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Chapter 14 - chapter14

"Make way! Ambulance coming!"

I was pushed aside as I watched the paramedics lift Zhen Shunshun onto the stretcher. Her arm dangled limply, and I noticed how emaciated she was, her veins bulging like spiderwebs beneath her skin.

"Pulse?"

"Weak… Hurry!"

The ambulance sped away, siren wailing.

I stood by the roadside and laughed out loud.

Passersby looked at me like I was crazy. I didn't care.

My phone rang. It was Mom: "Yuanyuan! Where are you? The hospital called about Shunshun…"

"Jinxiu Apartments," I said calmly. "She jumped."

The other end erupted into hysterical sobs and Grandma's piercing curses. I hung up and hailed a taxi.

"Where to?" the driver asked.

"City First Hospital." I paused. "No. The school first."

Senior Year Class 4 was in a self-study period. When I walked in through the back door, everyone looked up.

I'd gotten used to the stares these past few months, but this was different. Their eyes held fear.

Zheng Kai's seat was empty. Mo Wen secretly slid me a note: "Did Zhen Shunshun jump? Everyone's talking in the group chat…"

I nodded and walked straight to the teacher's podium. The classroom instantly fell silent.

"I know what you're all thinking." I swept my gaze over the familiar faces. "Yes, my sister jumped. She's in the hospital now." I smiled. "Maybe she'll live. Maybe she won't." Someone gasped. The girls who used to bully me alongside Shunshun paled and looked down.

"These past five months," I continued, "I've lost 45 pounds. And some of you… stuffed diet pills in my desk, wrote insults on my gym clothes, poured water on me during P.E…"

The class monitor stood up: "Zhen Yuanyuan, this isn't the time! Your sister is–"

"Shut up." I stared him down. "Last semester, you were the one who started calling me 'fat pig'." I pulled out my phone. "Want me to play the recording Zheng Kai gave me? It has proof you took money from Shunshun to mess with me."

The monitor's face went white.

"I just came to tell you," I said, stepping down from the podium, "I'm transferring schools before the college entrance exams. But before I go…"

I stopped at the desk of the girl who once poured red ink on my chair. "…I wish you all bright futures."

I placed a USB drive on the podium. "This contains all the evidence. If I hear any rumors about me in the future…" I gave a meaningful glance towards the classroom security camera.

As I walked out of the school gate, Zheng Kai came running up, panting: "Yuanyuan! I heard–"

I turned and slapped him. *Crack!* The sharp sound echoed as he clutched his face, stunned.

"That slap? Payback for you secretly filming me in the locker room sophomore year."

I smirked at his reddened cheek. "Don't worry. I've already reported all the hidden camera photos on your computer to the cyber police – including those of the other girls."

His expression shifted from shock to terror: "You… How did you…"

"Shunshun told me," I lied cheerfully. "She said you were a disgusting pervert, collecting photos of fat girls to sell to fetish websites."

"She's lying!" Zheng Kai shrieked. "It was *her* who told me to–"

"Got proof?" I raised an eyebrow. "She's fighting for her life right now, and the stuff on your computer…" I waved my phone. "…is enough to land you in juvie."

He collapsed to the ground like a kicked dog. I turned and walked away, my steps light as if walking on clouds.

In the hospital corridor, Mom and Grandma were talking to a doctor.

Seeing me, Grandma charged at me and slapped me: "Murderer!"

I didn't dodge. My cheek burned. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. Good. This pain felt real.

"The patient has severe intracranial bleeding, multiple organ failure…" the doctor said wearily. "We did our best, but…" Mom crumpled to the floor. Grandma's high-pitched wails drew security guards. I stood aside, a cold observer.

"It's all you! You killed her!" Grandma shrieked, pointing at me. "You cursed my granddaughter!"

"Quiet!" the doctor barked. "This is a hospital!"

I crouched down, leaning close to Grandma's ear: "Grandma, you know why Shunshun jumped?"

I whispered, "Because she discovered the system that made me fat… backfired. The more she ate… the thinner *she* became…"

Grandma's clouded eyes widened: "You… how do you know…"

"I know more than you think," I stood up. "Like when I was six… it was *you* who told Shunshun to put the hormone pills in my milk, right?"

Mom jerked her head up: "What?!"

"Nonsense!" Grandma screeched, but her trembling hands betrayed her.

When the doctor pronounced Zhen Shunshun dead, Grandma fainted. Amid the chaos in the emergency room, Mom grabbed my arm:

"Yuanyuan… what you said about the hormone pills…"

"A guess," I shook off her hand. "But now I'm sure."

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