The cycle begins to repeat itself today.

"Think carefully, what will happen to your sister if you tell the teacher about this?" The outcome is easy to guess, because both the teacher and Lin Xue's parents are too typical: "If you tell the teacher, the teacher will tell your parents. Do you think your parents will allow this to happen? I'll probably be locked up for a while, I don't know how long, but it's okay, it definitely won't be long, because we're both still minors. But what about your sister? What will happen to her? How will your parents treat her? You should know this better than anyone else, right?"

Lin Xue remained silent for a moment, then her anger became even more pronounced: "Why are you telling me all this? What are you up to?"

I put my phone away: "This isn't a good place to talk... Wait for me downstairs after school, we can talk about it later."

After saying that, I ignored her and turned to walk into the classroom. Lin Xue wouldn't tell anyone about this; it wasn't something she could easily resolve. Her younger sister was being bullied, but if she told others, her sister would likely suffer even greater pain from their parents. Furthermore, news about her sister would spread, significantly impacting her as well. Besides, given what I had just told her, whatever punishment I received would be less significant in Lin Xue's eyes, which she felt was unfair. Therefore, she would absolutely not do that.

She has no choice but to obey me to keep things as they are. Perhaps she will find a time to kill herself, but I still have ways to prevent that action.

I returned to my seat and saw Lin Xue sitting there as well. She kept glancing back in my direction, but because of the distance, I couldn't see her eyes clearly. However, the pressure I felt definitely lessened. Lin Xue is a smart person; knowing the current situation, she couldn't just sit idly by. She must be thinking of a strategy to deal with me.

As long as we don't give her that chance, that's fine.

I sat in my seat, waiting for get out of class to end.

After the bell rang, Ye Zi quickly packed her things and followed the crowd out of the classroom. I also packed my bag, glanced up, and saw that Lin Xue had already stood up and left the classroom before Ye Zi. I followed her out, walking down the stairs, and finally found Lin Xue waiting for me at the top of the stairs.

"Let's go," I said to her, then walked in front of her, looking relaxed.

I could hear Lin Xue's familiar footsteps; she was indeed following behind me. The familiar sound of her footsteps sent a chill down my spine. This was probably because Lin Xue had left such a deep impression on me before.

I wasn't walking fast, and Lin Xue, probably to match my pace, didn't walk too fast either. Once we were outside the school gate, the crowds thinned out. To prevent Lin Xue from suddenly attacking and killing me, I needed to take precautions.

“I don’t know if you’ll kill me, so I’ve saved that photo from earlier, along with other more obvious ones, online. If I don’t get home by the designated time, those photos will be automatically sent out, just like in novels. As for who they’ll be sent to, you can guess. So, don’t do anything foolish, understand?” This was the first shackle I prepared for Lin Xue.

Because I was worried that Lin Xue would use me as a key figure, eliminating me to solve her problems, I elevated my own importance to a new level. She needed me alive to achieve her goals; this was my first layer of insurance. As for the operation I just performed, honestly, I didn't know how. I'm someone who hasn't even figured out how to use a mobile phone, so how could I possibly know how to use something like that? However, not knowing how doesn't mean I can't deceive Lin Xue.

Lin Xue is a person who plans ahead and acts according to plan. She wouldn't gamble on my ability to do such a thing, nor would she expect me to be someone who has hardly ever used electronic devices and is out of touch with the times. In that case, I'm safe. At least, temporarily safe.

Lin Xue didn't speak, and I didn't know what she was thinking, but I couldn't show my panic. I led her along the road until we reached the pedestrian bridge, continuing towards the riverside avenue. At the end of the road was the abandoned park I had just inspected.

Chapter 139 A Helpless Choice

When we reached the park, which was hidden by bushes, I turned to Lin Xue and said, "Come on over."

"What do you want to do?" Li Xue crossed her arms, her eyes filled with disgust. "Do you want to do the same thing to me? Don't even dream about it."

"That kind of thing? While that's certainly interesting, what I'm talking about isn't something that can be resolved so easily." I moved closer to her, standing beside her, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know exactly what you want to do. The time is tomorrow night, right?"

I felt Lin Xue's body stiffen instantly. She abruptly turned to look at me, which was slightly startling, but I was already prepared; this wasn't anything to frighten me. Her eyes darted left and right: "What are you talking about? What about tomorrow night?"

"Don't play dumb," I said softly to her. "Tomorrow night, my deskmate, Ye Yuqing, will jump from the top of the teaching building because she has a very important appointment. She's going to meet someone there tomorrow night. But that person won't show up, and Ye Yuqing will jump and die. Is there anything wrong with what I said?"

I felt the vibrations in her body with my hand on her shoulder. Her eyes were involuntarily fixed on me, but she continued to pretend, "I don't understand what you're saying."

"Don't you understand? Then, after school tomorrow night, I'll go up to the roof to meet her and make sure she doesn't jump. Is that all right?"

"you!"

She instantly pulled her hand away from my shoulder, grabbing my collar with both hands and trying to lift me up. However, her height and strength weren't enough to allow her to complete the movement. My collar was lifted, but it didn't affect me much. I could still see the anger about to burst forth in her eyes, and a hint of panic hidden beneath it.

"So what's the point of pretending to be stupid with me? I know what you're thinking, and I know what you're trying to do." I easily untied her hand from my collar, and my hand was on her body again, but this time it wasn't her shoulder. I wrapped my arms around her waist, and the familiar touch reached my hands once more: "Come with me."

She didn't resist my guidance and followed the direction I pushed her. After parting the bushes, we arrived at the place we had scouted during the day. Apart from a streetlamp that wasn't completely broken above the abandoned park, the place was somewhat dim without any other lighting: "This is a good place to talk, isn't it?"

"...What exactly do you want?"

She was questioning me, but I sensed that she was doing something she didn't want me to see, so I activated my second line of defense.

"Are you still carrying a knife? With barbs, maybe even some kind of medicine on it, planning to kill me when I'm not looking? I advise you not to." I released my arms from her waist and stepped back slightly so I could see her expression and movements more clearly. "Do you think what I'm planning to upload online is just your sister's photo? It also includes your plan, Ye Yuqing's identity, address, family background, and all the detailed information I know. It will all be sent to the police station. Do you think your plan can still be completed once I'm dead?"

Lin Xue was completely speechless. Her eyes were fixed on me, quiet and terrifying. After a second or two, she threw her schoolbag on the ground, her hands clasped together, clutching the hem of her clothes—the same gesture Lin Yin had made when she tried to pull up her clothes. I watched all this silently until I saw her large expanse of snow-white skin again, and a smile crept onto my lips.

This means that Lin Xue has no other choice but to obey my orders, which is exactly what I want.

"Do whatever you want," she said emotionlessly, though she ultimately didn't take off her bra, but that was enough for me.

"You truly deserve to be called the class monitor. Although I'm also very interested in this, let's talk about something else for now."

I walked over to her, bent down to pick up the clothes she had thrown on the ground, gently patted them off, and handed them to her. She didn't put them on immediately, but looked at me with great confusion, wondering what I wanted to do.

"Lin Xue, you live in the building across the street. You've always had excellent grades, but you've also faced more pressure than others. Your parents probably wouldn't even dare to imagine what you're in now, right?" I smiled at her, but she seemed a little lost in thought after hearing my words: "If your parents knew what you were like now, they would be very angry, wouldn't they?"

"No, don't tell them." Lin Xue shook her head in a panic. "Just this. Don't tell them. They'll be angry. You can do whatever you want to me, but don't tell them. Don't do this."

"You two sisters are exactly alike in your methods of asking for favors."

She looked up, her panicked eyes revealing barely concealed anger, probably because she was angry at what I had done to her sister.

"So, how about we make a choice?" I continued, ignoring her gaze.

I held up one finger: "Whether I tell your parents about these things, or give up on the plan with Ye Yuqing, what will you choose?"

She froze, then quickly looked into my eyes again: "You want to save her? You want to save Ye Yuqing?"

Lin Xue is indeed very clever, but the current situation is not under her control; the power to make the decision is in my hands.

"So what if it is? So what if it isn't? What would you choose? Tell me, if you could only choose one of these two, which one would you choose?"

"..." She didn't speak; she was thinking about how to deal with the current situation. But I didn't want to give her too much time to consider.

“If you don’t choose, I’ll do both of these things. You have five seconds to give me your answer. Five, four…” I counted while watching Lin Xue’s expression. Her expression was somewhat ferocious, and she bit her lip hard. When I counted to two, she finally gave her answer: “Don’t tell my parents.”

I gently stroked her cheek with one hand: "Isn't this perfect?"

Chapter 140 The Key Issue

Even after receiving Lin Xue's verbal assurance, I wasn't completely relaxed. Given her personality, I couldn't guarantee what she might do out of anger and impulsiveness. Could my act of saving Ye Zi really make her so desperate to kill me? Could this problem really be solved so easily? I didn't think so.

If both of my lies to her were true, I might have believed her a little more, but it's precisely because I told her two lies that I've become even more anxious and uneasy. And that alone doesn't solve the problem.

I looked into her eyes, trying to read some emotion from them. I'm not good at this, but the anger and hatred in Lin Xue's eyes were overflowing. Even if I couldn't understand her expression, I could still feel the dangerous emotion that was specifically directed at me.

My initial plan was to seize the greatest influence from Lin Xue's parents and thus control her, but now it seems that things have deviated slightly from that plan. I need to get back on track.

Lin Xue's parents' influence on her stemmed from their richer life experience compared to hers. This experience allowed Lin Xue to taste the sweetness of success and a smooth life, which led her to place considerable trust in her parents. Even though she was aware of some of the problems, she chose to turn a blind eye and instead concealed and shifted the parts that did not conform to her parents' expectations.

To completely resolve Lin Xue's problem, her parents are a major obstacle I absolutely cannot ignore. However, it's not entirely impossible. Although her parents seem somewhat unshakeable now, Lin Xue has already harbored suspicions about them; this seed of doubt has always existed, and I don't even need to plant it myself. If I can successfully exploit this to amplify her suspicions about her parents, then I can begin to erode their trust in her from within.

Well then, let's rethink this now. I lowered my hand and gestured for Lin Xue to put on her clothes.

Lin Xue's parents, based on their own life experiences, had laid out a "perfect" path for her. However, they held excessively high expectations for Lin Xue, creating immense pressure that stemmed from both mental and physical factors. Although Lin Yin's words indicated that Lin Xue was no longer under the influence of violence, Lin Xue and Lin Yin had a good relationship. Judging from Lin Xue's protective behavior towards Lin Yin and her recent actions, their relationship seemed to go beyond that of ordinary sisters, perhaps a consequence of the high-pressure environment in their home.

Given this situation, it's impossible for Lin Xue to remain indifferent to the violence Lin Yin is suffering. However, since she can't fight back against her parents, she can only try her best to protect Lin Yin from their domestic violence in other ways. This behavior demonstrates that Lin Xue at least harbors resentment towards this violence, which is crucial.

On the other hand, all of Lin Xue's current abnormalities stem from her family. Her parents have placed immense pressure on her, causing her to suppress her true nature and present a standard image of a "good child" to her parents, teachers, and classmates. This is the image others, and even herself, initially perceived of Lin Xue. However, her suppressed nature hasn't disappeared; instead, it has been hidden and accumulated. Under the pressure of her parents, she chose an option that allowed her to "continue being a good child" and "do what she wanted to do"—that is:

She continued to be a "good child," but chose Yezi, who was similar to her in some way and met her standards, to do "something that a good child shouldn't do but that she wanted to do," and that's how things turned out the way they are now.

Although she didn't have the same strong desire to be a "good child," she was equally determined to be herself. This determination drove her to create all her plans for Ye Zi, and these plans were nearing completion. Once Ye Zi fell to her death, all of her true nature would die with Ye Zi, turning her into the completely "good child" her parents expected. Ultimately, Ye Zi was merely a substitute for her, the best substitute she could find at this stage. The things she planned for Ye Zi to do were all things she herself wanted to do but couldn't.

In other words, Lin Xue had also considered suicide, but her parents suppressed those thoughts. Under what circumstances would someone contemplate suicide? When she was utterly desperate, when she was powerless to resist, such thoughts arose. Is there any fundamental difference between this and Ye Zi? It seems not.

Both of them were plunged into an abyss of despair by something, unable to escape. But was it their fault? Ye Zi became depressed because of some terrible schemes, and Lin Xue went insane because of her parents' high pressure. If despair hadn't accumulated to a certain point, who would have chosen suicide?

If I can make Lin Xue realize this, realize that she completely disagrees with her parents' actions and is deeply harmed by them, then Lin Xue's problem will no longer be a problem for me.

But will Lin Xue really listen to what I'm saying now? Regardless of my true intentions, I'm currently in a position where I bullied her sister and forced her plans to stop. Both of these actions are unforgivable to her, and combined, her hatred for me is as heavy as I can see with my own eyes. If I don't remove this biggest obstacle, everything I've thought of before will just be wishful thinking.

In that case... let's give it a try.

I watched Lin Xue put her clothes back on, her gaze fixed on me, which put immense pressure on me. But I couldn't show my pressure. If I revealed this weakness, given Lin Xue's shrewdness, she would be able to quickly uncover that the two safeguards I had just laid were false. In that case, this almost completely isolated abandoned park would likely be my final resting place in this cycle of reincarnation.

I forced myself to smile and make myself look very relaxed.

"Let's talk."

Chapter 141 Soft Temptation

"Let's talk." After I said this to Lin Xue, her eyes didn't change. I needed to give her some benefits, at least to get us both out of this situation.

"Don't make that face, it's such a waste of such a pretty face." I moved a little closer to her: "Well, how about this? If you talk to me, I'll delete all those photos of your sister. What do you think of that deal?"

Her expression changed slightly, which I noticed while I was staring at her face, but she quickly regained her composure. Lin Yin definitely held extraordinary significance for Lin Xue; it was impossible for her not to be interested in such conditions. Therefore, what she was doing now was simply trying to gain even greater benefits.

I smiled and said, "Don't be too greedy. It's just a short talk. You won't lose anything, but I lost a lot of photos that I had taken and was planning to keep for a long time."

"...How can you guarantee you'll delete the photos?" she questioned me. Regardless of her attitude, the fact that she even spoke was a good thing for me.

“I can’t guarantee anything, but you have to trust me, right? Because you have no other choice right now.” I looked at Lin Xue, my expression turning fierce again: “However, since that’s the case…”

I tossed her my phone, and she caught it: "Even though there's only one, it's the only one on my phone. You can delete it yourself. At least I didn't save a backup of this one, which will put your mind at ease a little."

These are all the photos I took of Lin Yin. If Lin Xue deletes them, there will be no guarantee of anything. But I didn't really need them anyway; my purpose in getting them was simply to get Lin Xue to obey me and come here with me. Now that goal has been achieved, whether the photos exist or not is irrelevant.

Lin Xue manipulated my phone, spending quite a bit of time checking it, presumably examining other information I had stored there. I had already considered this possibility and deleted all the contacts and chat apps I had saved beforehand. Besides that, there was probably nothing else on my phone; it was impossible for her to find anything that could threaten me. She gritted her teeth and handed the phone back to me, but she didn't delete the photo, which surprised me.

"This photo doesn't matter at all. As long as her face isn't shown, no one will know it's Xiaoyin. You have to delete all the other photos," she said through gritted teeth.

"Of course I'll delete it; after all, it's a fair trade." Ignoring the non-existent photos for now, I deleted this one from my phone right in front of her. Everything I did was to reinforce her impression of a "fair trade" and lower her guard against me. Anyway, I had no other options, so keeping this useless photo was less of a waste; I might as well use it as a tool to increase Lin Xue's favor.

After I did that, Lin Xue's expression did soften, and she was no longer as sharp as before. I decided not to linger and brought up the topic.

"Lin Xue, class monitor, you're really impressive for consistently ranking among the top students in the class. But I doubt anyone else knows you've been secretly planning something like this, right?" I circled her, slowly walking around. "To be honest, I was completely stunned when I found out about your plan. I never imagined that someone like you, the class monitor, would be secretly plotting something like this. If I hadn't been lucky, I probably would never have found out."

"Where did you find out? I've never told anyone about this, not even Xiaoyin." She asked me, her eyes scanning my figure from side to side.

I walked right behind her, moved a little closer, and wrapped my arms around her waist. Her body stiffened instantly, but she didn't struggle or resist.

"If I told you that you told me this yourself, would you believe me?"

She didn't speak, but her cold laugh indicated that she didn't believe me.

"It doesn't matter if you don't believe me, it's not important anyway. What's important is that I already know your plan, don't I?" I whispered in her ear, "After school tomorrow night, Ye Yuqing will jump off the roof because she can't see the person she made a promise with, fulfilling your wish to commit suicide in her place. Is that right?"

"What does this have to do with you? What is your relationship with Ye Yuqing? Why did you save her? I've been observing you for a long time since you became deskmates with her. You didn't know her at all before, and you didn't want to talk to anyone. Why did you suddenly become so concerned about her? There's absolutely no reason for it." She didn't answer my questions but instead bombarded me with a series of questions. Of course, I couldn't explain to her what I had experienced in those "three or four days." She wouldn't believe me, and if I hadn't experienced it myself, I wouldn't have believed it either.

"Don't you think she's pretty?" I said flippantly. "If I could go up and meet her, she'd definitely be completely obedient to me, wouldn't she? She'd do whatever I wanted, wouldn't that be great?"

I felt her body tense up, her hands clenched into fists, perhaps out of anger, or something else. But she quickly relaxed, one hand covering my hand that was wrapped around her abdomen from behind, pulling it upwards until it reached below her chest. Had this happened before? Perhaps she was about to use her body to seduce me again.

"So what do you think of me? I can do anything for you, you can do whatever you want to me. Just don't interfere with my plans, I'll listen to whatever you say. Don't you think this is a great offer?"

She leaned her whole body against me, seemingly relying on me, her softness possessing a unique allure. Lin Xue's qualities were certainly not bad, but that didn't align with my goals. And after being teased time and again, this level of attraction was no longer enough to sway me.

I pushed against the downward pressure of her hand and continued upwards, until I reached her chest. A familiar soft moan escaped my lips, a form of revenge for everything she had done to me before.