Chapter 73 12

Chapter 73

Teacher Liu’s gaze drifted towards the window, where the standard 400-meter track lay just beyond the teaching building.

"Although it's not yet class time, the morning exercises are about to begin. I need to go to the field to check the students' recitations, so I might not have time to answer your questions," Teacher Liu said, rising from his seat. He picked up a retractable black teaching pointer, tucking it expertly under his arm.

He Lin glanced at the overcast sky outside. "It looks like it's about to rain. Will the run still proceed as scheduled?"

Teacher Liu chuckled. "This little rain? What's the big deal? As the old saying goes, 'No pain, no gain'—or rather, 'How can you see a rainbow without going through a storm?'"

Li Shang asked, somewhat puzzled, "Recitations? Are you checking them before the run?"

"After the run," Teacher Liu replied, his tone brimming with pride, his face even flushed with excitement. "Reciting flawlessly when mentally drained—that’s when you truly remember. This assessment is a special tradition of our school. Other schools have tried to copy it after observing, but none have succeeded, while we’ve been doing it for years. It’s quite a sight—you’ll see for yourselves in a moment."

"Thank you, Teacher Liu," He Lin said politely. "I’ll reach out if I think of anything else. For now, we’ll take a look through these materials."

Teacher Liu readily agreed, saying "good, good," and half-closed the office door behind him.

There were so many materials. The office floor was covered with a thin carpet, so Li Shang simply sat down, lowering his head to focus intently on organizing the disciplinary records and grade sheets.

The student roster in front of him included not only the classes of Tang Yanshuo and Lian Xuan but also several years before and after.

It contained the students' academic rankings, records of disciplinary violations, and evaluations from teachers—plenty of issues could be gleaned from these.

Many of the students here had been admitted to Yuncheng University, and some had later studied in the self-study room. Li Shang carefully picked out all the relevant individuals.

He Lin was overwhelmed by all the reading; after a while, his head began to spin.

Li Shang advised him, "Take a break. I’ll handle the sorting. There won’t be any mistakes or omissions."

Only then did He Lin stand up and look out the window.

The sky, clear in the morning, had now turned as dark as night.

As time passed, the lighting in the room shifted, and the sky outside grew increasingly gloomy. He Lin turned on the office light for Li Shang.

After a clap of thunder, rain finally began to fall—large droplets pattered against the window.

Just then, the bell signaling the end of morning self-study rang.

A few seconds later, a rumble went through the teaching building as thousands of students in dark uniforms poured out from various exits and rushed toward the field.

Viewed from the office building, the scene was spectacular.

In that moment, He Lin recalled a text he had once memorized, "The Petrel."

"Over the gray expanse of the sea, the wind gathers the storm clouds. Between the clouds and the sea, the petrel soars like black lightning, proud and fearless.

…

Massed clouds, like blue flames, burn over the fathomless sea.

…

This brave petrel soars proudly amid the roaring sea and lightning; it is the prophet of victory crying, 'Let the storm come fiercer still!'"

The young students before him, like a flock of fearless petrels, charged into the pouring rain.

Behind He Lin, Li Shang’s hands paused as he sorted through the student records. "So she was once at Hengtong No. 1 High School too…"

.

The rain continued, showing no sign of letting up. Outside, the students began their lap runs in the rain.

Hearing Li Shang’s exclamation, He Lin turned to look at the form he had pulled out.

It noted: Transfer student—Bai Ran, duration one year.

So, Bai Ran had spent a year here.

Could her bipolar disorder be related to her experiences here?

Li Shang continued rummaging through the box and suddenly found a booklet. He opened it—it was a binder of graduation messages from students.

It seemed Teacher Liu had asked many of his former students to write messages.

Li Shang leafed through page by page, hoping to find some clues.

He soon found Tang Yanshuo’s page.

He read it aloud to He Lin: "At No. 1 High, I experienced the longest three years of my life. I feared losing; I hated the feeling of falling behind others. I once felt lost, but thanks to the teachers' strict demands, I eventually found my way. The hardships that tempered me didn’t break me—they made me stronger."

Li Shang carefully removed that page and continued flipping through. After searching for a while longer, he found Bai Ran’s message.

"Although I was only at No. 1 High for a year, I changed tremendously—something my previous school never achieved. Here, my grades kept improving. I’m grateful for the teachers' guidance and my classmates' understanding. I once nearly broke down from the pressure of studying, but now I’ve made it through. The spirit of No. 1 High is etched into my bones and will accompany me throughout my future life."

Not long after, Li Shang found Lian Xuan’s page.

"Thank you to the school for showing me a world beyond the small village I came from. Having seen such vibrancy, I will never return to the past. I will use my efforts and my own two feet to step into a broader world."

As He Lin listened, he seemed to see the youthful faces of those young adults. In the years since their college lives began, could they still remember the teenagers they once were?

Li Shang was nearly done flipping through the booklet when his hands paused again. He looked up in surprise. "Shi Luoxin was also at Hengtong No. 1 High."

This person was also on their suspect list, though they hadn’t investigated him deeply yet.

A flash of insight struck He Lin. He turned to Li Shang and asked, "What did he write?"

Li Shang read: "Finally finished the college entrance exams—I’m uncontrollably excited. I’ve never been so happy. Studying truly can change our destinies. I will study hard in university. 'Diligence is the path to the mountain of knowledge; hardship is the boat to the endless sea of learning.'"

After reading, Li Shang looked up at He Lin.

A flash of insight struck He Lin—all the clues connected in that moment. His gaze sharpened as he said, "It’s possible… he is the real culprit."

Hearing this, Li Shang lowered his head in thought. They had spoken with Shi Luoxin before, and looking back, his demeanor had been deliberate. In several analyses, he had remained a key suspect—there was indeed strong reason for suspicion.

He Lin quickly walked over, grabbed a pen and paper from a nearby table, and sat cross-legged beside Li Shang. He began swiftly sketching out details related to the case.

Li Shang leaned in, studying it intently.

He Lin’s expression was serious as he drew a straight line in one direction, outlining the timeline of the incident.

"To prepare for postgraduate and civil service exams, those students went to the self-study room.

"Tang Yanshuo, aiming to secure a postgraduate spot, arrived early and took a series of actions against his competitors—sabotaging them, drugging them, leading to some students failing.

"Bai Ran, having missed her exam, jumped to her death.

"After the postgraduate exams, Lian Xuan, who had been admitted, went missing…"

Then he drew a reverse line—the timeline of the police investigation.

"We received the case and began investigating Lian Xuan's disappearance."

"We investigated the study room, contacted Shi Luoxin and students from Yuncheng University, learned that Lian Xuan had suicidal tendencies, and learned about Bai Ran's death."

"Subsequently, we detained Xie Liner, who had been mistaken by the students for a female ghost. Following the clues from Lian Xuan's storage locker, we identified Tang Yanshuo as responsible for Bai Ran's death."

"We found Lian Xuan's body... and ruled out Tang Yanshuo as the suspect in Lian Xuan's murder."

He Lin spoke as he sketched, while Li Shang watched intently beside him.

Two timelines—one forward, one reverse—connected all the details of the case.

Then, He Lin circled all the points where Shi Luoxin appeared.

"In the investigation of this case, sometimes I felt like I was being led along, with evidence handed right to me. If we consider the possibility that Shi Luoxin is the real culprit, then everything makes sense..."

He Lin's eyes were bright, as if he had already grasped the entire truth. His voice, slightly magnetic, held a captivating charm as he immersed himself in the reasoning. Li Shang found himself unable to look away from He Lin's face.

He Lin's lips curled slightly as he proposed a startling possibility: "We might have walked into the trap he set from the very beginning."

Seeing the confusion on Li Shang's face, He Lin carefully analyzed it for him.

"When we asked about Lian Xuan in the group chat, Shi Luoxin contacted us almost immediately, as if lying in wait."

"During the investigation, we gathered some information. Shi Luoxin told us that Lian Xuan had suicidal tendencies—this was a psychological suggestion planted in our minds."

"Later, Xie Liner gave us the items from Lian Xuan's locker, including that photo and the scratch paper covered in 'I was wrong.' When we asked who told her to clear out the locker, Xie Liner said she couldn't remember, only that it was a man."

"Afterward, we followed the photo to Tang Yanshuo and discovered the series of things he had done. As investigators, we naturally assumed that Tang Yanshuo might be Lian Xuan's killer."

He Lin spoke quickly but with clear logic. At this point, he looked at Li Shang: "But in reality, the act of having Xie Liner clear the locker was crucial. Maybe Xie Liner didn't forget—maybe she was lying. Because she works as a cleaner in the study room, she often sees Shi Luoxin and knows he has a good relationship with the owner, helping with operations and attracting customers. She might be afraid of him, which is why she didn't dare to name him."

Li Shang lowered his head and continued thinking along this line: "If this deduction is correct and that person was Shi Luoxin, then the clues we found in the locker may have been planted by him?"

He Lin said, "Did you notice that detail? In that photo, they were sitting at a four-person table. Lian Xuan was sitting opposite Bai Ran and Tang Yanshuo. The camera didn't capture the side where he was sitting—maybe Shi Luoxin was sitting there, but he intentionally edited himself out."

"The paper filled with 'I was wrong' is even more suspicious. The paper was yellowed with age, and the handwriting was messy. It's likely that Lian Xuan's attempted suicide wasn't fabricated. But there's a possibility: this paper might have been left by Lian Xuan a year ago, and Shi Luoxin secretly kept it until now, placing it in the storage locker."

Li Shang suddenly thought of something: "If that's the case, could Tang Yanshuo's crimes have also been guided by Shi Luoxin?"

He Lin nodded: "Alumni from the same university might form small groups. Shi Luoxin was likely the organizer. He attended Yuncheng University, was a few years senior to Tang Yanshuo, and had good relationships with the junior students in the study room, allowing him to gather information. Tang Yanshuo was new and wanted to understand the situation here—there was no better source than Shi Luoxin. This way, Shi Luoxin granted his junior a significant favor."

Li Shang realized: "Later, when he found out that Bai Ran had died because of this, he could even more easily control Tang Yanshuo."

He Lin said: "Assuming he is the suspect in this case, he might have started planning a series of moves after killing Lian Xuan."

"He wanted the police to believe Lian Xuan had committed suicide. So, he monitored the group chat and, as soon as the police joined, contacted us under the pretext of providing information. When we met him, he brought up Lian Xuan's past suicide attempts."

"He planted clues in Lian Xuan's storage locker. To make these clues seem natural, he instructed Xie Liner to collect those items and might have even told her to hand them over to the police."

"Then he thought of using Tang Yanshuo as a scapegoat or to divert the police's attention. He coached Tang Yanshuo to pin everything on the missing Lian Xuan if the police came asking. Tang Yanshuo didn't know Lian Xuan was already dead and thought he had simply disappeared, making it impossible to verify—naturally, he thought this was a good strategy."

After analyzing this, He Lin concluded: "Whether it made the police think Tang Yanshuo was the killer and Lian Xuan was already dead, or led them to the mistaken conclusion that Lian Xuan might have been Tang Yanshuo's accomplice and committed suicide out of guilt—both scenarios would help Shi Luoxin avoid blame."

At this point, he drew a circle around Shi Luoxin's name: "The web of deception that led us to these wrong judgments was likely set up by the real culprit. And in doing so, he exposed himself."

Li Shang sorted it out: "And the variable in all of this was us discovering Lian Xuan's body."

He Lin said: "We have to go back further—to Xie Liner."

It was the girl's words that led the police to search Baiyu Mountain and eventually find Lian Xuan's body.

This was also the turning point in the entire case.

He Lin said: "Maybe out of guilt, or simply to help the police, Xie Liner gave us the key information about Baiyu Mountain... We found Lian Xuan's body there, confirming he was murdered, which unraveled this puzzle."

The crime scene was hidden. Without this clue, they might never have found the missing Lian Xuan.

As he spoke, He Lin drew a solid line from Lian Xuan's name and wrote "murdered" as the result, finally marking "suspect" next to Shi Luoxin.

"Those who commit many unjust acts will bring about their own downfall." It was Shi Luoxin's deliberate guidance that ultimately exposed him.

He Lin had finally completed all the reasoning for this case.

Everything had come full circle.

Then He Lin added: "The above is only speculation. We now have bloodstains and footprints left at the scene that we can verify. Calling Shi Luoxin in for questioning will allow us to further confirm whether he is the suspect we're looking for."

Li Shang asked: "But there's one thing I still don't understand. If Shi Luoxin really is the killer, what was his motive?"

Common motives for murder are love, hatred, or money. There was no financial dispute between these two, no irreconcilable enmity—at most, they had a senior-junior relationship.

Both were single, and none of the informants mentioned any emotional conflicts. It didn't seem like a crime of passion.

There was no competitive relationship between them regarding postgraduate entrance exams, so it couldn't be jealousy.

Lian Xuan had just been admitted as a postgraduate student, while Shi Luoxin was about to graduate. Why would he ruin his future by killing an innocent young man?

Moreover, from their earlier investigations, Shi Luoxin had indeed helped Lian Xuan in many ways. Lian Xuan also held his senior in high esteem.

He Lin's gaze was profound: "We'll have to ask him ourselves after we find him."

.

As they spoke, a commotion suddenly sounded outside the window.

He Lin and Li Shang went to the window. During the time they had been reasoning, the students had already finished their running drills in the rain.

The children formed square formations, panting as they stood in the rain. A loudspeaker announced: "Today's recitation—'In Praise of a Humble Home.'"

At the command, the students opened their mouths in unison, reciting the article at the top of their lungs: "A mountain need not be high; if it is famous, immortals will dwell there…"

In an instant, the previously quiet playground erupted into a boiling, deafening roar.

Teachers wielding switches moved through the students' ranks, conducting inspections. They could quickly identify the nervous children and give them a lash.

Only those who recited fluently could avoid punishment.

The students took pride in their loud voices—eyes red with strain, raised heads, wide-open mouths, bulging veins in their necks, all filled with high emotion.

Thirty classes, over two thousand students—the voices of boys and girls merged into one, sounding thunderous.

It was a somewhat frenzied scene.

Li Shang pressed his lips together as he looked down from the window, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

He Lin stood silently beside him.

Was this what those adolescent children had experienced?

The faces of the children in the rain became blurred. Some resembled Lian Xuan, some Bai Ran, some Tang Yanshuo, and some even resembled Shi Luoxin.

Some of the questions he had during the investigation were finally answered.

Why did those students have to study in the study hall? Why were they so determined to take grad school entrance exams? Why were they so obsessed with grades? Why did Bai Ran leap to her death after missing the exam? Why did Tang Yanshuo resort to such extreme measures when he couldn’t compete with others?

It seemed like many questions were answered here.

What could completely destroy a person, from the inside out, both physically and mentally?

That would be education.

And what method can completely reshape a person, allowing them to be reborn and start a new life?

Also education.

Educational standards differ—some aim for scores, while others aim for the acquisition of knowledge.

He Lin didn’t know whether Hengtong No. 1 High School’s approach was right or wrong, nor did he have the authority to judge.

But he knew one thing: if an adult were to live here for three years under the same standards, they might be driven insane. Yet these children lived like this, and neither the teachers, the parents, nor even the students themselves felt anything was wrong.

They were suffocated by academic pressure and management, and these measures could no longer be said to serve exam preparation but rather serve to control them.

Though outwardly there seemed no difference, their souls were deliberately warped in certain ways during their growth.

Three years of life left a permanent mark on their thinking.

This was just one stage of their lives, yet it was enough to influence and alter their entire futures.

Among them were future leaders, gifted students destined for great things. Some would reach the peak of success, becoming outstanding individuals. Some would graduate from prestigious universities, and some might even start businesses and become wealthy, reaching the peak of success. They were hardworking, resilient, unafraid of hardship, possessing strong wills that no difficulty could break.

But among them, there might also be those who would face failure, those who would commit suicide, and even those who would become criminals…

“…Confucius said, ‘What simplicity indeed?’” The recitation finally ended, and everyone fell silent together. A loudspeaker announced, “Dismissed!”

The students left orderly through various exits, except for a few who had recited poorly and were held back by their teachers. They stood bewildered in the rain, awaiting punishment from their teachers.

The playground grew quiet again, with only the gentle patter of rain.

.

The rain stopped, the clouds gradually dispersed, and a soft light filtered into the quiet campus.

In the office, Li Shang gathered all the necessary materials.

Finally, Teacher Liu returned with a cheerful smile and enthusiastically helped them photocopy the documents.

He asked with a smile, “Did you find the information you needed?”

He Lin nodded slightly, “Thank you, we have our answers now. We’re reviewing them.”

“I was delayed for a while, had a meeting with the students. It’s almost noon…” Teacher Liu warmly suggested, “Would you like to have lunch in the cafeteria before leaving? Our school’s meals are quite good.”

He Lin politely declined, “We need to hurry back. There’s a case to handle. We’ll grab something on the road.”

Although it was free time now, the campus was filled with an indescribably eerie silence, making the school feel like a ghost town, with even the air heavy with oppression.

In such an environment, he didn’t want to stay a moment longer.

As the two left the campus, it was nearly 11 a.m.

He Lin had Cheng Xiaoyi verify again: Shi Luoxin’s blood type in the records matched the blood type at the crime scene, increasing his suspicion.

He Lin stood by the roadside and submitted a request via his phone for another interview with Shi Luoxin, applying to collect his forensic evidence.

Li Shang couldn’t help but sigh softly, reflecting, “After seeing the environment here, I think some of those grad school applicants might already be ill without realizing it.”

When he confronted Tang Yanshuo, he had a feeling that the young man was paranoid and frenzied. Aside from his own issues, some of it was due to psychological issues.

“No…” He Lin shook his head gently, putting away his phone and gazing into the distance. “They’re all smart kids who got into college. How could they not realize they’re sick?”

Li Shang frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and understood what He Lin meant.

He Lin continued, “But for ordinary people, especially students, mental illness is something shameful and disastrous. They understand what they’ll face once they get help: high medical costs, being ostracized by classmates, teachers’ cautious and fearful looks, and parents’ doubts.”

He paused, his expression growing solemn. “They might be asked to leave school, be treated differently, struggle to find jobs. They’d be labeled as outsiders and weaklings, unable to even buy social insurance.”

“To them, these consequences are scarier than the illness itself—enough to ruin their lives. In other words, being able to openly acknowledge illness and seek treatment is a luxury. Among these children, only Bai Ran chose to get treatment.”

Ordinary kids couldn’t face their ill selves and could only endure until their issues became entrenched in their thinking.

After listening, Li Shang said softly, “I see…”