NFM Chapter 29

Lin Huai knocked on the back door with a panicked expression. The boy sitting in the last row, who had been doodling in his notebook, glanced at him in surprise and unlocked the back door.

Without hesitation, Lin Huai sat down in the empty seat next to the boy and whispered, “Did they take attendance today?”

The boy shook his head. He didn’t recognize Lin Huai’s face, so he hesitated and asked, “You are…?”

Lin Huai said, “It’s me. How come you don’t recognize me?”

The boy said, “You…?”

Lin Huai said, “It’s me. I’m that person, you know, that one.”

As he spoke, he put his arm around the boy’s shoulders, pretending they were close buddies. The boy was clearly uncomfortable with the sudden familiarity and tried to lean away to the left. Lin Huai sighed sadly, “Have you really forgotten me after just a month?”

His expression was so sincere that the boy, who was certain he had never met this person before, began to doubt his own memory. Faced with Lin Huai’s increasingly disappointed and even slightly hurt gaze, he felt uneasy and tried harder to recall.

The boy had just returned to school last weekend, and this Monday he had been placed in Class F after the placement exam. He genuinely couldn’t remember ever knowing anyone in Class F.

Lin Huai continued, “You’ve forgotten? We used to, you know, do that together. Don’t you remember? That thing, over there…”

Under Lin Huai’s deliberate guidance, a vague figure began to surface in the boy’s mind. Though he couldn’t recall what this person looked like or what they had done together, Lin Huai’s tone made him feel that such a person had indeed existed in his life.

“Oh, it’s you,” the boy said awkwardly, pretending to have a sudden realization in the face of Lin Huai’s increasingly sorrowful expression. “Sorry, I couldn’t remember for a moment.”

Lin Huai said, “Yeah, it’s me.”

The boy said, “Mhm, it’s you.”

The boy skillfully avoided mentioning Lin Huai’s name, pretending he had recognized him. Seeing that the boy had fallen for his act, Lin Huai smiled genuinely.

They sat in the last row and began whispering. The boy had a cold demeanor, but he was still somewhat sociable. He closed his notebook, set it aside, and pulled out an English textbook. Lin Huai leaned in and whispered, “What’s going on in class today? The atmosphere feels so strange.”

“I heard the new teacher is coming today,” the boy continued doodling in his notebook.

“Oh,” Lin Huai nodded. “What’s he like? Have you heard anything?”

The boy’s pen paused.

“Don’t know,” he said flatly. “Anyway, the teachers at this school… they’re all like that.”

After saying this, he capped his pen, closed his notebook, propped his chin on his hand, and looked out the window.

He stared outside, lost in thought. Lin Huai said, “Seems like you don’t have high expectations for the new substitute teacher.”

As they chatted, the girl sitting in front of them suddenly let out a short gasp while staring at her phone. She nudged her deskmate and whispered, “Shen You’s parents are here again.”

She softened her voice, “I just saw in the group chat that Shen You’s parents came to the school to make a scene. The dean even ran over.”

“Shen You’s parents?” the other girl turned her head and whispered, “But didn’t she jump into the lake herself? What does that have to do with the school?”

“They probably just want to squeeze some money out of the school since she died here,” the girl in front shrugged. She seemed to remember something and lowered her voice, “I heard Shen You didn’t kill herself.”

“If she didn’t kill herself, then how did she die?”

“I heard Shen You’s death was really strange. Her mouth was full of mud and weeds, and her eyes were wide open. And—” the girl in front shuddered, “that pond was barely over a meter deep. How could anyone drown in that? Some people say…” Her eyes lit up with excitement, as if she was sharing some sensational gossip, “She was held down by a ghost and killed.”

In the pond?

Lin Huai recalled the pond he had passed on his way here, surrounded by “No Entry” signs. That must be the pond they were talking about.

But when he was there, apart from the female ghost buried underground, he hadn’t sensed any presence of a restless spirit.

Generally, when a person dies unjustly, their soul remains at the scene for at least seven days, known as the “first seven days.” During this time, the soul is composed of both the living spirit and the spiritual essence, collectively referred to as the soul. After seven days, the living spirit dissipates, leaving behind the dead spirit. If the resentment remains unresolved, it can transform into obsession, resentment, or even a malevolent ghost.

This is the typical path for a human soul to become a ghost. In some cases, even without a living spirit, sufficient resentment can give birth to a ghost. This resentment can be personal or collective.

These are the traceable origins of ghosts. However, in many cases, ghosts can also appear randomly. They have no past, no future, and seem to emerge into the world as if by a small mistake. Unlike ghosts born from living spirits, most of these ghosts cannot communicate.

After their birth, ghosts tend to stay in their place of origin, evolving and differentiating. During this process, they infect their surroundings, and some even transform the nearby real world into their domain. This process can take anywhere from a month to an eternity.

Normally, humans killed by ghosts have a higher chance of becoming ghosts themselves. As the saying goes, “If you can’t beat them, join them.” However, Lin Huai hadn’t detected even the slightest presence of a newly born ghost lingering by the pond in the past month.

“Bang!”

The group was so engrossed in their conversation that they were startled by the sound of a pencil case falling to the floor. The girl in front turned around and glared at the pale-faced boy sitting next to Lin Huai, scolding, “Xu Chi, what the hell are you doing? You scared me to death.”

Faced with her reprimand, Xu Chi simply picked up the pencil case and muttered, “Sorry.”

After retrieving the pencil case, he didn’t join in any of the discussions. Instead, he opened a notebook and began doodling again.

Beneath the notebook lay a detective novel by Keigo Higashino.

His demeanor was so cold and detached, as if he were completely indifferent to the world around him.

The girl didn’t expect much of a reaction from Xu Chi, so she turned back to her deskmate and said, “A while ago, someone from the third floor climbed up to the rooftop and jumped, right? After he died, people started seeing strange things around the school. They all think it’s haunted. I think…” she lowered her voice, “they’re right.”

“Jumped? Another one? That’s nothing new.”

“Every year a few people jump. Probably because of the academic pressure.”

“No, no, this one’s different.” A boy wearing headphones joined the conversation. He seemed to know more than the others, and his eyes sparkled with excitement as he spoke, “I heard—” he deliberately dragged out his words, “the one who jumped was a creep. That’s what everyone on the third floor is saying.”

“Oh—”

Compared to academics, gossip was always more engaging. Lin Huai blended into the crowd and asked the boy, “What exactly made him a creep?”

“Uh…”

When asked this, the previously talkative boy hesitated for a moment, then turned to the person next to him and said, “That guy was Class C’s infamous problem student, right?”

“Yeah, he was always gloomy. No one knew what he was up to.”

“I heard from Class C students that he was always doodling in his notebook while staring at everyone, muttering something under his breath.”

“They say he had psychological issues. Neither of his parents wanted him.”

“Didn’t Class C lose the hygiene award because of him last time?”

“I heard Class C lost the competition because he deliberately sabotaged it.”

“Those plants outside Class C’s door withered because of him, right?”

“Speaking of which, it’s really unfortunate for Teacher Yu to have such a student. He’s such a great homeroom teacher…”

“Yeah, he’s different from the other teachers…”

“I wish I could be in Teacher Yu’s class…”

The students chattered on, and from their conversation, Lin Huai gathered the following information.

First, four weeks ago, a student from Class C in the third year jumped to his death. This student was notorious for his bad behavior, gloomy personality, and being a troublemaker.

Second, Minghua High School was a fully enclosed cram school. Most parents sent their children here because they had heard of the school’s strict reputation, hoping the school would discipline their kids. The teachers here were mostly of poor quality, with one exception.

That exception was the homeroom teacher of Class C in the third year, Yu Xingjian.

Unlike the other teachers, Yu Xingjian had joined the school three months ago. He was upright and cheerful, and under his leadership, Class C, once a mediocre class, had flourished with youthful energy and laughter. The students’ academic performance had also improved significantly, even surpassing Class B next door on several occasions.

“If Teacher Yu is so great, why did someone still jump?” Lin Huai asked.

“Who knows—” the girl brushed off the topic, somewhat annoyed, “Even in the most perfect group, there’s always a few misfits, right? You can’t blame Teacher Yu for that…”

“By the way, isn’t a substitute teacher supposed to come to our class today?” Another boy joined in. He looked rebellious, and his appearance matched his attitude, “Why isn’t he here yet?”

“What, are you actually looking forward to him coming? We finally got a couple of good days after that tyrant Wang left…”

“I think the new teacher might be just like Wang, another fat, brainless…”

“…Wait, which class are you from? Were you in our class before? Why are you so naturally joining our conversation?”

Her words made everyone turn to look at Lin Huai, who was sitting next to the boy.

Lin Huai: …

He suddenly thought of Chu Tian, who was full of nonsense. If Chu Tian were here, he might have been able to bluff his way through. But…

“If I said I got lost, would you believe me?” he said earnestly.

Everyone: …

“Which class are you from?” the gossipy girl frowned, “You’d better go back. If the school security catches you skipping class, you’ll…”

“Be thrown into the freezer,” she added in a warning tone.

“No, I’m not skipping class,” Lin Huai said, “I just got lost…”

“If you’re not in class during school hours, it’s skipping class,” the rebellious boy interrupted.

“But I…”

“Stop making excuses. Get out of here. If the security sees you, we’ll get in trouble too!” The rebellious boy stood up to shoo him out, “Which class are you supposed to be in? I’ll show you the way—”

“Wait, let me finish,” Lin Huai said, a bit frustrated, “I just got lost from the podium I was supposed to be at, all the way to the back of the classroom…”

“Huh?”

Faced with the group’s “Is this guy an idiot?” expressions, Lin Huai finally pulled a briefcase out of the desk drawer, “Actually… I’m…”

“The substitute teacher you’ve been waiting for,” he said, tilting his head and smiling, “Surprised?”

Everyone: …

The ground beneath them suddenly trembled. The vibration was brief, but Lin Huai noticed it immediately.

…This shouldn’t be happening.

Faintly, he heard a voice.

As if something, which shouldn’t have happened here, had begun to crack—

A sound.