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墨書 Inktalez
"Vice Principal Chen Lianqing has always had a conflict with Liu Junliang. The two have been in a constant struggle, trying to outmaneuver each other. In any case, both are thinking of ways to push the other down. As for me and Chen Lianqing, our relationship started when he pressured me with performance metrics. You know how hard it is for me to make it on my own; I had to rely on some men. Later, I thought, why not just go for it once? If I do it a few more times, what's the harm? Anyway, why am I telling you this? You're just someone I'm having fun with, not my partner. Somehow, Liu Junliang found out about my affair with Chen Lianqing. Liu Junliang is a hypocrite; he thinks he’s upright just because he holds a pen. He has threatened Chen Lianqing both openly and secretly many times. Chen Lianqing's brother-in-law works at the Education Bureau, so I must ensure that his wife never finds out about us. Chen Lianqing has complained to me more than once. To protect my job and dignity, I told him about Liu Junliang's harassment of Xiao Ran. He... don’t look at me like that; I had a feeling but never saw it firsthand or had actual evidence. Besides, how many times have I mentioned this to you? You never took it seriously... Anyway, after hearing this, Chen Lianqing was quite pleased. I told him partly because you, as a father, are neglecting your duties; I thought that through Chen Lianqing, perhaps we could stop Xiao Ran from being victimized further. Secondly, I couldn't stand Liu Junliang's outdated attitude. It wouldn't be a bad thing if Chen Lianqing replaced him. But I miscalculated; Chen Lianqing didn't act immediately but instead focused on gathering evidence—preferably video or audio recordings. Unfortunately, Liu Junliang is very cautious in his actions. It took nearly a year for Chen Lianqing to discover that every time Liu Junliang took Xiao Ran out, they went to a particularly rundown inn without a business license where no ID registration was required and there were no cameras in the hotel. That's why it took so long to catch him in the act. Later, Chen Lianqing bribed the innkeeper and bought a set of miniature surveillance equipment to install in the room they agreed upon. When Liu Junliang brought Xiao Ran into the inn, the owner would give him the key to that room... In this way, Chen Lianqing obtained evidence of Liu Junliang raping Xiao Ran and sent it to the Ministry of Education. The results came back quickly; the leaders at the Ministry wanted to protect the school's reputation and did not make this public but called Liu Junliang in for a discussion instead. Subsequently, an official notice was issued for Liu Junliang to resign voluntarily without any damage to his reputation. However, I didn’t expect Liu Junliang to be so vain; after his actions were exposed, he chose to retaliate by revealing my affair with Chen Lianqing. To protect his position, Chen Lianqing threw me under the bus and claimed that I seduced him or something like that. His wife caused a scene at school, hitting and scolding me, making me the laughingstock... Anyway, I was fired and lost everything while also losing face. I've been hiding at home for some time now, afraid to go out. That uproar hit me hard and made me forget about Xiao Ran's situation completely. If you hadn’t called me this morning, I might have taken much longer to remember her; who knows what might happen to her by then."
Li Hua took a sip of coffee and looked at me with an expressionless gaze. "What do you plan to do?"
A fire burned in my chest; what did I want to do? I wanted to kill that bastard Liu Junliang!
"Where's the video?"
Li Hua raised an eyebrow. "Are you planning to take Liu Junliang to court?"
"Just tell me where it is!"
"After Chen Lianqing handed over the original footage to the Ministry of Education, he didn’t keep a backup; as far as I know, it seems it was destroyed—completely wiped out. After all, Liu Junliang was once the principal of a school; if this came out, it would completely ruin the reputation of this century-old institution over one piece of trash like him. The Ministry of Education feared further trouble and confirmed with Chen Lianqing before promptly destroying it." Li Hua paused for a moment. "Even if you want justice, have you thought about Xiao Ran? At such a young age, she’s gone through these things—how will she live her life afterward? What will others think of her? So I believe it's best if we let bygones be bygones; thankfully Xiao Ran is safe..."
"Safe?!" I finally couldn't hold back anymore and slammed my hand on the table, startling nearby customers who turned their heads to look at us; but right now, I couldn’t care less about that. "Go take a look at her! She looks like she’s lost her soul! Is that what you call safe?"
Li Hua shot me an annoyed glance. "What good does arguing with me do? I'm thinking of Xiao Ran too! This society is inherently unfair towards women; in your eyes as men, there's no difference between a raped woman and a promiscuous one! Xiao Ran is still so young; she has a bright future ahead of her—let's just move on from this issue."
"Impossible!" I gritted my teeth as I spoke each word clearly before standing up and striding out of the café.
My daughter—my Xu Zhou's daughter—would never endure such humiliation or swallow her pride!
As I walked toward the car door, I pulled out my phone.
"Wen Yi, help me look up a person, Liu Junliang, the former principal of Linzhou First Primary School. Find out everything you can about his address, phone number, and relationships. Send it to me as soon as possible."
"Okay, Manager Xu."
In the evening, I returned to the apartment. Xiao Ran was hiding in her room, dressed in pajamas. I stood at the door for a long time, but she didn't even glance at me.
I should have noticed earlier that although Xiao Ran is quiet, she is no different from other girls; she also likes fluffy skirts and lace dresses, like a princess from a cartoon. But after all this time, all her dresses have been piled up in the closet gathering dust. Whether she goes out or sleeps, it's all just pants and shirts.
Looking at her puppet-like expression, memories of her childhood flooded back to me—she would stretch out her arms and run towards me, giggling.
At that moment, I understood what it means to be a father: to create a world for her, to shield her from the wind and rain, to protect her from any harm from the outside world before she grows her wings.
But what have I done?
I couldn't help but squat down and cry with my head in my hands, saying to Xiao Ran, "I'm sorry, Dad is sorry for you..."
But Xiao Ran's gaze was vacant; there was no response at all...
That year she was twelve. Due to my negligence, I left her with a lifelong shadow. From that year on, her indifferent and withdrawn personality was set in stone.
Girl, you don't look well. What's wrong? Do you know Xiao Ran? Lin Ye? You said Lin Ye? How do you know her?
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