Chapter 235

When Yu Jiajia heard Gu Changzheng say Zhang Shaodong’s name, a look of pain and guilt appeared on her face; Gu Changzheng knew there must be some secret behind it.

“In the 2006 fire, he suffered severe burns, right?” Gu Changzheng asked directly.

“Yes!” Yu Jiajia clasped her ten fingers tightly together, so hard that her knuckles were distorted.

“That day was Children’s Day. Though we’d all outgrown childhood, at Aunt Zhou’s invitation, we celebrated with the younger kids in the orphanage—everyone was so happy! But then, the fire broke out! Fortunately, the firefighters arrived in time; otherwise, the whole orphanage would have been burned down!”

“How did the fire start?” Gu Changzheng asked. Although the file recorded the cause as improper handling of an overheated wok, causing it to tip and ignite a large area, he wanted to hear Yu Jiajia’s account as an eyewitness.

When Gu Changzheng asked about the fire’s origin, Yu Jiajia’s eyes darkened, and she whispered, “Well, didn’t the fire department investigate? It was... it was caused by the kitchen wok catching fire.”

“Oh? Really?” Gu Changzheng smirked.

“Yes! Could the fire department be wrong?” Yu Jiajia emphasized again.

Gu Changzheng thought to himself: This fire must have been suspicious. But this girl isn’t going to tell the truth. After weighing his options, he asked, “Little Yu, can you tell us about Zhang Shaodong? Anything about him will do!”

Seeing the police no longer press about the fire, Yu Jiajia sighed in relief. Gu Changzheng watched silently: This girl has no hidden agenda—need to think of another way. At that moment, Yu Jiajia asked, “Captain Gu, what happened to him?”

Gu Changzheng said, “Yes, there’s a case involving him, so we need to learn about his background.”

“Ah?” Yu Jiajia gasped, her small mouth opening wide in alarm.

“Oh, nothing serious—we’re just going through routine procedures,” Gu Changzheng said casually.

Yu Jiajia blinked her big eyes at Gu Changzheng, saw his serious expression, and relaxed. “Zhang Shaodong... actually, I wasn’t very close to him, but he was a good person. Maybe because he was older than the other kids, he often looked after the little ones.”

“Oh? Aren’t you younger than him? Then why aren’t you close?” Gu Changzheng smiled.

Yu Jiajia said, “He hardly ever talked to girls! He only looked after the little boys!”

Observing her expression, Gu Changzheng chuckled, “Ah, I see! So you’re saying he’s shy?”

“Yes, Zhang Shaodong was introverted. I noticed he blushed whenever he spoke to girls, so the older girls loved teasing him—they’d make him turn red, ha ha!” Yu Jiajia laughed, perhaps remembering how Zhang Shaodong looked when he blushed. But soon, a look of sorrow crossed her face. Gu Changzheng noticed that within this short time, she had shown this sorrow twice—he decided to mention what Shang Qimin had told him and observe her reaction.

“After he was burned, you went to the hospital to see him, didn’t you?” Gu Changzheng asked with certainty.

Yu Jiajia froze, her big eyes stalling. “How do you know that?”

Gu Changzheng said calmly, “We went to the hospital.”

“Oh...” She tilted her head, as if considering how to respond. Gu Changzheng smiled, “We just want to understand what happened back then—it might be important for Zhang Shaodong. So, tell us everything you know.”

Yu Jiajia, clearly deeply concerned for Zhang Shaodong, paused and said, “After the accident, I did go to see him, because... because the fire was supposed to have burned me!”

“Oh?!” Gu Changzheng was stunned. “Why say that? Did someone try to set fire to you?”

“No, it’s not what you think. Here’s what happened...” Yu Jiajia fell into deep thought...

Time returned to the morning of June 1, 2006. The Angel Orphanage was filled with joy—it was Children’s Day, and several older children who had entered middle and high school had been called back by Director Zhou Hui; among them were Xia Fei, Su Yuqing, and others.

Su Yuqing, the eldest, was nearly nineteen and preparing for the college entrance exam. Xia Fei and Lin Xiaoman’s birthdays were also in June and July. To make the day more festive, Zhou Hui decided to hold a joint birthday celebration for the three girls whose birthdays were approaching.

Zhang Shaodong, who had just turned seventeen, volunteered to help in the kitchen—and that’s where the disaster began.

The orphanage’s kitchen was on the first floor of the villa, near the mountainside. Opposite the counter was a window, through which one could see the small forest at the foot of the hill—a pine grove where Zhang Shaodong often took the younger boys to play, so he knew it well.

That day’s lunch included dry-fried chicken, which required frying the meat in oil before stir-frying. As the only older boy, Zhang Shaodong took on this dangerous task. He stood before the stove, a large pot of cooking oil nearly full before him.

Yu Jiajia, then barely twelve, entered the kitchen to fetch a sliced fruit platter. The cutting board with the fruit was to Zhang Shaodong’s right. Everything seemed normal—Yu Jiajia would take the platter and leave, and Zhang Shaodong was about to drop the chicken pieces into the hot oil—when the accident happened!

The iron pot, half-filled with scalding oil, suddenly slipped from Zhang Shaodong’s hands! Instantly, flames shot up! Zhang Shaodong quickly stepped back—the fire had not yet reached him—but Yu Jiajia, standing at the cutting board, froze in terror. As the flames neared her body, Zhang Shaodong, who had already retreated to the kitchen door, turned back.

He rushed two steps to her side, reaching out to pull her away. The flames had already risen over a meter high. The plastic exhaust fan above the stove, usually caked with grease, ignited instantly. Worse, the stone cutting board suddenly cracked down the middle!

As the broken pieces of the cutting board were about to crush Yu Jiajia, Zhang Shaodong, in desperation, spun her around and took the falling, flaming debris on his own back...

“Then... then Zhang Shaodong was hit by the cutting board, and the hot oil and flames instantly engulfed him! It all happened too fast—I was paralyzed with fear! Before he was struck, he shoved me hard, so I wasn’t burned—but he... he...”

Yu Jiajia couldn’t speak further, bursting into sobs.