Chapter One Hundred Eleven: Lambs Awaiting Slaughter

“Xiaoxiao, I’m sorry. I may have misunderstood you back then.”

The words came so easily from Xiao Bao’s lips. Xiaoxiao had waited four whole years to hear them, yet she had never imagined they would come from Xiao Bao. To her, Lin Shuo was the one who mattered most.

“It’s all right. Don’t worry about it. It’s in the past.”

“You…” Xiao Bao hesitated before asking, “Will you testify in court?”

The question was too pointed, leaving Xiaoxiao at a loss. She had never imagined that one day she would have to face Pan Jinshi again. If she could, she would erase that man from her memory completely.

“Xiao Bao, I’m sorry, but I still have some work to finish. My boss is furious. Let’s talk another time.”

After brushing Xiao Bao off with a few perfunctory words, she hurriedly packed up and left work, completely forgetting about Nina as well.

“Xiaoxiao!”

Like a headless fly, she accidentally collided with someone in front of her. She was just about to apologize when she recognized Lin Shuo’s voice, and her thoughts became even more tangled.

“I was just coming upstairs to get you. What’s wrong? You look awful.” Lin Shuo slipped an arm around her shoulders, afraid she might not be able to stand.

“Take me home.”

Raindrops beat against the window frame. A sparrow with sodden wings hopped helplessly across the ground, unable to shake the burden of the rain from its feathers.

Xiaoxiao sat on the bed wrapped in a quilt. Lin Shuo scooped up a spoonful of rice porridge, blew on it to cool it, and held it to her lips. She could taste nothing, but forced down a few mouthfuls before pleading, “I want to watch television for a while.”

Lin Shuo switched it on and handed her the remote. The local news was on—a coincidence so chilling it made her tremble. They were reporting on Pan Jinshi.

The victim was weeping as she told the reporter how Pan Jinshi had threatened her. Her account was so detailed that it set the imagination running wild. Four years earlier, on that night, Xiaoxiao too had been a lamb awaiting slaughter.

“Professor Pan, are you in?”

By her senior year, Xiaoxiao had blossomed into a poised and lovely young woman. Dressed for the beginning of summer, she entered the office on tiptoe, her slender, fair calves exposed beneath her clothes and a thick stack of documents clasped in her arms.

She was very happy that day. After putting in countless hours, she had finally passed the written examination for graduate school, making all of Lin Shuo’s painstaking supervision and tutoring worthwhile. What pleased her most was that Professor Pan had agreed to guide her through the professional examination that followed. As a graduate adviser who participated in the professional assessments each year, Professor Pan was considered an excellent mentor, and many people envied her for having landed such a lucky opportunity.

Yet Lin Shuo seemed deeply uneasy. He repeatedly warned her to be careful, saying that there was no such thing as a free lunch and that she should beware of being devoured before she even realized what was happening. She always laughed at him for being so suspicious. They had even bickered over it a few times. She could not understand why Lin Shuo had suddenly stopped supporting her.

“Oh, it’s you, Xiao Ni!”

Her reverie was interrupted by Professor Pan, who emerged from the inner room. Beaming, he invited her to sit down, then turned and closed the office door.

Students rarely came here at night. Taking advantage of the moment, Xiaoxiao brought out her study materials and began asking Professor Pan for advice. He seemed distracted, however, repeatedly lifting his eyes to look her over. Gradually, she began to feel uneasy and softly reminded him, “Professor? Professor?”

“Ah!”

Professor Pan withdrew his gaze and lowered it to the lines of text. Xiaoxiao quickly asked, “Is this how it should be?”

“Xiao Ni.” Professor Pan idly flipped through the materials. “It’s a good thing for a young woman to apply herself to her studies, but you must also learn to use a little cleverness. You’ll never achieve much by burying yourself in books.”

Xiaoxiao did not understand. “Do you mean my way of studying is wrong?”

Professor Pan’s strange gaze swept across her face. His meaning inscrutable, he said, “Your aptitude is quite good. It’s a shame you’ve chosen such a foolish approach. Why can’t you learn to take a shortcut?”