Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 40 Part 2

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 40 Part 2

Qianxi had let her family use the VIP entryway. News reporters couldn’t get ahold of any of Ye Qiao’s relatives and turned their attention to Zhou Tingsheng. But his aloof demeanor rejected any interview requests before they were even presented to him.

Liang Zirao happened to be at G City and rushed to the hospital after she heard the news. Zhou Tingsheng was sitting in the lobby for admitting inpatients and staring at the news that was playing silently on the tv.
The news was showing an exclusive video clip of the accident as it happened. Ye Qiao was originally following her own designated escape route but went sideways to cover Jiang Yu right at the moment of the explosion. Her eyes flashed by in front of the camera right before the fire and dust reached the camera. Her eyes were very clear and looked so familiar to Zhou Tingsheng that they made his body ache.

Zhou Tingsheng’s father had always performed his duty with honor, impartial and incorruptible. But after he retired, he occasionally suffered from retaliation. Zhou Tingsheng was well aware of the disaster that sometimes came with being righteous and kind

Liang Zirao went to Zhou Tingsheng’s side and handed him a piece of cake. Zhou Tingsheng seemed to ignore her. Annoyed, Liang Zirao looked around the room and noticed an entertainment news reporter nearby. She went over to the reporter, her high heels clacking on the tiles.

The reporter flinched a bit from Liang Zirao’s imposing presence, but he managed to ask a question from professional instinct: “You’re Ms. Liang of Ferra? May I ask what's the connection between you and the accident this time……”
“Ferra has nothing to do with the accident this time.” Liang Zirao suppressed her annoyance and replied with an impersonal, official tone: “Our spokesperson, Ms. Cheng Jiang, is one of the actors who’s been hurt in this accident. I’m visiting her as a representative of our company. Is there any other questions?”
“No…...nothing more.” As Liang Zirao turned the reporter away, he recalled that the man whom Liang Zirao had just contacted in the lobby had come in with Ye Qiao. He was puzzled why she was visiting Cheng Jiang?

By midnight, the lobby was illuminated by dim lights.

Liang Zirao sat down right in front of Zhou Tingsheng and stared at his eyes which were as cold as a chilly night: “This reminds you of Fang Ru, doesn’t it?”
There was no response from Zhou Tingsheng.

Liang Zirao couldn’t stop herself from recalling that bloody scene. Because of their father’s job, their family was used to retaliations from criminal gangs. The most serious one was about a girl from C University, Fang Ru. They said that the criminals were waiting there for Zhou Tingsheng but he didn’t show up. Instead they found Fang Ru, alone, waiting at a deserted road outside the military base. The images of her assault and dismemberment had been made into a CD and sent to the Zhou family. Liang Zirao only had a glimpse of the video before throwing it out, the sight was too hard to bear.

However, there were more videos.
In half a year’s time, their family would receive a CD every week. It was hard to imagine how much she had suffered before she died. Liang Zirao had told the housekeeper to refuse receiving any new CDs. But Zhou Tingsheng signed for each CD that arrived and reviewed them before handing them over to the police.

Like she had done numerous times before, Liang Zirao was prepared to give her advice but was interrupted by Zhou Tingsheng.
He said: “No, I’m not.”
Stunned, Liang Zirao didn’t know what to say next: “Tingsheng……”
Zhou Tingsheng curved the corners of his mouth up, without really making a smile. He opened the cake box, took a look, the cream on top emanated sweetness. He had heard that in the eyes of lactose intolerant patients, cream was as disgusting as rubber. He felt like he was going to turn into one soon and quickly closed the box. “Aren’t you busy? You have time to waste in here with me?”

He sounded quite calm which only made Liang Zirao more anxious: “You know you’re the one wasting your time here? Some things are beyond your control. If anything really happens to Ye Qiao……”
“No, nothing has.” Zhou Tingsheng interrupted her again.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.