At Second High School.
The school bell rang, signaling the end of the day. Groups of high school students walked out of the school gates, chatting and laughing as they headed outside.
"Ugh, so much homework again today. Guess I'll be up until after 11 again..."
"Tell me about it! That dumbass teacher assigned twelve reading comprehension exercises! Does he want us to die?"
"Wait, isn't reading comprehension just something you do by guesswork?"
"How could it be guesswork?"
"Pick the shortest answer when it's three long, one short; pick the longest when it's three short, one long; if the options are messy, choose C; if it's vague, choose D."
"Hold on, let me write that down!"
"…"
Suddenly, a student turned around and called out to Li Yifei, who was lagging behind:
"Li Yifei, why are you walking so slow? Hurry up!"
Li Yifei snapped out of his daze. "Oh, coming, coming."
He quickened his pace to catch up with the group but was still distracted, constantly looking around.
"What's up? What are you looking for?" Wang Liang asked, confused.
Li Yifei hesitated for a moment, sighed, and said, "After what happened last time, I've got a real fear of going home after school... Even though there's no evening study today and it's still bright outside, I just feel... uneasy!"
Wang Liang rolled his eyes. "It's not like you ran into a murderer, what's with the drama? You're all big and strong, how come you're so scared?"
"That's not it… Forget it, no point explaining it to you." Li Yifei shook his head.
Then, as if remembering something, he suddenly stopped walking.
"What now?"
"I just remembered I forgot my homework; it's still in my desk drawer," Li Yifei said, looking a bit distressed.
"Seriously? You have such a bad memory. Lucky the school hasn't closed yet. Go grab it and meet up with us later."
Wang Liang waved his hand and turned to leave with the others.
Li Yifei sighed and headed back to the school.
By the time he reached the school gate, twenty minutes had passed since school let out. Most of the students had already left, and the school was almost empty.
"Good thing the door hasn't closed yet." Li Yifei mumbled to himself as he quickly entered the school.
The campus, bathed in the dusk light, felt quieter than usual, with fewer people around.
Every so often, a few students, who were cleaning up, hurried toward the gates, passing by Li Yifei as they rushed home for dinner.
The farther Li Yifei walked, the fewer people there were, and the darker it became.
The tall trees on either side of the road rustled in the wind, and the fading sunlight from the west filtered through the gaps in the leaves, becoming dimmer and less frequent.
Li Yifei hurried to the second-year building, ran up to the fourth floor, and reached his classroom door.
The hallway was empty, except for the faint yellow glow of the sunset, and Li Yifei was the only one there.
By now, the students who were cleaning had already left, and even the classroom door was locked.
But that didn't stop Li Yifei. He skillfully opened the window, dropped his bag, and pushed himself up with his hands to climb inside.
"Homework, homework, homework... Found it!" Li Yifei rummaged through his desk, pulled out a notebook, and his eyes lit up.
He stuffed the notebook into his bag and walked over to the window, preparing to climb out the same way.
Just then, two figures appeared at the end of the hallway.
Li Yifei's body stiffened, and he quickly crouched down, hiding behind a tile beneath the window.
"Of all the luck, I run into the vice-principal!" Li Yifei cursed inwardly.
Walking toward him were two people—his class's Chinese representative, Liu Xiaoyan, and the vice-principal of the second year.
If the vice-principal caught him sneaking into the classroom through the window, it would be a huge misunderstanding. If he got caught, he wouldn't have any way to explain himself.
So, Li Yifei pressed himself flat against the wall, waiting for them to pass.
The two walked closer, chatting as they neared the classroom. Li Yifei could clearly hear their conversation now.
"... So, we need to focus on finding the best writer in your class for the city's competition," the vice-principal was saying.
"I got it, vice-principal. Our class has a lot of great writers, like..." Liu Xiaoyan answered.
As they walked, the vice-principal seemed to grow tired and stopped, resting his hands on the railing at the hallway's edge.
Liu Xiaoyan stopped too, continuing to chat with him.
Their position was right outside the classroom where Li Yifei was hiding.
Li Yifei saw everything reflected in the window, silently cursing and sitting down in frustration, waiting for them to leave.
"Yeah, what you said sounds good. Tomorrow, bring them to my office, and I'll have a word with them," the vice-principal said, nodding in satisfaction. He turned to Liu Xiaoyan and began to walk away.
"Vice-principal!" Liu Xiaoyan suddenly called out, stopping him.
The vice-principal turned around, confused. "What's up? Liu Xiaoyan?"
Under the dimming light of the sunset, Liu Xiaoyan's face flushed slightly, and she seemed nervous, almost shy.
"Vice-principal, actually... I've been meaning to say..." she stammered.
Li Yifei, hiding by the window, widened his eyes in shock. His jaw nearly dropped.
What the hell?! What did I just see?!
Liu Xiaoyan likes the vice-principal?!
But... but the vice-principal is nearly fifty! He's balding, for crying out loud!
Does she have such a weird taste?
Standing in front of Liu Xiaoyan, the vice-principal's brow furrowed even more.
"I... I've always wanted to say..." she trailed off.
"To... eat you!" Liu Xiaoyan suddenly finished with a terrifying grin, revealing a horrifying set of sharp teeth like barbed spikes!
Her eyes had turned white, and her face seemed unnaturally pale. Her once soft features were twisted into something grotesque, while her dimples remained a blood-red color, glowing eerily in the dusk light.
The vice-principal's eyes widened in shock, his mouth opening in a silent scream.
In the next moment, Liu Xiaoyan's entire head split open, her mouth expanding to an impossible size, full of sharp teeth that gleamed with a chilling light!
Her mouth was so large it could easily swallow a whole person.
Within moments, the vice-principal was devoured whole. His body writhed inside her mouth, twisted and distorted in a disgusting manner!
Li Yifei, witnessing the entire scene, covered his mouth with his hands, his body trembling uncontrollably, unable to look away.
After a long while, Liu Xiaoyan's blood-red mouth opened once again, and she spat out the vice-principal—whole and untouched.
Aside from a bit of slime on his clothes, he was perfectly fine, not a hair out of place.
He lay there, motionless, while Liu Xiaoyan's face began to heal. In a few seconds, she returned to her usual appearance, a typical high school girl.
She stood over the vice-principal, staring at him with a blank expression.
Moments later, the vice-principal opened his eyes, stood up in an eerie, unnatural way, and stared at Liu Xiaoyan.
They both smiled at each other in unison.
Then, as if nothing had happened, they both turned and walked away in perfect synchrony.
Li Yifei waited until he was sure they were gone before he let go of his mouth, collapsing onto the ground, gasping for air.
The only thing on his mind was two words:
"Here again?!!!"