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On the way out, Ke Li recalled the hanging corpse, that courtyard, and the fact that the corpse was Luo Muye's father. She had seen his appearance in a photograph, but that courtyard was not his family's. The clarity with which Luo Tong remembered that courtyard suggested it might have been their original home. Why would Luo Muye's father hang himself at their doorstep? Could Luo Muye's death be related to Luo Tong's family? As an adult, Luo Tong frantically sought revenge for Luo Muye's death, but was it truly for her? Was it really about vengeance? Could it be that he was trying to alleviate his own guilt?
Luo Tong began to notice traces of Ke Li everywhere on strangers: Ke Li's bright smile, her light yellow handbag, her smart watch, her perfume, her manicured nails... As Ke Li gradually walked back into his mental world, he saw her standing before him in a white dress, bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun, breathtakingly beautiful.
Ke Li reached out to him, "You loved me, and I loved you. I want to get to know thirteen-year-old Luo Tong again. Can you give me a chance to eliminate our prejudices?"
Luo Tong took Ke Li's hand and held her close. "Do you want to know what really happened in the boys' restroom back then?"
At that time, a group of delinquents cornered Luo Muye and Luo Tong. They wielded cleaning tools—mops, buckets, brushes—swinging them at the faces of the two. Outside of them, a large crowd of classmates formed a semicircle. The delinquents slapped them while the crowd cheered. They forced them to swallow filth as others raised their phones to record videos. The delinquents dragged them over and beat them up while the crowd screamed as if their national football team had won the World Cup. Encouraged by the excitement, the delinquents pulled out utility knives from their pockets as the crowd jeered. To save him, Luo Muye clung tightly to three legs of a stool while Luo Tong was so terrified that he stumbled out in a panic. He found a teacher who lazily called over another male teacher to accompany him. By the time they reached the restroom, there was nothing left but a pool of blood on the floor.
At that moment, Luo Muye might still have been struggling in the sewage pit, not yet dead.
Later, when the teacher asked him to identify the bullies face-to-face, those towering figures stood before him with fierce gazes. The moment he saw their faces, he could remember their fists, their feet, their weapons—how could he dare?
"Don't talk nonsense if you won't identify them."
He felt utterly helpless then; originally he had Luo Muye by his side, but now he was alone. He could only wait until the weekend to go home and tell his parents everything in hopes they would take him to report it to the police. His parents did not agree immediately. Just then, a car pulled up outside; his father bent down and spoke with someone through the car window while laughing. Then a bundle of cash was thrown out as the car drove away. His father knelt down to pick up the money and after confirming he hadn't missed any bills, turned around and slapped him hard.
"If you dare say another word about this, I'll break your legs!"
So when the police pushed a utility knife in front of him, he firmly stated, "It's Luo Muye's. He told me those guys were bullying him too much and that he wanted to kill them! I couldn't stop him."
Mutual fighting—if Luo Muye's death caused his parents to lose hope for life, these two words "mutual fighting" completely sent them down a path of despair; their son had been killed yet they couldn't even maintain their innocence.
He didn't know what time it was when dawn broke; his mother went out to weed in the fields. As she opened the door, she saw Luo Muye's father hanging in mid-air turn his face toward her blankly; she was terrified.
Not long after, villagers reported it to the police who discovered her mother's body at Luo Muye's home—her neck had been slashed multiple times leaving only half still attached to her head. Eventually determined by forensic experts as suicide, villagers said it took immense determination to inflict such wounds upon oneself.
The entire family of Luo Muye was wiped out; villagers turned their gaze toward Luo Tong's family. As he walked down the street, they stared at him; as he passed by, they pointed at his back. When he went into a small shop, the previously lively atmosphere instantly turned cold. Inside those courtyards and houses, they were filled with hatred and gossip about his family.
They hid in one room as whispers attacked from all sides; villagers murmured outside in hushed tones that he couldn't quite hear but seemed never-ending. Eventually overwhelmed by pressure, his father force-fed half a bottle of pesticide to his mother and swallowed half himself, leaving only Luo Tong alive to carry on their legacy.
Just as Luo Tong had told Ke Li before: their house, furniture, and savings were all divided up completely. He lived for several years in conditions worse than pigs or dogs; upon turning sixteen, he escaped from the village and accidentally fell into a gang of thieves. When caught stealing by an owner one day and panicking in desperation killed someone, that gang didn’t want trouble and kicked him out. He knew nothing but crime but there’s one law: evil people attract each other; soon enough he found where he belonged among those who robbed, killed, raped and extorted without remorse. He learned many skills from them with killing being what he excelled at.
He betrayed Luo Muye and caused his entire family’s demise; naturally he should seek redemption. Using connections and inquiries through various channels led him to discover those people's latest addresses where he lured them one by one into traps.
As for Lu Zhang—on that day he'd just stolen a pregnant woman's bag and ran three kilometers without stopping until confirming no one was following him. Opening the bag revealed a pile of diapers inside. "Damn!" he cursed under his breath as suddenly an old class group chat buzzed with activity after years of silence discussing Lu Zhang enthusiastically—calling him an outstanding student who had achieved great success and bought a house in Beijing right after graduation—they sent images from his company profile showing his handsome face with gentle features while a pack of short-sighted sycophants licked up to their master who remained oblivious.
He couldn’t help but recall middle school days when he along with Luo Muye and Lu Zhang stood obediently in an alley paying protection fees; Lu Zhang paid most eagerly fearing beatings—a cowardly look he'd never forget!
All were cockroaches kneeling at delinquents' feet; now that Luo Muye was dead he'd spend his life hiding everywhere while Lu Zhang—a coward—had risen early on earning respect—why should that be?
This stark contrast ignited unprecedented fury and jealousy within him; jealousy is a terrifying thing especially when felt towards desperate criminals.
After killing Lu Zhang, he foolishly imagined seizing everything belonging to Lu Zhang would make him become like him—but ultimately it only led to humiliation.
But he saw the graduation photo of Class 4 at Lu Zhang's house, which reminded him of Ke Li. He used his classmates to find out where Ke Li was currently working and deliberately approached Ke Li under the identity and status of Lu Zhang.
He loved Ke Li, as long as Ke Li was obedient.
Ke Li said, "I will be obedient."
In the surveillance footage, Luo Tong sat alone on the sofa, his right arm extended, talking to himself.
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