The Youthful You Who Was So Beautiful (translated)

chapter one

"Did you detect any abnormal behaviour on Hu Xiao Die's part?"

Chen Nian shook her head once more.

The other police officer interjected, "Could you describe to us Hu Xiao Die's state and behaviour that day when only the two of you were left in the classroom?"

"I already wrote...... wrote my......ob......observations down."

The form teacher interrupted at this point, "It's simply too difficult for this child to speak. The police had already questioned her previously – the interrogation was recorded too."

Chen Nian quietly glanced at the form teacher.

The police officer thought for a moment before asking, "You mentioned that you didn't see Hu Xiao Die after school that day. As such, you decided to return home."

Chen Nian nodded her head.

Last week, as the security guard conducted his usual patrol on the school grounds, he discovered a pool of blood on the tiles in front of the staff building, with Hu Xiao Die's broken corpse lying in the middle of the blood pool. Hu Xiao Die was the school belle, but she died in a most ugly fashion.

The police officers made an initial determination that Hu Xiao Die had committed suicide. However, the reasons for her suicide remain clouded in mystery.....

When the police had no further questions, the form teacher instructed Chen Nian to return to class.

As Chen Nian walked out of the air-conditioned room, a thin layer of sweat formed over her body immediately, as though she had been cling wrapped. Chen Nian gazed at the blindingly white sunlight. For a moment, Hu Xiao Die's milky white corpse flashed before her eyes, causing a cold shiver to crawl up her spine.

Having taken a few steps, a voice rang out from behind, "Chen Nian."

It was the young police officer. He passed her his namecard and smiled, his piercing gaze seemingly capable of deciphering the unknown, "My surname is Zheng. If you ever need help in the future, you could always give me a call."

Chen Nian's heart dropped for a moment. She nodded her head slowly.

When she entered the classroom, it was as though someone had accidentally pressed the mute button – all ballpoint pens and assignment books were frozen at a standstill. Chen Nian acted as though she hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary, and simply walked towards her seat. Amongst the ten gazes that were glued onto her body, Chen Nian felt one which was particularly cold and sharp.

Chen Nian glanced at Wei Cai, who was seated in the last row. Wei Cai's eyes were framed with eyeliner, and her dark gaze conveyed a harsh and cruel threat.

The minute Chen Nian sat down, Zeng Hao, who had been sitting diagonally in front of her, pinched her legs slightly under the table. Chen Nian started feeling under the table, and retrieved a note from Zeng Hao's hands. The note asked, "What did they ask you?"

Chen Nian fell silent, glancing at Hu Xiao Die's empty seat in front of her before glancing at the rest of the students surrounding her. Despite the sudden disappearance of one single classmate, the class didn't appear to be terribly affected – only Hu Xiao Die's good friend, Zeng Hao, had been found crying on various occasions.

The rest of the class were mostly focused on gossip; rather than being melancholic, the majority of the class was simply curious and confused.

Or rather, they were simply bewildered.

One of the significant traits and advantages of being a youth is one's forgetfulness. Despite the setbacks one encounters, one is nevertheless still able to easily forge ahead after shrugging off one's disappointment.