Would You Believe Me?

Once Zhou Yi had thought it through, all his hesitation vanished.

After getting out of the police car, he took the megaphone from Liu Zhi and called up to the boy on the roof. "Shen Mo, I'm Zhou Yi. You can call me Brother Zhou Yi. Stay right there and wait for me to come up. I have a secret to tell you."

A secret!

What secret?

A question mark flashed through everyone's mind.

Principal Sun and the others quickly caught on. Of course-this had to be a stalling tactic.

As soon as Zhou Yi finished speaking, he took squad leader Liu Zhi into Teaching Building No. 2. They raced up the stairs all the way to the rooftop on the fifth floor.

The grade coordinator, three teachers, and a photojournalist from the Anping Daily had arrived more than ten minutes earlier. But with Shen Mo standing right at the edge, liable to jump at any moment, none of them dared make a rash move.

Seeing that the boy still hadn't moved, Zhou Yi let out a quiet sigh of relief.

He had genuinely feared that while he was climbing the stairs, Shen Mo might jump and hit the ground with a splat.

Shen Mo silently watched the young police officer who had just run up.

So this was the Brother Zhou Yi Teacher Guo had told him about. He was quite good-looking.

He had asked Shen Mo to wait ten minutes, and Shen Mo had waited.

He had said he had a secret to share, and Shen Mo was ready to listen.

Shen Mo had made those choices not because his resolve to die had changed, but because, before leaving this world, he wanted to see what this person looked like-the person who wanted him to live, as a police officer, as an older brother, and as an ordinary human being.

He wanted to remember him!

Quietly steadying his slightly ragged breathing, Zhou Yi gave a self-mocking smile. "Shen Mo, I can tell you my secret now. The truth is... I've thought about killing myself too."

At those words, a flicker finally appeared in Shen Mo's lifeless eyes. He tilted his head, stared at Zhou Yi for a few seconds, then said flatly, "You're lying."

"No, I'm not lying. Not long ago, my girlfriend of five years broke up with me. I couldn't make sense of it. I kept obsessing over it, thinking that without her in my life, what was the point of living? So I spent every day drinking myself drunk, smoking twice as much, singing my heart out in agony, and bursting into tears at the slightest thing. Well? Doesn't your big brother sound pretty pathetic?"

As Zhou Yi offered up his ex-girlfriend as a sacrifice, he discreetly edged one step forward.

Shen Mo opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but didn't know how.

"My coworkers tried to talk me around. My friends did too, and so did my superiors. But I stubbornly insisted, 'You're not me. How could you understand the pain I'm going through?'" Zhou Yi looked at the boy, his words carrying a pointed meaning.

Shen Mo stared at him in a daze. Those words-"You're not me. How could you understand the pain I'm going through?"-stirred a long-forgotten sense of connection and understanding in his heart.

"So I'm not going to preach at you. Everything I know or can imagine about what you've suffered might not amount to even a tenth of what you've actually been through. No one wants to die. But sometimes life is just that cruel. You endure until you can't bear it anymore. Hope turns to despair, until finally, you choose to stand here."

Zhou Yi spoke at a measured pace, his voice full of feeling. Every sentence struck straight at Shen Mo's heart.

At last, there was someone who could understand him, someone who truly knew how he felt.

Tears shimmered in Shen Mo's eyes. He bit down hard on his lip, letting out muffled sobs.

Zhou Yi edged another step forward and continued, "But Shen Mo, you're only eighteen. There are so many sights you haven't seen, so many meaningful things you haven't tried. There's still so much happiness and joy waiting for you that you've never experienced. Don't you think it would be a shame to leave like this? Can you really accept that?"

"I can't, but what else can I do? They insult me, hit me, bully me, and they even had thugs from outside school take pictures of me. I've fought back. I've begged for mercy. But no matter what I do, they won't leave me alone. Tell me, what else can I do?" As if recalling memories too painful to revisit, Shen Mo suddenly grew agitated, demanding answers at the top of his lungs.

Each accusation, steeped in tears and anguish, reverberated heavily in the hearts of everyone on the roof and below.

Who would choose death unless they had nowhere left to turn?

The grade coordinator and the photojournalist couldn't help shaking their heads and sighing.

Even squad leader Liu Zhi, normally stern-faced and hard-hearted, felt an ache inside. Poor kid, he thought.

Most of the teachers and students below were deeply shaken too, their expressions downcast.

As for Teacher Guo, tears were already streaming down their face, and they were sobbing too hard to speak.

Only a cluster of girls in their second year of high school remained unmoved. Some stood with their hands in their pockets, their faces full of contempt. Others wore mocking smiles. One even had a venomous hatred in her eyes that sent a chill through anyone who saw it.

"Brother Zhou Yi, thank you. But I really can't hold on anymore." Shen Mo shook his head resolutely, his body already beginning to lean backward.

Seeing things take a dangerous turn, Zhou Yi immediately played his trump card. "Shen Mo, think about the wish bottle you buried beneath the big locust tree! Think about the promise you made to yourself!"

Shen Mo jolted. His tear-filled eyes stared at Zhou Yi in disbelief.

That was a secret known only to him!

How could this man possibly know?

"Live. Only by staying alive can you someday find out whether you've become the person you hoped to be as a child!" Zhou Yi pressed his advantage, continuing to persuade him in a low, firm voice.

A trace of hesitation and inner struggle crossed Shen Mo's face.

He didn't know why Zhou Yi knew his secret, but he knew that his resolve was wavering despite himself.

If he had a choice, of course he wanted to live!

But the question was, did he have a choice?

How long could that thin thread of faith keep him going?

Would anyone really help him?

Could they help him?

"Look here, Shen Mo."

With a solemn expression, Zhou Yi pointed to the national emblem on his police cap, then to the rank insignia on his shoulder. Finally, he clenched his right hand into a fist and held it over his heart.

"As a people's police officer, and as Shen Mo's older brother, I promise you that I'll do everything in my power to protect you. I'll get justice for you, and I'll make sure those who hurt you receive the punishment they deserve. So, Shen Mo, would you believe me?"

Standing in the drizzle, the young police officer slowly extended his hand toward the boy.

Meeting that gentle yet unwavering gaze, Shen Mo burst into tears.

Could he trust him?

Yes. He was willing to trust him!

Just as the boy tremblingly reached out his right hand, just as he was about to step away from the dangerous edge of the rooftop, a viciously grating insult suddenly rang out from below.

"Shen, you little bitch! You've wasted all this time. Just fucking jump already!"

Shen Mo's face abruptly went white. That horribly familiar voice, the voice he feared so deeply, instantly shattered the hope and courage he had only just found.

He spun around and jumped straight off the rooftop.