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Wang An was the first to step inside. Upon seeing Zhang Bin, he charged at him like a beast encountering its prey. Gu Chen, standing nearby, was taken aback by Wang An's speed. In an instant, Wang An's fist connected with Zhang Bin's face, producing a dull thud.
With his hands cuffed, Zhang Bin had no way to evade the blow and took the punch squarely.
As Wang An prepared to throw a second punch, Gu Chen quickly intervened, grabbing him and saying, "Let's ask some questions first."
Wang An glared fiercely at Zhang Bin and spoke in a low but firm voice, "There's no need to ask; it was definitely him. I only regret that I didn't kill him back then. If I had, my sister Fang Qi wouldn't have committed suicide; it was his doing."
Zhang Bin was momentarily stunned, then incredulously asked, "Fang Qi committed suicide?"
Wang An gritted his teeth. "You still won't admit it? In the yard, you said that if this matter wasn't resolved, you'd make sure my family was ruined. You even threatened my sister Fang Qi! As a man, if you have any guts, come out with the truth!"
Wang An was indeed quite mature for his age; tears streamed down his face as he continued, "When I was very young, my brother and sister had no jobs and couldn't earn money. My father struggled to support us alone. Back then, my sister Fang Qi would pick up bottles to collect money. I remember she wouldn't even buy a five-cent snack but would bring me treats when she came to my school."
"You don't know how hard it was during those tough times. If it weren't for my sister..." Wang An's body trembled as he fought to keep himself composed. "If it weren't for her, I would have wanted to give up on life long ago. But with her around, I wasn't afraid of friends mocking me; I wasn't afraid of not having new clothes or going hungry."
"It’s all because of you," Wang An shouted out all the resentment he felt inside.
From Wang An's words, one could imagine a fragile yet strong girl. She might not have been good with words or outgoing in personality, but she was undeniably resilient. Yet such a strong person chose to commit suicide on New Year's Eve—how desperate must she have felt?
And Wang An understood that despair.
Facing a child no older than eight or nine years old, Zhang Bin dared not speak.
In this world, maturity has nothing to do with age.
"Ah!" Wang An shouted explosively.
Zhang Bin flinched and replied, "I may have said those things, but it wasn't me who did that; it was your brother! It wasn't me!"
When Zhang Bin uttered those words, I knew that the situation might not be much different from what I had imagined. Under the interrogation of a student from Wang An, the truth about Zhang Bin's predicament emerged. However, there were still some discrepancies between what Zhang Bin said and my deductions regarding certain details.
As the three of them emerged from the detention center, there was still a month and a half until the New Year. Yet, after a month without any income, they had almost no money left. All of this could be blamed on Hao Ren; without him, they could have earned at least a thousand or eight hundred dollars in that month. While it wasn't much, it would have been enough to celebrate the New Year.
But Hao Ren's presence ruined their chances of having a good holiday.
Thus, Zhang Bin decided to take revenge.
Zhang Bin's chosen method of retaliation was to ensure that Hao Ren also had a miserable New Year. They resorted to throwing feces and forced Hao Ren out of Edge Internet Cafe. However, Hao Ren seemed completely unfazed, showing no signs of anger or distress, which drove Zhang Bin absolutely mad. During his investigation into Hao Ren, Zhang Bin discovered that he had adopted four children.
The oldest, Du Ziguo, worked at an auto repair shop, so Zhang Bin sought him out.
After work, Zhang Bin and his companions intercepted Du Ziguo on the road and beat him mercilessly. Not satisfied with just that, they took Du Ziguo back to their place and locked him up. The three then went out to call Hao Ren, inviting him to come to this location.
However, upon returning to the room, they found that Du Ziguo had drunk a cup of liquid from the table.
That was not water; it was a new type of substitute for drug rehabilitation.
As a new alternative drug treatment product, this substance had actually been introduced during World War II. Compared to Duloxetine and Morphine, its half-life was relatively longer—lasting anywhere from twenty-four to thirty-six hours.
In simpler terms, after consuming this substance, its half-life would last two to four hours. This meant that after using drugs, a person would feel the urge to use again within four hours. If they couldn't find more quickly, they would feel as if life was worse than death.
After drinking this substance once, it might take twenty-four hours before there was any desire to use again. In reality, this substance could also lead to addiction and was considered by some as a new type of drug. Some treatment experts referred to this method as "substituting poison for greater poison." In fact, like other drugs, it was included in the list of banned substances in our country.
There were only eight pilot treatment hospitals nationwide for this kind of therapy; due to its low cost and long half-life, this treatment method was feasible.
However, since it still fell under the category of drugs and because it was inexpensive—costing around ten dollars per treatment—many addicts viewed it as a substitute for drugs. Therefore, those who came here for detoxification underwent regular and random urine tests; if any tested positive, they would be immediately sent to a compulsory detox center. The black market price for this substance was nearly on par with other drugs, leading many addicts to keep it in their mouths without swallowing in order to make money.
In the hospital, to prevent such incidents from occurring, after taking the substance, drug users are made to drink a glass of water and speak; otherwise, they cannot leave the hospital. This way, it avoids the substance from flowing into the black market. When we watch the movie "Disciple," we can see many drug users holding the substance in their mouths, eventually spitting it into a cup.
Yumu City certainly does not have such a rehabilitation center, and this cup of substance was used by an addict to settle debts. He owed money to three people but could not repay them, so he offered them this cup instead. The three had planned to sell it on the black market, but unexpectedly, Du Ziguo ended up consuming it.
Du Ziguo had never done drugs before and did not know any drug users, so he had no idea what it was.
Thus, Du Ziguo became addicted.
When Zhang Bin saw that the substance he intended to sell had been consumed by Du Ziguo, he was furious. He initially thought about having Hao Ren repay the debt, but then Zhang Bin suddenly came up with a good idea. He asked the person who owed him money for a package of drugs and left the house overnight.
While packing his things, Zhang Bin accidentally spilled some of the drugs on the bed. That little bit of substance was later found by me.
They randomly chose a shabby motel that charged thirty yuan a night to stay in.
The next day, Zhang Bin and his companions left, leaving only Du Ziguo at home.
The package of drugs was placed in a very conspicuous spot.
Du Ziguo saw the drugs and felt an unusual sensation within himself. Looking at the package, he was tormented inside. He didn't know what was happening to him, but a voice in his heart whispered that this substance was good and should be tried.
In the end, his desire to use the drugs overcame his rationality.
He took the drugs down and held them to his nose; with one sniff, it felt as if the entire world floated away. Du Ziguo was usually dull and honest, always submissive. He was actually quite dissatisfied with his boss but never expressed it. He silently endured everything alone.
However, with that one sniff, he forgot everything; all his troubles vanished.
Thus, Du Ziguo became Zhang Bin's third disciple and followed him to exchange drugs several times.
But Du Ziguo seemed to have latched onto Zhang Bin.
Zhang Bin only wanted Hao Ren to see what his son had become, to witness Hao Ren's despair and tears. He wasn't doing charity; he was the one supporting Du Ziguo's drug habit. However, Du Ziguo had no other channels and could only cling to Zhang Bin. Zhang Bin was getting a bit annoyed.
One time at the dinner table, Zhang Bin could no longer tolerate his incessant nagging and snapped, "Damn it, I'm not your father. If you want to get high, buy your own stuff. If that doesn't work, you have a sister named Fang Qi who seems quite cute. If you dare to mess with your own sister, I'll buy it for you."
Everyone burst into laughter, but Du Ziguo remained silent.
However, two days later, Du Ziguo came back.
As soon as he spoke, Zhang Bin and the others could no longer laugh. Du Ziguo said, "I slept with my sister."
Zhang Bin looked at the young man and suddenly felt goosebumps all over. He remembered the addicts living next to his subsidized housing; when the craving hit, they could do anything. Zhang Bin handed Du Ziguo a bag of drugs, and Du Ziguo lunged at it like a dog.
Then, while Du Ziguo was using drugs, Zhang Bin and the others left.
The three of them dared not return to the subsidized housing; they were constantly avoiding Du Ziguo.
We were all filled with rage, but Zhang Bin explained, "This isn't my fault; that **** was his own choice to drink, and that **** was his own choice to use. I never encouraged him to use drugs or forced him to do anything. And how could you take what I said at the dinner table seriously? If I went out and killed a hundred people, would he do the same?"
The person who raped Fang Qi turned out to be someone familiar—someone he knew all too well. If this person was indeed Du Ziguo, then everything made sense. Fang Qi had been raped by her brother a month ago, and a month later, unable to bear the torment within her heart any longer, she chose to commit suicide on New Year's Eve.
Like a firework bursting beneath the bridge.
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