Chapter 9: Redemption

  This is already the nth time Li Xuelin jumped off the building in front of us, Li Zhi's hands were tightly clasped around Ye Zikuo's neck and said: "Although I don't know where you come from, if you can make my son wake up from this never-ending death scene, I can consider letting these children go. Otherwise." He tightened his grip on Ye Zikuo's neck and continued to say: "I will let these children be imprisoned for life, making them repeat the death over and over again!"

  "Alright! I'll try, you have to keep your promise too." After saying that, I walked towards the place where Li Xue Lin jumped off. "Ning Ke! You escape from the back door, don't listen to his words!" I heard Ye Zi Ke's voice behind me, and I turned around to smile at him: "I'm tired of running away, and I don't want to run away alone." Just as Li Xue Lin appeared again at the edge of the rooftop, about to jump off once more, I grabbed his hand in time. Due to the great difference in strength, I almost got pulled down by that force too.

  Li Xue Lin hung in mid-air, staring at me with a dull expression: "Who are you?!" "The one who came to save you!" I tried my best to increase my strength and grabbed his hand. A faint glimmer of joy appeared on his pale face, but soon faded away as he said: "Save me? No one can save me, I've jumped from here time and time again, each time suffering the pain of falling to pieces like dust. But I just can't end it."

  "If that's the case, why do you want to die?!" I roared, watching Li Xuelin's face twist in anguish. He shouted: "It's this society that's driving me to death! Is money everything?! All these years of hard study, yet I'm no match for those pieces of paper!"

  "So you chose to die, what are you afraid of now?!" As I finished speaking, I was about to let go of his hand, but he grasped my hand desperately and begged: "Don't let go, I don't want to fall! It hurts too much, it hurts too much..." Li Xue Lin's suppressed emotions finally burst out, and he cried louder and louder. "There are so many unfair things in this world, do you choose to die every time you encounter them?! How many lives do you have to die?! Now that you're dead, do you think the problem is solved?! You're trapped in a space where you keep dying over and over again, repeating it every time. Is this really your way of dealing with things?!" I thought of Zhou Wei, Zhang Yi, Xiao Han, and Wang Xue, they were all so strong, when faced with adversity, they would be timid but never escape. But the boy in front of me chose to use death to solve everything, only to get trapped in the shadow of death.

  "Please, don't let go! I don't want to die!" Li Xuelin begged desperately. With all my might, I pulled Li Xuelin up and saw him backing away from the edge of the rooftop in terror. Li Zhi released Ye Zikuo and tightly hugged Li Xuelin in his arms. "Dad, I was wrong! I don't want to die! I really don't want to die!" Li Zhi's gaze at me no longer contained resentment, but instead held a hint of admiration.

  "Don't think Li Xue Lin won't die, wait a moment, he'll continue to act out that scene again, and no one will be able to help him." I said coldly to Li Zhi. Li Xue Lin was so scared that he ran over and grabbed my hand, saying "You can save me, right?!" "Are you still resentful?" I asked him back, his eyes changed instantly, widening in anger, saying "Why not?! This ugly world!!" "Ugly?" I sneered: "When you say this, didn't you realize that you yourself are also very ugly?! If you really think the world is so unfair, why don't you go change it instead of yielding?! Who's ugly after all?!"

  I dragged him to the edge of the rooftop, and the height of 16 floors made me feel dizzy too. Li Xue-lin was scared out of his wits and let out a shrill cry, but I refused to let go, bellowing: "If you think the rules of this society are dark, then why don't you try to become one of the people who make the rules?! You'd rather jump off from this height than fight for yourself once! You're such a waste!" I thought I had lost my mind, and slapped Li Xue-lin several times in a row, leaving Ye Zi-ke and Li Zhi staring at me in shock.

  "Trash?!" Li Xue Lin completely ignored the fact that I had slapped him several times, and instead knelt on the ground, staring at his own hands as he sobbed: "You're right to scold me, I am trash. From childhood to adulthood, I've always been striving for first place, and I finally became the top student, but I ended up being the worst in terms of mental endurance. The world wasn't originally dark, it's us who made it that way!"

  Li Zhi walked up to Li Xue Lin and said, "Sorry, it's my fault. I've never taught you how to deal with setbacks, which is why you did something so stupid." Li Xue Lin's face turned paler and almost transparent, he smiled at Li Zhi and said, "Dad, I finally woke up. I know where I went wrong, you should reflect on yourself too. Let the innocent people go!" After finishing speaking, he slowly disappeared in front of us, "I'm going to where I should be, I'm so tired." Li Xue Lin muttered to himself and soon vanished without a trace.

  Li Zhi stood up, his back to us: "I've made an even more serious mistake, and I can't turn back now. I've made a contract with the devil, and I won't let you go." Li Zhi turned around, his eyes bloodshot, and took step by step towards us. Ye Zikuo took advantage of my carelessness to remove my Qingguo bracelet and put it on her own wrist, then pushed Li Zhi towards the rooftop door with a swift motion, "Go quickly!" Ye Zikuo shouted at me in anger, "Why do you always act so impulsively?" My heart felt like it had been hollowed out, and I ran straight towards Ye Zikuo. But my wrist was tightly grasped by someone - Na Gyun'er.

  "That kid is wearing a Bone-Chilling Bangle, it can suppress Li Zhi for a while, let's hurry!" I didn't ask Naga Yun'er how she came here, but pointed in the direction of Ye Zi Ke and shouted: "Save him! Save him! You're so powerful, help me out!" Naga Yun'er's eyes were very cold, she asked indifferently: "Why should I go save a dead person?! I only save living people!" I desperately tried to push Naga Yun'er away, but it was no use. With tears in my eyes, I could only watch as Ye Zi Ke was about to push Li Zhi down the stairs, unable to do anything.

  "Niè xiāo, stretch out your hand!" Ye Zikuo shouted at me, I stretched out my hand in a daze, but it was so far away from him, something flew towards my wrist and fit perfectly on it, it was the Qinggu Suo. "I forgot to tell you, I'm a basketball genius!" Ye Zikuo smiled at me, just like when we first met, that sunny boy. The next second, Li Zhi and Ye Zikuo rushed down the stairs, I even heard the sound of them rolling down the stairs. "Ye Zikuo! Ye Zikuo!" I shouted, but there was no response, my consciousness gradually became blurry, and I heard Naiyun'er's voice: "If you don't calm down, how can we go back?" My eyelids got heavier and heavier, I stared at the staircase until my vision went completely black.