June 3, 2024, 10:10 a.m. Students below senior year were out on the field for recess activities.
Normally, Tong Yang would use the 25-minute break to quickly work through a math test.
“Shiyu, that guy from Class 3 is back again.”
One of Miss Rich Girl’s lackeys hurried into the classroom, accidentally bumping Tong Yang’s elbow and leaving a long line across her test paper.
Tong Yang frowned but let it go, considering that Miss Rich Girl had given her 250 yuan the other day. She moved on to the next question.
Chu Shiyu scrunched her delicate face. “Is he crazy? Why’s he here again?”
“Shiyu, come outside for a second!”
A boy wearing thick glasses stood by the window in the back of the classroom. His face was covered with freckles, and he called out to her, blushing deeply.
Chu Shiyu turned her face away in annoyance, muttering to her lackeys, “I’ll give you guys 200 yuan. Get rid of him.”
“What? He’s got issues. I don’t want to talk to him.”
“Yeah, same here… His freckles are disgusting…”
Chu Shiyu buried her face in a book, preparing to complain about her unhelpful lackeys. Suddenly, a pale hand reached out in front of her. Startled, she looked up and saw Tong Yang, who was staring at her with interest. “Two hundred, and I’ll handle him for you.”
Chu Shiyu let out a small “Ah” her mind momentarily going blank.
“Shiyu, I brought you some milk tea…”
Hearing the boy’s voice made Chu Shiyu shiver. She quickly fished out a wad of bills from her pocket and handed two to Tong Yang.
Tong Yang took the money, pocketed it, and casually said, “Wait here.”
She walked to the back window and knocked on the frame. “Hey, classmate, the gaokao is coming up, and Chu Shiyu is feeling the pressure. Please don’t bother her for now, okay? You can talk to her after the exams.”
The boy, his face flushing even more, stammered, “I-I didn’t mean anything bad! Her grades are way better than mine. I didn’t mean to distract her, and I definitely wasn’t trying to… you know…”
Tong Yang, her mood lifted by the money in her pocket, smiled. “It’s fine. Chu Shiyu isn’t upset. You should head back.”
The boy nodded shyly. “Could you at least give her the milk tea for me?”
“No problem. See you!”
With a few words, Tong Yang sent the boy on his way. She returned to Chu Shiyu’s desk and set the milk tea down. “Mission accomplished, Miss Rich Girl. If you need anything else, feel free to find me.”
The lackeys around Chu Shiyu exchanged looks, as if they were watching a lunatic. They were increasingly convinced that Tong Yang was out of her mind, so desperate for money that she’d do anything for it.
“Shiyu, should I throw this out for you?”
“That’s gross. Does he even look at himself in the mirror? How does he have the nerve to chase you?”
“I heard his family is dirt poor. Even his uniform is a hand-me-down. He always smells funny.”
“Who knows if he put something weird in the drink? Ugh, disgusting.”
“He once said he wanted to go to the same university as you? What a joke! Everyone knows Class 3 has the worst grades. Dream on, right?”
“Thank goodness gaokao is just around the corner. It’d be miserable if that guy kept bothering you.”
…
The lackeys continued their unfiltered ridicule. Tong Yang returned to her seat and noticed a familiar figure standing outside the window. She glanced at Chu Shiyu and her lackeys, then looked back at the figure outside.
Although Chu Shiyu didn’t join in the insults, she still threw away the milk tea the boy had brought her amidst the commotion.
Tong Yang shrugged. It had nothing to do with her, after all.
During lunch break, Tong Yang took a few chemistry test papers to the rooftop, settling down by the wall to work through them.
She lost track of time until she heard the creaking of the rooftop door.
Without looking up, she casually asked, “Here to enjoy the breeze?”
The person’s footsteps halted for a moment, and a hoarse voice responded, “What are you doing here?”
Tong Yang lazily glanced up. It was the same glasses-wearing boy from earlier, the one who had brought Chu Shiyu the milk tea.
His eyes were red and puffy, and he looked utterly defeated. Honestly, he seemed like he might throw himself off the roof at any second.
“Can’t you see? I’m working on test papers,” Tong Yang said matter-of-factly.
The boy bit his lip, turned away, and was about to leave.
“Don’t go. This is the only rooftop in the school where the door can be pried open. If you want to jump, just pretend I’m not here. At this height, you’ll die instantly. If you pick another spot and end up half-dead, that’d be a real mess.” Tong Yang’s tone was indifferent, as though she were talking about something completely ordinary.
The boy froze, and then tears started streaming down his face. His sobs grew louder, his throat producing a broken, choking sound.
Tong Yang ignored his crying, her pace of answering questions uninterrupted.
Time passed, and eventually, the boy’s sobs turned hoarse. He hiccupped, managing to say, “Thank you…”
Tong Yang looked up lazily. “Thank me for what? You started crying all on your own, then stopped crying on your own. What’s that got to do with me?”
His eyes were still red, but he looked visibly lighter, as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. “Tong Yang, have you ever thought about dying? I always… I always feel like life is so unfair. Why are there so many rich and successful people out there, while I’m stuck being looked down on and mocked? I can’t even afford a decent uniform—everything I wear is secondhand.”
“No,” Tong Yang responded firmly. “Why should I want to die?”
“I want to be more like you…”
“If you want to, then work for it.”
Tong Yang finished the last question on her paper, satisfied with the densely packed answers. “I’m done. Are you leaving, or should I lock the door and let you figure out how to pry it open yourself?”
The boy let out an awkward laugh. “Sorry, I feel a lot better now after crying.”
Tong Yang nodded, then added, “I made a mock gaokao prediction test for math. Want to buy it?”
The boy paused. “How much?”
“How much do you have?” Tong Yang asked.
The boy blushed as he pulled out a few crumpled bills. “I only have seven yuan.”
Tong Yang took five from him. “Five yuan, deal. But I’m not responsible for whether or not it matches the actual exam.”
“Thanks…”
Tong Yang waved him off and stuffed the money into her pocket, mentally calculating how much she had earned over the past few days and whether it was enough to cover Tong Le’s food expenses for the month.
“I’m heading out. Remember to lock the door behind you. You can find me this afternoon to get the test.”
“I got it.”
Stretching, Tong Yang left the rooftop. As the saying goes, “It’s hard to persuade a determined soul.” She had just changed her study spot and earned a little extra cash along the way. The rest wasn’t her concern.
After the lunch break, before the first class, the boy came to pick up the mock exam paper from Tong Yang.
Chu Shiyu tensed up as soon as she saw him but relaxed when she realized he was there for Tong Yang.
Tong Yang had no interest in their drama. She handed over the test and went back to her seat.
During the fourth self-study period in the afternoon, the teacher let the class review on their own, and Tong Yang, as usual, worked on her papers.
After school, as she was heading toward the cafeteria, she suddenly heard screams around her.
“Ahhhh!!!”
“Someone’s jumping off the building!”
“Watch out! Move back!”
“Oh my god!”
Tong Yang paused mid-step and looked up. A figure was sitting on the ledge of the rooftop, their back to the crowd.
The person’s shoulders were trembling. Amid the rising panic and screams, they suddenly tipped backward and plummeted like a stone. With a sickening thud, their body crashed to the ground, landing just two meters from where Tong Yang stood. Blood splattered, staining her clothes, even leaving a few sticky droplets on her face.
Wide-eyed, Tong Yang stared at the twisted body in front of her. Blood pooled around the boy, flowing out like a river. His leg was bent at an impossible angle, the bone poking through the torn skin. His neck was nearly severed, with only a thin layer of flesh connecting it to his shoulders. Broken glass from his glasses pierced one of his eyes, and a mixture of blood and sewage dripped down his face.
Shrill screams echoed around her, but Tong Yang remained silent, her eyes locked on the gruesome scene. There was no doubt—the boy was dead on impact.
After several seconds, Tong Yang removed her school jacket and took a step forward, draping it over the boy’s upper body. Just then, someone grabbed her arm and pulled her a few meters away.
“Tong Yang, are you okay? Don’t look… Don’t be scared…”
But Tong Yang didn’t seem to hear the voices around her. She looked up at the rooftop, her gaze unwavering.
The “suicide” of a student at Third High School on June 3, 2024, may need a correction.
It wasn’t a suicide—it was a murder.
She saw it. The boy had been pushed.
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