Enthusiastic citizens
He Zi Lu was very thin, and on top of that, she was deliberately dieting to an extreme, chasing the “bone-skinny” beauty ideal—she was practically just a walking skeleton.
She wore a flowing white dress, her toes tiptoeing as she spun around on the Qu Ting Chuang like a girl in a music box, both light and eerie.
Yu Song observed the window behind her, his brow furrowing slightly as he slowly approached her.
Zhao Xue, however, was frightened and shouted sharply: “Zi Rui, it’s late at night, what are you doing? Get down right now!”
He Zi Lu didn’t hear him at all, but she saw him. When she spun around to face inside the room, her vacant eyes twitched slightly before fixing on Yu Song’s face.
“What are you doing here?”
Perhaps the music in her earphones was too loud, because He Zi Lu’s voice was also quite loud as she jumped down from the Qu Ting Chuang, looking at Yu Song with a mix of suspicion and resentment.
Yu Song ignored her attitude and glanced at her hand.
“That ring is very pretty. Who gave it to you?”
“Mind your own business.”
Zhao Xue rushed over and yanked off the earphones from her head.
“Zi Lu, talk properly with your classmates. Look at how you’re acting.”
Just then, He Feng, arriving late, impatiently glared at Yu Song.
“What’s going on here? Even if my Zi Lu annoyed you, you can’t just come barging into my house at this hour.”
Then he turned annoyedly to Zhao Xue.
“And what about you? What’s going on? Zi Lu’s in her own room. She was just listening to music and dancing a bit. What’s so bad about that? Someone literally kicked her door open, and you’re defending the intruder?”
Zhao Xue felt wronged.
“You came in late and didn’t see how Zi Lu was acting just now—it was like she was… like she was…”
“Like she’s sick! I’m really afraid she might accidentally fall off the seventeenth floor,” Yu Song finished the unspoken thought for her.
He Feng was even angrier.
He Zi Lu’s bedroom had inward-opening windows on both sides that could only open halfway, and in the middle was the floor-to-ceiling Qu Ting Chuang.
The Qu Ting Chuang was very wide—about the width of a single bed. He Zi Lu used to often pull the curtains and hide there.
The Qu Ting Chuang glass had been tested and was definitely safe.
So when he saw her dancing on it, he didn’t think there was a problem.
Kids get bored alone at home; what’s wrong with dancing?
The window was high up and couldn’t be fully opened, so there was no way she could fall.
He Feng felt like he was a progressive parent and scolded: “You’re the ones who are sick! How could she fall? She’s a big kid with a strong personality who likes to mess around. Just because she does something, you call her sick? Zhao Xue, I think you’re the one who has a problem. She’s our only child. If she didn’t want you around, maybe you should look at your own issues instead of calling her crazy!”
He reached out to pull his daughter.
He Zi Lu pushed his hand away.
Her eyes were deeply sunken, with dark circles—obviously she hadn’t rested well for a long time.
Seeing her parents start arguing again, she irritably covered her ears with her hands.
“If you want to fight, fight outside! Don’t bother me here!”
“And you too!” Still covering her ears, she charged straight at Yu Song like a cannonball. “Aren’t we supposed to be estranged? What are you doing at my house? Did they ask you to come? Crazy!”
Her last sentence was directed at her parents.
Seeing both sides think the other was crazy, Yu Song felt a bit helpless.
He leaned close to He Zi Lu’s ear: “Zi Lu, if you cover your ears and ask questions, do you want to hear answers or not?”
He Zi Lu paused, then took the earphones Zhao Xue had just yanked off from around her neck and put them back on.
Her voice regained confidence as she shouted loudly: “I’m not listening to any of you, only the music! Everyone get out! This is my private territory. I don’t care why you asked Yu Song to come here—I barely know her. Everyone out!”
He Feng seemed like a parent who spoiled his child and was very disgusted by Yu Song’s intrusion, feeling like he had invited a lunatic into his home.
“Coming to someone’s house late at night to cause trouble, and scaring my Zi Lu—what kind of behavior is that? Zi Lu, do you want to call the police or not?”
He Zi Lu had already put on her earphones and was banging her head to the music.
Yu Song said flatly: “Call the police then. I don’t have time to babysit her, and neither of you are reliable anyway.”
He Feng was stunned. “Who are you calling unreliable? My daughter’s perfectly fine! Why do you have to watch her? Are you okay?”
Zhao Xue had arrived earlier than him.
She thought their daughter was indeed acting strange today, but seeing how determined He Feng was that Yu Song was there to stir up trouble, she was influenced as well.
“I just told you, Zi Lu’s always like this—she likes to stay locked in her room, surfing the internet and listening to music all day. We’re her parents; if something really happened, do you think we wouldn’t care? Classmate, what exactly do you want with her? If it’s nothing, please leave. Otherwise, we’ll have to call the police.”
“Call it, call it! Stop wasting time.”
Yu Song impatiently talked to them while keeping her eyes fixed on He Zi Lu, who was about to climb onto the Qu Ting Chuang again.
She quickly grabbed her.
He Zi Lu panicked.
“Yu Song, are you crazy? Let go of me!”
He Feng was even angrier.
Where the hell did this green-haired girl run off from—a mental hospital or what?
How could she be so wild?
He and Zhao Xue came over to pull Yu Song back.
Yu Song pointed to the glass on the Qu Ting Chuang: “That glass has been scratched by something. It could shatter if hit. Are you sure you want her dancing up there?”
Hearing that, both He Feng and Zhao Xue froze, staring at the scratched glass on the Qu Ting Chuang.
Even their grip on Yu Song’s hand loosened unconsciously.
Only He Zi Lu, wearing her earphones, was oblivious and angrily tried to push Yu Song away to climb back up.
Yu Song used a quick maneuver, grabbing her shoulder and throwing her off.
While He Zi Lu was off balance, Yu Song took the earphones from her head and put them on herself.
He Zi Lu’s reaction was strange—she only lost her earphones, but she shrank inward like someone stripped of their clothes, looking shocked and helpless.
“Give them back!” she shouted loudly, as if she had lost something precious.
Yu Song, already deafened by the blaring music, didn’t take them off.
Instead, she imitated He Zi Lu and jumped onto the Qu Ting Chuang.
He Zi Lu lunged forward and missed, staring blankly.
He Feng had already noticed the scratches on the glass—a big “米” shaped mark.
He didn’t know what could have made such a deep scratch.
He was stunned.
Just as he showed Zhao Xue and asked what was going on, Yu Song jumped onto the Qu Ting Chuang.
He Feng was dumbfounded.
What kind of attraction did this Qu Ting Chuang have?
Why were one or two people always climbing on it?
Yu Song only wanted to imitate He Zi Lu’s movements before she almost jumped to simulate what it felt like, to see if the music in the earphones was problematic, and to observe He Zi Lu’s reaction.
The scratches on the glass were definitely from He Zi Lu.
Now Yu Song was standing in the most dangerous spot.
Would He Zi Lu warn her to be careful, or was she secretly hoping Yu Song would break the glass and fall?
Or was she afraid Yu Song would steal the meticulously arranged suicide scene?
He Zi Lu’s expression was somewhat fanatical as she hurriedly lunged to grab Yu Song’s cheek.
“Get down now! This is my room! All of you get out!”
Yu Song couldn’t hear her voice clearly but understood from her movements and expression that He Zi Lu felt like she was encroaching on her territory.
The earphones were excellent quality—no distortion and clear sound.
The song playing was in English, the male vocalist’s voice deep and powerful, seemingly echoing.
The background music fluctuated between soft murmurs and roaring, with gusts of wind in between.
The powerful singing paired with simple, straightforward lyrics described a person’s life.
He was born, he grew up, he went to school, he fell in love, he was heartbroken, he got married, divorced, died, then was born again, grew up…
It sounded like a song about life’s cycle, fate, but with the background and the deep male voice, it gave a sense of hopelessness and powerlessness against the endless cycle.
Yu Song was prepared for this but still felt a little suffocated listening to it.
She guessed it was the original owner’s feelings—after all, the original owner was truly emo every day.
He Zi Lu didn’t give up trying to pull her down, but Yu Song was like a playful dog, agilely moving back and forth on the Qu Ting Chuang, kicking He Zi Lu away every time she tried to climb up.
Sometimes she pretended to bump against the glass, scaring He Zi Lu out of her wits.
He Feng watched in disbelief.
He felt like both his daughter and this green-haired girl were crazy.
Zhao Xue, however, reacted quickly and dialed 110 on her phone.
He Feng only snapped out of it when he heard her calling the police.
Crazy or not, the Qu Ting Chuang was very dangerous.
They couldn’t let them stay in the room.
He hurried over to pull He Zi Lu down.
By now, she had lost all reason and bit his hand.
He Feng endured the pain, holding her arms tightly and forcibly pulling her out.
Yu Song then jumped down from the Qu Ting Chuang, took off her earphones, and sat at He Zi Lu’s desk, checking the playlist on her notebook.
Besides movie and music apps, He Zi Lu’s notebook contained nothing useful.
Her phone was next to the notebook.
Yu Song picked it up and asked Zhao Xue, “Do you know the password?”
When Yu Song was using the notebook, Zhao Xue wanted to stop her but, for some reason, didn’t say a word and silently stood behind her watching.
Now she shook her head helplessly.
“No idea. How would Zi Lu tell us the password? She spends almost twenty-four hours on her phone a day, and she gets unhappy if we say even two words to her.”
Yu Song stood up holding the phone. “First, close the bedroom door. Wait for the police before checking the windows.”
Zhao Xue nodded quickly.
She wasn’t stupid—she just often focused only on what she cared about and neglected her daughter.
Seeing the scratches on the window now, she was extremely scared.
She walked behind Yu Song and asked, “Classmate, did you come here for Zi Lu? How did you know… she was going crazy?”
“I had something to discuss with her, just coincidence.”
Yu Song actually wanted to tell the male and female leads about the two calls from Director Hei Rui, and also inform Gu Zhi to investigate, but she was afraid of alerting the other party.
They might respond with even more covert and difficult-to-expose tactics.
When she left, He Zi Lu had calmed down, and He Feng had loosened his grip, kindly asking what was wrong with her.
He Zi Lu just kept her head down and said nothing.
When Yu Song approached, she immediately revived and raised her hand to strike.
Her stance was strange, her hand back facing Yu Song’s face, hitting fast and hard.
Yu Song tilted her head to dodge, then grabbed He Zi Lu’s wrist.
“Who gave you that ring? Let me hold onto it for now.”
Carefully, she removed the ring from He Zi Lu’s right index finger.
He Feng stared blankly.
“Did Zi Lu use that to scratch the glass? Is it a diamond? Who gave it to you?”
Zhao Xue frowned.
“Scratch glass with a diamond? Did you learn that from a movie?”
Yu Song took the ring and pushed He Zi Lu back to He Feng’s side.
He Feng immediately understood and restrained his daughter’s hands again.
He Zi Lu struggled like a fish out of water, kicking He Feng, while Zhao Xue hurried over to help.
Seeing their cooperation, Yu Song explained: “It’s not a diamond. It just looks like one. It’s industrial-grade diamond, cheap and used for glass cutting tools, easy to replace. It’s my first time seeing someone use it as a ring.”
He Feng looked even more suspicious and sized up Yu Song again.
“Who exactly are you?”
Yu Song smiled as she heard the doorbell ring, knowing the police had arrived.
“I’m a concerned citizen, and also a classmate of He Zi Lu.”