CH 80

(Part 2 – Having ghosts was normal)

Edited by Silver Wind 

Thank you for the Ko-Fis, anon! (I sincerely apologise for how late it is ><)

While the teacher was lecturing at the front, Shen Dongqing lied on the table, overcome with boredom. He really did not understand the contents of the lesson so he played with Zhou Wenyan’s fingers under the table.

Zhou Wenyan’s fingers were straight, his joints distinctive, and it looked like it was particularly suited to playing the piano. Zhou Wenyan allowed him to fiddle with his hand for a while before he suddenly gripped onto Shen Dongqing’s restless hand and contained it in his palm.

His other hand was holding onto a pen as he drew something on the textbook. 

Shen Dongqing stopped his movements and leaned closer to have a look. At first glance, Zhou Wenyan seemed to be drawing randomly on the paper, but after looking at it for an extended period of time, an outline of the eye could be faintly discerned.

Zhou Wenyan’s drawing skills were not the best, but even the casually drawn eye seemed to be staring at them coldly.

“What is that?” Shen Dongqing extended a finger to poke the eye on the paper.

Zhou Wenyan penned the last stroke before he threw down the pen: “Given my personality, I would never come unprepared, so it’s definitely a clue. I don’t know what this drawing means either, but as long as we can find this eye, we can…”

His words stopped halfway through as he seemed to sense something, and he raised his head to look up.

There were six electric fans hanging from the ceiling in the classroom, but owing to the fact that the air-conditioners were being used, the electric fans were left untouched.  However, even under circumstances where no one had touched the switches, the electric fan right above Shen Dongqing and Zhou Wenyan started to move slowly. Perhaps it had not been used for a long time, because it was issuing an ear-grating screech as it rotated.

Subsequently, the electric fan spun faster and faster, the blades of the fan becoming a blurred shadow amidst the whirling noises.

Everything was normal. 

The other students merely thought that there was something wrong with the fan and they did not spare it an additional glance.

But the more normal it was, the more abnormal it was.

Zhou Wenyan pulled Shen Dongqing away decisively, thus hauling him out of his seat.

The teacher noticed their actions and he said strictly: “What are both of you doing? We’re currently having class, you’re not allowed to randomly move!” 

At this moment, the electric fan above their heads seemed to go crazy as it spun even faster. Perhaps because the old installation could not bear the weight, the suspended fan’s link issued a snapping noise. Immediately after, the rotating electric fan plummeted down with a loud crash, directly smashing through the table.

Even though it collided with the ground, the electric fan continued to spin incessantly and the sharp fan blades swirled up the wood chips and it caused an awful sting when it pierced people.

Zhou Wenyan slanted his body, protecting Shen Dongqing in his embrace as he blocked the flying wood chips.

“AH—” 

The students screamed, scuttling away from the electric fan that had fallen from the ceiling in a hurried manner.

The teacher consoled, “Everything is fine. We’ll end our class here first. I will contact the logistics to do an inspection, it’s merely a case of old facilities. And if you got injured, please go to the infirmary immediately.”

Thankfully, this incident did not cause any casualties apart from the students’ screams being too ear piercing.

It took a long period of time before the students finally calmed down, and they left the classroom in groups of twos and threes. 

They were all discussing the accident that happened just now.

“It’s too scary.”

“Fortunately, no one got hurt.”

“I heard that something like this happened before…” 

As Zhou Wenyan continued to protect Shen Dongqing in the corner they were standing in, he stared at the spot where the fan had dropped on coldly. A student could be seen sitting in their original places.

The student was unaffected by the commotion as he kept his head lowered to read his book, and from Zhou Wenyan’s standing position, he could discern that half of his head had been chopped off, revealing the shiny white matter of his brain.

When this student noticed Zhou Wenyan’s gaze, he raised his head and looked over, drawing back the corner of lips to reveal blood-stained teeth.

Shen Dongqing suddenly said: “His chest—” 

Zhou Wenyan looked towards the place that Shen Dongqing was pointing out, but that student had already disappeared and he could not see anything besides the broken electric fan.

The teacher walked over slowly and saw that the pair were still standing there. Believing that they were frightened, he voiced his concern in a hurt: “Did you get injured?”

If it were not for Zhou Wenyan pulling Shen Dongqing away from his seat in a timely manner, he was afraid that the table would not be the only thing that was smashed through.

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Hence, they became the only remaining people inside the classroom.

Zhou Wenyan squeezed Shen Dongqing’s hand as he asked in a low voice: “Was there something?” 

Shen Dongqing thought about it, “Yes.” He gave a pause, “I’m hungry.”

* * *

The food in the school’s big cafeteria left much to be desired, but the small cafeteria’s food was passable except it was expensively priced, so most students did not have the capital to consume it.

Zhou Wenyan’s identity probably came from a wealthy and illustrious family because he did not lack funds, so he brought Shen Dongqing to the small cafeteria. 

Shen Dongqing forked up a piece of the steak to have a taste.

Hm… It could not compare to the food he had eaten before, but it was a lot better than what he ate yesterday. Seriously speaking, what kind of delicious food had he eaten before exactly?

He tilted his head as he pondered for some time but he did not think of anything. Thus, he decided to fill his stomach before speaking about this.

Zhou Wenyan poured a cup of watermelon juice and pushed it over. “Eat slowly.” 

Shen Dongqing did not have the time to answer him at all. “Wuu—”

He had gone hungry for an entire day, and now that he had found something edible after much difficulty, he could not eat faster than he already was.

It was only when he was eight parts full that his movement began to slow.

Zhou Wenyan asked: “What did you see in the classroom?” 

Shen Dongqing slowed briefly, saying: “The eye. The eye you drew was hanging on that student’s chest.”

As Zhou Wenyan stroked his cup, he looked pensive. “Is there anything else?”

Shen Dongqing thought back carefully before he shook his head. “No, it was too far, I only saw an eye.”

Having thought of something, Zhou Wenyan raised his head. Unfortunately, there was only central air-conditioning installed in this cafeteria and there were no electric fans. 

Shen Dongqing took a bite of his cheesecake. Abruptly, he said: “The story about the electric fan, I’ve heard my dorm mate recount it before.”

Zhou Wenyan: “Mn?”

Hence, Shen Dongqing told him about the things that happened last night one by one, of how his three dorm mates had said three ghost stories separately and how one of them was about the student who was smashed to death by an electric fan in a self-study room.

After saying that, he even sighed with emotion: “I didn’t expect that there would really be ghosts!” 

Zhou Wenyan: “Aren’t you afraid?”

Not even the slightest hint of fear could be perceived on Shen Dongqing’s visage. Rather, he appeared a little excited. Lowering his voice, he said: “What’s there to be afraid about when it comes to ghosts? I keep feeling that having ghosts is the real normal.”

He twisted his head to glance at the throngs of people that were coming and going briefly before he bit his fork and said: “I feel like they’re the ones who are abnormal.”

When Zhou Wenyan saw him trying to be mysterious and secretive, he thought he was exceedingly cute. He said smilingly, “Do you want to eat ice cream?” 

Shen Dongqing said in a clear and sharp voice: “Yes!”

* * *

After he finished his ice cream, most of the people in the cafeteria had already left.

It was afternoon break right now. Due to the heat from the sun being a little overbearing, the school’s garden was virtually empty. 

Since Shen Dongqing took away another ice cream with him, he was currently standing at the door and licking his melting ice cream as much as possible. However, his eating speed could not compare to the melting rate, and he became busy to the point where he did not even have the time to speak.

Zhou Wenyan held onto Shen Dongqing’s hand and helped him eat a bite of the ice cream.

And with the pair making a concerted effort, they finally finished the ice cream before it fully melted.

Licking his lips, Shen Dongqing asked: “Where should we go now?” 

Zhou Wenyan’s gaze was fixed on that unsettled tongue as it moved back and forth. His voice deepened as he said: “Let’s look at the two other ghost stories.”

Perhaps they would see the true appearance of that “eye”.

Shen Dongqing replied with an “oh” before he followed Zhou Wenyan to the abandoned classroom building that had featured in one of his dorm mate’s ghost stories.

On their way there, they even encountered Wu Jia. 

Wu Jia and Zhou Wenyan were from the same class and they were acquainted with each other, so they even stopped to have a chat when they met.

Wu Jia said smilingly, “Teacher Chen told me to pass this material to you, and he asked you to go to his office when you have the time.”

Zhou Wenyan nodded. “Understood.”

After the short interaction, Wu Jia left, as if he was just a normal student and the only common factor between them were students and nothing else. 

Shen Dongqing said: “I should know him.”

Zhou Wenyan nodded in agreement, “I have the same feeling too.”

But everything had been obscured; they merely had the identities of normal students right now, and their previous memories also pointed towards the same notion.

Everything was real, there was not a single hint of falsification. 

Perhaps, not investigating everything further and leading a mediocre and indifferent life as a normal human, was a kind of good ending as well.

But… If he were to make that choice, he would not be Zhou Wenyan.

He hated the feeling of losing control.

Shen Dongqing blinked his eyes, having sensed Zhou Wenyan’s emotional state. He asked: “What’s the matter?” 

Zhou Wenyan squeezed his hand. “Let’s go.”

* * *

There was an abandoned classroom building on the campus.

The offered pretext was that the installations were outdated and they were unusable, which led to the building being sealed off. Initially, there were students who were curious, but that interest was gradually lost with the passing of time and slowly, no one ran over here anymore. 

Zhou Wenyan stepped past a motley of grass and entered the abandoned classroom.

The sun was still riding high in the sky outside and they were sweating from walking for a period of time. However, with one foot into the abandoned classroom building, the space above their heads darkened as the smell of gloom, cold and staleness gushed over them.

Shen Dongqing observed his surroundings in wonder.

The classroom building had been abandoned for a long time and no one had bothered to clean the place, so the floor was sheeted with a layer of dust and the side walls were stained with what appeared to be numerous handprints pressed on its surface one by one. 

Apart from that, there was nothing strange about this place.

Shen Dongqing said: “My dorm mate said that he met the ghost in the innermost music room.”

Hence, the pair ventured deeper.

It was unknown how long this classroom building had gone without guests, but the interiors were dead silent and they could only hear each other breathe. 

Zhou Wenyan paused for a moment to hold Shen Dongqing’s hand before they continued to move deeper inside.

When their figure disappeared around a corner, faint rustling noises were emitted from the shadows. A small figure leapt up nimbly, appearing for only a moment before it plunged back into the darkness again.

In that short instant, its true appearance could be seen. It was an undeveloped foetus, dragging its long umbilical cord and leaving a bloody trail in the wake of its movements.

According to the Buzzcut Boy’s words, the music room was located in the innermost section of the abandoned classroom building, and he heard the sound of music. 

However, when the pair were walking over, let alone the sound of the piano, they could not even hear a single noise.

Shen Dongqing came to a stop in front of a peculiar wall. “It’s here.”

The face of this wall appeared unusual and abrupt because its style was different from the other walls since there were only stacks of bricks laid down without any plaster or paint. With how crudely it was erected, it looked like it was preventing people from investigating the truth.

Shen Dongqing kept looking at the wall that reached the ceiling and he asked: “How are we supposed to go in then?” 

Zhou Wenyan took a step forward.

This wall face was rather thick and it was to the extent where tools were required because they could not pry into it with their bare hands

As the pair were contemplating their options, a “ding” suddenly rang out from behind the wall, followed by sweet-sounding music from a piano.

Under the circumstances where the wall was sealed and no one could enter the room, the only person who could be playing the piano was the female school senior who died inside. 

If anyone else had encountered this situation, they would already be scared to the point where they would turn and run. However, when it came to Shen Dongqing, he still wanted to go up to see if he could pull out the brick.

As he was about to act, Zhou Wenyan suddenly held onto his hand.

Although they did not communicate verbally, Shen Dongqing immediately understood Zhou Wenyan’s intentions so he stopped moving his hand.

Zhou Wenyan began to perform without the slightest conscientiousness. “This music sounds strange and terrifying, it’s better if we leave.” 

Shen Dongqing cooperated with him by becoming “scared” as well. “En, let’s leave quickly. I’m really scared.”

Perhaps because it believed that the two people were actually scared, a gleeful giggle rang out from the shadows.

But this laugh had been covered by the piano, and if you did not listen carefully, you would not hear it at all.

Turning around, Zhou Wenyan pretended that he wanted to leave but he was actually stretching his hand out to swipe towards the shadow, thus hauling out the ghost baby that was lying there in one simultaneous motion. 

The ghost baby was slightly deformed: it possessed thin arms and legs but its head was very big and its body could not support it at all, which was why it could only lie there on its four limbs. Now that he was being clutched in Zhou Wenyan’s grip, it could not escape at all.

The “fear” on Shen Dongqing’s face disappeared without a trace. “Let me have a look!” He leaned closer before he said resentfully, “It’s so ugly, oh.”

Zhou Wenyan gave his own comment: “It is quite ugly.”

The ghost baby went stupid. 

Didn’t you say you were scared?

Although Shen Dongqing voiced his resentment, he actually found the ghost baby rather novel. He took the baby and pinched the baby’s foot with two fingers, raising it into mid-air to sway it.

The ghost baby showed its teeth and issued an odd sound, wanting to intimidate this person who could not differentiate good from bad.

Except if it wanted to scare these two individuals, it would be a rather strenuous endeavour. 

Shen Dongqing said curiously, “It even knows how to smile at us, it’s quite fun to play with oh.”

The ghost baby’s movements went rigid.

Who was smiling at you? I’m trying to intimidate you, do you understand?!

Shen Dongqing teased the ghost baby: “Does it know how to speak? Say something for us.” He turned his head back to speak to Zhou Wenyan, “If it weren’t for the fact that it’s too ugly, I might have been tempted to raise it as a pet.” 

If that came to pass, he could bring his ghost baby out while other people were walking their dogs or caressing their cats, and he would crush all the pets at once.

Ghost Baby: … I have never experienced such grief.

It promptly decided to close its eyes and shrink into a ball, aggrieved.

Perhaps because her child had been caught by someone else, the female school senior inside was no longer in the mood to play the piano and the music came to a halt. 

Shen Dongqing weighed the ghost baby in his hand and told the wall face: “I have a human hostage, no, ghost hostage! Open the door quickly and surrender!”

A few heavy sounds rang out from the piano, like someone had smashed down on the keys angrily.

But the wall did not budge in the slightest.

Shen Dongqing’s gaze shifted towards the ghost baby. 

The ghost baby sensed an ominous presence and it could not resist opening its eyes.

The corners of Shen Dongqing’s mouth curled up, revealing a dimple in his cheek. He looked obedient and naïve but the words that left his mouth were the complete opposite of his temperament.

“Bring us inside.” He said with a crinkled-eye smile. “Or else you’ll be redeemed on the spot.”

Ghost baby: Ying ying ying. 

It was already unlucky before it was born, why was it still this unlucky even after it had died?

It could not be a human anymore, no… It was not going to be a ghost anymore!

Shen Dongqing swayed the little ghost baby: “Mn?”

The ghost baby still succumbed in the end.