His chest heaved violently, his breathing and heartbeat falling into an erratic rhythm. His mind was blank, clouded with confusion, yet his running pace never slowed.
Even though each gasp for air felt impossible, even though his heart pounded so hard it echoed in his ears, the world around him seemed frozen in place...
Just a few hours ago, everything had been fine.
Just before he left, he had asked her to give him some time—to let him cool off.
And back then, she had smiled at him, nodding in agreement.
His footsteps came to an abrupt halt. The lakeside was already swarmed with people, their phones raised behind the police tape, their murmurs never ceasing.
Behind the tape, a soaked white cloth covered...
Long Aotian stared numbly, his hollow gaze turning vacant in an instant.
He wanted to step forward—maybe this was just a misunderstanding, an accident—but his legs had turned to stone, refusing to move.
Just a few hours ago, none of this had been real. Just a few hours...
"Damn it!"
His rigid body lurched forward uncontrollably.
"Long Aotian, why don’t you just drop dead?!" A voice, raw with fury, roared in his ears as his collar was yanked violently.
His empty eyes slowly focused. Standing before him were Huang Fei and Xu Shuai.
They were pulling at each other, saying something—but he couldn’t hear them. Everything had gone silent.
Another voice cut through.
Then he felt himself being dragged, followed by the sound of sobbing.
His chaotic mind suddenly became eerily calm.
"Wan Ning."
"Are you okay? Does it hurt...?" Lin Wanning’s worried voice drifted faintly into his ears.
The crowd was dispersed.
Long Aotian was helped to his feet.
......
"Quiet down! This isn’t the place for arguments or tantrums!"
Inside the police station.
After a brief round of questioning, everyone who had interacted with Shen Mengjie in the past two days was gathered together.
The officer glanced at Huang Fei, then at Long Aotian, unsure of what to say next.
From the information gathered, the boy seemed pitiable—but only in the most literal sense.
His grief was understandable, but this was a place of order, not a marketplace.
Hospital surveillance footage showed the fight, the three boys leaving first—Huang Fei and the others.
Then Long Aotian left.
Two hours later, Shen Mengjie walked out alone.
Alibis were confirmed for everyone involved.
"We’ve brought you all here for one reason. Based on the evidence, this was a suicide."
At this, the officer pulled out a phone.
"This was left by the deceased on the shore. There’s something on it you all should see."
The video played.
Shen Mengjie’s face appeared on the screen.
She had changed into clean, pretty clothes, wearing just a touch of makeup—like she was heading out for a casual day out.
With her brightest smile, she whispered, "I’m sorry."
She had recorded this in advance, explaining everything in her own words.
She thanked Wang Lijuan, thanked Han Xiaojing, thanked everyone.
She even thanked Huang Fei, calling him a big idiot before mimicking his voice in a playful tone: "Ahem, hey beautiful (flipping her hair), you’re pretty—mind giving me your number?"
After saying this, she made a gesture only Huang Fei would recognize—holding an imaginary apple, subtly showing it off.
No one else understood.
Huang Fei, who had been seething with rage just moments ago, burst into laughter—then tears, completely uncontrollable.
This was how they’d first met.
Seeing it reenacted, he realized how ridiculous he must have looked back then—though at the time, he’d thought his confident approach was smooth as hell.
"Ooooh, are you crying?" As if she’d predicted it, Shen Mengjie rubbed her cheek teasingly in the video. "So embarrassing..."
"Don’t be such an idiot. Stop giving your heart away so easily—being a simp isn’t cute..."
Then Long Aotian’s name was mentioned.
She took a deep breath, speaking like an old friend.
In a shy, girlish tone, she confessed little secrets—when she first fell for him, when she’d catch herself staring, even explaining everything that happened on sports day...
"Anyway, master hunter Shen Mengjie failed this time. But this time—I won’t wait for you anymore. I’m going somewhere no one can find me. A place with no pain, no sadness... and no you."
Her voice grew quieter, heavier. "I’m sorry to him/her. But I just... couldn’t hold on anymore. I thought I was stronger than this. I’m sorry..."
When the video ended, the officer spoke solemnly.
"In a very short time, she endured too much. The emotions piled up, becoming an unbearable weight that crushed her."
"Every person has a breaking point. Once crossed, the mind shatters."
The investigation, along with the evidence Shen Mengjie left in the video, proved she had fought hard.
The tragedies of her childhood hadn’t broken her. The hardships of life hadn’t broken her. But when the nightmares of her past resurfaced, mercilessly stealing everything she cherished...
Expulsion, ruined reputation, endless rumors...
No one—not even a man—could withstand that.
The officer put the phone away. His words were meant to clarify: this was suicide, the conclusion of their investigation.
Hearing this, the room filled with grief—each person mourning in their own way.
Only Long Aotian remained motionless, his expression unchanging.
Then a shrill, hateful voice pierced the air.
After watching the video, after learning everything Shen Xiu had done—the childhood scars she’d inflicted—
Huang Fei roared curses. And he wasn’t alone. Everyone’s fury erupted at the sight of Shen Xiu.
If not for her relentless pressure, if not for her spreading vicious lies at school—Shen Mengjie would never have chosen this path.
If the officers hadn’t restrained them, they would’ve lunged at Shen Xiu, striking her down without hesitation.
Suddenly finding herself the target of hostility from a group of young people, Shen Xiu instinctively felt fear. Recalling the words the police officer had said while escorting her earlier, she was momentarily at a loss—until she saw the video recorded by Shen Mengjie. Then she burst into loud sobs, shedding crocodile tears...
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
