Chapter 575 - 574: Attracting Attention (Part 4)

Many things happen all around us. If you don’t pay attention or give them any thought, they aren’t a problem.

But there are some things that, once you take a closer look and truly think about them, you realize are very big problems.

The follow-up report detailed Sister Yu’s ordeal, the police’s reluctant intervention to protect her, the subsequent call for help, and the events that followed.

If the previous report was shocking, then the follow-up was simply horrifying.

Su Li and the others had taken the woman who called for help to the hospital. An examination revealed that there wasn’t a single uninjured spot on her body. It was covered in injuries at various stages of healing. Her mental state was also extremely fragile, and she was at risk of a complete breakdown at any moment.

According to her neighbors, she had been living like this for over a decade.

"Her husband is a capable man, makes good money, but she doesn’t get to enjoy a bit of it. He loves to drink, and the moment he starts, he gets violent."

"He doesn’t let her go out, either. She’s locked in the house every day. The most she can do is walk around inside."

"If we try to talk to her, she gets scared and hides away. It’s even worse if she hears a man’s voice."

This woman’s plight was no less severe than Sister Yu’s.

At the end of the article, Su Li summarized the characteristics of domestic violence. She drew a formal conclusion, sounding an alarm for the world about the prevalence, severity, and harmfulness of domestic violence.

The number of women victimized by domestic violence is several times the total number of women victimized by rape, robbery, and murder combined. It is the most common cause of serious injury suffered by women.

Su Li also listed the various forms that domestic violence can take.

Domestic violence doesn’t just manifest as physical abuse. Physical injury is only one form; sexual assault and mental/emotional torment—in other words, psychological abuse—are also forms of domestic violence.

Intimidation, threats, possessiveness, control, and physical or social isolation are all forms of domestic violence.

In the case of the woman who called for help, her husband subjected her to a combination of three types of domestic violence. The abuse occurred repeatedly, escalating in severity until it led to her current state of collapse.

Her husband had a twisted personality. He was extremely possessive and paranoid, constantly accusing his wife of promiscuity without any reason. He forbade her from speaking to other men, or even looking at them. A single glance or a spoken word was, in his eyes, an act of seduction and a sign she wanted to cheat.

He locked her in the house, forbidding her from working or interacting with anyone. Any resistance was met with violence. Yet even when she was obedient, he would still abuse her as soon as he started drinking, and this would be followed by various forms of torture and humiliation in bed.

It wasn’t that the woman hadn’t thought of seeking help, but her husband had threatened her. If she dared to leave him, he would murder her entire family, and her children would suffer as well.

Because of his threats, and because calling for help from neighbors or even the police had proven useless, she had no choice but to suffer in silence for over a decade.

"Because he was her husband, her pleas for help to neighbors and even the police fell on deaf ears. She was forced to endure this torture and pain, day after day."

"The old saying goes that women hold up half the sky. Everyone is equal before the law. Since that’s the case, even a husband has no right to harm his wife with impunity! When women suffer such abuse, they deserve protection. They shouldn’t have to seek help everywhere only to be turned away, until their last resort is to call a newspaper!"

Su Li was filled with a towering rage, and when she wrote the article, her tone was anything but calm.

When Su Li submitted the draft to her editor-in-chief, she expected it to be sent back for revisions. But unexpectedly, he didn’t ask for any changes or reject it. He published it as it was.

Su Li didn’t know what her editor-in-chief was thinking. She was still stunned when she saw it in print the next day.

She didn’t know that, ordinarily, even if the core message was kept, the wording would have been softened. This time, however, the editor-in-chief had decided against it.

He believed it was high time these issues received the attention they deserved.

The woman who’d called for help wasn’t the first. Afterward, more calls came in, one after another; they just hadn’t been published.

And after the series of reports went out, the newspaper’s phone lines were ringing off the hook.

This time, aside from some people calling to express their concern, the vast majority were actually calls for help.

If a situation like this didn’t attract serious attention, something would be very wrong.

The newspaper took the initiative, contacting the relevant government departments to report the situation.

The officials and leaders in those departments followed the news daily, so they had already taken notice. Once the newspaper officially reported the matter, it became impossible to ignore.

The issue now had their attention. The necessary investigations and solutions had to be discussed, but it wasn’t something that could be resolved overnight.

These matters were now out of Su Li’s hands.

At this point, Su Li’s mission—or rather, everything she could do—was complete.

Su Li’s part was over, but the impact of her reporting was far from it.

Everyone who read the news was talking about it.

The same was true at the sanatorium. Many of the retired old cadres there were avid newspaper readers and would offer their earnest commentary.

The sanatorium staff had grown accustomed to joining their discussions. Recently, the most frequent topic was the issue of domestic violence.

And as the conversations about domestic violence went on, Su Li, the reporter who wrote the article, was inevitably mentioned.

"This Su Li... she’s just an intern, so she must be young. But her reporting has real depth, and it makes you think. She’s a promising talent."

"She must be a university student doing an internship. In all likelihood, she’s from Huaguo Communication University."

The old gentlemen were all worldly and well-informed, and they began to discuss the matter.

Liao Jin, who was in the middle of giving one of the old men a check-up, thought the name Su Li sounded very familiar.

She seemed to recall Lin Huanzhu mentioning the name, so she listened more closely.

Before she could hear anything else, a cold snort cut through the conversation.

"How come there are people named Su Li everywhere..."

Liao Jin glanced over and saw Mrs. Tang’s dark, unhappy expression. Surprised, she raised an eyebrow and asked, "Do you know the reporter, Su Li?"

"I know a Su Li, but it can’t be the same person."

Mrs. Tang huffed. "Are you all talking about that business in the newspaper?"

Mrs. Tang was illiterate, so she couldn’t read the paper. Every day, she would listen to the others’ discussions, understanding only bits and pieces. She desperately wanted to join in but couldn’t find a way, leaving her feeling both envious and insecure.

’They were all talking about domestic violence before, which is just a husband hitting his wife. It’s a perfectly normal thing, so I don’t know what there is to discuss.’

’Mrs. Tang had wanted to argue, but she was afraid of embarrassing herself, so she’d kept quiet. But today, she’d actually heard the name ’Su Li,’ and something about an intern reporter.’

’She didn’t understand what nonsense this ’intern reporter’ business was, but she had heard the name ’Su Li’ crystal clear. When she heard them praising the name, her first reaction was that she must have misheard. Then, she decided it must be someone else named Su Li.’

’That little bitch, Su Li? What skills does she have, aside from getting lucky and making a little money? I have no idea how she fumbled her way through the college entrance exams. How could she possibly be praised by these important-looking old men?’

’Mrs. Tang didn’t know what a ’reporter’ was, but she certainly knew what a newspaper was.’

’In Mrs. Tang’s mind, newspapers were a big deal. Anyone involved with a newspaper had to be someone important. How could *that* Su Li possibly have anything to do with a newspaper!’

’She doesn’t have that kind of ability. It can’t be her. We’re talking about a *newspaper*!’

All this flashed through Mrs. Tang’s mind in an instant. Her gaze was intense as she stared at the group, waiting for an answer.