Chapter Forty: Rediscover Your Kindness

Having gone without food for several days, Lin Jun slowly rose to his feet and looked toward Fang Nian, who had finally reappeared, a faint smile curling at the corner of his lips.

“How do you know I haven’t fallen for your drug?” he asked.

Fang Nian spread his hands and replied, “Lin Jun, male, began studying martial arts at age four, claimed the national boys’ martial arts championship in the junior group at six. At twelve, he represented his country in the international youth martial arts tournament and brought home a top prize.”

“Although martial arts took up most of your life, you never neglected your studies. With your impressive intelligence, you excelled in nearly every subject, the pride of your high school at the time.”

At Fang Nian’s words, Lin Jun’s fists tightened, his gaze brimming with murderous intent.

“Stop it.”

“But everything changed when you were fourteen. A classmate was followed after school by thugs from the underworld. You happened upon them and stepped in, but no matter how skilled, you were outnumbered. Although you saved the girl, your spine was injured in the fight.”

“That injury meant you could never practice martial arts again, forever stripped of the chance to shine as a star. Yet the girl you saved didn’t even thank you before her family left the city.”

“After that, you spiraled into despair. Not only did you lose your sense of justice, you started leading small cliques at school, bullying and humiliating classmates. Now you’ve become the very kind of person you once despised.”

“Enough!” Lin Jun bellowed. He had no words to refute Fang Nian—for even he could scarcely believe what he had become.

Fang Nian walked over and unlocked the iron door to Lin Jun’s room, handing him a piece of bread. Lin Jun snatched it and crammed it into his mouth, more desperate than ever before.

“Why?” Lin Jun demanded.

With a calm expression, Fang Nian replied, “Let’s fight. If you beat me, I’ll tell you why.”

As he spoke, Fang Nian threw a punch at Lin Jun’s face. Instinctively, Lin Jun dodged and spun, kicking at Fang Nian. Fang Nian raised his forearm to block the whip-like kick, stumbling back two steps before regaining his balance.

“Not bad. A national champion really is something else.”

To Lin Jun, Fang Nian’s words sounded like pure mockery, only fueling his rage.

“Shut up!”

Regaining his strength, Lin Jun attacked like a wild horse unleashed. Fang Nian was not content to merely take the blows, and soon the two clashed in a fierce, bare-knuckle brawl.

“Why do you torment those weaker students?” Fang Nian called out between blows. “Is it the thrill of domination? I think not. What I see in you is jealousy—wild, consuming jealousy. You envy Xia Ye, who now has everything you once did. You envy her because she can achieve what you never could. You envy her because she’s become the person you once dreamed of being.”

“I told you to shut up!”

Lin Jun’s onslaught grew even more violent, his fists slamming into the iron door without even feeling pain, but Fang Nian was undeterred.

“That’s why you bullied her—searching for some measure of release. Tell me, do you want to destroy her?”

At those words, Lin Jun froze, staring blankly down the empty corridor. After a long moment, tears slipped down his cheeks, and he began to sob uncontrollably.

“No… I never wanted to destroy her… I’m just jealous, jealous that everything I lost is now hers. Why is it that I did something good, yet my reward was such a miserable fate? Why?”

“Jun, if you’re in so much pain, why didn’t you tell us? Aren’t we brothers?”

Only then did Lin Jun realize that Yi was standing before him, eyes red with fury, fists clenched as if ready to strike. Behind Yi stood the entire senior three, class three—every student had stepped out of their cells and now stood in the corridor, watching.

“Teacher Fang…”

Lin Jun could not understand what was happening.

Fang Nian smiled, his warmth in stark contrast to the coldness he’d shown before. “Lin Jun, you might not realize it yourself, but you are the soul of class three. Without knowing it, you’ve become their leader. As I said before, if you are outstanding, the whole class will strive to be outstanding. But if you fall, they will all fall with you.”

“I brought you here to show you, and to show the world, that those who have fallen are not beyond hope. If you let go of violence and prejudice, you all can become better people.”

As Fang Nian finished, tears ran down many faces. The days spent in this prison had taught them all a great deal.

“So, Lin Jun, do you want to see another tragedy like Xia Ye? I know her case isn’t simple—there are secrets behind it that no one knows. I hope you can rediscover your kindness and step forward to tell us what you know. Let’s catch the real culprit, so there won’t be another Xia Ye. What do you say?”

When Fang Nian finished, all the students stepped forward, laying their hands on Lin Jun’s shoulders, as if to pass their strength to him.

Lin Jun looked back at his classmates and nodded. But suddenly, as if struck by a realization, he shouted to Fang Nian, “Teacher, hurry and restrain us. The police might break in any minute!”

The students grew restless at Lin Jun’s words, confused about why he’d say such a thing. But Fang Nian remained calm, pulling a small flashlight from his pocket.

“The person communicating with you in Morse code these last few days wasn’t your father—it was me. You’re very clever. When the bus exploded, you tossed the tracking device and distress message out the window. The day after you were drugged, you used a urine-soaked cloth to resist the gas. And you used the Morse code you learned as a Scout to report our situation to the outside world. Compared to your classmates, you really are outstanding.”

Lin Jun paused, then said with self-deprecating laughter, “But I still lost to you, Teacher.”

Fang Nian ruffled Lin Jun’s hair with a smile. “If I didn’t have some skill, how could I be your teacher?”

The students broke into laughter—a long-lost sound. For a moment, the old, familiar, yet distant class three seemed to have returned.

Yi and two boys helped Lin Jun up. His gaze grew icy, and after a long silence, he said in a deep voice, “Xia Ye didn’t kill herself—she was murdered.”

His words exploded like a bomb in class three. Nearly everyone covered their mouths, unable to believe it.