I am the devil, I only know how to trade.

“The class funds I collected are gone…” The woman bit her lip. “I know who stole them, but I have no proof… A classmate I thought was kind lent me the money, but, but the money she lent me was like usury.”

“When you lose money, you should seek help from your teacher, your family, or even the police.” Yukino Yukinoshita also came over and sat down next to Luo Feng.

"Teacher? How can the teacher help me?! If he finds out the class funds are missing, I'll lose my recommendation spot!" She slammed her hand on the table and growled, "My grades are still far from good enough to get into the university I want!"

“Mother, Mother works so hard. If I ask the family for money, she, she…”

"Is it recommended..." Yukino murmured to herself.

High school students recommending students to universities is indeed a shortcut to higher education. The person making the recommendation may not be the most outstanding, but they must be the one most recognized by the school. It seems that this child must also be very outstanding, otherwise they would not have been recommended.

"And then?" Luo Feng asked softly, "You're not thinking of killing yourself just because of this, are you?"

"Trying to die?" Yukino suddenly looked at Luo Feng.

"how do you know?"

The woman was shocked: "No, I... I didn't mean to die! Really! I didn't!"

“It’s hard for you to lie to me,” Luo Feng smiled. “Tell me, tell me everything, maybe… I can help you? You don’t have any other choice anyway, why not try seeking my help?”

Chapter 053 Social Issues

"I really didn't mean to die..." The woman lowered her head slightly.

She originally planned to eat and drink well, and then, fueled by alcohol, find a place to lie down for the night, so that she could die quietly.

That way, I won't be bullied anymore, right?

"You need to think about your mother." Yukino didn't dare ignore Luo Feng's words. She felt that what Luo Feng said was likely to come true: "Wasn't you worried before? You were worried about your mother and didn't want her to spend money to help you, so you didn't tell her the truth."

The woman remained silent.

Would Mom's life be easier if she didn't have me?

The reason we're having such a hard time right now is because of this burden of having me, isn't it?

I shouldn't exist in this world at all. If it weren't for me, everything would be fine, right?

"Can you tell me? Tell me how they bullied you, and I'll try to help you." Yukino continued when the woman ignored her.

She couldn't just stand by and watch a vibrant life slip away before her eyes; this matter had to be addressed at its root.

Otherwise, if she can manage today, what about tomorrow, and the day after?

The woman harbored thoughts of suicide; she would take her own life sooner or later, and Yukino couldn't possibly follow her every day.

There are definitely more than one person who has committed suicide because of school bullying. There are many cases every year, which is a societal problem.

"I……"

clap clap clap...

The girl started to cry.

She gritted her teeth. Since she had already decided to tell him, why should she be afraid of losing face?

Can they really help me?

Is it really possible?

"After she lent me the money, I couldn't pay it back, so I had to go out to work every day. But even though I had already paid it back with the money I earned from working, she still kept bothering me. She told me that this was just interest, and if I didn't pay her back in full, she would expose the fact that I had lost the class funds. She even threatened me, saying that she would go to my mother's workplace to ask my mother for the money..." The girl covered her face.

"And then?" Luo Feng seemed not to have heard, his face still bearing the same gentle expression as before.

Looking at his expression, Yukino felt a chill creep down her spine.

Even though his smile was warm, and his voice seemed to have a magical quality, soothing the girl, Yukino couldn't feel any warmth in his voice at all.

"She said she'd find me a job, and she wanted me to go drink with those older men..."

"This is a crime!"

boom!

Yukino's voice turned cold: "The other party is committing a crime. You can call the police and seek their help."

“It’s not a crime,” Luo Feng smiled. “The law only prohibits the final step. Before that final step, everything is within the legal zone, right, Ms. Yukinoshita?”

"..." Yukino was speechless.

In Japan, it is legal for high school students to work in such places, provided that it is just something like drinking and chatting with customers. The United Nations has statistics showing that 13 percent of Japanese students have worked in this industry.

Moreover, this 13% figure refers to those who have been in this industry for a long time; nearly 25% of the women have engaged in this behavior.

A quarter—that number is truly terrifying.

"Besides, she has no evidence," Luo Feng said. "What's the use of saying someone induced you in this kind of situation if you don't have evidence?"

"Phew..." Yukino let out a long breath.

That's the trouble with the law; everything requires evidence, so even if she knew, it wouldn't matter.

Why can those capitalists do whatever they want? It's not because they act too cleanly and without any evidence, but because they have the ability to make ordinary people recant their confessions in court.

"Young lady, haven't you ever thought about fighting back after they treated you like this?" Luo Feng said softly.

"Resist? How can I resist!" This time, the woman didn't pour the wine, but instead picked up the bottle and gulped down a large mouthful.

Just as Yukino was about to stop him, Luo Feng pressed her down.

"Her father is a well-known gang leader in the area, and she herself is the vice president of the karate club. What can I do to fight back?!" The woman stopped crying and growled, "She even has photos of me drinking with that old man. If I don't listen to her, who knows what terrible things might happen to me! If it weren't for the bad weather today, I would still be going to earn money!"

"So you're just going to let her control you for the rest of your life?" Yukino's voice became somewhat agitated: "Do you know that you're going to get deeper and deeper into this mess right now! Can't you just throw away the recommendation quota and expose this whole thing, relying on reporters, the media, and the police to break free from her control and get back to your own life?"

Luo Feng opened his squinty eyes slightly.

This Yukino is interesting. She's not the kind of person who only knows how to rely on the law for everything; she also knows how to be flexible.

Is that so?

She didn't want to be a champion of justice; she wanted to genuinely help others, to help everyone. How interesting!

If it's that rigid, it doesn't seem that fun?

Her suggestion was quite good; public opinion is the last resort for ordinary people.

If the incident escalates and attracts the attention of the entire society, even if the perpetrator is powerful, it cannot be dealt with hastily.

As long as this public opinion battle starts, there is still hope for this girl. Due to society's habit of sympathizing with the weak, some schools have no choice but to accept her, whether they want to or not, as long as she passes the exam.

It sounds simple, but will things really be that simple?

"You've already thought about dying, haven't you? You're not even afraid of death, so why are you afraid of a recommendation spot?" Yukino said, "Go and fight back! Even if you die right now, she won't be punished! Don't worry, I'll help you. Let's make that person pay the price together, okay?"

"Waaah... I can't..." The woman buried her face in her arms on the table and burst into tears again. "I'll drag my mom down with me. If she loses her job, what will she do?"

Yukino didn't even need to ask to know that she came from a single-parent family.

"If you're too scared, I'll do it!" Yukino said. "I'll help you!"

At that moment, the woman's color turned black and white, which meant that her time had stopped, or that Luo Feng and Yukino's time had stopped.

"Actually, it only takes a little courage." Luo Feng gently stroked the girl's head. "Yukino Yukinoshita, are you sure you want to do it your way? Let's make a deal. You give me an extra week of work time, and I'll give her courage and boldness. These things should be done by the person involved, right?"

"Otherwise, if you help her and she doesn't dare to say anything, wouldn't you have done all this for nothing?"

"You can give this away?" Yukino was taken aback.

“Of course, nothing is off-limits to me.” Luo Feng’s gaze fell on Yukino. “It’s only a week.”

"I agree!"

Chapter 054 The Devil's Trap

Luo Feng smiled.

Yukino isn't the kind of keyboard warrior who only knows how to get others to pay the price. She will genuinely help with things that don't come at a high cost to her.

Many people only talk the talk; they wouldn't actually pay even the slightest price for it.

A week isn't a long time for Yukino; it's a good start.

Let her see what kind of result she gets after paying the price.

Luo Feng's large hand flashed briefly before dimming again, and time returned to normal.

“Resist…the media, yes, the media.” The woman pushed Luo Feng’s hand away and suddenly looked up: “All I need to do is find the media, I’ll call the police, find the media, I’m not even afraid of death, what else is there to be afraid of?”

Courage is a difficult thing to define; some people are born bold, while others are born cowardly.

This can be cultivated later in life. Not every desperado is born that way, and not every coward is born cowardly.

Parents' education and the environment in which one grows up are significant factors.

This girl comes from a single-parent family and must have been used to being looked down upon by those around her since she was young. It's not hard to understand why she's naturally timid.

"Okay, good luck! I'll do my best to help you!" Yukino Yukinoshita said.

After saying all this, she couldn't help but feel a little sleepy.

Her physical strength wasn't very good, and even after professional training, she couldn't keep up with the surveillance for a whole day and night.

By this time, she is usually already asleep.

Just now, I was excited, so I was in a state of high spirits. But after the excitement, I felt a little listless.

"Big brother, big sister, thank you." The woman stood up. "I understand. I will fight to the end!"

"Go back and get some rest. We'll go find reporters and expose her tomorrow." Yukino Yukinoshita said, "By the way, which school do you go to? What's your name?"

“My name is Rio Miyachi, and I am…”

She told them about her school, even mentioning her class, then took out her wallet and cautiously asked, "How much is dinner?"

"I'll charge you two thousand yen, you've had it tough too," Luo Feng said with a smile. "It's cost price."

Two thousand yen is equivalent to a little over one hundred yuan, which is neither cheap nor expensive. Don't be fooled by the fact that she didn't order much food; as everyone knows, the most expensive thing in a restaurant isn't the food, but the drinks...

A plate of chicken skewers, a side dish, and a bottle of wine—it wouldn't be unreasonable to charge three or four thousand yuan for that.

"Your phone number and email address..."

"This one can't stay." Luo Feng raised his hand to stop Yukino: "That's the rule."