Forbidden Land – CH 117

For the next few days, Zhang Chao kept thinking about how to get the truth out of Chen Rong. He wanted to know, yet he was also afraid to know.

If Chen Rong really had killed someone, what…what should he do?

Zhang Chao hesitated.

He ate with Chen Rong a few times, but they never studied together. Zhang Chao said that exams had just ended and he wanted to relax, using the excuse of playing games in his dorm.

But this was still a knot in his heart. On Friday, May 9th, at 6 PM, Zhang Chao asked Chen Rong to have dinner with him. After dinner, the two strolled around the campus.

Reaching the lakeside lawn on the west side of Qizhen Lake, Zhang Chao thought for a moment, then pointed to the University Library to the east and deliberately said, “You know, that administration building behind the library is dozens of stories high. What does the school need so many offices for? It’s too extravagant and wasteful.”

Chen Rong replied dismissively, “That’s how bureaucratic institutions are. Other ‘government’ buildings are even taller, and I’ve never seen many people inside.”

Zhang Chao said, “The administration building is so high up; I wonder if you can climb up to the rooftop. The view must be amazing. I’ve never been to the administration building.”

Chen Rong smiled. “Me neither. I heard the elevator goes up, but they say the rooftop is sealed off in case students jump.”

“Haha, has anyone ever jumped from up there?” Zhang Chao asked.

Chen Rong shook her head. “Jumping off from up there would be so immoral. The library is right below; it would terrify a whole bunch of students.”

Zhang Chao turned to Chen Rong and casually said, “If I saw someone standing up there trying to jump, I really wouldn’t be able to resist giving them a push. Haha.”

Hearing this, Chen Rong’s expression changed slightly, but she didn’t speak.

But Zhang Chao didn’t miss a thing. He suddenly changed the subject and asked directly, “Why did the madwoman say you pushed Ah Bao to his death?”

Chen Rong was taken aback, bit her lip slightly, and remained silent for a moment before saying, “I think you’re acting a little strange today.”

Zhang Chao shook his head and said, “No, I was just asking casually. I feel like the madwoman isn’t always so crazy.”

Chen Rong hesitated for a long time, then said, “Do you believe what the madwoman said—that I pushed Ah Bao?”

Zhang Chao neither nodded nor shook his head but simply looked at Chen Rong calmly.

Chen Rong took a deep breath and slowly said, “Yes, I pushed Ah Bao.”

Although Zhang Chao already had suspicions, Chen Rong’s confession still shocked him.

Inwardly, he was pleading, “Chen Rong, you must hold on; please don’t admit it!”

But Chen Rong confessed anyway.

Zhang Chao bit his lip and asked softly, “Why did you push him?”

Chen Rong lowered her head and, after a long silence, said painfully, “Please don’t ask anymore, okay?”

Zhang Chao shook his head and continued, “When you were in fifth grade, didn’t you also push a girl off a cliff?”

Chen Rong’s face turned deathly pale.

Zhang Chao said coldly, “In junior high, you pushed a child into a reservoir, almost drowning. In high school, you pushed a child into a well, drowning, isn’t that right?”

Chen Rong’s face turned ashen. She bit her lip, crying painfully, “You…how did you know?”

Zhang Chao said, “You’ve always known you have this illness. Whenever you see someone in a dangerous place, you can’t help but push them in. Last year, you even went to Beijing under an assumed name for treatment, undergoing hypnosis, right? Because you know about your illness, you’ve never had a boyfriend, and because you’re afraid people will find out, you always pretend to be normal?”

Chen Rong cried, her voice trembling, “Yes, I’m sick. I lied to you. I was wrong, I was wrong…”

Zhang Chao said coldly, “Bai Qiu, Li Weihao, did you use some method to kill them?”

Chen Rong shook her head, crying, “No, they ‘committed suicide’; they ‘committed suicide’!”

“‘Committed suicide’?” Zhang Chao didn’t believe it at all. “They couldn’t have ‘committed suicide’! Why did you lie to me before? How long are you going to lie to me?”

Chen Rong cried, “They really did ‘commit suicide.’ I didn’t even know them. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Lin Yi’ang. He knows about both of these things.”

What? Lin Yi’ang knew?! Was there something else behind these two things that he didn’t know?

Was Chen Rong hiding something from him? Was Lin Yi’ang lying to him about something, too?

Zhang Chao was shocked and asked, “What does Lin Yi’ang know?”

Chen Rong shook her head and said, “He doesn’t know. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have lied to you.”

Zhang Chao looked pained. “Chen Rong! Chen Rong! I trusted you so much, yet you’ve lied to me time and time again! You killed someone, you…can you live with yourself?!”

Chen Rong stood there, stunned, and slowly said, “I’ve never felt at peace. I’ve always known about my illness. In the past, I couldn’t control myself. Perhaps it was the trauma of pushing Ah Bao when I was little. Later, I couldn’t control myself and hurt others. That’s why I studied psychology, and that’s why I was afraid to have a boyfriend. But I went to Beijing for treatment, and since then, I’m cured, completely cured. The trauma is gone. That’s why, after I met you, I selfishly started dating you. Yes, I was too selfish. I shouldn’t have hidden my past, thinking I could live a normal life from then on. I have a dark past, a dirty past. I shouldn’t have, I really shouldn’t have been with you, and I shouldn’t have lied to you. I was wrong, I was wrong…”

Seeing Chen Rong’s incoherent sobs, Zhang Chao felt an overwhelming urge to rush over and comfort her.

But he simply couldn’t accept it; he couldn’t accept that his girlfriend had such a mental illness in the past and that it had even caused the deaths of several people.

He hardened his heart and continued, “You said you didn’t know Bai Qiu and Li Weihao, and their ‘suicides’ had nothing to do with you. Then what about Li Jiaming?”

“Li Jiaming?” Chen Rong was stunned. “He’s dead, but I didn’t push him. I haven’t lied to you about him at all!”

Zhang Chao shook his head. “Li Jiaming might not really be dead. What you say might not be reliable.”

“What!” Chen Rong’s face paled in shock. “Li Jiaming is still alive?”

Zhang Chao said, “I don’t know if what you’re saying is true or false. I don’t know if Li Jiaming is alive or not. You asked me how I know all this. It’s because someone gave me your medical records from Beijing, and the person who sent them to me wrote on the sender’s name Li Jiaming!”

Chen Rong staggered back a few steps. “Li Jiaming really isn’t dead! He’s back. So, all of this—him following me, investigating me, taking revenge on me—was all his doing!”

Zhang Chao said, “You don’t need to shift the blame anymore. No matter who he is or what his motives are, the fact that he sent me the information, and that the information is genuine, is enough… enough for me to completely lose all feelings for you!”

Chen Rong closed her eyes tightly, exhaled, and wiped away her tears. After a long while, she slowly said, “Zhang Chao, I was indeed too selfish. I hid my past and deceived you, thinking that recovering would be the start of a new life. But time can’t be turned back, and what has been done can never be changed. I was wrong; I was too selfish. I’m sorry.”

Zhang Chao said coldly, “It’s alright. It’s all in the past. Don’t worry, I won’t reveal these things to anyone else. Besides, even if I did, it wouldn’t be used as evidence by the police. Don’t worry, I won’t say anything, and no one else will know. You can still start your life anew and continue being a doctor.”

Chen Rong shook her head and slowly said, “It was my fault. No matter what you do, I won’t blame you. You should have done it. But if Li Jiaming is really alive, you must be careful of him. His grandfather is a sorcerer from Southeast Asia.”

Zhang Chao sneered, unconcerned, and said, “What kind of evil sorcerer? I’ve seen enough of those. So what if they are powerful? Invulnerable? Superman? They still died after falling off the terraced fields.”

“You…” Chen Rong knew this was a sarcastic remark about her grandfather. She slowly shook her head and said, “It was my fault. I’m sorry. I hope you can be happy from now on.” With that, she slowly turned and walked away towards her dormitory.

Zhang Chao stood by Qizhen Lake, staring blankly at the lake in the night. So much had happened these past few days.

It was all too unexpected.

Chen Rong had been deceiving him all along. A murderer, yet she wanted to start a new life through him.

Then what was he? Was he just being used?

What did Lin Yi’ang know?

Who among those around him could be trusted?

This day was Friday, May 9, 2008.