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墨書 Inktalez
"Don't you want to rest for a bit?"
They say ghosts fear the sunlight, and if they want to walk under the sun, they can only borrow something else, a medium, much like how Jun Chong possesses Chu Fan.
Usually at home, Jun Chong shows his true form, so this place is almost always shrouded in darkness, even during the day. Aside from that one time I saw Chu Fan's body on the sofa at midnight, I have never seen Chu Fan while Jun Chong was present.
"No, Xiao You is still waiting for me at school!" I shook my head and grabbed my bag to leave, but suddenly felt dizzy. Luckily, Jun Chong caught me. "Are you feeling unwell?"
"I just felt a bit weak when I got up."
"So you’re saying you’re not fully recovered? But as long as you don't have a fever, that's good." Jun Chong muttered to himself before suddenly leaning down to kiss me. I was so startled that I almost forgot to breathe, my heart racing wildly.
Having such intimacy early in the morning left me with a blush that hadn’t faded by the time I got to school. Lin You caught me red-handed and didn’t care if Chu Fan was around; she directly teased me, "Is this an early morning display of sweetness? Anxin, we’re best friends! Are you trying to provoke me like this?"
"You’re the one being provoked! Who told you to ignore that handsome guy? Now you're all alone and bored, right?"
Lin You's expression stiffened; she knew exactly who I was talking about. She pouted and reached out to touch my forehead. "You've gotten bold. Don’t think just because your Chu Fan is here that I won’t teach you a lesson. I’m still your older sister."
"With my big sister watching over me, I want my brother-in-law," I replied playfully, looking up just in time to see a tall figure running toward us with a smile. "Look, sister, here comes brother-in-law!"
Ling Feng dashed over, his athletic build blocking the sunlight above us and casting a shadow. He suddenly took Lin You's hands in his and asked nervously, "Xiao You, I heard you went to the Old Teaching Building yesterday; it's haunted! Are you hurt?"
"I'm perfectly fine; I don’t need your unnecessary concern. Let go!"
Lin You disdainfully pulled her hands back. Ling Feng froze for a moment before awkwardly releasing her grip. "I’m sorry; I was just worried about you."
"I don’t need your concern." Lin You didn’t want to deal with Ling Feng at all and turned to grab my hand. "Anxin, let’s go."
I sighed softly. They were clearly an enviable pair of childhood sweethearts, yet one had feelings while the other remained oblivious. After knowing Lin You for so many years, I still couldn’t figure out what her true feelings for Ling Feng were.
“Lin You, are you really feeling okay since last night?”
Chu Fan's unexpected question caught us all off guard. Lin You shook her head, “No, I’m fine!”
“Xiao You, where did you go last night?”
“Ling Feng, my business is none of your concern, so don’t bother me.”
“You—”
“I’ll just do what I want!”
I watched the two bicker and cautiously tugged at Chu Fan's sleeve, asking, “What do you mean by that?”
Chu Fan looked at Lin You with a thoughtful expression and explained, “Last night had a heavy aura. Generally, people exposed to it tend to get a fever the next day. You might be fine because when I kissed you, I transferred some of my Eerie Aura to you. Over time, you’ve built up some immunity, but you still feel a bit weak. However, she has an ordinary constitution and showed no reaction at all, which is strange.”
Hearing Chu Fan say this made me curious as well. Usually, children exposed to such heavy energy would fall ill and develop a fever; adults are no exception. If my well-being was due to Jun Chong's kiss, then what about Lin You?
“Let me see Lin You’s birth chart.”
“Sure.”
As soon as I entered Lin You’s birth details into Chu Fan’s phone, she angrily marched over and pulled me away from him. “I’m borrowing Anxin for the day; you’re not allowed to take her back!”
“Alright.” Chu Fan didn’t refuse and smiled as he said, “Ling Feng and I will go play basketball; see you tonight.”
Chu Fan’s understanding nature only made Lin You more jealous. She glared at Ling Feng with increasing disdain before dragging me away.
“I can’t believe him! Who does he think he is?”
"I think the captain believes he is your man, which is why he cares about you like this."
"Omg!" Lin You made an exaggerated gesture, looking overwhelmed. "Please, Anxin, there's no way anything could happen between us."
"Does that mean you liked him at some point?" I sighed lightly. "Xiao You, if you like him, just accept it. Don't end up regretting it later."
Lin You froze for a moment, turning her back to me as she gazed at the clear blue sky in silence.
I knew something must have happened between her and Ling Feng to lead to this situation, but I wouldn't press her for details.
"By the way, Xiao You," I suddenly remembered Chu Fan's words and pulled Lin You aside. "You were affected by the negative energy last night. Are you really feeling okay? Never force yourself."
Lin You blinked, looking herself over from head to toe before patting her chest and saying, "I'm perfectly fine. If you're okay, how could I possibly be unwell? Let's go!"
I looked at Lin You with suspicion, feeling that something was off, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.
"Xiao You, do you know how the school is handling the situation with Lin Shan and the others?" Lin You was always well-informed. Given the serious incident last night, there had to be some explanation since someone had died.
This time, Lin You shook her head. "I'm not sure either. I came to school this morning specifically to find out about it, but the whole place is as quiet as if nothing happened. Plus, Yang Qing and Xiaoya's phones are unreachable. I even called the hospital, but they brushed me off. This matter has definitely been suppressed by the school."
"Yeah, it's a pity for those girls."
All our classes were in the afternoon today, so we were just wandering around without any particular plan. As we passed by a flower bed, two girls approached from the opposite direction. One of them complained, "After all that effort to get a spot to listen to Professor Qi's lecture, how could it suddenly be canceled?"
"I heard that Professor Qi encountered some thugs last night and got stabbed; he was taken to the hospital."
"Oh no!" Upon hearing this, I suddenly remembered that I had completely forgotten about making a prayer. If it weren't for their conversation, I wouldn't have thought of it at all.
Lin You watched my startled expression and couldn't help but roll her eyes. "What now? What's got you all worked up?"
I pulled Lin You aside and whispered, "Xiao You, I forgot about Professor Qi last night."
Lin You paused in surprise. "He went to the teaching building last night too?"
"Yeah," I nodded. "After you were taken away by Yang Qing, Qi Zhi showed up. I begged him to help find you, but he was ambushed by Xiaoya and got hurt. Later, I was so scared that I completely forgot about it. What if something happened to him? If anything goes wrong, it would be my fault. Xiao You, what should I do?"
"Stop!"
Lin You couldn't stand my rambling anymore and patted my shoulder. "Let's go to the hospital and check on him. Don't jump to conclusions; he should be fine."
"Okay."
I had no idea how Lin You found out which room Qi Zhi was in, but we bought some fruit to bring along for our visit.
"Xiao You, this place feels eerie. Shouldn't we take a detour?"
We had eaten lunch at the food street behind the school, and beyond that was the famous Old House District of The City. It had never been demolished due to its age, but very few people lived there anymore.
Lin You thought it was unnecessary to take the long way around and led me through the Old House District to save time.
As soon as we stepped into the Old House District, I felt a chill run down my spine. The sunlight seemed weak here, even though it had been bright just moments ago.
The houses here were the oldest private residences, with Siheyuan-style courtyards and rows of buildings that had not been inhabited or renovated for a long time. They looked dilapidated, resembling a wasteland.
For some reason, even though the houses weren't tall, walking along the narrow path made me feel like I was trapped in a maze when I looked up at the sky.
"What are you afraid of? You've already faced something terrifying last night; it won't take more than ten minutes to get out of here. I've walked this route many times; there's nothing to fear." Lin You pulled my hand impatiently. "See? You're not scared now, right?"
I smiled faintly and didn't say anything more. After walking a few steps, I suddenly felt that the once bright sunlight had become thin and weak. Looking up, I noticed that the sky had darkened without me realizing it, as if it were about to rain.
“Xiao You, the weather is getting bad. We need to hurry; it’ll be troublesome if it rains.”
“I think so too. Let’s move quickly.”
“Meow~”
A Black Cat suddenly darted out from the empty house, landing on my shoe and startling me. I pulled Lin You back.
The Black Cat stared at me with its golden eyes, meowed a few times, then lightly leaped onto the wall and dashed away.
I instantly felt a chill run down my spine. Ever since I stepped onto this land, I had sensed a coolness in the air. Although it was broad daylight, it looked almost like dusk here.
And usually, supernatural beings start to stir at dusk.
“Dusk, Black Cat, gloomy sky…” I murmured. “Xiao You, don’t you think this place is strange? I feel like I’ve heard something happened here before.”
“There are definitely ghost stories about old houses,” Lin You replied nonchalantly, tugging at my hand. “I’ve walked through here dozens of times; there’s nothing to be afraid of. It’s only ten minutes anyway.”
“Then let’s hurry.”
We quickened our pace. Since I was unfamiliar with this area, I was just following Lin You and lost track of time; it had definitely been more than ten minutes.
“Xiao You, are you sure we haven’t taken a wrong turn?”
I saw Lin You stop and turn back unsteadily, forcing a smile that looked uneasy. “Anxin, I think… um, I might be lost.”
“…”
We were indeed lost because I realized we had returned to the spot where we encountered the Black Cat.
"Shall we head back the way we came?" I turned to look at the path behind us. "I remember entering through this way, without any turns."
"Alright, let's give it a try."
We agreed and turned around to retrace our steps, but after going in circles, we found ourselves back at the old house's entrance, despite not having taken any turns or feeling like the path was winding.
"Is this... a ghost wall?"
"A ghost wall?" I pondered for a moment before saying, "I remember reading that when you encounter a ghost wall, you can walk with your eyes closed to avoid going in circles. Should we try again?"
"Sure."
As Lin You and I held hands, the Black Cat suddenly reappeared on the wall. This time it didn't make a sound but leaped down directly towards me.
I instinctively raised my hand to block it and felt a sharp pain on the back of my hand. When I lowered it, I saw three scratches from its claws, but the cat had vanished.
"Is there any bleeding?" Lin You leaned in to check.
I looked and shook my head. "No. Let's hurry up and go!"
"Okay."
Hand in hand, we closed our eyes and walked forward. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself standing at the entrance of the Siheyuan. The sky around us had turned dark, but lights were shining inside the Siheyuan.
And Lin You was nowhere to be seen.
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