Chapter 33 – In the Shadows

Xie Ning had collected and organized two sets of materials.

One set contained all the archived information related to Yan Ru, including even the case file of his father, Yan Ande’s “Highway Schoolgirl Sudden Death Case,” which had been dug up from the past.

The other set, as requested by Lu Anchi, consisted of all missing persons reports filed in Xue City over the past thirty years.

Xie Ning didn’t understand Lu Anchi’s intentions. After all, these materials had no obvious connection to the recent cases—especially Yan Ru’s “Rose Murder Case,” which had once caused panic not just in Xue City but across the nation. The higher-ups had placed great importance on it, ordering that the victims’ remains be found as soon as possible to provide closure to society.

At this point, almost everyone’s focus was centered on Yan Ru’s case. Yet Lu Anchi had inexplicably tasked Xie Ning with gathering these seemingly irrelevant documents.

Xie Ning had even begun to suspect that Lu Anchi was trying to pull her off the front lines.

But when she came across the “July 16 Schoolgirl Disappearance Case,” Xie Ning keenly sensed something amiss.

The July 16 Schoolgirl Disappearance Case—the missing person was Fu Xiaoling.

This was a name once known nationwide.

Thanks to a report by the renowned journalist Jenny, the “Highway Schoolgirl Sudden Death Case” had entered the public consciousness, and the victim, Fu Xiaoling, had garnered widespread sympathy.

Before her death, she had gone missing for a period of time, and her family had even reported it to the police?

But why had no one ever heard of this?

Xie Ning’s mind raced, sifting through all available information.

The case was too old—twenty years ago. Back then, she had only been eight years old.

Suddenly, Xie Ning remembered something. She quickly pulled out the case file for the “Highway Schoolgirl Sudden Death Case.”

Her eyelashes trembled slightly as she skimmed through the document at lightning speed, then scrutinized every testimony and case record again, unwilling to overlook anything.

Not a single one of Fu Xiaoling’s family members had mentioned that she had ever gone missing.

Fu Xiaoling had just turned eighteen at the time. Due to her family’s financial situation, she had dropped out of school and was working odd jobs in Xue City, so she might have been away from home for extended periods. Because of this, her neighbors wouldn’t have known whether she was missing or not.

But under such circumstances, her family should have made this clear in their statements.

Perhaps the girl had had a falling-out with her family and run away, leading them to report her missing in a panic. But if she had returned shortly afterward, her parents might not have thought much of it, lacking the awareness to formally withdraw the report. Naturally, they wouldn’t have mentioned her disappearance in their testimonies.

But these were all just Xie Ning’s speculations.

So—had Fu Xiaoling really returned home before her death?

The night was deep and silent, so still that even the insects in the dense forest dared not make a sound. The stars glittered like scattered dice, while the moon left no trace.

Yan Ru and I pressed ourselves against the steep slope as the conversation above us continued.

Sun Danhao said, “Haven’t you guys been lusting after that beauty for ages? Don’t you want a taste?”

Another voice, hesitant: “But she’s a teacher…”

Zhou Xin punched him, the dull thud echoing sharply in the quiet night—clearly, he hadn’t held back.

“Doesn’t that make it even hotter?!”

The voice was so lewd it made me sick to my stomach.

The timid boy stammered, “What if… what if she reports us? I still… I still want to go to college…”

“With grades like yours, what fucking college?!”

Sun Danhao rasped, “Zhou Xin, stop picking on Chen Zhidong! Don’t worry, Zhidong—we’re all minors. There’s nothing she can do to us!”

Chen Zhidong wavered. “Really?”

“Of course! Didn’t you pay attention in civics class?” Sun Danhao coaxed earnestly. “It won’t stop you from going to college. Even if we get caught, so what? We’re just hormonal teenagers—we’re allowed to make mistakes, right? A couple of days in juvie at most!”

“No way…”

Zhou Xin suddenly cut in, his voice trembling with excitement. “Heh, actually, you don’t have to worry that much. I’ve got a way to make sure they can’t pin anything on us.”

Sun Danhao: “Spit it out!”

Zhou Xin said, “My cousin in the city brought back something good… heh heh! Wear this, and there’ll be no evidence left! Plus, Yan Ru’s here, right? We’ll just drag him over and pin it on him. Like father, like son—it’s only natural!”

As soon as he finished, a chorus of lewd, muffled laughter erupted above us. They seemed to have already envisioned the scene where I’d be left speechless in my own defense—and they were practically salivating over it.

Leaning against the slope, I listened coldly, my heart entirely unruffled.

After all, this wasn’t the first time I’d heard such things.

Ten years ago, if I hadn’t happened to leave the campsite to use the bathroom, I might never have known just how much malice they harbored toward me—enough to try and ruin my entire life.

This was the heavens giving me a chance. I should make the most of it, shouldn’t I?

The figures above us finalized their plan: tomorrow night, one of them would lure Wang Yuehan out, while another would drag Yan Ru over.

With a scapegoat in place, Chen Zhidong grew bolder, and his laughter occasionally joined theirs.

Soon, the three left as quietly as they had come. Both Yan Ru and I sighed in relief at not having been discovered.

Neither of us spoke, as if stunned by the sheer depravity of these boys.

Yan Ru suddenly stood, heading back toward the campsite.

I grabbed his hand. “What are you doing?”

Yan Ru looked down at me. “Reporting them, of course! You think we should just let those little thugs assault a girl?”

I tightened my grip. “Calm down first and listen to me!”

As Yan Ru paused, I stood up, dusted myself off, and said leisurely, “Do you have any proof?”

In the faint light filtering from afar, I saw Yan Ru’s brows furrow.

His silence told me I’d struck a chord.

“Given your reputation at school, without evidence, who’d believe you? Worse, they might turn it around and accuse you of slander.”

Yan Ru didn’t argue—he knew I was right.

“Of course, I can testify for you. But because I’m friends with you, I’ve been ostracized too. People might not believe me either. I don’t care what others think—I’ll always believe in you and stand by you. But with something this big, we can’t act recklessly, right?”

I could hardly believe such persuasive words were coming from my own mouth. I was almost moved by my own sincere performance, my heart trembling uncontrollably.

After a moment of thought, Yan Ru said, “But we can’t just do nothing. We should at least warn the teachers so they can be on guard.”

“Of course we won’t do nothing,” I agreed, then pivoted. “But Yan Ru, have you ever considered this? For scum like them, even if they fail this time, they’ll just find another victim later. To cure a disease, you have to treat the root. If we don’t make them understand their mistake in a way they’ll never forget, we’d only be enabling them, letting them cause endless harm.”

“So what do you suggest?”

I slowed my breathing, enunciating each word. “I have a plan.”

“Go on.”

“Those half-baked legal illiterates really think minors can commit crimes without consequences. They’re all over sixteen—in a few months, they’ll be eighteen.” Under the cover of night, I couldn’t help but smirk, though I kept my voice steady. “We don’t have evidence now, right? So first, we use Wei Qinzhou’s camera to record them attempting assault. Once we have that, everyone will believe us, and we can report them—send them to prison to reform. Of course, I won’t let Teacher Wang actually get hurt. Once… once we have the evidence, we’ll step in to protect her. Wouldn’t that kill two birds with one stone?”

Yan Ru didn’t speak for a long time after I finished.

I feigned hesitation. “Of course, I have my own motives too. They’ve made your life hell—we should teach them a lesson, shouldn’t we? If you don’t want to, we can just go now and…”

Before I could finish, Yan Ru let out a soft, barely audible chuckle. “That really is a great idea.”