Ji Ran celebrated his 18th birthday amidst the noise and bustle, returning home close to nine in the evening.
The usually pitch-dark living room was now brightly lit. Inside, a massive crystal chandelier cast a dazzling halo of light, while elegant classical music flowed softly from the gramophone beside the TV cabinet. A middle-aged man in a tailored suit lounged leisurely on the sofa, swaying a wine glass filled with red wine to the rhythm of the music, watching Ji Ran with keen interest as he entered.
“Son, where have you been?” Ji Chen adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose, straightened up, and raised an eyebrow.
Ji Ran instinctively took half a step back, then calmly walked toward the study without even glancing at Ji Chen.
Seeing the situation slip from his control, Ji Chen stood up and stretched, his tone light. “I spoke with your homeroom teacher. Classes ended at noon today. What were you doing from this afternoon until nine tonight?”
Ji Ran’s fingers paused on the study door handle. He froze in place, the blood in his veins seeming to instantly freeze. He heard a voice like a ghostly whisper in his ear: “Tell your dad what you were up to. Won’t you listen to your father anymore? I flew all the way back from North America just for your birthday. I’ve been waiting a long time, and I was worried about you.”
“Are all your friends high achievers? What are their family backgrounds like? Are your friends boys or—”
“Ji Chen,” Ji Ran clenched his fists, a rare fury in his voice, “I’m an adult now.”
Ji Chen sneered. “Arrogant. What does being an adult matter? Where do you think the money for your meals comes from? Without me, you’re nothing.”
“So that’s why you installed cameras in my bedroom too?” Ji Ran let out a cold laugh, shot a sharp glance at Ji Chen, opened the study door, and in front of him, located every camera—big and small—in the room, tearing them all out in one go.
“Ji Ran, what are you doing!” Ji Chen immediately slapped Ji Ran across the face. As his father, he couldn’t allow such a challenge to his authority.
Ji Ran’s cheek burned with pain. He lowered his head, silent. A brief, tense silence fell between father and son. Ji Chen narrowed his eyes, the fine wrinkles at their corners appearing almost distorted in Ji Ran’s vision. He knew what Ji Chen was about to say.
“Have you been hanging out with some unsavory friends? You’ve gone bad, Ji Ran.”
“Ji Chen, I’ve always been like this,” Ji Ran replied flatly, then turned back to continue removing the cameras, enunciating each word clearly. “From now on, every time you install one, I’ll tear it out.”
“Damn it,” Ji Chen cursed under his breath, staring incredulously at Ji Ran as he busied himself dismantling the cameras. “Are you threatening me?”
“No,” Ji Ran looked up, “It’s a warning.”
“Hmph,” Ji Chen chuckled darkly, his tone light but certain. “You can’t win against me.”
“We’ll see.”
“Ji Ran, do you think just because I’m in North America, I don’t know what friends you’ve been making?” Ji Chen found his son almost laughable, his voice sharp as he fixed his gaze firmly on Ji Ran.
Ji Ran suddenly lifted his head, locking eyes with Ji Chen, his expression as calm as still water. It was Ji Chen who felt a flicker of unease under his son’s steady gaze. Since when had his son grown so bold?
“Ji Chen, I’m not afraid of your surveillance.” After dismantling the camera, Ji Ran smiled with relief, then turned and walked back to his bedroom under Ji Chen’s stunned gaze.
The moment he entered the room, Ji Ran leaned against the door and let out a sigh of relief. The camera inside the bedroom, sensing his arrival, stared at him eerily. Ji Ran approached the rotating camera, hesitated for a moment, then yanked it off.
Lying on the bed, Ji Ran gazed at the ceiling, listening to the pacing footsteps outside the door. He rolled over and retrieved the phone hidden under his pillow.
The screen lit up as he opened WeChat and saw a friend request: “Ji Ran, it’s Xu Yan!!”
Ji Ran smiled, his fingertip decisively swiping to accept.
[Xu Yan]: Damn, you’re still awake? Can’t sleep?
Ji Ran’s fingers hovered over the keyboard, typing and deleting before finally sending: “Can’t sleep. Afraid of ghosts.”
Watching the phone screen light up and dim repeatedly, Ji Ran couldn’t help but think mockingly that Xu Yan had probably fallen asleep. But soon, the screen lit up again as Xu Yan sent a voice message.
Ji Ran immediately turned the volume down low, pressed the phone to his ear, and tapped the message. A clear, clean voice flowed into his ear, so intimate it felt like a whispered confession: “You’re afraid of ghosts? How could you be afraid of ghosts? Did you watch a horror movie at home? If you can’t sleep, do you want me to call you and keep you company?”
A smile touched Ji Ran’s lips as he thought that if Xu Yan called, he might not sleep all night.
He replied to Xu Yan: “No need. Not afraid anymore. Going to sleep.”
After sending the message, he gently placed the phone beside his pillow, closed his eyes, and drifted into a peaceful sleep.
When the cold wave swept south from the north and reached Liling, the highly anticipated midterm exams for the second-year high school students finally released their results.
Liling No. 3 High School had posted the scores early on the campus bulletin board, which was now surrounded by a crowd.
“Damn! Yanzi, Yanzi, you’re ranked 56th in the grade! Sun Rui, you’re 35th, not bad! Me, me, me! I’m 18th!” Qiu Muyang squeezed to the front of the crowd, craning his neck as his eyes scanned from the bottom to the top of the bulletin board. Finally, he let out a confused roar: “Ji Ran, Chinese 112, Math 148, English 139, Science 287, total 686, ranked 7th in the city?”
The bustling crowd pushed the dazed Qiu Muyang out of the front row. He stumbled and nearly fell, but luckily, his two friends Xu Yan and Sun Rui caught him.
Xu Yan asked, “What’s wrong? Didn’t do well? I heard you shouting from outside, but it was too noisy to make out what you said.”
Qiu Muyang hooked his arms around Xu Yan and Sun Rui’s necks, grinning widely. “What do you mean didn’t do well? We did great! Yanzi is 56th in the grade, Sun Rui is 35th, and I made it into the top twenty! Hahaha, I’m finally going to hold my head high this time. I can ask my dad for a nice bonus.”
“Then what were you shouting about earlier? You scared me and Xu Yan. We thought we bombed the exams,” Sun Rui said, somewhat annoyed as he shrugged off Qiu Muyang’s arm from his shoulder.
Qiu Muyang lowered his hands, adopting a serious tone. “The top student didn’t do well.”
Xu Yan nervously pursed his lips, his heart leaping into his throat at Qiu Muyang’s words. He asked, “Did Ji Ran not score above 110 in Chinese?”
“Not at all, of course the top student scored above 110 in Chinese,” Qiu Muyang waved his hand, gesturing for Xu Yan and Sun Rui to lean in closer. “The top student ranked seventh in the city, with a total score of 686—and he’s only seventh in the city!”
Xu Yan didn’t seem bothered, feeling relieved inside, his tone lifting. “What’s wrong with being seventh in the city? Even if he’s seventh, Ji Ran is still incredibly impressive. He scored above 110 in Chinese this time.”
Qiu Muyang was momentarily speechless, while Sun Rui was left speechless in disbelief. The three exchanged glances, and finally, Qiu Muyang spoke up quietly, “Xu Yan, is Ji Ran scoring above 110 in Chinese really something to be happy about?”
“Of course I’m happy. Ji Ran and I can continue being desk mates.” Xu Yan beamed brightly, completely oblivious to Qiu Muyang’s look of utter disbelief.
Qiu Muyang forced a smile. “Well, as long as you’re happy.”
After the final results were released, Class 2 of the second year had performed exceptionally well overall, exceeding expectations. However, Du Bo felt a bit disheartened. Their school, Liling No. 3 High, had once again secured a solid second place in the city rankings, but there were too few standout students. The student he took pride in, Ji Ran, had only managed to rank seventh in the city this time.
With a worried expression, Du Bo approached the back door of Class 2, only to hear a chorus of terrified screams coming from inside.
What on earth were these kids up to? Curious, Du Bo crouched down and peered through the crack in the door to see what was happening in Class 2. It wasn’t until he caught sight of a red-clad female ghost suddenly appearing on the whiteboard that he realized the class was watching a horror movie.
Unaware of their teacher’s presence, the students of Class 2 were completely engrossed. Xu Yan stared intently at the whiteboard where the horror movie was playing, appearing nonchalant on the surface but actually terrified out of his wits.
On the classroom whiteboard, the eerie, empty hallway echoed with the sinister laughter of a baby girl. Then, static snowflakes flickered across the screen before settling, gradually revealing a bloody handprint. The ghostly, pale-purple face of the baby girl loomed larger and larger on the screen until, accompanied by a haunting sound effect, a pale, lifeless right hand reached out and slapped against the screen with a loud “thud.” Startled, Xu Yan instinctively grabbed the nearest solid object—Ji Ran’s hand.
But to his surprise, Ji Ran’s hand closed around his instead. Xu Yan turned his head in surprise to look at Ji Ran, who remained calm and composed, saying unhurriedly, “Xu Yan, I’m a little scared of ghosts.”
Only then did Xu Yan remember that after Ji Ran’s birthday, he had sent him a message in the middle of the night because he couldn’t sleep due to his fear of ghosts. So Xu Yan gently patted Ji Ran’s shoulder to comfort him. “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. Ghosts aren’t real. I’m here.”
Ji Ran nodded and, emboldened by Xu Yan’s words, tightened his grip on Xu Yan’s hand without hesitation. Meanwhile, Xu Yan, who claimed not to be afraid of ghosts, was frozen stiff and breaking out in a cold sweat from the fright, completely unaware that his right hand had gradually intertwined with Ji Ran’s left hand, their fingers lacing together.
Seeing how terrified Xu Yan was, Ji Ran quietly shifted closer to him, his fingertips lightly brushing against Xu Yan’s school uniform. He spoke up, “Xu Yan, can you move a little closer to me? I’m scared.”
Xu Yan’s previously rigid body instantly shifted its focus to Ji Ran’s words. Great, Ji Ran was scared too. He quickly moved his stool closer to Ji Ran, and the two naturally leaned against each other.
To Du Bo’s eyes, this scene transformed into—Xu Yan and Ji Ran in the back row, holding hands and leaning together while watching the movie?
For some reason, Du Bo’s mind kept replaying Teacher Liu Yin’s words: “Those two must never sit together.” After a moment of silence, he opened the back door, quietly approached Xu Yan from behind, and murmured, “Do you two need to hold hands just to watch a horror movie?”