“I’ve been searching for this book for ages; I finally found it in the abandoned activity centre.”
Ye Zhiyu, president of the Paranormal Society, said cheerfully as she held up the book with its eerie cover.
“This book describes a summoning ritual: at the stroke of midnight, light six white candles arranged in a circle. Place a sheet of white paper in the centre of the circle, then put a bowl of raw rice mixed with chicken blood in the middle of the paper. Recite the incantation silently, and you’ll be able to summon an unknown creature.”
Vice-President He Zhiluo eagerly snatched the book from Ye Zhiyu’s hands and exclaimed, “Brilliant! You really are the President—how did you even find this? Why don’t we make this summoning game the theme for the Paranormal Society’s next outdoor activity? What do you all think?”
“And…” He Zhiluo leafed through the pages again before continuing, “The book says this summoning game requires six people—and we’ve got exactly six of us.”
Lu Mian wasn’t keen on the idea. It sounded rather dubious, involving chicken blood no less—clearly not a proper game. She hoped it wasn’t some cultish nonsense; after all, she was a model young communist, and she certainly didn’t believe in such things.
And then there was the raw rice. Lu Mian couldn’t believe they’d actually cook and eat the rice after the game was over. Not eating it meant throwing it away, and throwing it away meant wasting food. Her grandmother had told her that wasting food was shameful.
But it seemed Lu Mian was the only one unimpressed; the other five were absolutely thrilled.
The Paranormal Society currently had six members, including Lu Mian: three boys and three girls.
The president, Ye Zhiyu, and Chu Guanyue are girls, whilst the vice-presidents, He Zhiluo and Lin Mushi, and ordinary member Fang Qinian are boys.
“President, where in the activity centre did you find that? Isn’t it due to be demolished? You actually dared to go in—you’re a real brave soul!” Chu Guanyue exclaimed, holding the book and marvelling at Ye Zhiyu’s courage.
“It is indeed due for demolition, but a few days ago I heard a rumour that there used to be a paranormal club back in the Class of 2011, and their activity room was right there in that abandoned activity centre. As it happens, there were still loads of discarded items left inside, so I thought I’d try my luck and see if I could find any treasures left behind by the seniors.” ” Ye Zhiyu pulled out a white candle. “I even found a candle.”
Lu Mian’s expression was even more hard to describe; what sane person would think of going into an abandoned activity centre to look for things left behind by seniors from over a decade ago?
“So our school actually had a paranormal club back in 2011? I thought it had only been set up last year.” ” The book was passed around from hand to hand, and Lin Mushi remarked as he looked through it.
“That’s right, but for some reason it was disbanded later on, and the club wasn’t re-established until the previous year,” explained He Zhiluo, who clearly knew a bit about it, to the members.
“So when does it start? We need to get things ready—I’m not even sure if we can buy fresh chicken blood at the market.” ”Fang Qinian, who was usually in charge of the preparations, sought everyone’s input directly.
“It’s written here.” Ye Zhiyu reached out to take the book, turned to a page, and showed it to everyone. “It says a rainy day is best. I’ve checked the weather forecast—it’s due to rain in three days. We can start the game at midnight on that day. Any objections?”
“Agreed.”
“I’ve no objections either.”
……
“Lu Mian, why aren’t you saying anything today?”
Amidst the chorus of agreement, Lu Mian’s silence stood out, and He Zhiluo couldn’t help but ask.
“President, I’ve got a question. Is our club official?” Lu Mian couldn’t resist asking the question she’d been dying to ask.
“It’s official, of course. The school has approved it; we’ve got a constitution, haven’t we?” Ye Zhiyu was a bit puzzled as to why Lu Mian had suddenly asked such a question, but he answered honestly nonetheless.
“Do the activities count towards credits?”
“Yes, they do.”
“Since they count towards credits, don’t we need to apply to the Youth League Committee for these activities? Do you think the Youth League Committee would approve of something like this?” Lu Mian’s clear, wide eyes were brimming with curiosity. This was practically a cult activity—would the school authorities actually allow it? What were they thinking?
At that, all eyes turned to Chu Guanyue, who was in charge of submitting the application.
“I think so. I’ll draft the application tonight and let everyone know if it gets approved.”
Chu Guanyue was remarkably calm, and Lu Mian could tell from her expression that she genuinely believed it would go through.
No way—where on earth did they get that idea? They surely weren’t even Young Pioneers back in primary school!
But Lu Mian realised she was the only one with the right understanding.
Because everyone else seemed convinced that Chu Guanyue would get the application approved.
“Right then, that concludes today’s meeting. We’ll adjourn for now. Once Guanyue’s application has been approved, Qinian and Mu Shi, you two go and prepare the materials.” Ye Zhiyu announced the adjournment.
Lu Mian slipped away faster than anyone else. She was going to report this society tomorrow. She could do without the credits, but she couldn’t let her principles slip!
As soon as she returned to the dormitory, Lu Mian noticed that most of her flatmates were absent. Strange—they were all single, and whenever she came back, the other five would usually be gathered together chatting noisily. Why were only Wang Ying and Chen Jiaqi in the room today?
Lu Mian couldn’t help but ask the only two people in the room, “Where have the others gone?”
Wang Ying shrugged. “Xu Xia went out at lunchtime and hasn’t been back. Lin Yue left at seven o’clock this evening; I asked where she was going, but she didn’t say. By the way, aren’t you going to your part-time job today?”
The conversation turned to Lu Mian. As she put her bag down, she replied, “The restaurant where I work might be closed for a few days. Um, have you had a shower yet? I’d like to have one.”
“We’ve both had ours. You can go ahead. We’ve put our clothes in the washing machine; just start it as soon as you’re done.” Wang Ying’s gaze returned to her phone as she added the reminder.
“Right.”
Lu Mian gathered her clothes and headed into the shower. She’d be able to use the washing machine tonight. The dorm had bought it collectively. Usually, when she came home late from her part-time job, everyone would have already showered and pooled their loads to run the machine together. She didn’t think it was worth running it on her own, but she didn’t want to leave her clothes until tomorrow either, so she’d have to wash them by hand.
Inside the shower cubicle, Lu Mian spotted a few clumps of hair scattered on the floor the moment she stepped in. They were as black as ink. She’d have to deal with them tonight. Thank goodness she’d glanced over—otherwise, she’d have been left to clear up tonight’s hair!
Last time it was Lin Yue; let’s see who it is this time.
Lu Mian poked her head into the dormitory and asked, “Which one of you washed your hair and didn’t clear up the strands?”
“Oh, it was me!” Wang Ying replied, then walked over of her own accord to pick up the broom and sweep up the hair.
Only after Wang Ying had cleared the hair did Lu Mian go in to have a shower.
Having finished clearing the hair, Wang Ying picked up the bubble tea beside her and took a couple of sips.
Chen Jiaqi glanced over, looking somewhat puzzled. “Yingying, when did you buy that milk tea?”
“Eh? I… today…” Wang Ying suddenly turned to look at the milk tea in surprise. “I didn’t buy any milk tea today!”
“Then who sent you the milk tea on the table?” Chen Jiaqi’s eyes lit up with curiosity, thinking Wang Ying must have a suitor.
Wang Ying’s face paled slightly. “I mean, I didn’t buy any milk tea today, nor did I receive any as a gift. We’ve been together all day—don’t you know whether I have any milk tea or not?”
Chen Jiaqi’s expression turned serious. “Then what’s the story with this milk tea?”
“Jiaqi, was this cup of milk tea on the table just now?” Wang Ying looked at the plain-looking milk tea over there, her voice trembling slightly.
Chen Jiaqi immediately tried to recall. A moment later, her face went pale too. “No, at least not before Lu Mian came back. I even went over to your desk to grab a biscuit then, and Lu Mian didn’t bring any milk tea with her when she returned!