Chapter 146

Chapter 146

Jian Fan’s eyes lit up the moment he heard that string of numbers.

He immediately turned, picked up the metal case from the table, and entered the numbers he had just heard on the television.

Qin Nan noticed what Jian Fan was doing and quickly hit pause on the remote.

Strangely enough, the television had turned on by itself and refused to turn off no matter what, yet all the other buttons still worked.

The thought only flashed through Qin Nan’s mind for a second before he turned to look at Jian Fan.

Jian Fan had already finished entering the numbers. Now his fingertip hovered over the confirm button, and Qin Nan instantly held his breath.

Confirm.

Jian Fan pressed the button. A soft click came from the electronic lock, and four words appeared on the screen: Password Correct.

Although they still had no idea what the six numbers Zhao Yingguo had said actually meant, they were indeed the password to the metal case.

Jian Fan opened the metal case, and the others hurriedly gathered around.

There wasn’t much inside. Sitting on top were exactly the pages Jian Fan had suspected were torn from the diary. Aside from those, there was also a memory card and a stack of photographs.

Jian Fan took out the papers and photos and handed them around to the others.

It would be faster for everyone to read separately.

Once they finished, they could swap with one another. That way, in the same amount of time, everyone could gain an understanding of the current situation.

Jian Fan looked at the diary pages first.

The diary they had found began in 2013. By then, the dorm supervisor had already met Zhao Yingguo, so the first time Zhao Yingguo was mentioned, the entry read:

“Today, Zhao Yingguo came to my dorm again.

“She asked me for help again, but I refused her. She really is an idiot. How could I possibly help her? What a ridiculous fantasy.”

“It really is enjoyable, being looked at with such worship. She actually sees me as her savior. How adorably stupid.”

All the torn-out diary pages were related to Zhao Yingguo.

They recorded the latest ways Zhao Yingguo had been bullied. For example, one day she had been beaten and requested leave to go to the hospital again, but because she didn’t have a doctor’s note, when she tried to apply for sick leave, the dorm supervisor deliberately acted as though it was difficult. Even though the supervisor knew perfectly well she was going for medical treatment, they still wrote it down in the register as personal leave.

There was also the fact that Zhao Yingguo was often out all night. Gradually, even students in the same major as her but in different dorm rooms began to doubt her character. Little by little, those people became unwilling to speak to her, and Zhao Yingguo was branded with some less-than-flattering labels.

As Jian Fan read those words, the crease between his brows deepened.

He didn’t consider himself a good person, but seeing the dorm supervisor record, in such a casual tone, how they had pushed a perfectly normal girl into the abyss made Jian Fan feel sick to his stomach.

Soon, however, the contents of the diary began to change.

At some unknown point, Zhao Yingguo started becoming strange in the dorm supervisor’s diary entries.

More than once, the dorm supervisor wrote:

“Zhao Yingguo looked at me strangely again and smiled at me for no reason. Did they torment her until she went stupid?”

Later, other entries appeared in the diary.

“Has Zhao Yingguo figured out that I’m on the same side as the people bullying her? The way she looks at me now is so creepy. Forget it. I should stop having contact with her.”

“Today, Zhao Yingguo asked me a really strange question. She asked me if I’d ever thought about what manner of death I would die. Is something wrong with her? Isn’t being alive good enough? Why would I think about dying? She’s sick.”

“I’m going to lose my mind! Why did Zhao Yingguo come looking for me again? I don’t want anything to do with her anymore! She’s so annoying.”
“…

I saw Zhao Yingguo in the dorm today, and it’s only the first day of school! I’m so annoyed. She seems to have changed a lot; her whole demeanor is gloomy and terrifying. Why does she have to live in the dorm I manage? She’s a freak. Living on the same floor as someone like that is driving me crazy.

Today she suddenly stopped me and asked me out of nowhere, ‘Looking forward to it?’ Looking forward to what? Looking forward to her dying sooner? Well, I am pretty looking forward to that.

…

She’s dead.”

On the last page of the diary, there was only this one sentence.
The date was February 27, 2014.
That poor girl ultimately died on February 27, 2014.

The dorm manager apparently hadn’t expected Zhao Yingguo would really die. The sentence ‘She’s dead’ was written shakily, the three characters all crooked, clearly terrified.

Just as Jian Fan had guessed, the dorm manager was also one of the abusers.
She didn’t directly participate in violence, but instead played the role of a savior. On one hand, it allowed her to enjoy Zhao Yingguo’s suffering up close; on the other, gaining Zhao Yingguo’s trust enabled her to keep the matter from being exposed.
But clearly, the dorm manager had never intended to actually drive someone to death.
In fact, it wasn’t that she’d thought about it; she simply hadn’t considered it at all, and only began to panic after the girl died.

Besides the diary entries, the stack of photos were all of Zhao Yingguo, taken after she had been abused, as well as photos taken by the dorm manager while Zhao Yingguo was staying at her place, fast asleep.
They were the kind of photos that made one’s fists clench just looking at them.
It was utterly disgusting.
The dorm manager wrote in her diary that Zhao Yingguo was a freak, not realizing that it was actually them who were the freaks. They were worse than beasts, lower than pigs and dogs.

However, since the diary only contained later entries, they also didn’t know why Zhao Yingguo had been targeted by them, or how the story had begun.
But that wasn’t important.
After everyone had looked through the contents, they fell silent again.
They felt despair over Zhao Yingguo’s experience, but also despair over their own current situation.

The metal box was open, but there was no key inside. So where was the key to the iron door?
Jian Fan had been prepared, so he easily accepted the outcome. But as for where the key was hidden, he still had no clue for the moment.
He lowered his head and looked at the memory card inside the box.
They had no way to read the contents of the card right now, so they could only keep it for the time being and look at it later.

Jian Fan took out the memory card and said, “I’ll hold onto it?”
Qin Weiyi nodded, and naturally the others had no objections either.
The memory card thus ended up in Jian Fan’s hands, left for him to keep.

But-

Qin Nan cautiously spoke up, “We can talk now?”
Just a moment ago they hadn’t been communicating, even writing on paper. Why was Jian Fan suddenly speaking out loud now?
“Do you think the sound of the TV won’t attract people?” Jian Fan asked.
Qin Nan: “…”
Thinking about it, Qin Nan felt that opening the metal box had been somewhat not worth it; the contents weren’t what they wanted, but hadn’t this just put them in danger?
Jian Fan was very calm. He glanced at the TV, then said, “Continue.”
Qin Nan let out an “Ah,” not quite understanding what Jian Fan was thinking, but still chose to follow the instruction.
The TV soon continued playing.