Chapter 58
Chang Ting calmed himself down and continued to listen to Yu Aiai's crying in the video.
She choked with sobs, "I was so scared that I fell to the ground and made a noise. Xu Candong heard it, said "Who's there?", and came over here!
"I turned and ran, but I bumped into someone! I was so scared that I almost screamed, but the person covered my mouth with his hand!
"I saw clearly that it was Feng Lao... it was Teacher Feng. As Xu Candong ran over, Teacher Feng suddenly pushed me and pushed me into the bushes nearby, then she ran towards the base.
Yu Aiai said, gesturing with her other hand, "I was lying in the grass when I saw Teacher Feng running into the base gate, followed by Xu Candong.
"I lay there for a while, and just as I was about to stand up, Xu Candong came back! I was so scared that I quickly lay down again.
"When Xu Candong walked past me, I saw a lot of blood on his body. I knew that Teacher Feng must have been murdered!
"He walked to where Qiu Yue was lying, picked her up, and walked towards the mountain. No one knew where he was going..."
Yu Aiai seemed unable to bear to continue speaking, so she lowered her head and covered her mouth.
After a while, he continued, "I wanted to go tell the principal. But before I even got to the principal's residence, I received a WeChat message from Xu Candong.
"He said that I can't tell anyone about his date with Qiu Yue. Otherwise, I'll be in trouble.
"I was terrified and confused. I thought, if Xu Candong could kill Qiu Yue, he could kill me too! So I didn't dare tell the principal and ran back to the dormitory in a daze.
"The next day, everyone discovered Qiu Yue was missing. Everyone was looking for her, and the base was in chaos.
"Xu Candong took the opportunity to find me and said that if the police came, they should say that Qiu Yue left the dormitory on his own in the middle of the night and I never saw him last night.
"I know lying is wrong. But when I think about him killing Qiu Yue and Teacher Feng, and thinking about him being a murderer with two lives on his hands, I'm terrified and I don't dare disobey him..."
Yu Aiai sobbed twice and said to the camera with a sincere tone, "Over the years, I have been tortured by my conscience and have wanted to confess the truth countless times. But Xu Candong threatened me from time to time, and I was so scared..."
"Now that Xu Candong is dead, I can finally muster up the courage to tell the truth.
"I know that harboring someone is a crime and I will definitely be punished by law, and I might even go to jail. I want to sort out my family affairs before turning myself in to the police, but..."
She burst into tears, "But I didn't have the chance to go. That comic, the title is..."
At this point, she seemed to have forgotten the name of the comic. She looked up and her eyes wandered for a while before she said:
"...a comic called 'The Other Shore's Non-Speech' actually cursed me to death and even accused me of pushing someone off a cliff! I was wrong, but they can't frame me for a crime I didn't commit!"
She cried even harder, "I don't understand why the author wants to slander me! I can't stand this humiliation, I don't want to live anymore!"
Finally, she raised her face, wiped her tears, pointed her finger at the camera, and ended the recording.
The video ends here.
*
The wind that started blowing in the middle of the night yesterday has not yet stopped, and the cracks in the window are whistling.
As the weather got colder, Chen He's old injuries began to ache, so she simply didn't get up and hid in the quilt with a hot water bottle, playing with her cell phone.
After reading the news about a woman falling from a building in an apartment, he watched the video of Yu Aiai crying, frowned, watched it for a while, and then switched to the comic platform.
Unsurprisingly, the comments section has already sparked a heated discussion. And it's not just about the comics, but more about the real-life falling incident.
Opinions are polarized.
Party A's view is:
[It turned out she was the one who called Qiu Yue out of the dormitory and gave false testimony. She is an accomplice and deserves it!]
She clearly knew that Xu Candong had killed Qiu Yue and Teacher Feng, yet she remained silent, leaving Qiu Yue's body to be buried in the wilderness and Teacher Feng to suffer injustice for five years. How despicable.
[He deserves death!]
Party B's view is:
[Put yourself in her shoes. She was just a little girl back then. She was terrified when she saw the crime scene and was afraid of retaliation from the murderer so she didn't dare to report it. That's understandable.]
[Agree with the above. She has already died to atone for her sins. What else do you want?]
[She revealed the real murderer before committing suicide. She was very brave and deserves forgiveness. She should not be blamed anymore.]
Then the two opposing parties started arguing.
Party A: [She jumped off the building out of fear of punishment. She deserved the punishment. Does her death mean she is no longer guilty? Who should I forgive? Let's go downstairs and ask Qiu Yue and Teacher Feng if they agree to this, okay?]
Party B: [She is just a timid little girl. Is being timid a sin?]
Party A: [What else? Knowing the truth and not reporting it is a crime of harboring someone. Do you understand the law? She was the one who called Qiu Yue out, so she's an accomplice! Do you think she's guilty?]
Party B: [Put yourself in their shoes. The murderer is extremely vicious. If she speaks out, her life will be in danger. If it were you, would you dare to report him?]
Party A: [I dare you. I am not a coward like you.]
Party B: [Everyone can brag, but it's easy to talk without any worries until it happens to you!]
...they were arguing fiercely.
Then, another wave of comments emerged, this time directed at the author, Chen Hehe.
[I think this comic drove her to death, and I have to doubt the author's motives.]
[The article "Falling" shows that the author knew the truth but did not report it to the police. Instead, he chose to draw a comic and publish it, exposing Yu Aiai to public opinion and hoping to kill her with the help of public opinion.]
[The above author's thinking is too simplistic. It's more than just leveraging public opinion. Has he forgotten how Xu San's prototype died? The author's goal is probably to encourage radicals to commit murder!]
[It makes sense. It either drives people to suicide or encourages murder. The author is terrible!]
[This cartoon is inciting lynching and revenge. If this continues, won't society be in chaos? Report it.]
…
Looking at these remarks, Chen He felt something was not good. He was afraid that the comics would be taken off the shelves soon.
As if in response to her premonition, the next moment, no new comments appeared.
Refresh again - "This work has been removed from the shelves."
It's over.
She sent a message to editor Xiao Yuan: [Are you okay?]
Xiao Yuan did not reply.
Chen He sighed worriedly: Poor child, I wonder if he was invited for tea.
Before she could finish her thought, she was invited to have tea.
Chang Ting called: "I'm on the first floor, please come down."
After saying that, he hung up the phone.
"How rude." Chen He sighed, got up reluctantly, packed some things, put on a pair of woolen slippers, wrapped himself in a woolen shawl, and walked downstairs with lazy steps.
In the side hall, Chang Ting leaned in the booth, concentrating on looking at his phone.
When he heard her coming, he didn't even raise his head, but just nodded to signal her to sit down, and then continued to look at his mobile phone.
Chen He heard the sound of Yu Ai and herself talking on the phone. It seemed that he had already asked the landlord for the surveillance video.
Chen He sat down. "Am I right? There's no point in watching this surveillance video. The information Yu Aiai revealed is specious and can't be used as actual evidence."
Chang Ting put his phone down on the table. "I have the final say on whether it's useful or not. If you get any information, you should report it to the police immediately so that the truth can be revealed faster."
"You rely on reports from the masses to solve cases, right?" Chen He was unwilling to lose.
"You..." Chang Ting blushed, "Chen He, you don't care about the truth, you only want revenge, right?"
Chen He raised his eyebrows. "What revenge? I don't understand what you're talking about. I'm just an author pursuing justice in my works."
"Stop playing dumb. You only pursue outcome justice and disregard procedural justice!"
"Procedures are your police business. What does it have to do with a painter like me?"
Chen He didn't look very well today, and looked a little sick, but it didn't affect his arrogance at all.
"Okay, okay, I won't argue with you." Chang Ting was so angry that his heart was pounding. "Do you know what happened? In the absence of sufficient evidence, you determined that it was Yu Aiai who pushed you off the cliff, and used comics to stir up public opinion, triggering online violence and forcing her into suicide.
"Well done, Chen He. Is this your goal? Now that you've succeeded, do you feel happy?"
There was no emotion in Chen He's eyes, nor did he look happy. He asked, "Is she dead?"
Chang Ting's eyebrows were furrowed with wrinkles: "Do you want her to die?"
"I hope not." Chen He said.
"It seems you still have some compassion."
A disdainful sneer appeared on Chen He's face. "Even if I had compassion, I wouldn't use it on someone like this. I just don't want her to die with a lie."
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