to the hospital to have his injuries examined. If you show up now, you’ll just be making things worse..."
Mr. Zhang trailed off, leaving more unsaid.
’How could I let him go?’ he thought. ’His fiancée is in that condition, and the man responsible is denying everything with an arrogant lawyer at his side. Even I feel like killing someone, let alone Wu Sheng.’
Mr. Zhang gripped Wu Sheng’s arm tightly. "I came today to give you a heads-up. If we don’t find any new evidence, he could be released as early as tomorrow. You can’t do anything rash. You hear me?"
"I’m a witness! I can testify that it was him! I’m the one who found him under that bridge overpass and chased him down!"
Wu Sheng pounded his chest.
"And Su Li identified him herself! She said it was him. Isn’t that enough? How can you say there’s no evidence?"
Mr. Zhang sighed in exasperation. "What you’re saying can be used as testimony, but because he wasn’t caught red-handed, and because you’re Su Li’s fiancé, your testimony doesn’t carry much weight."
"As for Su Li’s testimony... because she initially identified Yang Jiu, and Ge Ba is adamant that he doesn’t know Su Li and has never even seen her..."
In short, they all knew it was Ge Ba, but he refused to admit it and had completely absolved himself of all blame.
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