Chapter 593 - Saving Zhou Zihuai - 2
Song Fang and the others were already there by the time Fu Zhi arrived at the river.
Fu Zhi and Lu Yushen got out of the car and ran up to them. "How is it? Have you found him?"
"He"s not on the bridge. The police officers are now looking for him. Since the frozen river is dangerous, they don"t allow us to go there," Song Fang explained as he followed behind Fu Zhi.
"We can"t get through to Zhou Zihuai. His mother is here as well, and she"s crying so much that she nearly fainted," Song Fang continued, his forehead covered in sweat despite the cold weather. "I heard the hospital say that he"s in bad shape right now, and it"ll be life-threatening if he jumps into the river!"
Fu Zhi nodded.
According to Song Fang, Zhou Zihuai was admitted into the ICU two days ago. However, he snuck out of the hospital the next day.
Fu Zhi and Lu Yushen soon found the leader of the police, who was holding a torchlight and searching for Zhou Zihuai.
He was stunned for a moment when he saw Fu Zhi. Then, he walked a few quick steps up to her and said, "You"re the one who found his location, right?"
Fu Zhi nodded and before he could ask anything further, she said, "Zhou Zihuai is our cla.s.smate. We"re worried about him, so we came here."
"You all are his cla.s.smates… Alright, then. Come with me. Maybe we would need your help in persuading him when we find him later."
"Okay. We"ll do our best to cooperate with you," Fu Zhi replied.
The police officer nodded, but he did not stop measuring her up and down with a quizzical gaze.
He felt that she was a reasonable girl, and she did not look like the violent girl who killed Anmisu in one punch at all.
Through unremitting efforts, they soon found Zhou Zihuai.
"We found him. He"s at the west side, and he"s emotionally unstable right now. His mother is there, but it seems like he doesn"t want to see her."
Generally speaking, people who wanted to commit suicide must have lost all their hopes in life. They just wanted to end their life as soon as possible, and they would be avoiding something subconsciously.
The police department had learned about the things that happened in Zhou Zihuai"s family before coming here. They knew that his father was abusive. As for his mother, they reckoned that she did not stand on her son"s side when his father was beating him.
"Zhou Zihuai"s standing very close to the river right now," a police officer said when he saw Fu Zhi and the others.
After that, he turned his head around and shouted, "Make way! Make way!:
The group of police, as well as the relentless reporters, retreated to both sides, and it was only then Fu Zhi saw clearly what was going on.
Mrs. Zhou and Zhou Zihuai were both standing beside an ice hole in the river. It was just that Zhou Zihuai was closer to the hole, while Mrs. Zhou was a little bit further away from the hole. She was covering her stomach with her hand, and her face was scrunched up with worry.
When Zhou Zihuai saw them, his expression changed.
Then, Mrs. Zhou shouted, "How could you? How could you do this to me, Zihuai? It took me so hard to raise you, and what exactly did I do to you that made you want to kill yourself? What am I supposed to do if you die? Who"s going to take care of your brother and me?
"I tell you Zhou Zihuai, you"re the most selfish kid I"ve ever seen in my life! You"re going to regret it if you jump into the river right now!" Mrs. Zhou was crying so hard that she nearly pa.s.sed out.
The negotiator did not know what he should do as well. Right now, he had to take care of two people, and for a moment, he did not know who was going to jump into the river.
Fu Zhi took a step forward, and it was only then she saw how bad Zhou Zihuai"s condition was.
His entire body was full of wounds, and half of his face was swollen to the point that he was unrecognizable. His pants were drenched with his blood as the st.i.tches on his thigh had opened up.
He was standing as stiff as a ramrod, and there was no expression on his face.
Mrs. Zhou"s hair was disheveled and her face was filled with trepidation. She stared fixedly at her son with a remorseful, saddened gaze.
Everyone was stunned when they saw those wounds on Zhou Zihuai"s body.
It was only now that they understood why the doctor said he would definitely die if he jumped into the river right now.
"Zhou Zihuai, come back," Fu Zhi said, her voice soft and calm.
Zhou Zihuai"s face was ashen pale. He covered his stomach with his hand as he looked at Fu Zhi, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Fu… Fu Zhi?"
"Yes, it"s me." Fu Zhi nodded. "I saw your text message. Death won"t solve anything. Come over here. Song Fang and I will do our best to help you."
"That"s right, Zhou Zihuai. Just let us know if you have any problem, and Sister Zhi and I will help you, so don"t you f*cking do anything stupid!" Song Fang added.
However, it did not work. Zhou Zihuai shook his head. Although his eyes were gla.s.sy, his voice was firm, "No one can help me."
After that, he turned to Fu Zhi and continued, "I shouldn"t have sent the text message to you and I shouldn"t have troubled you. I"m just… I"m just too vulnerable. I thought I could handle it just like what I used to do, but I… I was too tired… I"m tired of doing everything, and I would feel suffocated if I didn"t finish my homework!
"So I think it"s time for me to take a rest. Although it"s sad, I"m truly happy and relieved that you could live of your own will without the need of listening to others. I"ve always thought that maybe you"re living as another me in the world."
Mrs. Zhou realized what Zhou Zihuai wanted to do after she heard what he had said. She jerked her head around and shouted at Fu Zhi, "I asked you to talk to my son about his studies, but what exactly did you talk to him about? He has been beaten by his father before and has never been as vulnerable as he is today. Have you brainwashed my son?! How else would he think you would live as him in this world?"
This was why she told Zhou Zihuai that Fu Zhi was a manipulative girl. She was certain that it must be Fu Zhi who persuaded her son to kill himself in order to get rid of one compet.i.tor!
Fu Zhi might still say something to Mrs. Zhou in the past, but right now, after seeing what had happened to Zhou Zihuai, she just ignored her.
At the same time, Lu Yushen, who was standing behind Fu Zhi, squinted her eyes.
He did not like it when someone badmouthed his sister, but he knew now was not the right time for him to say anything.
Fu Zhi then said, "If he beat you, all you have to do is beat him back, but if you just jump into the river right now, your death won"t do anything to him at all."
Zhou Zihuai knew Fu Zhi would try to talk him out of it. Also, he knew that Fu Zhi was very good at brainwashing other people.
He had already made up his mind to end his own life, so he shook his head. He did not want to listen to her anymore and put one of his legs into the hole.
Just when everyone gasped in shock, Fu Zhi dashed forward at the same time as he turned around.
Since he was injured, his movement was not as fast as Fu Zhi.
Just as he closed her eyes and was about to jump, Fu Zhi slid towards him and grabbed his wrist.
"I already told you that you shouldn"t jump," Fu Zhi said. Then, she exerted some force into her hand and jerked Zhou Zihuai out of the ice hole.
The crowd was speechless.
"Alright, call the ambulance and a counselor for him," Fu Zhi said.
However, n.o.body responded as they all stared at her blankly.
Fu Zhi frowned. "What are you guys still waiting for?"
It was only then the leader of the group of police officers came around to his senses, and he hastily went to do Fu Zhi"s bidding.
Very soon, the ambulance arrived.
The medical staff put Zhou Zihuai on a stretcher and brought him into the car.
Mrs. Zhou wanted to follow after them, but Fu Zhi stopped her.
She looked at Fu Zhi and snarled angrily, "This is my son and I have the right to follow him and take care of him! You can"t take away my rights as a mother!"
"No one will deprive you of your rights as a mother, but don"t you think you should hold some responsibilities for the wounds on his body?
"You caused him physical and emotional damage, and now you say you want to take care of him?"
Mrs. Zhou was stumped.
When they were on their way to the hospital, Fu Zhi asked, "What"s going on with your step father?"
Zhou Zihuai pressed his lips thin and he did not reply. After all, his brain was still a muddled mess right now.
It seemed to him that he had wasted everyone"s time and his suicide was completely a joke.
He looked at Fu Zhi.
It was this girl who saved him from death.
Tears were forming in his eyes as he began to wonder was he really being unreasonable like his mother said?"
"I have no way to understand your sadness and pain, but I know that suicide is the most irresponsible thing one could do to him or herself," Fu Zhi said flatly, "Song Fang has told me everything. Your stepfather beat you and treat you like a sh*t. All you have to do is become stronger. You should work hard to reach the height that he can not even look up to in this life. He can only rely on you, while you can easily crush him.
"However, it won"t cause him anything if you choose to kill yourself.
"As for your mother, if you feel that your relationship is based solely on investing and being invested, then what she is doing is wrong. You can go through the legal process and just give your mother money and refuse to provide anything to your stepfather. If she doesn"t agree, you can reduce the funds you give her appropriately so that she couldn"t help your stepfather financially."
Zhou Zihuai was dumbfounded.
This was the first time someone said something like this to him.
Even if everyone said that his stepfather was wrong, no one ever told him that his mother was wrong. The relatives around him would only tell him how hard his mother worked, how much she suffered for him, and that he should grow up to return the favor and obey his mother, listen to her and not refute any of her opinions.
They all told him that whatever his mother was doing right now was for his own good.
They could not see the shackle that his mother had put upon him.
They would only blame him for being unable to understand his mother, and they would say he was the wrong one no matter what happened.
Zhou Zihuai took a deep breath and said, "I can"t get away from them. Zhao Wu is just like a parasite! He"s going to suck everything out of my mother before she dies! I heard with my own ears that he wants to sell my mother"s kidney, but what I don"t understand is why my mom still said I"m being unreasonable after I told her everything?
"Whenever I calm down, all I think about is suicide…"
"Alright, alright," Fu Zhi said as she applied the medicine on his wound, "All you need to do right now is rest well. I promise you I"ll make Zhao Wu apologize to you."
He lifted his head and looked at her.
Fu Zhi saw the nurse anesthetize Zhou Zihuai.
Very soon, he could not take it anymore and pa.s.sed out.
It was 12:00 am right now.