Chapter 41 – Prison Officer

The next day, the weather was still gloomy, but at least it didn’t rain.

Ye Zhou had rested up enough after a day of recuperation. Thinking about the restaurant’s situation, he decided to go half an hour earlier. Thanks to Fang Ji stacking the sandbags well, water hadn’t flooded the restaurant. The floodwaters had receded completely in just a day, leaving behind only a shallow pool of mud at the entrance. The old street had poor drainage design, so it was prone to flooding during heavy rains. Ye Zhou and Fang Ji were both experienced with this issue. They had been somewhat flustered the first time they dealt with flooding, but since then, they had become accustomed to it.

Guan Heng had good reason to think ahead and clean the courtyard’s drainage ditch. With the heavy rain over the past two nights, their courtyard hadn’t flooded. As Ye Zhou thought about what had happened over the last few days, he smiled slightly.

When he left home that morning, Guan Heng was already gone. He hadn’t stayed over last night either, and Ye Zhou wasn’t sure what he was busy with.

Ye Zhou took out his phone and sent a message to Guan Heng: “【Want to eat together for lunch?】”

He wasn’t clingy when he was dating someone and wouldn’t pry into his boyfriend’s whereabouts. He thought Guan Heng might be busy, so he didn’t expect him to reply immediately. However, Guan Heng responded quickly: “【No need, I’m not on campus. Going to the prison today.】”

The prison wasn’t exactly close to home, so it wouldn’t be convenient for Guan Heng to make a special trip back. Ye Zhou now knew that Guan Heng went to the prison to counsel criminals, and there might be a fixed schedule. He replied: “【Okay.】”

But then Guan Heng sent another message: “【Will eat at home tonight.】”

Ye Zhou looked at the message, and the corners of his lips slowly curved upwards. He replied with another ‘okay’ before putting his phone away. If they kept chatting, he might lose focus on work.

Before the restaurant could open, they needed to clean up the surrounding environment first. Ye Zhou called a few employees to help put the sandbags back in the warehouse, then rolled up his sleeves and used a hose connected to the tap to wash the floor clean.

Meanwhile, Guan Heng was standing in the corridor on his way to the prison counseling room, his gaze softening slightly as he looked at his phone.

“Teacher Guan…” The female counselor standing beside him couldn’t help but be startled when she saw the subtle change on his face. Everything in the prison was confidential, especially cases related to criminal law. Therefore, people outside might not know, but Guan Heng was very famous within their circle.

Over a decade ago, Zhan Hong recommended him, who was still studying at the time, to volunteer at the prison. During one session where he accompanied a counselor, Guan Heng uncovered a criminal’s attempt to feign mental illness to avoid responsibility and presented evidence to the judge for a decision. In those days, human rights awareness was generally increasing, and certain human rights groups advocated that criminals and mentally ill individuals also had freedom and human rights. At that time, the country had just incorporated provisions for psychological testing and evaluation of criminals into its laws. With the system still imperfect, the judgments tended to be overly cautious. Therefore, many serious criminals exploited this legal loophole, pretending to be sick to escape punishment or receive reduced sentences. There were even terrifying rulings that allowed criminals to avoid imprisonment due to unstable mental conditions requiring psychological counseling, which led to public outrage.

The boundary between mental health and illness was blurry. It was intangible, and it was difficult to distinguish between truly sick people and those faking it with just the naked eye. Therefore, it heavily relied on the professionalism of psychological counselors. Furthermore, punishment was highly dependent on evidence. The police and prosecutors gathered evidence of crimes, while judges based their sentences on the available evidence. Even if eyewitness and physical evidence was solid, if mental issues favored the criminal, the result might not be desirable, but they still had to follow the law.

Guan Heng broke this unbalanced situation, becoming the first person to supplement scientific evidence with psychology to present relevant evidence of crime. In cooperation with the police’s investigation, he proved that the criminal was in a clear state of mind during the crime. This led to a lengthy sentence of over a decade for the perpetrator of the shocking “sexual torture and murder of children” case, bringing the entire case to a satisfactory conclusion.

If once or twice could be attributed to luck, three or four times certainly wasn’t a coincidence. During his time volunteering at the prison, Guan Heng participated in several major criminal cases. Before he left for his studies abroad, he refined a system based on psychological theories. This system is still in use today. Therefore, despite not being a civil servant, he was exceptionally promoted to the position of prison officer. Both the courts and the prisons wanted him as their talent, but unexpectedly, he ended up becoming a regular university teacher.

After Guan Heng noticed the female counselor’s gaze, he quickly put his phone away and glanced at her indifferently: “Speak, I’m listening.”

Guan Heng’s image in the prison differed from his persona at school. He had a cold and austere air around him, similar to a frigid pine tree, giving off a strong sense of pressure and distance. So, no matter how handsome he was, no one dared to have inappropriate thoughts about him. However, the female counselor clearly saw a hint of gentleness on his face, although it returned to its usual coldness when he looked at her.

She was momentarily stunned, then handed over a stack of management files: “I want to discuss Hong Rong’s case with you. He has refused counseling three times now…”

Guan Heng flipped through the files, looking expressionlessly at Hong Rong’s performance in prison over the past few months: “Remind him that if he doesn’t cooperate with the interviews this month, he might have a hard time getting parole in the future.”

“Alright.” Then, the female counselor seemed to remember something else, hesitatingly adding, “Also… Hong Rong has privately expressed a desire to change counselors. When I asked him why, he wouldn’t say. Without a specific reason or justification, I can’t report it higher up, so it’s been left unresolved…”

Guan Heng didn’t show much of a reaction upon hearing this: “This is the fifth time in three years, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” The female counselor was completely clueless and couldn’t figure out the reason. Ever since Guan Heng took over Hong Rong’s case ten years ago, he had been personally involved in every aspect. Even when he was abroad, he would arrange regular trips back to the country. He could be said to have been very dedicated. She couldn’t see any dissatisfaction Hong Rong might have with Guan Heng, making her feel as though she had failed in her duties.

Guan Heng nodded: “I’ll handle this.”

The female counselor sighed in relief: “Thank you, Teacher Guan. I’ll prepare the interview arrangements right away.”

“Mm.”

While waiting, Guan Heng bought a cup of coffee from the vending machine in the hall and stood by the window, looking outside. He came to the prison for a few fixed days each month, not only for education and counseling but also to conduct psychological evaluations and progressive treatment assessments for some prisoners. He had significant influence over parole recommendations. This additional job had been maintained since he started volunteering, lasting for over a decade. Even though he was only nominally a prison officer, his status and importance far exceeded that of ordinary civil servants.

At that moment, there was a commotion outside the prison gates. Many reporters and photographers were stationed there. This situation wasn’t unusual. Whenever major criminals were admitted to prison or suspects were detained in the detention center awaiting sentencing, many reporters would come to cover the story. Although this place was a prison, another building housed the detention center, making it very convenient to move inmates from temporary custody to incarceration.

Two staff members passing by Guan Heng whispered: “It must be that serial killer from the recent news… “

The serial murder and dismemberment case had caused too much uproar. The brutality of the murderer shocked everyone, leading the police to act swiftly. After handling the case overnight, they promptly transferred the suspect to the detention center.

Soon, a police car pulled up at the gate. The handcuffed and shackled criminal got out of the car, flanked by two police officers. Reporters swarmed forward, vying for interviews.

There was a distance between the prison gates and the hall, so the criminal was quickly surrounded by reporters, making it impossible to see what they looked like. Guan Heng wasn’t interested and only glanced over before looking away. The staff working in the prison were also used to such scenes and wouldn’t go out of their way to join the crowd.

After a brief period of noise outside, everything quieted down again. All the reporters were stopped at the gates by security guards. Guan Heng lowered his head and drank the last sip of coffee in his cup.

Perhaps Guan Heng’s words had an effect, for the female counselor returned in less than half an hour. She informed him that Hong Rong had changed his mind and wanted to talk to him. She had already arranged a counseling room.

Guan Heng nodded to acknowledge the information, crumpled the paper cup in his hand, and tossed it into the recycling bin.