Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Teacher Yun, that’s where Zhang Xiaolong fell!”

The little boy, Li He, pointed at the cave ahead and looked at me with an innocent expression.

After school this afternoon, he had rushed over to find me, saying his friend Zhang Xiaolong had fallen into a cave and disappeared.

Before I could even ask what had happened, he dragged me all the way here, saying he wanted me to help search for him.

“Teacher Yun, hurry and take a look! Zhang Xiaolong won’t be in danger, will he?”

He tugged anxiously at my clothes and pushed me toward the cave entrance.

I walked up to the mouth of the cave and peered inside.

Suddenly, a tremendous force struck me from behind. I lost my balance and plunged straight down into the cave.

“Hahahahaha, you stinking woman!”

Several little heads instantly popped up at the entrance.

I dodged the animal trap inside the cave, steadied myself, and looked up.

“Lucky you! The trap didn’t clamp you to death!” Li He spat down at me from the cave entrance.

Zhang Xiaolong stood beside him, making faces. “Who told you to scold me? I show up to class as a favor to you. So what if I sleep for a bit?”

“You think you’re so great just because you’re from the city?”

“I knew you looked down on us. You dare throw your weight around with me? I’ll make sure you regret it!”

The two other children beside them chimed in as well.

They had no intention of pulling me up. They even started throwing rocks down at me.

I looked around, then calmly found a place to sit.

I asked them, “The animal carcasses that show up outside my door every morning-was that you?”

Zhang Xiaolong burst out laughing. “Idiot! You only just figured that out?”

“Hahahahaha!”

I glanced at him, then asked, “Last night, that old bachelor from the head of the village came to the staff dorms. I heard someone calling for me to open the door too. Was that also your doing?”

As soon as Li He heard that, he grabbed a stone and hurled it at me with all his strength.

The sharp rock struck my forehead, and warm blood slowly began to spill out.

I didn’t make a sound. I lifted my eyes and looked up.

Li He’s still-childish face twisted into something savage. “Fuck! That’s my cousin-uncle. He just wanted to have some fun with you, and you actually had the nerve to refuse?”

“What are you acting so pure for? You just look down on country people!”

“I only touched your thigh, and you fucking swelled up my whole hand!”

“Just you wait! Once I get down the mountain, I’m bringing my cousin-uncle up here!”

The children exchanged glances, grinning obscenely, their malice plain as day.

To be honest, I rarely use a word like “obscene” to describe children.

Unless I really can’t help it.

Blood blurred my eyes. I raised a hand and wiped it away unhurriedly.

Their whispers drifted down from the cave entrance.

“Let’s go. Let her suffer in here.”

“What if she dies?”

“Then she dies. What’s it got to do with us? Besides, we’re all minors.”

“Hahahahahaha! She deserves it!”

“Li He, are you really going to bring your cousin-uncle here?”

“Of course. If this woman gets knocked up with my cousin-uncle’s kid, I don’t believe she’ll still be able to act so pure…”

They turned to leave.

I pulled the phone that had been recording for a long time out of my pocket and aimed the camera up at them.

“Hey! Turn around!”

The children immediately looked back when they heard me.

I spread my lips into a grin, my face smeared with blood.

“Come on. Say cheese. Everybody smile.”