Upon leaving the restaurant, Zhong Shao ran into Tan Ye face-to-face and handed his phone to Zhong Shao. The glaring headline burned into the top of the screen. Glancing at the screen, Zhong Shao asked, "Do you believe this?"
Tan Ye fell silent, knowing that initial reports of incidents are often unreliable and rumours can damage one's reputation for a lifetime. While he believed in Prof. Wang Shuo's character, he was aware that not everyone is as upright as they seem.
"We should first investigate which media outlets released this information and where they obtained it from," Yu Cheng suggested.
Tan Ye smacked his head, "How could I forget about that!" he then patted the commendatory on the shoulder.
Incidents related to student safety and other issues can occur in any school, and the Royal Academy of Performing Arts is no exception.
At six in the morning, Dong Yi, a junior-year student in the theatre department, soared through the sky, blood splattering the heavens and the earth, on the balcony of his dormitory, facing the morning sun, waving a rainbow flag.
Dong Yi's final phone call before committing suicide was made to the city's Criminal Investigation Division, where he cryptically revealed a truth in a rose-thorn-like manner.
Despite the rapid response of the city's CID, they still arrived late.
After the scene was sealed off, Dong Yi's head teacher and counsellor arrived late, looking dishevelled.
Once the evidence was collected, the scene was temporarily preserved, and the head teacher and counsellor went to the police station to give statements to assist in the investigation.
Royal Academy of Performing Arts students posted this incident on their social platforms and WeChat's private circles. Within two hours, the event garnered significant attention, with the related topic on social media prominently labelled as "hot." Various suspicions emerged, including one that spread rapidly about Wang Shuo's refusal to accept Dong Yi as his disciple. Without any concrete evidence, some unscrupulous self-media outlets seized upon this and spread baseless rumours. In this era where no one is a mere spectator of their own identity, such actions are truly a tragedy for the news media.
This case was handled by the deputy captain of the criminal investigation team in Changjing District of City B, Jiang Ming.
"Deputy Jiang, we found the student who made the phone call, a student from Beichuan Dance Academy."
During the on-site inspection, they discovered an untagged number on Dong Yi's phone that frequently called the victim between 6:30 and 7:00 this morning. This number belonged to the last person Dong Yi contacted before his death.
"He said he has important evidence to hand over to you personally."
"Where is he?"
"Sitting in the corridor."
"Take him to the conference room, I'll be right there." "
Yes."
The meeting room door opened and then closed. Jiang Ming pulled out a chair and sat down across from the young man, saying, "Hello, I am Jiang Ming, the deputy captain of the Changjing District Criminal Investigation Team responsible for the Dong Yi incident."
"Hello, Captain Jiang," the young man's voice lacked vitality.
Jiang Ming cut straight to the point, "What is your name? What is your relationship with Dong Yi?"
"I am Ge Haide," struggling with a choked voice and an indescribable pain, he took a deep breath before continuing, "We used to be lovers."
"Before Dong Yi committed suicide, he gave me this file the night before," Ge Haide clutched the heavy file bag and handed it over with bloodshot eyes, "He said he was in trouble, and only if the police called me, could I hand over this thing."
Dong Yi also said, "Haide, I'm sorry for the past. Even though we broke up, you are the only one I can trust."
Ge Haide never imagined that less than ten hours later, he would forever lose the chance to bring Dong Yi back to him.
Jiang Ming did not take the file bag but asked Ge Haide, "Tell me how you two met."
The file bag lay between the two, and Ge Haide said, "Beichuan Dance and Royal Academy are opposite each other. I was the top in our major, and Dong Yi was the top in theirs. I always hoped to compete with him on stage one day."
"The first time we met was at a performance in the River and Mountain Theatre. We appreciated each other and became friends. As time went by, it turned into affection, and we got together."
Jiang Ming crossed his arms, leaned back in his chair, and then asked, "You seemed to have a good relationship. So why did you break up?"
"Captain Jiang, once you read this file, you will understand why we broke up, and...," he couldn't help but choke up, "why Dong Yi committed suicide."
Jiang Ming opened the file bag and took out a thick stack of papers. The top one was the last letter written by Dong Yi.
Addressed to Jiang Ming.
To the investigating officer in charge of my case:
I am Dong Yi, a student majoring in stage drama.
By the time you receive this document from Haide, I may have been hidden in barren land, or escaped from the mud, soaring in the sky. My life is not long, but not destined for tragedy. If one day the truth is exposed under the sun, there will surely be fewer people like me in the future.
I grew up in an ordinary middle-class family, started learning classical dance at the age of six, got into Beichuan High School at 14, and entered the Royal Academy of Performing Arts as the top student in the stage drama major at 17.
The stage drama major is divided into three classes, A, B, and C, each with 20 students, based on total grades at midterms and finals for class placement and group dance ranking. After the first semester of freshman year, I was placed in Class C and transferred from a four-person room to a mixed dormitory. Reflecting on myself, I am passionate about dance and aspire to be a dancer, therefore I never slack off, knowing the high demands and standards of years of dancing practice. I am well aware of my abilities, and for over a decade, my dancing has never fallen out of the top three. Regarding the dorm assignment, if this ranking was not intentionally targeting me, then why was I placed in a mixed dorm instead of the same major dorm? I truly need a reasonable explanation from the department.
I was angry and deeply felt the injustice, so I approached the head teacher Liu Pi and the counsellor Yang Zhi. As a student and a dancer, I calmly presented my demands to the two teachers.
Firstly, I request the department to review my midterm and final exam videos;
Secondly, I request to be moved back to the same major dormitory.
My grievances were not only evasively dismissed by two teachers, but they also resorted to using vulgar language to personally attack me. Over the following years, I continued to suffer suppression from Liu Pi and Yang Zhi, including but not limited to deliberately lowering my grades, assigning me to incompatible dormitories, and often conducting targeted and aggressive criticism in class. Despite my attempts to report these incidents to the school authorities, my complaints fell on deaf ears.
I never expected that bullying would not be the last straw that broke me, but rather the notion that "being born a human is a sin".
Every semester, the department would invite a so-called "renowned teacher" to guide our dance performances. This comprised four sessions per semester. Upon first sight of this "renowned teacher," he seemed familiar to me, and it was only through the introduction by the head teacher, Liu Pi, that I realised he was Chen Jian, the principal and founder of the prestigious art training school, Beyond Scenery, and also an alumnus of our school fifteen years ago.
In the first semester of my sophomore year, his initial class was centred around imagining how to use dance to convey themes of sex and sexual fantasies. Dancers like us understand that we express emotions and themes through our body movements. While the theme may have been somewhat untimely, it was not entirely inappropriate. What crossed the line was that Chen Jian took advantage of this opportunity to engage in inappropriate physical contact with female students.
After a class, I was approached by Liu Pi, who simply stated, "Mr. Chen admires your dance and would like to further discuss your views on this choreography theme with you."
In fact, just as I was about to refuse, the head teacher, Liu Pi, asked me, "Do you want to return to Class A? If you do, then stay."
I hung my head.
I was taken to a restaurant by Liu Pi and Chen Jian. The dinner proceeded as usual at the beginning, but then Chen Jian began to touch my thigh in a lewd and disgusting manner. Angered, I prepared to push him away and leave, but then I lost consciousness.
I never expected Chen Jian to be such a sick animal.
Upon waking up again, I found myself alone in the room, with nothing on, and a note left behind — "The feeling of being the first is indeed extraordinary. If this were to be known, how could your parents hold their heads high?"
Beneath the note was a sum of money, neither more nor less, exactly 10,000 RMB.
I had been used as a "duck", unknowingly involved in a 3P encounter.
I must say, they understood the psychology of students very well — they knew I wouldn't go to the police, and I dared not.
I was filled with uncertainty about what had happened while I was unconscious, and the shame was a fear that gripped my heart.
For the first time, I felt a desire for death due to the physical and psychological malignancy of the experience. My passion was crushed in such a brutal way.
But before all this, I felt it necessary to investigate some things thoroughly.
I gathered evidence of harassment by Chen Jian and incidentally discovered the drug GHB, commonly known as a date rape drug, which caused me to suddenly lose consciousness that day.
Based on the evidence I currently possess, Chen Jian's actions may represent one of the most severe cases of sexual assault within our education system, with the longest duration of infringement, the highest number of victims, and the youngest average age of victims.
To the investigating officer handling this case, if this document reaches your hands, I urge you to thoroughly investigate this matter starting from my case.
Some pursue their dreams on the challenging path of the film and television industry, while for others, this road is a nightmare in the colourful years of youth. Choosing to end my brief life in this manner may not be a wise decision, but I believe that at the moment of jumping, I will be a blooming rose.
Unique and unparalleled.
If possible, please convey a message to Haide for me: "I love you very much, but I'm sorry, I'm no longer worthy of you."
Dong Yi, Signing off
June 4, 2022
Jiang Ming set aside the letter momentarily and perused the documents below with a furrowed brow, his expression growing increasingly serious.
The wealth of information contained in these evidential materials was immeasurable. If this evidence proves authentic, it would lead to a severe criminal case stemming from the Dong Yi incident. He recalled the brief morning report: "Officer, there has been a murder case here, the victim's name is Dong Yi."
Jiang Ming's gaze shifted from the documents to Ge Haide, gripping the edge of the file, stating, "We will verify the information submitted by the victim Dong Yi, the authorities will not spare any suspect in the case." Upon receiving this commitment, Ge Haide, unable to contain his sorrow, bowed deeply to Jiang Ming, "I entrust this to you."
Unable to reach Dong Yi on the phone this morning, he privately opened the file pouch and read the letter.
Returning to the police station, Jiang Ming slammed the documents on the table, saying, "Wu Tian, Martin Cheng, Lu Rui, and Yang Feng, you are now responsible for the Dong Yi sexual assault case."
"Sexual assault?" Yang Feng exclaimed, "Wasn't Dong Yi a suicide?"
"Come over here and take a look at this information."
After flipping through several pages, their expressions suddenly changed.
"According to Ge Haide's statement just now, if this evidence is real and valid, there are many more student victims."
Saying this, Jiang Ming reached for a cigarette, then remembered smoking was prohibited in the office, "Now, begin investigating with Dong Yi's head teacher Liu Pi, counsellor Yang Zhi, and Chen Jian as mentioned in the information. Leave no stone unturned."
"Yes, sir!"