After homeroom teacher Mr. Lu announced the end of the class, he left the classroom.
Immediately, the previously quiet classroom turned chaotic, with everyone discussing the situation. Most of the boarders didn’t want to stay in the dorm anymore and rushed to the office to get leave slips from the homeroom teacher.
Zhang Cheng and Qian Wenhao both came over to Lu Chu’s seat.
Zhang Cheng, looking anxious, asked, “Lu Chu, Li Bo, what do you guys think? I’m planning not to stay in the dorm for a while. After seeing that horrifying scene, I can’t stop thinking about the person who died… I feel like I won’t sleep well even if I go home.”
Qian Wenhao agreed, “Me too. I’m already planning to switch from boarding to being a day student.”
Liu Yang, who was packing his bag, overheard their conversation and asked, “You guys are in the same dorm, right?”
“Yeah,” Zhang Cheng replied. “Why?”
Liu Yang inquired, “How many people are in your dorm? If you two leave, won’t it just be Lu Chu and Li Bo left?”
“Hey,” Zhang Cheng was surprised and looked at Lu Chu and Li Bo, “Are you guys really not leaving?”
Lu Chu shook his head, “It’s not convenient for me to go back home.”
Zhang Cheng said, “Come on, how can you sleep well in school? If you can’t go home, how about staying at my place?”
Qian Wenhao also quickly offered his place.
Seeing how enthusiastic they were, Lu Chu smiled and said, “It’s okay. We’re definitely not the only ones staying at school. Plus, with something like this happening, the school will probably have teachers around, and maybe even the police. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
After trying to persuade him a few more times and seeing that Lu Chu was determined to stay, Zhang Cheng and the others gave up and just reminded him to call them if anything happened.
When the office was less crowded, Lu Chu and 7 went inside.
Zheng Wei was also in the office, helping the physics teacher at the adjacent desk sort out some papers.
Mr. Lu, looking serious, thought for a moment and asked Lu Chu and 7, “You two really can’t go home?”
“Yes, teacher,” Lu Chu explained politely. “Our homes are quite far, our parents are busy with work, and there’s no one at home. With something like this happening, it might be safer to stay at school with classmates rather than going home alone after a long bus ride.”
Mr. Lu thought for a while and nodded, “Alright. Besides you two, there are a few other students in our class who live out of town and can’t go home temporarily. The school has arranged some empty dorm rooms in a new dorm building for those who can’t go home. I won’t be going home today either. I’ll stay here with you to give your parents some peace of mind.”
Mr. Lu was a responsible and good teacher, and Lu Chu had great respect for him. “Thank you, teacher.”
“It’s nothing,” Mr. Lu said. “You two go back and pack up your beds in the dorm first. We’ll meet at the new dorm building later. After gathering the others, I’ll take you to the temporary dorms arranged by the school.”
7 said, “Thank you, teacher. We’ll go back now.”
“Okay, you two go ahead.”
Returning to the dormitory building, Lu Chu and 7 were not surprised to find the west side staircase of the old boys’ dormitory blocked off. They could only enter the building from the east side.
On reaching the third floor, they found that the west side rooms and the water room were cordoned off with a board.
“Is this to protect the crime scene?” Lu Chu wondered.
7 glanced that way, “It’s to preserve the scene for further investigation.”
Hearing this, Lu Chu was thoughtful.
They went back to their dorm room and packed, stuffing their sheets, blankets, and flattened pillows into two suitcases. They carried toiletries and valuable items in their backpacks and headed to the new dormitory building to wait.
The new dormitory building had just been completed last semester. It had been left unused for half a year and was intended to house the next batch of freshmen. Due to the recent incident, the school decided to open it ahead of schedule.
Lu Chu and 7 waited downstairs for a while until they saw three boys and one girl from their class, carrying their bags, along with Mr. Lu.
Among the boys, Zheng Wei was not there. It seemed he had chosen to go home.
Mr. Lu, seeing everyone was present, said, “Students from other classes who need to stay are being led to the new dormitory by their homeroom teachers. I have reported the number of students from our class who need to stay and secured beds for you. The first floor of this new dormitory is for boys, and the second floor is for girls. I’ll lead you to your rooms shortly.”
Pausing, Mr. Lu’s tone became more serious, “Tonight, I hope you all stay in your rooms after dinner and don’t leave the dormitory building. Given today’s incident… it’s quite unusual. Since you’re staying at school, it’s the school’s responsibility to ensure your safety. I have also requested to stay tonight, in the first room on this floor, along with other on-duty teachers. If you need anything, come to me directly.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Then Mr. Lu first arranged for the female student and then led the four boys to their assigned dormitory on the first floor.
Mr. Lu reminded them, “Our class has the most boys staying. Other classes have only one or two students, so they are mixed together. Our class has five boys in one room. Decide on your beds, make your beds, and go for dinner. The dormitory will be locked at 7 PM tonight.”
Lu Chu and 7 chose the same positions as in 318, the upper bunks. The other three boys picked their beds. With mattresses already provided, they just needed to lay a thin pad and sheets to sleep.
After settling down, one of the boys whispered, “Let’s go eat together?”
The other two quickly agreed, “Sure!”
Everyone was scared but had to stay at school for various reasons. When frightened, people tend to gather together.
Lu Chu and 7 exchanged a glance and smiled at the others, “Okay.”
After quickly finishing their meal, they returned to the new dormitory. As Mr. Lu said, the dormitory was locked at 7 PM.
Mr. Lu came to check, ensured everyone was present, reminded them of a few things, and then left.
After Mr. Lu left, the boy who suggested eating together asked, “Why didn’t you guys go home?”
Another boy answered, “It’s too far. What about you, Xu Yuan?”
Xu Yuan, the boy who suggested eating, replied, “My home is in a nearby county, and I need to transfer buses. When the teacher said we could leave early, it was already late. I probably wouldn’t catch the last bus at the transfer station.” He sighed, “If I could go home, I wouldn’t stay here.”
“Yeah, I don’t think there will be classes tomorrow. I plan to get up early and catch the first bus home.”
The other two quickly agreed, “Me too!”
Xu Yuan, noticing that Lu Chu and 7 hadn’t spoken, asked, “Are you guys not going home?”
“We can’t go home tomorrow,” Lu Chu didn’t say they definitely wouldn’t go.
“Okay,” Xu Yuan said, “You guys should go home as soon as you can.”
Lu Chu smiled, “Yes, we’ll go home as soon as possible.”
To ease the tense atmosphere, Xu Yuan kept talking about various topics.
While chatting, Lu Chu analyzed the situation in his mind. He still didn’t know who the deceased was, so many things couldn’t be investigated yet, only hypothesized. So far, Zheng Wei, whom he was very concerned about, seemed to have no time to commit the crime. At the time of the incident, he was lying in bed resting, with the entire dormitory as witnesses.
It seemed he was far from the truth.
After chatting for a long time, everyone finally became less fearful and worried, and each climbed into bed to sleep.
In the middle of the night, Lu Chu was awakened by a slight noise. He saw Xu Yuan climbing onto his bed from the lower bunk.
Lu Chu: “…”
For a moment, Lu Chu thought Xu Yuan was possessed by something and instinctively wanted to kick him off. However, in the next second, he heard Xu Yuan apologetically whisper, “Sorry to wake you up, Lu Chu. Those two are sleeping like logs, and I’m a bit scared to wake Li Bo. I just need to go to the bathroom. You know, after what happened, I’m too scared to go alone. Can you come with me?”
Lu Chu sighed in relief, “I’ll get out of bed.”
“And,” Xu Yuan, feeling embarrassed, added, “I’m full of horror movie scenes right now. I don’t even dare to close the door while using the bathroom. Luckily, I just need to pee and don’t have to go into a stall. So, can you just, you know, wait where I can see you until I’m done?”
“…”
Lu Chu understood why Xu Yuan was so embarrassed. Normally, boys didn’t mind using adjacent urinals, but Xu Yuan’s request to have Lu Chu watch over him while he peed was indeed awkward. Just as Lu Chu was about to agree, 7 suddenly sat up, put on his clothes, jumped down, and glanced at Xu Yuan, saying calmly, “I’ll go with you.”
Xu Yuan felt a chill run through him under 7’s gaze and instinctively shook his head, “No, no! I’m an adult; I have nothing to fear. I’ll go alone!”
7 didn’t speak, opened the dormitory door, and stood aside, signaling with his eyes, “Let’s go, I’ll go with you.”
Xu Yuan smiled bitterly and tried to refuse a few more times.
In the end, 7 waited in the corridor outside the bathroom.
Xu Yuan, after finishing, returned at a run—he felt that the new classmate was scarier than any ghost.
