Zhang Lu, hiding upstairs, heard every single word of the conversation between the man and the woman downstairs.
He covered his mouth tightly, trying hard to calm down the strange ecstasy deep in his heart.
"Ji Pei, I never thought you'd have such a disgraceful mother," Zhang Lu sneered. Under the dim yellow light, his distorted smile was extremely creepy.
Just to be safe, Zhang Lu secretly inquired about Ji Pei's mother.
With his outstanding communication skills and approachable appearance, Zhang Lu successfully found out that Ji Pei's mother used to be a prostitute.
Zhang Lu originally planned to spread this secret about Ji Pei in school. But just then, something happened that made Zhang Lu change his mind.
It was also because of this incident that Ji Pei chose to shift the blame for Sheng Qingqiu's murder onto Zhang Lu.
Every year, the school has direct admission quotas for key universities.
This is undoubtedly a huge temptation for all senior three students.
Admission not only means avoiding the cruel competition of the college entrance examination but also a pass with high gold content, which will make them more competitive when they start working in the future.
At the same time, the conditions for obtaining the admission qualification are quite strict.
For the sake of fairness, justice, and transparency, the school usually chooses to hold a competition to determine the final winner.
Zhang Lu was eager to try and participated in the competition.
The competition topics were announced in advance, and all the competitors would have half a month to prepare their entries.
Ji Pei spent extra effort on the competition.
He studied day and night, revised his plan, and finally came up with a result that satisfied him.
For Ji Pei, this was all his hope.
On the eve of the competition, Zhang Lu pretended to invite Ji Pei out, saying he had something to tell him.
Ji Pei didn't know what Zhang Lu was up to, but he was worried that Zhang Lu wouldn't let it go easily. To avoid trouble, Ji Pei still arrived at the appointed place on time.
Taking this opportunity, Zhang Lu sneaked into Ji Pei's dormitory.
While chatting with Ji Pei's roommates, he unconsciously stole Ji Pei's entry.
Ji Pei realized something was wrong. He turned around and ran back to the dormitory at full speed.
However, it was too late.
It was obviously too late for him to make a new entry now.
The next day, Zhang Lu got the first place in the competition as he wished.
Ji Pei watched Zhang Lu on the stage, full of energy and confidence. Hatred welled up in his heart.
Zhang Lu cast a provocative look at Ji Pei, as if to say, "What can you do to me?"
Finally, the competition ended.
Zhang Lu was surrounded by a group of classmates and friends who came to congratulate him. He glanced around and saw Ji Pei glaring at him in the distance.
Zhang Lu's smile grew wider. He pushed through the crowd and walked up to Ji Pei.
"Why did you steal my work? Why! Do you know what it means to me?" Ji Pei's eyes were bloodshot, and his fists were clenched tightly. He grabbed Zhang Lu's collar.
Zhang Lu didn't resist. Like a poisonous snake, he spat out his forked tongue and said, "Of course I know. Otherwise, I wouldn't have done it."
Just as Ji Pei was about to punch Zhang Lu, a single sentence from Zhang Lu struck him like a thunderbolt, making him unable to move.
"Because you're the son of a prostitute, that's why you've been working so hard, right?" Zhang Lu said maliciously.
Ji Pei's face turned deathly pale in an instant. He kept shaking his head and said, "I'm not! I'm not!"
"You have such low - class blood in your veins. Do you think people will look at you differently if they know this secret?" Zhang Lu's words were full of malice, crushing Ji Pei bit by bit.
Ji Pei grabbed Zhang Lu's shoulders excitedly and roared desperately, "No! No! You can't say it!"
Once this was revealed, all his efforts would be in vain.
Ji Pei's reaction was exactly what Zhang Lu had expected.
Exchanging a secret for an admission quota was really a good deal.
Zhang Lu became even more complacent. "I can keep my mouth shut. But from now on, if I hear any rumors about this competition, I guarantee you'll get an even bigger 'surprise' the next second."
Ji Pei nodded dejectedly, allowing Zhang Lu to push him away and swagger off.
The teachers were surprised and regretful about Ji Pei's defeat. But then they thought that with Ji Pei's ability, he could surely achieve excellent results in the college entrance examination.
As the biggest winner, Zhang Lu attracted everyone's attention.
Ji Pei became even more silent.
Zhang Lu had been on guard against Ji Pei at first, but gradually, he let his guard down.
He thought that as long as he held Ji Pei's secret, Ji Pei wouldn't dare to act rashly.
But what happened later made Zhang Lu realize that a seemingly silent person could be the most terrifying and deadly when they finally explode.
"How did you end up in the alley and get kidnapped by Ji Pei on the day Sheng Qingqiu died?" Qin An couldn't help feeling a bit more sympathetic towards Ji Pei after hearing this.
The world had never been kind to that young man, so his revenge seemed reasonable.
However, the law was just. Once a crime was committed, one had to bear the corresponding consequences and responsibilities.
Yang Heng also sighed at Ji Pei's experience.
If Ji Pei had been born into a happy family, he would surely be a cheerful young man and the male god in everyone's eyes. His future would have been bright.
Instead, he was now facing the fate of going to prison.
Zhang Lu recalled the scene of that day, and his body instinctively shrank.
Jiang Cong knew that Zhang Lu was probably recalling those days in the darkroom.
But Jiang Cong didn't wake Zhang Lu up. This was a silent punishment for Zhang Lu.
There was no absolute good or bad person in the world.
In this crime, both Zhang Lu and Ji Pei were victims and perpetrators.
Zhang Lu's bullying and coercion were the last straw that broke Ji Pei. His actions deeply hurt Ji Pei's already crumbling defense.
His abduction was well - deserved. It was the price he had to pay.
As for Ji Pei, an unfair fate and the shadow of his mother had dragged him into the dark abyss.
But this couldn't be an excuse for murder.
Although killing Sheng Qingqiu brought a moment of relief and satisfaction, it was still a human life.
They say the dead are to be respected, but wasn't there a huge problem with Sheng Qingqiu herself?
If it hadn't been for her deliberate seduction, Zhang Lu's school bullying of Ji Pei wouldn't have happened.
If Sheng Qingqiu had behaved herself, she wouldn't have lost her young and vibrant life.
It was a pity that there were no "what - ifs" in the world.
One wrong step often led to a series of wrong steps.