Therefore, the violence that adults inflict on children can be disguised as familial affection.
The atrocities were thus justified.
This is inherently the most unreasonable thing.
The line between physical and verbal abuse in disciplining children and domestic violence is too blurred.
There will always be people who exploit legal loopholes and stand on the edge of morality.
"I will not stand up." Gu Xingyue stated her position directly. "If I stand up, I will betray the dean, and I cannot do that."
Liang Shi asked, "Does Yang Jianni have any leverage over the dean?"
Gu Xingyue paused for a moment, then finally decided not to hide it and nodded honestly.
"So you became Qi Jiao in exchange, right?" Liang Shi asked again.
Gu Xingyue nodded again, and considering that she didn't have much time, she said directly, "I can't talk about the orphanage, but the director handed me over to Yang Jiani because of my illness. Yang Jiani could pay for my treatment, so the director handed me over to her and made me her daughter."
“If it weren’t for my illness, even if the dean had something on Yang Jianni, he wouldn’t have handed me over to her,” Gu Xingyue said. “As for Qi Jiao’s matter, I’ve thought it over carefully. All the righteous paths are blocked. If you want to seek justice for Qi Jiao, you’ll have to kill someone, but you’ll be punished for it, which isn’t worth it.”
At this moment, Gu Xingyue analyzed the current situation calmly and composedly, her tone carrying indifference and disgust.
When discussing the final outcome, it was merely sarcastic.
But Liang Shi felt a sense of powerlessness as he listened.
The law guarantees the existence of every individual's rights, including life and death, crime and punishment.
Including bad people.
A person who is utterly wicked, a person who has committed numerous evils, a person who is insane and inhuman.
All of these are within the scope of legal protection.
The law is the most inhumane thing, yet it also has warmth.
In this situation, however, it is a dead end with no solution.
After a brief period of helplessness, Liang Shi quickly adjusted his mindset and asked Gu Xingyue, "Do you have any ideas?"
"I haven't decided yet," Gu Xingyue said. "I need some time."
Liang Shi looked at her. "Then you need to be careful. But you mentioned Chen Mian on the phone earlier, what does this have to do with her?"
"Do you remember the paper I gave you?" Gu Xingyue asked. "It's Qi Jiao's diary. It mentions the person she used to have a crush on, Chen Mian."
Liang Shi was surprised. "Oh? My sister really likes this painter. We used to be classmates in the art studio. She's a bit older than me."
“Yes,” Gu Xingyue said. “She’s in the same class as Qi Jiao. I received a call from her the night before last.”
Liang Shi quickly processed the matter, then thought of the original owner's encounter with Chen Mian in the art studio.
If you calculate the time, it's exactly when Qi Jiao was still alive.
At that time, Chen Mian said two seemingly random sentences, tinged with contempt.
"Her diary only mentions two people, one is you, and the other is Chen Mian." Gu Xingyue quickly typed the information. "She was seen walking with Chen Mian by Yang Jianni. In fact, it was because it was raining that day, and Chen Mian was holding an umbrella to walk her to the school gate. The two accidentally touched hands while pushing each other to share an umbrella. Yang Jianni thought she was having an early romance, and then her hand was swollen from being hit with a ruler."
"Yang Jianni's possessiveness is outrageous. She doesn't allow anyone else to get close to Qi Jiao, nor does she allow Qi Jiao to make friends. So Qi Jiao is often alone at school and doesn't interact much with Chen Mian. After reading her diary, I always thought it was just her having a one-sided crush on Chen Mian, but Chen Mian must have been drunk the night before last."
After Gu Xingyue finished speaking, she played a recording for Liang Shi.
In my memory, Chen Mian's voice was very cold and aloof, with a somewhat arrogant tone that wasn't very likable, but she didn't talk to people much either.
Chen Mian's voice in this recording is quite soft, and you can tell she's had too much to drink. When she calls Qi Jiao's name, her voice is gentle and tender.
She said, "Qi Jiao, I dreamed about you again. How are you? I miss you."
She also said, "Qi Jiao, don't jump... don't jump... I'm not down there to catch you."
"Where did you go? To be honest, I used to hate you for a while because you disappeared without a trace. But then I stopped hating you because I knew you were dead. How could you die? How could someone who jumped off a rooftop and was fine die?"
"But how ridiculous, the moment you died, your mother found a replacement. How could someone like that be fit to be a mother?"
Chen Mian's voice grew increasingly weary, "Ah Jiao, if only I had the ability to hide you away."
By the time the recording ended, Liang Shi felt a mix of emotions.
If only someone had hidden Qi Jiao away back then.
But there are no "what ifs".
Gu Xingyue said, "If you know her, tell her to stop calling. I'm afraid Yang Jiani will find out."
Her voice was cold.
Liang Shi sensed a firmness in her voice and looked at her, asking, "What are you planning to do?"
"I haven't decided yet," Gu Xingyue smiled slightly, "but it should be something very interesting."
There was a hint of madness in that laugh.
“I’ve hidden the original copy of Qi Jiao’s diary,” Gu Xingyue said. “What I gave you is a handwritten copy; I didn’t add or omit a single sentence. Also, give this to my brother.”
The brother she was referring to was Guzhaoyuan.
Gu Xingyue handed over a blue envelope. "He'll understand when he sees this."
Liang Shi put away the envelope and noticed her unusual behavior. He couldn't help but say, "Mr. Gu was particularly disappointed when he didn't see you last time. He misses you very much. Also, Director Gu felt very guilty for sending you away and seeing Yang Jianni mistreating you. The Angel Orphanage has now been converted into the Compassionate Nursing Home. Director Gu's mental state is not good now, and his health is also deteriorating. So if you have time, I can take you there to see him."
"No need." Gu Xingyue pursed her lips. "The dean would be even more upset if he saw me. If possible, I'll just see my brother."
Liang Shi nodded and said he was willing to help.
Having said almost everything that needed to be said, Liang Shi still thought of Cheng Ran and hesitated whether to tell Gu Xingyue about Cheng Ran's scumbag words.
As she hesitated, Gu Xingyue picked up the teapot beside her to add tea. As she raised her hand, Liang Shi saw the bloodstains on her wrist.
Liang Shi immediately grabbed her wrist and rolled up her sleeve.
There was a bloody welt on her wrist, which had already scabbed over; it looked shocking.
But these marks also show how deep she had scratched before.
"Why?" Liang Shi asked coldly.
"Otherwise, why do you think I have freedom?" Gu Xingyue laughed as she pulled down her sleeve to cover the mark. "I always have to fight for something for myself."
Looking into Gu Xingyue's cold eyes, Liang Shi felt that he was only now truly getting to know her.
A few seconds later, Liang Shi said the words Cheng Ran had asked her to pass on: "Cheng Ran said that she also has some sincerity towards you."
Gu Xingyue was stunned upon hearing this. After a long while, she smiled.
That seemingly innocent face held a disdainful smile. "Who cares?"
Chapter 112
Gu Xingyue came out during a break between classes; she'll be going back to continue teaching the children later.
Liang Shi didn't ask her why she had suddenly been under strict surveillance by Yang Jianni again, but instead inquired about her recent situation indirectly.
Gu Xingyue took a sip of tea and said quietly, "Not dying is already a good thing, isn't it?"
One sentence left Liang Shi speechless.
But after a moment, Liang Shi said very seriously, "You should be kinder to yourself."
Gu Xingyue looked at her, "What's the use? Life hasn't gotten any better for me because of this."
“That’s why you need to be even better to yourself,” Liang Shi said. “I will help you escape from your current life, so you have to hang in there.”
When Liang Shi said this, his eyes were burning.
Upon seeing this, Gu Xingyue suddenly lowered her head and smiled.
There was a hint of bitterness in that smile.
"Why did you help me?" Gu Xingyue asked. "It's just to bring Qi Jiao's matter to light."
“That’s undeniably one of the reasons,” Liang Shi said without mincing words, “but I think you shouldn’t be anyone’s substitute.”
Qi Jiao is Qi Jiao, and Gu Xingyue is Gu Xingyue.
When faced with this situation, Liang Shi always thought, "I'll make the most of every opportunity."
Within the scope of what we can do.
Moreover, Qi Jiao had been kind to her when she was young.
She also wanted to return the name to Qi Jiao.
Many things we do are done without a reason, simply guided by our emotions. Then, in a daze, we look back and realize how far we've come.
We've come this far already, we can't give up now.
Bad people should always be punished.
Liang Shi once read a book whose title page read: "No man is an island."
In the past, she might have given up after finding out this much, and wouldn't have been so determined to help Gu Xingyue escape this cage.
But after more than two months here, her thinking has changed.
She was no longer an island; someone had entered her life, bringing her a warmth she had never experienced before.
She had received so much, so she wanted to do everything in her power to bring Gu Xingyue out of the isolated island as well.
Gu Xingyue is sincere and kind. Despite experiencing so much hardship, she is the most popular kindergarten teacher among the children.
Children's eyes never lie.
What reason is there for such a person to remain imprisoned in a cage?
Liang Shi sincerely said, "You deserve a better life, one that belongs to Gu Xingyue."
Instead of continuing to live under the name Qi Jiao.
Gu Xingyue's hands hung down on her lap, her eyes lowered.
A gentle light flowed in her eyes, and the shocking mark on her wrist revealed that she had recently experienced a rebellion.
These are scenes that occasionally appear in her more than ten years of playing Qi Jiao.