Chapter 7 (1/2)

Chen Nian startled awake from her dream, her heartbeat throbbing loudly in the silence of the night.

Last night, just as Wei Cai flung herself towards Chen Nian, Chen Nian managed to find her keys amidst the flurry, hurling herself into the house before locking the door shut.

Lightning flashed across the dark night sky. Wei Cai kicked Chen Nian’s door ferociously, the loud echoes reverberating throughout the entire house. Chen Nian leaned her entire body against the door, sc.r.a.ps of paint falling from the walls every single time Wei Cai kicked the door. Some paint fell into Chen Nian’s eyes, causing her eyes to sting with pain.

After some time, Wei Cai left. Chen Nian could vividly recall Wei Cai’s haunting words before she left, “Chen Nian, you have a death wish.”

Even though the rain had stopped, the air was still terribly warm and stuffy. Chen Nian turned over and looked at her mobile phone. It was only 5 in the morning.

Chen Nian wiped the sweat off her neck and switched the electric fan on before returning to her bed and falling into a daze. The sky gradually grew lighter with each pa.s.sing moment. When 6:45AM finally arrived, Chen Nian picked up the phone and called her mother who was currently faraway in Zhu Hai.

“h.e.l.lo? Is this Nian Nian? You’re not in school yet?” The slightly raspy voice of her mum rang out. Chen Nian could hear sounds of communal showering from the other end.

Chen Nian lowered her head and rubbed her eyes, “Mummy.”

“Eh? There’s no more toothpaste! Big sister, could you lend me some toothpaste?” Her mum appeared to be very busy, and only managed to continue the conversation after getting some toothpaste, “Nian Nian, is there something wrong? Why aren’t you heading to school yet?”

“Mummy, could you……come home……to take care……care of me? At least, until…..until after……examinations, end?”

Chen Nian’s mum rinsed her mouth before responding, “I can’t even take a single day of leave now, as it’s currently the peak production period for the factory. If I tried to take two month’s worth of leave, I’d definitely be fired. Nian Nian, be good and persevere for two more months – you can do that, can’t you?”

Chen Nian fell into silence.

Having received no response from Chen Nian, Chen Nian’s mum gradually quietened down and went to a more secluded corner, “Nian Nian, are you missing mummy?”

Chen Nian nodded her head, before responding in a low and quiet voice, “Yes.”

Chen Nian’s mum coaxed her gently, “Our Nian Nian is going to enter University soon, so mummy needs to earn sufficient money required to pay for University. If mummy stops working, who else would be able to provide for Nian Nian? We can’t possibly beg, could we?”

Chen Nian wiped the sweat from her face, and asked in a m.u.f.fled voice, “Are there……electric…….fans at your…..dormitory?”

“It’s not hot over here.” Chen Nian’s mum replied, “Don’t worry about me. Nian Nian, focus on your studies. Mummy would only be able to enjoy life when you start University.”

Chen Nian’s feelings gradually returned to some degree of normalcy and calm.

Even if her mum returned, she could do little else except comfort Chen Nian. Furthermore, her wish was rather extravagant in nature, and was in actuality a luxury that her family was unable to afford.

When Chen Nian opened the door and stepped out, she was greeted with a huge expanse of the azure blue sky. Chen Nian could already feel the heat from the glare of the morning sun.

Chen Nian cautiously made her way to school, and succeeded in arriving at her cla.s.sroom in one piece. Zeng Hao’s seat was still glaringly empty.

The entire cla.s.sroom was engaged in a hearty discussion.

Xiao Mi began to tell Chen Nian what little that she knew, “Chen Nian, something shocking happened in school yesterday.”

“Oh?” Chen Nian put on a clueless expression.

“Yesterday, the cleaner was about to clear the rubbish from the toilet yesterday when she noticed that huge chunks of rubbish were strewn on the toilet floor. As she cleared the rubbish, she started to rebuke the students for their irresponsible actions. All of a sudden, she heard someone crying for help from a toilet cubicle. When she peeked into the toilet cubicle, she discovered numerous red stains, and nearly fainted in shock!! It turned out that there was someone inside the cubicle that was locked for the whole of yesterday – that person is Zeng Hao!” Xiao Mi paused appropriately upon reaching the suspenseful climax.

Chen Nian continued looking at Xiao Mi, a calm expression on her face.

“Of course, she wasn’t dead.” Xiao Mi continued, “However, her clothes and shoes were removed, and she had red paint splashed over her entire body. As she was afraid of the gossip that would ensue if she was seen by her cla.s.smates, she didn’t dare to come out from the cubicle, and only pleaded for help when she heard the cleaner come into the toilet.”

Chen Nian turned back to look at Wei Cai’s chair, only to find it empty.

“Hey, listen to me!” Xiao Mi protested, and turned Chen Nian back to face her. “Zeng Hao sad that Wei Cai, Xu Miao and their group of friends are responsible for her plight.”

Chen Nian: “Ah?”

“She was bullied by Wei Cai and her group of friends, so all of them are currently at the police station. Most importantly, Zeng Hao claimed that the reason why Hu Xiao Die committed suicide was because of Wei Cai and her friends! – Ah, so it really was Wei Cai and her group of friends. I know that I’m not the only person who thought this way, everyone else had the same thoughts as well!

Indeed, the entire cla.s.s was engaged in a heart discussion, every single cla.s.smate detailing when and where he/she saw Wei Cai and Hu Xiao Die entangled in some form of conflict when Hu Xiao Die was still alive.

The dam that had suppressed the flood had broken. The situation was irreversible.

Chen Nian felt as though she was trapped in the vortex centre of the rus.h.i.+ng flood, sinking into the mud with each pa.s.sing minute.

Li Xiang walked over to Chen Nian and Xiao Mi, a bright smile plastered on his face. Waving the exam scripts from the High School Affiliated to Beijing Normal University, he asked, “Chen Nian, Xiao Mi, how are you two going to thank me?”

Chen Nian took one glance at him, not saying a single word.

Li Xiang noticed that Chen Nian’s slightly dark facial expression, and instantly changed his tune, “I was just teasing you guys! Here, you guys can have the exam scripts.”

Xiao Mi retrieved the papers and thanked Li Xiang in a loud voice.

Before Li Xiang could even respond, the bell rang, signaling the start of cla.s.s. The teacher strode into the cla.s.sroom, and the students returned to their respective seats. However, even before the Mathematics teacher had the opportunity to announce the start of cla.s.s, Chen Nian’s form teacher appeared at the entrance of the cla.s.sroom, waving his hands at Chen Nian.

“Chen Nian, could you come out for a minute?”

The bustling cla.s.sroom fell into a deathly, eerie silence.

Chen Nian exited the cla.s.sroom calmly, and quietly followed the form teacher out of the school building.

“You have to make a trip to the Public Safety Bureau with me.”

Chen Nian nodded her head.

Whilst they were on their way to the Public Safety Bureau, her form teacher spoke up, “Zeng Hao insisted that you told her that Wei Cai and Xu Miao……” Her form teacher paused, scrambling for an appropriate word to use, “That they had a conflict with Hu Xiao Die.”

Chen Nian hesitated. After some deliberation, Chen Nian finally decided to say yes, and was about to do so when she raised her head and saw the form teacher’s intense and direct gaze, an indistinct pressure settling over her. Carefully, Chen Nian swallowed the words that had already begun to form at the tip of her tongue.

“Did you truly say that? You do know that our school is the best in the city, don’t you? We’re also one of the top ten schools in the province. Our school has never ever experienced problems relating to conflict amongst students.”

Chen Nian pursed her lips together, “Zeng……Zeng Hao was also……also bullied.”

“What about Hu Xiao Die? She was probably only bullied once, wasn’t she?”

Chen Nian was unable to discern the meaning behind her teacher’s words, and cautiously studied his facial expression.

“If she was frequently bullied, I wouldn’t be totally clueless about it – I’m her form teacher after all! And if she was indeed frequently bullied, the other teachers would have also picked up various hints and put sufficient measures in place.”

“The entire……cla.s.s talked…… about……the incidents.”

“Those incidents which the cla.s.s talked about were merely small, ordinary conflicts that commonly occurs between cla.s.smates. I’m referring to something more serious in the present case – bullying.”

Chen Nian fell into silence. After some time, she lowered her head and answered, “Yes.”

Chen Nian had only confessed to Zeng Hao the truth about Hu Xiao Die’s suicide on the sole condition that she would not drag Chen Nian into Hu Xiao Die’s matter. Since Zeng Hao didn’t keep her word, Zeng Hao couldn’t blame her for subsequently denying or retracting her confession. Chen Nian told herself internally.

The moment Chen Nian entered the lobby, she heard a piercing cry ring out. Hu Xiao Die’s parents were tussling with the parents of Wei Cai and Xu Miao, whilst the government officials were trying their hardest to separate them to no avail.

“Murderer! Criminal!” Hu Xiao Die’s parents were extremely emotional. Hu Xiao Die’s mother even wailed aloud, “They caused my daughter’s death!! They caused it!!”