Released from prison

  The city streets are bustling with cars coming and going, and the crowded streets are filled with people.

  The flower shop was located at the corner of the street, with white lattice windows, light-colored curtains, and tightly closed glass sliding doors. It looked elegant and refined, but people passing by didn't know that thick smoke was billowing out from inside, and a raging fire had climbed up the curtains on the windows and the wind chimes at the entrance.

  A young woman suddenly rushed out of the store, her small face covered with dirt and panic-stricken. She clutched at her injured arm and stumbled towards her sports car, grabbed her phone to dial 119, her voice trembling incoherently.

  "There's a fire... come and rescue people! The fire wasn't set by me, I just used wax oil to scare her... didn't expect it to catch fire, what a big fire!"

  ——

  Three years later. Qinghu Women's Prison in Jincheng City. The prison gate opened with a "clang", emitting a heavy roar, and another prisoner was released from prison.

  "Be a good person after you get out." The female prison guard looked at this overly young face with emotion, shook her head and slammed the big door shut.

  The girl's slender shoulders trembled slightly, wearing a faded Bohemian long dress, tall and thin, carrying an old luggage bag in her hand.

  She turned her head to take a last look at the grey-walled and grey-tiled prison, then slowly walked up the mountain path. What a beautiful sunny day, the scorching sun made it hard for her to open her eyes, the air mixed with the fragrance of green grass made her breathe heavily, as if she was afraid that it would slip away from her nose.

  Three years, she was locked in this iron cage for three years, from unadaptation to adaptation, from full of hope to despair and then numbness. Every time when she was allowed to go out into the yard, she longed to pick a small yellow flower outside the iron net, pin it behind her ear, pluck a bitter orange from afar, peel off the segments of the pulp, and eat them in her mouth.

  The meat was very bitter, but being able to eat it meant freedom. Now that she's finally free, she wants to run happily.

  Her lips curled up in a weak smile, she stretched out her rough right hand with thick joints to the white poplar tree by the side of the road, gently stroking it. Straight and thick, there were several more bird nests among the branches. She remembered that when she was being escorted here years ago, this row of white poplars was still small, their leaves shaking in the wind, responding to her hoarse cries.

  Perhaps they were also mocking her for getting what she deserved.

  They should be ridiculed.

  "Miss, want a ride? It's hard to hail a cab on this road!" A returning taxi honked at her.

  She walked over, politely bowing her head: "Excuse me, how much does it cost to go to Nantai Dongjiajingyuan?" She only had 300 yuan on her, the piecework wage she earned from making bed sheets in prison, and couldn't use it all for a taxi.

  "Going to Nantai East?" The driver, upon hearing the name of the place, deliberately stretched his head over and took a glance at her, as well as the women's prison behind her and the bag in her hand. A hint of mockery floated in his eyes: "So you're going to the rich district, huh? 300 yuan!"

  She stood up straight and closed the car door: "Sorry, I'm not getting in."

  "Haha!" The driver couldn't help but laugh, lowering the car window, stepping on the gas pedal, intentionally using the car to force her onto the highway shoulder, letting out a puff of exhaust fumes, and then driving away.

  She puckered her lips and took a glance at the distant car shadow, then stepped back onto the cement road, quietly walking down the mountain. Afterwards, whenever another car stopped for her, she would slightly lower her head and say no need to take a taxi. She knew that people who walked out of prison were supposed to be inferior.

  Later, after walking to the eastern villa district of Nantai, it was already past midnight, and her body had a night air on it. She leaned against the public phone booth for a while, and walked towards the several convenience stores that appeared near this villa district.

  She wants to buy a pack of better sanitary napkins.

  Three years of prison life, no one visited her, nor did anyone send her daily necessities. The sanitary products in the prison supermarket were not only rough but also expensive. Every time she came to her period, she had to be frugal with their use, because a pack of sanitary napkins required her to work day and night in the cell, sewing on the sewing machine for half a month. And every time, one pack was not enough to use. Her menstrual flow was heavy, and at the same time, it would also be taken away by half by her cellmates.

  She walked into the convenience store with a faded suitcase in hand.

  The shop assistant glanced at her and continued looking at his own thing.

  She stood in front of the shelf, initially picked up a pack of 20+ pieces of dried lavender sachets for over 20 yuan, then put it down, reached out to the next row, and picked up two packs of 20-piece sets, each pack only costs 6 yuan.

  The shop assistant scanned the barcode for her, asked in a lukewarm tone, "Anything else?" and threw the two packs directly in front of her, taking an extra glance at her. This face seemed familiar, where had she seen it before?

  "It's all right." She stuffed the toiletries into her luggage and walked out with her head down.

  "Oh, I've got some impression of this. Isn't this the daughter of Mayor Su's family? She used to often drive a sports car in and out..."

  Under the yellow street lamp, her back was tall and slender, with a long shadow stretched out by the lamp. She stood alone in front of Building 33 of Jiajing Garden, quietly gazing at the three-story small building inside the courtyard.

  The small building was sealed by the court, and Dad had a sudden myocardial infarction in court. On the way to the hospital, he closed his eyes. Mom... her heart ached, and she knelt heavily at the door. Dad, daughter is sorry to you. She knocked her head on the cold ground, tears swirling in her eye sockets.

  If time could flow backwards, she would definitely listen to her father's words and never make him angry.

  ——

  "Stay one night 50, need ID registration!" The middle-aged aunt sitting at the service desk didn't even lift her head, continuing to knit a sweater.

  "This is my ID, please." Dai Lian handed over her ID and took a look around the small hotel. The rooms were packed tightly together like capsules, some of them dirty and old, with peeling walls.

  "Come with me." The aunt grabbed a key and took her upstairs, "The toilet is at the end of the corridor, take a shower and flush it down!" She pointed to the end and walked away with a swing of her hips.

  Dai Lian glanced at the end of the dark and gloomy winter, didn't go to the bathroom, walked into a small room with a foul smell.

  There was only one bed in the room, and the walls were black, as if stained with something. She took out old clothes from her luggage bag and spread them on the bed, moved the pillow away, and lay down on her back.

  It feels great to sleep in a room alone, no longer being forced out of bed by roommates who pile up household items; there's not even a place to sit. No need to be woken up suddenly in the middle of the night; no need to line up to go wash up or use the toilet; no need to take a bath only once a week, but with only 15 minutes, including lining up, undressing, washing, and dressing...

  I still remember when she first entered the women's prison, she refused to eat the food there, smashed things, escaped, was beaten by the prison guards, locked in a dark cell, and tortured by her cellmates with tools... She cried, she made trouble, she was afraid, but no one was willing to help her.

  This dark process, no one understands it better than her. She feels that these three years have already made her live a lifetime, from adaptation to numbness.

  Do you regret what you did in the past?

  She smiled wryly, reached out to catch a small spider hanging down, pinched it in her palm. Regretful. If it were before, seeing these little things would have scared her into screaming and rushing into Rui Zhe's arms, but now, she could eat a bowl of porridge with cockroaches crawling on it.

  In the past, mountain delicacies and seafood were eaten until they became wax, now every uncut green vegetable can be treated as a delicacy.

  She had no right to blame Rui Zhe for personally sending her to prison, which led to her father's political problems. The flower shop of Ye Susu was indeed on fire, and Ye Susu was seriously injured. It was she who went to find trouble in a rage, dragging the weak Ye Susu from the door to the store, intimidating her with wax oil, and pressing her down when Ye Susu spilled the boiling wax oil on her arm and kicked over rows of candles...

  "Save me!" The delicate woman, like a flower branch, dragged her burning skirt on the ground and rolled around, the flames spreading to the woolen carpet, the fire raging out of control.

  She was only surprised for a second, and the big fire had burned all the woolen carpets in the store. The flames spread to the curtains, cloth sofa, pillows, and Ye Suxin's woolen shawl... At that moment, looking at this sea of fire, she really wanted this delicate beauty to disappear forever.

  "You're still shameless, Su Su, if you have anything to say, let's see how I'll deal with you!" This was the first slap from Teng Zhezhi, a loud smack that sent her tumbling to the ground.

  Just you wait and see how I'll deal with you!

  She turned over, curled up her body. He really picked her up and no longer looked at her father's face to tolerate her again. After Ye Susu was out of danger, he dragged her up the mountain, humiliated her, scolded her, and left her in the deep mountains for several days and nights; With the crime of arson, intentional murder, let her be imprisoned.

  That year, she had just entered her freshman year and was the only one who dared to drive a sports car around school. After the incident, online media reported wildly, accusing her of being arrogant and her father of neglecting his daughter.

  Her father apologized online, but it did not calm down the public outrage. Three months after she was imprisoned, she learned from newspapers that her father had been implicated in a political issue because of her, first with a warning talk, then party disciplinary action, and finally removed from office to quell public anger.

  And all of this originated from Tan Zhuijiao personally sending her to prison, which harmed her father.

  She bit her lip. Teng Rui Zhe, a handsome but also venomous man.

  "Hot water has been placed at the door, it's boiling, you can drink!" The landlord knocked on the door.

  "Okay." She sat up, supporting herself with her hands, and brushed her hair aside. Then she went to get the thermos and brought it back. After that, she took out a hot water bag from her luggage, filled it with hot water, and gently applied it to her lower abdomen.

  After sticking for a while, her stomach was still bloated and painful, and her hands and feet were icy. She put down the hot water bottle and felt her way to the toilet at the end of the corridor in the dark. Every time she came on her period, she would feel nauseous and chilled to the bone, and the pain made it impossible for her to walk. After enduring it for three years, there were already blood clots in her menstrual blood.

  Sister Tao said that it's necessary to nourish oneself, otherwise it would be hard to get rid of the root cause, and women need to supplement more. After getting out of prison, let your grandmother help you supplement more. She spoke with an envious tone, but didn't know that this grandmother was not her biological grandmother.

  She was born to her father's mistress, and her mother died in the delivery room. After her father brought her back, he said she was adopted and asked his childless wife to raise her, claiming to outsiders that she was his wife's own child. Naturally, Hanzi's parents were also her grandparents.

  Her grandparents were very cold to her, but her mother was very good to her. Whatever she wanted, it was always satisfied. Her mother taught her from a young age that whatever she wanted, she had to get by any means necessary, no matter the cost, and also learn how to use the rights given to her by heaven.

  For example, by pulling out the identity of the mayor's father, she can drive recklessly on the road and get away with it just by having her father make a phone call. When chasing after men, they need to be persistent and make a big show, the more noise they make, the more likely they are to catch his attention. When facing love rivals, they don't mind being ruthless, but worry about being too soft...

  "Mom, is it really that the more noise you make, the more attention he'll pay to you?" She looked at her haggard self in the mirror and smiled weakly: "Before you and dad divorced, I was closest to you. You taught me how to walk, talk, and dress. The bond between us was even deeper than with my own mother. But when I went to prison and dad was framed, you pushed the divorce papers in front of him and left without looking back. That's when I realized what your so-called love is. Your love is destructive. It took me three years of struggling in prison to finally understand why you never came to visit me."

  She used her fingers to brush away the mist on the mirror, stroking her own eyebrows and eyes: "They all left, but Su Daiyan you survived, good job, must live on."