CHAPTER 304: CHAPTER 294 DISTINGUISHING PUBLIC FROM PRIVATE

Tu Hengsha arrived at the newspaper office early in the morning. The office received a tip-off call saying that someone in a certain neighborhood was abusing an elderly person, and asked them to go take a look.

Deng Lin immediately assigned the task to her. As she was preparing to set off, she discovered that Su Ronggui would be going with her.

She immediately wanted to refuse, indicating she didn’t want to go.

"Tu Hengsha." Su Ronggui stood in front of her, with an earnest and upright expression, "As a reporter, one of the most important qualities is impartiality. If you can’t differentiate between public and private matters, how can you show your impartiality?"

She snorted; she naturally had impartiality, but how could he have the nerve to talk about distinguishing between public and private matters? If this arrangement wasn’t secretly orchestrated by Deng Lin with ulterior motives, she’d write her name, Tu Hengsha, backward!

"Chief Editor." Su Ronggui called out.

Wasn’t Chief Zhou arriving at work?

Tu Hengsha also followed with a greeting.

"Hmm, going out?" Chief Zhou said casually.

"Yes." Su Ronggui stepped aside to let Chief Zhou in.

"Hmm, go quickly then."

Argue with him in front of the Chief Editor? It’s not that she didn’t dare; it’s that it’s not worth it. Is it worth it to lower her image in front of the Chief Editor for him? Is it worth it to let the Chief Editor see them as a joke? All right, let him succeed in his plot this time!

Distinguishing between public and private matters, she could naturally do it! She hoped he could too!

On the way to their destination, the two sat upright in the car. He drove, no longer with the previously brazen attitude.

This was more like him, wasn’t it? The aloof and distant Su Ronggui.

"What did you have for breakfast?" he suddenly asked.

She was stunned, taken aback by the abrupt question, assuming he would remain silent. In surprise, she didn’t answer him.

He didn’t mind, continuing to drive and speak, "Bangbangtang had some diarrhea last night, but you don’t need to worry, I took it to the hospital overnight. The doctor said it ate too much; it’s much better today, but the doctor said it needs to lose weight, it can’t keep eating like this, I will be more careful in the future."

"..." This feeling was unfamiliar and uncomfortable to Tu Hengsha. Why did the dynamic between them feel like it had shifted suddenly? From confrontation to a gentle breeze?

"A stray cat has been visiting our home these past few days. I made it a little nest to stay temporarily. If no owner comes looking for it, I plan to adopt it. It gets along pretty well with Bangbangtang; Bangbangtang is a kind dog."

"..." She gradually frowned, "No, why are you telling me this? What does it have to do with me? Please remember to differentiate between public and private matters! I’m not interested in your personal affairs!"

He paused, then fell silent.

Eventually, after a while, he continued to speak, "Spring Festival is coming, Sister Qian is taking a vacation and going back home for the holiday; I promised her twenty days off, she’ll come back after the Lantern Festival. She said she would make you some delicious food; she’s just worried that no one would cook for me after she leaves. I can manage, but Bangbangtang and Little Naitang would be aggrieved. Little Naitang is that stray cat, the name I gave it. I think the pet food I make isn’t as tasty as Sister Qian’s... One cat and one dog make quite a mess together; they broke several of my kitchen jars, even knocked over my tea canister. It was Little Naitang who jumped up and broke it, I really wanted to scold it at that time, but when I picked it up, it looked at me with those eyes, even licked my hand, I couldn’t bring myself to hit it..." just like she sometimes annoyed him, snuggling and acting spoiled in his arms for a kiss.

Tu Hengsha simply looked out the window, letting him ramble on, just ignoring it. This attitude seemed right—for once, her restless emotions calmed down, as if she were listening to the radio. The male announcer’s voice was bearable.

He spoke on and off, and soon they arrived at their destination.

As they got out of the car with their equipment, someone commented, "Here they come, the reporters are here!"

An enthusiastic auntie willingly led them to the garage of a certain building in the neighborhood, telling them, "It’s in here."

The garage door was open just a crack, and it was pitch black inside.

The auntie helped open the door, calling loudly inside, "Granny Zeng, Granny Zeng."

No response.

The auntie turned to the two of them, saying, "She’s asleep. Granny has poor hearing and can’t hear if it’s quiet. She got sick a few days ago, and no one took care of her. It was some of us elderly neighbors who took her to the community hospital for a checkup, got her some medicine, but still no one took care of her."

The door was fully opened, and a wave of stench hit.

The auntie explained, "Eating and drinking, the bathroom, it’s all in this garage. And there’s no bathroom here; Granny is old and has trouble moving around, of course it smells!"

"Where are Granny’s children?" Tu Hengsha couldn’t help but ask as she held the camera.

"She has two sons and a daughter. The daughter is married and moved away. The elder son lives in this city, but hasn’t visited for a year. The younger son’s family lives on the 9th floor of this building, and they’ve forced the old lady to live in the garage, completely ignoring her. It’s sinful! This apartment upstairs used to belong to Old Man Zeng and Granny Zeng. The younger son’s family lived with the old people, and as soon as Old Man Zeng died, Granny was forced into the garage by the younger son. It’s been years like this; scorching in summer without air conditioning, freezing in winter without heating. In the past, Granny could move about freely, so it was a bit better. But now Granny’s health is worsening, her eyesight and hearing are failing, and we neighbors are heartbroken seeing her like this. Whenever we eat we bring a bowl for Granny, but that’s no long-term solution," the auntie sighed.

There were no windows in the garage, just a dirty table with two chipped bowls, an old table fan, a spittoon in the corner with some yellow liquid emitting a foul odor, and a bed against the wall. The sheets and blankets were too filthy to see their original colors, and Granny lay on the bed with an old coat on top, equally filthy.

"This is the only coat she has. Neighbors donated a few new clothes recently, but she couldn’t bear to wear them," the auntie pointed to a few clothes folded on the chair by the table.

The garage was indeed colder than outside, especially with the door open, as the cold wind blew in; even wearing a down jacket, Tu Hengsha felt cold.

"No windows, and we don’t dare to close this door completely, always leaving a crack open, so of course it’s cold. We did bring an electric heater from home for her to use, but after all, every family has its own things, no one can be so attentive. The garage door is closed day and night, and no one knows what it’s really like inside. Someone brought her food a few days ago and found out she was sick, only then did they discover the electric system here is completely broken," the auntie sighed, shaking her head.

Suddenly, Granny on the bed started coughing violently.

"Granny?" the auntie called out, "Would you like some water?"

Tu Hengsha then noticed a filthy cup and an old-style thermos on the table.