Cai Jing had no one to take care of him since he was young. No one paid attention to what he should prepare. No one took him on long-distance trips, and no one thought of applying for a minor ID card for him. He just got that little card this year because he registered for the college entrance examination. At that time, there was no real-name system for taking trains, and flying had nothing to do with him. Cai Jing didn't know what else this little first-generation ID card could be used for besides the college entrance examination, and he didn't know which way the bank door opened.

Pocket money or large sums of New Year's money have never had anything to do with Cai Jing, and he has no financial management skills. In Cai Jing's impression, things like "bank cards" and "bank accounts" are only available to children from wealthy families like Xu Xilin.

He could only collect a bunch of banknotes and coins, just like the old lady with bound feet, and then hide all his belongings in a small box. He had to be very careful every time he took them out and put them away, and he would specially choose a time when his scumbag uncle was not at home. After taking them out and putting them away, he would carefully press them down with something.

But even though he tried his best, he still couldn't keep that little bit of property.

Cai Jing stood there for a moment as if struck by lightning, then suddenly rushed out the door and bumped into his uncle at the door. The drunkard was humming a little tune and a foul smell came towards him. He looked so despicable that he was not worthy of being called a guest.

The drunkard thought he was in the way, so he pushed Cai Jing and made him stagger, cursing, "You little bastard who's paying for it."

Cai Jing clenched his fists, his voice trembling slightly: "Uncle, did you move the biscuit box in my closet?"

The drunkard squinted his eyes, his face red with wine dregs, and glanced at him: "What did I touch in you, a burden?"

"Money," Cai Jing's voice changed, barely suppressing his voice, revealing a trembling voice as if he was choking, "I put the money in the cabinet, uncle. It's not that I'm not respectful to you, but the money is for school. Next month..."

"Go to school?" The drunkard sneered and pointed a finger at Cai Jing. "Baby, what's the point of you going to school? Are you good enough for that?"

Cai Jing was shocked by the malice in his words. He bit his teeth hard and controlled himself not to say anything. He just said: "Second Uncle, if I pass the college entrance examination, I will have a proper job in the future, and I will be able to honor you then. Isn't that good? Please give it to me first, and I will find a way to earn it for you after the college entrance examination. This is... It has a proper use."

The drunkard smiled and raised his stinky hand, knocking Cai Jing's forehead with the back of his hand: "Bitch, uncle will teach you a lesson today. Learning... is for those decent people. People like you are only worthy of learning. What the hell is this world? There are more college students than leaves on trees. What's the point of you going to college? You have no money, no friends, and no good job. Stop dreaming and get me something to eat."

Cai Jing was so anxious that tears came to his eyes. He stepped forward and grabbed his alcoholic uncle's hand, begging: "Uncle, I beg you... I beg you... I saved that money with my life, I..."

The drunkard lost his patience and slapped him back: "Get lost!"

When people are drunk, their emotions fluctuate more violently. The drunkard was not satisfied with the slap, and seemed to be unable to stop, so he went up and kicked Cai Jing several times, one of which hit him in the stomach. Cai Jing held his head and squatted in the corner covered with yellow stains, listening to his gambling and drunk uncle yelling at the top of his voice, from his wife who despised the poor and loved the rich to Cai Jing, calling him a born cheap bone, and then still not satisfied, he also brought in Cai Jing's parents, and scolded them for more than ten minutes in a row, scolding the dead out of the grave several times, and finally he stopped to breathe.

Cai Jing held his head and looked at the man next to him through the gaps in his arms. His hair and beard were standing on end, his eyes were about to pop out of their sockets, and dense bloodshot ran from his face and neck all the way to the whites of his eyes.

Like it wants to eat people.

After the drunkard had cursed enough, he walked away with his neck stiffened with fatigue, without even looking at his cowardly nephew who didn't fight back or curse back.

The cause of this incident was simply that Li Bozhi wanted to beat up his enemies, and if he failed, he could at least cheat them of some pocket money.

Cai Jing's so-called "weakness" was nothing more than hiding a letter after a moment's thought.

As long as he confessed what he had done and told his friends, someone would be able to deal with those hooligans. And the money stolen by his bastard uncle was really a negligible amount. It would be a short-term hardship for him, but who would give him a bite of food in the future?

How simple it is to solve this problem.

And that is exactly how it should have been, because Cai Jing was cowardly by nature, his courage was like the fuse of a firecracker, only a short piece that would turn to ashes in a few minutes. If he had been allowed to calm himself for ten minutes, he might not even have the courage to question the drunkard.

Then perhaps when he is forced into a desperate situation, he will choose to confess rationally and ask Xu Xilin and Wu Tao to resolve the matter.

Maybe he would be a little more cowardly, and finally couldn't say it out loud, "betraying" his friend once, so that Li Bozhi could get what he wanted...

In this way, he may lose a few friends and suffer from the condemnation of his conscience for a while. However, ten or twenty years later, when the young boys have become middle-aged men with bald heads and protruding bellies, when they meet again, they will try to test each other's doing through conversation. They will sit together and chat about major and irrelevant issues concerning the national economy and people's livelihood, and they will be overwhelmed with debts when they mention their wives and children... Who will care about these stupid and immature quarrels in their youth?

Perhaps every time the sky collapses, it will turn into a dusty old mosquito net when he looks back - as long as he can still look back.

As long as his alcoholic uncle doesn't come back at this time.

Cai Jing climbed up trembling all over. He had been kicked in the ribs by a drunkard. He didn't know if his ribs were broken, but he couldn't straighten his back due to the pain. His face was pale, but his eyes were bright and frightening.

Then he saw the fruit knife on the table.

The next day, Cai Jing didn't go to school. Xu Xilin waited until the morning self-study get out of class was over but didn't see him. He asked around but didn't hear a single reliable word. Cai Jing didn't have a phone number, and it wasn't convenient for others to visit their family because of the situation.

Xu Xilin and Cai Jing had been deskmates for three years, and this had never happened before. Cai Jing would come to school even if he had a fever of 40 degrees. He wanted to ask Qilixiang, but he hadn't seen their homeroom teacher for a day, and even the physics self-study class was given to the math teacher.

Cai Jing was absent on the first day, maybe something happened to him, but he was absent for three consecutive days, which was very wrong...especially at this time.

As the college entrance examination was approaching, evening self-study for senior high school students had been suspended starting this week. Xu Xilin was still thinking about this when he left the school. When he looked up, he saw Dou Xun waiting for him at the school gate carrying a backpack containing a Taoist uniform.

Suddenly, more and more high school students wore school uniforms. It might be because they were busy with their studies and too lazy to change, or it might be because they felt nostalgic for school before leaving. When the gate opened after school, a large group of boys and girls in the same school uniforms rushed out indistinguishable from each other. Dou Xun stood on the curb on the west side of the school gate, but he could always see Xu Xilin among them.

He immediately jumped down from the curb and waited for himself to come over.

The best time of the day is when the sun sets in the evening, and the best day of the week is Friday - both are when the rest time is approaching, making people full of anticipation.

Dou Xun couldn't help but smile a little, but then he realized it was too silly and quickly lowered his head to suppress it.

Before Xu Xilin had time to greet him, he was suddenly called by someone. He turned around and saw that it was Wu Tao and Lao Cheng who had caught up with him.

As soon as Dou Xun saw these extraneous outsiders, he became serious again and was very unhappy about them coming to disturb him.

But there were some people who were tactless. As soon as Wu Tao came up, he hugged Xu Xilin's neck and half of his body was hanging on him.

Dou Xun suddenly felt as if he had fleas on his body. He moved uncomfortably and wished he could tear Wu Tao off and step on him.

But at this moment, he heard Wu Tao whisper to Xu Xilin: "Something happened to Cai Jing, have you heard about it?"

Xu Xilin: "What..."

"Hush," Wu Tao glanced around and lowered his voice, "I don't know what happened. The news was kept secret in school. Qilixiang hasn't been here for several days. Did you notice?"

After exchanging some scant information, the few people changed their route temporarily and rushed to Cai Jing's home like thieves - when Cai Jing was intercepted by loan sharks, they took turns to send him home.

Cai Jing lives in an old, dilapidated building that was said to be demolished a few years ago, but there has been no movement to date. The entrance is filled with messy stalls and vendors, and one has to walk through a small alley that smells like dog urine. Xu Xilin and his friends were unable to find Cai Jing, and the neighbors around him looked like they were dead.

When several older boys were going upstairs, a little girl on the first floor happened to throw a ball out of the house. Just as she stepped out to pick it up, an adult from the family rushed out and picked it up. The adult looked at the boys warily and locked the door.

Even through the door, you could hear the child crying for the ball.

The colorful ball rolled around the corridor twice in vain and then stopped moving.

It would have been better if he hadn't come to see it, but after coming, Xu Xilin felt even more nervous.

The school and the teachers did not want to affect the mood of the senior high school students, so they teamed up to keep it a secret at first. However, the students did not stay away from the school, watch TV or surf the Internet, and the truth could not be hidden. After about a week of peace, a piece of news spread like an explosion - everyone said that Cai Jing had stabbed his bastard uncle.

The rumor was very detailed. It said that Cai Jing was running out in a daze, holding a fruit knife and covered in blood. A neighbor saw him and called the police. The person who was stabbed was sent to the hospital and was rescued for a day, but finally died.

Everyone who knew Cai Jing didn't believe it.

Cai Jing was the kind of person who wouldn't fight back if someone suddenly rushed up to him and slapped him on the street. He didn't even dare to kill a chicken, so how could he kill someone? How could that be possible?

There were all kinds of things said at once. Qilixiang finally showed up at school. Xu Xilin ran to the head teacher's office during morning self-study, risking being scolded. Qilixiang looked tired, and didn't say anything about his violation of discipline. Instead, she revealed some details to him.

Xu Xilin's temples were throbbing: "That... is that true?"

His mind was in a mess, wondering what to do? What would happen to him in this situation? Would he have to pay with his life? Or would he be released later?

Qilixiang nodded, and told him not to worry about it and try not to tell anyone else about it.

Xu Xilin didn't hear anything and interrupted her rashly: "Teacher Zhang, have you heard why?"

Qilixiang may not know, or it may be inconvenient to tell him, so he just shook his head: "Don't be affected."

Xu Xilin was stunned for a moment: "Then...where is Cai Jing? Can I go see him?"

Qilixiang sighed and shook her head again. She didn't know whether she couldn't or didn't know.

Ever since this incident broke out, there have been suddenly more visitors to Class 1.

Sixth Middle School has been very peaceful in the past ten years. It is said that only one student committed suicide due to depression. The rest of the individual deaths were basically due to traffic accidents or serious diseases. Now a "murderer" has appeared in the key class! This is unheard of since the school was founded.

There are many reports not only on campus but also in society. The media is always unwilling to honestly explain what happened and will not rest until they have unearthed a major "social problem" behind it.

Unrelated gossip such as "examination-oriented education ignores the development of students' personality" is rampant. Reporters outside have been blocked by the school, but the school is unwilling to calm down. Every day, there are people walking around the door of Class 1, Grade 3, hoping to find out some exclusive news as a break from the high-intensity study life.

Steamed buns have no oil or salt, and are tasteless. If they were not stained with human blood, they would probably be bland.

Qilixiang was furious when she found out, and she and the class teacher next door had a big fight in the school leader's office. The next day, the school urgently issued a rule prohibiting other grade students from staying in the corridor of the senior year without reason. It sounds a bit strange, but fortunately, there are only a few days left before the college entrance examination.

No one had accurate information about Cai Jing. The countdown on the blackboard at the back was torn down little by little, and it became a single digit... and finally stopped at "three" - after that, no one was too busy to tear it off.

This particularly troubled class of students was hastily sent to the college entrance examination hall.

I heard that when my seniors graduated, they were throwing away books and saying goodbye in the school, and the cleaning ladies were so busy.

But Xu Xilin did not feel any relief. He finished the college entrance examination papers just like the second, third and countless mock exercises. He did not feel anything after the exam, as if the college entrance examination was no big deal.

Last year at the senior high school coming-of-age party, many people clamored to gather at the west gate of the school after the college entrance examination, and no one was allowed to leave, so that they could celebrate again. But when the exam was really over, no one mentioned it anymore. Everyone followed their parents who came to the door to pick them up, and when they occasionally met classmates, they just greeted them from a distance... It felt like they were leaving in a sad mood.

Xu Xilin has no parents. His grandmother is helping Aunt Du pack his luggage, so only Dou Xun comes to pick him up.

Luo Bing had only a sick mother at home, and no one picked him up. Half an hour after the exam was over, the invigilator would collect the papers. To prevent mistakes, the candidates were locked in the school and not allowed to leave. Luo Bing searched for Xu Xilin in the school for more than half an hour and finally stopped him at the school gate.

She knew that Xu Xilin and she were not enrolled in the same school. After the incident with Cai Jing before the college entrance examination, they might not be in the mood to get together again during the holidays. There were some things that they would never have the chance to say if they didn't do it now.

Luo Bing saw Dou Xun but didn't take it to heart - they were always together anyway.

Dou Xun was not the head of the family, so she did not need to be embarrassed. Luo Bing smiled at him apologetically, then turned around and said to Xu Xilin, "Can I talk to you for a few words?"