Thirteen Wonders (ShíSānYāo) : Chapter 35 - Issue
Chapter 35: Issue
After the New Year passed, and winter left, the final few months of senior year arrived.
Time flowed like a river—sometimes gently, sometimes rushing forward—carrying the little waves of life with it.
On Sunday afternoons, there was a half-day break. Zhou Yao and Chen Xuze visited a book café, had dinner outside, then returned to the café. It wasn't until they remembered they still hadn’t bought the exam papers they needed that they took a detour to Wensheng Street. By the time they finally headed home, it was already past eleven.
Walking side by side toward the bus stop, Zhou Yao carried the exam papers in her arms. This area was an old district, with many buildings being demolished. At night, the surroundings felt a little eerie. Chen Xuze tugged at Zhou Yao, closing the distance between them even more than usual.
Before they reached the bus stop, a sudden gust of wind blew. Zhou Yao raised a hand to brush her hair aside, but in that moment, she lost her grip on the papers. Several pages—seven or eight in total—fluttered away, carried by the wind to the other side of the street.
She took a step forward to retrieve them, but Chen Xuze stopped her. “Stay here. I'll get them,” he said before crossing the road to pick up the scattered papers one by one.
Some had landed in a ditch, but fortunately, it was dry, containing only dirt. The papers were a little dusty but otherwise intact.
When Chen Xuze finished collecting them, he turned back. “Yao—” His voice cut off abruptly. There was no one on the other side of the street.
His pupils contracted. He bolted across the road.
“Zhou Yao—?!”
The person who had been standing beneath the tree just moments ago had vanished.
“Zhou Yao!”
“Zhou Yao—”
“Zhou Yao—!”
Calling her name, he frantically searched the area, his heartbeat accelerating at a terrifying pace.
A person had disappeared into thin air in the dead of night. His heart clenched in panic and worry. After shouting multiple times without any response, his palms began to sweat.
He searched everywhere, again and again. As he passed the entrance of a dark alley, he hesitated—had he just heard something? Without a second thought, he charged inside. His heart felt as if it might burst from his chest.
The buildings in the alley were partially demolished, surrounded by cement and bricks. Calling Zhou Yao's name, he suddenly heard the sound of a struggle. He rushed toward the source—only to see, in the corner of a half-demolished building, a man pinning Zhou Yao against the wall. One hand covered her mouth, the other was tightly gripping her neck.
Zhou Yao's hands were tied with a rope. She was kicking desperately, struggling in agony. Chen Xuze’s breath hitched. He lunged forward and kicked the man off her. The man’s pocket spilled out a rope and a knife. Without hesitation, Chen Xuze shielded Zhou Yao, quickly untying the ropes while keeping his eyes on the attacker. “We're just students. We have no money, and we have nothing you want. If you leave now, we’ll pretend this never happened—”
The man sneered. “Money? Ha! As if I care about your money!” His eyes were vicious as he glared at Zhou Yao. “This girl is responsible for Li Li's brother's death! You two got Li Li locked up! Tonight, I'm going to make sure you suffer too!”
…Li Li?
The ropes were nearly undone. Zhou Yao’s wrists were red and raw, the skin in some places chafed to the point of breaking. She coughed, rubbing the deep red marks on her neck. Her voice was hoarse: “Liang… Li…?”
“So you remember? I thought you might have forgotten!” The man’s expression twisted with rage. “You ruined my girlfriend’s life—there's no way I'm letting you off easy!”
The sudden attack caught them off guard. Neither Zhou Yao nor Chen Xuze had known Liang Li had a boyfriend. Right now, the priority was escaping.
Chen Xuze didn’t waste words. As the man approached, he stood up, motioning for Zhou Yao to move to the side. The man blocked the only exit. This area was sparsely populated, most of the buildings already demolished. Calling for help wouldn’t work in time.
The man lunged. Chen Xuze engaged him, and in the struggle, Zhou Yao was knocked to the ground. Chen Xuze’s focus wavered for a second—just long enough for the man to land a punch.
Grabbing Chen Xuze’s hair, the man struck him twice. But Chen Xuze dodged just in time. His thick winter clothing absorbed most of the impact, dulling the pain.
Chen Xuze wasn’t weak. Summoning all his strength, he kicked the man hard. The attacker staggered backward and fell to the ground. But he was quick to react. Scrambling up, he charged at Chen Xuze again—only for his foot to catch on something. It seemed to be a piece of ceramic, or maybe something else sharp. He stumbled back. A dull thud echoed through the alley. His head slammed into something.
He stopped moving.
Chen Xuze had been ready for another attack. But now, he froze. Zhou Yao, too, was stunned. They exchanged a glance before cautiously approaching. The back of the man's head rested against a jagged brick. Blood seeped out, staining the surface.
Zhou Yao reached out to check for breathing. There was none. Terrified, she recoiled. Chen Xuze caught her, steadying her. Kneeling on the ground, she stared at him, eyes wide with shock and panic.
“He's… dead”
Zhou Yao's voice trembled. “He…”
Chen Xuze grasped her shoulders, trying to calm her down.
Zhou Yao took a deep breath. In the cold night air, her entire body felt frozen. Then, her gaze landed on the ropes. She suddenly turned to Chen Xuze, clutching his clothes tightly.
“Xuze, this time, you have to listen to me. You have to!”
Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
Chen Xuze wanted to comfort her. “Don't be scared, Yao—”
“I'm not scared.” Tears rolled down her face. “But this time, you must, absolutely must, listen to me!”
Zhou Yao, face streaked with tears, grabbed the dead man’s collar, turned him over, picked up the brick that had accidentally killed him, and——slammed it down on the wound again.
“He tried to kill me,” Zhou Yao choked out, looking at Chen Xuze. “—So I fought back in self-defense.”
……
Since the attacker died on the spot, both Zhou Yao and Chen Xuze were taken to the police station.
The girl had been crying so hard her nose was red, her face streaked with tears, her eyes filled with fear and shock. The boy was equally shaken, but his clothes were clean—untouched by any signs of a fight.
After their statements, their parents were contacted, and they were left waiting for their arrival.
Officers moved about the station. A tall male officer exited a room, holding a report, and spoke to a female colleague. “There are fingerprints from both the perpetrator and the two students on the rope. The brick that caused the fatal wound has only the girl's fingerprints. The cause of death has been confirmed—he died from a heavy blow, and the fatal weapon was indeed that brick. There's no blood anywhere else. Also, the strangulation marks on the girl’s neck match the deceased’s hand size, proving he attempted to harm her. The boy has no injuries that indicate a struggle.”
“The situation is more or less like this.”
The male officer spoke as he looked at the silent, dejected boy and the girl who couldn’t stop crying. He noticed Chen Xuze’s right hand and asked, “That male student, your fingers…?”
They had already questioned the two about their relationship with the deceased and knew that the man had come seeking revenge for his girlfriend.
Chen Xuze didn’t respond. Zhou Yao sobbed, gasping between words, “It—it was that Liang Li… She had someone attack us on our way home… And then Xuze’s hand—his fingers got smashed against the wall by an iron rod… The bones are beyond repair…”
Her crying alone was enough to make people’s hearts ache. The female officer shook her head as she looked at the report, sighing, “Such deep hatred… One attack wasn’t enough, they came for their lives the second time.”
The girl who had first orchestrated the assault was already in custody. Now, the one who came to avenge her had nearly strangled someone to death… What kind of terrible luck had befallen these two students?
A deep sense of sympathy arose among the officers.
……
Standing in the courtroom, Zhou Yao’s eyes were red.
Her defense lawyer, after presenting arguments on behalf of the eighteen-year-old girl, proceeded to ask her a few questions.
“At the time, was the deceased strangling your neck?”
Zhou Yao answered through her tears, “Yes, he covered my mouth and dragged me into the alley, tied my hands with a rope, and then strangled my neck. I couldn’t breathe. I kicked and struggled, but I couldn’t break free.”
“Where did the brick that caused the wound on the back of the deceased’s head come from?”
“I picked it up from the ground.”
“You struck the back of his head with the brick?”
“Yes.”
“Why were your fingerprints, along with those of the deceased and another male student, Chen Xuze, found on the rope?”
Still sobbing, her face was covered in tears from shock. “That man tied my hands before strangling me… Later… Chen Xuze helped me, and we untied the rope together…”
“Where did the knife found at the scene come from?”
“It was his…” She inhaled sharply, her voice barely coherent. “And… the rope, it was all his.”
“So he tied your hands and attempted to strangle you to death, but he didn’t use the knife? The knife was something he had prepared?”
“Yes.”
……
“Alright, I have no further questions,” the lawyer said. “In summary, the deceased attempted to kill my client and engaged in an act of strangulation. As we all know, when an eighteen-year-old adult male exerts force with both hands, the strength can be immense. My client, when faced with a violent criminal attack, did not carry or prepare any weapon beforehand. The deceased attempted to take her life, and her act of grabbing a brick to strike him was in self-defense. There is no question of intentional harm or excessive force.”
“Her actions fully constitute justifiable self-defense.”
The lawyer turned to the judge.
……
This case quickly reached a conclusion.
Accompanied by her family, Zhou Yao left the courtroom with tears streaming down her face.
Justifiable self-defense. Not guilty.
Released on the spot.
……
Zhou Ma refused to let Zhou Yao leave the house with the red marks still on her neck. She was sent to the hospital, where she was to stay for two nights, receiving IV drips to recover and rest.
Ying Nian and Zheng Yinyin came to visit, bringing news of the discussions happening at school and outside.
Everyone was talking about how two students from No. 7 High School had been terribly unlucky. A girl had targeted them, hired people to beat them up, and caused Chen Xuze to lose a finger, affecting his future. Not long after, the girl’s boyfriend had come seeking revenge, bringing ropes and a knife—clear signs of premeditation.
Poor Zhou Yao had been tied up and nearly strangled to death. Fortunately, fate intervened, giving her a chance to turn the tables and kill the man instead.
At school, everyone sympathized with Zhou Yao. The thought of her sitting alone next to a dead body was horrifying. It was said that when Chen Xuze arrived to help untie her wrists, the rope marks had rubbed her skin raw, almost to the point of bleeding. And that wasn’t even mentioning the fact that she had nearly been strangled.
Zhou Yao, mentally and physically drained, didn’t talk much. After offering some comforting words, Ying Nian and Zheng Yinyin left. The boys had wanted to visit as well, but Chen Xuze stopped them, saying it would disrupt her rest. They sent their regards through him instead.
With Chen Xuze there, Zhou Ma and Mother Zhou went home to make soup for her. Once they left, the small hospital room was left with just the two of them.
“Shisan…”
“It’s okay. It’s over now.” Chen Xuze tucked her blanket in carefully.
Zhou Yao lay in bed without speaking, lost in thought.
Chen Xuze broke the silence. “What are you thinking about?”
What was she thinking about?
She was thinking about the difference between manslaughter and justifiable self-defense.
If it had been Chen Xuze standing in court instead of her, the outcome might have been uncertain.
She didn’t want to think about it, didn’t want to take the risk, and most of all, didn’t want him to have even the slightest chance of bearing guilt.
That’s why… she had been the one to pick up the brick. It had to be her.
“Nothing,” she said. “I was just thinking… Niannian always says I’m a good person. Like with Gu Yujun, it had nothing to do with me, but I still helped him. If it weren’t for me, he wouldn’t have returned to school and resumed a normal life.”
“But.”
She swallowed, her eyes turning red.
“But…”
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
Sometimes, she wasn’t even sure if she was a good person or a bad one. She didn’t know if, after death, she would rise upward or sink downward.
She would never let anyone harm Chen Xuze. She didn’t want him involved in any danger—just like how he would never let anyone harm her.
If people saw this side of her, she wondered how many would think she was terrifying.
Zhou Yao closed her eyes.
Suddenly, she felt someone approach. When she opened them, Chen Xuze had already leaned down and kissed the corner of her eye. His lips lingered against her skin for a moment before moving away.
“Don’t overthink it. He fell on his own—that was heaven’s punishment. If heaven hadn’t punished him, it could have been you or me who died instead,” he said. “Don’t be afraid. You did it for me. Any burden, I would have been the one to bear. Don’t be afraid.”
Another tear slid down her face. Chen Xuze kissed it, tasting its bitter saltiness.
He sat back up and heard Zhou Yao’s hoarse voice call out, “Shisan…”
Chen Xuze extended his hand, grasping hers—the one with the IV line still attached—holding on tightly. Just like their intertwined fates.
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