The End of the Night (15)

Liang Ran, a first-year student in Hope Primary School, is at the top of her class in terms of academic performance. She also has a cheerful and gentle personality, so she was appointed as a study committee member by her class teacher and Chinese teacher Xie Wenjuan.

Not only that, the children all knew that Xie Wenjuan liked to take the students back to her dormitory for extra lessons during lunch break, which was often an honor that many children competed for.

Only a few good students in the class could win Xie Wenjuan's favor, and Xiao Liangran was undoubtedly the most favored one.

She liked Teacher Xie and always took this as a source of happiness. She would go to Teacher Xie's house to do her homework. After she finished her homework, Xie Wenjuan would let her take a nap. Xiao Liangran spent nearly two hours of lunch break at Xie Wenjuan's house.

Xie Wenjuan's house is a school unit with two bedrooms and one living room. It is a separate house with green trees in front and back. When taking a nap here, Xiao Liangran naturally got to know another person, that is Xie Wenjuan's husband Xu Wangtu, a man in his twenties who looks quite honest and very clean. He is said to be an accountant. He occasionally comes back for lunch at noon and sometimes greets her when he meets her.

Until one day, she was half asleep during her lunch break and heard two people arguing. One of the arguments was Xie Wenjuan crying, and the other was Xu Wangtu's voice. She wanted to get up, but she felt weak and had a tingling pain in her lower body.

There were sounds of two people arguing in the living room.

"What did you say at the beginning? You said that if you liked children, you should touch them. But what did you do today?" This was Xie Wenjuan's crying and cursing.

"What did I do? What did I do?" Xu Wangtu yelled at Xie Wenjuan, "I'm telling you now, I still want Liang Lexin from now on. I like Liang Lexin. If you don't bring her back, I will tell everyone about your bad deeds!"

Xie Wenjuan cried, "You are breaking the law, do you know that?"

"If you don't tell me, who will know? If you do what I say, no one will know."

Xu Wangtu's words were almost like an order. His voice was as loud as thunder: "I warn you again, don't make me angry!"

Xiao Liangran heard every word of the conversation outside the house. She had never imagined that in the past six months, she had been subjected to sexual harassment by this man. She was only six years old, but she also understood what sexual harassment was.

While they were arguing, she tried to get up again, but found herself lying naked on the bed. What shocked her even more was that her body was painted with various patterns with red markers, from her chest to her hips to her toes. The patterns were extremely neat and symmetrical all over her body. At that moment, it was as if this body did not belong to her, but a toy for people to play with.

She suddenly heard Xu Wangtu's cursing getting closer, and his footsteps walking into the bedroom.

She was so frightened that she lay down and closed her eyes tightly. She didn't know what to do. Endless fear enveloped her, as if nailing her to the book of death.

There was a rustling sound in the room, and soon the man sat down beside her. Xiao Liangran's whole body tensed up and her breathing seemed to have stopped.

Her hand was suddenly lifted by a rough hand, followed by his soft voice: "Don't be afraid, Le Xin, you are the cleanest in the world. You are much better than those women. You are the cleanest."

The man touched her slender little fingers.

"Crack!" Xiao Liangran shuddered as if she felt her finger being cut off.

There was no pain. Xiao Liangran then realized that the man was trimming her nails. After a while, her left index finger was picked up.

“Crack!”

Xiao Liangran screamed "ah", but she still closed her eyes. The man seemed to look at her, put the finger into his mouth and sucked it, "Don't be afraid, little darling, I accidentally cut it and it bled, uncle will suck it for you!"

While being sucked, Xiao Liangran's tears slid out from the corners of her eyes, and she felt the tearing pain in her left index finger.

After cutting her nails, the man put away the nail clippers and returned to the bed. The warm towel began to move on her skin. Xiao Liangran felt that he was wiping the patterns on her body.

But occasionally she could still feel the licking of his tongue.

Pain, fear and terror made Xiao Liang tense up and hold her breath. She just wanted it all to end quickly and she wanted to escape from it all.

Finally, the man wiped away the tears from her eyes. He stood up and shouted to the people outside: "Put her clothes on and wake her up. Also, use a stronger dose of medicine next time. I think she's having a big reaction."

The man left and Xie Wenjuan returned to the house. She seemed to be sobbing, but she carefully put clothes on Xiao Liangran.

After a while, she took a cup of warm water and poured it into her mouth. At her call, Xiao Liangran opened his eyes.

In front of her was Xie Wenjuan's slightly smiling face. She smiled and said, "Le Xin, you're awake."

"Just now, the teacher cut your nails while you were sleeping, and accidentally hurt you." She said softly.

Xiao Liangran burst into tears, not only because of Xu Wangtu's evil deeds, but also because of Xie Wenjuan's expression. She then truly realized how sinister they were.

"What's wrong, Le Xin, what's wrong?"

"I had a nightmare." Xiao Liangran said crying.

"Don't worry, the teacher is here, don't be afraid, okay."

In the afternoon, Xiao Liang Ran felt pain in her lower body during class. When she returned home in the evening, Liang Chenghao wanted to give her a bath but she refused. During the bath, she wiped herself desperately, but it seemed that she could not get herself clean no matter how hard she wiped. The next morning, the health center came to the school to give the children a health check-up.

Xiao Liangran wanted to escape, but was pulled back by the principal and forced to undergo a physical examination.

It was also during these few days that Liang Chenghao discovered that something was wrong with his daughter. He found that his daughter often stayed in the room alone after coming home and did not talk to him, as if she was worried about something.

Moreover, he always had the habit of bathing her. For a six-year-old girl, who was also his daughter, he naturally thought that she was just a child. But it was obvious that Lele was rejecting him.

He felt that something must have happened to Lele, so after Lele went to bed at night, he sat at the head of the bed and asked, "Lele, can you tell daddy if anyone has bullied you in school these days?"

When Xiao Liangran heard this, her eyes turned red and she immediately covered her head with the quilt. Liang Chenghao knew that there might be kids bullying her at school. He felt bad, but he couldn't rush her to say it out loud. After all, children always have a buffer period. He regretted not finding a new mother for her earlier. Although he was a professor and loved to study psychology, he didn't know how to appease the little girl.

At this moment, he thought of Qiao Jingyun and her son Xiao Luhe. His daughter liked Xiao Luhe so much, so he thought he should finalize the marriage as soon as possible and bring Xiao Luhe home to accompany his daughter. Perhaps his daughter would get over her grievances because of Xiao Luhe's arrival.

During the day, Liang Chenghao called the teacher's office of Xiwang Primary School from his workplace, and it happened to be Xie Wenjuan who answered the call.

In response to his question, Xie Wenjuan said softly, "Professor Liang, Le Xin will be performing soon. She is under a lot of pressure. Don't worry, I will help her."

"Then I'll leave it to you, thank you, teacher." Liang Chenghao also felt that this reason was reasonable, because recently, his daughter always said that the children's songs in the performance were not sung well.

On Friday, Xiao Liang Ran went to school. Liang Chenghao prepared a sumptuous lunch at home. He decided to settle the matter with Qiao Jingyun today no matter what and take Xiao Lu He home.

Qiao Jingyun also arrived on time. She came alone without Xiao Luhe. Liang Chenghao realized that she was probably here to talk to him about the two of them.

After dinner, Liang Chenghao spoke directly: "Jingyun, it has not been easy for me to live with my daughter for so many years. It is not easy for you to live with your son too. If we can take a step forward."

He didn't say it in a subtle way, but his meaning was conveyed.

At that moment Qiao Jingyun hesitated, and Liang Chenghao was worried that she would refuse, so he asked her again.

The reason why Qiao Jingyun is hesitant is that she knows that it is not easy for both of them, but her purpose may be different from Liang Chenghao's. She cares more about her son. She has been trying every means to cure Xiao Luhe's illness. She is having a hard time. She really wants to find someone to rely on, to take a break, and to give Xiao Luhe a better life. But she knows that once they get married, Xiao Luhe will be a burden to the new family, and she doesn't know what to do.

Professor Liang undoubtedly met or even exceeded her marriage requirements, but the child's illness was a dilemma for her throughout the blind date process.

Liang Chenghao seemed to see through her contradiction and smiled: "Jingyun, are you worried about something? Worried about the child's illness? Don't worry, as long as the child comes over, I will find a way to cure him."

Liang Chenghao's move gave Qiao Jingyun peace of mind, because in Qiao Jingyun's heart, her son always came first, and Liang Chenghao had almost made everything go smoothly. She didn't originally ask him to treat her son's illness, but to find someone to rely on, but Liang Chenghao was obviously better than she thought.

Qiao Jingyun was a very tactful woman. She would not agree on the spot, but she agreed in her heart and said, "Brother Liang, let me wash the dishes. You have been busy for a while today. You should take a rest."

"That won't do." Liang Chenghao seemed to understand Qiao Jingyun's intention, and the two of them reluctantly went to the kitchen and started washing the dishes.

Although Liang Chenghao is a university professor, he doesn't know what topic can bring them closer together, so he wants to build a bridge for them through his daughter. He asked, "Can you sing Little White Boat?"

"Children's songs?" Qiao Jingyun nodded. "Yes, I can sing it. Does Lele want to learn this song?"

"Yes, Lele is going to participate in a performance soon. Teacher Xie, who likes her the most in her class, asked her to lead the singing of this song, but she still can't sing it well."

"Okay, I'll teach her that weekend."

At this time, there was a knock on the door. "Take a rest, I'll come and clean up." Liang Chenghao took off his apron and said he would go and take a look.

"Okay." Qiao Jingyun picked up the rag and wiped the stove.

Liang Chenghao opened the door and found a woman in her twenties. He didn't know her, but the woman asked politely, "Is this Professor Liang's home?"

"Yes, I am."

"I'm Bao Xue, a doctor at the health center," the woman took out her work ID and showed it to him. "I have something to say about your daughter Liang Lexin. I may need to talk to you alone."

Liang Chenghao saw the other party stop smiling, and it must be something serious. Considering his daughter's bad mood recently, he thought it might be related. He wondered if it was a fight at school.

He quickly led Bao Xue into the door, closed it, and poured her a glass of water.

Bao Xue didn't sit down, and said straight to the point: "Professor Liang, I won't beat around the bush. Three days ago in the morning, Xiwang Primary School had a physical examination. I was Liang Lexin's physical examination doctor. During the physical examination, I discovered something. Lele seemed to have been sexually assaulted!"

"..." Liang Chenghao's whole body stiffened for a moment.

"Professor Liang, I know this is a very sad thing, so after much thought, I decided to rush to your house to tell you in person. I hope you can do a good job of convincing your child and call the police."

"..." Liang Chenghao said with his teeth trembling slightly, "Dr. Bao, thank you for telling me all this. I would like to ask, how many people know about this now?"

Bao Xue said, "I didn't tell anyone except myself. I know this is not a trivial matter. After I examined Le Xin that day, I submitted a normal report. I thought I should talk to you about this. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you the first time."

"Thank you again, Dr. Bao, for your kind heart." Liang Chenghao's eyes were moist and red. He took Bao Xue's hand and bowed to express his gratitude.

"Professor Liang, this is what I should do. I'm leaving now."

"Please take care." Liang Chenghao walked her to the door and watched her leave from afar.

When he returned to the house, tears rolled down from the corners of his eyes. These were tears of regret and anger of an old man.

"Bang." At this moment, the sound of an aluminum pot shaking suddenly came from the kitchen.

He suddenly realized that Qiao Jingyun was still at home. Liang Chenghao quickly wiped away his tears and forced a smile when Qiao Jingyun walked out of the kitchen.

Liang Chenghao studied psychology, so he was naturally very concerned about people's expressions and was very good at it. He could see the awkwardness and tension on Qiao Jingyun's face at a glance.

Qiao Jingyun smiled and said, "Brother Liang, thank you for your hospitality today. I will go pick up the children later. I'll leave first."

Qiao Jingyun avoided his gaze and went to change her shoes.

In fact, Qiao Jingyun was more nervous than anyone else. When she was wiping the stove in the kitchen today, she did hear what Liang Lexin said, but she could never tell Liang Chenghao that she heard it. She hoped that she didn't know about it and would never know about it.

She tried hard to act as if nothing had happened.

"Jingyun." Liang Chenghao called out.

"Ah?" Qiao Jingyun's fingers, which were tying her shoelaces, trembled suddenly, and she responded nervously.

“Come and teach Lele to sing on the weekend.”

"Okay." Qiao Jingyun agreed, and gave him a forced smile when she stood up, "Professor Liang, I'm leaving first." She pushed the door and went out.

After Qiao Jingyun left, Liang Chenghao sat on the sofa, his face very dark and his fingers trembling. He was determined to find the murderer who sexually assaulted his daughter.

He remembered his daughter's habit of writing a diary, so he went to her bedroom and opened the drawer with a spare key, where her diary was.

He flipped through several pages full of happy records until a page was blank. He then read this description. Although his daughter's handwriting was simple, every word she wrote hurt him deeply.

The daughter said that in the past six months, her Chinese teacher Xie Wenjuan took her to her residence and gave her medicine-laced water to drink, and she would sleep in bed for more than an hour. While she was unconscious, Xie Wenjuan's husband Xu Wangtu painted red strokes all over her body and did many things that made her uncomfortable...

Liang Chenghao's tears fell on the paper. He turned two more pages. She was only six years old, but she was actually thinking about how to end her life.

He tried desperately to close the diary, fearing that his daughter would know that he had read it, and returned the diary to its original place. When he stood up again, he felt his limbs go weak, and his eyes fell on the photo of his daughter on the table again.

The tearing pain suddenly surged into his heart. He remembered that when Lele was three years old, her mother passed away. She held his hand tightly and asked him to take good care of their daughter for the rest of his life.

The words of advice were still ringing in his ears. His daughter's well-behaved appearance and happy laughter struck him again and again.

Liang Chenghao could no longer control himself. He knelt on the ground, pounding his hands wildly and bursting into tears. The painful sobs made this thirty-year-old man tremble all over...

"In the blue sky and the Milky Way, there is a small white boat. On the boat there is a sweet-scented osmanthus tree..."

The children's chorus rang out in the classroom. Xie Wenjuan stood on the podium, clapping and encouraging everyone to sing louder.

Suddenly she noticed that Le Xin, who was sitting in the first row, did not move her lips. She stopped singing, walked over to her and asked softly, "Le Xin, why don't you sing?"

Xiao Liangran lowered his head, his lips slightly pale, and said nothing.

Xie Wenjuan encouraged her, "Le Xin, you are the lead singer, so you must work hard this time. Let's go to the teacher's house at noon and the teacher will review it with you a few more times."

Xiao Liangran's lips trembled, and her small body began to tremble slightly. Her left index finger dug deeply into the palm of her hand, and blood came out from the nail that had not yet healed.

"Okay, students, let's sing it again with the teacher, okay?"

The singing sounded again in the classroom. As Xiao Liangran sang, a tear shed.

In the blue sky and galaxy,

There is a little white boat.

There is an osmanthus tree on the boat.

The white rabbit is playing.

Oar, Oar can't see.

There was no sail on the boat.

Floating and floating towards the west...