“Before Hanlu Ling’s eyes, it darkened. Covering her head was a long cotton and linen shirt.”


　　It was merely an ordinary men’s shirt, devoid of any supernatural power. However, the timing of its appearance was extraordinary. It descended from the sky like a wizard’s blue robe, landing precisely. Its significance was beyond comparison.


　　The shirt had a thin and slightly translucent fabric. Despite the “blue robe” covering her face, she could still discern the passing Lego store's vibrant red, yellow, blue, and green colors. The fabric couldn’t obstruct the overpowering sweet blend of fragrances emanating from the cosmetics supermarket.

　　She had been to this shopping mall no less than a hundred times. Using her memory, she constructed a mental map of the path she was currently taking. The bakery, the coffee shop, the jewelry store… Turning left and right, navigating through numerous twists and turns, this relentless "intruder" forced her into the deepest part of the vast complex.

　　Hanlu Ling was still dizzy but conscious, especially able to discern between good and evil. She felt grateful towards the baseball-capped man who remained silent by her side.

　　It wasn’t until she was seated in the corner of a beverage shop that she confirmed the person who had accompanied her stumbling all the way was indeed an Adolescent. The Adolescent sat across from her, at a table nearby. His cap concealed most of his face, revealing only his nose. He was pretty handsome.

　　“Thank you for your shirt!” Hanlu Ling removed the thin shirt that had slipped off her shoulder and handed it back to the Adolescent. “You can wear it, the air conditioning here is colder than elsewhere.”

　　The adolescent took it and draped it back over his white T-shirt. However, he rolled up the sleeves to a high position. When the middle-aged woman dared to question his physique, he felt the need to silently refute her. He lifted his head, releasing his gaze from behind the brim of his cap. He didn’t see any lingering fear in the woman’s eyes after being slapped, as numerous “internet celebrities” recorded the embarrassing scene of her being hit with their phones, yet she seemed completely unconcerned. However, her complexion was pale, accentuating the vivid handprint on her left cheek.

　　However, the woman seemed too indifferent. The adolescent couldn’t help but question his recent actions, feeling that they were unnecessary. The sense of frustration made him lower his head once again.

　　“Are you alright?” he muttered.

　　“Oh… I’m fine,” Hanlu Ling touched her left cheek and smoothed her tousled hair. “I just walked a bit too quickly. Do you usually go running? I almost couldn’t keep up with you.”

　　“Sorry, I was afraid those people would catch up, and, by the way, is it a bit late to cover you up? If it had been earlier, fewer people would have captured you by the phone !” the adolescent spoke up.

　　“Hehe, you’re already very brave! Since you’re here, how about getting a drink? What would you like?” Hanlu Ling intentionally changed the subject.

　　“No need. If you’re alright, I’ll go now!” The adolescent prepared to get up.

　　“Alright then. By the way, are you in high school? Second year?” Hanlu Ling estimated the adolescent’s age.

　　“I’m a freshman in college.”

　　2

　　Hanlu Ling returned to her apartment.

　　It was a 90 square meter space with simple furnishings. Within sight, there was a pair of slippers placed against the wall near the door, a single pillow in the bedroom, and a set of bedding. In the kitchen, there was a pair of dishes and chopsticks. Hanlu Ling had been enjoying the single life for quite some time now, ever since she changed her marital status to “widowed”.

　　Half a year after that gunshot, Hanlu Ling moved to her current neighborhood. In fact, she didn’t hear the gunshot at all.

　　On that day, Hanlu Ling went to work as usual. She was dressed in plain mourning clothes, standing in the second-tier classroom of the Foreign Language College. She tied up her hair into a bun at the nape of her neck, with an unnoticed white pearl in the middle of the bun.

　　This was the last compromise Hanlu Ling could make for hatred and grief. Marriage was a bond that should be mourned for both emotion and principle. Even though the person who disappeared after the gunshot was once a devil.

　　The police once found 100 pieces of women’s underwear in his sculpture workshop. They were carefully kept with labels indicating the date they were stolen. A deep blue plastic-handled craft knife had traces of blood on its sharp tip. It was extremely sharp and could draw blood at once by simply cutting a girl’s thigh when she walked alone at night. He had cut nearly fifty girls, and two of them died because their arteries were injured.

　　On the day of the execution, Hanlu Ling arrived early at the school and stood at the window looking into the distance. After that, the students who came one after another changed their usual noise and sank into the misfortune that they had heard in an ear-to-mouth way. They spontaneously fell silent, and no one reminded Teacher Ling that half a day had passed.

　　3

　　Hanlu Ling gradually forgot about the shame of being a married woman during her solitary life. She watched movies, went for night runs, and went to bookstores to browse and read books, enjoying the atmosphere of the bookstore. On her way home from work, she would often stroll through shopping malls or admire the window displays outside the stores. Ten minutes before being slapped, she was browsing the merchandise in the children’s clothing section, while a shop assistant was adjusting the items in the display window.

　　A heavy and powerful hand struck suddenly, and Hanlu Ling was unable to dodge in time. As her face was hit, her body lost balance, took a few steps back and nearly fell to the ground. The person persisted, stepping closer step by step and continuing to verbally attack her, seemingly oblivious to the impact of their words.

　　"The little girl, about seven or eight years old, stood dumbfounded next to her mother, whose behavior was like that of a wicked tiger. The girl seemed to recognize the woman who was being bullied by her mother, and her lips moved, but she couldn’t come up with a precise term to call her. Hanlu Ling spoke first and comforted the girl, saying, “Yue, don’t be afraid, your mother and I are just joking!”

　　“You don’t need to be so friendly with the child!” The woman snatched her daughter with a look of disgust, blaming her for not being able to withstand such a small situation. “Yue, take a good look at this person! This is your aunt! You should have had a cousin, but this woman was ruthless and killed them all!”

　　“Killed! Is that even possible? Upon hearing the sound, passersby gathered around. Amidst the noisy crowd, spectators constantly held up their phones, trying to take photos of the facial expressions of the criminal case suspect, who appeared to have miraculously escaped.”

　　As the onlookers joined in with condemnation, their voices grew louder and more resolute. The woman angrily reproached Hanlu Ling, “You were heartless! My brother was still alive at the time, yet you were already pregnant, and you didn’t bother to tell him or us. You secretly had an abortion, intentionally cutting off his bloodline. If it weren’t for my mother’s old colleague seeing you come out of the maternity ward and inquiring about it, we would have had no idea.”

　　The woman’s speech was imposing, and the speed of her angry output left Hanlu Ling feeling dizzy. She subconsciously placed her hand on her stomach, a part of her body that was only acutely felt during painful menstrual cycles. At this moment, she was forced to remember that this area had once been related to the departed little life.

　　She didn’t react. The accuser’s claims were largely based on facts, aside from the subjective speculations and demonization attempts made apparent by the use of “secretly” and “intentionally.” These attempts seemed aimed at villainizing the protagonist.

　　Hanlu Ling leaned her hand against the display window, straightening her body. Her expression was calm, and her gaze softened. This, in turn, made her opponent suspicious of her intentions, causing them to hesitate before acting recklessly.

　　The crowd remained steadfast, as women from three different generations - the elderly, middle-aged, and young - scrutinized the woman with a seemingly refined and intellectual appearance, yet a heart that was cold, cruel, and disloyal. They waited for a glimpse of remorse in Hanlu Ling’s eyes. By piecing together her self-contained tragedy story, these women arranged her experiences according to their own desires or logic. This allowed them to extract their own sense of virtue and kindness from the wickedness they saw before them.

　　“The ‘kind’ folks” attempted to prolong their display of aversion to evil deeds as much as possible. “The ‘bad’ women,” on the other hand, seemed to be trapped under the cameras’ lenses, enduring the collective condemnation of the masses, feeling dizzy and breathless, struggling to take a step. Until a boy in a baseball cap appeared…