HH Chapter 35

Upon hearing “watch a play,” Fang Yuan immediately showed interest. “Count me in.”

“Why are you butting in?” Cheng Ye shut down Fang Yuan’s enthusiasm. “Stay here and watch the surveillance footage.”

Fang Yuan pouted, lowered his head, and responded with a reluctant “Okay,” then turned and left.

It was Saturday. As soon as Cheng Ye got into the car, he floored the gas pedal. Pei Qinghuai fastened his seatbelt and asked, “Do you know where we’re going?”

“The school, of course,” Cheng Ye replied. “You said it yourself. There’s no point in her making a scene here at the police station. Considering her high-end attire, it’s not hard to guess where she’s heading.”

After saying this, he raised his eyebrows. “How’s that? Smart, right?”

Pei Qinghuai stifled a laugh and gave Cheng Ye a thumbs up. They drove through a traffic light, and Cheng Ye noticed a group of students jostling each other as they crossed the street. Something seemed to occur to him, dimming the light in his eyes a bit. As the car moved forward, the road ahead seemed to stretch endlessly.

He asked, “Why do you think school bullying happens? These kids barely know each other, so where does all the animosity come from?”

Pei Qinghuai chuckled, leaning back in his seat. “You’re still underestimating the complexity of human relationships.”

He continued, “The root cause of school bullying isn’t just the bullies themselves; the victims play a role too. It’s their repeated submission and compromise that embolden the bullies.”

“Similarly, this includes the victim’s family. Their cowardice and misdirected blame on the victim contribute to the tragedy. It’s not just one person’s fault but a long chain of events—a butterfly effect.”

As they approached the school, they saw the woman standing at the gate, surrounded by a crowd. Pei Qinghuai casually remarked, “She’s a textbook example.”

“No one loves their child more than she does, but her pride and vanity overshadow everything.” He added, “The play is secondary. Our main goal is to talk to Guo Rui again.”

Just then, Chen Xiaonuan’s voice startled them from the back seat. “What’s going on, Captain Cheng, Teacher Pei?”

Both Cheng Ye and Pei Qinghuai jumped, turning to see Chen Xiaonuan sitting there.

“How did you get in without us noticing?” Cheng Ye complained, turning his head back.

Chen Xiaonuan pouted. “I’ve got new info. Those three people you’re looking at—I saw them bullying a student in the grove when I arrived at school today. Can you guess which class they’re from?”

“Chen Yuxin’s class,” Pei Qinghuai and Cheng Ye said in unison.

Cheng Ye then asked, “Who were they bullying?”

Chen Xiaonuan squinted. “Let me find out.”

“Oh! It’s her.” She pointed across the street.

“Guo Rui,” Cheng Ye read the name aloud, starting the car and driving over to Guo Rui.

“What are you looking at?” Pei Qinghuai rolled down the window and asked.

Guo Rui was startled. She glanced at Pei Qinghuai and was about to leave when he quickly got out of the car and called out to her, “Are you planning to keep this hidden forever?”

Guo Rui turned to face Pei Qinghuai, who continued, “Aren’t you secretly pleased seeing them in trouble? You were clearly excited. Isn’t this the same expression you had when watching Chen Yuxin being bullied?”

“It’s not the same!” Guo Rui glared at Pei Qinghuai and then, as if realizing something, became suspicious. “How do you know?”

Looking frightened, Guo Rui clutched her backpack. Pei Qinghuai paused, then took out his police ID and handed it to her. “Don’t be scared,” he said.

Guo Rui cautiously took the ID and glanced at it.

Seizing the moment, Pei Qinghuai stepped closer. “Can we talk about Chen Yuxin now?”

Seeing Guo Rui’s hesitant gaze, Pei Qinghuai assured her, “They won’t know.”

Guo Rui tensed up, glancing back at the crowded school gate.

“Let’s go somewhere else,” she said, clutching her clothes tightly and looking at Pei Qinghuai.

Pei Qinghuai nodded, giving a signal to Cheng Ye and Chen Xiaonuan in the car. Guo Rui walked ahead, taking small, hesitant steps, her hands clutching her clothes as if trying to hold something back.

“Chen Yuxin and I met in junior high, and we ended up in the same high school class. A year ago, we were inseparable,” Guo Rui began softly.

“Let’s sit inside,” Guo Rui stopped at a small shop, glanced around nervously, and then quickly went inside.

“A bowl of soup noodles,” she ordered, standing on tiptoe to reach the counter.

“Got it!” the owner responded, and Guo Rui slowly made her way to a corner seat. Pei Qinghuai, Cheng Ye, and Chen Xiaonuan followed, effectively shielding her from view.

“Is that your dinner?” Cheng Ye asked instinctively.

Guo Rui froze, looked at Cheng Ye, and then lowered her head, mumbling a quiet “yes.” Chen Xiaonuan blinked. “Why not eat at home?”

“My mom told me to eat out,” Guo Rui whispered.

“Soup noodles are ready!” The owner called out, placing the bowl in front of Guo Rui before turning to the others. “Are you her family?”

“No,” Cheng Ye smiled.

The owner shook his head, looking at Guo Rui with fatherly concern. “You shouldn’t be dieting at your age. One bowl of soup isn’t enough nutrition!”

As the owner walked away, Guo Rui’s head drooped even lower. Cheng Ye watched her for a moment before ordering another bowl of noodles and some side dishes.

“Tell us, what happened?” Cheng Ye prompted.

Guo Rui clutched the hem of her clothes, her teeth biting her lip as she hesitated. Chen Xiaonuan seemed to understand her feelings, gently placing her hand over Guo Rui’s cold one and softly saying, “It’s okay. We’ll protect you. Don’t worry.”

Guo Rui swallowed, mustering great determination to speak. “Those three… in the second half of our sophomore year, I noticed Chen Yuxin started ignoring me. I tried to talk to her, but she even fought with me. We never fought before.”

“After that, we became like strangers, not talking at all,” Guo Rui took a deep breath. “Those three became more and more unreasonable. They dumped trash on Chen Yuxin’s desk, tore her books, and threw them away when she wasn’t around.”

Her hands trembled. “I wanted to stop them, but someone held me back, telling me not to meddle, or I’d suffer too.”

“Noodles are here! Be careful, it’s hot!” The owner announced, bringing the noodles.

“Let’s eat first,” Cheng Ye suggested, pushing the bowl toward Guo Rui.

Guo Rui widened her eyes at the meal in front of her. She licked her lips and looked up at Cheng Ye. “I don’t have any money.”

“No worries,” Cheng Ye replied. “It’s on me.”

Guo Rui hesitated before softly thanking him. She grabbed the chopsticks and began to eat slowly, tears eventually dripping into her bowl.

Sniffling, she continued, “I secretly talked to Chen Yuxin about it, telling her to call the police. But because of me, her situation got worse.”

“I never imagined,” Guo Rui’s body trembled violently, her crying becoming uncontrollable. “I never thought it would happen to me.”

She looked at Cheng Ye with tear-filled eyes. “That’s when I realized, calling the police was the worst decision. Chen Yuxin was the only one who knew about it, so I knew she told them, and that’s why it happened to me.”

Guo Rui’s eyes were red and swollen. “Why do I have to suffer? I know I didn’t stop it, but I was scared too. My mom never cared about me, and the class teacher turned a blind eye. What could I do? I envied Chen Yuxin. Her mom picked her up every week, asking her about everything, afraid something might go wrong.”

She let out a bitter laugh. “I did hate her a bit. She had so many choices to escape, but she chose me to replace her. She told me more than once that she wanted to die. Do you know how annoying that was? I wasn’t thinking straight that morning, and I told her, ‘Then go die.'”

“When was this?” Pei Qinghuai asked.

“June 14th,” Guo Rui replied.

Seeing Pei Qinghuai’s slight frown, Guo Rui panicked, trying to say something more, but suddenly, the words seemed stuck. She gasped for breath, her vision blurring, and her ears buzzing.

“Guo Rui!”

“Guo Rui!”

She heard someone calling her, but her eyelids were heavy, and she didn’t want to open them. Guo Rui had many dreams, dreaming of Chen Yuxin wanting to take her away. She didn’t want to go. Guo Rui wanted to call for help, feeling trapped in a box, pounding and screaming.

No one heard her, and no one would.