Zhang Yujing experienced everything Yu Lan had gone through.
No matter how angry he was, he could only float in mid-air and witness everything before him.
He watched Yu Lan refuse Ma Cangquan and storm out of the office, trembling with anger.
Seeing Ma Cangquan's failure, the latter, fearing Yu Lan would report the matter, decided to play the victim.
He reported to the school, claiming Yu Lan had deliberately seduced him to secure a scholarship.
He even swore on his professional ethics, stating that as a school teacher on the verge of becoming department head, he would never jeopardize his reputation.
Instantly, public opinion turned against Yu Lan.
She tried to explain, but she was speechless.
On one side was an outstanding teacher, on the other, a poor student.
Students and teachers preferred to believe what they heard, and without even investigating, they accepted it as the truth.
Especially considering how many nights Yu Lan had stayed up for this scholarship, it wasn't strange to think she'd do anything for the money.
Classmates who were close to her gradually distanced themselves.
Some classmates gossiped about her behind her back.
A kind word can warm three winters, but a harsh word can wound a person even in June.
Zhang Yujing watched everything unfold. He wanted to shout out, to speak up for Yu Lan, but he couldn't. He could only watch their indifference, their disgusted gazes pushing her towards the executioner's blade of suicide.
Even so, Yu Lan didn't give up on her studies. The final straw came when Ma Cangquan's wife found out about the affair. Heavily pregnant, she brought people to confront Yu Lan.
In front of her classmates, she subjected Yu Lan to personal insults, calling her shameless and accusing her of seducing her husband. The slap she received on her face shattered Yu Lan's psychological defenses completely.
She left a suicide note stained with blood.
She committed suicide!
The school authorities arrived and confiscated the note, claiming they needed to investigate its contents and warned the students who had seen it not to speak of it, or their credits would be deducted.
After so long, no details from the suicide note were ever released.
Ma Cangquan was still promoted to department head.
Yu Lan's suicide seemed like a joke.
To those who didn't know the truth, Yu Lan had failed in her seduction attempt and committed suicide out of shame at being confronted by Ma Cangquan's wife.
Many uninformed people cursed her as cheap.
News of her suicide was also suppressed.
Yu Lan's soul continued to linger in this old dormitory building.
There's a saying that those who commit suicide repeat the act over and over, reliving the pain until they can truly let go of their obsession.
She endured this torment every night, her resentment growing. Yet, even so, she didn't drag strangers into her suffering.
"Sister Zhao, Zhang Yujing is crying, he's crying so hard!" Wu Jiaxin pointed to the corner of Zhang Yujing's eyes.
Zhang Yujing leaned against the wall, tears streaming from his tightly shut eyes.
His fists were clenched tight.
"Sister Zhao is so cold!" Ma Chi rubbed his arms as he spoke.
Zhao Yan noticed that Yu Lan's resentment was rapidly increasing.
The live-streaming phone began to show a lot of static.
Suddenly, the screen went black.
The livestream was instantly interrupted.
The viewers in the livestream were stunned, especially seeing Zhang Yujing suddenly cry, and then the phone went black.
It felt like going to the restroom and discovering there was no toilet paper.
It left them feeling unsettled, and more netizens worried about Zhao Yan and the others, fearing they might have encountered trouble, especially since the livestream was taking place in a place where someone had died.
Only Zhao Yan, present at the scene, understood that Yu Lan was reliving painful memories, causing her resentment to grow.
"Let's stop here! If this continues, she'll become a vengeful spirit!" Zhao Yan said in a deep voice.
She quickly raised her hand and tore off the talisman from Zhang Yujing's forehead.
The back of the Tong Ling Talisman looked as if it had been smoked, covered in black.
The front was still intact and could be used one last time.
The moment the talisman was removed, Zhang Yujing opened his eyes.
In Yu Lan's memory, his body had been floating. Now back in reality, his sense of balance was affected, but thankfully, he was leaning against the wall and didn't fall.
"Sister Zhao, I saw it, I saw it," Zhang Yujing said urgently.
"Don't panic too much, tell me slowly!" Zhao Yan said softly.
Zhang Yujing recounted the events. The more he spoke, the angrier he became, pounding his fists on the abandoned table.
In Yu Lan's memory, he understood her the most, and he knew best what it felt like to be wronged, especially by those cold stares.
"That Director Ma is truly a scumbag. In the memory, I couldn't move, otherwise, I would have wanted to strangle him thousands of times," Zhang Yujing gritted his teeth.
Zhao Yan fell silent, not expecting Yu Lan to have gone through such an ordeal.
In the prime of her youth, she was crushed by public opinion.
The others were solemn, feeling indignant for Yu Lan.
"Ka... ka... ka."
"I... want... revenge!"
Yu Lan clenched her fists tightly, her resentment escalating to a terrifying degree.
"Ka... ka... help... me!"
"Sister Zhao, do you think there's any chance of success through legal channels?" Ma Chi asked.
Zhao Yan chuckled, then let out a mocking laugh, "There's no evidence, the truth has always been suppressed. Even if there was evidence, Yu Lan committed suicide."
"Perhaps it would prevent the person named Ma from being a teacher, or perhaps he would offer a perfunctory apology! But such a punishment is too light for him."
"What Yu Lan wants is for the person named Ma to experience everything she went through before he is qualified to say sorry!"
As she spoke, Zhao Yan became truly angry.
This was the first time Wu Jiaxin had seen Zhao Yan so angry; normally, Zhao Yan was always cheerful.
Zhao Yan took out a small bottle from her backpack.
"Come in," Zhao Yan said softly.
This soul bottle could take Yu Lan away from here.
"Ka... ka... ka, Tha... nk... you!"
Yu Lan's soul entered the soul bottle. Zhao Yan then affixed a Yin-avoiding talisman to the bottle to prevent the Yin energy from leaking.
The room, which had been very cold, now felt much warmer.
The chilling sensation that made one's hair stand on end had disappeared.
"You all go back. I have some things to attend to. We'll leave it at this for today," Zhao Yan said softly.
Zhang Yujing and the others seemed to understand what Zhao Yan meant and tacitly did not ask.
Zhao Yan asked Zhang Yujing if he knew Ma Cangquan's residential address.
Zhang Yujing was willing to help and, using the excuse of an urgent matter, inquired from a teacher who was close to Ma Cangquan.
He also obtained the address from his WeChat.
Knowing the address, Zhao Yan, with Wu Jiaxin, left the school. She told Wu Jiaxin to go home first.
Riding an electric scooter, she arrived at the residential complex where Ma Cangquan lived.
Zhao Yan stood at the entrance of the complex and took out the soul bottle, slowly opening the mouth of the bottle.