Chapter 7

Jiang Liu had a plate of sunflower seeds in front of her. As she ate, she commented, “I never thought he’d look halfway decent when he’s serious, even though he’s usually so reckless.”

She was talking about Yellow Hair, who was on stage playing the role of the scholar, Liu Mengmei.

Tonight’s rehearsal was for the scene where Du Liniang meets Liu Mengmei in a dream. Under the moonlit flowers, their feelings for each other secretly blossom, which leads to her lovesickness and subsequent death from sorrow, resulting in her Soul Separation.

She explained the background of the lyrics in a gentle and friendly tone, as if this were just a drama appreciation session. But the male student sitting next to her couldn’t relax at all. His back was already soaked with cold sweat, and he didn’t even dare to breathe loudly.

The reason was simple.

Ren Linlin, unlike her lazy self from yesterday, was sitting upright on the other side, engaging in conversation with Jiang Liu. The weariness from noon was gone from her face, and she stared at the stage with great enthusiasm, completely engrossed, her eyes filled with fanaticism.

In short, he and Jiang Liu were the only two sane people in the room, yet the other one was even more bizarre than someone possessed. He felt extremely uncomfortable, so stiff he didn’t dare to move, and could only pray in his heart for this torture to end soon.

It was as if God had heard his call. After a transition on stage, Jiang Liu’s expression finally became slightly serious, and she whispered for him to get ready.

If this had been before, he might have been a little scared to go on stage. But now, sitting next to the ghost-like Ren Linlin, his nerves were already stretched to the limit. He was overjoyed to finally be able to move his limbs and eagerly counted down in his mind.

Three, two, one…

He quickly got up and rushed towards the stage. As he reached the steps, he subconsciously glanced at Jiang Liu and was instantly moved to tears.

Damn it, how could she so coolly vault herself up with one hand?

In comparison, his own climbing of the stairs was just pathetic!

Jiang Liu really hadn’t expected him to be thinking about such trivial things at a time like this. She glared in the male student’s direction, quickly caught the falling Xu Meng, and, as expected, saw her eyes tightly closed, her consciousness hazy.

“Wake up!”

She tried to shake her a couple of times to wake her up, but Xu Meng was already unconscious, only managing to open her mouth weakly. Jiang Liu had no choice but to press hard on her Fengchi Acupoint. The sudden pain made Xu Meng cry out in surprise, and as cold sweat dripped down her forehead, she finally came to her senses.

Jiang Liu let out a slight sigh of relief and turned to look at Zhang Xiaochen. As expected, he was unaffected. He was caught by the male student who had run over, and he fell into a deep sleep, narrowing his eyes, just like Ren Linlin last night.

A crisp round of applause suddenly rang out, sounding somewhat eerie in the dim light. Jiang Liu saw Ren Linlin slowly get up, smiling and clapping.

The moment Xu Meng opened her eyes and saw this, she was almost scared to death again and subconsciously hugged Jiang Liu tightly.

“Wh-what’s wrong with her?”

Jiang Liu patted her hand and didn’t say anything, just watched as Ren Linlin finished her praise and went back upstairs. Only then did she comfort her softly, “It’s okay now. Have some water first.”

The back of her neck still stung. Xu Meng calmed down a little before she began to describe what she had felt.

“I woke up after the clock chimed tonight, but I couldn’t control my body. And there was fire, yes, a huge fire!”

Her voice suddenly became sharp, and her face took on a pained expression. She buried her head in her knees and sobbed, “It hurts so much. I feel like my whole body is on fire. Sister Jiang, are we going to die in this godforsaken place?”

Xu Meng was naturally timid, and after experiencing so much, it was inevitable that she would break down. It was good for her to vent it all out.

Jiang Liu couldn’t help but purse her lips, placing her hand on her head in silent comfort.

Now it was basically certain that the haunting was related to the fire, and the only one who could see those things was ‘Du Liniang’.

***

Jiang Liu leaned against the doorframe, quietly looking up at the sky.

Xu Meng and the others had fallen back asleep. She didn’t rush back to bed, but instead stayed there alone, staring at the night sky in a daze.

The night was beautiful, the moon bright and clear. It must be almost Mid-Autumn Festival.

For some reason, although she had only been here for two days, it felt like a long time. She couldn’t recall many memories from her past.

In the afternoon, while chatting with Xu Meng, she mentioned that she used to have a roommate. Jiang Liu racked her brain to remember the person’s name, whether they were male or female, but she only had a vague impression.

Was it a problem with this place? Did the so-called “going mad” mean forgetting who you were and only knowing how to sing opera?

Jiang Liu almost laughed at her own thoughts.

Whatever happens in the world must have a purpose. Cause and effect are intertwined. She wouldn’t be inexplicably drawn into this mess and become the unluckiest person in a million, so she had to guess—who was the beneficiary in the current situation?

A vague figure came to mind, and her thoughts gradually became clearer.

As the sky began to brighten and the grayness on the horizon gradually dissipated, Jiang Liu, covered in a night’s worth of dew, stretched and muttered, “Finally, the wait is over.”

There was still one mark left before the clock struck the hour. Jiang Liu, who had been sitting quietly all night, finally made a move.

She extended her hand past the threshold, completely exposing it to the air.

The moment she did, a sharp pain spread from her fingertips. She watched as her flesh was cut by an invisible blade, but she didn’t make a sound, until—

Ding.

The morning bell chimed on time. The moment the sound echoed, the wound on her hand stopped spreading. A drop of blood fell to the ground with a drip, splashing into a brilliant flower.

Jiang Liu finally laughed, yawning as she went back to her room to rest. By chance, she ran into Chen Si rushing out the door.

“Going to class? Be careful on your way,” Jiang Liu said, taking the initiative.

Chen Si nodded quickly, gave a pretty reply, and ran downstairs, stepping out of the house on the last chime of the bell.

Xu Shu came out, yawning, and immediately noticed the blood on her hand. “What happened to your hand?”

Jiang Liu looked down. The wound had already stopped bleeding.

“I’m going to catch up on sleep. Keep an eye on everyone before I wake up. No one is allowed to go out.”

Xu Shu pointed to his own thin frame, looking at her with a shocked expression that conveyed his disbelief. “Me?”

Jiang Liu raised an eyebrow and smiled, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “You heard me right. It’s you. Go, Pikachu. If you can’t stop them, tie them up. In any case, we’ll talk after I wake up.”

She patted Xu Shu’s shoulder heavily, as if completely unaware of how difficult a task this was for a bookworm.

Xu Shu finally panicked, adjusting his glasses and muttering, “Wait, what happened last night? How could I possibly stop them…”

Before he could finish, the door in front of him was slammed shut with a bang. Accompanied by a soft rustling sound, the room fell silent.

Xu Shu looked up at the sky, speechless.

How could this person be so forceful?

No matter what he thought, Jiang Liu only felt exhausted. In a daze, she seemed to see someone kneeling by her bed, bandaging her wound. The touch was gentle and loving, and a cool breeze seemed to pass over her fingertips.

Who was it? She didn’t have time to think deeply. The next moment, she was overcome by drowsiness and fell into a deep sleep.

By the time she went downstairs, refreshed, it was already noon. It was very quiet downstairs, and she didn’t know what they had been doing all morning—wait a minute!

Jiang Liu squinted her eyes in confusion. She saw five people sitting in a row by the door, ten eyes fixed on the young man outside, the room silent as a tomb.

Was she coming downstairs the wrong way?

Looking closer, Jiang Liu almost burst out laughing.

This Xu Shu was a genius. He had somehow found a kitchen knife and was holding it to his own neck, sitting brazenly on the floor by the door like a door god, with a heroic air of “if you dare to go out, I’ll kill myself with one slash.”

Seeing Jiang Liu come downstairs, he looked as if he had finally seen his savior. He excitedly put down the kitchen knife and shouted, “None of us went out!”

Jiang Liu’s lips twitched, and she gave him a very polite round of applause. “You’re amazing.”

Xu Shu grinned and quickly scrambled up from the floor.

Zhang Xiaochen looked at his silly expression, speechless. “What did you say to him? He’s been guarding the door since early this morning, threatening to kill himself at the slightest disagreement. I was really scared.”

Jiang Liu found it amusing and walked over to pat his shoulder. “Do you remember what happened last night?”

Zhang Xiaochen coughed lightly and stroked his chin. “You know, even though I was prepared, being possessed by that ghost was really unpleasant.”

Xu Meng, who was next to him, couldn’t help but agree.

She had cried last night, and her eyes were still swollen and red, which was truly heartbreaking. It made her look much more haggard.

Fortunately, they had survived another night safely, and the peaceful daytime brought some relief.

Jiang Liu was pulled aside by Xu Shu, his face red under his glasses. He asked her hesitantly how he had done.

“Pretty good. But weren’t you afraid of getting hurt for real?”

She sized up the young man, surprised that he would go to such lengths for her words.

To her surprise, Xu Shu grinned and, finding a corner where no one could see, took out the kitchen knife. In front of Jiang Liu, he bent it with force—and the razor-sharp blade became as soft as rubber, drooping limply.

Xu Shu was quite proud. “It must be a specially made prop. I was just bluffing them.”

He had originally just wanted to rummage through the drawers to find some medicine for Jiang Liu’s wound, but he had stumbled upon this treasure. He was overjoyed and used a non-violent method to finally get everyone under control.

This time, it was Jiang Liu’s turn to be surprised. She looked at Xu Shu up and down, unable to help but smile to herself.

This guy looked like a bookworm, but he was just as cunning as anyone else. You can’t judge a book by its cover—the ancients were right.

After telling him to put the prop away, Jiang Liu crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. The sunlight streamed into the room, and the shadow of the grandfather clock just happened to cover her meaningful gaze.

“Was there anything unusual this morning?”

Xu Shu couldn’t figure out what she was up to, so he honestly confessed, “Everyone was the same as usual, except for Ren Linlin, who kept muttering some lines, as if she was really preparing to learn opera.”

As they spoke, their gazes also turned to the stage. When Jiang Liu had come downstairs, Ren Linlin had already left the group and was silently climbing onto the stage to practice her positions, muttering something under her breath.

Xu Shu looked at Jiang Liu and asked quietly, “Last night, it was Yellow Hair and Xu Meng on stage. Are you afraid they’ll become like Linlin?”

This kid is pretty smart.

Jiang Liu’s impression of him had greatly improved. A glint of light flashed in her eyes. “It’s good that you know. Keep an eye on them later. I have to go out at noon.”

Where to?

Xu Shu pushed up his glasses. Before he could ask, he heard Jiang Liu’s quiet voice. “It’s almost time.”

He subconsciously looked at the clock face. There were only two marks left until noon.

Yellow Hair, who had been chatting, swayed slightly and stood up silently. Before he could take a step, he felt a shadow loom over him. His gaze followed the pair of high heels up… and met Jiang Liu’s probing eyes.

“It’s almost time to eat. Where are you going?”

He scratched his head. “I didn’t get anything done this morning because of all the commotion. I want to go check out that road to the east.”

That road—was the same one where Ren Linlin had disappeared yesterday.

As Zhang Xiaochen spoke, he himself felt puzzled. “Strange, why do I suddenly want to go out?”

“Going out again?”

Along with his voice, Chen Si’s sweet voice sounded. It was unclear when she had come in. Her gaze swept around and settled on Zhang Xiaochen. “Does Senior Brother have something so important that he can’t even wait for lunch?”

Before he could answer, Jiang Liu smoothly interjected, “I’m the one who’s going out.”

Chen Si’s steps faltered slightly. She lowered her head to hide the worry in her eyes. When she looked up again, she was back to normal. She walked in quickly and grabbed her. “Does sister need something? I can help bring it.”

As she asked tentatively, her watery eyes scanned her up and down, deliberately lingering on her fingertips and forearm, but she didn’t point it out.

This psychological tactic felt strangely familiar to Jiang Liu. It was a subtle hint that she already knew everything, using her gaze and tone to easily break down the other person’s mental defenses and make them confess.

But to see such a subtle expression on Chen Si’s face made her clean eyes seem a little eerie.

Their gazes met in mid-air, neither willing to back down. The atmosphere instantly became heavy, until the clock chimed—

“I want to see Granny Chen.”

Jiang Liu said so.