WARNINGS: a heart wrenching chapter that will squeeze your heart dry; mentions of bullying, abusing, torturing, and miscarriage...

When Zhuang Zhen and Song Rui entered the interrogation room, the sound technician, illuminated by the pale white light of the nearby lamp, was seen sitting with his head lowered.

"You're here?" Hearing the sound of footsteps, he slowly raised his head and asked with a smile, "How is Ruan Ye?"

It was a very normal question, as if someone was simply asking after a familiar acquaintance or about someone they were close to. But, Song Rui managed to see a ripple of the emotion called 'expectation' from behind the sound technician's seemingly unwavering pupils.

Thus, Song Rui relayed an answer that was likely to disappoint the other person. "She's fine and will be discharged in a few days."

Ever since meeting Fan Jialuo, Song Rui dared not take any suspect lightly. He had to inwardly admit that in the past, he had carried a proud or even contemptible attitude when facing these people, but from now on he had resolved to be more modest and cautious in front of them.

The sound technician, who had remained silent from the moment of his arrest, immediately exploded into anger. In just a moment, his expression furiously distorted as he hammered the table with both hands. He cried out, "You're lying! She'll never be able to recover! She's gone mad!"

"She's not mad." Song Rui took out a tablet, placed the screen in front of the other, and played a video that showed a nurse feeding Ruan Ye water.

This was a video he had prepared specifically for the intention of stimulating the sound technician. Didn't the other side desire to completely destroy Ruan Ye's mental faculties? Then, if he came to know that Ruan Ye was unscathed, would he become enraged and lose his mind?

Song Rui had 100% confidence that he would be able to extract whatever information was needed from the other's mouth once he lost his mind.

Although this man was not comparable to Fan Jialuo, it could be seen from his previous interviews, which had been carried out at the police station, that his psychological quality was quite strong. On this occasion, he had calmly kept his mouth shut, and had not uttered even a single word since he had entered the police station.

He was clearly a criminal with a high level of intelligence. If the police were unable to grasp his weakness, the interrogation would become an extended battle, without any results to show for. The evidence that the police currently had was far from enough to successfully convict him for his crimes.

In the video, Ruan Ye was sipping water with the nurse's help. Although her face was pale, her expression was calm- it was as if she had completely broken away from the shadow left behind after being imprisoned for five days.

However, the truth was that at the time this video was filmed, her body contained a high concentration of tranquilizers.She simply didn't have the strength to lift her fingers, let alone go mad. In reality, after being admitted to the hospital, she had begun to shout and struggle, and wasn't able to manage either a complete word or even recognize her parents. She was now completely trapped in hell.

The sound technician stared at the video unblinkingly. His eyes turned bloodshot and his entire body looked as if he had suffered a devastating blow.

Song Rui continued, "She was able to safely avoid trouble, all thanks to your mercy."

"My mercy?" The sound technician murmured to himself, then smashed against the chair he was seated on, in an attempt to escape. His face was full of murderous intentions and his hate for Ruean Ye seemed to have reached an extreme.

Unfortunately, the chair was too strong, and his hands and feet were both handcuffed, which made any movement inconvenient, so he was quickly brought under control by the police officer who entered after hearing the sounds.

"Let go of me, I will kill Ruan Ye! She doesn't deserve to live! Let go of me!"

The sound technician was being pressed face-down on the table, but he continued to growl and struggle with all his strength. His calm facade had long since ceased to exist- only the madness and hatred that had steadily accumulated over several years remained, and he had nowhere to vent those.

Song Rui felt that they had almost reached the crucial moment, and he slowly induced the other, "Ruan Ye caused the death of your sister?"

In the midst of his fierce struggle, the sound technician suddenly froze.

"You want to avenge her?" Song Rui continued to speculate.

The sound technician, breathing heavily, began to struggle again with renewed vigour.

Song Rui pushed up the glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose and asked, "As far as I know, your sister committed suicide. At that time, Ruan Ye was studying abroad, and had nothing to do with this matter. Why take your anger out on an unrelated person?"

The sound technician raised his head and glared at Song Rui with his bloodshot eyes. His two rows of teeth gritted together tightly, making a grinding sound that was filled with menace. It was as if he would pounce on this person the moment the other relaxed his guard even the slightest bit, and would bite the other's throat.

Song Rui was not frightened at all, and continued, "We investigated your sister. She and Ruan Ye were classmates, and also roommates. They had a very close relationship, but their personalities and fortunes were quite dissimilar.

"Ruan Ye had an excellent academic performance and was very popular, while your sister was quite the opposite. We also heard that she was unconventional in her private life, so she was rejected by her entire class. With the exception of Ruan Ye, there was almost no one who treated her favourably during her three years of high school. She committed suicide because her life was not smooth-sailing. How is this connected to Ruan Ye? Is it because Ruan Ye is better than her that you hate―"

Song Rui's words had to come to a halt, for the sound technician had been provoked past his tolerance level and was now completely infuriated, to the extent that even two powerful policemen couldn't restrain him. He almost succeeded in overturning the table. If Zhuang Zhen hadn't taken control of the situation in time, the other might even have been able to tear off the handcuffs and chains that bound him to the spot.

His hands and feet had become a bloody mess because of the sharp edges of the metal shackles, but it was as if he couldn't feel any pain at all, and just said in a tone brimming with hatred, "What do you know?! Ruan Ye is the most damned one! I'll give you a phone number. You call my girlfriend and ask her to bring one of my personal items to the police station. Look at that thing, and you'll see."

After his furious outburst, the sound technician seemed to have regained his reasoning and ceased struggling. He sneered and said, "Even if I chop Ruan Ye into meat paste, it would be what she deserves!"

Zhuang Zhen glanced at the one-way mirror, and Liu Tao, who was standing behind the mirror, understood the look and immediately contacted the sound technician's girlfriend.

Xiao Li followed after him, shaking his head and sighing. "As long as the opponent is not Fan Jialuo, Dr. Song is very powerful! Look, within ten minutes, he's already done with the murderer."

The sound technician's girlfriend soon arrived at the police station with a black wooden box. She seemed to have guessed something. When she handed the box to Liao Fang, she burst into tears as she said, "I had a premonition that he would go astray, but I didn't think that he would commit a crime. You must take a good look at this diary. Rui Rui is so pitiful. She is so pitiful!" Her hands were trembling and shaking so much, it appeared that she couldn't seem to bear the weight of the object within her palms.

Liao Fang put on a pair of gloves and carefully checked the diary with a member of the forensic department, but the contents of the diary made them feel as if they had been plunged into purgatory.

At the same time, the sound technician, whose hands and feet had been bandaged, started to recite the contents of the diary from memory with a grave tone.

"XX09, September 1st: It was my first day of high school today, and I met a very lovely girl named Ruan Ye. She and I are in the same dorm, and after the teacher arranged the seats, we even became deskmates. I am Hua Rui, she is Ye Zi, and we are quite a match. It's a wonderful fate. I want to be friends with her!"

"XX09, October 10th: Ruan Ye and I went to watch the second year senior students play basketball. There is a student there who is very handsome. Everyone was cheering for him! His basketball ended up hitting me, but then he came to apologize to me, and his laughter was like a ray of sunshine falling directly on me. Ye Zi says his name is Gao Fei. Gao Fei, what a nice name!"

"XX09, October 27th: I quietly confessed to Senior and was rejected. How sad! Why am I so disgraceful?"

"XX09, October 28th: Ye Zi found out that I had confessed to Senior secretly. She was very angry. She said that she had secretly been together with Senior for a long time. Sorry Ye Zi, I didn't mean to. If I knew about you and Senior, I would have made sure never to start liking him! You are more important than Senior. You are my best friend!"

"XX09, October 29th: Ye Zi said that she would forgive me as long as I bought her a skirt for a birthday present. But that skirt is so expensive. It costs more than 500 yuan. My living expenses are not at all enough. My brother works hard outside. Should I tell him?"

"XX09, November 3rd: I dare not ask Brother for money. Fortunately, at the beginning of the month, Brother sent me 400 yuan for living expenses. I'll borrow a little more from my classmates."

"XX09, November 4th: I finally gathered enough money. Tomorrow night, I'm going to skip evening self-study and go shopping with Ye Zi. Ye Zi will be very happy after getting the new skirt, right? I'm happy just thinking of her joyous expression!"

The sound technician recited paragraph after paragraph in a tone close to indifference. For three years, he had read these entries over and over again, every day and night. Every word written inside the diary had long become a bloody imprint-engraved into his mind, his bone marrows, and even his soul.

Zhuang Zhen and Song Rui listened quietly without interrupting.

The sound technician paused for a long while before he resumed reciting again, but his voice had suddenly turned extremely hoarse.

"XX09, November 6th: Why? Why why why? Why did Ye Zi do this? Why didn't Senior Gao Fei save me? I didn't mean it! I dare not like Senior in the future!"

"XX09, November 8th: Ye Zi said she took a photo! Why would she do this to me? I've admitted I was wrong! She asked me to go out with her tomorrow. I'm afraid, but I can't refuse. Otherwise, she will post my photos all over school!"

"XX09, November 10th: They were four people again. Ye Zi was taking pictures from beside them. I cried. I begged for mercy. I kowtowed to them. But they just kept laughing all the time. No one paid any attention to my apologies!"

"XX09, November 13th: Ye Zi asked me to go back with her for the weekend. I wanted to escape, but I had no money. All my money was taken away by them."

"XX09, November 16th: While watching TV, they asked me to learn the above movements. I wanted to jump out of the window but was dragged back down by Ye Zi. Together, the four of them hit me, burned me with cigarette butts and cut me with knives. I am in pain and keep bleeding all the time, but I don't dare to go to see a doctor."

"XX09, November 17th: I fainted today. It was Ye Zi who took me to the infirmary to see a doctor and she paid for my medical expenses. Ye Zi, you still care about me? If I sincerely atone, will you let me go? You will, I'm sure you will, because we are best friends!"

"XX09, November 19th: Ye Zi asked me to hang out with her tomorrow, and I agreed. I was wrong before. She should feel better after venting enough, right?"

"XX09, November 23rd: I was very obedient this time. They didn't hit me as I thought they would, and Ye Zi began to smile at me again, which was very nice."

"XX09, November 27th: Ye Zi said that she doesn't have enough money. Let me think about it, but what can I do? Ye Zi, I'm sorry, I'm useless."

"XX09, November 29th: Ye Zi asked me to play with some uncles. I was afraid, but I couldn't refuse."

"XX09, December 1st: We made a lot of money. Ye Zi bought me a down jacket that cost more than 200 yuan. I don't dare to wear it because I am dirty."

"XX09, December 7th: I found out that none of my classmates would play with me. They said I was sick. No, I'm not sick. I'm just injured. Fortunately, Ye Zi is willing to accompany me. Ye Zi, thank you, but when will you let me go?"

"XX09, December 13th: Yesterday, I bit an uncle. Zhao Kai and Mao Xiaoming beat me with iron bars. Senior Gao Fei hung me upside down from the door frame and cut my flesh with a knife. It's still very painful. I shed a lot of blood. Then finally, Ye Zi let me down and gave me medicine. As expected, only Ye Zi treats me well."

"XX10, January 18th: When I was in the hotel, I was beaten by an uncle. Then again by the four of them. There was a lot of blood flowing. Ye Zi said that I had a miscarriage. I have a child? When did it happen? This is terrible! The blood is still flowing. What if it doesn't stop? Will I die?"

"XX10, January 20th: Ye Zi took me to the hospital to see a doctor. She is a good person indeed. I promised her to never tell Brother about it. Will Brother feel embarrassed? Sorry, I didn't want it either! Brother, I'm really sorry. Please forgive me!"

"XX10, February 17th: School is about to start. I'm afraid. I wanted to accompany my brother in working, but he refused. He's angry. I've never seen him so angry. Later, I thought for a long time before realizing that he works so hard to make money just to let me study. He would rather give up his own studies for me, so that he can let me go to a good university and live a good life. How can I waste his hard work? I'm sorry, Brother. I will never mention such willful things again. I must hold on. But when will such days end?"

"XX10, February 18th: School begins today. Hell, I'm here."

After he finished reciting the contents of the diary, the sound technician finally couldn't hold on; he covered his face with his hands and cried bitterly. He couldn't speak any more, not even one word more. In the interrogation room, other than his plaintive cries, only dead silence reigned.

...

One of the hardest chapters we had translated all the time because after reading this one, we need to take a deep breath and adjust our mood before we can start anything else...