Mitternachts-Handbuch für paranormale Phänomene

Kapitel 6

"..." Fang Lin did not apologize, but still stiffly raised her face.

The homeroom teacher glared at her from close range, his breath, still smelling of freshly woken air, hitting her face directly: "Li Fanglin, don't think you can be arrogant just because you're the daughter of a murderer. School isn't a place for you to act tough. If you want to be a hooligan, go home. In my school, you should act like a student! You have no manners!"

The boy sitting in front of Fang Lin read with a blank expression, but inwardly he was extremely disdainful...

Where is the arrogance?

When did he become violent and aggressive?

It was completely illogical, and it was absolutely not something a teacher should say to a student. To put it bluntly, it was just rambling and cursing, and the whole class could see that... But the boy in the front seat didn't dare to show even the slightest bit of disagreement on his face.

In this class, "ignoring justice" is the most basic way to survive.

2

If this class is the epitome of the most evil side of the world...

Therefore, Fang Lin is the king who endures evil.

Lunchtime is the liveliest time in the classroom.

The boy wolfed down his food and rushed out to the playground to play basketball, as if afraid of not sweating a drop.

The girls ate in groups of three or five, pushing the tables together. Some chatted about which of Jolin Tsai's and Jay Chou's latest albums was better, some discussed makeup tips, and many more talked about celebrity gossip online.

In the noisy classroom, Fang Lin's corner was the quietest.

No one wanted to, and no one dared to, share a table with Fang Lin, who ate the lunchbox she had brought from home by herself.

I hastily made it this morning with leftovers, but after four classes, the food had gone cold and was only left with a vague temperature.

Those who don't order lunchboxes usually bring their own lunchboxes from home to school. During the third period, the students on duty will take all these lunchboxes to the rice steaming room next to the middle corridor, and then carry them back to the classroom at noon.

Fang Lin had tried steaming lunchboxes two or three times, but either the lunchboxes mysteriously disappeared, or they were filled with sand and eraser shavings when opened. Once, she even found a glob of phlegm inside the lunchbox... Who spat that? Anyone in this classroom could have done it.

Each bite, the taste of the cold food lingered between my teeth as I slowly chewed.

Every day at this time, the lonely Fang Lin would reflect on her experiences over the past few years.

When Fang Lin was in the second semester of second grade, a "serious car accident" took many lives, including her father... This is Fang Lin's own version of events. A unique account.

The official version is:

A middle-aged office worker named Li Youchen lost his temper after missing the towing yard pick-up time. He climbed over the wall, drove off in his car, and then drove recklessly through the city. He not only refused to be apprehended by the police, but also caused more than 20 traffic accidents of varying severity due to his dangerous driving.

Finally, thanks to the police's heroic arrest operation, at 11:31 AM, Li Youchen, driving excessively, crashed into a roadside seafood restaurant, killing eight diners instantly and injuring thirteen others. Four more diners died en route to the hospital. Two police officers died from their injuries during the pursuit when their vehicle overturned; another officer had a leg amputated and was transferred to administrative duties. An old taxi overturned and crashed into a utility pole; the driver was critically injured and remains in a vegetative state, thankfully without any passengers in the taxi at the time…

This is the most serious chain-reaction traffic accident in Taiwan's history, and also the most heinous public danger crime in the history of public order—this atrocity can only be described as "evil," causing many deaths and injuries, and tearing many families apart.

As for why the suspect, Li Youchen, would engage in such a dangerous driving spree over a seemingly trivial matter, according to police records, he had taken two hours off work that afternoon to see an ENT specialist. After being told by the doctor that he had a mild cold, he did not pick up his daughter from school. According to surveillance footage from the intersection, Li Youchen stayed in a roadside parking space near the hospital for approximately two hours before leaving…

What exactly happened to the suspect during those two hours, while he was holed up in that small, old RV?

There is no solution.

Unsurprisingly, this major car ramming incident dominated all the newspapers and the front page of the magazines.

Motive is the mother of solving a case.

However, opinions vary widely regarding Li Youchen's motives for committing the crime. Some say he had pre-existing mental health issues, while others suggest his car was likely out of control and unable to brake at the time. But more superstitious gossip magazines interviewed several temple masters and altar chiefs, these self-proclaimed spiritual experts who confidently asserted that Li Youchen was possessed by a ghost, leading to his erratic behavior—this explanation is the most widely believed. Because it offers the most dramatic and unexplained explanation.

Fang Lin, who was still very young, remembers very clearly what happened that night.

The father, who had just been in a car accident, called home.

"sorry"

"Dad?"

"Fang Lin, Dad, I'm so sorry."

"Dad, where have you been? Why haven't you come home?"

"Dad misses you so much, and I really want to go home for dinner."

"Then come back quickly... Mom is angry with you."

Have you finished your homework?

"There's only a little bit left."

"Good girl."

"Dad, come back quickly! The teacher told us to recite the multiplication table to our parents, and you have to sign the communication book to prove I've memorized it, otherwise I'll get scolded by the teacher at school tomorrow..."

"Then recite it to Dad."

"I'm going to memorize it!"

"Okay, 212."

"212, 224, 236, 248, 250, 262, 274, 286, 298, 313, 326, 339, 342, 355, 368, 3721... Dad, this is so funny! Is this '3721' the idiom 'regardless of the consequences'?"

"Yeah, and then what? Gossip?"

"Three times eight is twenty-four, three times nine is twenty-seven. Four times one is four, four times two is eight, four times three is two..."

Fang Lin recited the multiplication table in one go, and by the end she was completely out of breath.

"Dad, are you listening?"

"have."

"Am I good or not?"

"Great job, Fang Lin is great."

"Then hurry back, but Mom is really angry, you're in big trouble."

"Fang Lin, Daddy wants to talk to you."

"kindness?"

"No matter what happens, no matter what kind of person your dad becomes, you must remember what he's saying now."

"..."

"You know, in a person's life, we will encounter many unhappy things and meet many bad people, but occasionally good things will also happen."

"I don't understand."

"Good things will definitely happen; we live on in order to encounter those good things."

"good."

"Good girl."

Then the call was disconnected.

She will never forget these conversations. She knows them so well that she can recite every single word.

However, whenever Fang Lin mentioned the contents of that phone call to the adults around her, they would look at her with disbelief. At first, they were surprised, then suspicious, followed by a series of increasingly pointed questions... and finally they would accuse her of lying and call her a bad child.

"Your father was stuck in the driver's seat the whole time, how could he have gone out to make a phone call?"

"Your call records don't show this call at all, what kind of lie are you making up?"

"What's the point of lying? Your father died right there! He died!"

Only her mother said nothing, but hugged her tightly and cried together until neither of them had any tears left.

As Fang Lin grew older, she still believed it every time she recalled that phone call.

She never convinced herself that it was just her overthinking due to missing her father too much, nor did she think she was mentally unstable, let alone that it was a mysterious prank call.

It was Dad who called. It was definitely Dad. Absolutely.

For so many years, everyone said that her father was a big bad guy who drove around hitting people and killing them, but Fang Lin firmly believed that her father had just encountered something very unhappy. Of course, she didn't know the details. Her father didn't mention those unhappy things at all on the phone, so those unhappy things must not be that important... Her father just told her to focus on waiting for good things to happen, and he patiently helped her recite the multiplication table.

Tragedy is terrible, but children's thoughtless jokes are often even more cruel.

After the incident, Fang Lin was bullied by her classmates who kept making up five thousand sentences saying "Your father is a murderer!" Fang Lin cried several times in anger and also had several big arguments and fights with her classmates.

The teachers at school were very protective of her, always standing by Fang Lin's side and punishing those classmates who used malicious language to hurt her. Ultimately, for Fang Lin's own good, the teachers helped her transfer to another school district.

"Fang Lin, shall I change your name for you?" Her mother would ask her this when she combed her hair.

"No." Fang Lin didn't hesitate.

"Why not?" Mom was taken aback.

“My name is Baqu,” Fang Lin said, giving a victory sign to herself in the mirror.

Mom smiled, but she also cried. The two of them hugged each other again.

I graduated from elementary school. I also graduated from junior high school.

Gradually, it seemed that the people around them had forgotten about the existence of this great tragedy.

Even if they do remember, they might only remember the murderer's daughter's name and background perfectly. As long as the media isn't interested, no one will suddenly become interested in the murderer's family.

Fang Lin lived a quiet and uneventful life over the years.

until……

On the first day of high school, the bulletin board at the back of the classroom was covered with photocopies of news articles from that year.

3

During the midday break, Fang Lin lay on the table pretending to sleep.

The desktop was covered with every imaginable mockery in Lipowhite paint.

"The daughter of a serial killer must also be a serial killer!"

"Your dad killed someone in a car accident, so what's your even cooler plan?!"

"Why didn't you die with me back then?!"

"The most promising—crazy female race car driver in history is about to be born!"

"I want to fuck you so badly! I want to fuck you to death, fuck you to death, fuck you to death, you rotten son of a murderer!"

"Real-life bumper cars, bump bump bump bump!"

"Die, you murderer's daughter!"

"Your dad treated humans like bowling pins and knocked them all down!"