Chapter 364: Two Little Girls

2022-05-20

Guo Li’s parents sat in silence, deep in thought, not rushing to deny anything. That alone showed they were at least somewhat rational. The fact that they took time to consider meant there was some possibility of truth in their hearts.

After a pause, the woman finally spoke. “I think… it’s possible.”

Guo Li’s mother came across as honest and open. She said, “My daughter’s always had a bit of a temper at home. Any time she gets upset, she tends to take it out on us, and not even her father can get her to stop.”

She glanced over at Guo Li’s father, who sighed in resignation. “The two of us are usually busy with work. We barely have time for her. We even tried hiring a couple of people to cook for her, but she wouldn’t have it. She said if anyone else came into our home she just wouldn’t come back for lunch.”

“So she’s always alone at home?” I asked.

Guo Li’s mother nodded. “That’s right. Neither of us can leave work at noon, we never make it home in time to cook. Today I went out of my way to take an hour off just to pick her up. I cooked something quick, then had to rush right back to work. Who would’ve guessed, after just a short while, my daughter would disappear.”

The man frowned and said, “All we’re saying is that it’s possible she might do something like this, but we really don’t know what’s going on with her at school. We don’t spend enough time paying attention to her—but isn’t all this hard work just so she can have a better life?”

That was when Gu Chen and Mary stepped out.

Mary waved the notebook in her hand, studied the couple, and said, “I’m guessing you’ve never read a single page of your daughter’s diary, have you?”

The moment I heard Mary’s words, I knew she must’ve found something—a clue, maybe something serious. Judging by her stern expression, the news wasn’t good.

“What did you find?” I asked.

Mary said, “We did find some shocking stuff written in her diary. If you had checked it earlier, you might have learned a lot about what your daughter has been up to.”

She let out a heavy sigh as she finished.

The man replied, “But my daughter is an individual person. How could we just go snooping through her private diary?”

I shook my head. “Now isn’t the time to worry about that. The only thing that matters is—what exactly was written in there?”

Mary took a seat and looked at all of us. “Of course I haven’t read every page—her diary is packed full, she wrote so much. But based on what I saw, the words ‘go die’ showed up dozens of times, directed at many people—including both of you.”

“Both of us?” Guo Li’s parents blurted out together.

Mary gave a firm nod. “That’s right. In her diary, she wrote that you two only care about bringing her into this world, not raising her right. No matter what she does, you never really pay attention. You don’t care what her grades are, whether she does good or bad things, you don’t notice her at all.”

“Over time, she stopped expecting anything from you. School became painful—a chore, really. Not just for kids, adults would feel that way too. You don’t care how she does at school, so she stopped caring as well. But she’s just a ten-year-old. If she doesn’t bother studying, she’s going to look for fun elsewhere. And at school, “fun” for your daughter became bullying other kids.”

I added, “We already had some idea of this before we even saw your daughter’s diary. She formed a group with three boys at school—they target other kids and bully them. None of you knew about any of this.”

Mary picked up where I left off. “Maybe it’s in the genes. Your kid loves to write diaries and she’s pretty good at it, too. She recorded everything. And honestly, some of the things Guo Li did at school are so disturbing even an adult would be horrified. Once you read the whole diary you’ll see exactly what kind of things she’s done.”

Both parents frowned, faces filled with disbelief. Guo Li’s father said, “I know my kid is mischievous, but I can’t believe it’s gotten that serious. There’s just no way she could do something so outrageous. Can you say it again? Because I can’t wrap my head around this.”

Mary shook her head. “Alright, let me tell you exactly what your daughter did…”

Then, Mary calmly began recounting something that really happened to Guo Li.

And Guo Li had chronicled it all, down to the tiniest detail.

Imagine you’re walking along and out of nowhere a bunch of people come out and beat you up. Wouldn’t you feel wronged, or start wondering what you did to deserve it? Most people, when attacked suddenly, first look for the reason in themselves.

You’d ask yourself, what did I do to make this happen?

But what if someone just wants to beat you up for no reason? There’s nothing you can do.

That was the game Guo Li and her friends liked to play.

They’d carry a black plastic bag, crouch in a corner, and when someone came by, Guo Li would slip the bag over their head. Her friends would rush in, knock the person down, then all of them would start kicking and punching.

By the time the poor kid managed to tear the bag off their head, the others had vanished, leaving them dazed—beaten up without any idea who did it.

Guo Li, clever as she was, never pulled the game in the same spot twice. That way, nobody could see it coming. But as time went on and the rush wore off, they kept raising the stakes—the thrill kept fading, and the games got nastier.

When that started to bore them, the next person who crossed their path would be in for real trouble.

The moment someone walked in front of Guo Li, she’d grin.

Picking on the invisible kids in class? That was too easy, no challenge at all. Like a hunter who only wants to take down lions or tigers, Guo Li wanted something harder. She wanted a real challenge.

In her mind, this was the most thrilling thing she’d ever done—and I’m sure the same goes for the other girl at the center of it all: Li Jialu. For everyone involved, it’s a memory that’ll haunt them forever.

Li Jialu was one of the best students in the class. She was sweet, smart, a favorite with the teacher. But she did have one bad habit—she’d tattle on others. And for kids, being reported is just about the scariest thing in the world; maybe even for adults too.

That day, when she went to the bathroom, disaster struck.

A black plastic bag was pulled over her head. Two people pushed Li Jialu to the cold, dirty floor.

Li Jialu had no idea what was happening—all she knew was she was kneeling on the filthy floor of the bathroom. She could feel something wet seeping beneath her knees, and the stench was overwhelming. She tried to scream but couldn’t—someone held the bag tight over her mouth, smothering her cries.

She struggled to see who was in front of her, but it was hopeless. Someone else held her hands down.

No one said a word. No one made a sound. Kids stay silent because even a whisper could give them away, and then the adults would get involved.

When they first grabbed her, all they wanted was to teach her a lesson, but once they had her, nobody hesitated. It was like they’d practiced it over and over in their minds.

Each kid had a job. They worked together like a team.

People say that if you put a lion in charge of a flock of sheep, all those sheep will act like lions—but if you put a sheep in charge of lions, the lions will become sheep. Well, with a devil as their leader, every one of these kids turned into little devils themselves.

Li Jialu couldn’t see anything, didn’t know a thing. It was like being a lone fishing boat adrift in a dark, endless sea.

Quiet now, she couldn’t breathe—tissue and the plastic bag cutting off her air. She couldn’t fight anymore.

She lay there on the cold, filthy floor.

Guo Li was the first to realize something was wrong. She waved her little hand, leading the others to make a quick getaway.

And Li Jialu was left behind, lying on the floor.

Guo Li said, “No one will ever know it was us. But if anyone talks, and I find out, what happened to her will be nothing compared to what I’ll do next.”

A ten-year-old girl, out of breath as she ran far away, threatening the others with all the viciousness she could muster.

A ten-year-old girl, left all alone on the bathroom floor, surrounded by nothing but coldness and pale light.

Her school uniform was filthy—nobody had bothered to wash it.

Guo Li wiped her own school uniform with her hand.

The cute shirt with Winnie the Pooh on it she wore was also dirty.

But for Li Jialu, none of that even registered anymore.