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"Since Xiao Xuanmiao's family is so poor, where did her designer clothes come from?" Old Shao looked at the puzzled Xu Yiman.
Hearing Old Shao's words, Xu Yiman finally reacted and said, "That's true. That Adidas dress and the shoes together must cost over a thousand dollars. But Xiao Xuanmiao's mother is sick, and they only survive on her father's five hundred yuan; she can't afford clothes and shoes that cost more than a thousand."
"Yes." Old Shao nodded slowly. "That's the problem. According to Wang Liguo, these people were probably called over by Ge Dongyun. As for what exactly happened and why they stripped Xiao Xuanmiao of her clothes and shoes, only Ge Dongyun would know."
"Therefore," Old Shao slammed the teacup down on the table and said, "this bullying case isn't just a whim of Ge Dongyun; there must be deeper reasons behind it."
Ge Dongyun lived in the Longling District, one of the most upscale areas in Dragon City.
The door was opened by Ge Dongyun's stepmother. Before Old Shao could speak, he heard her say, "If I hadn't seen you on the screen, I wouldn't have dared to open the door. You must be here to tell me that you've caught the person who wrote those notes, right?"
Old Shao looked at the frightened Stepmother and said, "Although we haven't caught the culprit yet, you really don't need to be this scared. We haven't confirmed whether this is a real threat or just someone playing a prank. In any case, stay at home and don't open the door to strangers, like delivery people; it's best if your neighborhood security brings anything to you."
Stepmother rolled her eyes and replied, "Got it."
Old Shao nodded.
"Since you haven't caught the culprit, what are you here for now?" Stepmother asked while leaning against the door, seemingly not inclined to let the team in.
"I don't have any extra food at home," she added.
Old Shao didn't mind this slight dismissal. He said, "Actually, we're not here looking for you; we're here to find Ge Dongyun. We need her personal response regarding some matters. So, can you let us in?"
Stepmother glanced back and said, "Ge Dongyun, she hasn't seen anyone lately. After what happened, she needs to rest well, doesn't she?"
This was clearly an attempt to dismiss them.
Just as Old Shao was about to speak again, a voice came from inside: "Hey, let them in."
"Ge Dongyun?" Stepmother turned around and saw Ge Dongyun standing on the back staircase.
Ge Dongyun wore a simple T-shirt on top and a pair of ordinary jeans on the bottom, both from very common brands—plain yet clean.
With an expressionless nod, Ge Dongyun said, "Yeah, let them in. And can you keep your son quiet? He's driving me crazy."
Along with Ge Dongyun's words came the sound of loud clattering.
Ge Dongyun showed no regard for her stepmother, speaking almost in a commanding tone. However, the Stepmother did not seem angry or upset; instead, she replied with a gentle demeanor, "I understand, Ge Dongyun. Your brother Dong Ai is still young and doesn’t know better. Don’t take it to heart."
"Come in, come in," the Stepmother said as she opened the door.
"Follow me," Ge Dongyun said as she walked up the stairs.
Old Shao frowned. In most families, stepmothers were usually unkind to their stepchildren; it was rare to see one so compliant to a child and even considering the child's feelings. There must be a reason behind this dynamic, but Old Shao couldn't discern it just yet.
The Stepmother closed the door and scolded Dong Ai, "Enough playing; come back to my room."
The project team members looked over to see a four or five-year-old boy sitting at the corner of the staircase, lying on the floor and playing with building blocks. He had constructed a tower that resembled a skyscraper, but as it grew taller and more unstable, it eventually collapsed onto the wooden floor with a loud clatter.
"Let’s go," the Stepmother said as she pulled the boy along toward somewhere on the first floor.
Meanwhile, the project team members arrived on the second floor. A door at the end of the corridor was open, and Ge Dongyun was inside.
Old Shao entered first and looked at Ge Dongyun sitting in a chair. "It seems you and your brother don’t get along."
Ge Dongyun tilted her head, looking at Old Shao with an expressionless face. She slowly replied, "I don’t acknowledge him as my brother. He’s just a bastard born from my dad and some whore."
"What kind of talk is that?" Xu Yiman couldn't hold back any longer and interjected, "Even if you dislike your stepmother, she is still your elder. You should at least show some basic respect."
"She’s nothing; she doesn’t deserve my respect. My mom hadn’t even died yet when she started seducing my dad!" Ge Dongyun suddenly stood up, glaring at Xu Yiman. "So she doesn’t deserve my respect. If you’re here just for this nonsense, I’m busy and don’t have time for you."
Old Shao waved his hand to signal everyone to stop arguing about this matter. He then spoke up, "Let’s put that aside for now; we came here to ask you about Xiao Xuanmiao."
"Enough," Ge Dongyun said. "I’ve had it with her. I was the one who led the charge; it has nothing to do with anyone else."
Old Shao pulled up a chair and sat down. "I understand, but the situation now is that it's not us who want to make things difficult for you. It's the vast number of online users who won't let you off the hook, even those behind that 'murder' note. So if you don't want to be misunderstood any longer, tell me why you bullied Xiao Xuanmiao."
"I’ve had it; I just can’t stand her," Ge Dongyun replied stubbornly.
Old Shao looked into Ge Dongyun's eyes and said seriously, "Since we are here, it’s clear we have some clues. Ge Dongyun, even if you can't stand her, there’s no need to take her shoes after ripping off her dress."
"After our investigation, we found that the dress and shoes together cost a total of fourteen hundred twenty-eight yuan. Xiao Xuanmiao's family can’t afford such expensive clothes; they only have five hundred yuan a month. So those clothes aren’t hers. How do you know her?"
Ge Dongyun turned to Old Shao and asked, "Doesn't Xiao Xuanmiao know what’s going on with you?"
Old Shao replied, "We haven’t approached her yet, but from her participation in the livestreams, she doesn’t understand why you bullied her. However, she hopes everyone can forgive you so that you can return to school."
Upon hearing Old Shao's words, Ge Dongyun finally spoke up: "At the beginning of the semester, I was placed in the same class as Xiao Xuanmiao, so we got to know each other. But after one semester, I moved to Fast Class while she stayed in Rocket Class. That’s how we met; we only spent about half a year together."
"Then why did you bully her? Who do the clothes belong to?" Old Shao asked again.
"They're mine," Ge Dongyun answered.
"What happened?" Old Shao pressed.
Ge Dongyun then recounted everything that had transpired, and the reason was quite simple:
At Dragon City Fourth Middle School, there is a long-standing tradition among students where at the end of each semester, a few good friends gather for a meal because no one knows if they will be classmates again in the next semester.
During that time, everyone wants to take photos together. However, Xiao Xuanmiao didn't have any nice clothes. What girl wouldn’t want to look beautiful in photos? But she didn’t want to borrow clothes from her classmates because that would be easily noticed. At that moment, she thought of Ge Dongyun.
After class, Xiao Xuanmiao approached Ge Dongyun to borrow a nice outfit. Although they hadn’t spoken much for nearly a year and a half, their relationship had been decent during the first half of their time together. After promising to help Ge Dongyun with summer homework as payment, Ge Dongyun agreed.
Thus, Ge Dongyun lent her a pair of shoes and a dress, with Xiao Xuanmiao promising to return them after the gathering. However, after the meal, Xiao Xuanmiao did not return the clothes immediately. This infuriated Ge Dongyun and sparked thoughts of teaching Xiao Xuanmiao a lesson.
Xiao Xuanmiao didn't have a phone, making it difficult for her to contact anyone. Therefore, she reached out to one of her friends, Zhuang Qinyun, asking her to lure Xiao Xuanmiao out under the pretense of going out for fun. Zhuang Qinyun successfully brought Xiao Xuanmiao out, and Ge Dongyun and his companions were already lying in wait.
Then, Xiao Xuanmiao appeared wearing a dress and those shoes. Ge Dongyun and his friends cornered her in an alley, leading to the scene captured in the video.
In the end, Ge Dongyun and his group stripped her of her clothes and shoes, leaving Xiao Xuanmiao in nothing but her underwear, utterly humiliated.
The whole incident stemmed from a simple misunderstanding: a beauty-loving girl, Xiao Xuanmiao, failed to return some clothes to Ge Dongyun on time. Consequently, Ge Dongyun called his friends to strip Xiao Xuanmiao and slapped her a few times. This event was fortuitously recorded by a woman standing on a balcony and posted online, which led to everything that followed.
"This explains why Xiao Xuanmiao was so hesitant during her livestream when discussing the bullying; she knew she had done something wrong and hoped everyone would forgive those who bullied her," Yuan Jun remarked.
Old Shao nodded and then asked Ge Dongyun, "Since that's the reason, why didn't you just say so from the beginning?"
Ge Dongyun scoffed and replied, "No particular reason; I just didn't want to."
Old Shao shook his head helplessly. "What about the clothes?"
Ge Dongyun said, "I thought they were dirty, so I threw them away."
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