At those words, both Director Yuan and Deputy Director Wang frowned.
Director Yuan's heart leapt into her throat.
After all, she had personally handled Su Yun's job transfer. If anything went wrong, she would certainly be implicated. The consequences would be unimaginable.
With that thought, Director Yuan fixed her gaze firmly on Su Yun, silently praying that she would not be tricked into revealing anything under Captain Liu's intimidation.
Su Yun looked frightened and flustered.
Deputy Director Wang could not help saying gently, "Comrade Su, don't be nervous. Just tell the truth…"
"Wang Yang!" Captain Liu shot him a sharp look. "Remember your position. Just do your job as the recorder! If you dare interrupt again and interfere with my investigation, even if your father is a section chief, I won't give you any face!"
Deputy Director Wang glared back at him.
Captain Liu responded with a provocative smile before turning back to Su Yun, his tone even harsher. "Speak! Don't think that just because someone is helping you, I can't deal with you. I've seen plenty of people like you who try to buy jobs to avoid being sent to the countryside. Do you think you can fool me?"
Tears streamed down Su Yun's face as she shook her head, her voice trembling. "No. I really didn't lie."
Captain Liu had slammed the counter so hard it nearly shook apart. He looked as if he wanted to tear her to pieces. "Who can prove you're not lying?"
Su Yun did not answer. She only looked at him with a wronged expression.
Captain Liu's aggressive certainty unsettled her.
From their conversation, Su Yun had already learned that someone had reported her. She suspected it was Aunt Xu's cousin's niece.
If it was that woman, then Su Yun had an idea of what was going on.
The only question was whether Aunt Xu could be trusted.
Captain Liu was clearly not someone easy to deal with. If he failed to find evidence here, he would likely go and interrogate Aunt Xu next.
Aunt Xu had a son and grandson. If Captain Liu threatened them, the outcome would be hard to predict.
In this special period, avoiding being sent to the countryside was considered a serious offense. If someone was caught, not only would their family be implicated, but the person themselves could be exiled to a remote place, forced to do the hardest labor without proper food rations. There were countless ways to make life miserable.
Thinking of all this, Su Yun felt a chill in her heart.
Although she now had money and could support her family, if the truth came out, she would lose any chance of going to university in the future. She would not even pass the most basic political review.
What should she do?
Captain Liu noticed her hesitation. A smug look flashed across his ferocious face. "What? No one can prove you're telling the truth, can they? You're lying. You deliberately tried to avoid being sent down. Xu Fang isn't your godmother at all. You've exposed yourself!"
After saying this, Captain Liu burst into laughter and turned proudly to Deputy Director Wang. "Kid, write down what I just said. Let me teach you what it means when experience triumphs over youth! Don't think that just because you became deputy director the moment you arrived, you're something special. When I was out handling cases, you were still drinking milk at home!"
Just as Captain Liu finished his sarcastic speech, a firm young voice rang out from behind him—
"I can testify for Comrade Su Yun. She is indeed telling the truth!"
Everyone turned toward the source of the voice.
Director Yuan pushed up her black-framed glasses in surprise. "Gu Hai?"
Su Yun was equally startled.
Only Captain Liu frowned deeply, glaring at the young man who had stepped forward. "On what grounds are you testifying for her? What is your relationship?"
Gu Hai was carrying a sack of scrap. His expression was calm, completely indifferent to Captain Liu's attitude. "I only met Comrade Su Yun two days ago. We're not close. It was Aunt Xu from the recycling station who told me she wanted to go home to take care of her grandson, so she intended to transfer her job to her goddaughter—Comrade Su Yun. So Comrade Su Yun is not lying. Aunt Xu voluntarily gave her the job."
Hearing this, Director Yuan quickly added, "That matches what I was told. Xu Fang mentioned before that she had taken a goddaughter and wanted to leave the job to her."
Captain Liu's face darkened as he glared at Director Yuan. "If you knew that, why didn't you say so earlier?"
Director Yuan replied awkwardly, "I handled the case personally, so it wasn't convenient for me to speak. Besides, you're more experienced in investigations, Captain Liu. With you here, I didn't dare say too much."
Captain Liu clenched his jaw. Deputy Director Wang stepped forward again. "In that case, Comrade Su has indeed been wronged. The anonymous report is baseless. Since someone has testified for her, her suspicion should naturally be cleared."
Captain Liu was unwilling to accept it.
He had just been showing off his authority and was about to corner the girl when Gu Hai suddenly appeared as a witness!
Worse still, Gu Hai was the son of a martyr. Captain Liu had to show some respect; otherwise, it would be difficult for him to maintain his position in the inspection team.
Suppressing his dissatisfaction, Captain Liu said stiffly, "Gu Hai, think carefully. Even if your father was a martyr, giving false testimony will still land you in prison. Don't disgrace your father's name!"
Gu Hai looked at him expressionlessly. "I'm telling the truth. If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do."
Captain Liu snorted. Seeing that the situation was no longer under his control—and that Director Yuan and Deputy Director Wang were clearly siding with Su Yun—he could only force Gu Hai to sign his statement. After leaving a few harsh words behind, he stormed off.
After the people from the neighborhood committee left, Gu Hai calmly placed the sack of scrap onto the scale by the door and said to Su Yun behind the counter, "One sack of broken bowls and plates. Seventy-three jin in total."
Only then did Su Yun finally recover from the panic.
Steadying her heartbeat, she looked at Gu Hai. Today he was wearing a faded navy long-sleeved shirt. On his legs were still those eye-catching patchwork trousers, and on his feet a pair of old sneakers with a hole worn through at the big toe.
There was a trace of sweat on his face, yet it did not make him seem unpleasant at all.
Su Yun walked over to the scale and realized that Gu Hai was a full head taller than her.
Looking up into his deep, bright eyes, she said gratefully, "Comrade Gu, thank you for what you did just now. But you didn't have to lie to the neighborhood committee. Captain Liu looked vicious. If the truth were exposed, you might be implicated."
After all, Gu Hai was destined to become a future tech tycoon. If he lost his prospects because of her, she would never forgive herself.
Hearing this, Gu Hai gave a casual hum and replied calmly, "I didn't lie. Aunt Xu said it herself last time—you're her goddaughter, and from now on you're in charge of the recycling station. Besides, I promised Aunt Xu that as long as I'm around, no one on this street will dare bully you."
Su Yun: "…"
She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt that what Gu Hai really meant was that since she was now in charge of the recycling station, and he had helped testify for her today, perhaps she could be a bit generous when calculating the price of his scrap in the future.
As if confirming her suspicion, Gu Hai tilted his chin toward the scale, signaling for her to hurry up and calculate the payment.
Su Yun's feelings immediately became complicated.