Chapter 64 pt 1

Hey readers!

I'm back! I'll be updating Tuesday-Friday like I used to.

Sorry for the long break! (just finished my finals QAQ)

This chapter is pretty depressing, but it was a story I was waiting for. It is related to the previous chapter, so if you have forgotten what had happened, I would encourage you to reread the previous chapter.

Happy reading!

-Cinnabun

Almost as soon as his voice fell, Shen Fu sitting in his chair slowly said: "Since the dead Sun Hei died from a relapse of an old disease, the master of the academy could have just stated the truth. Or when the night is dark and wind is high, just throw the corpse in front of Qingyuan Academy. Why bother making such a complicated scheme?

"Furthermore, although the curator Gao is the owner of the academy, he is only a scholar after all. The son of a dignified wealthy businessman lied to the outside world that he was dead in order to achieve your goals. What kind of situation occurred for you to willingly do so? ?"

The word ‘you’ was spoken to Sun He.

As these doubts were uttered one by one, Sun He's complexion changed from white to red, and from red to green, completely in a state of fright and terror.

But he was still compulsively calm and even wanted to maintain a smile, so his face was contorted.

Seeing him like this, Xue TingRang's eyes faintly flashed coldly.

Man is really a very strange animal. When he is evil, he doesn't feel he has done anything wrong, and he dares to do any unthinkable and appalling things. But when he is encountered with a crisis, he will still be afraid?

Why are you afraid? Xue TingRang constantly wonders but has not been able to understand this kind of emotion. He should be unafraid. Since he has done it, he must have the consciousness to take responsibility for the consequences.

"This child didn’t actually know what happened. But the owner said that there was an accident in the academy, and my parents at home were worried, so they said I should recuperate from my illness at home..." This excuse was a good excuse, but the liar is not calm enough. Anyone with eyes can see that this Sun He is lying.

But Shen Fu didn't take it seriously and even discussed it with him with interest: "According to that, you are completely innocent. The chief culprit is this Gao academy owner?"

Sun He did not turn to look at Gao Youzhi and nodded.

When he went out, his father personally instructed that no matter what happened, just do not admit anything. As long as he doesn't admit it, there is room for maneuver. With his family's money, even in a life lawsuit, he can be bought out. What's more, there are also magistrate Hu and Gao Youzhi. These two people have received silver from his family.

Thinking this, Sun He finally calmed down a bit and said, "If you don't believe me, you can ask the owner of the academy."

At this time, Gao Youzhi was in no better condition than him, but the boat is already sinking ¹. If he can take responsibility for everything, maybe the magistrate Hu and the Sun family will protect him secretly. As long as the third young master Shen is gone, this county government is still where magistrate Hu has the final say. But if he was ignorant and bites back, even if the third young master Shen forgave him, County Magistrate Hu and Sun's family would not forgive him.

"This matter really has nothing to do with him. I deliberately distracted him."

Shen Fu laughed, seeming to hear some funny joke.

Just when Gao Youzhi and others were nervous and waiting for him to respond, he suddenly faced Xue TingRang: "Do you have anything else to say?"

Xue TingRang was not surprised that Shen Fu would ask him that.

In terms of outstanding talents, Shen Fu is not top-notch among the children of many families. At best, he is only middle-class. Because of this, there is that amazing and talented person who was awarded a jinshi ² at a young age, and he is just a juren ³.

Because he is not talented, he is more serious than anyone else. That kind of serious attitude is extremely terrifying, and Shen Fu's mind is also meticulous.

So, knowing that there was a loophole in his words, Xue TingRang deliberately left a flaw. Maybe he felt that being like this was not his essence from the bottom of his heart.

The real him wouldn’t deal with people in this manner. He has always believed in hitting a snake seven inches in, or he will not strike at all ⁴. Once he strikes, he will kill, and he will not be soft, but this time he has avoided heavy punishment and instead gave a lighter punishment.

Just what is the real him? Xue TingRang fell into the feeling of confusion that has arisen from time to time since he had that dream.

He thought for a moment, or for a few moments, and then he smiled very complicatedly and said: "This young one wants to tell a story."

"Speak."

So Xue TingRang told a story.

This story was organized by him based on the information he had, and maybe it was mixed with some of his vague emotions, so he told it very devotedly and melancholically.

The protagonist of the story is a rural boy who grew up in a carefree field. Maybe life is not rich, but there is a father, a mother, and a grandmother who loves him, so his life was very happy.

This kind of life continued until he reached a sensible age. His poor but loving parents, suddenly felt that their son shouldn't be a peasant forever, always facing the yellow earth with his back to the sky. Their son is so clever and smart. He should have a good future. Even if he can't be an official, he can still open a private school and teach and educate people like the scholar in the neighboring village.

So his parents took their many years of savings and sent him to the village school to begin learning, and since then he started his journey in the company of books.

Only he knows how difficult it is for a child of a peasant family to study. Reluctant to waste pen and ink and feeling sorry for his parents who have to go to the fields to work in the hot summer, but he can sit in the house and read.

Sometimes he even complained a little about those books. If it weren't for them, he wouldn't be so guilty and helpless at all. He can help his parents work, and the family can still be like before.

Books are the root of all evil. He hates them, yet he is fascinated by them.

But soon he abandoned this useless idea. The family had already spent a lot of money for his studies. He couldn't let the money go to waste, so he could only continue reading.

He finally changed from a child to a teenager.

He is knowledgeable and is considered a decent person in the village, but this is far from enough. The gentleman in the village school has no way to teach him. He needs to go to a better school to reach a higher level. This time his parents still supported him as always. In order to send him to the best school they knew, they even sold the land at home.

In this way, bearing the expectations of his whole family, he came to the academy that he had longed for.

And this academy was far less beautiful than he had imagined.

He is poor, so his clothes are always patched. The best clothes in his life is the student robe that his parents paid a lot of money for but was almost donated to him by the academy.

This student robe hides all his humbleness and timidity. He is like a snail, firmly, step by step, crawling towards his goal. If there was a storm on the way, he would subconsciously retract into that weak shell until it was calm outside, then came out cautiously and continued to climb forward.

However, it is clear that this world is very ruthless, and this school has a vicious habit, because the utilitarianism is hidden in the root, so the students are also so utilitarian. They despise poverty and despise the weak. They respect those rich children and turn their heads to bully classmates who are easy to bully.

And the worst things are those rich families who respect their own lives and regard other’s lives like grass. They laughed at him for fun. When they were in a good mood, they just made fun, and when they were in a bad mood, they used him as a punching bag.

He didn't dare to say anything and he couldn't say anything. He came with all the expectations of the family. He could only endure, and then one day he would leave here with his head high.

But obviously he underestimated the frightening, hideous nature of humans, and he killed himself.

The story came to an abrupt end.

1. this is a chinese metaphor: things have come to a conclusion and there is no way to change it ↑
2. a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations ↑
3. a successful candidate in the imperial examinations at the provincial level in the Ming and Qing dynasties ↑
4. another metaphor: when speaking and doing things, must grasp the main idea or event ↑

This was super depressing, and I think this kind of situation is not uncommon. I encourage those who are experiencing either bullying or just stress to reach out and talk to someone about it. It really does help! (from personal experience)

Also, the second to last sentence in this chapter section was pretty vague, but I think some of you probably got it right. I don't think it was the physical kicking and punching that made him commit suicide. I think the rich kids took it a step farther & maybe sexually abused him... but it's pretty open ended.