Chapter 28: I’m attracted to him

No matter how many cycles they went through, the Bullying Five didn’t care who was beneath the skin of “Zhang Wen.”

Their orders were clear: bully Zhang Wen.

Even though the current Zhang Wen was as big as a bear, capable of punching two of them at once.

The moment Wu Maolong stood up, the five members of the group also rose one after another, eager for a fight.

Wu Maolong: …

He let out a cold snort through his nose.

The rules required him to stick to his “dull and introverted” persona, meaning it was best if he said as little as possible—more words meant more chances to slip up.

That was why Gao Yu, when playing Zhang Wen, hardly ever made a sound.

Lin Lulu caught Wu Maolong’s gaze and took the lead, heading toward the girls’ restroom to clear the area.

Once she confirmed that no one else was inside, Wu Maolong entered with his five “little followers” behind him.

Jiang Chen silently followed, then locked the door behind them.

“Zhang Wen, you—”

“All right, all right.” Wu Maolong stretched and cracked his joints. “Whatever tricks you have, just bring them on.”

“77.”

The Bullying Five’s line was only half spoken when they suddenly ran into Wu Maolong’s unexpected move, causing them all to freeze for a moment.

The temperature in the air dropped as a familiar damp chill crept up their skin, shadows on the wall stretching taller and taller—

Jiang Chen’s chin slowly lifted alongside the five’s elongated figures, unable to suppress a gasp.

… Pencil Monster 1.

From Jiang Chen’s upward gaze, these people’s legs and torsos stretched thin and straight like pencils, their skulls pointed sharply toward the ceiling, limbs hanging like leather straps.

It was as if a string pulled their scalps hard upward—

“Shh!” Wu Maolong was not afraid; instead, excitement blazed in his eyes. “I’ve been so pent up, my bones are almost rusted!”

His figure suddenly inflated like a balloon, sharp claws forming on his palms, thigh muscles bulging taut.

With a “crack!” sound, his slender body pressed into the wall.

… So cramped.

Jiang Chen silently pressed against the wall.

What was once a spacious restroom suddenly became cramped, five Pencil Monsters tangled together with Wu Maolong.

Lin Lulu’s photo album appeared in her hands out of nowhere. She flipped open a page.

An eerie aura descended.

The summoned creature sprang to life, opening a massive black maw like a void, precisely swallowing one member of the Bullying Five.

The five’s strength was clearly above that of the sanitation committee member.

A B-grade summoned creature had difficulty swallowing—it was like a washing barrel stuck in its stomach, hard to turn.

“Is God really indestructible?” Jiang Chen turned to Lin Lulu. “If it breaks, can it be fixed?”

Lin Lulu: “2.”

Decayed, yes, but it wasn’t a real washing machine.

The battle ended with Zhou Qing’s arrival.

Zhou Qing knocked hard on the restroom door: “Wenwen! Wenwen! Are you in there?”

“…” Lin Lulu closed the photo album and retracted her summoned creature.

Jiang Chen glanced over.

Somehow, from the formless face of the summoned creature, he saw a trace of pain.

… God seems to have indigestion?

Lin Lulu patted her chest, a wave of nausea rising in her stomach.

A summoned creature’s Negative Feedback would rebound onto its host.

Jiang Chen asked quietly, “Are you okay?”

Lin Lulu waved her hand, her complexion pale. “It’s nothing… just need to recover a bit.”

“Bear Bro, it’s time to stop.”

Wu Maolong had fought heartily.

After being trapped in this nest for so long, he finally had a proper fight.

Panting, he took a step back and entered a toilet stall, returning to his normal form.

The Pencil Monsters followed, and Ming Maolong silently took a few hits.

Once Wu Maolong reverted to his dull and introverted persona, the air temperature slowly rose.

Accompanied by knocking at the door, only four Pencil Monsters returned to their normal state.

Like new orders had been uploaded, they ignored their missing companion and resumed their lines.

“Zhang Wen, have you taken the thing I gave you yet?”

Jiang Ji quietly opened the door for Zhou Qing, while Lin Lulu and Jiang Chen hid behind it.

Zhou Qing panicked as he rushed in, pushing aside the four, and began arguing passionately.

Lin Lulu’s lips tightened, her brow furrowed as she watched the scene unfold.

The three’s probing was briefly and clearly reported to Guan Zi K and Sister Yuan.

Guan Zi K counted on his fingers: “We have a few pieces of information as well.”

“First, Best Friend Miss has good connections, is just and kind-hearted, a sincere and good kid.”

“Second, although she likes the school heartthrob, upon learning he had feelings for Zhang Wen, she chose to quietly step back and often stood up for Zhang Wen.”

“Third, Best Friend Miss is from a single-parent family.”

“Fourth, both she and Zhang Wen are Special Admission Students—admitted to Mingde High School, this private school, based on excellent grades.”

Sister Yuan added, “Also, neither she nor Zhang Wen were selected as Poor Students.”

“Best Friend Miss died the day after the cycle started. I have reason to suspect that Zhou Qing’s death was a key factor causing Xu Huan’s condition,” Guan Zi Fei explained.

Jiang Chen recalled Zhou Qing’s death news and Gao Yu’s breakdown—Zhou Qing’s death was definitely related to the “cycle.”

Guan Zi Fei leaned back, his gaze sweeping across his team.

It was the break between the third and fourth classes.

Except for Wu Maolong, who needed to maintain his persona, the rest were present.

“Class is about to start, quickly deploy the next actions… spend as little time as possible, time waits for no one.”

That Monday night after self-study, Lin Lulu and Guan Zi Fei headed to the first-floor Teacher’s Office to try once more to find the archive room key.

After discovering Zhang Wen and Zhou Qing’s identities as Special Admission Students, the archive room had to hold key clues.

Jiang Chen and Sister Yuan went to Zhou Qing’s dorm room.

Zhou Qing was sitting at his desk doing homework. Suddenly seeing two unfamiliar faces, confusion flashed in his eyes. “You’re…?”

“Zhou Qing, you don’t recognize me anymore?” Sister Yuan acted as if they were old friends, slapping Zhou Qing’s shoulder hard. “I’m Yuan Xiao.”

“Your desk behind you, remember now?” Yuan Xiao repeated the trick.

Zhou Qing: “…Ah? Yes, Yuan Xiao.”

Yuan Xiao pointed at Jiang Chen: “My friend wants to ask you something.”

Jiang Chen: “…”

“Xu Xingyao.”

Zhou Qing: “Ah?”

Jiang Chen glanced at the barely suppressing laughter on Yuan Xiao’s face, silently drawing a breath.

They had planned on the way here how to get Zhou Qing to talk—starting with Xu Xingyao.

Jiang Chen tried to practice her communication skills: “Xu Xingyao and you seem pretty close, I like him.”

Sister Yuan almost couldn’t hold back a smile.

Zhou Qing’s expression changed; she had never met anyone so blunt before.

A thought flashed—this girl is here to provoke, right?

Jiang Chen twisted the topic: “Can you tell me about him? I want to understand him better.”

“Ah…” Zhou Qing’s smile stiffened, but she was a nice person; she couldn’t refuse a seemingly provocative request.

“What do you want to know about him?”

Jiang Chen finally steered the topic to the point: “Does he like anyone?”

Sister Yuan’s heart jumped to her throat.

Zhou Qing paused: “I don’t know… maybe.”

“I saw him… looks like he was writing a love letter. Do you know who it was for?”

“… I don’t know!” Zhou Qing’s voice unconsciously rose.

Her eyes dropped, awkwardly lowering her head. “I’m not very close to him, really don’t know.”

The love letter was obviously fake; Jiang Chen hadn’t paid close attention to Xu Xingyao.

She just wanted to shake Zhou Qing up.

But judging from Zhou Qing’s reaction… that boy really did write a love letter?

It seems Zhou Qing knows about it.

Sister Yuan gave Jiang Chen a thumbs-up from behind Zhou Qing.

Jiang Chen… really didn’t know what to say next.

Sister Yuan timely changed the subject: “Zhou Qing, I’ve noticed your Friendship Bracelet for a while now. It’s really pretty! Where did you get it?”

Jiang Chen glanced at Zhou Qing’s wrist, where a bracelet made of translucent light-blue glass beads glimmered.

Zhou Qing seemed relieved that Sister Yuan had rescued her from the Xu Xingyao topic and quietly exhaled.

“My Best Friend Miss and I bought these together, a pair.”

She spoke of her best friend, a smile unconsciously appearing in her eyes.

“We each have one. Hers is green.”

Back at the dorm, Sun Xiaoqi had already finished washing up and was sitting in a chair, spacing out.

Jiang Chen walked straight over, dragged a chair, and sat facing Sun Xiaoqi.

Sun Xiaoqi: …

“Work chat.”

“What now?”

“Talking about Zhou Qing,” Jiang Chen said.

Upon hearing Zhou Qing’s name, Sun Xiaoqi jumped like a startled sparrow. “I don’t know her!”

Jiang Chen knew it wouldn’t be easy to get information from Sun Xiaoqi—harder even than with Wu Chenyu. She wasn’t good at fishing for information.

“I’ll ask, and you just answer yes or no.”

Sun Xiaoqi was visibly resisting.

Jiang Chen raised her eyelids, not missing any expression: “Zhou Qing is dead, right?”

“…”

Sun Xiaoqi’s eyelashes twitched twice.

She looked at Jiang Chen, then fell silent.

After a long pause, she replied, “Yes.”

Even though Zhou Qing would “revive” once the cycle began, it couldn’t change the fact that she was already dead.

“You—” Sun Xiaoqi hesitated, then suddenly shouted and stepped back.

The chair scraped loudly across the floor.

“Don’t look! There’s water!”

She closed her eyes and rummaged inside the desk pocket.

Jiang Chen’s peripheral vision caught a Water Puddle suddenly appearing on the floor.

“Didn’t I say don’t look!” Sun Xiaoqi pulled a cloth from the pocket and, still with eyes closed, tossed it forward to cover the puddle.

The cloth slowly soaked through, darkening in color.

“These things, like mirrors that reflect faces, can’t be looked at…” Sun Xiaoqi was still shaken, glancing at Jiang Chen. “As you’ve seen, traps are everywhere here. I don’t have the courage they do… I’m not that reckless.”

“I really don’t know anything.”

“They’re either gutsy enough to get killed by monsters or turn into puppets like her.” Sun Xiaoqi pointed toward Dormmate No. 1, then weakly leaned on the desk.

“Maybe turning into a Puppet isn’t so bad…”

Looking at the soaking cloth, Jiang Chen had a thought—they hadn’t really paid attention to the dorm rules.

[Tuesday]

[6:24]

The morning sunlight poured in warmly.

Guan Zi K wiggled his fingers and smiled gently at the dazzling light.

Before morning self-study started, Guan Zi Fei casually walked over to Zhou Qing’s desk, leaning down kindly and warmly: “Zhou Qing, why so gloomy? Got something on your mind? Any difficulties, feel free to talk to me.”

Under the sunlight, his golden hair shimmered like threads of sunlight.

“I’m the Class Representative, after all.”

Elsewhere, Sister Yuan quietly confirmed that their captain’s abilities were working smoothly and turned her attention to her own tasks.

While Xu Xingyao wasn’t at his seat, Yuan Xiao slipped over to his spot and bent down to search.

The “Puppet” students had their own behavior patterns and didn’t care about Yuan Xiao’s actions.

The mission was proceeding unusually smoothly.

Yuan Xiao found a folded letter inside the desk pocket.