Outside the hallway.
"I'm sorry, Qiye, I'm really sorry!" Li Yifei stood there, his head lowered, constantly apologizing. "At that time, I was so scared. I... I didn't think it through. I just ran off..."
"I left you and Jiang Qian behind, and I even got her into trouble..."
"I don't expect you to forgive me, but we were classmates after all, and I still hope to apologize to you!"
"I'm sorry!"
Li Yifei didn't dare to look Lin Qiye in the eye, but his words were filled with sincerity.
When he finished, Lin Qiye slowly spoke.
"It's human nature to run away in the face of danger; there's no problem with that." Lin Qiye patted his shoulder. "And if it were me back then, I'd probably have run even faster than you."
Li Yifei: …
Li Yifei scratched his head, as if thinking of something: "By the way, did you sign that confidentiality agreement?"
Lin Qiye paused, hesitating for a moment before nodding.
It seemed Zhao Kongcheng hadn't lied to him. They really wouldn't harm the witnesses. It was only natural that Li Yifei had to sign the confidentiality agreement after escaping from the monster that night.
If Lin Qiye wasn't mistaken, Liu Yuan must have signed the same agreement.
Although he himself hadn't signed it yet, it was only a matter of time. If he told Li Yifei he hadn't signed it yet, it would be hard to explain.
"Actually, even if they hadn't made me sign, I wouldn't have said anything." Li Yifei sighed. "That scene, I don't want to remember it for the rest of my life..."
"Besides, once you sign the agreement, if you break it, you'll end up in jail. I don't want to be the one who buries my own life."
Li Yifei leaned his hands on the railing, looking down at the bustling campus, his eyes gleaming with a touch of longing.
"Actually, I do wish I could join them."
Lin Qiye was surprised and asked, "You want to join them?"
"Yeah, when I signed the agreement, I offered to give up my studies and join them. But unfortunately... they didn't want me."
"Why do you want to join them? Your grades aren't great, but weren't you about to be admitted to the Sports Academy with special consideration?"
"Being a sports student is boring. No, actually... being an ordinary person is boring." Li Yifei's eyes gradually brightened.
"Joining a mysterious and powerful organization, silently fighting against enemies lurking in human society, achieving countless merits, and when all of this comes to light one day, the world will remember my name!"
Li Yifei clenched his fist, excitedly saying, "This is every man's dream! This... this is the meaningful life!"
"You're dreaming too beautifully." Lin Qiye ruthlessly shattered his fantasy. "Maybe you'll sacrifice yourself on your first mission, torn apart by monsters, buried in a nameless grave in a deep mountain, and your parents won't even know you're dead. You'll leave this world all alone."
Li Yifei: …
"Qiye, your imagination is too gory!"
"This isn't imagination." Lin Qiye shook his head. "What you just said, that's the reality."
Li Yifei sighed helplessly. "No matter what, they don't want me, so I don't need to think about it anymore. From now on, I'll just quietly take this secret to my grave."
"Mm." Lin Qiye glanced at the time. "We should go back now. Class is starting soon."
The two of them walked back to the classroom, and Lin Qiye could feel that, compared to before, Li Yifei seemed much more relaxed. It seemed that the guilt he had over leaving Lin Qiye and Jiang Qian had been weighing heavily on him.
Both had run away, but Li Yifei and Liu Yuan had made completely different choices.
As for Liu Yuan, Lin Qiye wasn't interested in specifically looking for trouble with him, but if the opportunity arose, he wouldn't mind giving him a lesson.
After class ended that day, Lin Qiye picked up his bag and headed home.
In the past few days, the deaths of Wang Shao and Jiang Qian had caused a lot of trouble for the school. Under pressure, the school had to cancel the evening self-study sessions, so students were sent home earlier than usual.
However, what surprised Lin Qiye was that the Nightwatchers seemed to have a very high level of authority. Normally, after two students died, people like Lin Qiye and Li Yifei, who had been with the deceased, would surely be questioned by the police.
But even though two days had passed since the incident, no one had come to find them.
It seemed that the Nightwatchers had completely taken over the case, with enough power to silence the local police.
As he walked, the sky gradually darkened, and light rain began to fall.
By around six o'clock, the sky was already dim.
Lin Qiye frowned. He hadn't brought an umbrella, so he had no choice but to quicken his pace toward home.
The rain grew heavier, and by the time Lin Qiye rushed back home, he was completely drenched. But as soon as he opened the door, a rich aroma of food filled the air, instantly lifting his spirits.
"Ah! Xiao Qi, how did you come back all wet like this?" His aunt, who was busy in the kitchen, quickly walked over when she saw him.
"It's raining too heavily outside, and I didn't bring an umbrella." Lin Qiye smiled.
"Why didn't you find a place to shelter, or call me to come pick you up? What if you catch a cold coming back like this?" His aunt pretended to scold him.
Lin Qiye chuckled, scratching his head without saying anything.
"Quick, go dry off. Oh, by the way, your teacher came looking for you. I told him to wait for you in your room."
"Teacher?" Lin Qiye froze.
"Yes, your PE teacher. He said he had something to discuss with you. Hurry up and go meet him. Don't keep the teacher waiting."
Lin Qiye grabbed a towel and absentmindedly wiped his hair.
What the hell, the PE teacher came looking for him? He'd only transferred a few days ago and hadn't even had PE class yet. Why was he looking for him?
Could it be...?
An idea flashed through Lin Qiye's mind. He dropped the towel and hurriedly opened the door to his room.
Inside, a familiar middle-aged man was sitting on a chair, holding a cup of tea, smiling as he looked at him.
Lin Qiye furrowed his brow. "It's you? How did you find my house?"
Zhao Kongcheng smiled faintly and took out a seal from the table, shaking it. "Since you dumped me that night, I've been keeping an eye out. Last night, I slipped this into your pocket. It's a locator."
Lin Qiye locked the door behind him and walked over to the bed, sitting down. "I told you, I won't join you."
"I know. That's not why I'm here this time."
"Then you're here to get me to sign the confidentiality agreement?"
"Not exactly." Zhao Kongcheng shook his head. "I told the others you've gone missing. Since I've decided to let you go, I can't let you sign the agreement. If they find out you haven't disappeared, they'll send someone else to convince you, and trust me... they won't be as easy to deal with as me."
Lin Qiye was taken aback. "Then you're here to…"
Zhao Kongcheng took out a scroll of parchment from his pocket and placed it on Lin Qiye's desk, slowly unrolling it...
"The benefits of being a Nightwatcher are much better than you think. I've been working for years and have saved quite a bit." Zhao Kongcheng continued, opening the parchment and chatting away.
When the parchment opened, Lin Qiye's gaze froze.
Inside was a thick stack of money.