She seemed to have seen that expression before; Teacher Wang's gaze traveled through time, and she suddenly reunited with her younger self.
"Let the students handle their own affairs. They're not little kids anymore; they know what's right. We're exhausted every day."
She said that back then, and didn't take it seriously.
But the next day, she saw the child's body.
The girl who once looked to her for help was quiet and obedient; she even chose to commit suicide at midnight when everyone was asleep.
"They're almost in their final year of high school and they're still doing this kind of thing. They've made our class infamous. It's so annoying. Why don't they just die somewhere far away? What are they trying to do by jumping off the dorm building?"
"It's none of my business, I didn't do anything. That's too fragile."
"I was terrified! Why couldn't we jump from a far place? I'm having nightmares."
Teacher Wang clutched her chest, feeling a dull ache in her heart. She felt disappointed, but she didn't know if she was disappointed in herself or in her students.
"If it were you guys outside..." Teacher Wang's tone rose slightly, but then she gave up at the last second.
Their expressions were of annoyance and disgust.
"Is the teacher using moral blackmail? What does this have to do with us? We didn't harm them."
Ren Yifei, standing in the crowd, looked at Teacher Wang's dejected expression, but felt no emotion whatsoever.
"Teacher! Teacher!" Blackie ran over from the front yard in the pouring rain, his face ashen like a dead man's. "Teacher, Chi Bo is coughing up blood!"
After taking the medicine, Chi Bo regained consciousness briefly. However, his condition did not improve; instead, it deteriorated rapidly.
He first pounded his head, his throat hoarse as he said it hurt, and then his hands and feet began to twitch uncontrollably.
Hei Pi was already terrified at that point, but unexpectedly, Chi Bo grabbed his neck, opened his mouth wide, made a hoarse "hmph" sound, his eyes were bloodshot, and he suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Blackie was terrified and scrambled to find the teacher. He rushed from the back building to the main courtyard, soaked to the bone and trembling uncontrollably: "Teacher, Chi Bo vomited blood! Is it him?"
With students getting into trouble one after another, Teacher Wang's face turned even more grim than Hei Pi's. She forced herself to remain calm and said, "I'll go check on them. You all go to the front desk and ask the staff to help you find a doctor."
The teacher and Blackie braved the wind and rain to go to the front yard. The students looked at each other, but decided to go and see, just to fulfill their duty as classmates.
A crowd quickly gathered in front of Chi Bo's room, all staring in shock at him as he convulsed and vomited blood on the bed. He was clutching his neck, looking extremely pained, and his skin was covered in small, red, spotted rashes.
"How...how could this happen? Does he have any hereditary diseases?"
Chi Bo opened his mouth and vomited another pool of filth, a dark brown, viscous liquid mixed with something red, whether it was blood or something else, was unclear. At the same time, an indescribable stench filled the air.
The students outside turned pale; they covered their mouths and gagged. Some even backed out of the doorway, unable to bear the sight.
Ren Yifei stood neither too far nor too close, his gaze passing through the gap to meet that of Chi Bo, who was writhing in agony on the bed.
Chi Bo's eyes had lost their luster; they bulged out of their sockets. He was clearly in great pain, making hoarse sounds as his limbs twitched. The bed was covered in vomit, and his body was filthy.
Just an hour ago, this person was texting him. Life is really fragile, isn't it, Chibo?
Because she was worried that her honest and simple parents wouldn't be able to handle it, and worried that it would affect her future, she begged him not to post the video.
Judging from his appearance, it's impossible to imagine that he would commit such heinous acts.
Even without seeing his face in the video of his assault, one can imagine how horrific it was. The morality taught by human society has been utterly shattered, revealing a bestial nature more ferocious than that of animals.
Does violence against the weak bring a special kind of pleasure?
"Xiangxue and Xiaomin are back."
Amidst the thunder and the rain, three figures appeared in the doorway. They were all soaked to the bone, their thin clothes clinging to their bodies, and their once beautifully styled hair was now wet and plastered to their faces. Xiaomin was in the worst state, covered in mud and water.
Without exquisite makeup and outfits, they are nothing more than two pale shadows.
The photographer who brought them back was also soaked, and his coat was draped over Xiangxue's shoulders. Because she was wearing a white dress, the color underneath was revealed after it became completely wet.
Teacher Wang came out of Chi Bo's room again. She asked the others to check on Chi Bo, while she went to check on Xiang Xue and the other girl.
Are you alright?
Xiangxue, shivering in the photographer's coat, rushed to her teacher, crying, and trembling in her arms: "Teacher, I'm so scared. I felt someone chasing me from behind. He was wearing all black, his face was covered, and he was holding an iron rod. My phone was broken too, but luckily someone saved me."
Teacher Wang then looked at the photographer, who checked his DSLR camera and shrugged, "I just happened to run into them. I don't know much else."
Xiaomin looked at Xiangxue, who was crying in the teacher's arms. Suddenly, she walked over, grabbed Xiangxue's hair, pulled her back hard, and slapped her hard across the face.
"This is back to you!" Xiaomin said fiercely.
The students were all stunned.
"Do you think I'm that idiot Han Feifei?" Xiaomin raised her hand and slapped him again, her eyes red and her expression seemingly insane. "When you discovered the danger, you lied and told me to stay where I was to draw the pursuers away for you, and now you're pretending it was an accident. Do I look like a fool?"
"Xiaomin, you?" Several classmates around saw the school beauty being beaten and, driven by their protective instincts, wanted to step in and stop it.
Xiaomin raised her head, looked at them, and sneered: "You're all curious about whether what Chi Bo said is true or false, right? Let me tell you, it's all true."
Upon hearing this shocking news, the hands of several students who were about to lend a helping hand froze in mid-air. Their faces showed astonishment, and their behavior was laughable.
"Ah..." He Xiangxue's hair was pulled painfully, and she struggled to hit back. But Xiaomin was stronger and had more fighting experience.
"I remember it very clearly. That day, Kun from outside the school delivered a love letter to He Xiangxue and asked her to go to a certain place. Of course, she didn't want to go. But Kun was not someone to be trifled with, so she... she set her sights on Han Feifei."
He Xiangxue suddenly raised her head, feeling a sense of shame as if her outer garments had been ripped off. She looked to the boys for help; they had always taken such good care of her, but instead, they looked at her with surprise and even disgust.
"She placed the letters Jiang Shaobo had given her on the table, looking like she had been invited but didn't want to go. Then she sent a message to Brother Kun, changing the location and time."
Saman, who was standing in the corner reading the village log, looked up and realized he was being watched.
"Hahahaha." Xiaomin grabbed He Xiangxue's hair, laughing in a shrill voice, "Han Feifei didn't come back that day. Soon after, Han Feifei became the subject of rumors. She lost her qualification for the competition, and she disappeared. You really are something else, killing two birds with one stone, getting away with nothing."
He Xiangxue pulled her long hair with both hands to cover her face: "She's talking nonsense! I didn't do it."
Despite her repeated denials, her ashamed expression said it all.
He Xiangxue, a goddess in everyone's eyes, actually did such a thing? The students stared in shock, their worldviews shattered: "How could this be? It's terrifying, how could she do something so cruel?"
"I even helped Chi Bo when she called her hypocritical; she's a complete venomous snake."
At this moment, they forgot their previous contempt and accusations against Han Feifei. They regarded those unfounded rumors as gospel and, in their self-righteousness, subjected Han Feifei to 'passive violence'.
"Yes, they always occupy the moral high ground," Ren Yifei thought coldly.
Surprisingly, he was the calmest of all.
"Teacher, Chi Bo is dying."
Dark-skinned's voice interrupted the others' anger. These students, who had never truly witnessed death, thought they had misheard: "Are you kidding me? What do you mean 'can't go on'? Wasn't it just a fever?"
Ignoring He Xiangxue and the others on the ground, Teacher Wang rushed to Chi Bo's room: "How is he?"
Chi Bo was being looked after by Hei Pi and Liu Jinjie, but the two of them were standing at the door and not going in.
Chi Bo on the bed no longer resembled a normal person. His body was covered in red spots, and a reddish-brown substance was oozing from the corner of his mouth. He seemed to be choking and having difficulty breathing.
His vomit was flowing on the blanket, and the smell in the room could kill a pig. The students standing at the door covered their mouths and noses.
Ren Yifei, who was also standing at the door, smelled the metallic scent. Recalling Chi Bo's series of symptoms, he suddenly knew what was in that pack of cigarettes.
mercury.
Compared to the controlled substances in other countries, mercury is relatively easy to obtain, as is cigarettes. Without needing to show identification or go through any clandestine channels, the original owner could buy cigarettes and mercury thermometers.
He combined the two to create a highly toxic mercury smoke.
Mercury is actually a slow-acting poison. If you ingest mercury in a short period of time, drinking milk or soy milk immediately can neutralize the large amount of mercury in your stomach. Even if there is any residue, you can be saved by going to the hospital.
However, mercury vapor is produced by converting mercury into vapor, which then enters the respiratory tract. This is far more serious than ingesting it. Inhaling too much mercury vapor in a short period of time can damage the respiratory tract, lungs, and liver, and sudden death is not impossible.
For the first time, Chi Bo realized how precious air was. He couldn't breathe; his trachea felt blocked. The figures in front of him swayed, all blurry and indistinct.
"Help me..." Chi Bo wanted to ask for help, but he could only make a 'ho ho' sound.
"The doctor is here!" In the distorted world, Chi Bo seemed to hear these words. The thing that was blocked in his throat rushed out, but before he could feel happy, he felt a burning sensation in his throat as if he were being strangled.
"Air... oxygen..." He opened his eyes wide, trying to breathe, but his vision grew increasingly blurry. His lungs melted, melting away along with his soul.
The students scattered like cockroaches, and Ren Yifei seemed 'startled' and slowed down a step. He watched as Chi Bo's eyes widened in unwilling pain, his limbs twitched one last time, and then he fell completely still.
Ren Yifei also left. He took out his phone and deleted the newly registered account with a calmness that transcended life and death.
I won't forgive, but I can let it go.
Author's Note: Afei: Stay calm.