Just after the beginning of winter, in front of the Songting Detention Center in the northern suburbs of Xinhai City, the leaves of the plane trees on both sides of the road were all falling, and the streets were covered with yellow leaves.
The skinny young man standing on the bus stop had a slightly pale face and delicate features. He looked up through the sparse branches and looked at the hazy sky. The lead-colored clouds were very low and seemed to be pressing on his head.
The boy had just come out of the detention center. He was wearing a jacket and a yellow backpack containing toiletries. He also had a change of clothes, but they were all thin summer and autumn clothes.
He didn't want to take another bulky coat from his backpack and put it on, shivering against the cold wind, just like a stubborn boy.
Today seems to be an unlucky day, as there are only a few people released from the detention center.
A freshly painted bus stop sign stands alone on the roadside.
An old-fashioned car was parked opposite, separated from the boy by the asphalt road, as if they were two completely unrelated entities.
From the perspective of a young man, there is no sign of an old-fashioned car. The lines of the car body are tough and it looks full of age. However, the slender body also shows that it had an extraordinary and prominent status in the era when it was manufactured.
This old-fashioned car was covered in dust at this time, and the side body was even covered with gray and white marks from the dried mud. No one had taken care of it for a long time.
If the car window hadn't been opened a crack and wisps of smoke drifted out from time to time, this car would have been like a desolate old aristocrat, huddled in isolation on the street with no one paying attention to him.
Not a single bus or even another car passed by for a long time, which really made me feel lonely.
Maybe it was because the silence had been too long, or maybe the people sitting in the old car lost their patience first, and the passenger door opened a crack, but at this time a police car came from a distance, and the door was immediately closed by the people in the car.
The young man was standing on the curb. When he saw the police car approaching, he subconsciously took a step back when he thought of a bunch of police officers breaking in and pushing him down on the concrete floor.
The police car did not turn directly to the detention center, but stopped in front of the young man.
The car window slowly lowered, revealing the face of a thin and resolute middle-aged man wearing a police uniform; but the young man turned his head and looked at the stop sign, showing more disdain for the middle-aged policeman than he did for the car on the other side of the asphalt road.
"The No. 19 bus collided with a small car when it entered the station at Kanjiawan. The next bus won't arrive until half an hour later. If you don't want to follow me into the detention center, just wait here for a few minutes. I'll ask Xiao Liu
I'll drive you back. You put on this coat first to see if you get cold..." the middle-aged policeman said, taking a coat from the car and handing it over.
The young man didn't respond, and he didn't mean to come over to pick up his coat. He just put his hands in his pockets and curled up slightly to feel a little better.
"Are you feeling bad?" the middle-aged policeman asked.
"I arrested you, locked you up for four months, and then said you were innocent. Do you feel good?" The young man bit his bloodless lips and asked, "You shouldn't ask me if I feel bad, but ask
This is not fair!"
"..." After a long while, the middle-aged policeman sighed, took his coat back, lit a cigarette, and said, "Your case was not that complicated to begin with, but when it comes to your father's case, the prosecutor still
I asked for supplementary investigation twice, so I delayed drawing a conclusion until now. I know you are aggrieved, but one day you will know that having rules is better than having no rules."
The young man's expression was ferocious for a moment, but then he turned and looked away.
After all, it was difficult for him to feel calm, but his four months in the detention center also taught him not to argue or fight pointlessly.
"By the way, when you came out, did you ask to see your father? You should know that your father is also being held in this detention center pending trial, right?" The middle-aged policeman asked again. After waiting for a while, he saw the young man looking down.
He landed on the ground and never looked at him again. He started chattering to himself, "It seems that we haven't met yet - your father will be tried in a few days, and the sentence will probably be heavier. I came here a few days ago.
I talked to him and he regretted committing an impulsive crime. Not only did he involve you, but in the end he couldn't even take care of Jiaying and your grandma. He thought that you were resentful and wouldn't go to see him, so he asked me to go with you.
Just a message: It doesn't matter if you delay the college entrance examination once. Just think of it as a repeat year. My Cheng Xidu is still thinking about you all day long if you continue to apply for SMU next year, so that she can be your senior sister - your father still
He asked me to give you and Jiaying living expenses every month. He lent me this. I told you brothers and sisters not to worry about this and not to go to that woman. You should keep this bank card first. I will send money regularly every month.
Go in..."
The middle-aged policeman kept talking for a long time. The young man got bored and glanced at the bank card he held out, then turned and walked east.
Since the No. 19 bus stopped near Kanjiawan Station due to an accident, the boy decided to walk three or four more stops and detour to Qinghong Road to take another bus home.
He was somewhat impatient to get as far away from the detention center behind him as possible...
"What kind of person came out of it today? There are many wealthy people in Xinhai now, but more than ten years ago, there were only a few people in the city who could drive this old-fashioned Maybach, right?"
The driver was a young policeman. He had long noticed the old-fashioned car on the other side of the asphalt road. Only then did he have the opportunity to ask with emotion.
The middle-aged policeman seemed to have thought of something, his brows furrowed even more, and he glanced at the young man's figure in the rearview mirror.
As if realizing that the people in the police car were paying attention, the Maybach started up and drove away from the boy in the opposite direction to the asphalt road. It seemed to be parked in front of the detention center, but something suddenly delayed it for a while...