Reservoir Dogs chapter 17

Farce

It was just a flash, so he couldn’t be sure if he had mistaken it.

But he felt that figure looked very much like Xu Cuiping.

But what was she doing here?

Xiao Zhou left the convenience store and re-entered the auditorium, finding a few reporters with cameras and microphones outside the conference hall, chatting impatiently.

He walked around inside the building, but there was no sign of Xu Cuiping anywhere, almost thinking he had been seeing things.

Just as he was circling back to the side door of the conference hall, he saw someone dressed as a cleaner, hat pulled low, carrying cleaning tools, entering the conference hall. The clothes were a bit too large, the person kept their head down, their demeanor unnatural, with some hair peeking out from under the hat. Xiao Zhou became suspicious and followed closely.

At the back of the conference hall, there were now some media personnel. As Xiao Zhou passed by, he heard them saying they had received an anonymous tip about big news here today. But after waiting so long, it was just an ordinary academic seminar, and they wondered if they had been fooled.

The morning session was nearing its end, and as the discussion wrapped up, Jiang Chengyuan, the head of the research society, was expected to summarize the previous speeches.

Jiang Chengyuan took the podium, wearing a dark suit, broad-shouldered and upright. The arc-shaped top cast a yellowish light, and his usual nonchalant demeanor was replaced with a scholarly elegance, accentuating his academic aura. Without a script, he improvised, seamlessly referencing previous speakers’ laws and arguments, some passages even verbatim, demonstrating an impeccable memory.

Although Xiao Zhou wasn’t paying much attention to what Jiang Chengyuan was saying, he could tell that Jiang’s performance was outstanding, showcasing his solid foundation and depth of knowledge, turning offhand remarks into brilliant passages.

Xiao Zhou kept an eye on the situation onstage, his gaze fixed on the cleaner descending the steps from the edge. Meanwhile, he discreetly followed her from a distance of three steps.

Occasionally, as the light flashed across her face, Xiao Zhou was certain it was Xu Cuiping. But what was her intention?

At the steps closest to the podium, Xu Cuiping paused, pulling something out from the plastic bucket she carried. Xiao Zhou had a bad feeling. True to his intuition, in the next moment, Xu Cuiping suddenly removed her hat and dashed towards the stage, grabbing something and hurling it at Jiang Chengyuan, shouting, “You damn lawyer, go to hell!”

Almost instantly as Xu Cuiping started running, Xiao Zhou lunged forward. Swift and agile as an eagle swooping for a rabbit, before anyone in the room could react, he had tackled Xu Cuiping to the ground. He pinned her arm with the object she was about to throw, twisting it forcefully behind her back.

As Xu Cuiping struggled in his grip, what she had been holding fell out, releasing a foul odor that quickly filled the air, causing nearby individuals to grimace in disgust.

While Xiao Zhou restrained Xu Cuiping, some of the substance splattered onto him. Looking down, he couldn’t believe what he saw—a bag of rotten eggs.

Caught off guard by how quickly she was subdued, Xu Cuiping continued to struggle, her disheveled hair and fierce expression now a stark contrast to her earlier disguise.

“My sister died under suspicious circumstances. That old bastard Zhou Jun deserves to die. If he gets away with it, you won’t have it easy either!” she cursed loudly, her mouth full of profanities.

In moments, her demeanor changed again, crying loudly about her deceased sister, who never had a moment’s peace, and her newborn nephew who never got to see the world before passing away with his mother. Her cries were so sorrowful that she nearly fainted, leaving Xiao Zhou unsure how to respond.

The reporters, who had grown impatient waiting, swarmed like flies to the smell of dung. Excitedly flashing their cameras, they captured Xiao Zhou and Xu Cuiping, as well as Jiang Chengyuan, who stood nearby amidst the mess of broken, stinking eggs.

A microphone was thrust towards Xu Cuiping’s mouth, broadcasting her vulgarities to the public at almost deafening volumes.

Some online media reporters were thrilled, broadcasting live on the spot, reporting the incident and interviewing various experts from the local legal association who were dumbfounded by the turn of events.

The higher the rank, the closer they sat to the front, and the more they suffered from the stench of rotten eggs. The leader from the judiciary was particularly aggrieved, his expression as foul as the color of the eggs.

Some reporters, without regard for their safety, went onstage to interview Jiang Chengyuan, asking how he viewed Xu Cuiping’s behavior. Jiang Chengyuan merely glanced down at the audience, his face cold, and uttered two words, “Call police.”

The police arrived promptly, rounding up everyone involved. The reporters refused to relent, trailing behind in several vans.

Sirens blared loudly, disrupting the peace of the campus before swiftly departing, leaving behind murmurs of discussion among the students.

Xiao Zhou and Jiang Chengyuan sat side by side in the back seat of the police car, Xiao Zhou covered in egg slime, the stench permeating the car. The police officers had all the windows wide open to air out the smell, but Jiang Chengyuan remained composed as though nothing had happened.

Feeling uncomfortable with his own smell, Xiao Zhou shifted away, but Jiang Chengyuan pulled him back by the neck. Then, as usual, his hand rested lightly on Xiao Zhou’s neck, his fingertips gently stroking, like smoothing down the ruffled fur of a cat.

At the police station, Xu Cuiping was interrogated separately, while Xiao Zhou and Jiang Chengyuan were alternately questioned to cooperate with the investigation.

As Xu Cuiping was escorted past Jiang Chengyuan, she spat at him and turned abruptly to glare fiercely at Xiao Zhou, saying, “Are you proud of yourself for siding with him? Have you forgotten what your mother did for you!?”

Xiao Zhou froze, her shouting fading as she was led away, the distance muffling her voice until it disappeared.

Jiang Chengyuan frowned slightly, glancing at Xiao Zhou. “Does she know you?”

Xiao Zhou pursed his lips. “She knows my mother.”

Jiang Chengyuan looked surprised briefly, then masked it and nodded, saying nothing more.

It was clear what had happened—Xu Cuiping had orchestrated the disturbance, likely bringing those reporters to embarrass Jiang Chengyuan publicly and stir up Zhou Jun’s case again. However, Xiao Zhou had disrupted her plans. While Jiang Chengyuan remained unscathed, Xu Cuiping’s outburst had successfully attracted the attention of the reporters.

Xu Cuiping’s lawyer arrived promptly, surrounded by reporters as he entered the police station.

He was short, wearing a three-piece suit with a flashy brand name briefcase, his hair slick with gel that caught the flashes of the cameras.

His statements revolved around three main points: Firstly, he claimed ignorance of the incident, stating that Xu Cuiping acted out of personal outrage without consulting him. Secondly, he argued that Xu Cuiping was driven to desperation upon learning that the public security authorities did not intend to transfer the case to the procuratorate for prosecution, and that Zhou Jun would soon be released, with the deaths of Xu Juan and her son being ruled as suicides. He demanded that if the case were to be closed in this manner, the investigative process must be made public, or they would not accept it.

Thirdly, since Xu Cuiping was isolated and helpless, only able to seek help from the media and the public, he hoped everyone could uphold justice and give them a fair outcome.