Kong Xiuyun kept speaking.
"Zhou Qiang put the notebook back exactly as it had been, closed the cover, and pushed it back onto the shelf. Spine facing out, just like all the others. Not a trace that anything had been touched."
"And he left?"
"He left. Went to a hotel."
"He did nothing else that day. Just stayed in the hotel, looking through the photos on his phone one by one."
He wasn't looking through photos, Wang Xiaoliang thought. He was looking through his wife's hidden cards.
"The earliest notebook started in high school."
"Her first plan targeted a girl in her class."
"Targeted?"
"The best-looking boy in their year liked Li Lanxiang. Li Lanxiang wasn't really interested in him, but another girl wouldn't stand for it-she'd been chasing that boy for ages, and she saw Li Lanxiang as a thorn in her side. That girl's family had money and influence. She rounded up a few others to go after her."
"Bullying?"
"Bullying."
Kong Xiuyun paused.
"A normal person's first reaction to being bullied would be fear. They'd look for help."
"Li Lanxiang did too. She was terrified and went home crying to her mother."
"What did her mother say?"
Kong Xiuyun gave a cold laugh.
That laugh came through the receiver, and goosebumps rose all over Wang Xiaoliang. Not because it was cold, but because of what was in it.
"Her mother gave her a dressing-down."
"A dressing-down?"
"Her mother said-this is such a good opportunity. What are you crying for? Grab it."
Wang Xiaoliang's mouth fell open.
Her daughter was being bullied, tormented mercilessly. And as her mother, she hadn't felt sorry for her, contacted the school, or called the police-
She called it an opportunity.
"Her mother came up with the idea. Collect evidence, make recordings. Once