Life was absurd-if only it were all a dream

In the interrogation room, Big Bear froze, staring at his parents in disbelief. His lips moved, but he couldn't get a single word out.

What could he say? The people making this demand weren't Uncle Yang from the Police Bureau, or even the wealthy, well-connected Tang Baiqing. They were his own parents, the people who had brought him into the world and raised him!

Father Wu had lost his usual temper and overbearing parental air. He lowered his head, his voice trembling. "...They'll pay. A... a hundred thousand for every year you serve."

Big Bear sat numbly in the chair, stammering, "D... Dad... I don't want to go to prison...!"

Father Wu kept his head down and answered hoarsely, "Son, you know how things are at home. My life is a total write-off. I'll never get a fucking chance to turn things around. But... we still have to live, don't we? All we have is that one run-down house, but I have three sons. You're all grown now. What am I supposed to use to set you up with homes, get you married, let you have children?!"

Big Bear had no answer. He turned to his mother, but she stood with her back to him, sobbing.

"I asked Uncle Yang just now. You have an intellectual disability, so the courts will make allowances. They'll get you an assessment report showing your low intelligence. You won't have to serve that long." Father Wu gritted his teeth and continued, "Stay in there six or seven years, and we'll have the money. When you get out, you can get married and have children too. Your two older brothers won't forget what you did... They'll look after you for the rest of your life."

"I... I won't do it!" Unable to get any help from his mother, Big Bear could only steel himself and refuse his father.

Father Wu raised his head to look at him. "If you don't, when will your brothers ever get married? Do you want our family line to end with me?!"

Silence. After a brief silence, Father Wu stood up, then dropped to his knees with a thud. "I'll kowtow to you, all right? Help your brothers. Help this family. Please!"

Looking at his father kneeling before him, Big Bear involuntarily turned his head away. It wasn't pity he felt, nor was he moved. All he felt was helplessness.

"Son, please help your brothers," his mother said through her tears, still facing away from him.

Half an hour later, Father Wu and his wife left the interrogation room. They spent a long time talking with Tang Baiqing's father in a car outside, and even signed a simple agreement.

For Tang Baiqing's father, pulling strings in the case and reducing Big Bear's sentence posed no problem. There was no need to deceive the Wu Family, either. All it took was money.

For Tang Baiqing's father, the best outcome was for the case to blow over quickly, for someone to take the fall for his son, and for it never to be dredged up again. The financial loss was not his main concern.

Outside the investigation building, after eating breakfast, Su Tianyu and the others once again asked the officer on duty for permission to see Big Bear. They wanted to ask when he would be released, but instead, the officer told them that Big Bear's formal arrest was about to be approved.

That left Su Tianyu bewildered. Since he had no connections at the Zhannan District police station, he immediately contacted Yu Mingyuan to find out what was going on.

Yu Mingyuan had been following the matter too, and knew far more than Su Tianyu did. He dropped a few hints, letting him know that Big Bear might be taking the fall for Tang Baiqing, and that the two families had already met and finished their discussions.

The news left Su Tianyu deeply shocked and speechless. He had been through plenty and had seen his share of fickle loyalties and human depravity in this era, but he still found the whole thing repulsive and sickening.

After discussing it over the phone, Su Tianyu begged Yu Mingyuan to use his connections to arrange a visit with Big Bear. Yu Mingyuan agreed immediately.

Before Big Bear was transferred to Police Bureau custody, Su Tianyu met him in the interrogation room.

In the dimly lit room, Su Tianyu looked at Big Bear in incomprehension. "Why did you agree? Do you know what this means? It means your whole life could be ruined!"

"...My... my parents came." Big Bear lowered his head, his voice hoarse.

"You could have said no! You have your own life. You don't have to obey your family about everything!" Su Tianyu wasn't putting on a show of saintliness or trying to be some moral exemplar. Had this involved an ordinary stranger, he wouldn't have bothered asking. But Big Bear was different. After several months together, he felt they had become friends-friends in the simplest sense, with no interests tying them together.

"B... Brother Xiao Yu... they... they did raise me, after all."

Su Tianyu fell silent.

"L... life... has a lot of things you can't... can't do anything about..." Big Bear answered with his head down. "...I... I can't watch the warehouse for you anymore... Brother Xiao Yu."

Su Tianyu turned his head away, not knowing what to say.

Big Bear's parents had agreed. Big Bear himself had agreed. The Tang Family was more than willing to pay. Everything had already been arranged, every last detail fitted neatly into place. What could Su Tianyu say? Nothing he said would mean anything.

The two sat in silence for a while before Su Tianyu turned back to Big Bear. "I'll put some money in your account later. Take good care of yourself."

Big Bear didn't answer. He stared blankly at the floor.

Su Tianyu pushed open the door and left, unable to put a name to what he was feeling.

At the entrance to the office building, Bai Hongbo frowned and asked, "What did he say?"

"They reached a private agreement. Big Bear's going to prison."

"...Fuck. What a goddamn mess!" Bai Hongbo sighed and cursed. "But it's nothing unusual. That's how the world works. The three Yu Family sisters live one way, hostess girls live another. Their lives never touch."

Bai Hongbo's words were like shit-foul and nauseating-but nobody contradicted him.

A little after nine that morning, Big Bear was transferred to the Police Bureau. This time, Uncle Yang took his statement personally, and his manner was no longer so friendly. His expression remained stern as he recounted the events of the case.

"You're the warehouse keeper at the Third Floor. You stay there every night." Smoking a cigarette, Uncle Yang spoke to Big Bear slowly and clearly. "Last night, just after you returned, you saw the deceased, Qu Ying, come looking for Tang Baiqing, who was playing cards. The two argued and became physically involved over relationship issues. You already knew Tang Baiqing, so you went downstairs to break it up. While you were intervening, Qu Ying lost control after injecting an illegal hallucinogenic drug. She cursed at you and struck you, then hit you in the back with the hammer used to secure mooring bolts with the drilling machine. While defending yourself, you seized the hammer and struck her in the head, without any conscious intent to kill..."

Big Bear listened without responding.

"In a moment, my officers will take you to the Police Bureau Hospital for a full examination. You need to explain clearly to the doctor which injuries Qu Ying inflicted on you. Do you understand what I mean?" Uncle Yang asked obliquely.

Big Bear raised his head to look at him.

"Cooperate with the doctor while they examine your injuries," Uncle Yang reminded him again.

In another room, Tang Baiqing sat in a chair and spoke to the recording camera. "Yes, Qu Ying hit me first. Then Wu Shixiong came down to break it up, and she started scuffling with him instead. Since I'd spent quite a lot of money on Qu Ying, she might have been a little afraid of me, so... she took it out on that worker, Wu Shixiong. I was trying to hold her back the whole time..."

That evening, after signing his statement, Tang Baiqing was released by the Police Bureau to await his next summons.

Nine thirty that night.

At the Police Bureau Hospital, Big Bear stood blank-eyed in the room where suspects were photographed for their intake records.

"Take your clothes off," an officer called.

Big Bear took off his shirt and trousers, then stood before the height chart on the wall wearing only his underpants.

Under the bright lights, Big Bear stood straight, exposing countless wounds of varying sizes all over his body. There were cigarette burns, long scars left by a belt, and wounds about the size of a fingernail.

The scars varied in color. Some were blackened, others brown. They clearly hadn't all been inflicted at the same time.

The officer stared at him, stunned. "You... how... how did you get these?"

Big Bear didn't respond.

"Hold up that identification board for the photo," the officer instructed.

Big Bear picked up the board from the floor and held it beneath his chin, his face expressionless.

The information board read:

Name: Wu Shixiong.

Sex: Male.

Registered residence: Zhannan District, Dragon City.

Age: 19.

Charge: Suspected homicide.

Inside the room, the camera flash lit up, then went dark. Big Bear stood before the wall, not even the slightest trace of expression left on his face.

A week later, Tang Baiqing returned to work as usual. His father had already finished negotiating with the victim's family. Nobody outside knew how much he had paid.

On his first day back, Tang Baiqing was in a foul mood. He had just arrived at work and was about to get some sleep when a leader of the Dock Gang in Zhannan District called him. "Baiqing, are you busy?"

"No, I'm at work. What's up?"

"Come out for a get-together?"

"I'm not in the mood."

"Come on, I'm already outside your workplace. Come out!" the man urged.

Zhannan, the Su Family home.

Su Tianyu was sitting in the stone pavilion, chatting with Third Sister, when Yu Mingyuan called.

"Hello?"

"The case is over. Get ready to receive the shipment."

"All right." Su Tianyu nodded.

Big Bear had gone to prison, but that wouldn't affect any of the business at sea. And apart from Su Tianyu, Bai Hongbo, and the others, few people would spare a thought for some insignificant young man with an intellectual disability.

On an island.

A man sat in a bar and said quietly to another man, "My compensation and discharge pay should be coming through soon. I'll pay you guys back in a little while."

"No problem, haha!" The other man smiled and took a sip of his drink. "Hey, have you been in touch with Su Dake lately?"