Chapter 117 Sitting on the bus to school, Cui Zhe couldn't wait to take out his phone and call the others...
Sitting on the bus to school, Cui Zhe couldn't wait to take out his phone and send messages to the others. This group was created after they received information from staff at the donation organization; it consisted of children who had been sponsored by the same person.
The youngest is just starting elementary school, and the oldest is already in his second year of high school.
The kids in elementary school only have smartwatches and start school late, so they're probably still asleep; the oldest ones are already at school. As soon as Cui Zhe sent the message, the previously silent group chat suddenly erupted into a frenzy, with several people discussing it animatedly.
The content that appeared above made Cui Zhe increasingly alarmed. The discussion was essentially about:
"You dreamed about it last night too?"
"I thought I was the only one who had this dream, how come several other people have this dream!"
"Could it be that he's really dead and has come to settle scores with us? I didn't bully his daughter, so what does he want with me?"
Upon seeing the last sentence, Cui Zhe was so angry he gritted his teeth and immediately sent a message in the group: "What do you mean? I bullied Zhang Shuyao because of what you guys said! If you hadn't told me or stirred things up, how could I have bullied her?!"
The situation escalated, eventually leading to a verbal altercation. Soon after, the group admin stepped in and said, "Don't scare yourselves. There are no ghosts in this world. These dreams are just reflections of your daytime thoughts; he's not actually dead, so how could he possibly become a ghost and come looking for us?"
The group admin's words were indeed quite convincing; everyone felt relieved to hear that the donor hadn't died. Indeed, how could someone who hadn't died become a ghost and come looking for them? But Cui Zhe didn't think so, mainly because his dream last night was just too real.
The phone screen went dark, its cold, black surface reflecting Cui Zhe's image. The large dark circles under his eyes and his lifeless gaze betrayed the panic in his heart. But compared to others, he had one advantage: he had the opportunity to contact Zhang Shuyao. This was the advantage he had previously had to bully Zhang Shuyao and vent his anger on her behalf; now, it was also the advantage he could have to go to Zhang Shuyao and find out whether the donor was truly dead or not.
Cui Zhe decided to go find Zhang Shuyao today and get to the bottom of things.
During the morning break, Cui Zhe didn't go to find Zhang Shuyao. Instead, he waited until lunch break to go to the next class. Zhang Shuyao's seat was easy to find; it was the messiest desk. It wasn't that Zhang Shuyao herself didn't tidy up, but whenever she went to the restroom, someone would always mess up her desk.
Yesterday's trip to the police station didn't improve her situation; on the contrary, her act of "tattling" made even more classmates dislike her. Cui Zhe looked at Zhang Shuyao, who was sitting listlessly in the chair, swallowed hard, and called out to her, "Zhang Shuyao, can you come out for a bit?"
Zhang Shuyao shifted slightly and slowly turned her head. In her class, other students approached first, looking at Cui Zhe with concern: "Cui Zhe, you're not forced to apologize to her because of what happened yesterday, are you? She was clearly in the wrong first, and she refused to apologize no matter what. Why should you apologize to her just because she tattled on you?"
Cui Zhe remained silent for a moment. At that moment, he thought of his dream from last night, and he couldn't help but shiver, his face turning pale. He explained, "No, I have something to say to Zhang Shuyao."
The students in the class were quite supportive of him, and quickly added, "If you get bullied, remember to tell us, and we definitely won't let her get away with it!"
Sometimes, things are just that ridiculous. Zhang Shuyao was the one being bullied, yet Cui Zhe, the instigator, was the one everyone was worried about being bullied by her. Cui Zhe could only nod haphazardly. Zhang Shuyao stood up, a mocking smile on her face, but silently followed Cui Zhe.
Deep down, she had many questions for Cui Zhe. She really wanted to know when she had done the things Cui Zhe had mentioned, and why he had instigated everyone to bully her for no reason. So many questions weighed on Zhang Shuyao's mind that when Cui Zhe came looking for her, she chose to stand up and face him.
They went one after the other to a place no one would go at this hour—near the bicycle shed behind the school building. Once there, neither of them spoke. Zhang Shuyao wanted to ask, but when she saw Cui Zhe, her eyes were filled with nothing but hatred.
When Cui Zhe saw those eyes, he instantly lost all courage. The nightmare from last night lingered in his mind again. Zhang Shuyao's eyes were so similar to his father's, especially now, when he felt nothing but hatred.
Even a fleeting thought would bring to mind the donor's accusations from the previous night.
On a sunny afternoon, a gentle breeze caressed the young boy and girl. It should have been a beautiful scene, one that anyone would have imagined as a tender first love and confession. But once they were face to face, neither of them felt any romantic feelings.
One was filled with hatred for the bullies, while the other was filled with fear.
After a while, Cui Zhe, who had a guilty conscience, couldn't hold back any longer and spoke up first: "I... I have something I want to ask you."
Zhang Shuyao found his words laughable; she still had questions for him. However, the recent bullying had made her somewhat hesitant, so she simply nodded silently, letting Cui Zhe ask first.
Cui Zhe swallowed hard. He knew his question was a bit odd, but he had to ask anyway. After hesitating for a while, just as Zhang Shuyao was getting impatient, he finally said, "Well, has anything happened to your dad lately?"
Zhang Shuyao never expected that Cui Zhe would ask about anything else but her own father, who had been dead for almost half a year. She hadn't told anyone about her father's death; in Zhang Shuyao's memory, her father was practically invisible. He was always busy at that pork stall, but he never brought back any money. Every time it was time to ask for money, her mother would sigh deeply. It was incredibly difficult for the mother and daughter to get money from that man; he would always say, "Wait a few days, I don't have any money right now."
Working long hours and returning late every day with almost no rest, Zhang Shuyao felt she had hardly ever seen her father. No wonder her mother couldn't help but scold him: "What are you busy with all day long? I never see you or your money. You might as well have died out there."
Zhang Shuyao had no feelings for this father, so when he passed away, she thought: It seems he's really dead this time.
Her mother handled her father's funeral arrangements single-handedly, without even allowing Zhang Shuyao to take two days off. Because the incident didn't significantly affect her, Zhang Shuyao hadn't mentioned it to her classmates. Now, when Cui Zhe suddenly asked about her father, Zhang Shuyao felt something was strange.
But there's nothing wrong with saying it.
When asked if anything had happened recently... Zhang Shuyao shook her head: "No."
After Zhang Shuyao gave her answer, Cui Zhe's expression relaxed considerably. He visibly let out a long sigh, as if a great weight had been lifted from his heart. Zhang Shuyao didn't know what he was thinking, but at that moment, Cui Zhe was thinking—
Zhang Shuyao's father is fine; nothing's happened to him recently, so he definitely didn't die. Therefore, his dream last night was indeed a lie. He was just too kind, which is why he dreamt about what he thought about during the day! Immediately, hatred for Zhang Shuyao's father rose in Cui Zhe's heart. If he wasn't dead, why did he stop sponsoring them? Did he know that because he stopped sponsoring them, they were back to their hard lives?
Consequently, Cui Zhe's expression towards Zhang Shuyao also became somewhat malicious.
Seeing that expression, Zhang Shuyao subconsciously took a step back. She didn't know what Cui Zhe meant by asking those questions, but she instinctively wanted to say something more to avoid being bullied again. So, she spoke up about something she had never mentioned in front of her classmates before.
"Of course nothing's happened to my dad lately, because he's been dead for almost half a year. Why are you asking about him?" Facing the culprit who bullied her, Zhang Shuyao didn't hold back in using the most vicious words to diss him: "Could it be that you're the child of my dad's mistress? You haven't gotten any money from my dad lately, so you're getting anxious?"
All the previous reasoning was wrong; only the last sentence revealed the truth. But at this point, Cui Zhe had no time to pay attention to what Zhang Shuyao said afterward. He just stared wide-eyed, his voice becoming much more urgent. He took a few steps closer, his tone sounding almost accusatory: "You said your dad is dead?! How is that possible?! How could he be dead! You're lying to me, aren't you?!"
Zhang Shuyao sensed something was off about Cui Zhe and tried to leave. She took two steps back as he approached, but Cui Zhe grabbed her arm and shook her violently, yelling, "How could he possibly be dead?!" To be honest, Cui Zhe's appearance was rather frightening; his eyes were bulging out, and he looked somewhat deranged. Coupled with his dark circles and pale complexion from lack of sleep, it gave Zhang Shuyao goosebumps.
She reached out and swatted Cui Zhe's hand away: "Are you sick?! Why would I lie to you about this? He's dead, he's dead, you lunatic!" Zhang Shuyao ran away, leaving Cui Zhe standing there alone, his face pale, his mind filled with Zhang Shuyao's words, "He's dead."
At the same time, the dream from last night came back again, and he trembled so much that he almost lost his footing.
After hesitating for a moment, he posted about it in the group chat:
[I asked Zhang Shuyao, and she said her father is dead, and the donor is dead! Could he really have become a ghost and come back to haunt us?!]
There was a long silence in the group chat. Cui Zhe assumed everyone was at school and didn't have time to check their phones, but after a while, a message suddenly popped up:
【This has nothing to do with me! I didn't bully his daughter. Even if he really comes back as a ghost, he'll come after you! Don't include me!】 Upon seeing this message, Cui Zhe's eyes widened. He engaged in a heated exchange with the person in the group chat, but a moment later, it showed that he had been kicked out of the group chat.
The group admin messaged him privately: "Calm down."
—Calm down?! How can I calm down!
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