DDT - Chapter 45
Chapter 45: School Tyrant × The Pushover (22)
With Yi Shuhan gone, life at school gradually quieted down. To the students' greatest delight, the great devil of the senior year, Jiang Shiqing, was also gone. Rumor had it that before he left, he was dragged out and beaten up by some gangsters, supposedly because he had hit one of their girlfriends. No one knew the exact reason, but the students felt it was a great relief. Many of the students in the classes Jiang Shiqing had taught had suffered his beatings.
There was now only one month left until the Gaokao. Chi Junluo's father still stayed out all night, every night, though recently he had stopped turning the house into a chaotic, smoke-filled mess.
Chi Junluo confirmed with the Heavenly Dao again: she had to leave the moment the Gaokao was over, without a second's delay. She never expected that in just a few short months, she, who prided herself on being cold-blooded, would develop such subtle feelings for this world. For the heroine, Yi Shuhan, too, and for her loyal band of underlings. She was actually feeling reluctant to leave.
For the final month, Chi Junluo skipped class. The Gaokao was optional for her anyway. She started working at a small restaurant every day and singing at a bar at night. The world Chi Junluo originally came from was far ahead of this world's timeline, so many popular songs from her world had yet to appear here. This world was still stuck in the era of "Mice Love Rice." As a result, every time Chi Junluo performed at the bar, she drew a large crowd, and she raked in a good amount of money.
As the Gaokao drew closer, Chi Junluo first treated her underlings to a barbecue, then to karaoke. Her lackeys all knew about her family's financial situation and insisted on paying their own way. Chi Junluo deliberately put on a cold expression, and they didn't dare make another peep. Everyone had a great time that night, and no one noticed anything amiss with Chi Junluo, who kept drinking nonstop.
Yi Shuhan sent Chi Junluo messages every day. Sometimes, when she missed her, she would give her a call. But with just over ten days left, Chi Junluo had a long, serious talk with Yi Shuhan.
"Shuhan, the Gaokao is almost here. You should be putting your studies first. There are only fifteen days left."
"Starting today, don't use your phone, okay?"
"Your phone is seriously affecting your review progress."
Chi Junluo felt like a nagging mother hen, endlessly going over all sorts of reminders with Yi Shuhan.
Although Yi Shuhan was reluctant, she obediently followed Chi Junluo's advice and gave her phone to her parents for safekeeping.
Over the phone, Chi Junluo told her to communicate more with her parents and not to deepen the rift between them. She told Shuhan that her parents loved her very much, and now that she had the chance to be with them, she should cherish their time together.
Yi Shuhan nodded on the other end of the line. She understood all of this, really. Her parents had spoken with her, and she now knew what her family did, how high their status was in Beijing, and what she would have to face in the future.
Yi Qinglang had told her she had the right to choose the life she wanted to live in the future, and that he and his wife would not interfere with her choices.
Yi Shuhan was genuinely moved. However, since she had no particular plans for her future, she figured she might as well test into a university in Beijing. Perhaps she could even lend a hand to the family business someday and show Old Master Yi that the women of the Yi family were not to be trifled with.
But the most important reason was that she hoped to be by her parents' side.
Time flew by, and Chi Junluo began to erase the traces she had left in this world. The original host had chosen to end her life after the Gaokao because she could no longer see a future for herself. She had lost hope in life, had no faith, and struggled daily with what others dismissed as melodrama. No concern from family, no companionship from friends, and not enough money for tuition—that was the final straw that broke the original host.
The original host held no hope for the future.
Day and night, low spirits and suicidal thoughts plagued the poor girl, until she finally chose to end her own life and future with her own hands.
Chi Junluo understood that if this were a decade or so later, people would have understood the original host's thoughts and actions. It was a classic case of depression.
A year ago, Chi Junluo had registered for QQ. Her QQ Space was filled with sentences that others would find very non-mainstream, and the space had always been set to private.
Chi Junluo thought about it and decided not to delete it. After all, it was the only proof that the original host had ever existed. She began clearing her phone's text messages and call history. She burned all her textbooks. These were books the original host had worked hard to "buy" with her own money. She would burn them as an offering to her.
"Heavenly Dao, can I really not stay?" Chi Junluo asked in a negotiating tone.
The Heavenly Dao hesitated for a second. "No way, no way, it's not up for discussion. I'm in a hurry to get to the next world!"
Chi Junluo's eyes darkened. She hadn't missed that one-second hesitation. The Heavenly Dao's reason was its eagerness to move on, not that the world was rejecting her. Therefore, she had reason to suspect that the Heavenly Dao… was hiding something from her.
Time flew, and in the blink of an eye, more than ten days had passed. The day of the Gaokao arrived.
The night before the exam, Yi Shuhan got her phone back from her mother and tried to call Chi Junluo, only to hear a notification that the user's phone was off.
Disappointed, Yi Shuhan put down her phone and sat back at her desk. Maybe Luo Luo is just preparing for the exam?
Steeling herself, Yi Shuhan picked up her notes again for one final review before the Gaokao.
During the two-day exam, Yi Shuhan had wanted to corner Chi Junluo, but she had no idea which exam hall she was in. The school wasn't that big, yet Chi Junluo was nowhere to be seen. Yi Shuhan couldn't help but wonder if Luo Luo was avoiding her.
But she couldn't think of any reason why she would. In the end, Yi Shuhan forced herself to focus back on the exam and not get distracted.
This was the last day. Chi Junluo looked around the small home she had lived in for half a year with a sense of nostalgia. Before leaving, she placed a thick envelope on the coffee table in the living room.
Time always passed quickly when one was fully focused on an exam. Yi Shuhan eagerly finished the last major question, carefully checked her paper, and waited for the exam to end.
Finally, the bell rang. Yi Shuhan couldn't wait to hand in her paper and surge out with the crowd. Her first thought was to meet up with Chi Junluo.
Gasps of surprise erupted from the crowd outside the building. Yi Shuhan felt a surge of irritation. The Gaokao is over, what are these people making a fuss about now?
She flowed out of the exam building with the crowd and saw many students, and even some parents who had come onto campus to pick up their children, gathered not far away.
Words like "jumping," "suicide," and "girl" drifted from the crowd. Yi Shuhan's heart leaped into her throat. She looked up, but due to the angle, she could only vaguely make out a tall, short-haired figure sitting on the roof of the six-story building.
Even as just a silhouette, Yi Shuhan felt it was so incredibly familiar!
She faintly heard phrases like "School Tyrant" and "Sister Chi." Yi Shuhan's mind went blank. She fought her way to the front of the crowd, stepping on quite a few people and hearing complaints around her. Then, she raised her head. The moment she saw clearly, her heart felt like it had been struck by a heavy blow.
The girl sitting on the edge of the roof was, without a doubt, Chi Junluo, who she had lost contact with recently.
Yi Shuhan stood below, staring in utter shock at the girl on the roof, a girl stripped of her pride and warmth, exuding an aura of death and decay.
The girl who usually held her hand and smiled so gently was now wearing a look of complete indifference. She sat outside the guardrail, her legs dangling in the air, her hands propped on either side. A slightly strong gust of wind swept across the rooftop, lifting Chi Junluo's not-so-long hair.
However tall and mighty her impression had been before, that was how fragile she looked now.
Chi Junluo sat on the roof, bored. No one knew how she had gotten up there. To prevent accidents, the school had removed the stairs to the rooftop access point and welded the small iron gate shut.
The principal received the news and was rushing over. What kind of troublesome students had he ended up with? One incident after another, it was just too much!
Chi Junluo had been waiting on the roof for a while. Now, the main character had finally arrived. She looked down at the incredulous Yi Shuhan and sighed.
"Heavenly Dao, this is… a bit cruel," Chi Junluo sighed.
"So far, this seems to be the best way," the Heavenly Dao replied, shifting its position in her sea of consciousness as it continued to enjoy the drama. For the Heavenly Dao, only the result mattered, not the process.
"Go for it, Chi Chi! As the ancients said, short-term pain is better than long-term pain," the Heavenly Dao said leisurely.
Before Yi Shuhan could even say a word of persuasion, Chi Junluo pushed herself up with her hands and stood.
"Ahhh!!!" a timid girl screamed in terror from below.
A strong wind blew past, causing Chi Junluo to sway slightly. The people below broke out in a cold sweat.
Just as Chi Junluo was about to take a step, she suddenly spotted a man in the crowd—a man she had never met in the past six months, but whom she recognized in an instant.
That person was the original host's father!
The man, his hair already graying at the temples, was holding several exquisite shopping bags. He tilted his head up, his face a mask of shock, heartache, and regret as he looked at his daughter, so far away on the rooftop.
Chi Junluo's vision suddenly blurred. These were the original host's emotions. Grievance, anger, sadness, and despair erupted all at once. Tears streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks…
From below came the anxious pleas of strangers—students, teachers, and Yi Shuhan. Chi Junluo knew that if she didn't act now, she might be talked down, and that was not an option.
Chi Junluo suddenly felt a wave of sorrow for the original host.
Amid a chorus of gasps and before hundreds of disbelieving eyes, Chi Junluo took a step forward, her foot finding only empty air, and jumped.
The brief moment of her descent seemed to stretch on for an eternity. A golden pattern materialized out of thin air on her left hand, becoming more intricate and beautiful.
The contract was successful.
What followed was a heart-wrenching, soul-tearing pain that spread through every inch of her body.
Chi Junluo: !!! DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!!! IT HURTS SO MUCH!!
Heavenly Dao: Ah! What a melodious sound! How satisfying!!
Chi Junluo's consciousness began to drift away. In her final moment, she thought she heard Yi Shuhan's anguished voice.
Shuhan, to make you remember me this way, to cause you so much pain… I'm so, so sorry…
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