evildoer

Chapter 8

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [25]: The worst part is that after Zhou Hua fell, he kept screaming in extreme panic and his body kept swaying. My injured right arm could barely hold him up!

At that critical moment, I suddenly felt my right hand go light. My first thought was: Oh no, Zhou Hua has fallen. But then I realized my right hand was still gripping something, and Zhou Hua's screams hadn't stopped. I glanced to my side and excitedly saw that it was Liu Shiyan who had run over and pulled Zhou Hua back to safety.

I quickly said to her, "Put more force into your hand first. My right hand is not good enough, so I need to switch to the other hand."

She was doing her best to pull Zhou Hua back, so she just nodded.

I took a breath and quickly grabbed Zhou Hua's clothes with my left hand.

Immediately, I didn't dare to delay and shouted to Liu Shiyan, "One, two, three!" Then, with all my might, I pulled Zhou Hua in through the window.

I pulled him into the house, and Liu Shiyan, as if exhausted, plopped down on the ground. I, too, gasped for breath, only to feel the unusual pain in my dislocated right shoulder.

Zhou Hua seemed to be in great shock. As soon as we pulled him into the house, he curled up in a corner, covered his head, and said in a tearful voice, "I don't want to die, pull me up!"

I could no longer contain my anger towards him, and I yelled at him, "You're not dead yet!"

My shout had an immediate effect. He suddenly raised his head, looked at me, and murmured, "Yes, that's right, I'm not dead, I'm not dead." Then he burst into laughter.

The moment I saw the look in his eyes, I sighed inwardly. I knew it was over. The person I had pulled back from the brink of death with all my might was nothing but a madman!

Just then, several people rushed in through the door, both boys and girls. I guessed that someone had seen what happened at the window and had come up here. I recognized one or two of them, so I said to them, "Keep an eye on that boy and get someone to fetch a doctor. He's mentally unstable."

Although they didn't know what had happened, they trusted me completely and agreed without asking any questions.

I was still tormented by the pain in my right shoulder, so I was half-bent over, my right arm hanging there helplessly as if suspended in mid-air.

Liu Shiyan stood up at this moment, and when she saw my appearance, she asked in surprise, "What's wrong with you?"

I forced a smile and said, "It's nothing serious, just a dislocated shoulder."

Without saying a word, she came to my side, picked me up, and started to walk me out.

I quickly said, "It's okay, I can still walk." As I spoke, I hurried away from her. Actually, I didn't mean to disappoint her kindness, but firstly, I wasn't seriously injured, and secondly, my vanity made me want to play the hero again.

But when she saw that I was avoiding her, she immediately became unhappy, and I naturally felt a little guilty, so I stretched out my left hand, gesturing for her to come with me.

She then wrinkled her nose again and walked out of the dormitory with me.

A lot of girls had already gathered outside the dormitory. As soon as they saw us come out, they all looked at us with all sorts of strange eyes. Of course, I didn't have time to care about their looks. I just wanted to get my right shoulder back to normal as soon as possible.

As soon as we reached the stairwell, I saw a girl rushing up from downstairs. I knew it was Chu Yi as soon as I saw her.

When Chu Yi saw me, she glanced at Liu Shiyan beside me, but didn't say anything. She just asked me, "How's your shoulder?"

Chu Yi's mother is arguably the best surgeon in the country, and Chu Yi herself had studied medicine with her mother from a young age, achieving a high level of skill. Therefore, upon seeing my appearance, she naturally understood what was wrong with my shoulder.

Although Chu Yi didn't say anything when she saw me with Liu Shiyan, we had already developed a tacit understanding. I immediately sensed a fleeting hint of jealousy in her heart.

I quickly replied, "It's alright, it's nothing serious."

She ignored what I said, and instead touched my shoulder first, then held my right arm with both hands, gave it a gentle push and a snap, and with a "click," my shoulder immediately returned to its original position.

But this blow really hurt me quite a bit, and I couldn't help but grimace and mutter, "That was really hard."

Chu Yi chuckled secretly and whispered, "You deserve it."

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [26]: By the evening of the second day, much of the follow-up work on this matter had been completed. Zhou Hua was sent to a mental hospital for treatment; Han Ying decided to transfer schools because she had been severely frightened for the past few days; Su Quan's dormitory was no longer occupied by anyone due to this series of events; and as for Su Quan's two letters, Liu Shiyan secretly burned them at my suggestion.

I have my reasons for doing this. The whole thing is beyond the realm of common sense, and many people's futures have already been needlessly sacrificed for it. I don't want these two letters to cause any more trouble.

That evening, Chu Yi came to me, and we talked about this matter again. I told her the contents of Su Quan's letter, and then I summarized the whole thing from beginning to end, as I always do: Last semester, Su Quan suffered a setback in her relationship and studies, which led to abnormal brain activity. From a medical perspective, the intensity of her brain waves was higher than that of ordinary people.

At this point, I assume that her brain has begun to interfere with other people's senses under certain circumstances, which is why the strange things that happened to Liu Shiyan in the washroom occurred.

Then, during her treatment, the intensity of her brain waves continued to increase, but no one noticed.

(Of course, it wasn't anyone. I imagine that Zhou Hua gradually fell in love with Su Quan during this period due to her influence, which later led to his breakup with Han Ying.) After she finished her treatment, at some point, Su Quan did gain the ability to perceive the thoughts of those around her due to abnormal brain activity.

However, this ability gradually plunged her into an invisible pressure. In her eyes, everyone was no longer hiding anything, and what accompanied her every day was the real and dirty thoughts of the people around her.

Because she lived in this environment every day, her emotions were extremely suppressed. Finally, after an argument with Han Ying a few days ago, Han Ying's desire for revenge against her formed a strong psychological suggestion in her mind.

I further hypothesized that at this time her brain activity was more active, but also more uncontrollable than it had been six months prior. Thus, what was originally a very ordinary (but very strong) thought in Han Ying caused her brain activity to gradually spiral out of control.

That night, she told Zhou Hua about her psychological suggestion, and because in her subconscious she was killed by Han Ying, she told Zhou Hua that she was going to be killed.

Here I have to assume that Zhou Hua was severely affected by Su Quan's brain, so even though she heard such strange things, she didn't ask any questions at all, because Su Quan implied that "you won't understand even if you ask."

Afterwards, Su Quan sent two "farewell" letters, one to the other people in his dormitory and one to Zhou Hua.

Finally, at noon that day, Su Quan, under the intense psychological suggestion, suffered a mental breakdown and fell to her death. (Although Su Quan's letter clearly showed suicidal tendencies, I still prefer to believe that she fell accidentally in a state of extreme confusion.) After I finished explaining my views on the whole incident, Chu Yi remained silent for a long time, and I, too, remained silent.

Finally, Chu Yi said, "It seems that's how things are. However, we all misjudged Su Quan from the beginning."

I understand that she and I had the same feeling when we first saw Su Quan's letter. Indeed, we've all always thought Su Quan was an odd person, and we tend to be skeptical of odd people. But now, with the truth revealed (to me), we realize that Su Quan is truly an innocent person.

I sighed, echoing Chu Yi's words: "Yes, we always say, 'If only I knew what he was thinking,' but who would understand that that is actually the greatest pain."

Chu Yi said, "Yes, humans have survived for so many years, and the only secret that people can keep between each other is their own thoughts. Isn't this actually a result of natural selection? But once someone transcends this state, all that will be brought to them is suffering."

When I heard Chu Yi's words, I felt that this was indeed an unprecedented idea, but upon closer reflection, I realized that it contained profound truths. Think about it: if everyone could see through another person's thoughts, then humanity's inherent flaws would have long since destroyed us. The fact that humanity is still living well under the masks we've woven is undoubtedly due to the lack of a brain in our evolutionary process.

When I thought of this, I couldn't help but shake my head helplessly. Chu Yi knew what I was thinking and also gave a wry smile.

We walked silently along the lake when suddenly, Chu Yi seemed to remember something and said, "Hey, do you remember what words Han Ying used to describe Su Quan?"

I didn't understand why Chu Yi would suddenly ask such a question, and said, "It seems to be the word 'monster,' why are you asking about this?"

Chu Yi paused for a moment, then said, "Actually, I think that Su Quan was indeed killed, but by a monster."

I frowned: "What do you mean?"

Chu Yi pointed to her head and said, "The monster I'm talking about is right here."

When I saw her gesture, I seemed to understand a little, but it was still just a vague concept, so I said, "You mean..."

Chu Yi said, "This monster resides in the heart of each of us. Su Quan saw it, but was devoured by it."

I immediately understood Chu Yi's meaning. I couldn't help but close my eyes and let out a sound that was almost a groan: Yes, the jealousy, suspicion, and hatred that exist in our hearts at all times... combined, they are nothing less than an invisible demon. Every day, we try our best to suppress it to maintain our peaceful lives. But once someone sees it without any cover, it will mercilessly devour them, just like someone who opens a bottle containing the devil.

Then I thought, in fact, wasn't Zhou Hua also controlled by the demon in his own heart, which led him to go crazy?

Upon thinking of this, I couldn't help but say, "It's not just Su Quan."

Chu Yi naturally thought of what I had thought as well, and said, "What can we do? I just hope that people won't be ruined by this monster."

I looked at the calm lake with a wry smile and said in a voice so soft I could barely hear myself, "Yes, I hope so."

□ End of text

postscript

After finishing this story, I felt an indescribable sense of oppression, feeling sad for both Su Quan and Zhou Hua.

But I was truly powerless—the only thing I could rely on to fight against that monster was myself.

But just one day after I finished writing my story, another incident spread across campus: a male student in the chemistry department, after arguing with two other students about their daily lives, wanted to "get revenge" and stole a small amount of thallium from the lab, putting it into their food. Although he later realized the situation was serious and, as if having a change of heart, took one of them to the hospital for emergency treatment, it resulted in one person being hospitalized and the other becoming a permanent vegetative state.

When I heard about this, I gave a wry smile and casually patted the thin storybook beside me—I had nothing more to say, and nothing more to say.