Compared to adults, children's cruelty is more straightforward. Because they do not know the consequences of their actions, when facing people or things they dislike, they will only use the most intense means to express their likes and dislikes - especially those in their adolescence.
And Lu Zuo Zi was that disliked person.
"At that time, she was bullied very miserably in our class," Jiang Xinhong said. "Everyone hated her and treated her as if she didn't exist."
"When you took the class photo, you didn't include her either?" Lin Qiu Shi thought of the photo they saw in the archives room earlier, the one missing a person.
"Yeah..." Although Jiang Xinhong hesitated a little, he still answered Lin Qiu Shi's question. "Although the roster said there were thirty-four people, our class claimed to the outside world that there were thirty-three."
The students of that class artificially erased Lu Zuo Zi's existence from their class. They refused to talk to Lu Zuo Zi, refused to take pictures with Lu Zuo Zi, and treated her as air. Not a single person was willing to speak to her.
"What happened next?" Li Dongyuan asked calmly.
"There was an accident afterward..." Jiang Xinhong's voice became a little difficult, and his expression also carried unspeakable fear. "She died."
The two waited quietly for Jiang Xinhong to continue.
"She had an accident and died suddenly." Jiang Xinhong said. "Now when I think about it, it was indeed a bit excessive. After she died, no one in the class showed grief, and some even..."
"Even wrote a song." Li Dongyuan finished the last sentence for Jiang Xinhong.
"How do you know so clearly?" Jiang Xinhong was shocked that they knew so many details.
"I said, we know a lot of things." Li Dongyuan looked at Jiang Xinhong and smiled. "Go on."
"You probably know the rest." Jiang Xinhong smiled bitterly. "That song was cursed. Anyone who sang it would die."
The two waited quietly for Jiang Xinhong to continue.
"I didn't sing it." Jiang Xinhong's tone was very definite. "At the time, I felt it was too much, so I didn't sing..."
"What about the classmate you were talking to just now? Did he sing it?" Li Dongyuan asked.
"No." Jiang Xinhong said. "We were good friends, so I told him not to sing it too."
"Interesting." Li Dongyuan smiled ambiguously.
Feeling afraid of Li Dongyuan's expression, Jiang Xinhong said anxiously, "That's all I know. Please let me go now, it's getting dark and I have to go home."
Lin Qiu Shi looked at Li Dongyuan. Li Dongyuan nodded, indicating that Jiang Xinhong could leave.
Jiang Xinhong breathed a sigh of relief, grabbed his backpack, and ran all the way away. Li Dongyuan watched his back and said, "What do you think?"
Lin Qiu Shi: "Not much." Although Jiang Xinhong's remarks were flawless, he had an intuition that the man was lying.
"Oh, why do you say that?" Li Dongyuan asked.
Lin Qiu Shi shook his head, indicating that he hadn't thought of anything. He felt a little tired today and didn't want to talk much.
"When did you join Hei Yao Shi?" Li Dongyuan's voice was very nice to listen to - gentle, magnetic. His tone of questioning was like whispering a lullaby. "How long have you been in?"
"Not long, a few months." Lin Qiu Shi exhaled smoke.
"Who brought you in?" Li Dongyuan continued to ask.
"Ruan Nan Zhu." As if in a trance, Lin Qiu Shi felt a strange state. It was very wonderful, like standing on soft clouds, warm and comfortable, involuntarily relaxing his body.
"What about Zhu Meng? Do you know her?" Li Dongyuan's questions kept going deeper.
"I know her." Lin Qiu Shi felt something was wrong. He tried to struggle out of this state.
As if sensing Lin Qiu Shi's struggle, Li Dongyuan gently pressed his hand on Lin Qiu Shi's shoulder. "Don't be nervous. I won't ask anything too out of line." He moved to Lin Qiu Shi's ear and whispered, "Who exactly is Zhu Meng?"
Lin Qiu Shi uncontrollably opened his mouth. Just as he felt he couldn't hold on much longer and was about to blurt out the answer, Ruan Nan Zhu's cold voice came from behind. "Li Dongyuan, is this how you treat my people?"
Li Dongyuan withdrew his hand with a smile.
Lin Qiu Shi was abruptly shocked awake, aware of his previous abnormal state. He threw away his cigarette, angry for the first time. "Li Dongyuan, what did you just do to me?!"
Li Dongyuan made an innocent gesture, still with a cigarette in his mouth.
Ruan Nan Zhu clapped and said, "Impressive. As expected of Bai Lu's leader. If only you had used your skills inside the doors, we probably would have escaped long ago."
Li Dongyuan: "Don't be so fierce, Nan Zhu."
Ruan Nan Zhu was very unhappy. "Let's go, Linlin. Stay away from him in the future."
Lin Qiu Shi nodded and walked to Ruan Nan Zhu's side.
Ruan Nan Zhu stretched out his hand and carefully patted Lin Qiu Shi's shoulder, as if there was something dirty there that had just been touched by Li Dongyuan.
Li Dongyuan didn't get angry and kept smiling.
After patting clean, Ruan Nan Zhu took Lin Qiu Shi away to sleep, ignoring Li Dongyuan the whole time.
In the darkness, the lights were extinguished and the room fell silent, with only the even breathing of several sleeping people audible.
Lin Qiu Shi felt a little tired and thought he would fall asleep quickly, but he tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
Just as he was halfway into slumber, he was awakened by other sounds.
After waking up, Lin Qiu Shi quickly located the source of the sound...it was from the bunk above him.
Squeak, squeak. It sounded like Ruan Nan Zhu was also restless in bed, rolling around. Lin Qiu Shi was about to call out softly when the squeaking suddenly stopped.
In the space just one bunk above Lin Qiu Shi's head, a song rang out: "Zhi Zi has been called Zo since she was little, how funny." "She likes bananas very much but can only eat half each time, how pitiful." "Zo has gone far away and must have forgotten me already, how lonely..."
It was a girl's voice, a little childish, but the lyrics she sang sent chills down one's spine.
Lin Qiu Shi didn't dare move, facing the wall with eyes closed.
The singing grew louder and clearer from top to bottom, as if the singing thing was crawling down the bed.
"Zhi Zi has been called Zo since she was little, how funny..." The singing sounded right behind Lin Qiu Shi. His body began to turn cold, the thin quilt losing its warmth.
Thump...thump...thump... The thing behind him started jumping on the floor, getting closer and closer to Lin Qiu Shi while singing that song...
She had originally faced away from Lin Qiu Shi. Upon hearing Lin Qiu Shi sit up, her head spun 180 degrees to look at him.
"Can you hear it?" she asked.
Lin Qiu Shi was chilled to the bone, not knowing how to respond.
"Can you hear it?" she repeated.
"Hear what? Your singing?" Lin Qiu Shi forced himself to stay calm. The others in the room were still fast asleep, only he had woken due to the sounds.
"Her cries. She's crying so sadly, why can't anyone hear?" she said.
Lin Qiu Shi: "Who is she, you?"
The thing in front of him didn't answer. She only said, "She didn't do anything, so why did they treat her like that?"
After she finished speaking, Lin Qiu Shi actually heard crying - miserable, with wailing, as if from a severely wounded person.
"It hurts, it hurts so much. Please save me, please..." The cries contained pleading. "Don't go, don't leave..."
Hearing these words, Lin Qiu Shi's eyes widened. He finally understood.
Sure enough, the next moment he heard a familiar voice: "Hurry up and go, don't bother with her. With those injuries, how could she possibly still be saved?"
"But..." The other hesitated slightly.
"Save me, save me—" Hearing their conversation, the girl pleaded even more desperately. "Don't go. I don't want to die, I don't want to die!"
"Let's go! If others find out, we'll be thrown in jail. Do you want to spend your whole life in prison?" The speaker's tone grew impatient. "If not, then stay here yourself. I'm leaving first!"
"Alright, alright." His companion finally compromised. There were hurried footsteps as the two left.
"Woo woo woo..." Abandoned there, the girl broke down into loud sobs. Pain and the fear of death enveloped her. Her cries grew more and more desperate, and also weaker, until finally they were barely audible.
Listening to all this, Lin Qiu Shi's back broke out in cold sweat. The voices speaking belonged to none other than Jiang Xinhong and his friend whom he had met that day.
"It hurts..." The Zo in front of him whispered slightly. "It hurts so much...did you hear it..."
Lin Qiu Shi didn't know if he should reply that he heard it or didn't hear it. If he answered incorrectly, would this thing directly take him away?
"It hurts so much, did you hear it or not?" She kept repeating, her hand reaching out towards Lin Qiu Shi. But just before she touched Lin Qiu Shi, she seemed to be blocked by something. Letting out a sharp cry, she disappeared instantly from Lin Qiu Shi's sight.
Lin Qiu Shi's heart thumped rapidly. Where Zo had disappeared, he discovered a group photo. He looked at it briefly - it showed all the students of Class 3 Grade 2, but this time Zo stood at the very center, facing the camera with a radiant smile. While examining the photo, Lin Qiu Shi suddenly smelled a strong scent of smoke, as if something was burning to char. Looking down, he saw that the talismans pressed under the mattress had ignited, seemingly the messy talismans that had blocked the Zo who had tried to make a move against him earlier.
The smoky smell also awakened the others in the room.
Ruan Nan Zhu was the first to get up. "Linlin, what's going on?"
Lin Qiu Shi's face was covered in cold sweat, but at least the thing in front of him was finally gone. He said calmly, "Nothing. Zo just paid a visit."
Xia Rui Bei had also woken up. Hearing Lin Qiu Shi's words, she stammered nervously, "Wha-what came?"
"Zo," said Lin Qiu Shi. "It's fine now, go back to sleep."
Xia Rui Bei: "..." How could she sleep now!
Before Xia Rui Bei could say anything, Ruan Nan Zhu stole her lines. Weakly and delicately, he said, "Linlin, I'm so scared. Come sleep with me."
Lin Qiu Shi: "..."
Ruan Nan Zhu: "Linlin, why aren't you talking? Don't you love me anymore?"
Li Dongyuan chimed in: "Nan Zhu, I love you!"
Ruan Nan Zhu: "You hear that, there's still weird stuff talking in the room. Hurry up and come up."
Li Dongyuan: "..."
Lin Qiu Shi was helpless, but he did have some things he wanted to discuss privately with Ruan Nan Zhu. Lacking chances to be alone during the day, this was a good opportunity.
So after a long time, Lin Qiu Shi once again climbed onto Ruan Nan Zhu's bed.
The bed was a bit narrow. The two could only huddle together, and Ruan Nan Zhu very naturally squeezed into Lin Qiu Shi's arms, even rubbing against him twice.
Lin Qiu Shi said in a low voice, "Stop rubbing."
Ruan Nan Zhu: "No, I'll keep rubbing."
Lin Qiu Shi: "..." Does this bit of teasing really make you happy? Forget it, he must be extremely happy.
Their limbs were almost intertwined. Lin Qiu Shi moved his mouth to Ruan Nan Zhu's ear and recounted everything that had happened in a low voice, also handing over the photo Zo had left him.
After listening, Ruan Nan Zhu was silent for a moment before putting away the photo and saying, "I see, sleep first and we'll discuss in detail tomorrow morning."
Lin Qiu Shi: "Mm..." The weather was actually a bit hot. Two big men huddling together should have been hot and cramped, soaked in sweat. But Ruan Nan Zhu gave off a faint scent, not feminine at all, instead rather refreshing. This was Lin Qiu Shi's first time smelling it.
He couldn't help but say, "Nan Zhu, you smell so nice."
Ruan Nan Zhu said, "This is probably..."
Lin Qiu Shi: "Hm?"
Ruan Nan Zhu: "The fragrance of virginity."
Lin Qiu Shi: "..." If I didn't know you were bigger than me down there I might have believed you. Virgin fragrance my ass.
In the end, Lin Qiu Shi never figured out why Ruan Nan Zhu smelled so nice. Sleeping pills worked wonders as always. As long as he lay next to Ruan Nan Zhu, Lin Qiu Shi basically knocked out instantly, eyes closing as he fell asleep.
The next morning...
Because of last night's sudden incident, no one had slept very well. The foremost representative was Xia Rui Bei. This girl woke up with two big dark circles under her eyes, simply looking like a national treasure.
Even so, Ruan Nan Zhu still went to tease her. "What's wrong, couldn't sleep? Out longing for a lover?"
Xia Rui Bei angrily retorted, "What lover? I don't have any lover!"
Ruan Nan Zhu: "You like Li Dongyuan, don't you?"
Xia Rui Bei's face instantly turned red. She hadn't expected Ruan Nan Zhu to directly say it out. Tears nearly spilled from her eyes. "Don't talk nonsense! I don't, I don't..."
She had thought she was turning the tables on Ruan Nan Zhu, but he nodded and admitted it. "That's right, I like Linlin. Linlin is so cute, who wouldn't like him?"
Xia Rui Bei: "..." Why did she feel Ruan Nan Zhu was insulting her?
Ruan Nan Zhu: "Don't fall for Linlin, you hear?"
Xia Rui Bei: "..." She finally recognized that she and Ruan Nan Zhu were on completely different levels. Dejected, she lowered her head and kept silent.
Ruan Nan Zhu had an invincible loneliness expression.
Lin Qiu Shi knew he was putting on an act and ignored him. Li Dongyuan had also seen through Ruan Nan Zhu's soul. The two ate breakfast silently at the side. Because of Li Dongyuan's actions against Lin Qiu Shi yesterday, Lin Qiu Shi still didn't have a good expression towards him. Li Dongyuan shamelessly said, "Linlin, you're still angry?"
Lin Qiu Shi: "Mr. Li, we're not that close, are we?"
Li Dongyuan: "Aiya, let me apologize for my behavior yesterday, okay? Nan Zhu is ignoring me, so I just wanted to find out more information about him..."
Ruan Nan Zhu sat unhappily beside them: "Li Dongyuan, I'm sitting right next to you. Ask me directly if you want to know something."
Li Dongyuan: "I was afraid you wouldn't tell me."
Ruan Nan Zhu: "How would you know if I wouldn't tell you before even asking?"
Li Dongyuan: "Then what's your real name in the real world?"
Ruan Nan Zhu: "I won't tell you."
Li Dongyuan: "..."
Lin Qiu Shi almost laughed out loud listening to this.
But Lin Qiu Shi could see that he was no match for Li Dongyuan. Faced with this type of character with a smiling tiger face, Ruan Nan Zhu handled him very skillfully, leaving Li Dongyuan speechless every time.
"Oh right, didn't Zo come for a visit last night? Any new discoveries?" Li Dongyuan was very interested in what had happened last night.
"Yup." Ruan Nan Zhu directly took out the group photo Zo had left Lin Qiu Shi from his bag. "She left this photo behind."
Li Dongyuan examined the photo carefully.
Ruan Nan Zhu leaned on his chin and asked, "Notice anything?"
Xia Rui Bei was also looking at the photo beside them, listening to their conversation. She was a bit confused: "What do you mean...is there something wrong with this photo?" She picked up the photo and looked it over repeatedly but didn't find anything particularly unusual.
Indeed, if one didn't remember what the original class 2 photo looked like, it would be difficult to discern anything abnormal about this photo at a glance. Lin Qiu Shi felt like his memory had improved a lot. Without even needing to compare, he could now clearly recall the details of the photo from the archives.
Ruan Nan Zhu directly placed the photo he had stolen from the archives next to this one. Xia Rui Bei took one look and cried out in surprise, "There's an extra person...!"
"Right." Ruan Nan Zhu said, "And two missing."
Xia Rui Bei: "The two missing are...are..." She searched carefully and widened her eyes in shock. "It's Jiang Xinhong and his friend?"
Ruan Nan Zhu had a pitying expression. "You're so clever."
Xia Rui Bei: "..." Why did she feel that Ruan Nan Zhu was insulting her?