After a brief moment of excitement, they quickly found themselves trapped in their long and tedious classes once again.
Although the new semester of their third year of high school hadn’t officially started, almost everyone could feel the increasingly intense atmosphere of study pressure.
This included both Xie Zhen and He Mo.
Because of a previous bet, they were forced to seriously attend classes. However, since their foundation was weak, they often found themselves lost in confusion. As a result, they had no choice but to pester the class monitor and study committee members for help.
The two of them, who used to be partners battling side by side in the canyon, suddenly became rivals.
Lin Ran remained the same as before. After classes at noon and in the afternoon, he would always wander off to find his Xiao Xi to eat lunch, and in the evening, he would walk her back to the dormitory. To him, these days were anything but boring.
It was another evening of self-study.
The entire classroom of Class One was quiet, except for the occasional rustling sounds coming from one corner.
Lin Ran was hunched over, doing his homework, but was repeatedly disturbed by the noises coming from that corner. Irritated, he furrowed his brow without saying a word and stretched out his leg to kick the leg of the empty desk beside him.
The sound of the desk leg scraping across the floor was sharp and grating, disturbing that corner of the room.
Someone peeked out, glancing in Lin Ran’s direction. After that, the classroom fell into complete silence.
It wasn’t until the first period of evening self-study ended that the classroom began to fill with the sounds of conversations and movement.
Lin Ran put down his pen and stretched his neck.
At this moment, He Mo and Xie Zhen, who were sitting in front, turned around and whispered to Lin Ran, “Brother Ran, I asked them earlier. Two weeks ago during Qixi, didn’t they watch a horror movie? Now, they’re planning to play a ghost-hunting game tonight.”
Xie Zhen rolled his eyes. “Some people just don’t know how to stay bored—they have to scare themselves for fun.”
He Mo, on the other hand, found it amusing and couldn’t help but ask, “Brother Ran, are you interested? Why don’t we join in for some fun tonight?”
Lin Ran lazily lifted his eyes to glance at He Mo but neither agreed nor disagreed.
Judging by his expression, though, he didn’t seem very interested.
He Mo couldn’t quite figure out what Lin Ran was thinking. Just as he was about to ask again, Lin Ran had already gotten up and started walking outside. From the looks of it, he was probably going to find Sheng Qingxi. Seeing this, He Mo wisely kept his mouth shut.
…
At the convenience store.
Only a few cakes remained in the glass cabinet. The bright lights made the decorations on them look cute and tempting. Lin Ran bent down and stared at them for a long time before finally choosing a strawberry-flavored cake.
After paying, he took the milk tea and oden the store clerk handed him and leisurely strolled back to the teaching building.
Since only their grade level had supplementary classes, the lights were on only on the first and second floors. Class Six was on the second floor. After climbing the stairs, Lin Ran headed straight to Class Six. By now, the students of Class Six were used to seeing him, though they still didn’t dare to speak to him.
The moment Sheng Qingxi saw Lin Ran, she obediently stepped outside to meet him.
For the past few days, Lin Ran had been buying food for her every night. The few pounds Sheng Qingxi had lost over the past two months were gradually regained, and her once sharp chin had softened slightly.
As a result, the moment she saw the food in Lin Ran’s hand, Sheng Qingxi instinctively took a step back.
Lin Ran raised an eyebrow and chuckled, “You don’t want to eat?”
Sheng Qingxi glared at him, her face sullen, but she still reached out and took the milk tea.
Normally, she always appeared quiet and gentle.
Lin Ran found it amusing how Sheng Qingxi pursed her lips and refused to look at him, her little face all tense. He reached out and pinched her cheek gently, smiling as he said, “It’s hot outside. Go back and sit down. Take the cake, I spent a long time picking it out.”
He had used this excuse many times.
“I picked it for a long time, thought about it for a long time, walked a long way,” and so on, but it always worked like a charm.
Every time he said something like this, Sheng Qingxi would usually stop resisting. Sure enough, as soon as he spoke, the girl obediently reached out and took the strawberry cake from his hand, behaving so well.
Lin Ran ruffled her black hair before heading back without staying longer.
At 9:50, the bell rang signaling the end of class.
Sheng Qingxi sat in the classroom, waiting for Lin Ran to come and pick her up, not daring to wander off.
There was one time when she went downstairs to look for him and happened to meet him halfway. He immediately frowned and scolded her for running around again, going over all the times she had done so before.
She had to listen to Lin Ran’s nagging the entire way.
Since then, she no longer dared to wander off.
When Lin Ran nagged, he sounded like a little old man.
Tonight, as usual, Lin Ran walked Sheng Qingxi to her dormitory door, reminding her carefully to lock the doors and windows before going to bed. After Sheng Qingxi walked into the building, she waited for a moment and then quietly snuck back out. She watched Lin Ran’s figure disappear into the distance before slowly going back inside and taking the elevator upstairs.
When Lin Ran returned to the dormitory, only Xie Zhen was curled up on the small couch in the living room. Lin casually asked, “Where’s Mo? Did he really go play that ghost-hunting game with them?”
Xie Zhen, while controlling the characters on his phone in battle, replied, “Not yet. I finished my homework earlier than him tonight. He went to pick up the late-night snack. It’s our bet.”
Lin Ran glanced at Xie Zhen’s chubby chin.
He couldn’t help but think, *It’d be nice if Sheng Qingxi could put on some weight like Xie Zhen.*
At the boys’ dormitory entrance.
He Mo wandered around the door of the dormitory where they were going to play the ghost-hunting game, carrying the late-night snacks. This dorm was directly below theirs. When he arrived, the boys inside were still messing around, waiting for midnight to strike.
The living room was piled high with the props they were going to use for the game.
He Mo gave the place a quick glance. Candles, rice, talismans, and many other strange and peculiar things were all placed together. It must have taken them more than a day or two to gather these things, probably ever since they finished watching that horror movie.
After chatting with them for a bit, He Mo went back upstairs.
After all, his “son” was waiting for his late-night snack.
The night deepened, and time ticked away.
—
At 1 a.m., Sheng Qingxi suddenly woke up, startled. She vaguely heard screams and alarm bells in her dreams.
Sitting up, she rubbed her temples. She hadn’t been sleeping well these past few days since moving to a new place.
Just as she was about to get out of bed to get some water, her movements froze. Her entire body felt as though her blood had turned to ice. Slowly, she turned her head to look at the window. On the closed curtains, faint flashes of light flickered and danced.
Sheng Qingxi’s pupils constricted slightly.
It was the glow of fire.
The boys’ dormitory was in complete chaos. The open flames triggered the automatic alarm system, and the blaring sirens echoed throughout the entire building.
Most of the students, still groggy from sleep, stumbled out of bed in confusion. At first, they didn’t understand what was happening, but when they saw the thickening smoke spreading, they quickly snapped into reality.
Lin Ran hastily threw on some clothes. After waking He Mo and Xie Zhen, he ran downstairs, knocking on doors room by room.
The fire had started in the dormitory directly below theirs. By the time Lin Ran made it downstairs, the room was already evacuated, the door wide open, and no one left inside. However, the flames were rapidly spreading to the surrounding areas.
The familiar sight of the dancing flames brought back painful memories for Lin Ran.
He could almost feel the fire licking his skin.
Footsteps, coughing, and shouting filled the air in a chaotic mix.
Forcing himself out of his flashbacks, Lin Ran gritted his teeth, smashed the glass to retrieve a fire extinguisher, and rushed towards the flames, only to find that the extinguisher was faulty.
Cursing under his breath, he discarded the extinguisher and continued shouting for help.
Meanwhile, He Mo and Xie Zhen were frantically searching for Lin Ran. Following Lin Ran’s instructions, they yelled through the hallways, “Don’t take the elevators! Use the stairs! Be careful!”
Thankfully, since only the rising third-year boys were in this dormitory, the hallways, though filled with panicked footsteps, weren’t too crowded.
Downstairs, the courtyard was already packed with boys wearing mismatched clothes—some hadn’t even managed to put on any. Not far away, teachers from the nearby staff dormitories had noticed the commotion and were hurrying over.
He Mo, standing tall, shouted to the crowd, “Class representatives, take a headcount!”
Xie Zhen ran up to He Mo, his voice trembling with barely concealed worry, “Mo, why hasn’t Brother Ran come down yet?”
He Mo turned, looking at the thick smoke billowing from the dormitory. Wiping his face, he tried to stay calm, “Brother Ran is probably checking room by room to make sure no one’s left inside.”
Just as Xie Zhen was about to say something, he was interrupted by a familiar voice—
“Xie Zhen! Where’s Lin Ran?”
Xie Zhen whirled around in a panic.
Sheng Qingxi was standing there, wearing a white nightgown, barefoot. Even though she looked disheveled, her voice was calm and steady. She fixed her eyes on him and repeated, “Xie Zhen, where is Lin Ran?”
Xie Zhen quickly replied, “Brother Ran is still inside, looking for people.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Sheng Qingxi turned and sprinted toward the dormitory building.
She moved so quickly that He Mo and Xie Zhen couldn’t stop her.
Seeing her run into the building made Xie Zhen even more anxious. He muttered nervously, “Mo, if Brother Ran comes out and can’t find the ‘fairy’… The fire seems to be getting worse.”
Inside the dormitory, on the second floor.
Lin Ran had finished checking every room, ensuring no one was left behind. The fire hadn’t spread to this floor yet, but the thick smoke in the hallway was making it hard to breathe and think clearly.
At the same time, Sheng Qingxi was racing up the stairs.
The hallway lights were motion-activated, but her steps were so light that none of the lights turned on. Shrouded in the thick smoke, her slim figure moved through the shadows. No one would have expected that someone would be running into the building when everyone else was fleeing.
As Lin Ran exited the second-floor room, Sheng Qingxi had already made it to the seventh floor.
Lin Ran’s dormitory was on the seventh floor.
After confirming that no one was in the two dormitories on the first floor, Lin Ran finally breathed a sigh of relief. He headed towards the dormitory entrance, and just as he reached the door, he spotted He Mo and Xie Zhen.
The two stood right at the entrance of the dormitory, their faces complicated and words stuck in their throats.
Lin Ran, slightly out of breath, glanced at them and then spoke, “There’s no one left inside. Move further away. The fire department is nearby, they’ll be here in less than ten minutes.”
Xie Zhen swallowed hard, his voice trembling, “Brother Ran… the ‘fairy’ ran upstairs a few minutes ago to find you. Mo and I couldn’t stop her. I’m sorry, Brother Ran…”
Before Xie Zhen could finish his sentence, Lin Ran had already disappeared, taking off before he could process Xie Zhen’s words.
—
Seventh floor.
In the midst of the thick smoke, Sheng Qingxi called out Lin Ran’s name. That deep-rooted fear, long buried in her heart, suddenly resurfaced. The image of Lin Ran, his face disfigured, flashed over and over again in her mind from that dreadful night.
She fumbled around, searching both dorm rooms on the seventh floor, but they were empty.
Sheng Qingxi dug her nails deep into her palms, forcing herself to stay calm. Xie Zhen had said Lin Ran was searching for people. He must have been checking each floor from top to bottom, and he would be fine.
Sheng Qingxi turned and headed back down.
The fire on the sixth floor was growing, and the choking smoke was becoming unbearable.
She didn’t dare shout anymore, covering her mouth and nose as she continued to run downstairs. Just as she rounded a corner, a strong arm suddenly grabbed her waist, lifting her off the ground and throwing her over someone’s shoulder.
Sheng Qingxi froze, instinctively shouting, “Lin Ran!”
The response was silence.
—
Deep into the night.
The campus was lit up as brightly as day, every corner illuminated by the glaring lights.
Fire trucks lined up outside the boys’ dormitory, while students were evacuated to another building. Apart from the firefighters, there was no one left in the area. Thankfully, no one was injured in the blaze.
But the chaos of the night wasn’t entirely over.
In the medical room.
Xie Zhen and He Mo stood cautiously in the corner, watching Lin Ran.