Chapter 361: Those Who Were Bullied

2022-05-20

When Mary stepped out of the classroom, she told us she’d picked up a few useful clues. Right after, Wang Mai left the classroom too. He didn’t even look our way—just headed off into the distance on his own. With the last class about to end, watching Wang Mai’s back left a bitter taste in my mouth. But really, what could we do?

We could help Wang Mai for a while, but not for his whole life. After years of this, he’d become who he was. Could he still find happiness in the days ahead?

Mary glanced at Wang Mai, then turned back to us. “Abstract expressionism—strictly speaking, it’s the Constructivist style of Mark Rothko. It’s all about minimalism, the inner split and impulses. His closed-off heart? A clear sign he’s on the verge of a breakdown…”

Gu Chen waved her off. “Mary, stop with the art talk none of us understand. Just tell us what you found out.”

Leaning on the wall, Mary told us, “If you want to know someone’s heart, start with what they like. He doesn’t have much in common with you, but the moment I mentioned Mark Rothko, he opened up. When Wang Mai was little, he got sick. The family didn’t have much money, so they just let it slide.”

We leaned against the wall too, listening as Mary laid it all out.

She continued, “His fever eventually broke, but he was left with hearing problems—he couldn’t clearly understand what people said. His family didn’t care much. It was his own words. Later he quietly asked a doctor. If he’d gotten proper treatment early, there was a chance for a full recovery. Now, it’s hopeless.”

Mary looked at me. “His hearing’s not great. You have to face him directly for him to hear you. He wasn’t born with a stutter either, it’s just his hearing. The words come out a little unclear, but every time he speaks, kids laugh at him. The more he worries about being laughed at, the worse it gets. He barely talks now, which has only made his stuttering worse.”

“After seven or eight years, he ended up like this.” Mary let out a heavy sigh. “Anyway, here’s what matters—I found out two important things. First, I know who else bullied him. From what he told me, more than half the class bullied him at some point, but most were just going along with the crowd.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I figured as much. When someone can’t or won’t fight back, they just become everyone’s punching bag.”

Mary went on, “Let’s not talk about those kids. Some do it to vent their own darkness, others just follow the crowd. But there were a few ringleaders. Four of them—Liang Zhengyu from Class 1, Grade 4; Guo Li from Class 2, Grade 5; Li Jun from Class 1, Grade 2; and Yang Ting from Class 1, Grade 2.”

She held up four fingers. “These are the ones who always led the bullying.”

Gu Chen frowned, tapping the wall with his hand. “But they aren’t even in the same class—some aren’t even in the same grade. How did they link up? And how could second graders bully someone in fourth grade?”

I said, “Humans are social animals. Even animals know there’s power in numbers. Just because a kid’s younger doesn’t mean he can’t bully an older one. The real question is how they all came together, given the age gaps and the mix of boys and girls.”

Mary nodded. “I wondered that too, but even Wang Mai doesn’t know how they started hanging out. According to him, they all had reputations for bullying. Over time, they found each other. It’s like they formed a group and picked a leader.”

Mary frowned. “They constantly went against the teachers, picked fights, bullied others. Nobody in class dared to cross them. They even had lackeys fetching things and running love notes for them.”

Gu Chen snorted. “Starting gangs at this age, huh?”

Mary said, “Kids these days grow up so fast. When Wang Mai was bullied, he overheard them talking. Even though they always hung together, Wang Mai never found out who their leader was. That person never showed their face—like a dragon that’s always out of sight.”

I rubbed my temples. “No idea who he is. So mysterious.”

“Still, it’s just an elementary schooler,” Gu Chen said. “Li Jun’s dead. Liang Zhengyu’s dead. That leaves Guo Li and Yang Ting.”

“Let’s move,” I told them. “The principal’s probably finished sorting the files by now.”

Gu Chen called the principal, and we headed to the office. The principal greeted us, “I’ve been waiting—you were busy investigating so I didn’t want to interrupt. Everything’s done.”

Looking over the files, I saw he’d circled all the students I’d mentioned earlier.

Flipping through the pages, I said to Gu Chen and Mary, “Circled students are always the ones who cause trouble, and their parents all have decent education and respectable jobs.”

I studied the files.

Each circle only included a few kids, but the four main ones were marked in red. I told the principal, “It’s late, the kids have gone home for lunch. This afternoon, I need you to bring in these two students.”

I was talking about Guo Li and Yang Ting.

The principal nodded.

I kept paging through. There were a few others circled in red, from all sorts of different classes.

“The rest of these circled kids, arrange to meet them too. We’ll talk to them one by one,” I said.

“Absolutely,” the principal replied. “I’ll handle everything.”

I kept going through the files, searching for anything useful.

Only a few parents were circled—maybe around a dozen. All of them fit what I had in mind: about thirty years old, well-educated, decent jobs, but compared to other people in Dongxing City, they’re still considered lower income.

“Find me these students this afternoon,” I said.

“Gu Chen.” I pointed to several names. “Tell Uncle Chen to check their families. If someone really has a grudge against Taishan Elementary, it’s probably because their kids were bullied. Especially these three.”

I pointed to three parents, their three children had all transferred schools. Two boys, one girl—all from those well-educated families. Did they switch schools because of bullying? It’s very possible.

Maybe those parents, unlike Wang Mai’s who suffered in silence, couldn’t take it when they saw their kids hurt and snapped. It could be a motive for murder.

After transferring, if these parents were pushed too far, they might have turned to violence. It’s a reasonable assumption. While not everyone is like Wang Mai’s parents, most would lose it after seeing their child hurt like that.

Gu Chen called Uncle Chen, passing on the info for those three families. Uncle Chen was still working on the fishhook and fishing line investigation, but so far, nothing new. Seemed like that lead was going nowhere.

I took the phone and said, “Uncle Chen, that fishing line angle might be a dead end. Keep a small team on it just in case, but right now, focus on checking these three families—especially what schools their kids are at now.”

“No problem, I’ll start right away. Has the killer called you again?” Uncle Chen asked.

“No, but I think it’ll happen soon. We’ve figured out who might be the next target. I doubt the killer will get another chance.”

Uncle Chen agreed, “Good. I’ll get to work. Once I find anything, I’ll call Gu Chen.”

I hung up and glanced at my phone. It was already after one. “All right, time to eat. Especially for you, Mary—you just arrived. Lunch is on me today.”

Mary grinned. “Hope you can afford me—I’ll eat you out of house and home.”

I laughed. “Come on, with your little appetite?”

The three of us found a random restaurant, ordered a few dishes, and dug in like we hadn’t eaten in days.

I raised my water bottle. “No booze today, just water. Here’s to our reunion with Mary! We’ve got three people now—soon our Special Investigation Team will be back to its old, lively self!”

“Right!” Mary beamed. “With this kind of optimism, it won’t be long before we’re all together again.”

Just as we were celebrating, the door to our private room suddenly burst open. Turning to look, we saw the principal, sweating and panting, clinging to the wall and trembling.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Something’s happened! Something’s really happened!” he gasped between breaths.