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墨書 Inktalez
I looked at Chen Bo and gave him a thumbs up. Chen Bo smiled and said, "It's all in the past. I'm familiar with the leaders of the Bus Company in our town. It's not a big place, so everyone knows each other. Having acquaintances makes things easier."
Both Gu Chen and I nodded.
Gu Chen drove us to the Bus Company, and I was lost in thought about Hu Ningning and Li Jun. When Gu Chen called for us to get out of the car, I was still immersed in my thoughts. Gu Chen patted my shoulder, bringing me back to reality, and I noticed that Chen Bo had already gotten out to greet someone.
I looked towards a few people in the distance; one was likely an old friend of Chen Bo's, the leader of the Bus Company, while the other person, dressed in uniform, was presumably the driver from that day.
"Let's go," Gu Chen said. "Don't just stand there."
We hurried forward, and Chen Bo introduced us one by one. We learned that the leader's surname was Zhang and the driver's surname was Zhou. Leader Zhang led us into the building, and we didn't hesitate to follow. After some simple pleasantries, Chen Bo raised an eyebrow and said, "Old Zhang, I guess I'm here for no reason at all."
Leader Zhang nodded and glanced at Zhou Driver. "I understand from our phone conversation that you're here to investigate the case of the pregnant woman from over two months ago? This is the driver from that time. But there were police who came to investigate before; why is this coming up again? Is there something we missed?"
Chen Bo shook his head. "The two investigations weren't conducted by the same team nor for the same reasons. These two are top-notch talents from the police force; they were with the original Special Cases Unit under Investigator Wang. With them on this case, I feel more confident. A child has died this time; if it escalates, it won't be a simple matter."
Leader Zhang nodded. "I understand. The country has strict regulations regarding the protection of minors. A child has died—was it murder?"
At this point, Leader Zhang answered his own question: "It certainly wasn't an accident or suicide; if it were suicide, we wouldn't need people from the City Bureau involved."
Chen Bo nodded again. "You've guessed correctly. We're quite busy with this matter and don't want to waste time on trivialities. Zhou Driver, do you remember what happened back then? Could you tell us in detail?"
Zhou Driver nodded and swallowed hard. "Of course I remember; this incident left a huge impact on me—I'll probably never forget it."
Looking at us, Zhou Driver began recounting what had happened: "I was driving Route Ten, which is a circular line. When I was heading west and reached the Wire Factory stop, I opened the door as required and waited for passengers to board and alight."
Pausing for a moment while shaking his head slightly, he continued: "As a driver, you need to pay attention to passengers getting on and off at both front and back doors when stopping; you can't let anyone get caught in the doors. There were no passengers getting on at that moment, so I turned my attention to the rear door."
"I remember about four or five people got off at that stop, one of whom was a heavily pregnant woman. Judging by her belly, she looked like she was about to give birth soon. Our Route Ten passes by Specialized Hospital; I recall she boarded at that hospital stop. I also remembered to offer my seat to elderly, weak, sick, disabled, or pregnant passengers since there were quite a few people on board at that time—I was worried she wouldn’t have a seat."
"But thankfully," Zhou Driver sighed in relief. "There were quite a few people on board making noise; I didn’t see who offered their seat but somehow she got one. After that, I continued driving without any issues. As for when that child boarded... I'm not sure; Route Ten doesn’t pass by any schools but perhaps they were waiting for a bus nearby."
I nodded and said, "That student must have been from Taishan Academy."
The driver nodded and said, "Oh, that school is one of the poorer ones in town. Generally, it's attended by kids from the villages; children from the city usually don't go there."
Chen Bo nodded and replied, "That school might soon be merged with another one. They only have two classes per grade, and it consumes a lot of resources. It's clearly not worth it. Now, please continue with the story about the pregnant woman."
Zhou Driver began recounting again, "Anyway, students from Ten Road would also come up, so I didn't pay much attention. If it were Taishan Academy, they would have boarded near Light Society. The student got on first, and a few stops later, the pregnant woman boarded. Both of them were supposed to get off at Wire Factory, but of course, the pregnant woman would be moving slowly."
Looking at us, Zhou Driver continued, "Of course, the adults understood this situation, but that child seemed a bit impatient and kept waiting behind to get off. I remember that kid was cursing about something, but I forgot what exactly he said; I didn't catch it clearly."
"Mm." I waved my hand to signal him to continue.
Zhou Driver nodded again. "Then just as the pregnant woman was about to get off, that boy suddenly kicked her in the back. Just think about it—pregnant women already have trouble maintaining balance; even if that kid didn't kick hard, she wouldn't be able to handle it."
"Go on." Zhou Driver seemed to recall the scene vividly, his face showing helplessness and fear. "The pregnant woman suddenly lunged forward. I still remember how it looked at that moment. She instinctively tried to grab the door frame but missed and fell straight to the ground."
"The sound!" Zhou Driver's expression twisted as he spoke. "It was loud. The carriage was filled with chatter before that moment, but suddenly it became eerily quiet—really quiet; no one spoke. After that, the kid jumped down and ran away in a flash; nobody reacted in time."
Sighing, Zhou Driver said, "If someone had reacted quickly back then, they could have beaten that student to death! It was infuriating! But by the time people realized what happened, that student had already run off who knows where."
"What was the condition of the pregnant woman at that time?" I asked.
Zhou Driver shook his head. "I hurriedly got off the bus; even if it went against regulations, I couldn't just leave her there. Many kind-hearted people also got off to check on her. Her belly had hit the curbstone directly—it was protruding and hard; how could her belly withstand that?"
Hearing this made me feel very low and helpless.
Zhou Driver sighed again. "Even though it was spring then, the pregnant woman was dressed warmly. But we all saw blood flowing from her pants. She was screaming in pain; we didn't dare move too much for fear of causing further injury."
"Then we quickly called for an ambulance. Fortunately, there was a Specialized Hospital nearby; the ambulance arrived quickly and took her away. After that, I don't know what happened; all I know is that after she was taken away, there was a large pool of blood left on the ground."
"There were also some older women on the bus at that time. Given the situation, it was clear that the child couldn't be saved; who knows if the mother would make it either? That child had committed a grave sin; if only I had caught him! If I had held onto him then, I bet those angry passengers would have beaten him to death!"
Beaten to death—it sounded eerily similar to how Li Jun had died. Could Li Jun's death be related to that pregnant woman? Did Li Jun harm someone else's child, leading others to seek revenge on Li Jun?
"Have you seen that pregnant woman since then?" I asked.
At that moment, Leader Zhang replied, "Yes, I saw her. I was there too. The pregnant woman came with the police to find out who the child was because there were surveillance cameras on the bus that could show what had happened. By the time we checked her belly, it was no longer big."
At this point, Leader Zhang shook his head lightly and said, "I’m just afraid that she didn’t manage to keep the child inside her."
"Later," Leader Zhang continued, "I didn’t see her again. The woman was around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, from the village, not from City. She didn’t understand anything and just kept crying. Later, the police privately hinted to her that it was just a child; even if they caught someone, it wouldn’t matter. It would be better to find the child's parents and get some money if possible."
"Damn it!" Hearing this, Gu Chen couldn’t help but curse.
Leader Zhang sighed and said, "I was there too; those words from the police shouldn’t have come out of their mouths. But you could see how pitiful that pregnant woman was. If you catch an eight-year-old child, can you lock them up or execute them? No, they would be out again in no time."
I frowned, suppressing my indignation and asked, "Is there any way to contact that pregnant woman now? Do you know how things were handled afterward?"
Leader Zhang shook his head and said, "Our Bus Company gave her ten thousand yuan out of humanitarian concern. I went to her home; she wasn’t from the town but from a nearby village. She took the bus to get a prenatal check-up and after that took Bus 10 back to her village. But among so many Bus 10s, she happened to get on one that led to hell. Sometimes you have to admit that one person's life is really different from another's."
"Some people sail smoothly through life without worries after giving birth. Others face disaster even before they are born; isn’t that fate?" Leader Zhang said helplessly.
I sighed and said, "Please give us the address; we need to go see her..."
"Alright..." Leader Zhang replied, "I'll write down an address for you; you can just drive there."
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