After descending the mountain, Meng Jiuyi took a taxi to the Jiuzhou Higher People's Court. The red building, like the majestic Five Finger Mountain, made her appear as small as sand in the misty rain.

Not many people came to observe the class today. Meng Jiuyi, wearing a mask and a black dress, was lost in the corner.

The police arrived late, escorting Zhu Lijian. As soon as he appeared, her mother's relatives, in a fit of anger, threw a bottle of water at him through the railing.

"brute!"

The judge slammed his fist on the table and brought the situation under control.

Zhu Lijian smiled slowly, as if he hadn't been the one hit, and his thick glasses revealed a refined elegance unlike that of a prisoner.

That smile made Meng Jiuyi feel dazed, as if he were back in the classroom teaching and nurturing students.

He said life is inherently bitter, and mathematics is his life-saving remedy; he said that no matter one's background, one should strive to be an ambitious person.

But his memories were cleaved open, leaving behind unhealable gnats, and another version of him appeared with a hideous face.

The exhaust fan in the dilapidated warehouse whirred mechanically. Zhang Sui woke her up, crying. Meng Jiuyi awoke in a daze, her memory still vivid—

The display boards weren't finished by Saturday. Zhang Sui came to Kyushu to see her and accompanied her back to school to help. When math teacher Zhu Lijian returned to school, he saw them bringing over two drinks.

With a splitting headache, she smelled gasoline, and her mouth was taped shut, preventing her from speaking. Tears streamed down her face as she caught a glimpse of Zhu Lijian's grinning face in the instant the flames lit up.

“Meng Jiuyi, I didn’t actually intend to kill you.”

Zhu Lijian laughed and said, "You're my student, so I'll definitely be suspected if something happens to you. But who told you two to be so unlucky? Go ask them why in the underworld."

Meng Jiuyi wept uncontrollably and let out a mournful roar.

She didn't know why her usually kind and gentle math teacher had become like this. When others learned that she was being bullied, they avoided her for fear of getting into trouble, but he was the only one who offered a helping hand.

What will happen when Mom comes home and finds out what happened? And her godmother is still waiting for Sui Sui to return...

Her strong will to survive made her struggle constantly, her wrists rubbing bloody marks on the rope.

The sound of the gavel almost pierced Meng Jiuyi's eardrums. He snapped back to reality and heard the judge ask.

"Zhu Lijian, you remained silent throughout the first trial. Now I'm asking you, what happened between you and your mother that made you decide to kill her?"

Zhu Lijian had his back to everyone in the audience.

"From the day I became aware of myself, my mother told me to become a successful person, to be more accomplished than those who have both parents. The happiest time for my mother was when I entered Tsinghua University with the highest score in the province."

"But I couldn't keep being her pride. After graduation, I kept getting frustrated. When my mom saw me again, the thing she said most often was, 'If I had known I would embarrass her like this, I would have preferred to die.'"

He fell silent for a moment.

"The person she admired most was Lin Daiyu, who also chose to die after becoming disheartened. I think that's what she wanted too."

He had barely finished speaking when a devastating roar suddenly erupted from the audience—

"Bullshit!"

The judge brought the situation under control, and Zhu Lijian did not look back at all.

The two-hour trial ended with the sound of the gavel.

"Everyone stand up!"

Meng Jiuyi stood up along with the others, his solemn and authoritative voice filling the entire courtroom.

"The committee hereby rules as follows: the appeal is dismissed and the original death sentence is upheld. This ruling is final."

**

Door to the reception room.

Meng Jiuyi sat on the stool, looking through the window at Zhu Lijian, who was shackled.

She picked up the receiver and smiled at him, "Teacher Zhu, it's been a long time. I thought you wouldn't agree to see me this time either."

Zhu Lijian said with relief, "Seeing each other before I die makes our teacher-student relationship in this life worthwhile. How have you been with the Meng family all these years?"

"very good."

Meng Jiuyi's eyes were cold. "Good enough for me to develop the right ability to judge people, so that I will never again treat a murderer as a life mentor."

Zhu Lijian chuckled.

"How should I put it, Meng Jiuyi? I've always felt that we're the same kind of people. My mother is also unwilling to be an ordinary person and wants to use me as a bargaining chip to enter high society."

But she failed; not only did she lack official status, she lived a life worse than that of pigs and dogs.

But she transferred that pressure onto me. I've always told myself since I was little that I have to live better than others. If they get 90 points, I have to get 100. If others get one compliment, I have to get ten. So I got first place in the province and received the national scholarship every year in college. I just told myself I could do it!

But it really didn't work! My whole dorm was full of rich kids, and I couldn't even get a smile from them even if I worked like a slave; others could get something easily with just a word from their parents, but I couldn't get it even by bowing and scraping; I was clearly the top student in the country in the written exam, but the person who got the job was an incompetent person with connections.

I finally managed to get a teaching position at a private high school, but I'm never eligible for a promotion. I also had some very good friends, but in the end, they reported me for some personal gain.

"Meng Jiuyi, you're really luckier than me. What you went through is nothing compared to what I went through. Every time I see you so miserable because of that bullying, I feel sorry for you, but also think you're stupid."

Zhu Lijian was a complete bystander to Meng Jiuyi's bullying in high school, but at that time he acted as a caring and attentive caregiver.

A bone-chilling coolness settled on his fingers, and Meng Jiuyi smiled and said.

"You didn't finish. There must be some jealousy involved. You're jealous of me."

On his deathbed, Zhu Lijian also confessed.

"yes."

I'm jealous that she still has real friends, and I'm jealous that she dared to protect her bullied classmates even when things were going badly for her.

Zhu Lijian has long lost his humanity, or he abandoned it a long time ago.

Meng Jiuyi looked at him expressionlessly.

"Is this your reason for wanting to kill me back then, or rather, after you killed your mother, you wanted to indiscriminately drag a few people down with you?"

How terrifying is Zhu Lijian?

After dismembering his mother and putting her in the freezer, he was still able to go back to school as usual and stage an arson kidnapping.

Zhu Lijian did not answer this question.

“In court, people said I was worse than a dog that kills a sow. Others may not understand, but I believe you certainly do.”

If it weren't for her greed, which led me to the doorstep of high society only to prevent me from entering, and caused me to have so many delusions, how could I be living such a painful life? All my torment comes from her, it's her!

Do you understand this feeling? Do you understand why I wanted to kill her?

His voice grew louder and louder, and the prison guards knocked on the door to stop him.

Looking at his ferocious expression, Meng Jiuyi felt as if the telephone cord in her hand was wrapped around her heart. She felt as if she had returned to that afternoon when she asked Mo Ruyue if she could have lived a good life if she had married an ordinary person.

Don't you hate anyone? You can fool others, but you can't fool yourself.

Yes, she truly hated Mo Ruyue, hating her for becoming a mistress back then.