From Pokfulam to Central

Qu Zhi was called by the disciplinary committee early in the morning to cooperate with the investigation, and Chen Shuo got the news when he was about to go to work in the afternoon and started to rush to the Lawyers Association.The whole questioning process was carried out very quickly. Not long after Chen Shuo arrived, he had just made a reliable relationship, and heard the news from the other party that just now, the entire investigation process was over.

In order not to implicate Zhou Mi, Qu Zhi admitted all the charges, and very cooperatively accepted the Lawyers Association's decision to revoke his membership and suggested that the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice revoke his lawyer's practice certificate.

It's over, it's over.

When he came out of the disciplinary committee and went downstairs, Qu Zhikong had only this thought in his mind.Six years of legal career, from study to work, came to an abrupt end.Although six years is not too long in terms of a human lifetime, Qu Zhi has no idea how to start again in the future.

Oncoming were a few young people who were dressed relatively formally, but still looked like students. They were excited, and when they passed by Qu Zhi, the boy on the side accidentally bumped into his shoulder.A sincere apology rang in his ears, Qu Zhi waved his hand feebly, and accidentally caught a glimpse of the materials in his arms.

It turned out to be a trainee lawyer who came to receive a certificate.

Qu Zhi couldn't help turning his head to take another look, but this time, all he was left with was the back.

Qu Zhi felt that he seemed to be able to see himself among them, but it seemed he couldn't.Recalling the day when I came to get the certificate, it was only two or three months ago, but now that I think about it, it seems like a lifetime ago.

"Qu Zhi." Chen Shuo had been waiting in the lobby on the first floor for a while, and just now when he saw Qu Zhi coming out of the elevator, he called him several times, but he didn't seem to hear him, and finally noticed himself when he came to him.

"Chen Shuo?" Qu Zhi's expression was a little surprised, but also a little dull, "Why are you here?"

Chen Shuo felt very uncomfortable suddenly, and said softly, "Wen Zhong told me that he is on a business trip now, and he also got the news from his friends in the Bar Association. Why don't you tell us about such a big matter."

Qu Zhi squeezed out a wry smile, "It's not something glorious, it's okay, don't worry."

The more Qu Zhi emphasized that he was fine, the more distressed he was, but Chen Shuo understood that for him now, even the purest concern would turn into overwhelming sympathy and pity. , it’s better to give him some space to adjust himself first, "Okay, let’s not talk, I’ll take you home first. Anyway, I was exhausted in that dilapidated law firm before, so I just took this opportunity to rest. Just save it for later.”

Qu Zhi rarely nodded from the bottom of his heart, and smiled gratefully.

"By the way," Chen Shuo led Qu Zhi to the parking lot, "I don't know where Zhou Mi heard about it. He called you just now and he called me. I heard he was very anxious on the phone. I didn't lie to him again, sorry."

Qu Zhi didn't expect to keep Zhou Mi a secret, he just didn't want to cause trouble for him, now that the overall situation is settled, he knows it when he knows it, so he shook his head and said: "It's okay, it's nothing to get in the way."

Chen Shuo unlocked the car by remote control, and then went around to the passenger side to open the car door for Qu Zhi. He felt relieved after seeing him sit in safely, "Then why don't you call him back?"

It was only then that Qu Zhi remembered that he hadn't looked at his phone for a long time because he cooperated with the investigation.

Chen Shuo went back to the side of the driver's cab, opened the door and before he could get in, he found that Qu Zhi, who had looked normal just now, suddenly became tense within a few seconds.

Apart from Zhou Mi's missed calls on Qu Zhi's mobile phone, there were dozens of calls from Liu Jie. After Liu Jie stopped calling, he was followed by a familiar landline.Reluctantly turning his nearly rusted brain, Qu Zhi finally remembered that it was Liu Jie's phone number, his heart suddenly tensed, and he hurriedly called back.

Chen Shuo didn't know what happened, so he didn't dare to intervene rashly. After Qu Zhi hung up the phone, he looked at him in panic, and when he spoke again, there was some pleading in his trembling voice: "Hospital ...Pinggu Hospital!"

Chen Shuo didn't dare to delay, started the car, kicked the gas pedal and rushed out.From the North Second Ring Road to the East Sixth Ring Road, which is dozens of kilometers away, even if there is no one in the middle of the night, it will take at least an hour to arrive. Chen Shuo tried his best to keep the speed at the maximum speed limit. His hands were already sweating several times.

The people in the hospital said that Liu Jie was not feeling well today and went home early, but she suffered a heart attack not long after arriving home and was sent back, but because she was discovered late, the prime time had already been missed, and the doctors were working hard to rescue her.

Qu Zhi remained motionless in the co-pilot's seat, so anxious that he turned on his phone every few minutes to check the time, and then turned it off because he was afraid of some unbearable news coming from it.This cycle of switching on and off was repeated dozens of times, until Chen Shuo braked suddenly and stopped the car in front of the hospital.

When Qu Zhi jumped out of the car, his feet almost went limp and fell to the ground. Fortunately, he held on to the car door and staggered into the emergency room.The little nurse at the triage desk at the entrance knew Qu Zhi, and called him by name to tell him to go to the cardiac surgery operating room as soon as possible.

The hospital on Monday was extremely crowded. Qu Zhi walked through the crowd recklessly. There were too many patients and family members queuing outside the elevator. He couldn't wait, so he ran directly from the stairwell to the third floor, and saw that the light outside the operating room was off. , only one nurse was left, pushing out a nursing bed covered by a white cloth.

Qu Zhi's steps stopped suddenly, his legs stuck in place as if they had been filled with lead, and he finally came to his senses when the bed stood in front of him for a long time.Stiffly moving half a step closer, Qu Zhi stretched out his nearly exhausted hand, and slowly lifted the white cloth that still had the pungent smell of disinfectant, revealing an all-too-familiar face.

Suddenly a burst of dizziness hit him, he felt that his eyes were hazy and he couldn't see anything clearly, Qu Zhi tilted his body and fell to his knees on the ground.The nurse rushed to help, but she was a little girl, and she really couldn't afford to help a big man who couldn't use his own strength.In the end, it was Chen Shuo who hurriedly followed after parking the car, and carried him to the seat beside him.

The nurse had to send the deceased to a temporary parking place, so after a brief explanation and a few words of comfort, she pushed the bed and left.In the empty operating room, only Qu Zhi and Chen Shuo were left.

Qu Zhi hunched his back, lowered his head, put his elbows on his knees to support himself, and curled himself up into a ball that was relatively isolated from the outside world.Chen Shuo couldn't see the expression on Qu Zhi's face, he could only see that he was swiping the phone over and over again with his trembling fingers, and on the screen was a string of bright red missed call records.

Qu Zhi silently and earnestly looked at the time of each incoming call. Every time he read it, the temperature and sensation of his fingertips lost a little bit, and he felt that there was something stagnant in his chest that could no longer be relieved, making him unable to breathe. He was so angry that he might lose his heartbeat at any moment. After a long time, he said in a hoarse voice: "It's my fault. If I answer the phone, even if I can't make it back in time, at least I can help call an ambulance, and the doctor won't let you down." It’s too late to save people.”

Seeing Qu Zhi like this, Chen Shuo felt uncomfortable, and couldn't think of how to comfort him for a while, so he could only say, "Don't think like this, Qu Zhi, it's not your fault, none of us could have predicted such a thing to happen."

"But in the final analysis," Qu Zhi turned his head, and saw his eyes were red, which made people doubt for a moment. They were not filled with tears, but blood. "The reason why my mother got sick is because I was angry." .”

Heaving a heavy sigh, Chen Shuo knew that Qu Zhi could not stay here any longer, so after completing some necessary procedures for him, he drove him back to his residence in the city, and planned to stay tonight to accompany him. he.

After tossing and tossing about for a whole day, fearing that there was no grain of rice in, Chen Shuo cooked him a bowl of noodles with the few ingredients left in the refrigerator, brought it to him and said, "Eat some, I know you don't have an appetite, so just eat it." Take it as a way to save face, okay?"

Qu Zhi's complexion was so pale that it was almost transparent, his eyes were drooping weakly, his bloodless thin lips were tightly pressed into a line, and after a while, he tremblingly said three words: "Why?"

"What?" The bowl in Chen Shuo's hand was a little hot, it was so hot that it hurt.

"Why do you have to turn off your mobile phone during the investigation and questioning?" Qu Zhi raised his head, his eyes showed the fragility and grievance that seldom appeared after growing up, "Brother Shuo, which regulation is this written in, tell me, tell me Can I?"

"Qu Zhi," Chen Shuo put the bowl aside, leaned down and said, "Shall we stop thinking about it?"

Unanswered questions turned into endless disappointment, Qu Zhi's eyes lost focus, and he said to himself, "I have already bowed to him and compromised, and I plan to give him what he wants, no matter how difficult it is." Forbearance, I didn't refuse, it's not that I refused. But why did he still have to report the matter, why did he insist on putting me to death."

Chen Shuo was ignorant at first, but later realized that Qu Zhi was talking about Li Yan.

"Brother Shuo, I knew I was wrong, and I never thought of escaping punishment. I was ready to lose everything, but in the end, I never expected that these mistakes would be retribution on irrelevant people. "

"Brother Shuo, maybe I was born a sinner. When I did that thing, I felt almost no guilt in my heart."

"Brother Shuo, I can always see a bottomless abyss recently. I know the danger, but I still keep walking towards it. Now I have lost my footing and can't get up again. Only then did I realize that there are innocent people at the bottom of the abyss." People were pulled down by me."

"Brother Shuo, I hate it, I hate myself, and I also hate the person who pushed me into the abyss and stepped on a few more feet."

Hearing "Brother Shuo" in succession, Chen Shuo seemed to have returned to the time when the two were innocent teenagers, and the vicissitudes of life always made people's nose sour, so he had to turn his head to one side.One cannot show weakness in front of those who suffer more than oneself.

"Brother Shuo," Qu Zhi took a deep breath, and then said with a smile, "Go back, I want to be alone for a while."