Forbidden Land – CH 080

The next day at noon, Zhang Chao received a call from a deliveryman, asking him to come downstairs to pick it up.

He thought back; no one had sent him anything. What was going on?

He went to Baisha Square, where the deliveryman handed him a package and asked him to sign for it. Holding it in his hand, he noticed it was quite heavy. Judging by its size, it seemed about the same size as the urn Chen Rong had received a few days earlier, and a bad feeling crept into his heart.

Looking at the address on the packaging, the sender was Shanghai, and the sender’s name was still listed as “Feng Shui Master”!

Zhang Chao was terrified. He rushed back to his dorm, grabbed a knife, and cut open the cardboard box. To his horror, it really was an urn!

Zhang Chao trembled with anger. Who was behind this?!

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What kind of monster sent Chen Rong an urn containing a paper figure of a person with the name “Li Jiaming” written on it?

Today, Zhang Chao also received an urn. What would be inside this time?

He picked up the lid and saw it was empty.

Looking closer, at the very bottom of the box, three characters were crookedly carved with what appeared to be a knife. “Li Jiaming.”

Li Jiaming again! Who exactly was Li Jiaming?

Chen Rong said he was a former patient of hers who died a year ago.

Then who sent the urn with the name of a dead person engraved on it?

Recalling Chen Rong’s words, it seemed she was hiding something. What exactly happened?

It seemed he had to find Chen Rong again and get to the bottom of it.

He waited until after 7 PM, when Chen Rong went back to school after getting off work, and the two ate out together. Finally, Zhang Chao stammered, “Chen Rong, there’s something I need to ask you.”

Seeing his serious expression, Chen Rong seemed a little flustered and asked, “What is it?”

Zhang Chao hesitated for a moment, then looked up and asked, “Who is Li Jiaming?”

Upon hearing the name “Li Jiaming,” Chen Rong’s face paled, and she lowered her head, remaining silent. Zhang Chao looked at her intently and asked, “What exactly happened?”

Chen Rong slowly raised her head and said, “Why did you suddenly think of this today?”

Zhang Chao took a breath, then slowly exhaled, and said, “Today, I also received an urn containing ashes, engraved with the name ‘Li Jiaming.'”

Chen Rong’s face paled in shock, and she asked urgently, “Who sent it?”

Zhang Chao said, “It’s the same as yours, also sent from Shanghai, and the sender is listed as ‘Feng Shui Master.'”

Chen Rong frowned and remained silent.

Zhang Chao said, “Is there something you’re reluctant to say?”

Chen Rong slowly shook her head and said, “Alright, there are some things I didn’t want to bring up again. But since it’s come back, I think I’ll just tell you directly.”

Zhang Chao immediately perked up and listened to her continue.

Chen Rong slowly said, “Li Jiaming was my college classmate. He was from Singapore, and he was here as an exchange student for a year. He’s a little shorter than me and not very good-looking. After arriving at Zhejiang University, he was assigned to our class. He’s usually quite quiet; we rarely spoke to other international students, and he did not speak to them much either. So, he always went to and from our class alone.

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“One time, I felt sorry for him being all alone every day, so I kindly invited him to have lunch with me, and we chatted. He talked about his family situation. His family is wealthy in Singapore, but his parents died one after the other from a strange illness when he was very young. Actually, he wasn’t strange in personality, just a bit introverted and didn’t like talking to people he wasn’t familiar with. After that, he kept asking me to eat with him every few days. At first, I ate with him, but later I felt something was off. He would call me every mealtime, asking me to come to the cafeteria to eat with him.

“Naturally, I got annoyed and told him to stop calling me. For the next few days, he didn’t call me. But not long after, he started calling me every day again, asking me to eat together. I asked him why he insisted on having me eat with him, and he said he liked me a lot. But I really didn’t have any feelings for him. His height, his appearance, and his personality were all things I couldn’t accept. I firmly rejected him then and there, telling him to stop overthinking. I thought that was the end of it. Who knew that from then on, he started harassing me even more? He called me every day, forcing me to change my SIM card three times, and he left messages all over my online space. At that time…

“I shut down all my online spaces. Finally, unable to bear his torment any longer, I called him out and made it clear that I never wanted to see him again and begged him never to harass me again, never. He asked if I didn’t want to see him anymore, and I resolutely said I never wanted to see him again. For the next month or so, he didn’t bother me again; if we bumped into each other in class, he wouldn’t look at me. I thought it was finally over. But then, a little over a month later, he returned to Singapore, and six months later, I learned from international students in other departments that Li Jiaming had committed suicide by jumping into the sea shortly after returning.”

After listening, Zhang Chao’s expression turned grave. “How long ago was that?” he asked.

Chen Rong replied, “Almost four years.”

Zhang Chao asked, “Was Li Jiaming really dead?”

Chen Rong nodded. “At the time, I didn’t believe he’d just committed suicide. I asked several other students from his cohort online, and they confirmed it, sending me photos of Li Jiaming’s funeral and burial. I was shocked when I found out; I was terrified for days.”

Zhang Chao pondered for a moment, then said, “Then tell me, could it be that Li Jiaming committed suicide because you rejected him?”

Chen Rong shook her head. “I don’t know.”

Zhang Chao frowned and slowly said, “Could it be that his relatives came to retaliate because of this?”

Chen Rong said, “I don’t know. He said he didn’t have many relatives or friends, only a grandfather. But considering this, it seems like it could only be his relatives or friends coming to take revenge.”

Zhang Chao cursed, “No matter which beast dares to do this, I’ll make sure they don’t get away with it.” He then looked at Chen Rong and said resolutely, “Don’t worry, with me here, I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

Chen Rong smiled slightly, seemingly very happy to hear this. Looking at her expression, Zhang Chao felt a surge of sweetness in his heart and really wanted to rush over and give her a big kiss.