Lin Wei absentmindedly pinched a French fry. She hardly ever ate fast food like this—she always categorized such food as something for children.
But looking at the three people sitting cross-legged on the mat in front of her, eating with particular relish, especially Su Nuannuan beside her, who was holding a burger bigger than half her face and nibbling at it bit by bit, her cheeks stuffed and puffed out like a hamster,
She couldn’t help but pick up a fry and try it.
Hmm… not bad.
But she quickly stopped, feeling a little awkward. Why was she following along and eating snacks meant for kids?
Zhou Qianqian, munching on chicken nuggets, mumbled unclearly to Wu Duola, “President, your magic is amazing. This time’s takeout tastes way better than what I usually order!”
Wu Duola’s cute little face immediately showed a confident, “Of course!” expression.
Zhou Qianqian nudged Su Nuannuan with her elbow, “See? I’m right, Nuannuan?”
Su Nuannuan blinked in surprise, lifting her head from the burger, blinking blankly.
She… didn’t feel any different from usual? She looked down at the burger in her hands, hesitating, “Maybe… it’s a bit bigger than usual?”
Lin Wei listened to their conversation silently, took a sip of her iced cola, and decided not to join in such childish talk.
After finishing the takeout, Zhou Qianqian and Wu Duola pulled out their phones, gathered together, and even dragged Su Nuannuan along to enthusiastically play Honor of Kings, shouting and cheering.
Lin Wei had little interest in games and sat bored on the nearby desk, swinging her legs and scrolling through her phone while the sounds of “Push the tower!” and “Save me, save me!” rang in her ears.
Unconsciously, the sky darkened. The storage room was left illuminated only by the glow of phone screens and the faint moonlight filtering in through the window.
Zhou Qianqian and Wu Duola were still locked in intense battle, while Su Nuannuan, full and satisfied, could no longer resist the onslaught of sleep and her biological clock.
She set down her phone and curled up on the soft mat, her head nodding little by little until she finally couldn’t keep it up anymore and fell asleep on her side, her breathing slow, steady, and long.
Lin Wei looked up to see Su Nuannuan sleeping defenselessly. She couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh and shook her head.
Finally, when the clock pointed past eleven at night, Wu Duola put down her phone and, lowering her voice with a mischievous excitement, announced, “It’s almost time. Let’s move!”
Though Zhou Qianqian was in the middle of a game, she immediately responded with high energy, “Got it, President!” Then she turned and started shaking the soundly sleeping Su Nuannuan, “Nuannuan, Nuannuan, wake up!”
Lin Wei was forced out of her daze, shaking her somewhat sleepy head.
Su Nuannuan, roused from sleep, sat up dazedly, her eyes still half-closed, rubbing them groggily. She mumbled, “Hmm… is dinner ready?”
Wu Duola looked a bit exasperated, “Dinner? What dinner! We’re going on a mission! Be quiet—we’re sneaking near the teaching building first!”
The four slipped silently out of the storage room and headed toward the teaching building under the night sky—three wide awake, and one sleepwalking.
The nearly midnight campus was pitch black and utterly silent. Only the street lamps cast a dim yellow glow on the ground, accompanied by faint distant frog calls.
Su Nuannuan, Wu Duola, and Zhou Qianqian tiptoed ahead, glancing around nervously, filled with the thrill of sneaking about.
Looking at the pitch-black surroundings, Su Nuannuan swallowed nervously and instinctively reached out to tightly hold Zhou Qianqian’s hand beside her.
Feeling the cold sweat in her palm, Zhou Qianqian gently squeezed back and whispered comfort, “Don’t be scared, Nuannuan. I’m here.”
Su Nuannuan nodded, feeling a little reassured.
Lin Wei, trailing behind them, noticed the two holding hands again and gave a strange look, crossing her arms unconsciously.
When they arrived beneath the Arts Teaching Building, Wu Duola signaled for everyone to hide in the flowerbed across the street. The three crouched behind the bushes while Wu Duola lowered her voice, “Alright… we’ll ambush here. Once we hear the piano, we rush up and catch it red-handed!”
Su Nuannuan and Zhou Qianqian nodded tensely.
Wu Duola glanced at Lin Wei, who was still standing somewhat unwillingly instead of crouching.
Lin Wei sighed and, seeing the three little ones crouched in a line, didn’t say anything. She squatted down beside Su Nuannuan.
The half moon hung in the sky, its cold light barely illuminating the outline of the teaching building.
Minutes ticked by, surrounded only by silence and occasional insect chirps. Their legs gradually went numb. Checking the time, it was nearly midnight.
Su Nuannuan, tired and sleepy, legs aching, finally plopped down on the cold ground, hugging her knees, her little head bobbing.
Lin Wei hadn’t eaten much that night and felt a bit hungry now. She fought hard to suppress the urge, not wanting her stomach to betray her at such a moment—that would be disastrous for her image.
“President… why isn’t there any sign yet?” Zhou Qianqian yawned, whispering.
Wu Duola, secretly unsure herself, forced calm, “Don’t rush… just wait a little longer…”
Before she finished, a steady, faint breathing came from nearby. The three turned to look and saw Su Nuannuan had fallen asleep again—sitting up, her head bobbing forward, about to fall sideways onto the ground.
Lin Wei acted quickly, gently catching the falling little head.
She was helpless—was this kid a reincarnated sleep god? She could fall asleep anywhere!
She carefully straightened Su Nuannuan’s body, but the girl was still drowsy and couldn’t sit steadily.
Looking at her small, helpless form, Lin Wei hesitated, then lowered herself, gently resting Su Nuannuan’s head on her shoulder, one hand softly supporting her so she wouldn’t slip.
It was very dark around them, and Wu Duola and Zhou Qianqian’s attention remained focused on the teaching building.
Lin Wei glanced at them secretly, relieved that no one noticed her little gesture.
Feeling the faint tickle from Su Nuannuan’s soft hair brushing her face and the faint sweet scent, Lin Wei’s heart inexplicably began to race.
She couldn’t help but reach out with her other hand, lightly poking Su Nuannuan’s soft cheek.
The sensation made her pull back as if electrocuted, her face flushing as if she’d done something wrong…
A long time passed. Lin Wei bit her lip; her shoulder and half her body were starting to go numb.
Though Su Nuannuan was light, holding one position so long was hard. But seeing the peaceful expression on Su Nuannuan’s sleeping face, she was reluctant to wake her.
She pulled out her phone and checked the time. The cold screen light illuminated her tired face—it was nearly 1 a.m.!
On the other side, Wu Duola and Zhou Qianqian were also struggling to stay awake. Zhou Qianqian kept yawning, tears almost spilling, while Wu Duola rubbed her eyes, forcing herself to stay alert.
Zhou Qianqian turned to look at Su Nuannuan, who was still leaning on Lin Wei’s shoulder, probably deep in dreams, then glanced at Lin Wei, eyes closed but seemingly gritting her teeth to endure.
She finally couldn’t help but say to Wu Duola, “President… I think this ghost story is taking a day off… or maybe it’s not on duty tonight… Should we… come back another time?”
Wu Duola’s eyelids drooped as she looked at the silent teaching building and the three of them swaying like sleepwalking dolls, then sighed and relented, “Alright… I guess so… it’s so late anyway…”
Hearing this, Lin Wei let out a long breath of relief. If she had to wait any longer, her arm and shoulder would have died on her!
Zhou Qianqian gently shook Su Nuannuan awake, “Nuannuan, wake up, it’s time to go home…”
Su Nuannuan blinked groggily, not fully awake yet, and was pulled up by Zhou Qianqian in a daze.
The four dragged their exhausted steps, preparing to leave this mosquito-infested ambush spot. But just as they stepped out of the flowerbed and took a few steps…
Suddenly!
A fragmented piano melody echoed from the pitch-black teaching building!
Ding dong, ding dong…
The sound reverberated in the silent midnight campus, ethereal and… strange!
The four froze instantly!
Su Nuannuan’s sleepiness vanished in an instant. She grabbed Zhou Qianqian’s arm, hiding behind her with a pale face. Zhou Qianqian also looked nervously toward the teaching building.
Lin Wei frowned, all fatigue swept away, staring toward the direction of the piano sound.
Wu Duola’s eyes went wide as she whispered excitedly, “It’s appeared! It really appeared!”