Chapter 28 05

Chapter 28 05

Morning, Yunwai High School.

Yu Wanying sat in the slightly empty interrogation room, her heart pounding. The barely healed wounds were brutally torn open again, and pain instantly coursed through her body. Her meticulously crafted facade of a peaceful life shattered completely, and in an instant, she was thrust back into those nightmarish days.

In novels featuring mind-reading, some bystanders could overhear the protagonist’s thoughts. Through this, they would discover the female lead’s inherent kindness, developing affection or remorse. They would fall in love with her, sympathize with her, misunderstandings would be resolved, and the female lead would invariably find friendship, familial love, and romance.

It was as if mind-reading were a key to unlocking happiness, portrayed as something utterly beautiful.

But all of that was false, pure fiction.

Only someone who had truly experienced being mind-read could grasp that it was nothing like the idyllic portrayals in novels. It only made her feel as though she stood naked before a crowd, every inch of her skin scorched by shame.

No one offered sympathy, no one offered help. She could only drift like a lost soul, step by step descending into hell, trapped in endless torment.

In the past, Yu Wanying was often tormented by a recurring nightmare.

Faceless figures, like specters, encircled her, their laughter chilling her to the bone.

These individuals never physically touched her, yet every word they uttered, every glance they cast, felt like daggers flaying her soul. They sneered at her futile resistance, reveled in her helplessness, and then, with mocking tones, recounted every one of her secrets.

"You actually read those books at night, and you like that minor celebrity."

"What a hopeless fool, genuinely believing those rumors."

"She actually buys such childish things; I’m embarrassed for her. Hahaha."

"All those little schemes in your mind? We know them inside out."

Every time she jolted awake from such a nightmare, she would gasp for breath, and the blurry figures from her dream would gradually solidify in her mind, transforming into the very classmates she saw daily at school.

She dreaded going to school, dreaded being surrounded by those people, dreaded their incessant whispering behind her back.

The sound was like persistent flies, buzzing annoyingly in her ears, impossible to swat away.

Once, a fleeting thought crossed her mind, and within two days, two girls were loudly discussing it behind her back. In that moment, she felt all the blood rush to her head.

How can I save myself?

Yu Wanying asked herself countless times, tried countless approaches, but ultimately, she despairingly realized she could do nothing. She could only remain trapped amidst countless malicious eyes, enduring their humiliation and bullying.

She ran frantically through the campus like a lost lamb, desperately striving for a glimmer of hope. Yet, even then, she found no comfort or assistance, only the mocking laughter of others and the angry scolding of teachers.

She had indeed sought help before. She mustered the courage to approach Teacher Wang, hoping for assistance. But Teacher Wang looked at her with a strange gaze, as if she were mentally unstable, and even suggested she see a doctor. It was as if she were utterly insane.

Not only that, but the teacher immediately informed her parents.

Those who should have been her greatest protectors instead shattered her once more.

Her father, far from defending her, yelled, "Have you lost your mind?"

"Do you have any idea how much effort we put into getting you into Yunwai? How many people we had to ask, how much money we spent? Almost all our family’s money has been spent on you. We’ve scrimped and saved just to put you through school, and what do you do there? You neglect your studies, you stir up trouble. The teacher has already called home. Do you even know what shame is?"

"You’ve disappointed me so much. I truly wish you had never been born."

"If you get expelled from school because of some so-called mental illness, then our whole family might as well just die together…"

At that moment, Yu Wanying hated her family, hated the teachers. Those adults were all hypocrites, claiming to care for her, to cherish her, saying everything they did was for her. But what was the outcome? They always protected everyone else but her.

She had even contemplated ending her own life.

If those classmates were her tormentors, then the teachers and parents were accomplices enabling the abuse.

At this moment, Yu Wanying was lost in these painful memories, clenching her fingers until her knuckles cracked. The negative emotions almost completely consumed her.

She felt like a drowning person, surrounded only by icy seawater that slowly engulfed her.

Just as she was sinking uncontrollably into these emotions, a clear, resonant voice, like a warm beam of light, pierced through the darkness around her, gently pulling her from the bottomless abyss of despair.

"Calm down, you’re safe now. No one will hurt you anymore."

Yu Wanying slowly looked up, somewhat startled, at the other police officer before her. He asked gently, "So… has something similar happened to you? Don’t be nervous; we’re here to help you."

He was a handsome young officer who had been quietly taking notes throughout the questioning.

His tone was utterly different from the other officer’s overbearing and relentless questioning—his voice was clear, his speech slow and calm, and his downcast eyes conveyed a sense of serenity, making him seem much gentler.

"N-no…" Yu Wanying rubbed her fingers vigorously. Though she tried desperately to deny it, her trembling voice betrayed her inner turmoil and unease.

The officer did not refute her words but continued to ask, his voice calm, "Do your classmates often talk about you behind your back? Does that make you uncomfortable, right?"

Yu Wanying choked up, her body trembling uncontrollably. It had been a long time since she had heard such gentle concern. The ostracism and bullying from her peers, the indifference and doubt from adults—they constantly reminded her that she was alone, that no one could help her, and that she could only rely on herself.

At that moment, her heart was torn. On one hand, she desperately wanted to shout "yes," but on the other, reason was like an unyielding chain, tightly binding her, constantly whispering in her ear: "You mustn't say it, absolutely not."

In that moment of internal conflict, reason and emotion clashed in Yu Wanying’s mind. Her thoughts churned so violently that she could barely control her emotions.

The girl could only bite her lip tightly, trying to compose herself, but her heart pounded like a frantic drum.

The officer’s voice continued, "You must have been very scared back then, weren’t you?"

Yu Wanying trembled, on the verge of tears. Her heart felt almost melted by these kind words.

Yes, she was scared—terrified. She was only sixteen; how could she not be afraid?

But why had no one asked her that back then? Why had no one reached out to save her?

Her fragile soul screamed within Yu Wanying’s body: if someone had been willing to help her then, she would have unreservedly recounted everything she had endured. She wouldn’t have suffered so many painful days and nights.

But now, it was too late, far too late…

Another voice, a comforting illusion, whispered in her ear: "It’s okay. Someone has seen, someone knows your helplessness. Be brave one more time. They are the police, they embody justice. You are about to be saved."

Saved—what a beautiful word.

Just as Yu Wanying was almost swayed by this second voice, the officer posed a question: "Were those students involved in this incident?"

This question struck Yu Wanying’s ears like a thunderclap, shattering all her beautiful illusions. The second voice quickly vanished, and she snapped out of her brief trance. Of course, it all came back to this.

A trap—it was a trap now.

These police officers hadn’t offered help when she was at her most desperate, yet here they were now.

They weren’t here to save her; they were here to punish her, to mock her. They had come to protect the culprits who bullied her, not to rescue her.

No one would save her; no one could save her.

She had lingered in despair for too long. If the side of justice had abandoned her, then she would find another way.

The helpless girl ultimately chose to reach out to the devil, forging a pact. She could not abandon her ally in the darkness. Since escape was impossible, she would sink with all the world’s injustices.

In an instant, Yu Wanying seemed like a completely different person.

She took a deep breath through her nose and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

When she lifted her head again, the girl had locked away the pleading innocence within her. The hatred accumulated over countless days and nights gave her a composure far beyond her years, and her gaze toward the police was filled with icy resentment.

.

"That officer mentioned something truly horrifying earlier, and it really frightened me. But such a childish thing couldn’t possibly be true. I don’t believe in the existence of mind-reading at all."

The girl blinked, suppressing her emotions.

The surge of hatred was forcibly restrained, and in an instant, her expression became innocent and naive again. Yu Wanying spoke in a soft, delicate, yet slightly helpless voice, slowly raising her head to meet their eyes directly.

"I haven’t experienced any of these things myself. I just feel sorry for the person you’re hypothesizing about. To be bullied like that with no one to help her—as teachers, as police officers, doesn’t that count as negligence on your part?"

Enjoying the slightly stunned expressions on the police officers’ faces, she continued, "But this has nothing to do with me. Earlier, Ms. Wang and I were just playing a joke."

She even curled her lips into a smug smile, tilting her head slightly, a hint of provocation in her eyes as she retorted, "Do you have anything else to ask, Officer?"