Chapter 38 – The Second World 3

TWs for this chapter: Suicide bating and talk, verbal abuse, child neglect/abuse mentions.

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All in all, Chu Shici had only been in this world for two days.

 

His impression of Mingzhe remained at being obedient and pitiful.

 

During dinner, Uncle Liu forcefully washed his brain, but Mingzhe seemed to be unaffected.

 

After returning to the bedroom, he played with Chu Shici for a while.

 

Mingzhe’s room was kept very clean, and he didn’t eat recklessly outside, indicating that he had some cleanliness habits.

 

But when faced with Chu Shici, the clay figurine, he kissed and touched it, showing how much he liked it.

 

Through the bedroom door, they could still hear Uncle Liu grumbling and cursing. Chu Shici looked up.

 

Mingzhe tightly pursed his lips, his thin body trembling slightly.

 

Chu Shici tapped his fingers and asked, “Xiaozhe, are you afraid of Uncle Liu?”

 

“Mm.”

 

“Does he always hit you?”

 

Mingzhe nodded slightly and, when he looked towards the door, there was fear in his eyes.

 

He was sent to Uncle Liu’s house at the age of ten, and during the two years, he must have endured a lot of beatings, which had already triggered a stress response.

 

Chu Shici narrowed his eyes.

 

Once Uncle Liu was alone, he would kill him.

 

Mingzhe’s emotions came and went quickly. Seeing that Uncle Liu didn’t seem to want trouble with him, he continued with his own tasks.

 

Chu Shici flew around the room while discussing the plan with the system, and Mingzhe worked on his homework.

 

During this time, several text messages came in, all asking why he hadn’t killed himself yet.

 

Chu Shici floated behind Mingzhe and saw him reply with a cold face: 【It’s not the agreed time yet. I’m still alive this week and have things of my own to do. Don’t bother me until next Saturday.】

 

The text messages kept coming, and the noisy sound finally caught Uncle Liu’s attention.

 

A gentle voice came from outside the bedroom door, “Xiaozhe, why is your phone constantly ringing? Who are you chatting with?”

 

Mingzhe’s hand paused, and he replied indifferently, “With a classmate, he’s asking about homework.”

 

While speaking, he typed, 【This isn’t good. I’ll be online tomorrow. Let’s have a meeting and discuss things openly.】

After that text message, the phone finally became quiet.

 

Mingzhe quickly deleted the messages and stuffed the phone into the gap between the bookshelf and the wall.

 

Chu Shici was looking closely, but Mingzhe put him in a drawer.

 

Before closing the drawer, Chu Shici heard Mingzhe sigh helplessly.

 

The chair blocking the door didn’t stop Uncle Liu. It took him some time to push the door open, holding a freshly washed and dried cucumber in his hand.

 

His hair had just been burned by Chu Shici, and now he looked dishevelled.

 

Mingzhe looked up at the top of his head, and Uncle Liu stuffed the cucumber into his hand, patting his head. “Xiaozhe, you’ve been working hard on your studies.”

 

He didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving. Instead, he pulled over a chair and sat across from Mingzhe.

 

“Xiaozhe, have you noticed anything new in the house recently?”

 

Mingzhe ate the cucumber without responding.

 

Uncle Liu continued, “Last night, I got scratched by something. Today, Old Li helped me take a look, and my back is covered in small wounds. It was done with a knife.”

 

He took off his shirt and turned around to show Mingzhe his back.

 

His broad back was covered in densely packed small cuts.

 

Mingzhe didn’t expect to see so many wounds. He looked at them in a daze, and his eyes subconsciously drifted towards the drawer.

 

Uncle Liu put his clothes back on, scratched his head, and said, “Just now, my head suddenly caught fire. There’s only you and me in the house, no one else. This… no matter how you look at it, it’s creepy. I feel like something evil is happening. I’m planning to stay at your Uncle Li’s house for a few days. Pack your things, and we’ll go together tomorrow.”

 

Mingzhe furrowed his brows slightly. “Not going.”

 

“Uncle is doing this for your own good. It’s not safe here; there must be something unclean here.”

 

“Not going.”

 

“You stubborn child, you…”

 

“I’m not going.”

 

Uncle Liu slammed the table hard.

 

Mingzhe was startled, and his body instinctively curled up slightly.

 

“What’s this attitude of yours? I’ve been raising you for two years, and you disrespect me every day. You deserve to be hit!”

 

Uncle Liu said as he walked away, grumbling and cursing.

 

Mingzhe closed the door, opened the drawer, and took out the clay figurine.

 

Chu Shici was contemplating whether or not to continue confronting that beast later tonight when he was suddenly held and kissed by Mingzhe.

 

Chu Shici pushed his cheek away. “Don’t kiss me, I’m made of clay, very dirty.”

 

Mingzhe pursed his lips, and when he looked at Chu Shici, there was a hint of admiration in his eyes.

 

“You were able to scare him away. You’re really amazing.”

 

He stretched out his hand and compared it to Chu Shici’s. “Your hand is the same size as mine, but you could make him run away. You’re a real superhero.”

 

Mingzhe’s light-colored eyes reflected the small figure of Chu Shici.

 

For a moment, Chu Shici truly felt like Superman.

 

Chu Shici remained stunned for a while, holding Mingzhe’s fingers to assure him, “From now on, your… big brother will protect you.”

 

The system exclaimed with a gasp, “I love him, I want to take care of him!”

 

“Take care, let’s take care of him together.”

 

“In the future, you’ll be the dad, and I’ll be the male mom. Our child is so cute.”

 

“???”

 

“My dear, let’s kiss.”

 

“Bro, calm down.”

 

Chu Shici was being held and kissed by Mingzhe, while the system in his mind was also kissing him.

 

Whether it was being kissed by a child or by a little ball of light, Chu Shici remained psychologically unaffected.

 

During the time when he just signed the contract, he was the one who loved making suggestive remarks the most.

 

After being together with Su Zheyan for fifty years, influenced by him, Chu Shici became much more composed. Now it was the system’s turn to be playful.

 

If this continued, the host and the system would go crazy sooner or later.

 

…

 

The next day was the weekend, and Uncle Liu left with a small suitcase.

 

Not long after he left, Mingzhe also prepared to leave with a backpack.

 

Before leaving, he crushed a large biscuit and placed it in front of the clay figurine. “Wait for me at home. I’m going out to see my grandma. There’s an old cake on the coffee table. If you’re hungry, help yourself.”

 

Seeing his reddened ears, Chu Shici knew that he was lying.

 

In the instant Mingzhe left, Chu Shici flew out and slipped into Mingzhe’s backpack.

 

The geographical location of this building was really remote. It took Mingzhe an hour on the bus before the traffic on the road became more congested.

 

Chu Shici opened the zipper slightly and peeked out.

 

Mingzhe got off the bus and smoothly made his way through an old market, entering a small alley through the back door.

 

The alley was dirty and the path narrow, with garbage piled up on both sides. There was a small sign hanging on the wall that read “Internet Cafe on the Second Floor.”

 

A few hoodlums were standing at the entrance of the corridor, smoking. Mingzhe walked past them with his head down.

 

One of them suddenly grabbed his arm. “Is it you? Aren’t you only coming on Saturdays?”

 

Chu Shici was very nervous, afraid that Mingzhe would be at a disadvantage.

 

Mingzhe dodged the smoke that wafted towards him. “I have something to do today. I’ll leave after I’m done.”

 

The hoodlum stubbed out his cigarette and put his arm around Mingzhe’s shoulder. “Don’t be in a hurry to leave. My buddies are all here today. Let’s play together.”

 

Mingzhe was directly pushed into the Internet cafe upstairs, following the hoodlums into a private room.

 

The system hugged a tissue and said, “My son is so obedient. He might be scared to tears. The tragic life of a little pretty boy is so heart-wrenching. I’m ready to cry.”

 

Chu Shici was equally afraid and was searching around for a knife.

 

There were several other shady individuals in the private room, seemingly high school students from the nearby area.

 

Upon seeing Mingzhe, they pulled him into their midst and handed him a cigarette.

 

Mingzhe shrank back slightly. “I have something to do today and I’m in a hurry. Let’s pick an easy game.”

 

Just as Chu Shici flew out with a graphic knife from the backpack, he saw Mingzhe sitting in the private room, playing online games with the hooligans.

 

Chu Shici had never seen the game they were playing before. It seemed to be unique to this novel’s world.

 

The game was a strategic attack and defense game. Mingzhe was arranging tactics for the guild these hooligans belonged to. He commanded from the rear, assigning soldiers and weapons to each member, planning marching routes, and leading them to attack other guilds’ castles.

 

Mingzhe didn’t have his own game account, so he used the guild leader’s account. The hooligan sat next to him, nervously watching the screen.

 

They played a game of attack and defense that lasted for over two hours. During this time, the hooligans changed their address for Mingzhe from “Xiaoming” to “Ming ge”.

 

They continued playing until after 3 p.m., and their guild made it into the top ten rankings on the server.

 

Mingzhe was being held by the hooligans, swaying back and forth. He glanced at the screen and whispered, “Focus on developing the Dragon Riders and switch the positions of the mages in slots 3 and 5. There will be an attack on the city from the northern snowfield tonight, so arrange the Titan troops at the rear before logging off. The alliance tournament is approaching, so don’t attack any cities in the next few days.”

 

The hooligans were excited to have made it into the top ten. They were joyfully swearing and occasionally saying, “Ming ge is awesome.”

 

The guild leader, who had lent his account to Mingzhe, wanted Mingzhe to join them permanently. However, Mingzhe declined and instead received fifteen yuan from the hooligans as payment for today.

 

After leaving the private room, Mingzhe didn’t leave. He knocked on the door of another private room and asked the people inside if they needed any technical support.

 

Chu Shici shrunk inside the backpack, exchanging confused looks with the system. They had thought Mingzhe was a well-behaved child who only moved between home and school, following his parents’ instructions and enduring the harsh beatings.

 

Even when he was extremely sad, he would quietly wipe away his tears under the covers.

 

Clean, obedient, and understanding. He was such a good child. How could he be a frequent visitor to these dark internet cafes?

 

Mingzhe must often do this kind of thing. He was familiar with the regular customers in each private room and knew the games that the hooligans usually played.

 

From his typing speed during gaming, it could be seen that he had a slower reaction time and was not part of the skilled player group.

Mingzhe chose strategy, management, and card games, allocating resources to those players and providing them with corresponding strategies.

 

Occasionally, he would personally play and help the card players increase their rank, exchanging virtual coins for money.

 

Not everyone would give him money. After working for over two hours, he only earned a few yuan.

 

Finally, he returned to the original private room and approached a group of people who were drinking and playing cards. He found an available computer in a corner.

 

Chu Shici was shocked. It was only 2006, and online games were becoming popular. The term “internet addiction” was still relatively new.

 

Mingzhe only had an old phone and there was no computer at home. Given these circumstances, he actually came up with the idea of selling game strategies to earn money.

 

This reminded Chu Shici of the time when he ran away from home.

 

Comparing himself to Mingzhe, he realized how inexperienced he was.

 

The system remained silent for a long time. “How does this child have two different faces?”

 

“I didn’t expect it either. I thought he was just an ordinary pitiful kid.”

 

Uncle Liu’s family is poor, and he treats the male lead poorly. Mingzhe probably has very little pocket money, or maybe he doesn’t have any at all.

 

Yesterday, Chu Shici was still wondering where Mingzhe got the money to go online and if he had been deceived by someone.

 

Today, he found out that Mingzhe doesn’t need money to go online; he just uses other people’s computers.

 

After deducting the transportation costs, going to the internet cafe earns him a net profit of 20 yuan.

 

Chu Shici smacked his lips. Indeed, he’s the male lead and talented.

 

……

 

The private room was noisy, stuffy, and filled with swirling smoke.

 

A group of people sat nearby, drinking and playing cards. They had dyed hair in various colors and wore flashy clothes.

 

Mingzhe, on the other hand, wore a clean white short-sleeved shirt and neat light-colored jeans. He stood out among the delinquents.

 

He looked like a well-behaved student who had accidentally wandered into the internet cafe, sitting upright among the unruly teenagers.

 

The lighting in the private room was dim, so Chu Shici simply sat on the back of the chair and discreetly glanced at Mingzhe’s computer.

 

Mingzhe logged into a chat software, and his contact list only had one group named “Unite to Protect Minors Worldwide” and one online friend with the username “Dr. Chen, a psychologist from the Provincial Mental Hospital.”

 

He clicked on the chat with Dr. Chen, where there were a few messages.

 

Dr. Chen: “Your psychological issues are quite severe. I suggest we meet and talk.”

 

Dr. Chen: “I’ll be in Z City during this period. Let me know when you’re available so we can meet.”

 

Dr. Chen: “If it’s convenient, send me a photo of yourself to avoid any confusion when we meet.”

 

Mingzhe replied, “It’s not convenient.”

 

Chu Shici looked at him with a complex expression.

 

Feeling that it wasn’t appropriate, Mingzhe added, “I can’t take photos with my phone, I’m sorry. It’s better to just be online friends. Thank you, doctor.”

 

There was no reply from the other side, probably because they were offline.

 

Mingzhe then opened the group with the long name, which had 21 members.

 

He sent a period (.) as a message, and immediately received a bunch of messages insulting him.

 

When the messages stopped flooding in, Mingzhe typed on the keyboard, “I’ve thought about it for a long time. Lanlan’s death has nothing to do with the police; the problem is not in reporting it.”

 

Dancing Bunny: “You’re just finding excuses for yourself, trying to evade responsibility. Why don’t you go die? You should jump off a building and commit suicide.”

 

Mingzhe Self-Defense: “I’ve tried that before, but I was caught.”

 

Glass Star Child: “So you’re just living peacefully, pretending nothing happened? Haha…”

 

Mingzhe Self-Defense: “I have a brother now, and he told me that suicide is not the answer. Being alive gives us a chance to experience happiness. I’m happy being with him.”

 

Continuing My Loneliness: “Here we go again, you’re going to lecture us again. Your username is the same as my homeroom teacher’s. If it weren’t for the phone call we had, I would suspect you’re an adult pretending to be young. Are you planning to report us, just like you caused Lanlan’s death?”

 

Mingzhe didn’t reply for a long time, and the screen was filled with insults directed at him.

 

Quietly, Chu Shici leaned over to take a look and saw Mingzhe clenching his fists, his eyes misting up.

 

He wiped his tears and continued chatting with those people.

 

No matter what he said, he was met with mockery. The conversation always circled back to one sentence: “You caused Lanlan’s death. You’re a fraud, a murderer.”

 

Soon it was time for the gang activity, and Mingzhe left the group chat.

 

Dr. Chen sent him a message, “I will come find you.”

 

Mingzhe hesitated in the interface for deleting friends for a while, but ultimately didn’t proceed.

 

He exited the app and returned the computer to the delinquent teenager.

 

On the way back home, Mingzhe occasionally picked up empty water bottles from the trash cans. He flattened them and put them in his backpack, planning to save them and sell them for money.

 

Chu Shici was squeezed among the bottles, feeling especially complicated.

 

……

 

In the evening, when Mingzhe returned home, Chu Shici took advantage of his distraction and quietly flew out.

 

Mingzhe put the bottles into the red bin in the bathroom, took a shower, changed his clothes, and returned to his bedroom to study.

 

He loved reading and had many second-hand and third-hand old books on the bookshelf.

 

The desk was piled with exercise books, with other people’s names written on them, and many of the questions had been completed.

 

They were probably things that older students didn’t want anymore, but he picked them up from the trash bin to use for himself.

 

Mingzhe earned 20 yuan, but he didn’t spend a single cent.

 

From a concealed corner behind the bookshelf, he pulled out an iron box and neatly stacked the change inside.

 

Chu Shici flew over to his side, and the box contained various bills and coins.

 

Curiously, Chu Shici asked, “What are you saving money for? Are you planning to run away from home?”

 

“No, this is my high school tuition. Last time when Uncle Liu got drunk, he told me to find a job at his friend’s place after graduating from junior high school. Once I complete compulsory education, he won’t support me anymore.”

 

Mingzhe’s voice carried a hint of unease, “I want to go to school.”

 

Smelling the lingering scent of smoke on his head and looking at the crumpled change in the box, Chu Shici suddenly felt sorry for him.

 

Deliberately asking a question he already knew the answer to, Chu Shici asked, “Where did you get the money from?”

 

Mingzhe pursed his lips, blushing, and said, “I earned it by selling bottles.”

 

Perhaps he felt that the dark internet cafe was not a place he should go, so he refused to say anything else.

 

Today, Uncle Liu wouldn’t come back, and Mingzhe had been in a good mood all day.

 

He cleaned Chu Shici’s body and sat at the desk to read.

 

There were no toys, or games in the house, and reading was his only pastime.

 

Chu Shici sat on his wrist, listening to Mingzhe telling him stories in his childish voice.

 

Just as they reached the part where the prince in the book was preparing to break away from his uncle to avenge his father, Mingzhe’s phone rang.

 

A new message appeared on the screen, “[Are you planning to jump off a building today?]”

 

“[I’m hesitant now, as we discussed this afternoon.]”

 

“[Coward, fraud, traitor.]”

 

“[If you keep pushing me, I will report it to the police.]”

 

“[You dare to mention reporting to the police, you murderer.]”

 

Mingzhe lowered his head and remained silent for a long time. The other person continued to send mocking messages.

 

Chu Shici turned his head, and Mingzhe looked on the verge of crying from guilt.

 

He gently touched Mingzhe’s cheek and asked in a soft voice, “Xiao Zhe, what happened with Lanlan?”

 

The mention of Lanlan struck a chord with Mingzhe’s sadness. With red eyes, he refused to speak, tears swirling in his eyes.

 

The system exclaimed with two words, going crazy with screenshots: “Yan-ge is the same, XiaoZhe is the same. Do male leads nowadays cry like this? His little innocent appearance makes me gasp, hahaha! Let Daddy hug you!”

 

Yesterday, Chu Shici laughed along with the system when Mingzhe cried. But now, seeing Mingzhe silently shedding tears, he only felt heartache.

 

Mingzhe was working hard, collecting bottles, selling game strategies, and possibly even taking on other part-time jobs during his school days.

 

He was striving to survive, even though his vitality had already dropped into negative territory. He refused to resign himself to decadence(behavior, attitudes, etc. that show low moral standards.)

 

The barrage of messages from the other side continued relentlessly, ringing incessantly.

 

Chu Shici couldn’t contain his anger any longer. He leaned over Mingzhe’s phone and dialed a number directly.

 

To his surprise, what came through the receiver was a child’s tender voice.

 

“We agreed not to make phone calls.”

 

Mingzhe tried to grab the phone back, but Chu Shici turned his head and used his laser to burn Mingzhe’s finger.

 

His condensed mini laser didn’t have much power, and Mingzhe’s finger only felt a slight burn, as if touched by a cigarette butt.

 

He hissed in pain and instinctively withdrew his hand, leaving no trace of even a red mark.

 

In the meantime, Chu Shici had ignited a quarrel with the other person on the phone.

 

“Who are you to keep harassing XiaoZhe?”

 

Chu Shici’s voice was clean and melodious, usually carrying a hint of laughter in his speech, but it sounded like that of an adult man.

 

The voice on the other end became quieter. “Who are you? Where is Mingzhe?”

 

“I am his brother.”

 

“He said he didn’t have…”

 

“Now he has.”

 

The child on the phone was scared into silence.

 

“What happened with Lanlan? What do you mean by saying that XiaoZhe killed her? You have no evidence, just accusing him of being a murderer. Be careful, I’ll sue you for defamation. This is a serious matter with severe consequences. Have your parents come.”

 

He hadn’t even finished speaking when the call was abruptly disconnected.

 

Only then did Chu Shici realize that he might have bullied a child.

 

He felt guilty for a moment, then continued to bombard the phone with calls.

 

Mingzhe didn’t try to snatch the phone back; instead, he leaned on the desk and quietly watched Chu Shici.

 

After making more than a dozen calls in a row, someone finally picked up the phone again.

 

It was still a young boy on the other end, but this time his voice had a hint of a sob.

 

“What do you want? Can’t you stop calling? You’re so annoying!”

 

“Let me talk to the adults in your family.”

 

“I won’t.”

 

“In that case, I’ll call the police directly. Encouraging suicide is a serious crime of intentional homicide, with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. If you don’t want your parents to spend their lives in jail, tell them to come.”

 

Mingzhe’s words were futile; he was just a child, lacking the power to deter someone his own age. Despite Mingzhe’s earlier stern tone in their text exchange, the other person was still aggressive.

 

Chu Shici, being an adult, knew that most children were afraid of adults. The topics he was discussing were also serious, and the young child on the other end was now crying.

 

The child sobbed on the phone, but still refused to call his parents.

 

Chu Shici had a vague feeling that something was off. Mingzhe gently pressed his round head and whispered, “His parents don’t want him anymore, just like me.”

 

Mingzhe had stopped crying, and his light brown eyes stared unwaveringly at Chu Shici.

 

Those eyes were so clear, and there was a hint of admiration when looking at Chu Shici.

 

He leaned closer to Chu Shici and whispered, “You know more than I do. Can you help him? He always gets beaten, he’s very pitiful.”

 

In the phone, there was the restless crying of a child, and by his ear was Mingzhe’s soft and hopeful plea.

 

Seeing Chu Shici’s lack of response, Mingzhe fell silent for a moment. He turned his gaze away, blushing, and softly called out, “Gege.”

 

Chu Shici took a deep breath and covered his chest.

 

Help, he would help right away.

 

Even if it was something as small as plucking stars from the sky, he would do it without hesitation.

 

The system looked at its host, who seemed to be filled with energy, and said disdainfully, “No backbone.”

 

Mingzhe leaned over and kissed Chu Shici on the cheek. “Thank you for speaking up for me, Gege.”

 

The system was momentarily stunned, then it started cheering while taking out its wallet to buy cheats.

 

After all, it was just cheats, and they could afford them.

 

…………

 

The child who had been harassing Mingzhe clearly didn’t have Mingzhe’s ability to keep secrets.

 

With a few coaxing and deceitful words from Chu Shici, he managed to extract the boy’s family background.

 

The boy’s surname was He, thirteen years old, and his parents divorced and remarried separately. He stayed with his mother, but his stepfather didn’t like him because he considered him someone else’s child.

 

Xiao He couldn’t eat enough or dress warmly at home, and he was frequently beaten by his stepfather. At first, his mother would intervene, but after she gave birth to another younger brother, she wasn’t as protective of him anymore.

 

At the age of thirteen, Xiao He learned to run away from home and ended up in a black internet cafe, working there in exchange for internet access. During the day, he helped clean the internet cafe, drank leftover drinks from others, and bought instant noodles in bulk from the store.

 

At night, he would find an unoccupied sofa, cover himself with clothes, and sleep on it.

 

He didn’t go to school and didn’t return home. The school had called his family, and his mother had gone to find him once. Seeing that he was still alive, she stopped caring.

 

The internet cafe had been raided by the police a few days ago, and he had nowhere to go, so he had been staying at a thug’s house during this time.

 

As for why he was harassing Mingzhe on the phone, Xiao He spoke hesitantly, seemingly wanting to hide something.

 

Chu Shici looked at Mingzhe, who tightly pursed his lips and refused to speak.

 

Observing Mingzhe’s expression, Chu Shici asked the boy on the phone, “Xiao He, how did you know about Mingzhe wanting to commit suicide?”

 

Mingzhe reached out to grab the phone, but Chu Shici held it high above, out of his reach.

 

Xiao He hesitated for a moment. “He told me himself, we made an agreement.”

 

“What kind of agreement did you make? Did you also want to commit suicide? Did you agree to commit suicide together?”

 

Xiao He’s voice suddenly grew louder. “No, don’t say that! You’re making things up!”

 

Hearing his reaction, Chu Shici’s heart sank.

 

Mingzhe was in the process of moving a chair, preparing to snatch the phone back.

 

He just wanted Little Superman to comfort Little He and give him some advice.

 

He never expected the situation to develop like this. Little Superman was determined to figure out what was going on and kept questioning Xiao He.

 

The boy’s voice on the phone grew increasingly panicked. “This has nothing to do with you. It’s our secret. Please stop asking. I haven’t stolen or robbed anyone. Can’t we have a single secret? Don’t push me anymore, please, don’t!”

 

As Xiao He’s emotions escalated, Chu Shici gradually slowed down his tone and spoke in a gentle and soothing manner.

 

His voice became slow and soft as he comforted, “Do you want to find another place to live, but have nowhere to go?”

 

Xiao He remained silent, only sobbing softly. He sounded very upset, no longer carrying the aggressive tone from the text messages.

 

“Have you sought help from the police?”

 

“I’m afraid to seek help from the police. They would just send me back home. Look, Lanlan is already dead. I’m scared.”

 

Meanwhile, Mingzhe stood on a chair, holding a clothesline pole and attempting to poke the flying clay figurine on the shed’s roof.

 

But the little superhero was too fast, and he couldn’t hit it at all.

 

While Mingzhe was figuring out how to bring down the little superhero, Chu Shici had already extracted their secret from Xiao He.

 

The girl named Lu Tian , unlike Mingzhe and Xiao He. Her parents did not abuse her and treated her well.

 

She was 15 years old and lived with her parents. Her bedroom had no lock, and her father often barged in without knocking, regardless of whether she was changing clothes or not.

 

During winter, when the bathroom door lock was broken, there were several occasions when she was taking a shower and her father would simply walk in to use the toilet.

 

She complained to her mother, but her mother said, “He is your biological father, what can he possibly do to you? We are a family, what are you afraid of? Can he harm you?”

 

As her chest developed, she only had undershirt-style bras at home. She had a good relationship with a trendy senior sister who thought she always wore those bras, which not only revealed too much but also caused sagging breasts. So, the senior sister gave her a few of her own shaping bras, black with lace edges, very stylish and spicy, but comfortable to wear.

 

A few days later, the lace underwear was discovered by the parents. They are very conservative and believe that this kind of thing is not suitable for a decent girl to wear, so they scolded Lanlan severely. They also took her to school and scolded that senior student.

As a result, the senior student severed ties with her, and Lanlan was isolated at school. She continued to wear revealing tank tops.

 

With her phone able to connect to the internet, she created a chat group online to confide in others who shared similar experiences and expressed her pain.

 

The group consisted of 21 people, all of whom were minors. Every day, they provided warmth and comfort to one another. Mingzhe acted as the group leader, and Xiaohe served as an administrator.

 

One evening in May, Lanlan suddenly said in the group, “My mom gave me some sausages and asked me to deliver them to the uncles working at the construction site.”

 

It was around 9 PM at that time, and most of the children in the group couldn’t access the internet on their phones, so no one else was online except her.

 

The next day, when Xiaohe went online at an internet café, he saw that Lanlan had sent a message after 10 PM, saying, “I told my mom that they keep staring at me. Some even complimented me for eating well and developing nicely. She told me not to overthink it, that we’re all from the same village, we know each other well, and there are no bad people.”

 

The atmosphere in the group was still comforting, and everyone was trying to reassure her.

 

It wasn’t until after 3 PM that Mingzhe came online.

 

After going through the chat records, he immediately told Lanlan to gather evidence and seek help from the police.

 

The children in the group were all confused, not understanding the connection between these events and the police.

 

Mingzhe said that it was becoming dangerous. There were only men there, and if something happened, there would be nowhere to escape. He couldn’t say for sure, but someday Lanlan might not be able to come back. Since her parents didn’t care, seeking help from the police was necessary because they would take action.

 

He sensed the hidden danger, but being young, he couldn’t fully comprehend the situation.

 

Lanlan was the oldest in the group, but she was only 15 years old. After Mingzhe spoke, she also felt scared and, in a state of confusion, agreed and went offline to report to the police.

 

She never came online again, and later it was discovered that she had committed suicide by jumping into a river.

 

Her parents cried inconsolably, unable to understand why their daughter couldn’t find a way out.

 

The other members of the group were also bewildered.

 

After discussions and conclusions, they believed that Mingzhe’s misjudgments and mismanagement led to Lanlan’s death. She was fine before, even talking about going to the roller skating rink on Saturday to have some fun.

 

It was just a small matter, but Mingzhe insisted on blowing it out of proportion and involving the police. And now, Lanlan was dead.

 

After the death of the group leader, only 20 people remained in the group.

 

Among these 20 people, 19 of them blamed Mingzhe for being a murderer.

 

Xiao He was also one of them, even being the most forceful in his condemnation. While others only criticized Mingzhe in the group, Xiaohe had Mingzhe’s phone number and would send him angry text messages every day.

 

While discussing this matter with Chu Shici, there was an unmistakable tone of guilt in his voice.

 

Chu Shici spoke a few more words with Xiao He, and in the background, several men’s voices could be heard.

 

A few hooligans who took him in called him to help, and Xiao He couldn’t even spare a moment to cry, hastily hanging up the phone.

 

Chu Shici fell in front of Mingzhe while clutching his phone.

 

Mingzhe kept his head down, unable to see his face, but could only hear the sound of his guilty sobs.

 

Tears fell onto the chair, and he whispered, “Brother, was I really wrong?”

 

Chu Shici gently touched his soft hair. “Are you talking about the incident where Lanlan was supposed to report to the police? No, you didn’t give bad advice. Her death has nothing to do with you. You were helping her.”

 

Mingzhe held him in his hands, squatting on the chair and silently sobbing.

 

Chu Shici wiped away the tears from his face. “Can you tell me what exactly happened?”

 

Mingzhe remained silent for a long time, finally revealing their secret.

 

The 21 children met online. They came from different parts of the country and had different life experiences.

 

The only thing they had in common was their harsh family environments.

 

The group served as their outlet for venting, comforting each other, and seeking warmth.

 

The suicide of the group leader, Lanlan, shattered the peaceful facade within the group.

 

They had made a plan, starting from the proxy group leader, to end their lives one by one.

 

Twenty children had made a pact to commit suicide.

 

Mingzhe was the proxy group leader and the first one.

 

Now, the remaining 19 people were waiting for him to die.

 

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