The craziest thing in this world is having a beautiful girl riding a motorcycle come to save you after you’ve encountered a ghost.
The second craziest thing is Star Student Shen Yao dozing off in class.
A piece of chalk tapped on his desk.
Teacher Ma, who taught Political Textbook, asked, “Did you not rest well last night?”
Teacher Ma was dressed in a Zhongshan suit, looking like a classically traditional old scholar.
He held the Political Textbook in his hand and walked up to Shen Yao’s desk.
The others whispered among themselves, “It’s really unfair. If we doze off, we get called to stand as punishment, but when Shen Yao dozes off, it’s just because he didn’t rest well.”
“If you ranked first in every exam, you’d be treated the same.”
“Shh, keep it down.”
Shen Yao awkwardly held his forehead and whispered, “Sorry, Teacher Ma.”
Teacher Ma nodded, “If you can’t hold on, just take a little nap.” With that, he turned and walked back to the podium, reading from the textbook, “Now, let’s talk about the essence of economic activities…”
Shen Yao shook his head, forcing himself to focus.
He pretended to take a book from his bag, but in reality, he was sneaking glances at Qiao Yunxue behind him.
He actually had a pile of questions he wanted to ask Qiao Yunxue—like, how did things wrap up last night?
The second-floor window of the villa was smashed open, and there were still tire marks from the motorcycle all over the road—did anyone clean that up?
Did she get caught by Heavenly Eye for riding without a license?
Qiao Yunxue was far more straightforward than Shen Yao. She was sprawled on her desk, fast asleep.
As the main culprit, she didn’t seem worried about any aftermath at all.
Truly, the Emperor isn’t anxious… Wait, how could he insult himself as an Eunuch?
Then again, Qiao Yunxue was really something else. Catching Strangeness, flying up to the second floor on a motorcycle—she didn’t seem concerned for her own safety at all.
Shen Yao’s pen scratched chaotic lines on his paper.
No, rather than saying she wasn’t concerned for her own safety, it seemed she had a self-destructive tendency.
What she’d said last night, “If I die in a crash, I’ll get to see my mom, so it’s not a bad thing,” lingered in his mind.
Maybe, beneath that prickly exterior, she hid a soul more fragile than anyone else’s?
He angrily scribbled on his paper. Damn it, ever since he got involved with Qiao Yunxue, everything had become incomparably complicated.
After he got home last night, he couldn’t sleep all night. After all, he’d had a brush with the Gate of Hell.
At the most critical moment, he’d even been in the same room as the Phone Ghost!
Strangely enough, after the crisis passed, the most intense emotion in his heart wasn’t fear.
It was excitement.
Yes. Excitement. Every vein in his body throbbed violently, every cell danced with wild abandon.
After the peak of terror came the peak of exhilaration.
It was as if he was destined to walk amidst danger, as if some primal gene within him had awakened yesterday.
Ordinary life felt dull to him; what his heart craved was the pulse of adrenaline.
Or maybe, this was the rebound after living by the Rules for over a decade—the honest, well-behaved Shen Yao had died at the hands of the Phone Ghost.
He thought, if Chengcheng knew what he was thinking, Chengcheng would probably scold him for being an idiot—having just escaped death, and yet still not coming to his senses.
At this thought, he couldn’t help but sneak another glance at that figure dressed in red.
Network Strange Tales, Zero Dimension, Strangeness, Ghost Stories Rule—Qiao Yunxue had indeed led him into a brand-new world.
This was a world only the pitiable could perceive, a world only those who had endured great suffering and lost hope for life could access.
*
Finally, the morning passed.
Shen Yao went to the cafeteria and grabbed a quick meal, then planned to catch up on sleep.
He had just picked up his empty tray when a soft, fair hand pressed down on his shoulder.
Instinctively, he thought it was Qiao Yunxue. “Why are you—”
Turning around, he found it was Chengcheng, looking at him with confusion.
He grimaced. The night he’d spent with Qiao Yunxue was still vivid in his memory.
“Chengcheng, it’s you.” Shen Yao greeted her with a smile.
Chengcheng was alone, which was rare.
Ever since elementary school, she had been the star of the class—eloquent, athletic, and always the center of attention, easily earning the respect of other kids.
Chengcheng looked troubled.
She sat across from Shen Yao, rummaging through her backpack.
Shen Yao was already exhausted, but he still sat back down.
Cheng Orange took a few magazines out of her bag.
On the covers were the titles “Ghost Story”, “Midnight Strange Tales”…
It was obvious they were collections of horror stories.
Shen Yao flipped through a few and asked curiously, “Why are you into these?”
The stories in these magazines were always clichéd and poorly written; it didn’t seem like Chengcheng’s taste.
Chengcheng said quietly, “Isn’t it you who needs them?”
“Me?”
“Didn’t you say before that you needed to collect ghost stories for your aunt’s research?” She lowered her head, not looking at Shen Yao’s face.
“My uncle gave me some extra pocket money last time, so I thought I’d buy you some magazines. Maybe you won’t have to work so hard after school anymore.”
Shen Yao was at a loss for words.
He flipped through the magazines; they weren’t cheap— even the least expensive one cost six yuan and fifty cents.
Chengcheng had really spent a lot… all for a lie he barely even remembered telling.
She continued, “You’ve been disappearing after school and leaving late in the morning. It’s been a long time since we sat together like this.”
She looked up, pointing at his eyes. “Look at your dark circles. They’re so heavy, it’s scary.”
Shen Yao was silent for a long time.
He had no idea how to fill the emptiness in his heart; that hollow, guilt-born void devoured all his emotions like a black hole.
It felt like, not long ago, his life had split into two paths—on one stood Cheng Orange, on the other, Qiao Yunxue.
He had followed Qiao Yunxue without hesitation.
Now, looking back, he saw Cheng Orange still waiting at that fork in the road, waiting for a traveler who would never return.
“Chengcheng…” He struggled to speak. “Thank you for your kindness, but next time, you don’t have to go out of your way to buy me things.”
Chengcheng smiled. “Why are you thanking me… Shen Yao, aren’t we good brothers?”
“Yes… yes.” He nodded.
“Are we going home together after school tonight?” She seemed to ask casually, as if just an afterthought after giving him a gift.
Shen Yao had promised Qiao Yunxue he’d help her track down the true form of the Phone Ghost, but clearly, there was no rush.
It was Friday, and they could always act tomorrow.
So he replied, “Alright, let’s go together tonight.”
Chengcheng beamed, showing her teeth. “Great.” She stood up to leave.
Shen Yao called her back. “Wait, Chengcheng… what’s your QQ number?”
Chengcheng was puzzled. “Why are you asking? Do you have QQ now?”
Shen Yao looked around to make sure there were no teachers nearby, then furtively pulled a Cai Screen Phone out of his pocket.
Cheng Orange was so shocked her jaw almost dropped.
“Shen Yao! You—you—you… you actually… you actually brought a Mobile Phone to school!”
Shen Yao hurriedly covered her mouth. “Keep it down…”
His fingers brushed against the soft red lips of the girl, sending a strange ripple through his heart.
He quickly pulled his hand back.
Fortunately, Cheng Orange didn’t notice his small emotional turmoil.
Cheng Orange took his phone, grinning from ear to ear. “Let me add myself as your friend. I want to be your first friend.”
She opened QQ on his phone, but the first thing she saw was a profile picture of a woman with her eyes closed.
A strange chill ran through Cheng Orange’s heart.
She didn’t dare ask who this person was, only kept smiling, letting Shen Yao add her as a friend.