Our dormitory is a five-person room. Except for me, the other four are all from out of town.

On the day of registration, I was the first to arrive, so I got to choose the bed by the window first. The sunlight was good, and the view was broad.

The second one to arrive was Li Mengyan.

My first impression of her was like those small-town students often mentioned online. She came from an obscure small town and had no family background or resources but had achieved good exam scores through hard work and was admitted to a good university.

I still remember the day she walked into the dormitory, panting and dragging a snakeskin bag. The sun was incredibly bright that day. Although she was dressed simply, she showed no sign of shyness or inferiority. As soon as she entered, she greeted me proactively.

However, I am a slow person. When meeting someone for the first time, it's hard for me to muster up twelve points of enthusiasm. I politely smiled at her and then turned back to my phone.

Li Mengyan didn't mind and chose the bed next to mine, silently unpacking her belongings.

After that, the other three arrived one after another.

After we introduced ourselves, our university life began just like that.

Li Mengyan's life path was quite predictable. Beyond diligently practicing questions, she had no other path to take.

So, at an age when she was supposed to enjoy the beautiful campus life, she was always either in class or in the library.

Besides her, another roommate was also a top student.

Her name was Zhang Lu. Unlike Li Mengyan, she was not from a small town. Her family background was excellent; her parents were both university professors, and she simply loved studying.

It was said that from elementary to high school, she had always been the top in the entire city, and local media had reported on her as a "genius girl."

But after meeting Li Mengyan, she realized what a real rival was, as Li Mengyan became someone who completely outshined her.

Thinking back now, perhaps Zhang Lu's seed of hatred towards Li Mengyan was planted in our freshman year.

After three years of "nurturing," that seed gradually took root and sprouted, its roots growing deeper and deeper in Zhang Lu's heart until it became uncontrollable.

Li Mengyan had always aimed to move up, wanting to use her academic talent to achieve upward social mobility. Her first step was to further her education.

With the help of our counselor, she applied for a graduate spot under a highly respected professor in our department.

You could say that becoming the professor's student was like getting a ticket to the top echelon of life.

But the professor had very high standards and only took one student from our university each year.

Coincidentally, Zhang Lu also had her eyes on this spot.

However, such fair competitions often don't have much suspense.

Barring any accidents, it was only natural for Li Mengyan to get that reserved spot.

But sometimes, fate is very unfair. In the last week of the professor's assessment, Li Mengyan suddenly became the "hot topic" on the campus forum.

An anonymous user posted that Li Mengyan had violated school rules by taking out a campus loan, complete with evidence. Li Mengyan was unable to defend herself.

As a roommate, I knew she was strapped for cash during that time because her father was diagnosed with cancer, and she needed to raise money for surgery.

But she was just a student. How much money could she gather? After exhausting all other methods, I didn't expect her to take such a desperate risk.

Our school had previously had students who committed suicide after borrowing campus loans and failing to repay them on time, resulting in high-interest debts. The school had repeatedly emphasized the dangers of campus loans, even enacting regulations warning students and staff not to borrow from private lenders, with expulsion as the consequence for violations.

When that post went viral on the campus forum, Li Mengyan was almost expelled. It was only through the intervention and multiple pleas of our professional course teacher and counselor that she was able to keep her student status.

But the price was that she lost that spot, forcing her to start preparing for the graduate entrance exam to apply to other schools.

Thinking back, this incident seemed to be the root cause of a series of subsequent tragedies.

At the time, everyone's attention was focused on Li Mengyan, and no one cared who had posted the information.

It wasn't until the day of the incident at the experience center that I found out who the mastermind was.

At this point, I looked up at Captain Zhou.

Captain Zhou, frowning, asked me, "Did Zhang Lu admit this to you voluntarily?"

I shook my head. "She was forced to."

Captain Zhou nodded, folded his arms, and stood up straight.

"So, tell me what happened that day."

"Alright..."