NFM Chapter 32

As its indistinct words echoed, the entire rooftop began to reverberate with agonized cries. Dark blood mixed with raindrops fell from its body. Before it could finish speaking, it saw the young man on the rooftop pull out a baseball bat from behind his back and charge towards it, bat in hand.

“Don’t be afraid!” the young man said, “I just want to have a chat with you. I don’t want to hurt you…”

The figure in the school uniform: …Look at the bat in your hand and say that again.

Lin Huai would never have imagined that the bat in his hand would scare a ghost. After all, he looked so sincere and weak, plain and unremarkable.

It immediately decided to flee downstairs. Lin Huai followed its figure, his heart filled with the sorrow of having his genuine desire to communicate trampled upon. He chased after it at such a speed that it almost matched the ghost’s.

Meanwhile, on the third floor, Qiu Ran had slipped out of Class B during a bathroom break and was observing the other classrooms.

The entire third teaching building was immersed in a studious atmosphere. In every classroom, students in blue and white uniforms were studying with expressionless faces.

After a moment of thought, she went up to the fourth floor.

The fourth floor housed the classrooms of Class E and Class F. She had already explored this area during the day. But this time, as she arrived, she noticed some changes deep in the corridor.

The door was gone!

The door that had previously locked the path to the rooftop was missing!

She strained her eyes and saw that the iron railing in its place was now empty. The dark staircase was extremely deep, flickering with a crimson light. Qiu Ran swallowed hard and moved forward, trying to get a clearer view.

She passed by Class E and reached the entrance of Class F, only to find that the classroom next to Class F… was lit up.

Why would there be lights on inside?

Cold sweat crept up her neck. Qiu Ran cautiously observed her surroundings, took two steps forward, and peered into the empty classroom next to Class F.

To her shock, the unmarked empty classroom was filled with people!

She took a step back, but accidentally stepped on a packaging box. The quiet corridor suddenly echoed with a “creak.”

Oh no!

Her heart raced. When she looked up again, the lights in the empty classroom had all gone out.

She needed to go downstairs, to return to safety… With this thought, she decisively turned to head downstairs. But then, she heard hurried footsteps behind her.

She didn’t dare to look back, only stumbling forward in a desperate run. The footsteps followed her, carrying a cold and powerful aura, getting closer and closer.

It’s over… it’s over…!

The words endlessly magnified in her mind. She cursed herself silently, “I should never have come up here alone. That rooftop door… something big must be about to happen…”

She didn’t dare to think further, only running wildly. Seeing the staircase to the third floor ahead, Qiu Ran felt a surge of relief. But the next moment, her foot slipped, and she fell to the ground!

Oh no!

She tried in vain to get up, but the footsteps and the bloody scent behind her were getting closer. Qiu Ran braced herself on the ground, ready for death as the overwhelming smell of blood and ghostly aura approached.

But in the next moment, a white figure in a school uniform brushed past her!

Qiu Ran was dumbfounded. Before she could feel relieved, a figure in a suit wielding a baseball bat leaped over her, chasing the ghost in the school uniform, speeding past her.

Qiu Ran: …

Lin Huai chased the white figure all the way to the third floor of the third teaching building. Step by step, he cornered the figure.

“Still running?” he encircled the figure with his arms, squinting as he questioned it, “If you’re not running, let’s talk clearly. Why did you make me leave this place? Hmm? And…”

He exuded the domineering aura of an alpha questioning an omega, pressing the white figure against the wall. The figure was half a head shorter than Lin Huai, trembling in his arms.

“Ah…”

“And, do you really want to eat me?” he asked.

“You, you’re not…”

The white figure opened its mouth hoarsely. Lin Huai leaned in to listen, but the figure suddenly screamed as if it had seen something, “Ah—”

Its scream was so piercing that even Lin Huai was startled. He loosened his grip, and the figure quickly slipped through the gap in his arms and darted away.

Lin Huai picked up the baseball bat and chased after it. Just as he was about to catch up, his eyes caught a glimpse of another figure.

It was also a white figure, with bloodstains on its clothes. It tilted its head, looking coldly in their direction.

Its face…

Lin Huai was stunned.

It seemed the white figure had fled after seeing this one.

Admittedly, this scene did resemble a cheating scandal. But based on the many movies and TV shows Lin Huai had watched, everything should have a first-come-first-served order, whether it was relationships or supernatural events. Even though the two white figures almost formed a “White Album,” Lin Huai still chose the one that had come first.

The white figure flashed into one of the classrooms on the third floor.

Lin Huai tracked it to the classroom door. Looking up, he saw the class sign: “Class 3-C.”

The classroom door opened before Lin Huai, and a man who looked like a teacher walked out, “Uh, may I ask who you are…?”

The man was about thirty years old, with a fit build, tanned skin, and a crew cut. He looked at Lin Huai with slight confusion, “Teacher Lin, what is that in your hand…?”

Lin Huai quickly hid the baseball bat behind his back, “Just exercising.”

He smiled innocently. Yu Xingjian frowned at the handsome young man before him. Half a minute later, he glanced at the students studying inside the classroom and said, “The students are still studying. Let’s go to the corridor and talk, so we don’t disturb them.”

Lin Huai followed his gaze into the classroom. Class C was orderly, with all the students studying.

There was no sign of the white figure.

…Did it really escape? He couldn’t help but feel a bit frustrated.

He nodded and said, “Alright, let’s talk in the corridor.”

The corridor of Class C was different from the others. Near the wall, there were six potted plants. Yu Xingjian noticed Lin Huai curiously examining the plants and said, “I bought these plants to help the students relax during their breaks. They can take care of the plants…”

“My roommate also likes to grow plants, especially orchids. He often shares his knowledge about flowers with me…” Lin Huai crouched down to fiddle with the plants.

As his fingers touched one of the orchids, he softly exclaimed, “Huh?”

“How much did these plants cost?”

“Fifty each.”

Lin Huai nodded. He let go of the orchid’s leaves and casually said, “I heard Teacher Yu originally bought seven plants? One for each day of the week?”

Yu Xingjian’s smile stiffened, “One of the plants was broken by a student.”

Lin Huai nodded and didn’t ask further. Yu Xingjian secretly sighed in relief, but Lin Huai added, “Sorry for disturbing you earlier, Teacher Yu. I was chasing a student down here. You don’t mind, do you?”

As he spoke, he looked up at Yu Xingjian. Yu Xingjian had no choice but to say, “Of course not, we’re all teachers here. So, what happened…?”

“Oh, I saw a student on the rooftop. Instead of studying during evening self-study, he was playing on the rooftop. It’s really…” Lin Huai spoke while observing Yu Xingjian’s reaction. When Yu Xingjian heard the word “rooftop,” his body indeed stiffened. Lin Huai continued, “I asked him which class he was in, and he said he was from Class C.”

“That… that’s impossible,” Yu Xingjian reacted strongly, “All the students in Class C are studying during evening self-study. No one went to the rooftop.”

“Really?” Lin Huai observed his expression while casually lying, “The student I asked ran downstairs towards your classroom when I asked for his name.”

“This…”

Yu Xingjian’s eyes involuntarily glanced into the classroom. Lin Huai smiled slightly and asked, “You should know his name, right, Teacher Yu? You know all the students in Class C, don’t you?”

A drop of cold sweat appeared on Yu Xingjian’s forehead. Lin Huai stared into his eyes and said word by word, “Yan Xi.”

“This name…” he said without hesitation, observing Yu Xingjian’s reaction, “You should be very familiar with it, right?”

Yan Xi.

Class 3-C, Yan Xi.

Thirty days ago, this infamous student from Class C climbed up the building before the end of evening self-study and jumped from the railing. His fall passed through the empty classroom on the fourth floor, Class 3-C on the third floor, the computer room on the second floor, the ping-pong table on the first floor, and finally landed on the red bricks of the garden.

Yu Xingjian’s pupils slightly contracted. After weighing the costs of concealment and honesty, he laughed twice and said to the young man before him, “Haha, Teacher Lin, don’t joke like that.”

“Huh?” Lin Huai tilted his head, showing a confused expression, “But I clearly saw him coming this way… Seeing him not studying during evening self-study, I wanted to give him some education…”

Yu Xingjian looked at the bat in Lin Huai’s hand: …

“Love education,” Lin Huai added.

“Class 3-C does have a student named Yan Xi, but he… well, this is really heartbreaking to say…”

“What happened to him thirty days ago?”

Lin Huai asked knowingly. Yu Xingjian’s forehead broke out in cold sweat, “He committed suicide thirty days ago.”

“Suicide? Why?”

“Well…”

‘His answer will likely fall into one of two categories: First, I don’t know, which would allow me to ask, “How could you, as a teacher, not know the reason for a student’s suicide? Especially since you’re known as an excellent homeroom teacher who cares for students” …’ Lin Huai thought, ‘If he gives a specific reason, that’s even better, and I can press further. But based on the game’s nature, there’s an 80% chance he’ll choose the first answer…’

“Well… I’m not entirely sure,” Yu Xingjian said, “This child, when he was alive, didn’t get along well with others. He was a loner, very unsociable. In his free time, he wouldn’t interact with his classmates but would go to the library alone. In fact, he got along quite well with the librarian, who isn’t very popular… Maybe birds of a feather flock together.”

“Oh…” Lin Huai pondered, “So it was a social issue?”

“Uh…” Cold sweat dripped down Yu Xingjian’s forehead. No one knew the cause of Yan Xi’s death better than him. But that didn’t mean he would reveal it to an outsider, “In a sense, yes… But there were also issues with his grades dropping. And his parents…”

From Yu Xingjian’s words, Lin Huai learned that Yan Xi’s parents didn’t care much for their child either.

Yan Xi’s parents had been in conflict for over a decade, refusing to divorce under the pretense of doing it for their child. While tormenting each other, they also tormented their only child. In the first week after Yan Xi’s death, they achieved unity for the first time in their twenty-year marriage—united against the school, an unprecedented event.

They placed their child’s body in front of the school for seven days, wailing and causing a scene. After receiving a hefty compensation, they left satisfied, only to split again over the distribution of the compensation.

“…So, did they divorce?”

“No, because neither was satisfied with the other’s proposed distribution of the compensation,” Yu Xingjian said.

—It seemed this couple would only achieve lasting victory if one of them died. Until then, they would continue to hate and despise each other, spending their long lives together.

Lin Huai didn’t care much about this couple. He only felt sorry for Yan Xi.

“So, what about Shen You?” Lin Huai asked, “Was she also a lonely child?”

“No, no, unlike Yan Xi, she was an excellent and lively child,” Yu Xingjian’s face showed genuine regret when he mentioned Shen You, “She loved interacting with others, was cheerful and outgoing… Sigh, if only she hadn’t gone to the lake that day, she wouldn’t have fallen…”

“Yes…” Lin Huai nodded, “What was the relationship between Shen You and Yan Xi when they were alive?”

This question was like a spark, quickly igniting Yu Xingjian’s alertness. If the previous questions were just gossip and curiosity, refusing to answer would make him seem guilty. But this question was different.

“Why are you asking this?”

“Just curious,” Lin Huai said, “I heard…”

As he spoke, he slowly leaned towards Yu Xingjian, whispering into his ear, “Shen You was killed by Yan Xi.”

“!!”

Yu Xingjian took a step back, cold sweat trickling down his temple. Lin Huai continued, “Yan Xi has become a ghost. He’s seeking revenge on those who bullied him when he was alive… Isn’t that right?”

“You!”

“I heard his voice,” Lin Huai said eerily, “He’s wandering on the rooftop… He’s coming for you, coming for revenge! Can you hear him?”

He exuded a chilling aura, fully tapping into Yu Xingjian’s deep-seated fear of ghosts. Shocked and angry, Yu Xingjian forcefully pushed Lin Huai, “What nonsense are you talking!”

To his surprise, Lin Huai didn’t resist at all. Under the strong push, Lin Huai crashed into the wall, then crouched down in apparent pain, clutching his stomach.

“You…” Yu Xingjian was stunned. He rushed over, trying to help Lin Huai up, “Are you okay…”

The next moment, he saw the pale face transform into one he recognized—

Yan Xi’s face.

“Teacher Yu…” he heard the eerie voice, “Why did you do this to me?”

“…Why did you push me off the building?”

Lin Huai’s face now bore Yan Xi’s face!

That tearful, timid, pale, questioning…

face!

“Ah—!!” Yu Xingjian screamed, letting go of Lin Huai, “It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me, I didn’t push you! You jumped yourself!”

His scream attracted the attention of the students in Class C. They looked up from their seats, trying to see what was happening outside. However, the students in Classes A, B, and D showed no reaction.

They continued to study mechanically, like lifeless corpses.

Before Yu Xingjian could run away, Lin Huai grabbed his shoulder. The person holding his shoulder looked at him, then smiled mysteriously.

“…Just kidding,” Lin Huai said, “I didn’t expect you to react so strongly.”

“You…!!”

Yu Xingjian was furious. Facing Lin Huai, who was still giggling weirdly, he could only glare at him fiercely and storm off.

After returning to the classroom, Lin Huai finally couldn’t help but laugh. Through Yu Xingjian’s reaction, he had confirmed more information.

When Yu Xingjian pushed him, Lin Huai suddenly thought of conducting an experiment. So when he looked up, he created the face and expression of the white figure to unsettle the already shaken Yu Xingjian.

In his prime, even in reality, he could easily impose hallucinations on people. Now that he had taken over this body, all he could do was create illusions and slightly fuel the panic when someone was guilty or fearful.

But here, this little trick was enough.

The result was exactly as he expected.

That white figure was the wronged Yan Xi, and Yu Xingjian was indeed involved in Yan Xi’s death. But Yu Xingjian didn’t personally push him off.

He could almost conclude that Yan Xi must have died due to school bullying. And Shen You was also part of the revenge for his death, but…

But why were there two Yan Xis?

When chasing the white figure downstairs, in his peripheral vision, he saw another white figure standing at the staircase, watching them with resentment…

It also had Yan Xi’s face!

Author’s Note:

*Explanation of the reference: (Removed for revision but kept the fun explanation)

Arkham: A famous talent market abroad, the Silicon Valley of mental hospitals.