Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1181: Chapter 22: The Right to Forgive or Not to Forgive

“Don’t you have to worry about the detention center’s matters? Why not!”

As the day broke, Officer Ma and Zhou Yusheng arrived at Secretary Liu’s office, listening to their superior’s instructions.

Officer Ma’s emotions suddenly erupted, pressing both hands on the desk, which startled Secretary Liu, who hurriedly wiped his sweat with a handkerchief, saying, “Because the matter has been handed over to someone else for investigation. Instead, you and Zhou Yusheng should focus on the dismemberment case, which is the matter the public is most concerned about.”

Officer Ma furrowed his brows… Someone who could commit a crime in such a place, ignoring all the guards, posed a grave threat—though it wasn’t to say external cases were unimportant.

“We understand, Secretary Liu. We’ll solve the dismemberment case as quickly as possible.” Zhou Yusheng quickly interjected before Officer Ma could speak further, pulling him out of Secretary Liu’s office.

This made Officer Ma unhappy, “Zhou Yusheng, what do you mean?”

“Someone from above has stepped in. Secretary Liu called us early this morning to say this, proving there’s no room for negotiation.” Zhou Yusheng frowned, “There’s no need to argue with Secretary Liu… We all know his personality. Didn’t he cover for you when you had trouble last time? If he doesn’t want us to investigate this time, it’s probably because he can’t cover for us anymore.”

Officer Ma didn’t speak, lighting one cigarette after another, smoking through several before reluctantly following Zhou Yusheng back to the special investigation team.

The detention center issue was still unresolved, but for the dismemberment case, several suspects had already been identified.

One was Wu Rong, exposed for causing Wang Liang’s affairs with several women to be discovered, and another was Zhao Le.

Both had significant motives for committing the crime. One might have committed the crime out of love-turned-hate, while the other might have done it to avenge a sister. Investigations revealed that Wu Rong often visited Wang Liang’s residence while dating him, so the possibility of her holding a key and secretly entering to commit the crime was high.

Moreover, Wu Rong had been out of town since the New Year, her whereabouts unclear, warranting further investigation—further investigation revealed she bought a train ticket back home before the New Year.

“We attempted to contact Wu Rong’s family in her hometown and succeeded, but she hasn’t gone home,” Lin Feng reported with the gathered information, “However, records show she was on the train.”

“Hmm…” Officer Ma nodded.

Then, after consulting with Zhou Yusheng for a moment, he said directly, “Take someone with you, make the effort, and head to Wu Rong’s hometown to find her if possible. I’ll contact the local police station to cooperate with you! No time to lose, set off immediately!”

Lin Feng stood at attention, saluted, and shouted, “Yes!”

…

…

Gao Wen walked into the classroom with a heavy heart. He arrived very early today, even opening the door himself.

Not for any other reason, just to watch each student as they entered.

As the class time approached, students walked in one by one, greeting him before taking their seats… yet Gao Wen did not see the person he was looking for.

He subconsciously checked the time… minute by minute, until finally, the bell rang for class.

Gao Wen just sat on the podium, silently observing the entire class—a rare occurrence: he took attendance.

Gao Wen’s classes were usually open classes with several classes attending, and typically full, so taking attendance was a huge waste of time—yet he did it today.

Students naturally found Lecturer Gao Wen’s unusual behavior curiosity-inducing… As if Lecturer Gao had been different these last two or three days.

“Chen Zihao… Wei Xinyue… Xi Jinmin… Luo Qiu?”

He inadvertently called out the name “Luo Qiu,” but the classroom remained unresponsive for quite a while… Gao Wen carefully scanned the surroundings.

Only a portion of students began looking around—they were unfamiliar with the name, guessing it might belong to a student from another class.

“Luo Qiu? Are you here? Are you?”

Gao Wen confirmed again, looking at the window-side last row seat… Finally, Gao Wen closed the attendance book, casually saying, “Alright, attendance ends here. Let’s start the class now.”

Fortunately, attendance took only a few minutes, still within an acceptable range. Students quickly opened their textbooks.

Having sorted out his thoughts, Gao Wen shook his head slightly, then turned to the blackboard and began writing notes.

His handwriting was beautiful, even with chalk.

After finishing writing, Gao Wen slowly turned around, holding the microphone, “Alright, today we’ll talk about…”

His eyes suddenly widened, and his breath seemed to cease momentarily, his heart inexplicably thudding.

Present… sitting in that spot!

When did he arrive… did he sneak in through the back door while I was writing… Gao Wen took a deep breath, only to find his voice paused, with all the students’ gaze focused on him.

He had to continue his speech without a hitch, continuing the lesson casually, though his eyes never left that spot, locked on the young man sitting there.

Halfway through the teaching, Gao Wen suddenly assigned the students a discussion topic, requiring them to discuss in groups—a very common teaching approach.

The students began discussing autonomously—because Lecturer Gao’s classes were typically relaxed, the students quickly grouped in threes and twos, discussing among themselves.

Gao Wen casually roamed around the lecture hall, seeming to listen to the students’ discussions—yet his purpose was singular, to steadily approach that final seat.

Always there… without disappearing suddenly.

Step by step, like his pounding heartbeat—finally, Gao Wen reached his destination, the topmost step, and sat down.

Beside him was only Luo Qiu; at this four-seat row desk, it was just the two of them, separated by a row from the other students.

Gao Wen intently observed this young man who had occupied his thoughts for days—since he suddenly appeared that day.

“Why aren’t you discussing with the others?”

“Because I don’t know them.”

“I took attendance earlier, why didn’t you respond?”

“Was there attendance? Perhaps I was a bit late, I apologize. When I arrived, I only saw you writing on the board.”

“You said you don’t know them? Why?”

“Isn’t it obvious to you, teacher, that I’m not a student here.”

Through questions and answers, Gao Wen grew increasingly calm.

But internally, he wasn’t calm; this was not the demeanor a student of this age should possess… Almost in an instant, Gao Wen thought of one of his students: Chen Mingming.

But Chen Mingming’s image only flashed briefly in his mind, as Luo Qiu’s presence was so overpowering, so intimately familiar, almost like he was the closest and most understanding person… yet it shouldn’t have been.

The most familiar stranger, a feeling like this surged into Gao Wen’s heart in an instant, and he opened his mouth slightly, planning to ask something.

“Teacher Gao, your question is actually quite interesting.” Luo Qiu suddenly smiled slightly.

This made Gao Wen swallow back the words he originally wanted to say, and he instinctively uttered an “oh.”

The topic for discussion amongst the students was: Forgiveness.

Content:

In the courtroom of Country M, a serial killer is being prosecuted.

The perpetrator’s methods were extremely cruel, with all the victims being female. Before their deaths, they suffered assault at the hands of the killer, followed by brutal murder.

The female victims’ families gathered in the courtroom, each offering the most vicious curses upon the killer for his heinous crimes. Yet, facing these curses, the killer appeared indifferent, devoid of any expression.

Only one victim’s priest father, after giving his statement, uttered, “As a father, I cannot forgive your sins. But as a priest, I forgive you only on my behalf.”

The accused criminal burst into tears, breaking down emotionally.

“What do you find interesting about this?” Gao Wen naturally wouldn’t forget the question he posed, “But before that, tell me whether you think this killer should be forgiven.”

“I forgive only on my behalf.” Luo Qiu gently said.

Gao Wen frowned, “Is this your answer?”

Luo Qiu shook his head slightly, “This is the priest’s answer.”

Gao Wen paused for a moment, then asked again, “I’m asking you.”

Luo Qiu said calmly, “In the courtroom, forgiveness and unforgiveness coexist, and within the priest, forgiveness and unforgiveness also coexist… I am not them.”

“You don’t intend to answer?” Gao Wen frowned once more.

Luo Qiu looked at Gao Wen, and as their eyes met, Gao Wen instinctively adjusted his glasses before hearing Luo Qiu speak, “If I am neither this priest nor the relatives of the victims, on what grounds do I choose to not forgive this murderer, or on what grounds do I choose to forgive him.”

“We could hypothetically become them, just for the sake of study.” Gao Wen emphasized.

Luo Qiu smiled slightly, “I only need to look. For me, no matter how many people forgive or do not forgive, it doesn’t matter.”

Gao Wen opened his mouth, as if pondering, and he adjusted his glasses again, seemingly in a certain state, “I’ve said it’s a hypothesis, an academic study, you shouldn’t avoid it. Avoiding it might mean you don’t want to face such a choice.”

“Indeed,” Luo Qiu nodded at this point, “As long as emotions exist, no one wants to face such choices, so the best way is to ensure such choices never appear before you.”

Gao Wen frowned, “But in reality, we cannot control the changes in nature, nor can we prevent accidents from happening. So you shouldn’t avoid it; you need to face it directly.”

“No,” Luo Qiu looked at Gao Wen and said calmly, “I can do so now.”

…

In an instant, Gao Wen seemed to hear the best joke and lie in the world… He slightly opened his lips, and all he could see in Luo Qiu’s eyes was an incredible confidence.

“Such a choice will not occur to me,” Luo Qiu said calmly, “So I can only be an observer and lose the qualification to discuss this case.”

Just this case?

Vaguely, Gao Wen seemed to think of something, but didn’t truly grasp it. He remained silent for a long time and returned to the initial question: “Then, why do you think this question is interesting?”

“Isn’t the simultaneous existence of contradictions interesting?” Luo Qiu said with a smile, “I’ve said, within the same courtroom, forgiveness and unforgiveness coexisted. The families do not forgive this murderer, but once the legal sentencing is made, he is already forgiven. The priest does not forgive as a father, but forgives as a priest… If possible, I wish to appear in this courtroom as a member of the audience.”

“Human nature… is inherently complex.” Gao Wen uttered faintly, unconsciously ignoring Luo Qiu’s final wish to be present in the courtroom.

He was lowering his head, perhaps thinking… After a long time, Gao Wen took a deep breath and raised his head.

He could no longer see Luo Qiu… beside the table, there were no traces. Logically, at such a close distance, there should be something.

Gao Wen unconsciously opened his mouth in astonishment.

“Teacher… Teacher Gao, are you okay?”

The student’s voice gradually brought him back… He discovered many students were looking at him with confusion, and Gao Wen instinctively asked, “What’s the matter?”

A female student hesitated and said, “Teacher… you, you’ve been talking to yourself…”

Gao Wen was startled, suddenly stood up, staring intently at his side… the place where the young man once sat!

“I was… talking to myself? But I clearly…”

Gao Wen instinctively looked at the students before him, whose expressions varied from surprise to fear… this gave Gao Wen an unusually eerie feeling.

Perhaps… all of this was merely a figment of his imagination?

Suddenly, Gao Wen broke out in a cold sweat.

He said nothing; he hurriedly walked out of the classroom under the puzzled gazes of the students, leaving behind even his briefcase.

…

…

“Hey, stop it, someone’s coming! Let’s go, looks like it’s Teacher Gao!”

On the stairs leading to the rooftop of the teaching building, a student hurriedly ran over.

“What’s this guy doing here?”

At this moment, three male students were surrounding a bespectacled student—Zhao Le.

Zhao Le painfully clutched his stomach, his lips still showing traces of bile—clearly, he had been beaten, but the aggressors had chosen not to hit him in the face, only in unseen places.

“Consider yourself lucky this time… Four-Eyes Chicken, keep your glasses clean next time”… It was another male student whose deed in the sports equipment room got disrupted.

After mocking him a few times, the students left with joyful smiles… Zhao Le painfully held his stomach, leaning against the wall, slowly standing up.

Beneath the glasses was a different kind of look… hatred.

“`