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nXiao Chen opened his eyes, the sunlight from outside the window making him somewhat dizzy. He placed his hand on his forehead, his body feeling as if it had been crushed by a heavy weight. His waist ached and his back hurt. His neck was especially sore, and stiff from his tightened muscles.

nXiao Chen’s eyes flickered as he barely managed to prop himself up.

nAfter getting out of bed, he went straight into the bathroom. But once he saw himself in the mirror, he jumped in fright. His swollen eyes were sunken in, but what made him unable to believe his sight were the scattered bruises, which were almost identical to kiss marks. He had just taken a glance, but he already appeared exhausted and hollowed.

nHe touched his neck, a little anxious.

nHis parents were executives at a foreign company, so they basically lived abroad. There was no one else in the house! He was certain that his parents hadn’t returned yet!

nThen who was it? And not to mention, he hadn’t been the least bit aware when it all happened!

nThe doors and windows in the room were intact, and there were no traces of his stuff being overturned. There was nothing that was different than usual.

nWait! That’s not right!

nXiao Chen walked out of the room and smelled the faint aroma of food. His eyes widened, and he handily picked up a broom from beside him, changing into a defensive stance. He leaned against the wall and moved carefully into the kitchen, afraid that any sound would disturb the person in the kitchen.

nHowever.

nXiao Chen looked around.

nThere was nobody.

nHe clenched the broom in his hand, his expression stiff, and even a little terrified.

nThe table was already set with many kinds of breakfast. There was bread, pho, and rice. Even a cup of milk was lovingly placed among the items. The milk was obviously freshly warmed, and still emitted heat. But he was unable to ignore the tender and beautiful rose arranged on the table.

nXiao Chen’s body slightly shook.

nWhat does this mean? Does this mean that a stranger sneaked into his home while he was asleep, left dense kiss marks on his neck, and may have even done more?

nAnd him! He didn’t know anything!

nAs Xiao Chen thought about it, he didn’t notice that the shadow under his feet was enveloped by a group of black shadows. That group of black shadows seemed extremely humanoid, and tightly embraced Xiao Chen in a gesture of absolute possession. At first glance, it was just like two people were inseparably entangled, even in death.

nSenior!

nHis Senior!

nThe black shadow laughed silently.

nXiao Chen only returned to school at noon. When he suddenly fainted last time, it could be said that the students and teachers were very frightened. As the top student, he was brought up to be the focus and the face of the whole school. A lot of importance was attached to him, so he was allowed specifically to rest at home for a few more days.

nAfter Xu Sheng’s case blew up, the school suppressed the news as soon as possible and hid the real reason for Xu Sheng’s suicide. It was passed off with a simple summary of depression and being bullied by classmates. The fact that Xu Sheng liked Xiao Chen was never included.

nBut that post about Xu Sheng was deleted by the school authorities a day after everything happened. The person who posted it also surfaced and was punished. However, the rest of Xu Sheng’s bullies were given nothing more than a lecture. They only stayed at home for a few days, later sending in a request for academic probation!

nIn order to protect the school’s reputation, no rumors were allowed to leak out.

nAnd when Xiao Chen knew the results of the school’s handling of the bullies, he was so angry that his teeth itched! He immediately pulled people over to ask about the masterminds of the incident in the bathroom.

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nThey were actually all Xu Sheng’s classmates! One was called Bai Qiaoqiao, and the other was called Wang Tong, who was actually Yellow Hair. He had bullied Xu Sheng in the cafeteria that day!

nWith Bai Qiaoqiao responsible for spreading word, Wang Tong led people to teach Xu Sheng a lesson in the bathroom.

nConfucius once said: Repay enmity with good.

nWho is joking, Confucius’s original words were: If you repay enmity with good, how then will you repay good? Repay good with good, and repay enmity with justice.

nXiao Chen knew that these things couldn’t be left alone!

nBut even when it was all revealed, the perpetrators did not pay a lot. They were lectured, fined, detained for a few days, and then returned to the campus to continue to bully others! And those who were bullied could only endure the humiliation and swallow their insults. They would perennially experience unbearable bullying. They couldn’t do anything as they were punched and kicked, slandered, ridiculed, and isolated! Because they understood that the more they fought back, the more terrifying the bullying would be! The result of this, with almost no exceptions, was that they were finally unable to withstand it, choosing instead to commit suicide.

nXu Sheng was not the first! And he will not be the last!

nSo, this matter must not be settled with just this!

nXiao Chen yawned, strolling on the sidewalk outside of school. The surrounding camphor trees cast mottled shadows. Beneath Xiao Chen’s feet, the dark mass slowly morphed into the shape of a heart. Wherever he went, the shadows became hearts. When he looked away, they even changed into flowers! A few tiny kittens observed the bizarre and strange shadows, and saw that Xiao Chen was in low spirits. They went up to play with him so he could cheer up.

nIf this startling occurrence met with anyone else, they would be scared out of their wits. Xiao Chen’s reaction was surprisingly calm.

nHe took deep breaths for two seconds, and his footsteps halted. He clenched his hands firmly as a bold idea formed in his mind. Probingly, he spoke towards the location of the trees’ shadow. “Who are you? Are you human?”

nThe shadow paused for a few moments, before transforming into a word, ‘No’.

nXiao Chen was slightly astonished, but afterwards, it became horror.

nHe hesitated as he thought of something. He continued to ask, “The breakfast in my house was made by you?”

n‘En.’ This time, it replied very quickly.

nXiao Chen’s expression was somewhat weird. “The kiss marks on my neck are also from you?”

nThe trees’ shadows were restored to their normal speckled appearance. Just when Xiao Chen thought he wouldn’t receive a response, the shadows regrouped. ‘Yes, I like you. Behind you, there is a big heart. Two words, Xiao Chen, are written inside.’

nXiao Chen stopped talking, a bit speechless. Although he didn’t know what this guy wanted to do, he could be certain of one thing. This unknown entity did not carry animosity towards him.

nNow that this was brought up, it was odd. Xiao Chen was not interested in the folktales of gods and monsters, but when such existences appeared next to him, he was not bewildered. Perhaps he was still afraid, but had a faint feeling of something else. A world like this might just be the true world.

nHow can there be policemen?

nWith his sharp eyes, Xiao Chen spotted yellow caution tape around the first year teaching building. It was clearly after school hours, but no one had left the classrooms. There was also a unit of police cars parked at the front, making people feel that something was wrong.

nIs it for Xu Sheng?

nSuspiciously, he was blocked by the security at the entrance. The security guard obviously recognized him, and said, “Wait for a while, child, don’t go into campus today!”

n“What’s wrong? Uncle, what’s going on in school?”

nThe security guard was solemn as he put his mouth near Xiao Chen’s ear and whispered, “A girl jumped off the first year teaching building and committed suicide. The police are still investigating.” He didn’t know if it was an illusion, but the instant he told Xiao Chen this, he felt cold all over, leading him to shudder unconsciously.

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nIn fact, in a place he couldn’t see, a black thing attached to him.

n“A girl? What’s her name?”

nIf it was someone else, the security guard might not have answered, but Xiao Chen was really a lovely boy. When he noticed the security guard at school, he would warmly call ‘Uncle’, and he also looked very pleasing to the eye. Therefore, after the security cautiously checked that there was no one else around, he said in a low voice, “It seems to be a Bai Qiuqiu.”

n“Bai Qiaoqiao.” Xiao Chen corrected him.

n“Right, that’s the one, it’s this name. You know this student?” The security was a little amazed.

nXiao Chen shook his head. “I’m not familiar with her.” But his heart was a turbulence of waves, raging waves which pounded the banks. His heartbeat accelerated, so fast that he could almost hear the sound of the beating. Cold sweat came out involuntarily.

nDid Bai Qiaoqiao commit suicide out of guilt?

nNo, that’s not possible!

nXiao Chen swiftly rejected this conjecture.

nWhy decide to commit suicide in school? And even choosing a place with many people! It was meant to be viewed by a crowd.

nXiao Chen frowned.

nThis was similar to a punishment, where everyone could see her miserable appearance!

nA trailer for what was to come!

nXiao Chen kept staring at the shadow under his feet, a bold guess suddenly emerging in his mind. If there really were things in this world that could not be explained, then why couldn’t Xu Sheng return for revenge after death?

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/N: Hello readers! I was notified that several of the images in the previous two chapters were missing. In order to make up for this, I have worked hard and pushed this chapter out earlier. If you couldn’t see the pictures, I have attached them below!

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nXu Sheng’s old notebook went missing. But now that he can stay with Senior all the time, he’s made a new one!

nEntry #1: I confessed to Senior

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n波濤洶湧, which means choppy waves which are large and urgent. It originated from the Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms, which covered the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 CE) and the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE). This sentence is from the Book of Wu (Volume 46) about the biography of Sun Ce, a military general and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He shares the volume with Sun Jian, and together they make up the “Sun Who Destroys Barbarians, and Sun Who Attacks Rebels”. They are also both military generals and warlords.

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n驚濤拍岸, raging waves which pound the banks. It comes from Su Shi’s poem Nian Nu Jiao·Reminiscence of Red Cliffs. This poem was composed in memory of Zhou Yu, a military general and strategist of the Wu state during the Three Kingdoms period. It also recalled the magnificence of Zhou Yu’s strategizing that completely defeated Cao Cao of the Wei state’s strong navy force. This was a famous battle called the Battle of Red Cliffs.

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