Criminal Stories: The Most Dangerous Men in Love

Author：Lu Ban Da Shi

1

A female classmate of ours died.

When the homeroom teacher—that mean old woman—stated flatly that Lily Watsons ended her own life at home, I could clearly see a curved arc at the corners of her lips.

When I looked around, I noticed that the students were uninterested, with hints of sarcasm and mockery in their eyes. I couldn't understand why everyone seemed so unconcerned after our classmate died. We had been classmates for three years, after all. Was anyone else sad besides me?

I didn't think so.

After class, a female student covered her face with a book and said, "I heard that she ended her own life because she was pregnant and scared."

"That's not true. I heard from Class Two that she ended her own life because of venereal disease after being forced by several men."

"Oh my..."

Several girls sat together and chatted among themselves.

A boy who stood next to them sighed and then said, "Stop talking. It's scary. Her death is for the best, so it won't ruin our class's reputation. Am I right, Julian Walker?"

Their eyes looked at me, and I quickly lowered my head and did not respond.

Actually, I had a crush on Lily, even though the whole class said she was a witch.

As soon as Lily entered high school, she was regarded as a thorn in one's flesh. She was beautiful, but she was not decent. She was not the innocent kind of beautiful. Her beauty was flashy and aggressive.

Not only did her looks stand out, but her actions were unconventional.

When everyone was wearing plain school uniforms and rigidly buckling the buttons of our uniforms, she unbuttoned the two buttons in the front of the school uniform. Whenever she lowered her head, she'd reveal a small piece of tan and tender skin as well as the secret shallow cleavage unique to girls. When we were all wearing oversized school uniforms and pants, she found someone to change them. Her long legs were tightly wrapped in black school uniforms, outlining a beautiful shape, which always attracted attention when she walked around the campus.

Only girls disliked her at first. The girls privately gossiped that she was a little too fond of flaunting herself, but we boys favored beautiful girls. Many boys would come over after class to hit her and pull her hair playfully to attract her attention. At that time, she would smile and smack the boy's arm with a book and ask him to get lost.

I was not a playful boy. Although I also cared about her and hoped to get her attention, it would be too lame if I were to play tricks on her. I always wore glasses and held books, pretending to read books while secretly glancing at her.

When we were in Grade 10, we gradually became friends. We were not very close, but sometimes, I felt that we had a good understanding of each other. I was cowardly, always wearing a pair of glasses with my back hunched, and kept my head down to read. I was always bullied by those strong boys, who sometimes asked me to run their errands without giving me any money.

She was beautiful and liked to stand out. Even though she was isolated by the girls, she didn't care about it at all. If the girls didn't want to hang out with her, she would hang out with the boys. Then, the girls hated her even more and thought she was coquettish.

We became acquainted after I was ordered by a group of boys to clean up the classroom by myself. I noticed her wearing her school uniform over her shoulders and a small black suspender inside, revealing two fair arms. She sat on the table and looked at me with a smile. "Julian, why are you on duty again today?"

I lowered my head and said, "Everyone has something else to do."

She stopped a boy who was about to leave and said with a smile, "Daniel, what the hell do you have to do? You can't leave when you're on duty."

Daniel Zahn slung his schoolbag and sneered, "There's a League of Legends event today. What? Do you want me to accompany you for a while?"

"Screw you. Go and wipe the blackboard before you leave, or I'll tell the teacher tomorrow."

Daniel turned his head and stared at me. I shrugged, hurried to the platform, and said, "I'll do it. Daniel, you can go ahead."

When Daniel heard it, he picked up his schoolbag with a smile and ran out.

Lily jumped off the table hastily, put on her school uniform, and chased after him while scolding him.

Since that incident, Lily and I gradually became acquainted. I would also greet her after school. She was not good at studying, so she would borrow my homework to copy when she didn't do it.

I gradually fell in love with the beautiful and flamboyant her.

Lily was hated by the whole class because of one thing—her first boyfriend. Her boyfriend wasn't from our school, and he was always riding a motorcycle. He would wait for her to get out of class and leave with her on his motorcycle. When the boys saw them, they felt that they were posers. When the girls saw them, they cursed disdainfully, "Thugs outside the school."

Her status seemed to have dropped a little because she was a thug's girlfriend. The boys who were only joking became more aggressive. A silver-spooned kid in our class pushed her against the wall and rubbed her chest when playing with her.

It was a chaotic short break between classes at the time, and the entire class was shocked.

Several boys had pinned her in a corner, and her body was arched. Two boys grabbed her arms, and the silver-spooned kid in the middle reached out and casually rubbed her protruding chest.

At that time, she was also stunned. Then, she frantically tried to break free from those boys and cursed, "Get off, Xavier Quinn. I'll chop off your freaking hands later."

However, the boys were all grinning, and then another boy reached out and rubbed her chest. She kicked the boys around her as if she'd gone mad, but it was useless, and she cried for the first time.

She looked at the other students sitting next to her with tears in her eyes. The girls gathered around and talked about her while watching her. None of them stood up to help her. She looked at me, and I... The boys who surrounded her were all thugs. How could I help her? I lowered my head.

At that time, the bell rang, and the boys returned to their seats. She stood up, adjusted her school uniform, returned to her seat with her head hung low, lay on the table, and began to cry softly.

The whole class fell silent. The teacher hadn't come yet, but none of the students were talking or joking around. The only sound in the whole class was her soft cries, which were akin to that of a cat.

A girl said in a low voice, "What a hooker."

A naughty boy immediately answered and shouted, "Dissolute woman."

Then, he crumpled a piece of paper and threw it on her head. The paper ball fell on her head and bounced off onto the ground, but she didn't lift her head.

That paper ball was like a spark, instantly igniting a blazing fire in other students. One after another, no matter big or small, paper balls continued to land on her head, back, and table... I didn't throw any paper balls. I lowered my head and didn't dare to look at her.

I hated those students who bullied her. I despised myself for being so cowardly that I couldn't protect her.

The next day, her parents came, and we saw her father for the first time.

His nose was red, and his eyes were wide and fierce. He was fat, and his hair was thin. He came to school in ill-fitting clothes and a pair of muddy slippers. He pulled on Lily's school uniform and lashed out at the whole class. "Which little brat touched my daughter?"

The homeroom teacher rushed over and took him, Lily, and several other boys into the office.

I was the class representative, and I followed them into the office in the name of handing in homework.

I listened to their conversation while sorting out our class homework in the office.

When the homeroom teacher said that she wanted to solve the problem, Lily's father stood his ground and demanded compensation, or he would send the boy to the police station. I saw that the homeroom teacher and the parents of the silver-spooned kid looked at the man as if they were looking at a piece of trash.

Later, we learned the outcome of that incident. That silver-spooned kid paid 4,500 dollars to Lily's father. It was said that after Lily's father took the money, he immediately said with a playful smile that this matter would not be pursued any further.

Then, Lily was picked on even more when she returned to class. The silver-spooned kid surrounded her with other students and cursed, "You're just a hooker. How are you worth 4,500 dollars?"

Lily surprisingly didn't argue with him. She lowered her head and seemed to be deep in thought. The homeroom teacher also talked about this matter in class, saying disdainfully, "As the saying goes, nothing happens for no reason. Some female students should also pay attention to their words and actions and refrain from spending time with those escorts outside."

After the homeroom teacher said that, I clearly saw her staring at Lily, who had her head hung low. The whole class also turned to look at Lily, but Lily didn't raise her head from the beginning till the end.

Later, everyone stopped talking to Lily. If anyone spoke to her, some other students would snicker. "Aren't you afraid of losing a few thousand dollars? Aren't you afraid of getting a venereal disease?"

I heard rumors from the senior high school students that Lily sold herself for 75 dollars a night. Some of the rumors had been spreading for a long time, and more people were spreading them now, so the lies became the truth for someone.

A female student from senior high said that Lily seduced her boyfriend, and she cornered Lily in the women's restroom to slap her. I heard that Lily was made to kneel on the ground, and a lot of girls kicked her in the stomach. When we saw Lily coming out of the restroom, her face was swollen, and her clothes were disheveled. However, she didn't cry; her eyes appeared numb, like a doll.

I couldn't help but glance at her a few more times. Lily glanced at me, and I hurriedly lowered my head. Lily's gaze was very cold, and it didn't stay on me for too long. I breathed a sigh of relief.

We thought Lily would call her father, but Lily's father didn't show up.

About a year and a half later, we were in Grade 12. We were under a lot of pressure, so we didn't pay much attention to Lily. I just knew that she was becoming increasingly silent, and sometimes, it was as if she had no presence, but she was often mentioned as a negative example.

The teachers also hated her gloominess and often called her to answer questions. If she couldn't answer, she would stand in the back row during that class. The naughty boys in the back row would throw balls of paper at her.

I liked Lily, but I couldn't bring myself to care for her when she was being bullied by others. If I helped Lily, my classmates would also isolate me. I was scared. I was a coward.

I never expected that... Lily would die.

I clenched my fists and burst into tears as I thought of her.