To Love You Again

Then he heard the officer in front of him muttered, "A criminal with the sentence of life imprisonment wants to have some fresh air? As if we will allow them." Then the officer turned to him, "Even you, criminals, used an excuse like seeing a doctor to get a pass on us, we will not allow you to step outside of here. Of course, except for your monthly jail visits."

Xiong De's hearts skipped a beat. Why telling it to himself? He would not stay here anyway. This officer should know that, right?

However, he did not ask as he was afraid of something.

He just wished that they could get out of this stinky hallway.

They finally arrived at the farthest room. The officer stopped and looked at him.

"This will be your room from now on."

"..." 

Xiong De looked at the door that was the same as every other door he passed by in this section.

Surely, he did not mean that, right?

The officer fished out his keys and opened the cell. As soon as the door opened, a strong foul stench assaulted his nose. 

The dark room was barely the height of a person, two meters long, and one and a half meters wide. This was a tiny room with a very thin and dirty mattress full of holes on the floor. There was a toilet hole on the ground that was muddy with something disgusting inside in one corner. There was no washroom or faucet. No pillow, no quilts. There was no window. Only this door and the small vent where food was to be pushed in was the source of ventilation.

Xiong De could never, ever possibly live in this place. 

"T-this…what kind of cell is this…?" His voice was shaky of the possible thoughts that had ominously rang ever since he walked in here. 

The poor facility. The underground prison with isolated rooms…and the terrible howls…

'No, it couldn't be. There must be some kind of mistake…'

"Which penitentiary was it?" Xiong De wanted to confirm that.

The officer answered in deadpan manner. "Congratulations to your entrance. This is the Shangguan Prison. Welcome to the worst prison of the country."

Xiong De paled.

'No… There's no way...'

"T-there must be some mistake here. I w-wasn't told I will be sent here. I should be in Gangguan Prison in the G Province, not here in L Province! You've made a mistake!" Xiong De shouted in desperation.

He made a deal…he made a deal! The Five Kings could not do this to him…he held his end of deal!

The officer got irritated with his shouts, which echoed in the corridor. He picked at his nose and said, "For people like you. With the sentence of Life Imprisonment, this place is the best for you. It saves a lot of resources. You see the man before? He just arrived here with the same sentence as you. As a matter of fact, this section was for the people who was so lucky to avoid 'execution'. This is the redeeming place for you to repent for all your sins."

Xiong De's body shivered. 

No! This was not the place! He could not even last here for a day!

He was Xiong De! He was a man who could change the direction of business trades in this country! He could not fall like this!

Xiong De spoke in a grave manner,

"You probably didn't know me. But I am Xiong De, from the legendary Xiong family. I owned a lot of conglomerate companies and I have a deal with the five kings-"

"Blah, blah, blah. I know who you are. Heck, your face was all over the TV. You killed the old man, right? Your grandfather, is it? And you even r.a.p.ed your niece. You corrupted and do many illegal stuffs. You are the type of sc.u.mbag who should not be forgiven. Because you are rich, you avoided execution. Tsk, truly lucky bastard. People like you are the types we hated the most."

"?!" Xiong De was shocked. He hasn't killed that old man yet and he did not r.a.p.e his niece! It was all a failed scheme!

He gritted his teeth, "Listen to me...the five kings should have arranged a place for me-"

"There's no five kings here. You can't use your connections here. You have nothing now but sins that were carried by your name. Wake up. They must have abandoned you."

"No..." Xiong De's heart was crushed. He felt dizzy. 

'It couldn't be...'

"Be thankful that you have the rest of your life to repent. Though we will make sure it would be worth it for you to live every second of your life. Good luck with it." He pushed the dumbstruck and weak Xiong De into the cell. 

Then, he swiftly locked it outside.

Xiong De was struck dumb. 

He put his shaking hands on his splitting head. His eyes were wide and his mouth was horrified.

What was happening?!

Why was this happening?!

All his hopes were cut off without mercy.

'No… No. NO! It wasn't supposed to be like this…' 

His shaking eyes spotted the wall. There was even a hint of rusty reddish brown and black all over the wall. Even the ground was muddy and stinky.

'No… This couldn't possibly be the place!'

He could not live like this!

When he woke up from the hellish nightmare, Xiong De gathered his last remaining wisp of hope and banged at the door loudly. However, the door was made of bricks and fortified metal. His fists were bruised and he could only shout.

"Officer! You got it wrong! Let me call my assistant! I just need to contact the Five Kings! I'm not supposed to be here!!" 

His loud shouts only echoed in his room. And no matter how much he shouted to the point of hurting his throat, no one came to him.

Xiong De shouted with desperation. 

Slowly, very slowly. The reality of living in the hellish nightmare dawned upon him.