Su Ning and Shen Ji agreed to meet again in the cafeteria during lunch, so she returned to the classroom.
Lu Xiaoran glanced around at the people nearby before speaking to Su Ning in a low voice.
“Ning Ning, I think Zhao Yuan is really unhappy about the boyfriend you found.”
Su Ning asked, “Who is Zhao Yuan?”
Lu Xiaoran was silent for a moment.
“He’s the boy who wanted to take you out to eat earlier.”
Su Ning looked over.
There were indeed several boys standing together in the classroom, seemingly discussing something.
She crossed her arms and pondered.
During lunch break, Su Ning dragged Shen Ji to the library to tutor him.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Shen Ji’s studies were a complete mess.
It was only because Su Ning had patiently tutored him for more than a month that he had finally made some progress.
At first, Shen Ji couldn’t even hold a pen properly.
Su Ning really couldn’t figure out how he had made it through nine years of compulsory education.
Seeing the young man’s back getting more and more hunched and his head lowering further and further as he wrote, until it looked as though his eyes were about to stick to the paper, Su Ning patted his back with one hand and lifted his chin with the other, making him sit up straight again.
Su Ning said softly, “Sit up straight when you’re writing.
Otherwise, it’ll be bad for your eyes.”
Shen Ji obediently answered, “Oh.”
Su Ning saw the crooked, messy characters in his copybook.
She really couldn’t bring herself to lie and say that his handwriting was good.
She took his hand and guided it, slowly writing each stroke along with the characters in the copybook.
She even encouraged him.
“Pay attention to the stroke order when you write.
Make every horizontal and vertical stroke clear.
Take your time.
Don’t rush, and you’ll be able to write beautifully.”
Shen Ji said another “Oh,” but his eyes weren’t on the copybook.
They were on the hand holding his.
Her hand was so fair and delicate.
It was really beautiful, and it felt so comfortable to touch.
If only he could keep it with him all the time.
Shen Ji’s thoughts slowly began to wander, and his mind became distracted.
The longing in his eyes grew stronger and stronger.
The next second, those hands cupped his face and made him look at the girl’s serious expression.
Su Ning put on a stern face.
“Shen Ji, you’re not paying attention.”
Shen Ji looked innocent.
“Ning Ning, I’m studying very seriously.”
Su Ning fiercely rubbed his face with her hands until his features were squished into a comical shape.
With a fierce expression, she said, “You can’t be distracted, and you can’t lie.
How can you keep thinking about slacking off every day?
What if we sign our marriage application someday and your handwriting is so ugly that you can’t even show it to anyone?”
Shen Ji mumbled indistinctly, “Marriage?”
“Of course.
We’re obviously going to get married in the future.
Then, on our household registration, you’ll belong only to me, and I’ll belong only to you.”
Never mind whether there would actually be a future or not.
Su Ning was simply very good at making promises she had no intention of guaranteeing, just like a man telling a young girl that he’ll marry her once his career takes off.
Shen Ji’s eyes lit up.
“If you’ll belong only to me, does that mean I can eat you?”
Su Ning shyly covered her face.
“You boys really do have nothing but filthy thoughts in your heads!”
Shen Ji bent down to look at Su Ning’s face.
Like a huge dog, he gazed at her expectantly, as if the imaginary ears and tail on him had perked up.
“Ning Ning, when are we getting married?”
Su Ning patted his imaginary “dog head.”
“At the very least, we have to wait until after graduation.”
Shen Ji pressed his lips into a thin line.
Clearly, he thought that was far too long, and he was unhappy.
Su Ning poked his cheek with a finger.
“All right, don’t be unhappy.
Time passes very quickly, doesn’t it?”
Shen Ji thought about it.
He rested his head on Su Ning’s arm as he lay across the desk, blinking blankly.
“After meeting Ning Ning, even a whole day and night seems to pass in the blink of an eye.
Before, time always passed so slowly.
The days were so long, and the nights were so long too.
It wasn’t fun at all.”
“Then it’s fun now?”
He nodded with a smile.
“Fun.”
He really seemed like an immature, innocent child.
Su Ning smiled too.
Her fingers combed gently through his short black hair.
Shen Ji narrowed his eyes comfortably and took her other hand, pressing it against his face and gently rubbing against it.
He liked this kind of physical contact.
This way of being together, where he could feel the other person simply through their skin, made him feel comfortable and amused.
But soon, another question occurred to him.
If this hand were separated from its owner, would it still be able to stroke him like this?
Shen Ji felt slightly lost and helpless.
The librarian had already sent them several warning looks.
This school was full of wealthy young heirs who paid no attention to rules.
The librarian wasn’t unwilling to intervene; he was simply afraid that he would only end up making trouble for himself.
Su Ning lowered her voice.
“Shen Ji, don’t go anywhere alone for the next few days.”
Shen Ji looked up blankly.
“Ning Ning, is someone going to bully me?”
He knew that whenever she said this, it meant that someone was planning to bully him behind the scenes.
Su Ning touched his face.
“I’ll take care of it.”
At dusk, the day’s classes ended.
The moment class was dismissed, most of the students couldn’t wait to leave the classroom and head back to their dorms to lie down.
Zhao Yuan was stopped by someone.
Su Ning smiled.
“Zhao Yuan.”
Zhao Yuan was flattered and became a little tongue-tied.
“Su, Su Ning…
Did you need something?”
Su Ning smiled.
“I heard you made plans with some people to go to the dormitory tonight and have some fun with my boyfriend.”
Zhao Yuan’s expression changed.
Su Ning had only spent a little money to get Zhao Yuan’s group of friends to tell her everything.
What was more, among those friends he kept around for drinking and fooling around, there were also boyfriends of some of Su Ning’s fake friends.
They didn’t mind doing Su Ning a favor.
People always tended to seek benefits and avoid harm.
Su Ning’s tone was friendly.
“You know I’m actually very easygoing.
We’re all classmates, and we’re all from the same social circle.
Who knows?
We might still keep in touch after graduation.
Having one more friend is always better than having one more enemy, don’t you think?”
Zhao Yuan gritted his teeth.
“He’s not good enough for you.”
“You mean his family background isn’t good enough for me, right?”
Su Ning’s eyes curved into a smile.
“In other words, your family background is good enough for me?”
Zhao Yuan’s expression turned ugly.
The Su family was a leading business empire, which was why Su Ning could live like a queen at this school, with everyone fawning over her regardless of whether they were sincere or merely pretending.
Su Ning was a piece of juicy meat that everyone wanted to take a bite out of and gain some benefit from.
That was the kind of education everyone received at this school.
If you couldn’t become the strongest one in the forest, then you had to find a way to monopolize the strongest person.
If Zhao Yuan claimed that he purely liked Su Ning for who she was, even he wouldn’t believe it.
Su Ning might look like nothing more than a beautiful vase, but when it came to matters like this, she was far from naive.
Zhao Yuan knew he had been warned.
He suppressed the unwillingness in his eyes and smiled again.
He extended his right hand in a friendly gesture.
“Su Ning, we’re still classmates, right?”
Su Ning glanced at his hand.
She didn’t shake it.
She merely smiled.
“Of course.
We’re still classmates.”
Su Ning walked out of the classroom, where Lu Xiaoran was waiting for her.
Lu Xiaoran said, “Ning Ning, do you remember that bitch from the class next door?
I heard from one of my friends that she’s been badmouthing you outside!
She said your face is fake, and that you’re trying to seduce her boyfriend!”
Lu Xiaoran covered her mouth.
“Oh my God, that bitch really has some nerve!”
Su Ning clicked her tongue.
“With a face this beautiful, even a plastic surgeon couldn’t make it this exquisite.
What was that bitch’s name again?
Let’s deal with her another day.”
The girls’ voices gradually faded into the distance until even their figures disappeared from sight.
Zhao Yuan ground his teeth.
Shen Ji was inferior to him in every way, yet Su Ning had chosen that Shen Ji.
She had even come to warn him because of Shen Ji.
How could he swallow his anger?
But for the time being, Zhao Yuan truly didn’t dare do anything.
If something happened to Shen Ji, Su Ning would definitely blame him.
Zhao Yuan told himself that there would always be another opportunity.
He would crush Shen Ji beneath his feet and make the proud Su Ning obediently beg for mercy beneath him.
His mood was terrible.
He skipped evening study and stayed in his dormitory to play games.
After finishing a game, he vaguely heard the sound of running water coming from the bathroom.
The faucet must have been left running.
Impatiently, he walked into the bathroom.
Sure enough, water was overflowing from the sink.
The moment Zhao Yuan reached out and placed his hand on the faucet, a mass of long hair suddenly emerged from the sink and wrapped around his arm.
He instinctively screamed.
At the same time, the bathroom door slammed shut.
The light went out with a snap.
A woman’s eerie laughter rang out sinisterly, echoing through the cramped space as if it were coming from every corner.
Zhao Yuan couldn’t break free from the long hair wrapped around his arm.
He screamed desperately.
“Let go of me!
Let go!”
In the dim light, a disheveled woman slowly appeared in the mirror.
She came closer and closer.
Water dripped from her entire body, and her soaking-wet hair covered her entire face.
She looked sinister and terrifying.
Zhao Yuan screamed, “A ghost!”
He fell to the floor with a thud and crawled awkwardly toward the door.
But no matter how hard he tried, the door wouldn’t open.
His whole body trembled, and the chill behind him grew heavier and heavier.
A drop of water fell onto his face.
He slowly raised his head.
The first thing he saw was hanging black hair, soaked with water.
Then he looked higher.
And met a pale, terrifying, twisted face.
The female ghost hung upside down from the ceiling, which was covered in black hair.
Her red lips slowly curled upward, the corners stretching almost all the way to her ears.
Her appearance was beyond anything humanly comprehensible, and the terror in Zhao Yuan’s heart reached its peak.
Zhao Yuan screamed uncontrollably and hurriedly backed away.
Black strands of hair wrapped around all four of his limbs.
He fell forward, his entire body pressed against the floor as he was dragged backward.
“Let me go!
Please, let me go!”
The female ghost giggled as though she were playing an amusing game.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in Zhao Yuan’s line of sight.
He begged for help.
“Save me!
I’ll give you anything you want!
My family is rich!
Save me!”
But the figure didn’t move.
Slowly, Zhao Yuan made out the figure’s features.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
“Shen Ji!!!”
The young man sat on the windowsill against the moonlight like a cat.
His eyes were black in a way that was almost eerie, carrying a sinister and strange quality.
He quietly watched the person on the floor being slowly dragged away.
With one hand supporting his chin, he slowly broke into a smile.
He pointed at the boy’s right hand, his smile bright.
“Let’s eat this hand first.”
In the dim light, the sound of flesh separating from flesh, accompanied by the boy’s screams, shattered the silence.
The dripping sound of water mixed with the sound of blood.
In the darkness of the night, a mysterious and sinister melody began to play.