About a day later, a lawyer named Liu and an American named John Ray arrived unexpectedly at the plice station, demanding to speak with the officer in charge. Lawyer Liu began:
"My client, Mr. John Ray, has just learned that his fiancee, Miss Shen Hui, was recently arrested by your department. He comes here to understand the reason for arrest and to review the evidence against her."
The officer asked:
"Which day was she arrested?"
"On August 19th."
"Is she a student?"
"Yes."
The officer said:
"I'm afraid this case is no longer under my jurisdiction. It has been transferred to the Special Criminal Court."
Lawyer Liu frowned and said:
"The Special Criminal Court is responsible for the trials, not preliminary investigations. How can it exceed its authority and interfere with the procedures in your police station? Furthermore, as my client's legal representative, I also have the right to know the details of this case in order to defend his fiancee." Then he turned to John Ray and added, "Mr. Ray, if they refuse to cooperate, you can invite Mr. Raymond and me to Nanjing to discuss this case with Mr. John Leighton Stuart, the USA ambassador in China."
Mr. Ray nodded seriously:
"That won't be necessary. I will visit Mr. Stuart personally in Nanjing. He was a close of my father during his tenure as president of Yenching University."
Upon hearing this, Lawyer Liu was momentarily taken aback but quickly composed himself. In fact, he didn't know much about John Ray. They had been introduced through Mr. Raymond mentioned above, an American journalist stationed in China, who had once interviewed Ambassador Stuart. Lawyer Liu's mention of the ambassador had been a strategic move to pressure the police. However, John Ray's confident words impressed him though he also felt a twinge of skepticism. The police officer in charge, however, was visibly shaken. His demeanor shifted immediately. Forcing a nervous smile, he said:
"Please excuse me for a moment. I need to consult with our director." After that, he rushed out of his office and barked at his secretary, " Hurry up! Serve the coffee to the guests inside. Give me Shen Hui's file now."
He quickly grabbed the file and hurried into the director's office. Inside, he found not only the director but also Chen Jicheng of the Commander of the Garrison Command and Chen Xueping, the special agent from Nanjing. The atmosphere was tense. All three men were visibly frustrated by the failure of this operation. Originally, they had planned to arrest 250 Communist Party members identified through secret investigation, but they had managed to capture fewer than a third of their target. Most of those arrested were ordinary students with little significance. To cover up the failure, they had decided to use these students as scapegoats to placate their. The director looked up as the officer entered and asked sharply:
"What's it?"
The officer replied:
"An American named John Ray is here with his lawyer. They're coming to ask about Shen Hui. He claims that she is his fiancee. He also said if we don't cooperate, he will go directly to Nanjing to meet with Mr. Stuart, the US Ambassador, who is a close friend of his father."
After speaking, he handed Shen Hui's file to the director, who quickly skimmed it before passing it to Chen Xueping. Chen Jicheng, visibly irritated, slammed his fist on the table and barked:
"Don't let go. Let him go to Mr. Stuart. I don't believe that the American will interfere with our mission to catch communists?"
Chen Xueping, however, remained calm. After reviewing the file, he spoke slowly and deliberatedly:
"Let her go. If the American get involved, we are all in trouble. She's just a student, not worth the trouble. A worthless girl like her isn't worth the risk. Release her, but make sure she remains in Peking and can be summoned at any time. As for the other arrested students, they will be imprisoned in Caogangzi Prison after the Special Criminal Court has processed them. You continue the investigation and arrest anyone suspicious. Remember, it's better to arrest a thousand by mistake than to let one communist escape."
Shen Hui returned with John to his apartment. Although she wanted to go back to her own place, the landlord had outright refused to let her come back to live there. With nowhere else to go, she had no choice but to follow John back to his apartment. He gently urged her to clean up and carefully examined her wounds. Fortunately, they were only superficial, the whip marks that hadn't damaged her muscle or bone. He reassured her in a soft, steady voice:
"Don't worry about anything right now. Just stay here and focus on recovering. Now it's better for you to take a rest. "
John didn't share the bed with with Shen Hui. He knew that if he did, he wouldn't be able to suppress his feelings for her and that would only complicate things further. He loved her that much was certain. But he also knew that she was engaged to another man and seemed committed to honoring that promise. From their conversations, John sensed that she couldn't let go of her fiancee, a childhood sweetheart, who had been part of her life for as long as she could remember. Out of respect for her, John had forced himself not to inquire about her after she left the last time, hoping that his longing for her would fade with time. But then the call from the police station let him know that she was in trouble again so he didn't hesitate to seek help. He reached out to Mr. Raymond, a journalist he had met at a nightclub. Mr. Raymond, with his extensive connections in Peking, introduced him to Lawyer Liu. After he met Lawyer Liu, they rushed to the police station the next day to demand her release. As for John's claim about his father's friendship with Mr. Stuart, the US Ambassador to China, it wasn't a lie, but it was his father's connection, not his. As a young man, John didn't have this kind of relationship that would allow him to call on this ambassador for help with such a matter. Still, the bluff had worked. He collapsed onto the sofa and drifted into a fitful sleep.
He was jolted awake by a piercing scream. Rushing into the bedroom, he found that Shen Hui was still asleep but drenched in sweat, her face twisted in distress as she cried out. He realized she was trapped in a nightmare. John approached her quietly, placing a hand on her forehead. She was burning up with fever. Alarmed, he hurried to the living room, grabbed his medical bag and administered an injection of antipyretic. He stayed by her side until her breathing steadied and she finally drifted into a more peaceful sleep. Only then did he collapse back onto the sofa, succumbing to his own exhaustion. Over the next two days, Shen Hui drifted in and out of a hazy and fevered sleep. When Aunt Zhang came to clean the apartment, she noticed Shen Hui's fragile state so she cooked a pot of warm rice porridge for Shen Hui and bought some pickles, ensuring there was always something hot for Shen Hui to eat whenever she woke up. John only went back to the hospital on the day Aunt Zhang came. He had taken leave from work to take care of Shen Hui at home over the past two days. It was not until the third day that Shen Hui woke up completely. She sat propped up in bed as John had just finished examing her. She said to him:
"I want to go to the train station. I want to see if there are any trains heading back to the south."
He looked at her seriously and said:
"I'm afraid that's not possible. I'm the one who bailed you out so I have to be responsible for you now. The police have made it clear that you're not allowed to leave Peking so that they can summon you at any time."
It was then that she seemed to remember that she had just been released from prison. The tears welled up in her eyes and streamed down her cheeks as she said:
"What's the point of summoning me? In fact, I don't know anything. I just went along with the crowd during the July 5th protest. I don't know any Communist Party members or so called 'progressive' people. Even if I did, I wouldn't know what they were doing."
John sighed, his voice tinged with frustration:
"I don't think your government is making wise decisions. The action like this only turn people against them. Even as a foreigner, I can see how terrible this government is. Imagine how your own people must feel. Anyway, let's not dwell on that now. You have been asleep for two or three days. If you feel up to it, it would be good for you to get out of bed and try to move around a little."
Shen Hui nodded and slowly pushed her out of bed. But as soon as she stood up, a wave of dizziness washed over her and she swayed unsteadily. John reacted quickly, catching her before she could fall. He said:
"You got up too fast and you are still weak. It's all right. I can carry you to the living room."
She protested weakly:
"Oh, no, I can manage."
Without another word, he lifted her up gently, carried her to the living room and put her gently on the sofa. He adjusted his pillow behind her to make her more comfortable. He also brought her some newspapers and maganzines. He said:
"You have been eating rice porridge for the past two days. I don't know much about the dietary taboos for the patients in China but Aunt Zhang told me that you should keep eating some light meals now. You know I can't cook so tell me what you'd like to eat and I will buy it for you."
She offered:
"I can cook whatever we have at home."
She tried to stand up again but John firmly pressed her back down and said:
"You're still weak now. Don't worry. You will have plenty of chances to cook later. I like your meals. For now, you just take a rest. I will go out and buy something today."
She sighed, realizing she truly didn't have the strength to do anything so she had to give up, took the paper and pen he offered and wrote down a few dishes she wanted. When he returned with the lunch box, he found her lying against the pillow and her eyes closed so he quietly put the lunch box on the table but her voice broke the silence:
"Thank you! I wasn't sleeping, just resting my eyes for a moment."
"In that case, let's eat first. You can rest more this afternoon. I'll go to the hospital and then bring back dinner when I come back. You don't need to worry about anything."
With that, he came over, slowly helped her up and guided her to the table.