Chapter 23

I felt as if I had gone mad, wanting to rush forward and tear apart Teacher Zhang’s false face.

But Deng Xingxing and the others pulled me back from behind, their voices choked with tears as they tried to comfort me:

“Ji Xia, calm down…”

“We’ll get revenge, just calm down…”

“It will get better, calm down…”

Dazed, I turned my head, wanting to say something to them.

But as I turned around, I was met with Zhong Minglang’s handsome and upright face.

I paused for a moment, then steadied myself.

Yes, it wasn’t them.

They were all dead.

And this wasn’t a year ago.

Seeing that I had calmed down, Zhong Minglang finally asked me, “What’s wrong?”

It turned out he was worried about me and had come back to check, only to catch me having a breakdown in front of the mirror.

Supporting myself, I sat cross-legged on the ground, responding tiredly, “Officer Zhong, can I trust you?”

He sat down beside me in a casual manner and nodded, “Of course you can. It’s after work now, let’s talk as friends.”

When I didn’t reply, his voice grew heavier as he continued, “Ji Xia, do you know? Last year, the number of adolescent suicides reached 100,000. Most of these kids had mental health issues. You have to trust your family, trust the police, and if nothing else, you can see a psychologist.”

I let out a mocking laugh, “Officer, not everyone has a happy family, not everyone can bask in the love of their parents. Take me, for example-my parents are at the bottom of society. My father is disabled, my mother is mentally ill. How could I bear to tell them what I’ve been through, the pain I’ve suffered?”

“Or take Deng Xingxing-you saw her at the station. Her parents don’t care about her at all.”

“Do you know why her parents came out to testify? It wasn’t out of love for her, but because they didn’t want their other children to have a murderer for a sister. Compared to being a murderer, being a victim sounds better, even if it means being violated.”