Nominal: Hou Liangping blocking the door? He was slapped away!

Handong Provincial Hospital.

Nine o'clock in the morning.

The orthopedic surgeon clipped the X-ray to the lightbox, looked at it for a long time, and then pushed his glasses up.

"Director Qi, the recovery is going well; the cast can be removed today."

Qi Tongwei sat in a chair, a dark coat draped over his hospital gown, his left arm resting on the edge of the table. His face was pale, but his eyes were steady.

Lu Yike stood to the side, wearing a light-colored trench coat, her hair neatly tied up, and carrying a discharge bag in her hand.

She wasn't wearing her police uniform today.

But that decisive and efficient spirit is still there.

The doctor picked up his tools and, with two quick clicks, removed the cast.

Qi Tongwei flexed his wrists and frowned.

Lu Yike immediately looked at him.

"pain?"

"good."

"It's alright, it just hurts."

Qi Tongwei looked up at her, his lips pursed, "Director Lu is meddling quite a bit these days."

Lu Yike placed the discharge bag on the chair, reached for his coat, and said, "The patient has no say."

The doctor chuckled upon hearing this, "Director Qi, I can vouch for that. It takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone; you'll need to rest at home."

Qi Tongwei nodded. "I'll follow the doctor's orders."

Lu Yike took the prescription, looked it over, and then folded the follow-up appointment date on the outside.

"Director Qi, you are following the doctor's orders; I am responsible for carrying them out."

Qi Tongwei looked at her.

Sunlight streamed in through the window.

The ward was brightly lit.

Lu Yike bent down to tidy up the bedside table, separating the razor, old cell phone, and folder, and then put his usual fountain pen into the inner pocket of his coat.

The movements are very practiced.

It's like I've done it many times before.

Qi Tongwei leaned against the bedside and suddenly spoke, "That's fine too."

Lu Yike paused for a moment. "Hmm?"

"Don't bother."

She turned around.

Qi Tongwei's left arm had just been removed from the cast, and his movements were still a bit stiff, but he still managed to stand up.

He was bathed in intense light, his hospital gown coat was unbuttoned, and his collar was a little messy. He looked less stern than a department head, and more tired from recovering from his injuries.

Lu Yike picked up her tie. "We're going to court later, so change your clothes first."

"I have something to tell you."

Lu Yike looked up.

Qi Tongwei was always decisive when giving orders.

But now, he looked at her and paused for two seconds.

Lu Yike's face remained composed, but her ears turned red.

"Director Qi, if you're going to give a speech, hurry up. Inspector Ji is waiting."

Qi Tongwei smiled.

very short.

"In this life, I will protect no one but you."

Lu Yike paused, her hand holding the tie still.

At the door of the ward, the nurse was about to knock when she quickly withdrew.

Someone chuckled softly in the corridor.

Lu Yike's face turned even redder.

She pursed her lips, wrapped the tie around his neck, and ran her fingers through the fabric to straighten the knot.

Qi Tongwei looked down at her.

The two were very close.

So close I could hear her suppressed breathing.

"Qi Tongwei, that's quite domineering of you."

"That's just how I am."

"Did you always talk to people like this?"

"no."

"real?"

Qi Tongwei raised his right hand and gently pressed it against the back of her hand.

"Only with you."

Lu Yike did not dodge.

She pushed his tie up and then buttoned up his coat for him.

"Director Qi, from now on, it's under my jurisdiction."

Qi Tongwei stared at her for a long time.

"OK."

"Take your medicine on time."

"OK."

"I'll accompany you to the follow-up examination."

"OK."

"If you use yourself as bait again, I'll go and tell Teacher Gao."

Upon hearing the words "Teacher Gao," Qi Tongwei's expression darkened, and he nodded.

"This one will do too."

Lu Yike then lowered her head and stuffed the medicine bag into her bag.

But he couldn't suppress the corners of his mouth.

The sweetness is hidden in the movements.

10:30 a.m.

The two changed into formal attire.

Qi Tongwei wore a dark suit, and although his left arm was still somewhat uncomfortable, he pressed his tie down very flat.

Lu Yike changed back into her police uniform, buttoning it all the way up, with her ID clipped to her waist. After tying her hair up, she became the same sharp blade from the provincial department once again.

The car was parked in front of the courthouse.

Handong Provincial Higher People's Court.

Inside the Grand Court, the national emblem hung high.

The gallery was full of people.

Among them were cadres who were dismissed from their posts back then, family members of those involved in the old Haizhou case, personnel from the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and the Procuratorate, and some elderly comrades with gray hair.

Lu Zhengping sat behind the witness stand.

He was wearing a faded old suit, his hair was mostly white, his back was very straight, and he was holding a document containing witness information in his hand.

When Lu Yike entered the room, he glanced at his daughter.

The father and daughter stood apart in the crowd, neither of them speaking first.

Qi Tongwei sat in the front row of the audience, his right hand pressing down on a folder.

Lu Yike sat next to him.

Her shoulders and back were very straight.

But the hand on her lap was clenched tightly.

Qi Tongwei reached out and gently covered the back of her hand.

Lu Yike turned her head to look at him.

He didn't look at her; he only stared at the judge's bench.

But that hand didn't let go.

"Don't worry," he said in a low voice.

Lu Yike took a breath. "I know."

10:45.

Ji Changming stepped onto the dock.

He was wearing a prosecutor's uniform, his gaze was flat behind his glasses, and he held a thick stack of case files in his hand.

The gavel fell.

thump.

The whole place fell silent.

"Today, we are holding a hearing in accordance with the law to exonerate the case of the withdrawal of the 1998 Haizhou smuggling case."

Ji Changming opened the documents.

"This hearing will focus on reviewing the procedures for withdrawing the case file at that time, the facts of external interference, the preservation of evidence, the flow of funds involved in the case, and the conclusions of the disciplinary actions against officials."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the entire room.

"Please have key witness Lu Zhengping appear in court."

Lu Zhengping stood up.

He walked slowly, his shoes making a soft sound as they trod on the ground.

Lu Yike stared at her father's back, her eyes already red.

Qi Tongwei tightened his grip on her hand.

Lu Zhengping stood in front of the witness stand and bowed to the judge's bench.

"My name is Lu Zhengping, and I was a judge at the Haizhou Court."

His voice was a little hoarse.

"More than 20 years ago, when the Haizhou smuggling case entered the review stage, I was responsible for reviewing part of the case files."

Ji Changming looked at him and said, "Please recount the events of March 3rd of that year when the papers were withdrawn."

Lu Zhengping closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again.

"At 11:47 p.m. that night, I received an anonymous phone call."

"The person on the phone mentioned my wife, my daughter, and Comrade Zhou Lan's two children."

Some people in the audience lowered their heads.

Lu Zhengping's Adam's apple bobbed.

"I rushed to the small conference room at the courthouse, where several people without identification were sitting."

"They pushed the decision to withdraw the case in front of me and asked me to sign it."

Ji Changming asked, "Did you hear the key statements?"

"I heard you."

Lu Zhengping held onto the edge of the witness stand with both hands.

"Some people say that the Hengshui Municipal Government has given its approval."

Upon hearing this, a few low gasps escaped from the audience.

Lu Yike's tears fell down.

She didn't wipe it.

Lu Zhengping continued.

"I was scared back then."

"I'm afraid something will happen to my family, I'm afraid my children will be implicated, and I'm also afraid that those people will really drag Comrade Zhou Lan's family down with them."

"So I signed it."

His voice trembled as he said this.

"For more than 20 years, I have remembered that pen every day."

"I'm sorry to my demoted comrades, I'm sorry to the people who guarded the case files, and I'm sorry to my daughter."