“I’m so sorry, Youyou. I was so exhausted yesterday that I fell asleep before I knew it,” Zhao Jiyue said. Knowing Liu You’s typical spoiled young lady temperament, she immediately walked over to apologize, even though she was a bit surprised to see Liu You, who was usually late, arriving so early today. “When you called me back later, my phone had already died and shut off. Tonight, I promise I’ll…”
The girl sitting at her desk flipping through a book shook her head at her, giving a gentle smile. “It’s alright, no need. Thank you, Jiyue.”
Hearing that soft, gentle voice made goosebumps break out across Zhao Jiyue’s skin. Not only was it completely different from Liu You’s usual sharp, high-pitched tone, but the manner of speech didn’t sound like Liu You at all. Yet listening carefully, it was undeniably Liu You’s voice. It was as if all these bizarre, jarring discrepancies were merely a figment of her own imagination.
The only certainty was that today’s Liu You was exceptionally different.
Her usual restless, arrogant aura had vanished without a trace. Her face bore a warm, approachable smile, and her demeanor and voice had become elegant and polite. She didn’t even drowse off during class anymore, it was as if she had become an entirely different person.
Like a robot running strictly according to a program.
Zhao Jiyue observed her for half a day and arrived at this exact conclusion.
Was this some kind of new persona?
Just as she was about to go talk to Liu You again to probe further, the well-programmed robot suddenly seemed to trigger a specific condition. Having spent the previous class breaks doing nothing but sitting at her desk reading, her gentle, eerily fake gaze suddenly turned burning and intense as if she had spotted something.
Zhao Jiyue followed her line of sight, only to discover to her surprise that Liu You was staring at the eldest young lady of the Qi family, who had skipped the two morning classes and was now sauntering leisurely into the classroom.
Qi Qi was unique in their social circle, arrogant and fiercely idiosyncratic. Some cursed her for being eccentric, while others felt she was putting on a hypocritical show of aloofness. However, people only dared to gossip behind her back, no one ever dared say a word to her face.
Unlike Liu You, whose reputation had soured due to her pampered, willful temper, Qi Qi looked down on everyone equally, which, in a sense, was its own brand of universal equality.
Whether dealing with idle, playboy second-generation heirs recklessly squandering money, peers who were either brilliant or mediocre, or formidable elders, she treated them all with the same indifferent, uncaring attitude. She maintained basic manners, but her entire presence exuded an aura of casual, offhanded perfunctoriness.
Even if she herself might not have realized it.
Even those who disliked her most would find their words stuck in their throats, unable to utter a sound, the moment they met those cold, emotionless eyes.
This young lady, whose every step onto campus carried an air of condescending grace, lazily let out a yawn as she pulled out her chair and sat down. The deep green jade bracelet on her wrist swayed and clinked against the corner of the desk with a faint but crisp sound, showing not the slightest care for its preservation.
Her seat happened to be directly in front of Liu You.
Zhao Jiyue watched as a sleep deprived Qi Qi rubbed her eyes, perhaps rubbing a bit too hard, causing physiological tears to hang from her dark eyelashes, while her pale skin was flushed slightly red from the friction.
Then, Zhao Jiyue witnessed something utterly incomprehensible. Her best friend, Liu You, who previously hated Qi Qi so much that she used to call her to trash-talk Qi Qi until midnight, not only showed deep concern in her eyes, but even pulled out her favorite custom designed handkerchief and offered it to Qi Qi.
“Student Qi, please use this.”
That was a one of a kind piece designed by Liu You’s favorite master craftsman. Ever since spending a year and a half’s worth of allowance at an auction to acquire it, she had treasured it beyond measure. Previously, when Zhao Jiyue was injured and bleeding, Liu You wouldn’t even let her borrow it. Now, she was lending it out just because of a few tears?
And to Qi Qi, no less, the very person she had been badmouthing until midnight yesterday?
Zhao Jiyue felt she must be dreaming.
Something was deeply wrong.
“…Thank you.”
To be honest, Qi Qi didn’t have much of an impression of her front-row classmate. Their class rotated seats completely every two weeks, and besides, Qi Qi wasn’t fond of socializing. She wasn’t familiar with her classmates and couldn’t even recognize everyone in the class despite already being in their second year of high school.
Still, this front-row classmate seemed surprisingly nice.
She casually wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with the extraordinarily soft handkerchief. Looking at the hand stretched out toward her, she hesitated for a moment. “Front-row classmate, maybe I should wash it before returning it to you.”
The front-row girl possessed bright, striking features that clashed entirely with her current gentle and friendly demeanor. When she smiled, she looked meek, tender, and considerate, someone easy to push around. “No need. The fabric is a bit delicate, so I’ll wash it myself.”
Although Qi Qi wanted to ask why she hadn’t just given her a regular tissue instead, she figured asking that might be too rude to a classmate who had kindly helped her. So, she handed the handkerchief back.
Observing how the front-row classmate casually crumpled the handkerchief into a ball and stuffed it straight into her pocket without even looking at it, Qi Qi felt slightly reassured seeing that she didn’t seem to treasure it all that much.
After all, very few people carried handkerchiefs with them nowadays, especially young people. For convenience, almost everyone used tissues. Those who carried handkerchiefs usually did so because it held special significance or for a specific reason.
Judging by the front-row classmate’s reaction, the likelihood of it being the former was greatly reduced.
Once the front-row classmate turned back around, Qi Qi thought for a moment and pulled out a chocolate truffle.
Before she could decide whether to call her by name or pat her shoulder to get her attention, the front-row classmate suddenly turned around as if she had eyes on the back of her head. Her smile maintained its perfectly gentle curve, as though permanently carved into her face. “Student Qi, do you need anything else?”
Qi Qi froze for a second, causing a slight delay before she opened her palm and asked, “Do you like sweets?”
“Thank you, I love them.”
As she spoke the last words, Liu You shifted her gaze away from the chocolate, staring directly at the sleepy girl in front of her who was squinting slightly in a daze.
Zhao Jiyue, who was silently observing her friend’s bizarre behavior, widened her eyes in disbelief. Youyou had been strictly controlling her diet recently to lose weight, if she accidentally saw a dessert, she would lose her temper uncontrollably. How could she possibly accept chocolate from someone with a face full of smiles and even say something like that?
Because the atmosphere in the classroom was so sleep inducing, Qi Qi couldn’t help letting out another yawn.
Zhao Jiyue couldn’t take it anymore. She opened her mouth to say something, but her friend seemed to sense her intention. With a sickeningly unnatural jerk of her head, she whipped around, placing an index finger in front of her lips. Though she was still smiling, the look in her eyes held none of her usual familiarity, only a silent warning and a bone chilling coldness.
The moment she met that glare, Zhao Jiyue felt a roaring crash in her brain. Her body froze in place, beyond her control. Her fingers and lips trembled uncontrollably as an indescribable, massive wave of terror coursed through her veins.
A grotesque bulge suddenly swelled on her friend’s slender, swan like neck, the feature Liu You was most proud of. Looking closely, something inside that eerie bulge seemed to be writhing and churning, as if it would burst through that thin layer of human skin at any second.
Yet, aside from her, no one else in the classroom noticed this horrifying scene.
Was the “Liu You” sitting in the classroom right now truly Liu You?
If it wasn’t Liu You… then what on earth was the thing sitting there, wearing Liu You’s skin?
Having received a positive response from her front-row classmate, Qi Qi nodded to herself. Indeed, who could possibly hate chocolate?
It was quite pleasing to have her own taste validated.
Perhaps because she genuinely loved chocolate, the upward curve of the front-row classmate’s lips deepened a bit more, and her movements grew somewhat eager. Without waiting for Qi Qi to hand it over, she reached out on her own initiative to take it.
As she took the chocolate from Qi Qi’s palm, her fingers inadvertently brushed against Qi Qi’s hand. Despite the bright, sunny weather, the girl’s fingertips were ice cold. Upon pulling her hand back, Qi Qi couldn’t help rubbing her palm for a long while before finally dispersing that strange, clinging chill.
Poor circulation?
Qi Qi changed her posture, resting her head on the desk, and drifted into sleep to the hypnotizing sound of the teacher’s lecture. In the last second before losing consciousness, she was still pondering this thought.
She fell into a deep sleep, and thus failed to notice that right after she closed her eyes, the front-row classmate, who had been reading with her head down, suddenly buried her head deep into her desk space.
At the podium, the teacher had turned around to write an endless wall of dense notes on the blackboard. Even if other students noticed her abrupt movement, they would only assume she was searching for something in her desk or slacking off.
The handkerchief that had been carelessly stuffed into her pocket was now pressed tightly over her nose. Carefully sniffing the faint, almost imperceptible trace of moisture on it, the girl’s meticulously crafted smile crumbled the moment she caught the faint, sweet scent beneath the handkerchief’s own fragrance. The gentleness in her eyes was instantly replaced by an unhinged, fanatical madness.
Shrouded in the shadows beneath the desk, an impossibly long, slender tongue, distinctly non-human, shiveringly extended outwards. Saliva quickly soaked the handkerchief, gradually expanding that tiny patch of moisture.
She desperately swallowed down that fleeting, vanishing scent.
This was merely a minor interlude in high school life. However, after that incident, she and this front-row classmate grew somewhat familiar with each other, at the very least, they would greet one another when they ran into each other in the hallways.
“Who are those two?”
Watching Qi Qi greet two girls walking together, Shen Lu couldn’t help asking.
Qi Qi rarely greeted others…
Besides, those two were the ones who used to bully her, the ones she had written down in her diary long ago.
They should clearly be dead. Why were they still alive?
Looking at those two people, an intense feeling of disgust, entirely different from before, welled up from the depths of her heart.
“That’s my front-row classmate… and her friend.” Qi Qi originally intended to introduce them to the little monster, but just as the words reached her lips, she suddenly remembered that she didn’t even know their names. So, she promptly closed her mouth, pretending she had already finished the introduction.
“I’m Liu You, and this is Zhao Jiyue.”
The striking girl with beautiful curled hair offered a gentle smile. Beside her, the plain girl with glasses wore an identical smile.
The similarity between their expressions was unnerving to the point of horror.