"Fatty, did the person who sent you this video message ask to meet you?"
Fatty shook his head, "I went to the school to check, the kids are still in class."
Just then, Fatty's phone rang.
"Put it on speaker!" I said to Fatty.
...
"Mr. Ding, do you have a good project? So mysterious, and we have to meet at school."
"Tianyou!"
"Yeah, I heard Han Feng say you have a project you want to collaborate on. Is it reliable?"
"When did Han Feng tell you?"
"Just today."
"And the location?"
"The old building of our school, in classroom 306."
"Then let's meet at our school. I'll tell you when I get there."
Fatty hung up after he finished speaking. His composure surprised me a little. I looked at him and asked, "Who is Tianyou?"
"Li Tianyou, a high school classmate of mine. His family is very wealthy."
"And Han Feng?"
"He's the top student in our class, always clinging to Li Tianyou. Last time we had a class reunion, they knew I was in online media, so we exchanged contact information. I don't get along with those people and have never contacted them."
"I heard from the phone call that you might be bringing someone with you. I'll go with you."
Fatty nodded. "This must be their arrangement. I'm sorry, Tang Nan, for dragging you into this. Whatever you do, don't tell my sister."
Just then, Lin Han pushed the door open, her face a mask of anger, and asked directly, "What is it that you can't tell me?"
I smiled and said, "Fatty stayed at Liu Lifang's house yesterday and asked me if he could use that as an alibi for Liu Lifang."
Lin Han glared at Fatty. Fatty sheepishly touched his face. Lin Han was angry and blurted out, "Don't say you know these two."
"Hey, wife, it's not my fault, don't leave, I haven't even eaten my jianbing yet."
After Lin Han left, Fatty looked at me seriously. "Why don't I feed you?"
"No, you go ask the nurse if she can give me an injection in my injured hand."
...
In the evening, Fatty confirmed the time and drove to pick me up. I saw he looked a little anxious and asked curiously, "Fatty, is something wrong?"
"I can't reach Liu Lifang."
"What happened?"
"I don't know. Her phone is off. I'm afraid she'll do something foolish."
"Things aren't that simple, Fatty. Have you ever heard a story?"
Fatty looked distressed. "Tang Nan, now is not the time for stories, but since you want to tell one, I'll listen."
"A person wanted to buy a pair of new shoes. He measured his feet beforehand. But when he got to the mall and chose the shoes, he realized he had forgotten his foot size and returned home to get it. By the time he got back to the mall, it was already closed."
Fatty listened, looking bewildered. "Is this person sick? He was already at the mall, couldn't he just try them on?"
"Who knows? Some people are like that. They'd rather believe in measurements than their own feet."
"And then?" Fatty's interest was piqued.
"That's it!"
Fatty was even more confused. "Tang Nan, what exactly are you trying to say?"
"We're here."
The school's iron gate was locked, but a small side gate was open. The lights in the security booth were off. Fatty and I pushed the gate open and entered. The third year, class six, was in the old building, which had now been converted into a public multimedia classroom. We walked towards the old building along the school's sports field. As we got closer, Fatty's expression changed, and mine wasn't much better. It was winter, yet the cement ground in front of the old building was covered with vibrant flowers.
This reminded me of that dream. Lin Han had said it was something she told me when I was under anesthesia out of boredom. She said it was about Fatty's psychological journey in his third year of high school. So, I could feel that Fatty was also being reminded of painful memories buried deep within him for years.
This old building had been renovated to include multimedia classrooms, computer rooms, equipment rooms, laboratories, and storage rooms. Due to its multi-functional nature, there was a metal door leading to each floor. We reached the fifth floor, where class 306 used to be, and I stopped, staring at the metal door, lost in thought.
"What's wrong, Tang Nan!"
"If we go in and someone locks the metal door, this becomes a sealed space."
"What would happen?"
I glanced at the sign that read 'Laboratory' next to us. Just as I was about to speak, I was interrupted by a voice, "Mr. Ding, you're here. It's so dark in here, let's go inside and talk!"
The speaker was a man in a casual suit. He had a foxy appearance, with distinctive, slender phoenix eyes. I could feel a cold glint in this squinting man's eyes, but his fair face bore a smile that wasn't unpleasant.
Fatty hadn't spoken yet, and the man pointed at me. "Who is this?"
"Tang Nan!"
I introduced myself and extended my hand. The man gently shook it. "Han Feng."
We entered the room together and met Li Tianyou. Li Tianyou was robust and broad-shouldered. Leaning against a table beside him was a person who wasn't tall, with a round face and round black-rimmed glasses. This person was wearing casual clothes and looked androgynous, but I guessed it was a woman.
"Wu Haimei, you're here too?"
"Mmm, long time no see, Ding Tai."
This person, who looked like a high school girl, was actually over thirty years old and was a classmate of Fatty's. The reason Wu Haimei came was that Han Feng had called her; she was Han Feng's wife.
Li Tianyou saw Fatty and was the first to express his displeasure. "Ding Tai, if you wanted to introduce me to this boss, we could have met at a restaurant. Eat, drink, get a massage, the whole package. Why did you bring the boss to this dark, dingy place? To reminisce about our youth together?"
"It wasn't me!"
"It wasn't..."
Just as Li Tianyou was about to speak, he was interrupted by a cold draft. At this moment, we noticed Han Feng walking to the window, opening it, and throwing something out.
"Husband, what are you doing?" Han Feng's wife, Wu Xuemei, asked in surprise.
"It wasn't Ding Tai. I called you here to play a game of wits with me."
Li Tianyou was immediately displeased. "Han Feng, what the hell are you saying? You want me to play with you..."
"Shut up, shut up right now."
Han Feng roared at Li Tianyou. Fatty whispered in my ear, "This Han Feng has been Li Tianyou's lackey since high school. I heard he even did things like kneeling down to lick Li Tianyou's toes. This seems a bit off."
I nodded, surveying my surroundings. Something behind us was covered with a black cloth, so we couldn't tell what it was. In front of us was a projection screen, the kind used for lectures. As I observed the environment, Wu Haimei also shrieked, "Han Feng, what are you doing? How can you talk to Mr. Li like that?"
Han Feng snorted coldly and took a remote control from his suit pocket. He said icily, "Do you know what this is? Next door to us, there's an electronic device. As soon as I press this button, the device will be activated. Then, this entire floor will be filled with poisonous smoke. Now, I ask you again, what did I just throw out?"
"You threw out the key to the hallway," I answered for everyone, seeing their bewildered expressions.
Everyone wasn't stupid. They immediately understood the situation: they were trapped on the fifth floor, and if the button was pressed, the only way to escape the poisonous smoke would be to jump.
"Husband, you've scared me," Wu Haimei's voice became extremely gentle.
Li Tianyou's attitude also changed. "Brother, what is this all about? Are you stressed lately? Do you need money? Just tell me, money isn't a big deal, is it?"
"Shut up, both of you shut up. Li Tianyou, I was your brother, doing anything for you, losing all dignity in front of outsiders, kneeling for you, licking your feet, I could do it all. But what did you do? Even a rabbit doesn't mess with its own burrow. What woman haven't you seen? You seduced my wife." Hearing Han Feng's roar, Li Tianyou and Wu Haimei's faces turned ashen, and they were speechless.
Fatty, however, remained calm. "Han Feng, you've been cuckolded. Why did you call me here?"
"Ding Tai, do you remember what happened that day when you tried to jump?" Han Feng brought up an old incident!
Before high school, Ding Tai was somewhat reclusive. He had almost no friends. However, despite his family not being well-off, he surprisingly fell in love with photography. He bought a camera in his first year of high school and became obsessed with the world of photography. One day, Li Tianyou, bored, ordered Han Feng to steal Ding Tai's camera to see what Ding Tai had photographed.
After Han Feng stole the camera, Li Tianyou paid to have the film developed. To Li Tianyou's utter shock, Ding Tai was a voyeur. He had pictures of classmates kissing passionately and girls sleeping in their dormitories, partially undressed. Li Tianyou was ecstatic. He ordered Han Feng to post the photos on the bulletin board, with the caption "Great Photographer Ding Tai" written on each one.
Ding Tai became infamous at school. Not only did female classmates whisper behind his back, calling him a pervert, but the school was also preparing to call his parents and expel him. For this reason, while everyone was in physical education class, Ding Tai returned to his classroom alone, stood on the windowsill, and looked down at the vibrant flowers below, preparing to end his life.
But fate intervened!
Just as Ding Tai was about to end his life, a slender hand grabbed him and pulled him back with all its might just as he was about to fall. Both of them crashed onto the classroom floor. Ding Tai landed on the girl who saved him, and she broke her ribs as a result.
This girl was Liu Lifang.
Liu Lifang became a hero for saving him. Although Ding Tai was still branded with eternal shame, at least he avoided the expulsion by attempting suicide as an apology.
...
Jumping off a building is not something everyone experiences. I, at least, have been through it. Like Fatty, I was saved. I understand Fatty's feelings very well.
"I remember all of this, Han Feng. What do you want to say?" Fatty remained astonishingly calm.
"We knew you were going to jump that day. Because I stole your camera, and you were going to die because of me, I was so scared I almost wet myself and prepared to find a teacher. But Li Tianyou disagreed. He hid downstairs and was even prepared to use a DSLR camera to capture the scene of your brains splattering. That day, Liu Lifang saved you. Li Tianyou held a grudge and decided to pursue Liu Lifang, using his money to turn Liu Lifang into a promiscuous slut. But Liu Lifang studied hard and ignored him. In his madness, he drugged and raped Liu Lifang."
"No, no..."
Li Tianyou tried to explain, but seeing Fatty's murderous gaze, he choked, "No... no, I... I did buy medicine, but..."
"Shut up!"
...
I watched from the side. Honestly, things had escalated beyond my expectations. I hadn't anticipated this. From the current situation, all I could do was understand the game, set up the board, and break the deadlock. I couldn't fight the enemy as a 'demon' just yet.