He couldnāt imagine it... stealing a package and being sentenced to ten years and three months.
What on earth had happened?
This was even more absurd than when he himself had swapped spare parts.
The realtor sighed. "Who knows? We donāt really understand the law either. I heard he committed several crimes, and they just stacked up."
Niu Huan swallowed hard.
He was profoundly shocked and remained speechless for a long time. It seemed... Iām not the worst off after all.
Just then, a middle-aged couple on the playground, cursing loudly, seemed to be clashing with a correctional officer. They actually started quarreling, their attitude extremely arrogant, a stark contrast to the other prisonersā "low-profile" demeanor. Niu Huan heard the commotion and couldnāt help but look up.
"That couple came in for illegally occupying someone elseās house." The realtor glanced into the distance and said casually, "They were sentenced to twenty years."
"How much?!" Niu Huan, who had just managed to calm down, felt his heart thrown into turmoil once more.
Illegally occupying a house... gets you twenty years? For a moment, he suddenly felt that his own sentence of three to ten years wasnāt so unacceptable after all...
"Iām not sure of the specifics; it seems like there were many charges," the realtor frowned and shook his head. "But I seriously suspect they also offended *that* person."
"That person?" Niu Huanās eyes lit up with curiosity.
But the realtor refused to mention that personās name, as if it were a source of eternal pain.
"By the way, you mentioned you were also in for theft. What did you steal?" the realtor couldnāt help but ask.
Niu Huan was startled, then gave a bitter smile. "I stole some car parts. Iāve been doing it for years. I never imagined... Iād suddenly end up here."
The realtor nodded silently. He seemed unfazed by such an absurd story, showing no emotional fluctuation whatsoever.
They were silent for over ten minutes.
Niu Huan couldnāt help asking again, "Brother, you seem to know a lot of people around here?"
"Sort of. I came in early," the realtor nodded, a trace of melancholy in his expression.
Truth be told... he was among the very first to arrive. Here, heād seen one "junior" after another. After talking with them, he found their sentences all far exceeded his.
He, an unscrupulous realtor, had only been sentenced to three years for various crimes. In contrast, the newcomers were each more outrageous than the last. For instance, the young man who stole packages was sentenced to ten years and three months. The middle-aged couple who illegally occupied someone elseās house received twenty years.
"Over there, that unshaven middle-aged man, see him? A bank manager, sentenced to nineteen years and six months."
"And in the corner, that plain-looking fellow whoās always muttering about Yanzi? Seems he was heartbroken, threw a wine bottle, and got six years or so."
"That mother and daughter sitting in the middle of the playground... I heard their son was hit and killed by a car while fleeing a robbery. They tried to extort money but, through some bizarre twist of fate, ended up in here themselves. They can only see each other during yard time..."
Then, in front of Niu Huan, the realtor spoke eloquently, recounting the details of the sentenced prisoners awaiting transfer as if he knew each case intimately. There was a distinct air of shared misfortune about him.
As Niu Huan listened, his scalp tingled.
Throwing a bottle gets you six years... Their son died, and they ended up in here instead... And a bank manager, too. The people on this playground seemed ordinary, but they were all hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Every single one of them was more than met the eye.
"By the way, your theft charge shouldnāt be too bad, right? You should be out in a few months." Afterward, the realtor turned his head and looked at Niu Huan.
People whoāve shared a cell... thereās always an inexplicable connection.
He felt Niu Huan was somewhat approachable and familiar, clearly different from the other new prisoners.
"A few months?" Niu Huan heard this, just smiled bitterly, and shook his head. He then stated a sentence length that sounded eerily familiar to the realtor.