This felt like some meticulously designed game—the teachers Chen and Qian nearby in Hongjing, the psychologist far away in England—they all knew Lin Wanxing long ago. Yet Lin Wanxing herself remained completely unaware.
Yan Ming took a sip of coffee, as if giving him time to think: "Winfred, you're only concerned with two questions: First, what exactly happened to Lin Wanxing; Second, what role do you play in this entire situation."
"You're wrong. I don't care about the second point at all, nor do I care what you've done." Wang Fa said, "I only care about what I should do."
On the other end of the phone, Yan Ming's voice no longer carried the laziness of early morning. She sat down at the dining table and opened her notebook: "I know Lin Wanxing because she became a topic of conversation among alumni for a period of time."
"You mean what happened to her in university?"
"You haven't thoroughly looked into her background, have you?" Yan Ming sounded somewhat incredulous.
"I want to date someone, so I need to investigate the girl's background?" Wang Fa retorted with equal disbelief.
The silver spoon fell into the cup. Yan Ming was almost silenced by his reaction. After a moment, she sighed and said, "That's why it can only be you, Winfred."
"Actually, I'm not sure what the right thing to do is." After pondering for a moment, Wang Fa spoke truthfully, "I searched for some information about her, but found nothing. Your Yongchuan University has too many issues."
"First, Yongchuan University's problems are only slightly more than ordinary universities—genius and madness have always been separated by a thin line. Second, it's not just you; actually, we don't know the truth either, let alone what the right course of action would be."
"The truth about what?"
"You're right, Lin Wanxing is my junior. I'm a full 12 years her senior, so normally I wouldn't know her." Yan Ming walked to the window, "But have you heard of the Notable Alumni Directory?"
"What's that?"
"It's a contact list maintained by the university, containing contact information for many notable alumni from our psychology department. One day last year, many of us received the same email."
The content revealed in everyone's words, including Lin Wanxing's complete refusal to discuss anything after leaving the university, all pointed to it being a serious incident back then. Yan Ming had already finished the coffee in her cup. She spoke slowly, clearly because this matter required finding the right narrative perspective.
"A mass email about Lin Wanxing? Who sent it?"
"We don't know who sent it, but the content was terrifying." Yan Ming sat up straight, her voice grave, "It described the terrible deeds committed by Lin Wanxing, with complete logical chains, conclusive evidence—it was shocking."
Wang Fa had mentally prepared himself beforehand. Yet when he heard the words "shocking," he still felt a chill.
This was content that couldn't be found through simple internet searches, yet it had been privately distributed to university alumni. Judging by the attitude of Lin Wanxing's parents, they must have known about this too, and they didn't believe their own daughter.
It was like an inescapable cage, designed to sever all of Lin Wanxing's social connections.
Wang Fa simply couldn't imagine what Lin Wanxing had actually been through: "No matter how you see it, I believe in her.""Anyone who saw that email would think there's something wrong with Lin Wanxing. But we're not fools - we'd naturally be skeptical about mass emails. Self-righteousness sometimes is the very essence of evil."
"Besides watching the drama unfold, passing judgment, and staying vigilant, what else have you 'distinguished alumni' actually done?"
"You know her, but we don't." Yan Ming remained silent for a while before continuing, "Due to certain circumstances, it's difficult to investigate the truth of the matter. So all we can do is understand what kind of person Lin Wanxing really is to form our own judgment."
"After the funeral, when Coach Jiang's son suddenly thought of Lin Wanxing - was that your idea?" Wang Fa asked.
Yan Ming was silent for a long moment before finally speaking with determination: "It was me. You could understand it this way - besides controlled experiments with manipulated variables, there's another method in psychological research called natural observation. Jiang Xun's presence provided an opportunity. On one side, we had one of the most outstanding graduates from our university's educational psychology program over the years; on the other, students in need of education. We wanted to see what Lin Wanxing would do under natural conditions."
A clever arrangement, making perfect use of "curiosity," offering slight guidance without interference, observing as naturally as possible.
Teachers Chen and Qian had indeed done a lot of work, but many things were clearly beyond their capabilities.
"And what about me? A coach with psychological issues - what did you want to observe about her through me?"
"I swear everything I gave were just suggestions. I didn't use any psychological suggestion methods to send you to her side. You chose No. 17 Wutong Road yourself - I was stunned when I heard you discussing the new address with your parents. We arranged so many deliberate encounters for her, but only you were her destined accident."
Wang Fa stood at the windy edge of the rooftop, surrounded by traces of his life with Lin Wanxing.
They had chatted here, watched movies, observed the nearby sports field. Lin Wanxing would work here, recording the students' daily lives, tending to plants, directing students to do various tasks. She had always planned to keep a cat and a dog, but never found suitable strays. The wind seemed to carry echoes of her laughter.
No matter how much Yan Ming said, Wang Fa's mind held only Lin Wanxing.
She clearly wanted to escape all this, yet the vast social network had entangled her within it.
She was being observed, being guided to do many things.
Until she chose to leave - Wang Fa even felt relieved that she had finally gone.
"Though I don't know exactly what happened, I can understand now why she had to leave," Wang Fa said calmly.
"That's precisely the problem, Winfred." Yan Ming shifted her sitting position and spoke gravely, "As the subject of our natural observation experiment, we know Lin Wanxing well, and we don't believe she would simply run away. You can respect her choice and not inquire further, or... help her find her way out."
"Understood."
Yan Ming sat at the dining table and opened her laptop. Looking at the content on the screen, she warned Wang Fa again, "If you want to understand her story, you can check your email. But this is a dead end - the person involved chose suicide from the very beginning. No one knows the truth."
This was what Yan Ming said before pressing the send button.
Chapter 120: Shu Yong
The deceased was named Shu Yong.Born in 1959, Shu Yong was a tenured professor in the Department of Psychology at Yongchuan University.
In 1977, Shu Yong began his studies in the Department of Psychology at Yongchuan University.
In 1981, Shu Yong graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Education. That September, he joined the Department of Psychology at Yongchuan University, serving successively as a teaching assistant and lecturer.
In 1995, Shu Yong went to CHU University in the United States as a visiting scholar. After returning to China, he devoted himself to research on children's moral psychology.
Compared to scholars with impressive resumes today, Professor Shu Yong's life was relatively simple and unadorned. He rarely participated in social activities, focusing entirely on academia and leading numerous important research projects.
At the same time, Shu Yong loved educational work and meticulously guided his students. Even after being elected as the deputy head of the Department of Psychology at Yongchuan University, he still insisted on undertaking a significant amount of teaching work every week.
Professor Shu Yong and his wife, He Youting, lived frugally and were always eager to help others, having sponsored over 1,000 impoverished students. Aside from basic living expenses, they donated all of their salaries.
It was such a beloved professor, content with a simple life, who ended his own life one bitterly cold winter afternoon in his office.
And Lin Wanxing was the last person to see Shu Yong before his death.
Before opening the email, Wang Fa had not hesitated.
He had mentally prepared himself, imagining many "evil deeds" Lin Wanxing might have been accused of, but Shu Yong's death completely overturned his understanding.
This was not an extreme act of violence but rather a gloomy, damp rain.
After Shu Yong's suicide, Lin Wanxing, as the last person to have contact with him before his death, was investigated by the police.
The details of the investigation were unknown, but Lin Wanxing soon returned.
In the email, the writer used the term "acquitted."
The police confirmed that Shu Yong had kicked over a stack of psychology books over a meter high and hanged himself.
The scene was littered with scattered volumes, with no signs of foul play.
Lin Wanxing was legally exonerated, but the letter's author believed she must face severe moral judgment.
She was accused of psychologically manipulating Shu Yong, causing Professor Shu Yong immense suffering, making him feel guilty toward his family, and ultimately leading him to take his own life.
The email included a handwritten apology letter from Professor Shu Yong to his wife, He Youting.
In his final words, Professor Shu Yong wrote: "Youting, it is all my fault. I have let this family down, and I have let you down."
The entire email was straightforward and sincere, filled with remembrance for Professor Shu Yong and hatred for Lin Wanxing.
Lin Wanxing had a close personal relationship with the Shu Yong couple, and the letter listed numerous pieces of evidence. These included Shu Yong's love for Lin Wanxing, evidence of his assistance in completing her thesis, and testimonies from some classmates.
The clouds were thick, and the shadows of vines were dense.
Absurd, eerie, horrifying...
In this letter sent to numerous alumni of Yongchuan University, Lin Wanxing was portrayed as a devil who would stop at nothing for personal gain—seducing her teacher, destroying a family, and committing every imaginable evil.
Shu Yong, tormented by his conscience yet unable to let go of his feelings for Lin Wanxing, ultimately chose to end his life.
Wang Fa found it difficult to describe the chill he felt after reading the email.
The person was already dead.
The deceased had confessed, classmates had testified, and there was ample physical evidence.
For Lin Wanxing, there was no way to defend herself, no opportunity to prove her innocence.
Even her own parents did not believe her. How could she possibly explain that she was not such a person?
She could not speak of it.
Her parents' attitude toward their daughter, the story Lin Wanxing could not bring herself to tell, and her act of sealing away the past and fleeing Yongchuan.Moreover, Lin Wanxing clearly needed him, yet her refusal to allow further closeness—everything seemed to have an explanation now.
At this moment, Wang Fa desperately wished he could return to every night Lin Wanxing spent on the rooftop and tell her, "I believe you."
But now, more than anyone, he understood that all comfort and love were useless to Lin Wanxing.
She couldn't move on—she simply couldn't.
"I've finished reading. I believe her." In the end, that was all Wang Fa could say to the person on the other end of the phone.
Yan Ming was surprised by Wang Fa's calmness: "But please understand, we can't fully trust Lin Wanxing."
"Shu Yong has been dead for some time. Why do you think the sender chose to mass-email this letter to all of you now?"
"The timing coincides with the graduation and college application season. The writer claimed the investigation took a long time and there's no strict legal evidence—only moral condemnation. As for the specific reason, perhaps only Lin Wanxing herself knows."
"I have one last question. Many of you must have attended Shu Yong's classes. Why don't you trust the esteemed teacher? Instead, you've gone to such lengths to do all this for Lin Wanxing, giving her a chance to prove her ability and character?"
Yan Ming fell silent for a while before saying, "Without knowing the full truth, we refrain from judgment. We don't trust either side—we only wish to remain objective and rational."
Wang Fa didn't entirely believe this answer.
After ending the conversation with Yan Ming, Wang Fa hung up the phone.
Around the same time, a knock sounded on the rooftop door.
Wang Fa heard himself utter the two words "Come in" in a hoarse voice, and the students pushed the door open.
A sharp wind swept across the rooftop as the players filed in.
"Coach, why are your eyes red? Have you been crying?" Lin Lu half-crouched, trying to comfort him.
Looking at the players before him, Wang Fa suddenly understood some of what Lin Wanxing must feel watching them every day.
A desolate life had become lively and rich, no longer lonely.
"Was our teacher's message too touching?" Qin Ao asked.
"Yes. I'll change the password later—none of you should look," Wang Fa said.
The students grumbled a few complaints like "Tch" and "Stingy," then fell silent again.
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