Chapter 43 People, Leading by the Tail! "Behave yourself."...

"Say something."

Are you crying for me?

"If you don't say anything, I'll take it as a yes."

The boy walked through the old, deserted alleyway.

Bougainvillea climbed the dilapidated walls on both sides, its vibrant vines clinging to the cracks in the bricks like spider webs. Cascades of rose-red and bright pink blossoms hung heavily, huddled together in mid-air, and when the wind blew, petals fluttered down to the ground.

The rich, fragrant floral scent mingled with the earthy smell of the old wall base, overpowering the snake's scent glands, creating a mixture of sweet and foul odors.

Cheng Shiyun sneezed several times and had no choice but to shrink back into Xie Shijin's clothes, huddling against his shoulders, climbing from his left shoulder to his right, insisting that he admit it.

After she fussed around for a while, Xie Shijin said, "You've got it wrong."

"Impossible, my eyesight is 5.0!"

Cheng Shiyun stuck half her head out to look at him, her tone unwavering: "Hiss! Even if you cried, I could see it clearly from the third floor."

The silent stairwell, the pale moonlight, and his trembling shoulders as he cried uncontrollably.

The boy stood there, aloof and solitary, like a slender bamboo shoot, which would break if the wind blew by.

Xie Shijin's mind flashed back to that day, and he was momentarily lost in thought.

"You saw it, why are you asking?"

"Can't I even ask?"

"..."

Xie Shijin swallowed and asked her, "Why didn't you come to find me back then?"

So you just hide and watch him cry?

It looks great?

This time, it was Cheng Shiyun's turn to be speechless.

Because she didn't know whether Xie Shijin liked cats or not.

She's ugly and dirty; what if she carries some disease? Wouldn't that be a burden to him?

"...Because so many people wanted to adopt me, I was overwhelmed with choices and didn't know who to choose." How could she admit that, "Sigh, I almost ran off with someone and went to live in a big villa."

"You like living in big villas?"

"I don't like it. I feel safer in a smaller room."

Xie Shijin couldn't help but chuckle: "Really?"

Just kidding, I'm scared even in a small room.

An empty room is terrifying at night. Wasn't Xie Shijin afraid when she lived alone before?

Xie Shijin was half-smiling, half-crying, while Cheng Shiyun's head was burning: "What are you laughing at? Are you questioning me? Questioning our great snake clan!"

"Where is it big?" Even when it's curled up, it's not as big as two of his palms.

As they walked out of the narrow alley, the streets were bustling with traffic and people. They headed towards the bus stop. Cheng Shiyun was afraid of being recognized, but she also wanted to confirm whether Xie Shijin had really been heartbroken for her that night.

She poked Xie Shijin's arm with the tip of her tail: "I'll ask you one more time, have you ever cried for me?"

She felt... Xie Shijin probably, possibly, most likely liked her a little.

If you're going to say Cheng Shiyun is narcissistic, then you have Xie Shijin to blame for giving her that misconception.

Why be so good to her?

If it was merely out of guilt, Xie Shijin had already done more than enough by lending money to their family.

Ni Jiaqi had previously said that Xie Shijin liked her, which she thought was impossible. Why was it impossible?

Starting from sixth grade, almost every semester a boy confessed his love to her, and she received so many love letters and gifts that she couldn't handle them all.

She's so pretty, her grades are so good, and her personality... well, it's alright.

It's perfectly normal that Xie Shijin used to like her.

Xie Shijin felt hot inside her clothes. Her cold-blooded animal instincts made her unable to resist the boy's body temperature. She just wanted to get close to him regardless of everything, to touch his skin, as if she had some kind of addiction.

A surge of heat coursed through his body, accompanied by the continuous sound of his heartbeat.

Thump, thump.

Xie Shijin's heartbeat gradually quickened.

Chest vibration.

The boy parted his lips slightly, his voice low and soft: "I cried."

"Really?" The little snake's eyes sparkled. "I knew it..."

However, the next second, she heard Xie Shijin say, "The tears I shed could fill the Pacific Ocean."

"..."

Okay, okay, we'll just brush her off like this, huh?

Cheng Shiyun intended to scare him, and she opened her mouth to bite his collarbone, but Xie Shijin didn't even look at her.

His bangs had grown a bit longer, slightly obscuring his eyebrows and eyes, but his eyes remained as bright as ever.

His eyelashes were truly long, two thick clusters that would clump together when he cried.

Cheng Shiyun suddenly laughed and hissed, "I feel like you're quite prone to crying."

This is so different from the Xie Shijin she knew before—calm, composed, and aloof.

I never knew he could be so tender when he shed tears.

Xie Shijin said, "It's an illusion."

Cheng Shiyun nodded: "I understand, I understand~"

She doesn't like it if others call her a crybaby.

We've arrived at the station.

Looking left and right, seeing no one else waiting for the bus, Cheng Shiyun, driven by a sudden impulse, did something she had always wanted to do but had never done before.

Poke Xie Shijin's eyelashes.

With her snake tail.

She lazily rested her head on Xie Shijin's left shoulder, feigning sleep to lure him in. Her tail deftly wrapped around Xie Shijin's back, silently peeking out from his collar, and like a tentacle, quickly flicked at the corner of the boy's eye.

I touched it.

Xie Shijin's thick, dark eyelashes fluttered a few times, her expression somewhat surprised, as if she hadn't expected her to launch a sneak attack.

Her tail became more and more agile, but he didn't even notice.

The cool tip of the tail brushed against his ear, and the boy's breath suddenly became heavier and faster.

"Your eye wrinkles are so obvious! Did you secretly put on makeup behind my back?"

"You're not wearing makeup." Xie Shijin grabbed her tail, pulled the whole snake out of her clothes, curled it in her hand, and observed her for two seconds. "It'll be more obvious if you cry too much."

Cheng Shiyun exclaimed, "Oh, Xie Shijin actually knows!"

She tried to count on her fingers, but she didn't have fingers, so she could only roughly recall that she had seen it several times.

Cheng Shiyun asked subtly, "Why were you crying in the kitchen the night I came to find you? Did I scare you?"

Xie Shijin paused for a moment, then looked into the distance as if he had seen a savior: "The car is here."

The bus approached from a distance.

"Wow, so many people, I'll have to wait for the next one."

Xie Shijin stuffed the snake cake into his pocket, took a long stride, and got into the car.

"?"

She doesn't want it in her pocket!

...

Bus No. 101 was heading towards Lushan International when Xie Shijin said she was going to look for her cell phone.

Since her keychain was found at Guo Renyi's house, it's highly likely that Guo Renyi also took her phone.

After the bus arrived at the station, Xie Shijin got off at Lushan International Bus Station.

"Don't the police have any technical means to recover the contents of my phone?" Cheng Shiyun asked innocently. "Like in the movies, they can find a hacker and trace everything through the internet."

Xie Shijin didn't stop walking and calmly replied, "The police can only check your call records, text messages, and web browsing history."

These things are stored in the cloud and have backups, so they can be retrieved by applying to the telecom operator. But things like photos, videos, and text memos are stored locally. Unless Cheng Shiyun's phone is found, even the world's top hackers wouldn't know what's on her phone.

Cheng Shiyun caught the key point, her voice pausing for a beat: "...You can see browsing history too?"

She searched for pornographic books on her browser.

That very afternoon.

Xie Shijin nodded and added, "Not only that, the chat history can also be found."

It's better to share happiness than to enjoy it alone.

She also shared it with Feng Yue.

"..."

Everyone must die, but we must not die for society!

If she had known the police would investigate these things, she would have climbed out of her urn and deleted her browsing history even if she were dead!

Cheng Shiyun's lips twitched violently as she gritted her teeth and asked, "...Did you watch it?"

Xie Shijin paused slightly and said, "Some."

Some?

Which ones?

Does that include her pornographic books?

Wouldn't all the pure image she's painstakingly cultivated over the years have vanished?!

Seeing the way she looked like she wanted to disappear into a crack in him, Xie Shijin couldn't help but smile slightly: "Is there anything I can't see?"

Cheng Shiyun inhaled: "There are many more."

Xie Shijin added, "Actually, I've read them all."

"hiss?!"

Xie Shijin raised an eyebrow: "What should we do?"

Cheng Shiyun grinned.

Celebrate this event with great fanfare!

She was contemplating whether she could kill him to silence him.

On the bus, Xie Shijin checked Guo Renyi's vehicle location. The red dot indicated the car was at the school, and Guo Renyi was supervising military training. Qian Juan was at the hospital taking care of Guo Xuan; it was almost mealtime, and the nanny would go to the hospital to deliver food to Guo Xuan.

The current situation is actually quite different from what Cheng Shiyun imagined.

She originally thought that Xie Shijin would choose a dark and windy night to sneak into the villa quietly.

Little did they know that the boy would have to register at the security office.

Good students are good students; they can follow the proper procedures even when they do bad things.

However, when the boy went to register, his cell phone suddenly rang.

An unfamiliar number.

Xie Shijin answered the call.

"Hello, is this Xie Shijin?" The other party was friendly. "Hello, I am Teacher Chen from the Academic Affairs Office of No. 7 Middle School."

Xie Shijin frowned: "Hello, what can I do for you?"

The person on the other end said, "Well, you achieved excellent results in this year's college entrance examination. The school would like to conduct a brief interview with you. We sent you a text message before. We were wondering if you have time today?"

"Sorry, I don't have time."

The boy hung up the phone.

The phone screen went dark for only a few seconds before the other party called again: "Can't you even have half an hour?"

"The school has established a scholarship fund to help students who are admitted to key universities but whose families are poor. It will cover your tuition for four years of university. The principal will also personally present you with a certificate. We will just take a couple of photos. It won't take you too long."

Xie Shijin's fingers tightened slightly as he gripped his phone, his thin lips parting slightly: "Guo Renyi?"

"Yes, yes, it's Principal Guo. We're already downstairs at your place. If it's convenient for you..."

After hanging up the phone, Xie Shijin checked Guo Renyi's vehicle location.

Half an hour ago, the location showed that he was at school, but now the red dot has moved to the entrance of his residential community.

Meanwhile, Uncle Lin from apartment 602 across the hall was busy making tea for the guests sitting on the sofa.

He had just gone downstairs to throw out the trash and bumped into them at the entrance of the building.

Two men and one woman, all dressed quite politely. They were asking which floor Xie Shijin lived on, and when he went over to ask, he learned that they were teachers from Yichuan No. 7 Middle School who had come specifically to interview Xie.

The neighbor's child became the top scorer in the college entrance examination. The two families had a good relationship, and the man felt proud of him, so he hurriedly invited the group upstairs.

Uncle Lin poured hot water for them and said, "Please sit down for a while. I don't know what Xiao Xie has been busy with lately; we haven't seen him all day."

On the sofa, Guo Renyi asked casually, "Is he often not home?"

“Yes,” Uncle Lin said. “He’s been leaving early and coming back late these past few days. He went out again early this morning. I sent him a message, and he said he’d be back in a bit.”

The teacher next to him picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said politely, "This tea smells wonderful."

"It's not very good tea," Uncle Lin waved his hand, then added warmly, "Let me cut you some fruit too."

"No need to trouble yourself," Guo Renyi said, gesturing to decline. His gaze swept over the photos and certificates hanging on the living room wall. "Is this your son? Is he in junior high?"

"Ah, yes, he'll be in his final year of junior high soon," Uncle Lin replied with a smile. "He's been too lazy, his grades aren't good, and he won't get into No. 7 Middle School."

No. 7 Middle School is the best high school in Yichuan, a provincial key school, and countless parents are eager to send their children there.

Upon hearing this, Guo Renyi smiled faintly and said, "Seventh Middle School will have an independent enrollment exam next year. I'll put in a good word and let my child participate."

Uncle Lin was taken aback; he had only mentioned it casually.

The teacher next to him immediately introduced, "This is our school principal, surnamed Guo."

"Really?" Uncle Lin was overjoyed and quickly thanked him, "Thank you so much, Principal Guo. This is truly... truly an unexpected and wonderful thing."

After waiting for about half an hour, footsteps came from the stairwell.

"It must be Xiao Xie who's back."

Uncle Lin opened the door and called out, "Xiao Xie."

"Uncle Lin."

The boy's voice carried a hint of restlessness from just returning from outside. His face was clean and handsome, but his expression wasn't good.

"Little Xie."

Inside the house, the man on the living room sofa slowly stood up.

The boy frowned deeply, his eyes lowered at the corners, revealing a hint of fierceness.

Uncle Lin quickly introduced, "Xiao Xie, these three are teachers from No. 7 Middle School, here to interview you."

Guo Renyi walked over, his smile deepening: "We know each other."

"Right, right, I almost forgot. You're students and teachers from the same school, so you must know each other better than I do." Uncle Lin chuckled and urged, "Xiao Xie, hurry up and open the door to let the teachers in."

Xie Shijin opened the door.

"Do I need to change my shoes?"

Xie Shijin had already crossed the living room and entered the bedroom.

The young man locked the door, and his sinister expression softened instantly: "Cheng Shiyun."

"Hiss?" Cheng Shiyun crawled out of his sleeve, onto his palm, and hissed, flicking her tongue. "Hiss? Why is Guo Renyi here? Does he have to come to someone's house to give out certificates? Don't they usually pick them up at the school?"

"I don't know, you better hide." Xie Shijin opened the wardrobe, took out a few pieces of clothing to make a nest, peeled the little snake off his body and put it inside, "Don't come out."

"Why are you hiding?" Cheng Shiyun was very dissatisfied with his behavior of arranging everything for her without consulting her. "Why should I hide?"

"Why do I have to hide whenever something happens? It's so frustrating."

Cheng Shiyun was a little annoyed with him, so she slipped out from under his arm, but before she could go half a meter, he grabbed her by the tail and pulled her back.

Suddenly lifted up, Cheng Shiyun twisted and turned in a panic, wishing she could fly out of his grasp.

Xie Shijin held her in his arms quietly for a while, his voice low as he coaxed her, "...No certificate."

Keeping a Class II protected animal without an artificial breeding license is illegal and will result in the animal being confiscated by the wildlife management station.

Just to be on the safe side, he decided to hide her away.

"..."

Cheng Shiyun was stunned for a moment, her cyan-gold snake eyes narrowed slightly. She had almost forgotten about this: "It was confiscated... I can just run back, right?"

Xie Shijin lowered his head, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly: "You ran back to find me?"

"Then what?" Cheng Shiyun said in a fit of rage, almost wanting to bite him, "I'm going to stick with you."

The boy's tightly furrowed brows flattened into a sheet of paper as he looked at him intently: "The nearest zoo is ten kilometers from home. If you run back, your tail will be worn raw."

Cheng Shiyun was shocked: "Aren't you going to pick me up? You made me run all the way back by myself?!"

"..."

She always manages to find novel angles to pester him, leaving him completely helpless.

Xie Shijin smiled gently and flicked her puffed-up little head with his finger: "I'm picking you up, so be good."

What's with the "well-behaved" attitude?

The little snake's tail curled up tightly, and its heart curled up too.

Cheng Shiyun turned her head away, her voice muffled: "...I don't want to be obedient."

She just wanted to be with him every step of the way.

Seeing her looking so wronged and miserable, Xie Shijin's heart first softened like a marshmallow, then was scorched by fire and melted into sticky caramel.

"Ten minutes."

He took out his phone, turned on the clock, set a countdown, and placed it next to her.

He gazed intently at her: "I promise I'll come to pick you up, okay?"

As she stood up, Cheng Shiyun hooked her tail around his finger: "Hiss! Be fiercer, be tougher, don't let anyone bully you."

The boy's eyes crinkled into a smile: "I understand."

After closing the cabinet door, Cheng Shiyun found herself in complete darkness. Nestled in the nest made of the boy's clothes, she couldn't help but resent herself.

It's so annoying, of all things to become, I have to become a protected animal.

Cheng Shiyun was so angry that she bit her tail.

...Why do I feel so dizzy?

Will a cobra die from its own venom if it bites itself?

...

In the living room.

The two teachers had already set up their cameras and sat down on the sofa to look around the home of the boy who lived alone.

"Hey, did you hear anything?" the male teacher asked.

Squeak squeak squeak—

"Is it a mouse?" The female teacher subconsciously shrank back into the sofa, her eyes scanning the room.

The sound was coming from a bathtub in the corner.

The male teacher got up and went over, pried open the bowl that was pressing down on the box, and exclaimed in surprise, "It's a mouse, a little mouse!"

A plump, juicy litter.

"Why keep this? To feed the cat?"

"Nowadays, pet cats eat cat food, which is better than what people eat. Who would still feed them live mice?"

Guo Renyi paced back and forth in the living room. Xie Shijin kept cats, but there was nothing for keeping cats in the living room.

The boy didn't seem to have a cat in his arms just now; did he take it away?

Yesterday afternoon, Guo Xuan underwent surgery to remove his eyeball. The surgery was successful, but Guo Xuan couldn't bear the thought of having to live with a prosthetic eye from now on. Last night, while his mother was asleep, he ran to the rooftop and threatened to jump.

He almost ended up seeing his son's corpse at the hospital.

Guo Xuan is his biological son, how could he not feel sorry for him?

Hearing a sound behind him, Xie Shijin opened the bedroom door and came out.

"School's about to start, right? When are you planning to go to Beijing?" Guo Renyi turned to look at him, smiling kindly and gently. "How is Teacher Cheng doing in Beijing?"

The male teacher asked, "Did Teacher Cheng Jinghua go to Beijing again?"

Alzheimer's disease is incurable; it can only be slowed down by medication or other treatments. Every winter and summer vacation, Cheng Jinghua would take Ran Hongyin to seek medical treatment all over the country.

The female teacher said with some regret, "It's a pity, such a good girl."

"Yes, the driver who caused the accident still hasn't been caught. How could Teacher Cheng have run into something like this..."

"Have you said enough?" Xie Shijin interrupted the group of people who were putting on an act, his tone cold and hard. "I only have five minutes."

"Alright, alright," the teacher asked, "Then, Principal Guo, shall we take a picture first?"

These two teachers probably didn't know about Guo Xuan's situation yet, which is why they seemed very enthusiastic.

After taking the photos, the teacher quickly said to Xie Shijin, "We have a few more questions we'd like to ask you."

Xie Shijin was tripped up, and Guo Renyi wandered around the living room and saw the memorial tablet on the shrine.

Xie Shijin's maternal grandmother had always been in poor health, requiring hospitalization several times a year. The young boy would apply to skip evening self-study sessions to stay with her at the hospital. The school was always lenient with top students like him; as long as it didn't affect his grades, he could do whatever he wanted.

The room on the left... is Xie Shijin's bedroom. Guo Renyi pressed down the doorknob.

Almost at the same time, the boy on the sofa suddenly stood up and strode over.

The door opened, and Guo Renyi went in.

The room, which includes the balcony, is about 20 square meters and is kept clean and tidy, much tidier than Guo Xuan's room.

Several piles of old books were stacked on the desk against the wall, arranged neatly as if by obsessive-compulsive disorder. Next to them was a sunflower toy playing a saxophone, which was a bit childish.

Hearing the door open, Cheng Shiyun sensed someone entering; their footsteps were heavy, but it wasn't Xie Shijin.

Cheng Shiyun tilted her head and pressed it against the gap in the wardrobe, looking out with one eye.

It was indeed Guo Renyi.

Cheng Shiyun felt like vomiting just looking at that face.

But it seemed that Guo Renyi hadn't just come in to browse; he was looking for something.

Then Cheng Shiyun saw him pick up a strand of Xie Shijin's hair that had fallen onto the pillow.

The boy's figure rushed in, accompanied by a chilling wind.

Guo Renyi turned around, his pupils shrinking sharply. The next second, Xie Shijin had already strode forward and turned his shoulder around: "Guo Renyi."

The man lost his balance and stumbled a step from the brute force, but he managed a smile and said, "I just came in to take a look around, what are you doing here?"

Xie Shijin clenched his fists at his sides and warned from above, "Get out."

Guo Renyi: "You want to fight me?"

The two locked eyes, silently vying for dominance.

"Principal Guo?"

The teacher from the Academic Affairs Office spoke up at the right moment, breaking the tense atmosphere in the room that was about to erupt into conflict.

As soon as Xie Shijin stood up, they followed.

Actually, they didn't need to make this trip today. They could have just notified the students to pick up their scholarship certificates at the school. It was Principal Guo who said he wanted to learn more about the students' lives, which led to today's home visit.

One teacher tried to smooth things over, saying, "Kids these days all have their own little secrets, and you can't just go into their rooms without permission."

"That's right, my son is the same way. He always locks the door from the inside, and you have to knock to get into his room."

Guo Renyi smiled and followed the conversation, adopting a very humble attitude: "Yes, yes, it was my oversight, I was presumptuous."

"The interview is finished." Xie Shijin said sternly, giving them the order to leave. "Please leave."

"It hasn't even been five minutes yet." The teacher glanced at her watch. "There are still two questions..."

Xie Shijin looked at them, a wave of physical discomfort rising in her stomach.

He cooperated with them to pose for photos, to say insincere words of gratitude, and to help them package his embarrassment and awkwardness into a shining entry in their charitable record.

He's really annoying.

I'm fed up with this group's fake concern, and fed up with being treated like an exhibit, repeatedly pulled out and displayed for people to admire and praise.

He suddenly remembered what the girl had said: he could refuse, he could get angry, he could curse, and he didn't have to be nice to everyone.

Xie Shijin said, "Get out."

The teacher in the academic affairs office looked completely taken aback: "What?"

"I don't need money, certificates, or photos."

The boy said, "Take your things and get out."

His pupils were sharp and bright, but his gaze was frighteningly deep, with a surge of malevolence in his eyes that pressed down heavily on him.

The teachers in the academic affairs office had no choice but to pack up the equipment and leave.

After taking a few deep breaths, Xie Shijin walked into the bedroom and opened the wardrobe door.

Six minutes and two seconds.

No timeout.

Cheng Shiyun was fairly satisfied and used her tail to pause the countdown.

The fierce aura surrounding the boy seemed to melt away with warm water, and his eyes softened: "Have you been good?"

"..." Treating her like a child, Cheng Shiyun grinned, "She's incredibly well-behaved!"

The little snake offered the tip of its tail.

People, leading by the tail!

...

Xie Shijin grabbed her little tail and pulled Cheng Shiyun out of her nest, a clear smile appearing on his lips: "Has Guo Renyi found you?"

Cheng Shiyun hissed, "How is that possible?"

"But Guo Renyi took a single hair from you."

...

"Principal Guo, then Teacher Chen and I will head back to school now. Please take care."

Downstairs, two teachers from the Academic Affairs Office bowed and said goodbye to the man sitting in the car.

Guo Renyi nodded in agreement: "Okay."

The car window rolled up, shutting out outside noise. The man lit a cigarette and opened the surveillance video on his phone.

The time in the upper left corner shows that it was 2 a.m. last night.

The boy in the surveillance footage did not disguise himself at all, evaded the patrolling security guards, and went up to the fifth floor of the Boxue Building.

The moment the paperclip was inserted into the office keyhole, the boy suddenly looked up and gazed at the security camera in the corner.

Their eyes met across the distance.

The boy's cold eyes were as deep and calm as the night, as if he had expected that someone was watching him on the screen, and even contained a hint of... aggression.

Guo Renyi stared at the young and outstanding face in the picture, and for a moment he couldn't tell whether the boy was worried about being discovered or was provoking him.

After turning off the surveillance video, Guo Renyi pinched his brow hard with his fingertips.

Just then, the green light turned on, and the silver-white sedan smoothly drove out of the intersection, onto the overpass, and merged into the continuous flow of traffic.

Feng Yue had been waiting in the mall's underground parking garage for a long time. Her bangs were damp with sweat, and she couldn't tell whether the sweat on her forehead was from anxiety or the heat.

After Xie Shijin left, she called Guo Renyi, who asked her to meet him here.

Feng Yue used to work at this shopping mall and knew that the parking garage security cameras were broken, so no one would find them.

After a horn honked, a silver-white sedan came into view.

Feng Yue pulled down her hat brim, jogged over, opened the car door, and sat in the passenger seat.

The car was filled with a strong, pungent smell of smoke; the man had clearly smoked a lot. The pungent nicotine stung her nostrils, causing her to cough uncontrollably and her eyes to well up with tears.

Guo Renyi showed no intention of opening the window. He turned off the car, tapped the steering wheel with his hand, and said, "It's best not to let him investigate any further."

“How is that possible?” Feng Yue’s voice trembled uncontrollably. “As long as the driver who caused the accident is not found, Xie Shijin will keep investigating.”

"Now Xie Shijin knows about our relationship. After reporting it to the police, it won't be long before they find out that I wasn't home at all on the night of the incident. They'll find out that we killed Cheng Shiyun!"

Guo Renyi asked, "What is our relationship?"

Recalling the man's repeated warnings, Feng Yue's face paled: "...We have no relation whatsoever."

"A few notes scared you like this? What kind of person are you?" Guo Renyi sneered. "School starts soon, and there's a lot going on at school. I don't have time to play these childish games with you."

Feng Yue: "Then what should we do? Just let it go? Xie Shijin won't give up."

The man suddenly chuckled softly, his laughter devoid of any warmth. He turned to look at her and said, "Whether he gives up or not depends on what you do."

"I?"

The girl felt a chill run down her spine.

“Let him be too busy to deal with his own problems.” Guo Renyi opened the center console and handed her a transparent plastic bag. “Xie Shijin will naturally be unable to continue the investigation.”

Feng Yue hesitated before taking the bag: "What...what is this?"

"Hair," the man said. "Xie Shijin's hair."

The girl was confused.

Do I need to teach you?

"Ask him to come out and tell him you know how Cheng Shiyun died," Guo Renyi said, his tone sharp as a viper's tongue. "Remember to find a place without surveillance cameras."

The man's voice was frighteningly flat. He raised his hand and tucked the sticky strands of hair from her temples behind her ear.

"Tomorrow, I want to see the news that the top scorer in the provincial college entrance examination has been arrested for rape."

-----------------------

Author's note: Don't be angry, don't be impatient. The villains dare to kill to silence witnesses, they're not just sitting and waiting to die.

Little Cloud's death will likely be resolved in the next few chapters; it's a major plot point, and the emotional storylines will be explored, hence the detailed writing. [glasses]

Oh my god, please, I want to spoil the plot for you guys, but please, shut up! Hold it in! (Quickly, quick, let me write down the solution to this plot point!)

Let me reiterate, the villain in this story is utterly wicked, so if you've already insulted the bad guys, you're not allowed to insult me ​​anymore!