Chapter 2

(3)

A few days later, the headteacher brought over a young girl and asked me to mentor her.

"This is Ms. Qin. From now on, you'll follow her and let her be your guide."

"By the way, Alexandra went to our school for middle school. Now she's back after graduation, continuing the tradition." I smiled at the headteacher.

"I know, I even taught her back then." "Oh, what a coincidence!" The headteacher laughed and left, leaving only Alexandra and me standing there.

"Ms. Qin, long time no see. How have you been all these years?" Alexandra greeted me politely.

Ten years had passed, and the rebellious girl who once defied authority had grown into a beautiful and graceful woman.

Only her eyes still bore traces of the past.

"I'm doing well. Being a teacher is like this-teaching year after year, and before you know it, you're old."

I found it hard to feel close to her.

I didn't like her back then.

A good girl, yet she preferred hanging out with the school bullies, refusing to study. Her parents didn't care, and she often talked back to the teachers who scolded her.

Over time, no one wanted to deal with her, and she was left to her own devices.

I once saw her after school, hanging around Roger with an ingratiating smile. I was very worried that Roger might date her and affect his grades, which made me dislike her even more.

Fortunately, Roger ignored her.

Later, Roger was killed, and Albin and Gregg were arrested for the murder.

This incident seemed to change Alexandra.

She became silent and no longer wasted her time. Instead, she started studying hard.

She did well in the high school entrance exam and got into a good school.

Many teachers were pleased, except for me.

Now, she was following me, looking very respectful.

She was diligent in her work and studies.

Within a month, colleagues admired this young person, and students liked this beautiful young teacher.

Except for me.

(4)

I always felt that Roger's death was somehow connected to Alexandra.

"A bad apple spoils the bunch," Roger wrote in his diary.

Roger's parents had raised a ruckus at the school.

It was understandable.

Their beloved son disappeared overnight and was found buried in a cornfield days later.

No family could accept that.

They needed to know what had happened and why those two students could be so ruthless.

Two hardworking parents seemed to age overnight.

They tried to recall the details they had overlooked, remembering how their son came home dirty in the past two months.

When they asked him, he only said he had been playing with classmates after school.

They were happy that their son finally acted like a child his age, knowing how to play.

They searched Roger's room and finally found his diary under the bed.

From about two months ago, his writings became increasingly filled with sadness, defiance, and anger.

"The more powerless a person is, the more they are filled with strength." "Silence, or resistance." "Admiration, jealousy, hatred-human emotions are complex and ever-changing." What exactly had Roger gone through back then?

But it was certain that he had been bullied.

It wasn't hard to guess.

The two middle-aged people took the diary to the school.

By then, Albin and Gregg had already been arrested by the police, and they hadn't even seen the murderers.

They wanted to question them, why they had killed their son.

They also wanted to know how the school was educating its students.

The principal at the time was cowardly.

He knew he had failed in his duties and feared being torn apart by the angry and grieving parents. He hastily ordered the grade director to handle it and didn't even show his face.

In the end, the school compensated them with money.

The murderers had been caught, and the school had apologized and compensated them. What else could be done?

The principal was removed from his position.

This was the government's final explanation to the couple.