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墨書 Inktalez
In Nanfeng's eyes, Ke Li was a hero.
Less than a week after the case of Luo Muye's death was closed, the school started summer vacation three days earlier than usual. Before the break, the principal and class teachers repeatedly warned the students, "Don't talk nonsense! Don't spread rumors! Protect our classmates, do you understand? If anyone talks about this to outsiders and I catch you, you'll receive a serious demerit!"
A serious demerit would be publicly announced throughout the school, recorded in personal files, and would follow them for life. Good universities wouldn't accept them, they would struggle to find good jobs, and their futures would be doomed...
Such intimidation made the twelve- and thirteen-year-olds believe it wholeheartedly, fearing that a single word could ruin their lives. Parents were even more cautious; their children were their lifeblood, and when it came to their children's futures, who would dare take risks?
Everyone kept silent about it.
But Ke Li was wild and unruly!
Ke Li's parents worked at the same factory as Nanfeng's mother and lived in the same residential complex. Although they were separated by several buildings, it didn't stop Ke Li from visiting Nanfeng's house today and Nanfeng from going to Ke Li's house to do homework tomorrow.
The two figured out how to cool down the TV by locking the door and each taking a game console to see who could score more points. They would sneak a coin from the change box to buy lollipops downstairs. One day, Ke Li accidentally found an old phone her father had hidden. Nanfeng wanted to play games on it, but Ke Li suddenly became serious. She used a video app to search for various keywords related to the Luo Muye Incident. There were a few poorly made videos that summarized that some boys from a certain middle school had caused one of their peers to drown in a toilet due to long-standing conflicts. The views were sparse, and in the comments section, some people bluntly blamed this incident on "not being disciplined."
"Nanfeng, this isn't fair," Ke Li said sadly while lying on her bed. "Exams should be fair, duties should be fair, even when two students argue there should be fairness. Why is it that when one person dies—a life is lost—the teacher's fairness doesn't count?"
"Those people are minors."
"Luo Muye was already an adult? He was only twelve or thirteen! Everyone at school knows his family situation; his parents worked so hard to raise him and send him to school. How unfair is it that those people are released without charges and are even protected? Is that fair to Uncle and Aunt?"
Ke Li sat up on her bed, staring intently at a spot as if lost in thought. Nanfeng knew she had come up with an idea.
"Nanfeng!" Ke Li suddenly looked up with bright eyes fixed on Nanfeng. "Let's expose this!"
"Huh?" Nanfeng said softly. "If the school catches us, we'll get serious demerits! Aren't you afraid?"
Ke Li held her head high, nostrils flaring defiantly. "Why should I be afraid? Those who commit murder aren't afraid; why should I be scared of posting a video? They're minors; I'm only thirteen too!"
Nanfeng lowered her head, biting her nails nervously. After hesitating for a long time, she finally made up her mind and gently reminded Ke Li, "Just remember to blur our faces; otherwise we might face retaliation."
"Don't get involved in this! Auntie is already tired enough raising the family alone; let's not worry her too much. I'll handle it; just trust me!"
Ke Li didn't want Nanfeng to get into trouble, but Nanfeng couldn't completely distance herself from it either.
It was Ke Li's first time posting a video. Looking at the small dot above her phone camera made her tremble as she spoke. She had planned everything perfectly in her mind—just needed to explain everything clearly from start to finish—but as soon as her pale face appeared on screen, her brain went blank.
There was no choice; Wei Nanfeng, the class representative for Chinese and editor of the school newspaper, personally helped her write a speech. The wording was precise, metaphors beautiful, parallel structures smooth; the article was perfectly cohesive from beginning to end!
Nanfeng held up the phone while Ke Li held the speech in hand and faced the camera for an emotional address. "Nanfeng, this language is too fancy; can we make it more conversational?"
Whatever you wanted, Nanfeng could provide; she was a little genius. In just half a day she produced a second draft. Although Ke Li still trembled slightly, they had made progress together. The two huddled together to study video editing and special effects features, spending an entire week clumsily putting together the video.
Ke Li wasn't in a hurry to post it. "If we post it now, it might not even make waves before it's deleted. I know it'll definitely get deleted eventually, but before that happens, I have to expose what those people look like!"
"Do you mean that after school starts, you'll take pictures of those people and post them along with this video?"
"Yes!"
"But what if no one pays attention?"
"I don't know," Ke Li said, sitting next to the water tank on the rooftop, looking up at the sky. "But at least Luo Muye will see it. If he knows that someone is willing to seek justice for him, he might feel a little happier. Nanfeng, to be honest, I feel so guilty. Just thinking about him makes it hard for me to breathe. I actually knew about how he was bullied by his classmates. At that time, I chose to 'stay out of it.' I didn't bully him; I thought I was being kind, and I even felt proud of myself. Do you remember when Meng Qi lost her wallet? Meng Qi's family is wealthy, so everyone suspected it was someone poor who stole it. Who in the whole school is the poorest? Luo Muye's desk was turned over, and everything on it was scattered everywhere. They didn't find the wallet, but they still suspected him."
"Yeah, and there are still no results. After Luo Muye died, this matter became completely unclear."
Ke Li turned her head and asked in confusion, "What needs to be clarified? Why would they suspect him? Does he have a history of theft? Just because he's poor? This has nothing to do with him!"
Nanfeng suddenly froze. "Right, it seems there is no evidence proving he did it."
"But I can testify that this whole thing was a misunderstanding from the beginning!"
Nanfeng sat up straight. "What do you mean? What do you know?"
"Luo Muye was treated like that by the whole class. Meng Qi probably didn't expect that her wallet wasn't lost at all; she just forgot it in her backpack. After school, I saw her take the wallet out of her bag and freeze for a moment. But because things escalated, she didn't dare to tell the truth, which caused Luo Muye to carry the label of 'thief' afterwards."
"Why didn't you tell me?!"
"Because... I was afraid that if I stood up for Luo Muye, people would say I was in cahoots with him and then target me along with him. They would spread rumors that I was dating Luo Muye or sleeping with someone... You've seen what happened to Luo Muye; they just wanted to attack him. Meng Qi's wallet was just an excuse. I know I handled this poorly; I was scared and guilty, so I didn't dare to tell you."
Nanfeng gently stroked Ke Li's head with her small palm.
"Guilt doesn't help; aren't we trying to make amends?"
"Huh?"
"We committed the sin of turning a blind eye, so we need to take back justice for Luo Muye!"
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