Someone had called the police, and doctors soon arrived, hastily placing Song Li on a stretcher and taking him away, with his mother, sister, and some relatives following in the ambulance. Several police officers briefly assessed the situation and took Liu Yi into custody. She wore a silly smile, offering no resistance as she was led to the police car.
Fu Xiaotang sat alone on the floor, motionless. Cheng Yu stood by her, looking at her with concern, as if wanting to say something to comfort her but not knowing how to start. Fang Junjie, watching, sighed softly, squatted beside Fu Xiaotang, placing his hands on her shoulders, gently saying, “Xiaotang…”
Fu Xiaotang moved slightly, slowly turned her head to look at Fang Junjie, her face expressionless, as if it took her a while to recognize him, like a child who had done something wrong seeing a family member, her lips twitching slightly, “Azun, he’s dead… I, I didn’t want him to die.”
Fang Junjie very gently embraced her, “Silly, he’s not dead, he’ll recover.”
Fu Xiaotang seemed not to hear Fang Junjie’s words, murmuring over and over, “He’s dead, he’s dead, I don’t want him to die.”
Fang Junjie frowned slightly, pushed Fu Xiaotang away a bit, gritted his teeth, and without hesitation, slapped her across the face. Cheng Yu exclaimed, “Why did you hit her?”
Fang Junjie ignored him, forcefully gripping Fu Xiaotang’s chin, shaking her slightly, and growling, “I said he’s not dead, Song Li isn’t dead, do you hear me?” Fu Xiaotang blinked her eyes slowly, and tears began to flow more profusely from her eyes. She sobbed twice before finally bursting into tears with a loud “wah.” Fang Junjie held her, gently stroking her head with one hand and kissing her forehead. “There, there, it’s all right now, it’s all over,” he comforted her. Fu Xiaotang gripped Fang Junjie’s sleeve tightly, crying out loud in his embrace. Song Li had been in emergency treatment all night; although her life was not in danger, due to excessive blood loss and lack of oxygen to the brain, she had not regained consciousness.
