Chapter 11 — My Daughter's Iron Box

These individuals were not afraid of Shen Anan dying. They were terrified of the little girl waking up. They feared she would reveal everything she had witnessed over the past few days, tearing a massive, irreparable hole through their web of lies. Officer Lu pressed the man to reveal who had sent him. The man feigned ignorance, persisting in his act until the police uncovered a transfer history on his old burner phone. The transaction note indicated a delivery to the hospital ward, sent from an unfamiliar account. Yet, the phone number linked to that account was tied to a supplementary card registered under the name of Tang Meiqin. Upon seeing that string of numbers, the wounds on the back of Shen Zhiqiang's hands began to bleed anew. He did not punch the wall, nor did he scream. He simply said, with terrifying calmness, "I need to go home."

Officer Lu looked at him intently. "If you go back now, she might refuse to confess."

Shen Zhiqiang replied, "I am not going back to argue with her. I need to retrieve the things that must be handed over."

Officer Lu arranged for two officers to accompany him back to the city. As the car pulled away from the hospital, Ms. Jiang remained outside the ward. Through the car window, Shen Zhiqiang saw her sitting on the wooden bench, clutching Shen Anan's report card tightly to her chest. In that fleeting moment, a harsh realization struck him. It was not that Shen Anan had lacked people to love her over the years; rather, the person who should have loved her the most had heartlessly abandoned her to strangers. By three o'clock in the afternoon, Shen Zhiqiang arrived home. The moment the door opened, Tang Meiqin rushed out. Her eyes were red and swollen, as though she had been weeping bitterly for hours.

"Shen Zhiqiang, you are finally back," she sobbed. "I truly had no idea my sister would do such things. I only asked her to help talk some sense into Anan. That child is simply too stubborn. I was only trying to do what was best for this family."

Shen Zhiqiang did not even look at her. The two officers stepped past her into the apartment. Tang Meiqin's expression shifted instantly. "Why did you bring these people here?"

Ignoring her, Shen Zhiqiang walked straight toward the small room by the balcony. "To collect evidence."

Tang Meiqin shrieked, her voice pitching high. "This is my home! By what right do you search it?"

The officers flashed their identification documents. Tang Meiqin staggered back a step, the color draining entirely from her lips. At that moment, He Jiahao emerged from his bedroom. Clutching a worn schoolbag, he cast nervous, evasive glances around. "Uncle."

Shen Zhiqiang paused. He Jiahao stepped forward and handed the schoolbag over. "This is the notebook Sister Anan used to lend me. Mom told me to throw it away. I didn't."

Shen Zhiqiang took the bag. Inside lay three old exercise books and a small digital recorder. He lifted his gaze to look at the boy. "What is this?"

He Jiahao's eyes were rimmed with red. "Sister Anan gave it to me. She said if there ever came a day when the family fought because of her, I shouldn't be afraid. She said it contained recordings of Aunt Meiqin yelling at her. She didn't want to hurt anyone; she just didn't want the teacher to think she was lying."

Panicking, Tang Meiqin lunged forward, attempting to snatch the bag away. "You lying little brat! When did I ever yell at you?"

Terrified, He Jiahao shrank backward. Shen Zhiqiang stepped firmly in front of the boy, shielding him. "Don't touch him."

Trembling with rage, Tang Meiqin pointed a shaking finger at her husband. "Shen Zhiqiang, are you trying to steal Jiahao away from me now too? I have broken my back taking care of this household, and you treat me like this over some ungrateful wretch?"

Without a word, Shen Zhiqiang clicked play on the recorder. Initial static hissed from the tiny speaker, followed immediately by the muffled, harsh voice of Tang Meiqin. "Your father feeding you is already a blessing. Your mother is dead, so you need to show some consideration. Jiahao needs to attend a good school in the future, so stop constantly bringing up your tuition fees and making everyone sick to their stomachs."

In the recording, Shen Anan did not talk back. She only replied in a whisper so faint it was barely audible, "Aunt Meiqin, I just want to go to school."

Tang Meiqin's voice grew even more shrill and piercing. "Go to school? What good does it do a girl to study so much? If you were truly sensible, you would stop making things difficult for your father."

The recording cut off abruptly. The living room fell into a suffocating, deathly silence. The color of Shen Zhiqiang's face drained to a terrifying ash-white. He Jiahao kept his head bowed, not daring to utter a single sound. The officers began a thorough inspection of the master bedroom. Within moments, they emerged with a kraft paper envelope hidden inside the lining of Tang Meiqin's wardrobe. Inside lay several cash transfer receipts, accompanied by a sheet of paper bearing names. Shen Anan's name was written clearly at the top, with the sum of three thousand noted beside it under the label of introduction fee.

Shen Zhiqiang stared fixedly at those three characters, the depths of his eyes burning with a dark, consuming fury. Tang Meiqin lunged forward once more to grab the paper, but the officers intercepted her. Hysteria broke out in her voice. "That was not an introduction fee for her! That was money my sister was returning to me! Shen Zhiqiang, do not listen to their nonsense!"

Shen Zhiqiang took slow, deliberate steps until he stood right in front of her. "You sold my daughter for three thousand yuan?"

Tang Meiqin shook her head frantically. "No! I only wanted to send her out to experience a little hardship. Every day she walked around with that sullen, funeral face of hers, poisoning the atmosphere of this home. My sister said the garment factory provided food and lodging, so I simply asked her to keep an eye on the girl. Who could have possibly imagined she would actually go?"

Shen Zhiqiang's voice was hoarse, freezing cold to the bone. "She was fifteen years old. She suffered from a severe gastric hemorrhage. On the day she dropped out of school, she could barely even stand upright on the street."

Tears finally welled up in Tang Meiqin's eyes.