Chapter 12: How to Choose

“No matter what, no one is allowed to touch Yan Yan. Otherwise, don’t blame me for what happens next.” Guo Daqiang stood up and shouted.

The other two students who had drawn numbers ending in eight were Zhou Jian and Xu Xiaolong. At Guo Daqiang’s words, their faces turned ashen. If they didn’t touch Zhang Yanyan, it would mean death for them—how could they possibly agree to that?

Xu Xiaolong sneered coldly. “I know you’re upset, but these are the rules set by the ghost. If I don’t complete the task, not only will I die, but Zhang Yanyan will die too.”

“That’s right. Are you just going to stand by and watch us die? Are you even human?” Zhou Jian chimed in.

“I don’t care what you say. Yanyan is mine. No one is allowed to touch her.”

Guo Daqiang roared, pulling out his phone and sending a message: @Bao Lei, who the hell are you? If you have the guts, come out and show yourself. Stop playing these ghostly tricks.

Bao Lei replied: The game is fair, just, and open. Thank you.

Guo Daqiang: Screw you.

Bao Lei: Thank you.

Guo Daqiang: Are you coming out or not? Cancel this game.

Bao Lei: Sorry.

No matter how much he said, Bao Lei always replied with a few simple words, and time slipped quietly by.

At this moment, Zhang Yanyan’s eyes were red with tears, and several girls were comforting her. In truth, Zhang Xiaofan and the others all knew Zhang Yanyan was a good person. Her family was well-off, and being with Guo Daqiang wasn’t for money.

But seeing Guo Daqiang so hysterical now, Zhang Yanyan felt disappointed. In this situation, instead of comforting her, he cared only about his pride. How could she not be upset?

Hu Xiaotian whispered, “Guo Daqiang is really heartless. At a time like this, is he really going to watch Zhang Yanyan and those two die?”

“Ah, this would be tough for anyone. Let’s just let them decide for themselves,” Zhang Xiaofan sighed.

Just then, Su Qianqian sent Zhang Xiaofan a message: Sigh, Zhang Yanyan is really pitiful.

Zhang Xiaofan’s heart leapt. He hadn’t expected the goddess to message him first. He quickly replied: Yeah, by the way, thank you for earlier.

Su Qianqian: No problem. Last night you were so brave to save me.

Zhang Xiaofan: Heh, it was the right thing to do.

Su Qianqian: What are you planning to do after school?

Zhang Xiaofan: I was going to look up information about our school. Actually, maybe we can organize everyone to investigate together.

Su Qianqian: Good idea.

Meanwhile, Guo Daqiang and the others were still arguing. He shouted, “Yanyan, you’re my girlfriend. You’re not allowed to do that, do you understand?”

Zhang Yanyan suddenly burst into tears and ran out.

Guo Daqiang snorted and didn’t chase after her, instead glaring viciously at Zhou Jian and Xu Xiaolong.

For the rest of the day, Guo Daqiang kept a close watch on Zhou Jian and Xu Xiaolong, as if terrified they’d make a move on his girlfriend. This made the other classmates sigh—twenty-four hours would pass quickly, and if they didn’t complete the game by tomorrow, all three would die.

As school was about to end, Su Qianqian went up to the podium and said, “Everyone, you’ve seen the red envelope group. If we don’t complete the tasks, we’ll die. I believe this is connected to a ghost.”

“So what do we do?” someone asked.

Su Qianqian, who had a talent for organizing, said, “For now, Zhang Xiaofan and I have come up with two possible approaches.”

“So you two are that close?”

“No wonder you were willing to kiss her.”

“Zhang Xiaofan, you’ve been hiding your abilities all this time!”

The classmates’ teasing made the two of them blush with embarrassment.

Hu Xiaotian stood up. “Alright, quiet down. We should be thinking about how to complete these tasks in the future. Just imagine—what if Bao Lei makes us turn on each other? What then?”

The classroom fell silent. Zhang Xiaofan nodded to Hu Xiaotian in approval.

Wang Hu called out, “Enough talk—what are the two plans?”

Su Qianqian replied, “The first is to try to contact powerful monks or Taoist priests who can exorcise the ghost.”

Murong Feng said calmly, “I’ll contact someone at home.” His family had resources and connections to powerful people.

The rest of the class believed him without question. Soon Song Feng, Wang Hu, and others also said they’d reach out.

Su Qianqian continued, “The second plan is more like a last resort. Since the ghost is here to harm people, but hasn’t killed us immediately and is instead using games, it must have some purpose. We need to use all our connections and investigate ourselves to find out what happened at this school or in our class in the past. That’s how we may find the answer.”

“Right, ghosts never harm people for no reason. Maybe there’s some unresolved grievance.”

“Yes, that’s always how it is in the movies. Let’s investigate.”

The class responded enthusiastically.

After school, Zhang Xiaofan returned to his dorm and turned on his computer to research the school’s history, when he received a call from Su Qianqian.

“Xiaofan, do you have a moment? I just found something on my computer—it’s really scary. Could you come and take a look?”

Hearing this, Zhang Xiaofan was thrilled. Su Qianqian’s dorm was just next door, and the thought of her inviting him over—being able to see her room up close—made him a little excited.

He asked nervously, “Okay, I’ll come over. But are your other roommates there?”

“They all went out with their boyfriends to investigate.”

“Oh, I’ll be right over.” Zhang Xiaofan was overjoyed. This was clearly a golden opportunity—how could he refuse?

He took extra care with his appearance, sprayed on some cologne, and hurried over.

Though normally men weren’t allowed in the girls’ dorms, in their open-minded school, many girls brought their boyfriends over to keep them company. Just for company, nothing else—don’t let your imagination run wild…

So when Zhang Xiaofan, a guy, walked into the girls’ dorm, most paid him little mind. But when they saw him enter Su Qianqian’s room, everyone was stunned.

“Hey, who’s that guy going into Su Qianqian’s room?”

“Yeah, I just saw her roommates leave. Oh my god, just the two of them alone—are they going to do that kind of thing?”

“No way. I’ve seen that guy before—he’s in her class. He’s just a poor loser. Su Qianqian can’t possibly like him.”

“You never know. Some guys have their ways these days. Maybe Su Qianqian fell for him.”

Rumors about Zhang Xiaofan and Su Qianqian spread like wildfire, but the two inside were oblivious. When Zhang Xiaofan entered the room, a delicate fragrance washed over him, and he couldn’t help but breathe in deeply.

In a word: wonderful! In two words: simply amazing!

“You’re here,” Su Qianqian said, standing up quickly, her cheeks tinged with red. It was her first time inviting a boy to her dorm room, alone together.

She seemed to have just showered, wearing a cute nightdress with a large red flower at the chest. The full curve of her bosom pushed the flower high, and Zhang Xiaofan nearly lost his composure at the sight.