Chapter 370: Don’t Blame Society for Everything

Zheng Zhifei was silent for a while, throwing a few pebbles off the cliff. Chen Shi took advantage of the pause to say, “I noticed you speak like a city person.”

“Old man, do you know what my favorite entertainment is?”

“Let me guess… watching TV?”

“Got it! When I came to the city, I did all sorts of jobs—waiting tables, collecting swill, handing out flyers. I didn’t have bad habits or waste money. My only entertainment was watching TV. I loved watching city life on TV. Everything on it seemed better than reality. When I got my first paycheck, I went to find her. I saw her with some girls, eating ice cream and talking about things I couldn’t understand. I didn’t dare approach her. I was dressed in rags, like a beggar before a princess. I had no courage.

“But I often followed her, and she never noticed. One day, I mustered the courage, bought a clean set of clothes, and knocked on her door. I saw Mr. Li and timidly said, ‘I’m here to see Li Mengran.’ Mr. Li coldly replied, ‘She’s napping,’ and shut the door on me.”

Chen Shi said, “Maybe he thought you were one of her classmates.”

Zheng Zhifei stubbornly shook his head. “He just didn’t want to recognize me! That’s it! I often stood below their building, looking up. I fantasized that such a tall building must cost a fortune, representing the distance between us… I stayed in the city year after year. I even dated a girl once, but she was from the countryside like me. She was short-sighted and materialistic, so we broke up.

“Old man, maybe you can’t feel it, but there’s an invisible wall in the city separating us from people like you. We can only eat boxed meals in the corners, watching the colorful city life we’ll never belong to…”

Chen Shi interrupted, “City people are indifferent to each other too. The invisible wall you talk about exists everywhere.”

Zheng Zhifei continued, “One night, I followed her and saw her with a boy. They were laughing and talking. Suddenly, he started groping her. I got mad and beat him up. I said to her, ‘Li Mengran, do you remember me?’ But she just looked scared and ran away. I don’t believe she didn’t remember me. I went to her house and heard her crying. Her father yelled, ‘You’re not allowed to be with that kind of person!’ She said, ‘I hate him. He approached me!’ My heart sank. I don’t even know how I walked down the stairs…”

“I think you misunderstood. She was talking about Gao Xiang, the boy who groped her. She wasn’t running from you out of fear. A girl’s first instinct in such a situation is to run.”

“That’s not it!” Zheng Zhifei shouted. “She looked at me for a long time and then ran away. She must have remembered me but didn’t want to acknowledge me. To her and her father, I was just a disgusting bug!”

Chen Shi sighed, realizing that Zheng Zhifei’s intense inferiority complex had led to this misunderstanding.

Maybe deep down, he realized it was a misunderstanding, but this misunderstanding was the trigger for killing Li Mengran. Admitting it would mean the murder had no deeper meaning.

It was his pride giving him an excuse, but Chen Shi didn’t plan to shatter his delusion. Forcing a murderer into madness in this situation wasn’t wise.

“So, you decided to kill her?” Chen Shi asked.

Zheng Zhifei shook his head. “I don’t know when love turned to hate. After that, seeing her made my heart ache. It was painful. That night, while I was hauling dirt from the construction site, some dirt spilled onto the road. I got out to clean it up and saw her walking by… I ran up and said, ‘Li Mengran!’ She looked surprised and said, ‘You’ve got the wrong person,’ and turned to leave. In that moment, I realized she would never acknowledge me. Our shared memories meant nothing to her. She was a proud city girl, a detestable city girl. So… I killed her. I hit her until she died, dragged her into my truck, took her to a deserted place, and cut off her head with a shovel! For a moment, I felt I had conquered a demon. The girl in my dreams died by my hand. Ha, city people are just as fragile. Ha ha ha…”

Zheng Zhifei laughed maniacally, his laughter echoing in the forest below. Chen Shi shook his head in pity. “You’re indeed possessed. You don’t know her life. She wasn’t as carefree as you think. For the college entrance exam, she slept less than six hours a day, studying desperately. At home, she endured her father’s scolding. She got good grades, but her father thought it wasn’t enough. They fought, and he hit her… When you saw her that night, she was running away from home.”

Zheng Zhifei wasn’t moved. He shouted, “At least she didn’t worry about her next meal, didn’t sleep in filthy, stinking dorms, didn’t work through sickness at a construction site, getting sunburned and soaked. I’d trade anything for her life. Why was I born into such a family? Why is life so unfair? What did I do wrong? Tell me what to do!”

Chen Shi softly answered, “Accept it.”

“Haha, you sound like my dad…”

“Accept it, then work hard!” Chen Shi said. “You can’t change your birth, but you can change your future. You’ll have to work harder than those born with silver spoons, but that’s fate. Killing those you envy changes nothing. You just destroyed a family! You’re more cowardly and foolish than those who struggle to survive!”

“I won’t accept it!” Zheng Zhifei gritted his teeth and stepped towards the cliff.

Chen Shi suddenly pounced on him, pinning him down. Zheng Zhifei kicked wildly, so Chen Shi untied his belt and bound Zheng Zhifei’s legs.

“You!”

“Sorry, I didn’t really hurt my back. I was just lulling you into a false sense of security. Accept your fate and face the legal consequences for what you’ve done!”

“Despicable city person.”

“Don’t keep saying ‘city person’ and ‘country person.’ I despise you, just you, not where you’re from! This world won’t change you. You’ll be thrown into prison to rot with other scum!”

“The world never gave me anything!”

“It gave you a family and a chance at education. Don’t blame society for everything. Your choices made you who you are today!”

Footsteps sounded above. Xu Xiaodong shouted, “Chen!”

Chen Shi replied, “We’re here!”