"Any progress on the female corpse in Xiliu River?" It was Forensic Doctor Liu on the phone. "There are abrasions on the lower thighs and fingerprints under the armpits. It matches the traces of the victim on April 12th. The victim was drugged and dragged into the river."

"We've found the crime scene, with signs of dragging, matching the situation you described."

Except for the second case, which didn't have abrasions, both the first and third cases had varying degrees of abrasions.

The crime scene was on Xigong Road near Xiliu River, where the victim's electric scooter was found. Unfortunately, this stretch of road had no surveillance cameras.

Qin Feng returned home and organized the evidence for a meeting. "We can combine the cases for investigation. Xiao Wang, how's the investigation into the source of the ether?"

"All the units and individuals in Jiangcheng who could have access to ether are listed here."

The computer was pushed over, and Qin Feng saw tens of thousands of entries, furrowing his brow.

"Based on the abrasions, the perpetrator isn't very strong, possibly slender or young." Qin Feng thought of the boy he saw at school today, pausing slightly. "In the second case, the perpetrator chose to slit the throat, causing arterial bleeding. In panic, he used clothes to cover the wound. The perpetrator doesn't understand human anatomy well." Qin Feng picked up the photo of the victim. "Otherwise, he wouldn't make such a basic mistake."

"That narrows it down a lot, ruling out doctors directly."

"The perpetrator is likely over sixteen years old, possesses anti-detection capabilities, has access to ether, has transportation, but it's not a car." Qin Feng stood up. "There were no cameras at the crime scene, but there should be some nearby. Check them."

"Why is sixteen the age limit?"

The landline phone rang, Xiao Wang picked up and then handed it to Qin Feng, mouthing, "Director."

Qin Feng answered.

"Come to my office. There's a tricky case in Province Z, and the Provincial Bureau people want to meet with you."

"I understand."

After hanging up, Qin Feng said, "The motive of the perpetrator. The commonality among these cases is that the victims had moral shortcomings, except for the first victim, Chen Yong. The others had bad habits but didn't break the law. The victim on April 12th, Chen Yong, thirty-two years old, was a thug. The day before the crime, he smashed a barbecue restaurant and injured the owner. The victim on October 6th, Dong Sizhe, ten years old, pushed a girl off a bus stop platform a week before the crime, almost killing her. It was filmed and uploaded online, and after Dong Sizhe's death, some people still cursed him. The victim on April 3rd bullied students on a bus, acting all high and mighty."

"Teenage rebellion? Vigilantism?"

"The victim Dong Sizhe didn't have any restraint marks on him, indicating he willingly went to the murder scene with someone. Nowadays, kids know not to go with strangers. Hypothetically, if the perpetrator is a boy, would that lower Dong Sizhe's guard? The age wouldn't be less than sixteen; Chen Yong was one meter seventy, so someone too young wouldn't be able to subdue him."

"Why does it have to be a boy? Couldn't it be a girl?"

"It's possible too. Gather the nearby surveillance footage and re-investigate thoroughly."

Lin Fan returned to the classroom, and as soon as she sat down, Xuzhou hurried over. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Why did the police look for you?"

"It's nothing." Lin Fan looked up at Xuzhou. "Aren't you nearsighted?"

Xuzhou averted his gaze. "It's not that bad."

"What brand were your previous glasses? I owe you."

"No need." Xuzhou's gaze dodged. "If you're okay, I'll go back first."

In the afternoon, Lin Fan spread the news of Gao Wei's beating throughout the class. It was not a trivial matter, and no one expected Lin Fan, a rural girl, to be so bold. In the evening, Lin Fan didn't go to the restaurant for dinner; instead, she bought a loaf of bread and nibbled on it in the classroom.

The classroom door was pushed open, and Lin Fan looked up to meet Dong Miao's eyes. She quickly looked away and continued to work on her exercises.

"I gave you face to let you continue staying in this school. You're shameless, don't blame me."

Lin Fan swallowed her bread, feeling somewhat dry. "Spilling your soup was my fault. If you want compensation, that's fine. I'll cover reasonable medical expenses. But you getting someone to beat me up, Dong Miao, you've gone too far."

Dong Miao was originally going to sit down, but upon hearing this, she kicked the chair over and walked quickly towards Lin Fan. "I got someone to beat you up?!" She sneered. "It was you who laid hands on someone! Campus violence. I don't know how you'll handle it when this gets exposed online. I really want to see."

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Lin Fan clenched her fists, staring at her. Dong Miao lifted her chin. "Some people don't even know when they're being given face."

"What did you say?"

"I said you're shameless. Just arrived and already seducing Xuzhou, a green tea bitch!"

Lin Fan tightened her grip on her fist, standing up abruptly. "Say that again."

"Green tea bitch, what are you pretending for? Your dad committed suicide by jumping off a building, and your stepmother ran off with the money. How did you come to this school? Do you have money to pay the tuition, or did you sleep with that man for the money?"

Lin Fan's head buzzed. She looked at the woman in front of her, spewing the most venomous words at her. And Lin Fan hadn't done anything. She hadn't done anything at all.

Lin Fan quickly strode over and grabbed Dong Miao's collar, forcefully pressing her against the table, her hands trembling. "You're talking nonsense!"

"Are you going to hit me? If you dare touch me, you'll be expelled from this school."

Lin Fan's brain, pale with fear, gradually regained some rationality. She pushed Dong Miao away and turned around, striding out of the room and onto the playground.

The sky grew darker, enveloped in twilight, and Lin Fan watched as the last trace of light was swallowed by darkness.

She took a deep breath, burying her face in her hands, squatting down.

Until the bell for class rang, she stood up.

Academic performance was more important than wounded pride. There were still two months left; she had to endure.

It would end.

Pushing open the classroom door, she saw scraps of paper scattered all over the floor. Lin Fan paused, stepping over the paper as she walked to her seat.

All eyes in the class were focused on her, burning.

Lin Fan walked step by step to her seat, her desk covered in ink, with all her books gone. She hesitated, surveying the entire classroom.

They whispered to each other, the discussion growing louder.

The English teacher walked in and saw Lin Fan. "Why are you standing? Sit down."

Lin Fan walked forward step by step. Behind her, the teacher said, "Whose books are torn up like this? Don't want to study anymore?"

Lin Fan sat back down, but her backpack was nowhere to be found. After searching, she spotted the tattered backpack in the corner trash bin. Lin Fan walked over and picked it up.

"What are you doing, Lin Fan? Why are you running? It's time for class."

The backpack had been slashed by sharp blades. Lin Fan placed it on the table and said, "Teacher, my books—they've been torn."

She heard her own voice, trembling slightly.

The whole class burst into laughter, some people heckling.

"Weren't you the one who tore them yourself?"

The teacher reprimanded, "What kind of behavior is this? Clean up the classroom quickly! Lin Fan? I'm talking to you."

Young faces, proud souls; at this age, they feared nothing. They acted recklessly, always thinking this was their world.

Lin Fan looked at them one by one, feeling surprisingly calm, a calm she had never experienced before.

In her first year of middle school, she had been cornered in the bathroom by all the girls in her class, in that narrow, dirty space. They had taken out her books one by one and thrown them into the cesspit.

She was a motherless child, poor and pathetic. Unable to fight back, she deserved to be bullied.

Bullying her brought them joy.

Nothing had changed; it was all the same as before.

Lin Fan turned her head to look out the window, her disheveled reflection staring back at her from the glass. She smiled faintly, then turned back to meet the teacher's gaze. "I can't accept this."

"What did you say?"

Lin Fan threw her backpack on the table, turned, and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going? Come back!"

Lin Fan burst out of the door; the school didn't open its gates during non-class hours. She scaled the wall and left the school. She stuffed her hands into the pockets of her down jacket, the wind blowing fiercely, messing up her hair.

"Are you still going to help me find the murderer? If we can't catch the murderer, I won't be able to reincarnate. If I can't reincarnate, I'll be stuck here forever, which is very painful."

Lin Fan thought for a moment. "Why should I care?"

Aunt Xiong choked, about to reveal her uglier side, about to explode.

Pointing at her, Lin Fan said, "I'm not in the mood, don't provoke me."

Aunt Xiong was furious, her teeth bared as she floated in front of Lin Fan. "Stop right there!"

Lin Fan walked past her, and Aunt Xiong's tears rolled down. "You're bullying an old woman."

Her swollen face emitted a faint green light under the lamp, and she wailed loudly, very pitiful.

Lin Fan stopped and watched her cry. She cried for twenty minutes before stopping.

After a moment of eye contact, Lin Fan walked towards the bus stop.

Her phone was dead in her pocket, but the bus finally arrived. Lin Fan found a window seat and sat down.

An old song played on the bus, Zheng Zhihua's "Sailor".

Lin Fan collapsed on her seat and cried. She didn't know what to do.

Where would she go tomorrow? Lin Fan didn't know; she had no tomorrow.

Someone handed her a packet of tissues, and Lin Fan covered her face with it, crying uncontrollably.

"Thank you."

She cried all the way, and by the time she got home, she had calmed down a bit, sitting on the sofa with a splitting headache.

"Drink some water." Lin Fan looked up, and Aunt Xiong placed a cup down and sat opposite her. "What's wrong?"

Lin Fan pursed her lips and shook her head.

"Who bullied you? Auntie will go beat them up for you."

Aunt Xiong also had her kind moments.

Lin Fan leaned back on the sofa. "I'm very tired."

"If you're tired, then go sleep. Auntie will watch the door for you."

Lin Fan looked at Aunt Xiong's swollen, glowing face, which didn't seem as terrifying now. "Thank you."

"Do you want to take a bath before going to bed?"

Lin Fan buried her face in the sofa, sobbing softly. She missed her grandmother.

The next morning, Lin Fan woke up to the sound of her alarm clock, feeling disoriented for a few seconds before getting up to check her phone and wash up. There was a message on her phone: a successful recharge of fifty yuan.

She hadn't recharged her phone.

The phone rang, and Lin Fan hesitated for a moment before answering. "Hello?"

"Come out quickly, I'm waiting for you at the door."

"Xu Zhou?"

"Yeah."

Lin Fan dried her face. "Okay, I'll be right out."

Without her backpack, she grabbed her down jacket and stuffed her keys and money into it before rushing out the door.

She ran swiftly, bumping into someone on the ground floor.

"Sorry, sorry—" Her words suddenly stuck in her throat as she slowly turned around. A girl walked numbly upstairs without looking back.

It seemed like it wasn't her that had just been bumped into, still walking numbly forward.

Lin Fan's throat felt dry, and under the light, she had no shadow.

The phone rang again, but Lin Fan didn't pay attention, rushing out the door with her phone.

The cold wind blew on her face, instantly sobering her up.

She rubbed her face hard. Was that just an illusion? Did she see wrong? Was she dizzy?

She saw Xu Zhou leaning against his bicycle in the middle of Zhongming Road. His tall, slender figure was clad in a black windbreaker. Lin Fan ran over, still panting.

Xu Zhou wasn't wearing glasses. Under the light, his bright eyes shone as always. "Hop on."

Lin Fan sat on the bike, her heart racing.

He pedaled the bike quickly. "I have some extra study materials at home for you. I brought them over. I talked to the head teacher about your situation yesterday. She won't punish you. It's okay."

The wind brushed against her cheeks as Lin Fan pulled up the hood of her down jacket to cover half of her face.

"Thank you," she said.

Xu Zhou's voice blended with the wind, seemingly carrying a hint of a smile. "You're welcome."