Chapter 148: Man-Made Disaster (Part 2) If only I could wipe your tears...
After shouting, she cried for a long time.
She went up to the third floor of the office building and then down the stairs to the rooftop, but the door to the rooftop was locked. Undeterred, she went to the teaching building, where the rooftop door was open.
Zhong Tingbai stood on the edge of the rooftop. She opened her arms and embraced the slightly damp wind after the heavy rain.
After seeing these scenes, Lin Zhuyue understood everything.
The reason why he landed headfirst was because Zhong Tingbai wanted death.
It wasn't the ghost that killed her, but something far more terrifying than the ghost: the ever-present pressure. Her parents' expectations, her teachers' rigor, her own high standards, and the insults that touched her dignity and sore spots completely ignited these things, leaving her unable to bear it, and she leaped from the rooftop.
Physics teacher Zhu Donghai did not come to work today not because of cerebral ischemia, but because Principal Gong asked him to take a leave and not allow him to appear in front of the spiritual master.
Although Zhong Tingbai did not show up during the spirit summoning ceremony, she was actually nearby. When she heard the lie about "cerebral ischemia", she became angry and failed to hide herself, which led to her being discovered by Lin Zhuyue and Shi Can.
Various emotions are conveyed through inspiration...
Lin Zhuyue raised her hand to cover her mouth to prevent herself from crying out loud, but tears still flowed silently.
No wonder Fu Xingwei said she could understand Zhong Tingbai better...
She went to high school and also reached her senior year. Although she did not stick to the end, she was indeed the person in the entire Spiritual Master Academy who understood the pain of senior high school students the most.
She comes from a wealthy family and can still study abroad even if she fails the college entrance examination. She can feel uncomfortable in this situation, not to mention Zhong Tingbai, who seems to have only one way to go, which is to take the college entrance examination.
Zhang Ruyun asked confusedly, "What happened to her?"
"Maybe I saw the truth."
Shi Can held Lin Zhuyue's shoulders, sighed, and said,
"Let's go back to the lounge, okay? Can you hold on?"
Lin Zhuyue nodded.
Afterwards, in the lounge, Lin Zhuyue revealed everything in front of school leaders, colleagues from the national security department, as well as Zhong Tingbai's parents and teachers.
Many of them have never come into contact with a spiritualist, do not understand the magic of metaphysics, and cannot comprehend the idea of receiving the emotions and memories of the deceased through induction.
But when Lin Zhuyue mentioned that whenever Zhong Tingbai's family bought prawns, his parents would not eat any of them and would leave them all to Zhong Tingbai, Zhong Tingbai's parents showed an expression of "how did you know", surprised and in pain.
Ouyang Jing also confirmed that Zhong Tingbai did eat a large portion of fried chicken rice with barbecued pork sauce that day, and the window where he bought the rice was indeed window number 19, which was closest to the west gate of the cafeteria.
The school leaders looked guilty.
Lin Zhuyue wiped away her tears and said sternly:
"You're deliberately framing Zhong Tingbai's death on the 'ghost,' right? If that 'ghost' wasn't just an afterimage, but actually existed in the world, you might actually be able to successfully frame him."
Almost every mission of the spiritual masters is related to dead souls or evil masters. Therefore, when they took over the case of Zhong Tingbai jumping off the building, it was naturally difficult for them to consider that this matter had nothing to do with supernatural events.
Wuju City No. 16 Middle School simply treats the Spiritual Master Mansion as a fool!
"Why do you do that?"
The principal stammered, "We...we..."
Seeing that the truth had been revealed, he had no choice but to give up, admit to the frame-up, and reveal everything:
"Our school has been warned numerous times by the Provincial Education Bureau for excessively heavy workloads... If higher-ups knew this child skipped classes due to stress, we wouldn't be able to make up for the missed classes. We might even have to close on Saturdays and Sundays. Our provincial college entrance exam is so difficult, which high school would even have two days off a week?"
"High-pressure education is abominable. We all know it's bad, but the college entrance exam is a competition that determines your life. What can we do without high pressure? This isn't just about us, it's about the entire school! Rest... If they rest, who will be responsible for their future?"
"Also, if word gets out about students jumping off buildings due to stress, will anyone still apply to this school? No. 16 Middle School is a key school. If the enrollment rate drops because the students aren't good enough, won't the school be doomed?"
For a moment, no one in the room could speak, leaving only the sobbing of Zhong Qilin and Wang Xiaoqin.
After a while, Minister Du said:
"He doesn't really care about the students..."
"Wuju City High School is renowned for its high admission rates, so the cutoff scores for admission after the high school entrance exam are set very high. In recent years, the cutoff scores have been excessively high. While there are 3,000 admissions slots each year, only 1,300 students in the entire city of Wuju pass the cutoff. Of these, only 1,000 will enroll at No. 16 Middle School... The remaining 2,000 spots require students with similar scores to pay a 10,000 yuan school selection fee."
"They collect 20 million yuan in school selection fees every year, and when asked where they go, they say they're maintaining the campus..."
The school leaders’ faces turned pale.
Principal Gong shouted angrily, "Du Fenglei! Stop slandering me!"
"Whether I'm slandering you or not, you'll know after a thorough investigation. Over the years, the Municipal Education Bureau and you have been protecting each other, and no one in the municipal government has suggested taking action against you. After all, the leaders' children also have to attend No. 16 Middle School."
Minister Du said to Principal Gong,
"But no one is stupid. The provincial government has been keeping an eye on you for a long time, but they just haven't found the opportunity to take action. Now that high-pressure education has led to a minor jumping off a building, you will definitely be suspended and investigated."
Principal Gong didn't dare to continue speaking.
Minister Du said to Lin Zhuyue and Shi Can:
"Sorry, you came here for nothing."
"It wasn't a wasted trip..."
Shi Can took the tissue, passed it around, and said,
"The Spiritual Master House probably already knew the jumping incident had nothing to do with the 'ghost,' but they still assigned us this mission. In this case, we should pay our wages normally... Also, although Zhong Tingbai's spirit refuses to see anyone, she's still in this world. She has the potential to become a fierce ghost, so we have to get rid of her before that happens."
Wang Xiaoqin asked: "She, is she still there?"
"Everything I saw was transmitted to me by her. I also know that she didn't appear because of the pain she suffered in her life and the guilt she felt when she chose to end it all. Perhaps because she had a strong desire to escape in her life, after her death, she possessed an ability to hide herself far more powerful than that of ordinary undead. Even spiritual masters find it difficult to detect her presence."
Lin Zhuyue walked to the table with the copper plate, dipped her finger in the water from the teacup, and dripped it into the copper plate, saying,
"Zhong Tingbai, come out and meet your parents. No one will force you to take the college entrance exam anymore, and no one will blame you. I swear with all my spiritual power that no matter how much pain you suffered in your life, it is over now, and it will never happen again."
"If you can see my sincerity, see your parents' love and guilt, and see that we want to punish those who insulted you, then come out. Let's see each other one last time and say goodbye properly... Being trapped in this world must be very painful. Come out, and we will give you true freedom..."
The lounge gradually became filled with a gloomy atmosphere.
The yin energy was not fierce, but gentle and sad.
The water in the copper plate was no longer transparent, but turned into a reflective mirror... In the mirror, the face of a girl with short hair gradually emerged. She looked sad and looked at Zhong Qilin and Wang Xiaoqin with an apologetic look.
Then she spoke.
"I'm sorry, Dad, Mom."
Wang Xiaoqin burst into tears, shaking her head and saying:
"You didn't let Mom and Dad down. It was Mom and Dad who let you down... We were so focused on you fulfilling our wish that we didn't realize you couldn't bear it anymore..."
Zhong Qilin was also crying silently.
Zhong Tingbai shook his head and said:
"No, you are very good... If there is an afterlife, I still want to be your daughter..."
"I'm really stupid... Now I suddenly feel that it would be great if I hadn't died. If I hadn't died... I could..."
Zhong Tingbai stretched out his hand and said regretfully:
"I can wipe your tears for you... Don't cry anymore... If you cry again, I won't be able to bear to leave..."
Zhong Qilin and Wang Xiaoqin tried hard to swallow their tears.
The water in the cup is almost gone.
It's time to say goodbye.
Lin Zhuyue and Shi Can chanted a spell simultaneously. Ripples spread out in the copper dish, and Zhong Tingbai's figure gradually disappeared. Finally, the ripples subsided, and the water in the copper dish returned to its clear state.
Lin Zhuyue said, "You can cry now."
Zhong Qilin and Wang Xiaoqin could no longer hold back and burst into tears, expressing their emotions like children.
Zhang Ruyun was also crying.
Firstly, she felt sorry for her students. Secondly, she blamed herself. Thirdly, as a mother, she could understand the grief of the parents who had lost their child.
Lin Zhuyue and Shi Can quietly packed up their things, preparing to extricate themselves from this mission which actually had nothing to do with the supernatural events. What happened afterwards would be the responsibility of the relevant departments.
After getting in the car, Lin Zhuyue was still wiping her tears.
Shi Can felt a little distressed and said, "My eyes are red from crying."
Lin Zhuyue tried hard to wipe away the tears that kept flowing, turned her head to look at Shi Can who was reversing the car, and asked:
"Why aren't you crying? Aren't you sad?"
"It's sad. After all, I'm not heartless."
Shi Can paused and said,
"Rather than crying, I wanted to hit someone, but I held back because Guoan was filming it."
"In fact, when we were young, we often heard adults lament that sometimes humans are worse than ghosts. If it weren't for the spiritualist's rule of 'human rights first', spiritualists might not care about people's lives during some missions."
The spiritual master's "human rights first" code stipulates that no matter how bad a person is, the spiritual master must save him and not let him be killed by ghosts. Only the law can judge a person's sins, not ghosts or spiritual masters.
Lin Zhuyue was too sad, and Shi Can deliberately did not remind her. After returning to Tiancheng, Lin Zhuyue realized that she had forgotten to bring candied haws for Wen Miyan and Ye Yangjia.
Duan Junheng, the class teacher, soon learned of the commission and criticized it expressionlessly:
"This kind of mission is meaningless to improving your strength. Don't do it again."
“I think it’s very meaningful.”
Lin Zhuyue refuted "Duan Junheng" and said,
"It made me realize that spiritual masters exist for people. We are not only guarding the living, but also those who have passed away."
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