Chapter 354: The Long Arm of the Law
Seeing Ge Ba in the defendant’s dock—so familiar yet so strange—Su Li’s heart was a mess of complicated emotions.
When Ge Ba saw Su Li, his face was expressionless.
The feigned affection from before had vanished without a trace.
The case proceeded smoothly according to procedure, but Su Li left midway through.
Wu Sheng was the one who escorted her out, leading her away before the homeless men were brought to the stand.
This was the first time they had seen each other in days, not since Wu Sheng had been taken away.
Su Li looked Wu Sheng over, from head to toe.
"Are you okay? You look like you’ve lost weight."
Wu Sheng let Su Li study him. He reached out, intending to stroke her face, but just as his hand was about to touch her, he changed his mind and gently patted her head instead.
"It’s not me who’s lost weight, it’s you."
They had both lost weight. But thankfully, everything was about to be over.
Wu Sheng gazed at Su Li, unable to look away.
During this time, it wasn’t that Wu Sheng couldn’t have gotten out to be by Su Li’s side, but he chose not to.
He didn’t want to make things too hard for her.
Strangers didn’t usually get close to Su Li, and even if they did, it was normal for her to be on guard.
It would be difficult and painful for her, but it was still much better than having him around.
He was Su Li’s fiancé. Out of habit, he would instinctively try to touch her.
And Su Li would have to exhaust herself trying to hide her condition, suppressing the revulsion and fear she felt at his touch.
Wu Sheng knew this wasn’t what Su Li wanted; it was just because of her psychological trauma.
He had seen firsthand how much she had struggled and how hard she had tried to restrain herself before.
He didn’t want to put too much pressure on Su Li or add to her suffering. She was already going through so much. That’s why he chose to logically keep his distance for a while.
It would give Su Li a buffer period, and himself one as well.
During this period, aside from dealing with the homeless men, Wu Sheng had been busy. It was because of his work behind the scenes that the case had progressed so smoothly.
The details were too complicated, and Wu Sheng had no intention of telling Su Li about them.
Nor would he tell her that he had been reading books, learning how to help her overcome her trauma.
As Wu Sheng stayed and talked with Su Li, the atmosphere was quiet and peaceful.
Meanwhile, back in the courtroom, the arguments were exceptionally fierce.
Ge Ba’s lawyer was one of the best in the Imperial City, famous for his debating skills.
The evidence was originally solid, yet he attacked it time and again, nearly rendering it invalid.
Fortunately, the prosecutor was also very capable. After a heated debate...
...the evidence was ironclad, and Ge Ba could not escape.
Justice has long arms. Ge Ba, Yang Jiu, and the homeless men were all sentenced in court, not one of them escaping the punishment they deserved.
As for the previous incident where Wu Sheng had hit Ge Ba, it was also proven to be a misunderstanding—a setup.
"Wu Sheng did not harm anyone without reason. He was merely assisting in the capture of a suspect."
It was normal for a suspect to sustain some injuries during an arrest.
Because the trial ran long, by the time the dust settled, dusk was already falling.
Before Ge Ba was taken away, Wu Sheng met with him one last time.
From the moment he stepped into the defendant’s dock, Ge Ba had been incredibly calm.
Or rather, he had been incredibly calm ever since the homeless men recanted their statements and he was summoned again.
Unlike his family, who fought and struggled, Ge Ba had stopped putting up a pointless fight since then.
He didn’t argue, nor did he confess. He had remained silent from beginning to end.
He had no regrets, nor did he feel he had done anything wrong.
He had simply accepted reality.
He had simply accepted the worst-case scenario he had long since considered.
Ge Ba’s threats against Wu Sheng hadn’t just been verbal.
He had taken action. Within the promised three days, and in the days after, he had made countless attempts on Su Li.
But not a single one succeeded.
All of his attempts were blocked, either by Wu Sheng’s men or by Tang Yuanxiao.
His only gain was the loss of his own men.
He knew back then that this would be the outcome.
He had known Wu Sheng since they were children; he knew better than anyone what Wu Sheng was capable of.
Ge Ba had long known he was no match for Wu Sheng.
He never would be in this lifetime.
Ge Ba pushed aside the complex feelings in his heart and just looked at Wu Sheng.
Faced with such a gaze, Wu Sheng looked away.
Ge Ba watched Wu Sheng and spoke his first words in days.
"Do you find me disgusting?"
His parents and grandparents all said he was sick, that he had a serious illness. He knew it himself, too.
He was already beyond saving, completely incurable.
He just wanted to know this one thing.
He had always remembered something Wu Sheng once said to him.
Wu Sheng had told him, "You punk, you want to do everything with me. I hope we can get married together, too."
How Ge Ba wished they could have.
But in this lifetime, it was impossible.
Hearing Ge Ba’s question, Wu Sheng glanced at him and answered with silence.
’In this vast world, anything could happen. The only difference was whether it happened to you or those around you.’
Wu Sheng’s silence seemed to bring a bit of color back to Ge Ba’s face.
"Thank you for seeing me one last time."
After saying that, Ge Ba suddenly remembered something and spoke again.
"The previous kidnapping... that wasn’t me."
He was talking about the kidnapping Su Li had experienced before.
Ge Ba knew about Su Li’s prior kidnapping, but he didn’t know who was behind it either.
But when he made his move, he had planned to pin the blame on that unknown perpetrator.
But his plans went awry. Wu Sheng had returned at that moment and caught up to him so quickly.
The moment Ge Ba saw Wu Sheng, he knew his wishful thinking had been a mistake.
A miscalculation that had led him to where he was today.
He knew Wu Sheng would suspect him, so he decided to mention it now that he remembered.
That kidnapping was not his doing.
As for who did it, it was up to Wu Sheng to find out.
’If only those kidnappers had been a little more competent,’ Ge Ba thought leisurely.
’How great it would be if Su Li were ruined, or if she could no longer be with Wu Sheng.’
’If she died, that would be even better.’
At this thought, Ge Ba couldn’t help but break into a silent smile.
’If Su Li died, Wu Sheng might never marry for the rest of his life.’
’Even if he spent his whole life thinking about Su Li, that would be fine, too.’
Smiling, Ge Ba lamented how the previous kidnappers hadn’t tried harder as he watched Wu Sheng grow smaller and smaller through the car window.
Wu Sheng watched the car drive away, his brow slightly furrowed.
The smile on Ge Ba’s lips made him feel inexplicably uneasy.
He took a deep breath and turned to go find Su Li.
But he had barely taken two steps before someone blocked his path.
The person blocking him was none other than Bai Xinyue.
"Wu Sheng."
Bai Xinyue looked a bit worse for wear this time. Having borne the brunt of the Yang Family’s anger, she was feeling a little irritable.
But upon seeing Wu Sheng, her irritation subsided.
Wu Sheng looked at Bai Xinyue and raised an eyebrow.
"And you are?"
Bai Xinyue’s smile stiffened slightly.
"Wu Sheng, this isn’t fun, and it isn’t funny. You don’t know who I am?"
Wu Sheng gave an ambiguous expression.
"You’re right, it isn’t funny or fun. I know who you are."
Bai Xinyue broke into a smile.
"I knew you knew. Dinner tonight?"
Wu Sheng let out a breath, pointed to himself, and asked Bai Xinyue, "Do I look like a fool to you?"
Bai Xinyue chuckled. "No, of course not. What are you talking about?"
"Then why are you asking me to dinner?"