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墨書 Inktalez
The school has explicitly prohibited students from bringing mobile phones onto campus. As a fully enclosed school, every time students return, teachers from the administration and several students use detectors to scan them up and down.
Ke Li hid her father's old phone in her shoe, stepping on it as she walked. The screen was too slippery, and it slid around under her foot. After much effort, she managed to sneak into the bathroom and pull the phone out to hide it in her pocket.
The list of students involved in the murder of Luo Muye has never been released by the police or the school. But can you believe it? Those individuals—those bastards who were acquitted without a single hair out of place—proudly flaunted their actions, boasting about murder as if it were an achievement.
They have killed, they remain unscathed, and they are not afraid to kill again; after all, the outcome is always the same. Human lives have become their medals of honor.
Some fear them; they immediately take a detour upon seeing them from thirty meters away. Others admire them, believing they are powerful beings who toy with life at will, above the law!
They stand out in the vast campus, providing Ke Li with the most convenient conditions for filming! They boast about their experiences in the cafeteria, and Ke Li captures them on video. They bully the weak outside of school, and Ke Li records that too. They harass girls and beat up boys; Ke Li films all of it.
These materials, along with a previous video, were packaged and posted online by Ke Li, quickly attracting widespread attention. They deleted videos, but netizens spread the information in the comments section. They blocked keywords, yet netizens found ways to discuss it through "breaking words", pinyin, homophones, abbreviations, and more. The more they tried to silence others, the more they were bitten back.
The situation escalated significantly.
Ke Li was not a powerful warrior; seeing the current outcome truly frightened her. She was so scared that she couldn't even taste the cream on her birthday cake. But when her father asked her, "Are these little bastards from your school?"
"Ah!"
"Little bastards! Damn it! They can kill at such a young age; what will happen when they grow up? They should be locked up for life! Don't let them out to harm others!"
Nanfeng secretly smiled at Ke Li, causing her posture to straighten immediately.
"You two need to be careful at school; don't provoke them. Just focus on your studies and stay away from them," her mother advised worriedly.
"Got it, Mom."
"Don't worry, Auntie."
At that moment, Ke Li and Nanfeng felt an illusion that they had done something great!
The anger online spilled into reality. The most direct manifestation was that previously timid students now stood behind thousands of netizens' spirits. This gave them confidence and direction; under the guidance of netizens, they began to reassess these murderers with disgusted gazes—truly despicable born criminals!
No one dared to physically confront them, but even the weakest among them had the ability to torment their mental state.
They walked through the campus, scrutinized, criticized, hated, rejected, and isolated by the numerous Cold-Faced Judges on the teaching building. They walked the path that Luo Muye had once taken.
To Ke Li's surprise, the school had not contacted her, nor had the police; no one knew of her achievement. Soon after, Nanfeng was attacked. Ke Li could not see Nanfeng and learned from her classmates that Lu Zhang from Class 3 was a prime suspect. What troubled her most was that Lu Zhang was also under 14 years old.
For the first time in her life, Ke Li tasted the flavor of despair. Even more frustrating was that she had just turned fourteen; legally, she was now considered capable of criminal responsibility. She had consulted a lawyer online and learned that if she sought revenge on Lu Zhang for Nanfeng in the same manner, she could very well end up in prison.
During that time, she felt both angry and conflicted. She purchased a retractable knife online. During a break, when Lu Zhang stood in the corridor overlooking the first floor, she gripped the knife and strode toward him. As she approached, she shouted, "Lu Zhang!" He turned around just in time to see her thrusting a gleaming dagger into his abdomen. He stumbled back several steps, nearly falling to the ground, as warm urine streamed down his thighs into his shoes—he had wet himself. She saw him do it and let out a mocking laugh, saying, "Just wait! This isn't over!"
He looked down to find his abdomen unharmed; Ke Li had been playing with the retractable knife while stabbing her own thigh as she entered their classroom. Afterward, Lu Zhang feared that Ke Li would spread word of his accident, while Ke Li worried that Lu Zhang might report her to a teacher. Fortunately, both sides maintained some sense of martial ethics.
Avenging Nanfeng became an obsession for Ke Li. One day, in a tone as if settling affairs after death, she earnestly advised her parents, "Have another child; at least there will be someone to support you in your old age." Her parents responded with a harsh reprimand.
Ke Li carefully weighed her courage and tested her own heart's hardness before despairingly realizing that she might not be able to repay Nanfeng in kind. All she could do was fixate on that little beast! Judge him! Make him suffer every moment under the weight of his conscience!
This thought seems laughably naive in hindsight, but at that time, it was this belief that drove Ke Li to haunt every place where Lu Zhang might appear, watching him with cold eyes until he fled in panic. Once, at the entrance of the boys' restroom where students were bustling in and out, Lu Zhang emerged from behind a partition only to feel a gaze piercing through his temple. Turning around, he found Ke Li waiting half a meter away! He was on the verge of breaking down; he who neither admitted nor denied harming Nanfeng finally clasped his hands together and bowed deeply, saying, "I'm sorry; I was wrong. I really won't dare again; please let me go!"
"You admit it?!" Ke Li exclaimed excitedly as her 2B pencil hidden in her sleeve fell to the ground at Lu Zhang's feet. He stared at the sharply pointed pencil for a moment, caught between laughter and tears.
Of course, Ke Li was scared too; a boy capable of stabbing someone might not hesitate to stab her as well. No matter how afraid she was, she couldn't let the murderer go! This was her unilateral promise to Nanfeng.
"I admit it; I know I'm guilty. What do you want?"
"Murderer! Thank goodness Nanfeng is lucky; otherwise you'd be just as unforgivable as those who harmed Luo Muye!"
Lu Zhang's smile faded.
"Why did you hurt her?"
Lu Zhang remained silent.
"Remember this: as long as I'm here, this matter is not over!"
Ke Li upheld this vow for five years. After graduating from middle school, she enrolled in County No. 1 High School where Lu Zhang also attended. In their second year when classes divided into arts and sciences, she chose science—and so did he—without any surprise she entered the top class with Lu Zhang sitting behind her as her desk mate.
"Damn, what a twist of fate!"
Hearing this, Nanfeng couldn't help but laugh, "It really is quite a coincidence."
"Later, when I was heading to Beijing for my enrollment, he ended up in the same train carriage as me! Luckily, I was going to the Beijing Institute of Technology and he was going to Renmin University. When you told me over the phone that what happened back then had nothing to do with him, I let out a huge sigh of relief. Finally, I wouldn't have to see him again!"
"Do you really dislike him that much?"
Ke Li tilted her head in thought, "At first, I hated him because I felt he almost caused your death. After five years of interaction, I realized he wasn't that kind of malicious person. But since he never explained himself, I was convinced he was responsible. That feeling of disgust just wouldn't go away. By the time you told me the real culprit wasn't him, that disgust had already become ingrained in me like a reflex. Anyway, it doesn't matter now since we won't meet again."
Nanfeng gazed at Ke Li, wanting to express something, but Ke Li didn't seem to care. It wouldn't make much sense to say it anyway. She forced a smile that seemed somewhat sorrowful and murmured, "It's not entirely unimportant."
"You've said so much; aren't you going to tell me the truth? What truth? Go ahead."
Just as Nanfeng was about to speak, Mi Liangbao's call came through. "Hold on a second."
Ke Li answered the phone, and Mi Liangbao immediately asked, "Where are you? I'll come pick you up."
"Huh? I'm back in my hometown; I told you on WeChat."
"I know that. I'm asking for your specific location. Which area? Which street? Which store? Uncle and Auntie said you didn't go back; didn't you tell them?"
"No, Mi Liangbao, did you go to my house? How do you know my address?"
Mi Liangbao chuckled helplessly, "Did you forget? I helped you buy things online for Uncle and Auntie before; the shipping address is still saved."
"Why didn't you tell me before going to my house to see my parents? Seriously!"
"Are you upset? I thought I'd surprise you; I didn't expect..." Mi Liangbao paused slightly before his tone changed abruptly. "Ke Li, do you not want me to meet your parents? What do you mean by that? You don't plan on marrying me, do you? You're not playing with me, right?!"
Ke Li felt overwhelmed and rubbed her temples with her left hand. "Forget it; it's hard to explain over the phone. I'll send you my location; just come over. The roads in the county are pretty messy; if you get lost, call me and I'll tell you the fastest way."
"I know how to get there," Mi Liangbao replied curtly before hanging up decisively as if he were genuinely angry.
In this situation, Nanfeng felt quite awkward since she wasn't familiar with Mi Liangbao. During their time in Beijing, Ke Li had only taken her to their rental apartment once, meaning she had only met Mi Liangbao once.
"You go ahead; I'll find you later."
"Okay."
"Be safe!"
"Sure—"
Ke Li hugged Nanfeng and walked irritably toward the school gate. When she reached the entrance of the convenience store and turned around, Nanfeng was already gone.
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