NFM Chapter 34

“Chapter 2: The Eerie Class”

“…In the classroom of Class 3-F, the air conditioning was turned on excessively high. The temperature was so low that even he felt a shiver.”

“Chapter 3: Back to Back in the Dormitory”

“…Lying in bed, recalling the series of events that had happened during the day, the young man gradually fell into a deep sleep. However, just beneath the bed, separated by a wooden board, a pair of blood-red eyes opened.”

“What is this? It feels like the opening of a light novel…” Lin Huai muttered as his fingers flew across the pages of the notebook, “‘It seems like adding quotation marks to a sentence turns it into a light novel’…”

 

Despite his sarcastic remarks, Lin Huai still flipped to the last page of the novel.

“Chapter 5: The Mysterious Dormitory”

“…Out of curiosity, he sat down on the chair, opened the notebook in front of him, and began to read it page by page.”

 

A faint chill crept up his spine.

From entering the school, to joining the class, and then moving into the dormitory…

Even a fool should know who the protagonist of this story is by now.

And YX…

Yan Xi.

“Am I being set up?” Lin Huai murmured softly, “Or…”

He extended a finger and began to rub the surface of the book.

‘The ink hasn’t fully seeped into the pages yet; it was clearly written recently,’ he thought, looking at the ink on his finger and flipping to the next page. The following page was written in fresh red ink: “When he turned around, he saw…”

The story stopped abruptly on this page, followed by several blank pages. Lin Huai patiently flipped through them one by one, only to find that the last page seemed hastily written, filled with scrawled handwriting and crimson handprints.

“Don’t look back! Don’t look back! Don’t look back! Don’t look back!”

The words carried a strong warning, but Lin Huai merely glanced at them before flipping to the next page.

There were four large characters written in red ink: “Leave this place!”

‘A future diary? A prophetic diary? Or…’ Lin Huai pondered, reaching out to pick up the pen on the right.

If it were anyone else, they might have been frightened by this notebook and mistakenly believed they had been set up by some indescribable force, but Lin Huai clearly didn’t think so.

He used the pen to draw on the last page, and it indeed still had red ink, leaving a few marks on the yellowed paper. Lin Huai flipped back to the page with “he saw…” and after that line, he wrote:

“The reflection of himself in the mirror.”

After writing this line, he put down the pen and turned to look behind him.

Behind the closed door was indeed a full-length mirror attached to it.

Yes, if he had followed the notebook’s advice and turned around in sheer terror, the first thing he would have seen was the closed door and his own reflection in the mirror. Someone else might have been scared, but Lin Huai had no such thoughts.

‘Using a full-length mirror to reflect oneself for the purpose of intimidation, making the feeling of being set up even stronger. By secretly observing me and writing the diary, they created the illusion that I was being controlled by the notebook. Is this the source of the room’s fear? Or is there a new hint hidden within it?’

He thought for a moment and then wrote another line in the notebook.

‘One minute later, he received a remittance of 100,000 yuan.’

After patiently waiting, nothing happened.

Lin Huai was somewhat disappointed, but this was within his expectations. He had intended to make a small attempt to prove that this was a diary capable of altering reality…

But obviously, he failed.

‘So, this is just a scare tactic, a threat with no real effect. What’s the purpose of intimidating me?’ Lin Huai flipped to the last page. ‘Is it to make me leave?’

Making him leave… this clearly didn’t seem like the behavior of a ghost.

It felt more like a warning or protection.

Bosses in games obviously wouldn’t protect players, which meant that in this game, there was another force trying to intimidate the players and persuade them to give up and leave the school.

And with such a small trick… Lin Huai easily connected it to the white figure of Yan Xi he had seen the day before.

On the rooftop, that white figure had also repeatedly tried to intimidate him into “leaving this place.” This notebook was apparently another tool for expressing his intentions. But…

Did it want the players to leave? Why? Could it be that it wasn’t the mastermind behind all this?

Why was that white figure so afraid of another white figure? A dead soul couldn’t split into two ghosts, so could it be…

A split personality?

Perhaps Yan Xi, who had suffered endless torment, had split into two personalities. The pure white personality still retained the kindness of a human, creating various terrifying but non-lethal events to try to make the players leave the school and avoid falling victim to the blood-red personality. The blood-stained personality, on the other hand, had been consumed by the resentment from before death. It had taken control of the entire school and was planning its own revenge?

Thinking this, Lin Huai snorted.

“Even after being killed by others, you still want to protect the innocent?” he muttered. “Really…”

As he muttered to himself, Lin Huai tucked the notebook and pen into his pocket. He searched the dormitory again but found no new information, so he opened the dormitory door that had somehow closed and left.

When he arrived at Class 3F, it was already 7 a.m. All the students were still sitting gloomily in their seats. He stood on the podium, scanned the room, and asked, “Where’s Fang Cheng?”

The students remained silent, heads bowed. Lin Huai then opened the textbook and promptly entered “copy mode,” saying with a benevolent smile, “Since he’s not here today, it’ll be marked as an absence. Class, let’s start reciting the ‘Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng.'”

After saying this, he sat on the podium and leisurely observed the students. The students began to recite reluctantly, but a rebellious-looking boy in the corner clenched his teeth, seemingly furious.

Lin Huai remembered him; his name was Chen Haoyu, and he was good friends with Fang Cheng.

He tapped Chen Haoyu’s desk with the pointer and said, “You, come with me.”

Chen Haoyu reluctantly followed him out, standing in the hallway with a look of unwillingness. Lin Huai circled him twice and said, “You weren’t paying attention during morning reading, so according to school regulations, you should be punished. But I’ll give you two options.”

Chen Haoyu stiffened his neck and said, “Just say it directly. Hmph, I thought you were like them…”

“One, accept the punishment yourself,” Lin Huai tapped the pointer against his palm. “Two, tell me where Fang Cheng is.”

“Different… huh?”

Chen Haoyu told Lin Huai that during the morning run, Fang Cheng had been beaten and taken to the detention room for protecting a girl from Class C.

“Detention room…?”

The so-called detention room was where the principal and others dealt with disobedient students, using methods like electric shocks. From Chen Haoyu’s words, Lin Huai learned that most of the teachers at Minghua High School were former employees who had been dismissed from other schools for various misdeeds. After many twists and turns, they ended up at this high school in the suburbs of a small, insignificant city, where they gathered like attracts like and became the local tyrants of the students.

The detention room was located in the northwest corner of the campus, while the third teaching building was in the southeast corner. Lin Huai followed Chen Haoyu across most of the campus, thoroughly familiarizing himself with the school’s layout.

A small, low white building came into view. Lin Huai went upstairs and said to the guards, “Excuse me, I’m the teacher of Class 3F, here to pick up a student.”

The two guards exchanged glances, confirming that he was a temporary substitute teacher. One of them said, “Students being punished according to school regulations is the rule. We won’t let them go.”

“But isn’t the school’s purpose to help students study well? How can they study if you lock them up?”

The two guards looked at each other and burst into laughter. One of them sneered, “Oh, this pretty boy sure knows how to talk. Still wet behind the ears and trying to act all high and mighty.”

Lin Huai listened to their mockery with a smile and said, “So, you’re not letting him go?”

“Threatening us? We won’t let him go, so what?”

“In that case,” Lin Huai sighed, mysteriously pulling something out of his bag. “I have something here for you, so why don’t you make an exception…”

“Oh, you know what’s good.”

As the guard reached out, Lin Huai glanced at the detention room behind them and said, “This isn’t a good place to talk; let’s move somewhere else.”

The two guards exchanged another glance and followed him.

Five minutes later.

Lin Huai stretched his wrists as he walked out of the bushes. The two guards, after being beaten up by him, were stripped naked and thrown into the bushes. He held a set of keys and politely said to the unconscious duo, “I’ll burn some money for you later.”

Earlier, considering the mental health of the students in the detention room, he hadn’t acted upstairs. Now he entered the second floor and opened the room. The two students inside instinctively curled up when they saw the door open.

“Let’s go,” he said, grabbing one boy and one girl and pulling them out. Halfway there, he added, “This morning, we’ll have a physical education class first.”

With that, he led them to the electric shock room. Seeing the familiar equipment, the two students’ faces filled with fear. Lin Huai pulled out a screw that had belonged to the iron door and used it to disable the surveillance camera. Then he picked up an iron rod from outside and handed it to them. “Smash it.”

They didn’t move. Lin Huai said, “What are you afraid of? If it breaks, it’s on me.”

“Mr. Lin, I…”

‘These two are so annoying… Could they have Stockholm syndrome?’ Lin Huai was getting impatient. He said, “If you don’t smash it, go back to morning reading, you two…”

“Mr. Lin, if we smash it, they’ll come after you,” the girl said.

Fang Cheng nodded. Lin Huai found it amusing. “They’ll come after me?”

With that, he took the iron rod and smashed the entire machine into pieces with a single blow. The sheer force startled the two students. Lin Huai looked at them, the iron rod resting on his shoulder. “If you don’t smash it, I’ll smash you, okay?”

The two: …

Fang Cheng tentatively picked up the iron rod and struck the machine once. As soon as the rod touched the metal, he jumped back in fear. The girl, however, clenched her teeth, grabbed the iron rod from Fang Cheng, and smashed it down on the treatment table!

Their movements grew faster and more forceful, taking turns to destroy the place that had brought them endless pain. They were like two desperate outlaws, and Lin Huai was undoubtedly their best accomplice. He found another iron rod, two iron forks, and even a fire extinguisher from the side. Whatever they needed, he handed it over. Their cooperation was seamless, making it seem like they could easily rob someone together, with clear roles and a shared path to ruin.

Some things are only truly satisfying when you do them yourself.

Finally, the room was completely wrecked by the three of them. Fang Cheng threw down the iron rod and laughed heartily. “It’s been so long since I’ve felt this good!”

The girl also panted, looking as if she couldn’t believe what she had just done. Lin Huai waited for the two to calm down, called Chen Haoyu from downstairs to clean up the mess, and led the three back to the third teaching building.

He had considered setting the place on fire—but then thought better of it, as it was only his second day at Minghua High School, and it wouldn’t do to be too reckless. He led the three to the third-floor staircase, sent Fang Cheng and Chen Haoyu up first, and then asked the girl, “Which class are you in?”

The girl seemed to return to reality. She looked toward Class C and bit her lip. “C… Class C.”

“Class C,” Lin Huai said as he led her there. “Your teacher is Mr. Yu Xingjian, right? I hear he’s an excellent homeroom teacher.”

The girl’s lips moved. She seemed to want to say something but didn’t dare, simply walking with her head down. When they reached Class C, Lin Huai heard the sound of reading and knocked on the door.

When Yu Xingjian came out, he noticed the girl behind him take a step back.

Seeing Lin Huai at the door, Yu Xingjian’s facial muscles twitched. He glanced back at the students who were reading and said, “Ah, haha, what brings you to Class C so early in the morning, Mr. Lin?”

“The classroom is here; go back to class,” Lin Huai gently pushed the girl behind him. The girl pursed her lips, head still down, not daring to move.

Yu Xingjian watched their every move, and when he saw the girl wasn’t moving, a faint smile appeared on his face. “Oh, it’s Xin Yi. Come in.”

After receiving Yu Xingjian’s permission, the girl called Xin Yi bowed her head and said, “Thank you, teacher.”

With that, she walked lightly, trying to slip into the classroom from the corner. Yu Xingjian smiled and said, “In the future, don’t do things that bring shame to the ‘collective.’ As part of a ‘collective,’ you should have a sense of collective honor.”

At the word “collective,” the girl trembled. “Yes.”

“Mr. Lin, thank you for bringing Xin Yi back to Class C,” Yu Xingjian said, not even asking about the detention room.

Lin Huai stood at the door without moving. He merely raised an eyebrow, not interested in engaging in further social niceties.

Yu Xingjian showed a hint of annoyance. He cleared his throat and clapped his hands.

His clapping seemed to have some kind of magic, as the entire class fell silent and looked at him.

“Today, Li Xin Yi fell during the morning run, which had a negative impact on our class and prevented us from getting the morning exercise gold medal this week. Just now, Mr. Lin from Class 3F brought Li Xin Yi back to our class. Li Xin Yi—” he smiled at her, “come up to the podium.”