Tang Limin turned around and immediately said in a low, stern voice, “Stop crying! What are you panicking for? Go back to the dormitory right now. If anyone asks, insist that you never went to the rooftop and don’t know anything about it!
“I’ll find someone to deal with the surveillance footage. You don’t need to worry about it. With your dad here, I guarantee you’ll be fine!”
He paused, then said coldly into the phone, “And make sure that Song… Song Ze understands this clearly. He’d better keep his mouth shut. If he dares say anything he shouldn’t, the Tang family has plenty of ways to ruin his reputation and put him behind bars for the rest of his life!”
“Okay… Okay, Dad!” Tang Tang hung up. The panic in her heart eased somewhat, and she turned to the dazed Song Ze beside her. “My dad said he’ll save us. As long as we don’t say anything, we’ll definitely be fine.”
Now that Zhou Nian was gone, no one would ever be able to compete with me for Brother Song again.
Song Ze’s heart gave a jolt, and he nodded. “I know… I won’t say anything.”
The two of them had only seen Zhou Nian fall from the rooftop. Neither had dared watch what happened afterward. Forcing themselves to remain calm, they hurried back toward the dormitory, hoping they could muddle through the situation without being discovered.
After hanging up, Tang Limin immediately dialed another number. “Hello, this is Tang Limin…”
“President Tang, what can I do for you?”
“It’s like this… Yes, deal with all the surveillance footage around the rooftop, including the fire exits. Get rid of everything. Don’t leave a single trace…”
The person on the other end hesitated for a moment before replying, “Don’t worry, President Tang. I’ll take care of it immediately. I guarantee it’ll be done flawlessly.”
“Good. Once it’s handled, I won’t forget your contribution.”
In less than ten minutes, the head of the school’s security team had completely deleted all surveillance data from the area around the rooftop, exactly as instructed.
As for the surveillance equipment, naturally, it had all malfunctioned.
It was nothing more than a technical failure.
…
Standing off to the side, Zhang Yanyan watched Zhou Nian’s figure plummet from the rooftop. Her pupils contracted sharply, and she froze for a moment. In the end, she couldn’t bring herself to stand by and do nothing.
Zhou Nian had merely been unable to break free from the control of the plot. Even though Zhang Yanyan had known how events were supposed to unfold, she still couldn’t bear to watch a living person vanish from the world before her eyes.
She thought that if she were the original owner of this body, she would probably have wished for someone to save her back then, too.
With that thought, Zhang Yanyan released her spiritual essence. At the instant Zhou Nian was about to crash into the ground, an invisible force gently caught her and absorbed most of the impact.
Only after doing this did Zhang Yanyan withdraw her spiritual essence. Her fingertips had gone faintly white, but a quiet sense of relief spread through her heart.
This was fine, too. Severe injuries would be painful, but at least Zhou Nian still had a future—a life that belonged to her.
The crowd below erupted into an uproar. More and more people gathered around; some cried out in shock, while others took out their phones to record the scene.
Several students hurriedly called 110 and 120, clearly reporting that someone had fallen from the school rooftop and giving the exact location. A few others dashed off to notify the school authorities.
Before long, an ambulance and several police cars arrived at the school one after another.
The medical workers quickly checked Zhou Nian’s condition, immediately placed her on a stretcher, and carried her into the ambulance. Sirens blaring, it sped toward the hospital.
The police promptly split into several groups. Some remained at the scene to question the surrounding students and piece together what had happened. Others went to the school’s security office to retrieve surveillance footage from the rooftop and the surrounding area.
Several officers also accompanied the ambulance to the hospital so they could follow up on the situation there.
At the same time, several school administrators and the teacher on duty arrived with them. They followed the ambulance to the hospital and immediately began coordinating with the medical staff in the emergency department while trying to calm everyone’s emotions.
When Zhou Nian’s parents received the school’s call, their hearts seized with fear. They rushed to the hospital without even taking the time to change their shoes properly.
When they arrived at the emergency department, they immediately saw the tightly closed doors of the operating room. Several school administrators and police officers were already waiting outside, their expressions grave.
Zhou’s mother hurried forward, her voice trembling with urgency and fear. She grabbed the nearest teacher. “Teacher, how is my daughter? How did she fall from the building? We just got here—what exactly is her condition?”
Zhou’s father’s eyes were red, and his fists were clenched tightly. His voice was filled with fury and anxiety. “My daughter was perfectly fine studying at your school. Something this serious has happened, and you owe us an explanation!”
Seeing their distress, the school administrators and police officers immediately stepped forward to comfort them.
One of the school leaders took a step forward and spoke in a gentle but solemn tone. “Mr. Zhou, Mrs. Zhou, please don’t get too worked up. We understand how worried you are.
“The injured student has already been taken into the operating room for emergency treatment. The police have begun investigating, and the school will cooperate fully to uncover exactly what happened.”
One of the officers added, “We’ll sort through the clues and relevant evidence at the scene as quickly as possible. We’ll notify you immediately of any developments. For now, please wait calmly for the results of the surgery. Your daughter’s safety is what matters most.”
Leaning against the wall, Zhou’s mother could not stop her tears. She sobbed under her breath, “My Nian-Nian… You have to make it through this…”
Although Zhou’s father was still furious, he knew that losing his temper would not help at that moment. He could only suppress his emotions and stand with his wife outside the operating room, staring fixedly at the red light above the door.
Meanwhile, the officers who had gone to the security office discovered that all the surveillance cameras near the rooftop were marked as malfunctioning.
The head of the security team wore a troubled expression as he explained that several of the cameras had broken down a few days earlier and had not yet been repaired. There had been no live footage, and no backup data had been saved either.
The officers repeatedly checked the system and confirmed that there were no relevant recordings. They could only document the situation for the time being and continue investigating through other channels.
The officers who had remained at the school to question witnesses learned from Zhou Nian’s classmates that she had been in the classroom before the incident. She had suddenly glanced at her phone, undergone a drastic change in mood, and rushed out without saying a word. Soon afterward, they had heard the commotion from downstairs.
Several students also reported that Zhou Nian, Song Ze, and Tang Tang had been caught up in a complicated romantic entanglement, and that their conflicts had become common knowledge around the school.
Based on these leads, the police immediately summoned Song Ze and Tang Tang to the station for questioning.
The two had already followed Tang Limin’s instructions and agreed on their story. They insisted that they had been in the dormitory at the time and had never gone to the rooftop. They claimed they had only heard about Zhou Nian’s accident afterward.
To support their statements, they even found two classmates willing to testify for them.
With the surveillance cameras supposedly malfunctioning and no direct eyewitnesses or physical evidence, the investigation reached an impasse. The police could only let the two of them return for the time being while they continued looking into the matter.
The red light outside the operating room remained lit for a long time. Only when the doctor finally pushed open the door did Zhou Nian’s parents immediately rush forward.
The doctor removed his mask and spoke gravely. “The patient is no longer in immediate danger, but her injuries are extremely serious. She has multiple fractures and severe internal organ contusions. Fortunately, the surgery went smoothly.
“She’ll need to remain bedridden for a long period of time. It will take at least six months to a year for her to gradually recover. During that time, she’ll need careful nursing to prevent complications.”
The couple’s anxious hearts eased slightly, but the pain they felt for their daughter remained overwhelming.
For days, the couple stayed at the hospital to care for their daughter while constantly communicating with the school authorities and the police, repeatedly urging them to uncover the truth as soon as possible and give their daughter justice.
After Zhou Nian’s classmates learned that she was out of danger, they breathed a sigh of relief as well.
They even chose several representatives to visit her at the hospital. Seeing the state the couple was in, they felt a pang of sadness, and the rumors around campus grew louder by the day.
After returning to their dormitory, Tang Tang and Song Ze heard that Zhou Nian was no longer in life-threatening danger. They pretended to be unconcerned on the surface, but inside, each was consumed by fear.
Tang Tang had the Tang family backing her, but she was still afraid that the truth would come out. She hid in the dormitory all day, not daring to step outside.
Song Ze, meanwhile, was constantly on edge. He knew exactly what the Tang family was like. If things could no longer be covered up, he would certainly be made the scapegoat. He could barely sleep at night, terrified that the police would come knocking—and even more afraid of retaliation from the Tang family.
