Chapter Forty-Five: Threw It Away

It was clear that the elderly couple generally listened to their daughter. Seeing that Zhang Guanghui plainly did not want them to go inside and disturb her, the old woman nodded without a word and helped close the door from the outside.

“You’re not from my school, are you? I’ve never seen you before.” Zhang Guanghui’s voice was slightly hoarse. Combined with her haggard appearance, it truly looked as though she had just recovered from a serious illness.

“That’s right.” Ning Shuyi took out her identification and stood up to hand it to Zhang Guanghui so she could see it more clearly. “Your aunt misunderstood as soon as she opened the door. We didn’t explain because we were afraid of worrying your parents.”

“Then thank you for being so considerate.” Zhang Guanghui thanked her aloud, but as she looked at Ning Shuyi’s identification, her eyes were filled with sorrow. “Did he really have to be so heartless? We were together for two or three years, after all. He actually called the police and had them come looking for me!

“I already told him I wouldn’t go looking for him anymore. Doesn’t he believe me?”

“Who?” Ning Shuyi asked, puzzled. She did not know whom Zhang Guanghui meant by “he.”

“Who else could it be? Cao Haiguang, of course!” Zhang Guanghui was a teacher, and she did possess a certain amount of common sense. As soon as she finished speaking, she realized that something was wrong. “Wait. The identification you just showed me said that you’re… criminal investigators?

“At most, Cao Haiguang and I are involved in a relationship dispute. That shouldn’t be something you handle, should it?”

Cao Haiguang was the car owner Ning Shuyi and the others had contacted earlier. Hearing Zhang Guanghui say this, Ning Shuyi and Huo Yan immediately understood her mistake.

“We didn’t come because Cao Haiguang reported you. We’re looking for you because of something else,” Huo Yan told her.

Zhang Guanghui nodded, seemingly relieved.

Clearly, her breakup with her former boyfriend, Cao Haiguang, had not been peaceful. Still, an unpleasant breakup was ultimately different from tearing all ties apart to the point where one party called the police.

Unless driven to desperation, two people who had once loved each other probably did not wish to become so completely heartless toward one another.

“Then… why have you come looking for me?” Once the possibility that Cao Haiguang had reported her was ruled out, Zhang Guanghui looked puzzled.

“We came to see you because of Deng Qingrong.” Ning Shuyi omitted the fact that Deng Qingrong was dead and merely mentioned her name.

Unexpectedly, the mere mention of that name caused Zhang Guanghui, who had been sitting weakly against the headboard, to become violently agitated.

She sprang up from the bed and ended up kneeling on it, her back straight and her body leaning forward. The sorrowful expression on her face instantly transformed into one of gritted hatred. The muscles in her cheeks stiffened with anger, making her look almost ferocious.

“She still has the nerve to call the police?!” Although it was obvious that she was furious, Zhang Guanghui still retained the last remnants of her reason. She struggled to lower her voice, forcing the words through clenched teeth. “How can she be so shameless!”

“Zhang Guanghui, don’t get so worked up. Calm down first, and then we can talk things through.” As Ning Shuyi tried to soothe her, she cast a pointed glance toward the bedroom door.

Zhang Guanghui breathed heavily, but she took Ning Shuyi’s words to heart. She crawled to the foot of the bed and sat down again, moving closer to Ning Shuyi and Huo Yan so that she could keep her voice as low as possible and avoid disturbing her parents outside.

“I’m an educated person. I know and obey the law. I won’t violate anyone else’s lawful rights, and I absolutely won’t allow anyone to violate mine.”

After taking several deep breaths, she finally managed to suppress her anger somewhat. Lowering her voice, she said to the two people in front of her, “I specifically studied the relevant laws. When biological parents fail to fulfill their duty of support, their children are not required to support them after reaching adulthood.

“Deng Qingrong abandoned me back then. That was abandonment! She gave me up and never once fulfilled her duty to raise me. I have every right not to acknowledge her! Even if she calls the police and sends you here, it won’t make any difference. I know the law!”

She paused to keep herself from growing angrier and unconsciously raising her voice. “And please tell her that I have no obligation to give her any of the benefits she wants from me.

“Her actions have seriously disrupted my normal life. I was willing to put the past behind me and act as though nothing had happened, without holding it against her. But if she harasses me again, or harms my parents, I will not let her get away with it!

“When that happens, whether it’s calling the police or taking her to court, I’ll be the one to do it!”

The series of reactions Zhang Guanghui had displayed after hearing Deng Qingrong’s name had gone well beyond Ning Shuyi and Huo Yan’s expectations. They had assumed she would avoid speaking of Deng Qingrong, perhaps even pretend not to know her. They had not expected her to speak this way, much less to make no effort whatsoever to conceal her disgust.

However, her words also directly confirmed their earlier suspicion regarding the blood relationship between Deng Qingrong and Zhang Guanghui.

“Please provide us with your whereabouts and movements during that period.” Huo Yan told Zhang Guanghui the time frame in which the forensic examiner had estimated Deng Qingrong’s death and asked her to provide the relevant information.

Zhang Guanghui froze for a moment, her brows drawing tightly together. “What does she claim I did to her? Or was she beaten because she made too many enemies by provoking people outside?”

“Please answer my question.” Huo Yan remained stern and expressionless, ignoring her questions.

Zhang Guanghui pressed her lips together, looking displeased. Yet faced with Huo Yan’s imposing manner, she seemed angry but afraid to speak out. Lowering her eyes, she thought for a moment before saying, “Nothing unusual. I went to work, and afterward I stayed by myself. I went to see a movie alone twice. Other than that, I stayed in my room.

“Do you need me to find people who can prove that’s how I spent that time? You probably won’t be able to find anyone.

“My parents can prove I was at home, because I lied to them and told them the school was holding a teaching assessment competition. I said I had to study and prepare.

“But you may not believe their testimony.

“My ex-boyfriend could also confirm that I was in contact with him during that period…”

She paused, then shook her head with a bitter smile. “But you can’t go and question him. Otherwise, he might really call the police and say I’ve been harassing him!

“Although all of this was caused by Deng Qingrong, I still have a long life ahead of me. I can’t let a moment of anger drive me to act recklessly and ruin my future.”

“What do you mean when you say Deng Qingrong caused all of that?” Ning Shuyi asked.

“You came to find me, so surely you already know what my relationship with Deng Qingrong was, don’t you?” Zhang Guanghui continued taking deep breaths, adjusting her emotions. “She gave birth to me, but she didn’t want me, so she abandoned me.”