Shen Mo kept wondering.
What had I done wrong?
He hadn't stolen anything from them.
He hadn't stolen anyone's boyfriend.
He hadn't spoken ill of anyone behind their back.
He hadn't done anything at all, so why did Tao Manru and the others treat him with such cruelty?
They called him a little slut, a whore who went out of his way to seduce other people's boyfriends.
They yanked his hair, slapped him, and spat in his face.
They tore up his homework and test papers and threw his schoolbag into the toilet.
In the end, they even called in thugs from outside school, who dragged him into an alley on his way home...
Shen Mo raised his head. Cold raindrops fell onto his young face, mingling indistinguishably with his tears.
The weather was just like his life: so bleak that not a single ray of sunshine could break through.
He had no friends at school, and at home, he had to face his alcoholic father.
He, too, wanted to grit his teeth, study hard enough to get into college, leave this place behind, and start a new life.
But he really couldn't hold on any longer!
Mom, living is so hard.
Can I come to you?
"Shen Mo, have you lost your mind? Get the hell down here!"
Li Xiugui, the dean of students, stamped his feet in panic as he looked up from below and shouted at Shen Mo.
Principal Sun Qifa shoved the idiot aside and called out in plain, earnest words, "Shen Mo, if you've been wronged, you can tell me. Please don't do anything drastic. You're still young. You can't gamble with your life. Come down, quickly. I promise you, whatever it is, we can talk it through and find a solution."
"Yes, yes, we can talk things through. Shen Mo, listen to the principal and come down right away." Vice Principal Yang Mei called out to him while secretly waving a hand behind her.
The grade supervisor understood at once and quietly led several teachers into Teaching Building Two.
Shen Mo looked coldly down at the school administrators.
Anything could be resolved?
That's right. Every time, in the end, the one they dealt with was me-the victim.
He had gone to his teachers, to the dean of students, and even directly to the principal.
But had any of it helped?
Every attempt to struggle and fight back had only brought worse humiliation and torment.
I won't believe you again.
You're all liars!
A desolate smile touched Shen Mo's lips, and he slowly began to lean forward.
"Shen Mo, I'm begging you. Please, just hear me out." The familiar voice from below made Shen Mo tremble, and he instinctively stopped leaning forward.
"Shen Mo, for the sake of the kindness I've shown you, promise me one thing. No matter what, wait until your Brother Zhou Yi gets here. Have you forgotten what I told you this morning? Your Brother Zhou Yi is a police officer. He can definitely help you. Shen Mo, cough, cough... I'm begging you, cough, cough... will you trust me one last time?"
Guo Dongmei shouted herself hoarse. She had always suffered from mild asthma, and by the end, she couldn't stop coughing.
A police officer?
Hadn't we already said no one was allowed to call the police?
Excuse me, but how exactly did you manage to treat the principal's orders like so much hot air?
The vice principals took a closer look. It was Ms. Guo, the homeroom teacher for Class Six in the second year. Oh, then that was fine.
After all, her son was the Public Security Brigade Captain.
Watching her clutch her chest and cough relentlessly, Shen Mo felt tears blur his vision. He knew Ms. Guo wanted to save him, but there was really no need to go to the trouble.
He opened his mouth, silently said thank you, and slowly closed his eyes.
Just then, the wail of sirens drew closer, reaching everyone at the scene.
Shen Mo and all the other students and teachers turned toward the sound and saw two police cars speeding in through the school gates.
Guo Dongmei's heart leaped with joy. Had her son arrived?
Clearly, he hadn't.
The drive from the county public security bureau to Second Middle School took at least fifteen minutes.
Zhou Yi couldn't possibly arrive so quickly, but he could directly order the officers from the Public Security Management Brigade nearest Second Middle School to reach the scene as fast as possible.
Liu Zhi, captain of the Third Squadron, got out of the police car with a megaphone in hand and called up toward the roof, "Shen Mo! Shen Mo! Captain Zhou Yi asked me to tell you something. Even if you've already decided to choose death, your life shouldn't end in such a hasty, reckless way."
"As a police officer, as an older brother, and as an ordinary person who sincerely wants you to live, he asks you to hold on for another ten minutes. Just ten minutes. Wait for him to get here!"
Sun Qifa, the vice principals, and Cao Wenxing, deputy editor-in-chief of the Anping Daily, all looked surprised.
Why were they surprised?
Because those two statements were exceptionally well phrased. In particular, the final appeal, made in three different capacities, was sincere, heartfelt, and deeply moving.
Though they had yet to meet Captain Zhou, they had already formed a mental image of a knowledgeable, talented young man with a promising future.
Shen Mo didn't respond, but neither did he make another move to jump. He simply stood there, motionless as a stone statue.
Guo Dongmei had never imagined that ten minutes could be such an ordeal!
She watched the seconds tick away, watched as the ten-minute countdown drew toward its end.
Her heart rose into her throat, but soon she relaxed again.
She had spotted a third police car, and as it drew closer, she saw her son behind the wheel.
On his way there, Zhou Yi had been thinking about one question.
Should the Shen Mo of the present be held responsible for the crimes he would commit in the future?
Yes, in his previous life, Shen Mo had committed countless crimes. Even death wasn't enough to atone for them.
But now, he was only a pitiful girl, beaten and berated by his alcoholic father at home and subjected to relentless bullying by his classmates at school.
Zhou Yi had followed the news about Shen Mo, and two details remained vivid in his memory.
The first was from the trial. During his final statement, Shen Mo had spoken with extraordinary calm: "I once wanted to be a good person, too. But this world never gave me a chance! When I fell into despair and struggled with all my might, not a single person around me reached out a hand!"
The second was from the week before his execution by firing squad. Shen Mo had made a request: he wanted to return to the big tree in his hometown and personally dig up the wishing bottle he had buried there years ago.
Unsurprisingly, that request had been denied.
Someone had once said that good and evil were often separated by a single thought, and becoming good or bad might come down to one choice made at a particular moment.
If-if someone were willing to offer Shen Mo a helping hand now, would the course of his future life change?
Would his ending be different, too?
Before you continue