Chapter Forty-One: The List

The atmosphere in the corridor grew heavy with oppression. Lin Jun hesitated for a moment before continuing, “Actually, the agency Xia Ye signed with appears legitimate on the surface, but beneath that facade, it’s a front for a criminal syndicate. They regularly force female artists into prostitution. For a period, I was involved with them as well, and I even saw Xia Ye at their office. If only I’d warned her then, maybe none of this would have happened. But instead, I chose to remain silent.”

Regret filled Lin Jun’s eyes, tears of remorse streaming down his face. In his heart, Xia Ye hadn’t died by her own hand—he felt as if he’d killed her himself. If not for his jealousy, perhaps Xia Ye would never have been dragged into that pit of darkness, her youth extinguished so soon.

Fang Nian placed a comforting hand on Lin Jun’s shoulder. “Since they’d already set their sights on Xia Ye, even if you hadn’t introduced her, they would’ve found another way. Now isn’t the time for tears. You need to tell us who’s behind this gang. Where is he? Only then can we help others escape their clutches.”

Lin Jun hesitated. “I can’t. They said if I ever betrayed them, they’d go after everyone in our class. I can’t…”

“Brother Jun, we’re not afraid,” someone interjected.

“Yeah, Brother Jun, just tell Teacher Fang. We’re not afraid of them—we can’t let them hurt anyone else,” chimed in the class monitor, Douzi.

“That’s right, Jun. We all made mistakes because of jealousy, but now that we have a chance to make amends, we can’t run away anymore. Speak up,” added another.

Lin Jun looked at his classmates, a new light flickering in his eyes. “His name is Liu Xing. On the streets, they call him ‘Boss Xing.’ He has a luxury gambling ship disguised as a fishing boat at Donggang Port. It docks for just one hour every Friday from eight to nine in the evening.”

Fang Nian nodded slightly and discreetly ended the call in his pocket. Meanwhile, five kilometers away at the rest stop, Lin Wei turned to the officer beside him. “Alert all police units in the city—tonight at eight, we’re storming the Donggang gambling ship to arrest Liu Xing. Also, get the military on the line—request navy and air force support. We need to bring this scum to justice before dawn. Damn it, we’ve finally found you.”

The classmates opened up to each other, and Fang Nian gave them back their freedom, even preparing a sumptuous dinner. For the first time, good food and hot water allowed them to savor the sweetness of survival. Unlike before, when conversation was colored by fear or resentment, now their eyes sparkled as they chatted over dinner.

But while everyone else reveled in the joyful atmosphere, the girl with the ponytail sat alone in a corner, eating cake with a worried look.

Fang Nian approached her gently.

“Why not join everyone for dinner?”

The ponytailed girl paused, then managed an awkward smile. “No, thank you. I’m not fond of crowds.”

Just then, class monitor Douzi, Ayi, and another boy joined them. “Come on, stop pretending to be shy and come hang out with us.”

The ponytailed girl gave a couple of dry laughs, reluctant but unable to refuse, and prepared to walk over with them. But at that moment, Fang Nian softly called to her.

“Do you have that item?”

The girl’s body tensed, and she turned her head in panic. “What item? I don’t have anything.”

Fang Nian regarded her with a newfound gentleness and let her in on the fact that he and Lin Jun’s father, Lin Wei, were working together.

“Just now, Lin Jun’s father dismantled Liu Xing’s gambling boat. The main criminals from Liu’s agency, including Liu Xing himself, have been arrested. However, during the search of the agency’s headquarters, the police couldn’t find a certain list.”

“That list contains information about the recruiters at various schools who scouted targets for Liu’s agency. If we want to convict Liu Xing and catch the pimps hiding in the shadows, we have to find that list.”

He turned to the ponytailed girl. “Do you know where it is?”

She stood frozen. Some students wanted to comfort her, but Fang Nian stopped them. “Give her some time.”

Ten minutes later, her vacant stare transformed into resolve. She reached into a hidden seam in her clothes and took out a USB drive, uploading an encrypted image to Fang Nian’s computer.

Opening it revealed a list of names, each accompanied by the corresponding school. But when they found Dimen High School, the note said only “Dimen High School teacher,” with the name conspicuously omitted.

Tears welled in the ponytailed girl’s eyes as she gazed at the screen. “My boyfriend was an outstanding police academy student. The government sent him undercover into Liu Xing’s criminal organization, and this list is what he managed to steal.”

“So where is he now? We never heard you had a boyfriend,” someone asked.

At the question, the girl finally broke down, tears streaming uncontrollably. “Liu Xing discovered his identity long ago. In order to retrieve the list, he devised a cruel plan. He first assigned my boyfriend to a high school as a liaison to scout pretty girls for him. My boyfriend was a police officer—he’d never do such a thing.”

“But Liu Xing secretly tracked his every move, then forged a video and posted it online. Amid a storm of online abuse, my boyfriend became lost, even starting to believe the lies about himself.”

“And then…”

Everyone knew what happened after that. Unexpectedly, the ponytailed girl did not continue to cry. She lifted her head, her gaze now resolute, and looked at Fang Nian.

“Teacher Fang, my boyfriend was a hero. I can’t lose my courage either. Let’s find the real culprit who betrayed their own students—the true murderer of Xia Ye. We may not know his name, but we can be certain he’s a teacher at our high school.”

Fang Nian smiled and nodded, then played a video on the computer. In the footage, the faces were obscured, but the silhouettes made it clear: a middle-aged man and a girl in her school uniform. The two ascended the stairs together. After about ten minutes, only the man came back down, followed by the arrival of an ambulance.

The students were stunned, and Lin Jun’s earlier words echoed in their minds: “Xia Ye didn’t commit suicide—she was murdered. And the killer is the middle-aged man in the video. Coupled with what the ponytailed girl just said, this person is very likely a teacher at Dimen High School.”

At once, the students were ablaze with indignation, all joining the investigation team to uncover the true culprit.