Chapter 27: The Phone Retrieved from the Graveyard

Cheng Keyan looked at me, and this time she stepped closer. Her face drew near.

Suddenly, Cheng Keyan said, "Xiao Xi, I’m really not the kind of person you think I am. I only ask one thing of you: don’t tell anyone else."

I nodded and replied, "I promise. I absolutely won't tell anyone. I have things to do, so please move aside."

Cheng Keyan stepped back. I bolted out, feeling a rush of blood through my body, restless and agitated. Was this what they called the feeling of being in love?

In truth, when I first entered the school, I had secretly watched Cheng Keyan. Although she was older, her figure and face were unmatched, even by the eighteen or nineteen-year-old girls on campus.

I don’t know if I was being a fool, having pined for her so intensely. Yet now, when I finally had the chance to be with her, I chose to walk away.

Deep down, I was still wavering.

Once out of the archives, I turned my attention to the folder in my hands. I opened it and immediately saw the photograph of the janitor I had encountered earlier. Next to it was his name: Liu Sui.

So this guy was called Liu Sui. I wondered what he used to do. I continued reading, but the file contained very little useful information. Other than his name, it didn't even list his age.

What a strange person.

But at least I knew his name now, didn't I?

I turned back and entered the archives. Cheng Keyan was already sitting at her desk. As I walked in, she didn't even look up and said, "Finished? You can leave once you’ve put that back."

"Thank you, Teacher Cheng," I said. "Thank you for making an exception and letting me see the files."

"Alright, this is a one-time thing. You go now, and try not to come here often in the future." Her tone had turned icy.

I left the archives and headed toward the dormitory, my heart feeling unsettled. Today had truly been an unforgettable day. I looked back at the archives and whispered to myself, "Cheng Keyan, you’d better not come looking for me again; otherwise, I might not be able to hold back and end up making a terrible mistake."

When I returned to the dormitory, dusk was falling. Li Xiang was already back, fast asleep on his bed, and Hu Tou was playing games as usual. I lay on my own bed, and before long, Jin Yuan returned. He seemed no different than when he left, showing no signs of anything strange.

Night gradually descended, and I slowly drifted off to sleep. No sooner had I fallen asleep than I woke up again.

Before I even opened my eyes, I heard laughter coming from within the room. I dared not move, just listened quietly. The laughter lasted for a while, then occasionally morphed into sobbing.

When the laughter came, it sounded like extreme excitement. When the crying followed, it was filled with utter resentment. It made my skin crawl.

I couldn't take it anymore, so I climbed out of bed and shifted my gaze toward Jin Yuan’s bed bit by bit.

The room was dark, but I could vaguely make out a human-shaped lump on Jin Yuan’s bed. Jin Yuan had pulled the quilt completely over his head and was curled up underneath, laughing hysterically.

I walked to the side of his bed and, feeling somewhat timid, called out to him softly. "What’s wrong with you? What are you laughing at?"

Suddenly, the laughter stopped. He jerked the quilt off and faced me with a blurry expression, whispering, "Nothing."

Hearing this, I was horrified. I had been standing right by his bed listening to him laugh, yet this guy was telling me it was nothing? Did he take me for a deaf man, or a fool?

"If it’s nothing, then fine," I said. "I must have misheard. Just go to sleep."

"I can't sleep. You go back to bed," Jin Yuan said before covering himself with the quilt again.

I returned to my bed and lay down. I was wide awake now, unable to fall back asleep. In the lonely night, I found myself thinking of Cheng Keyan against my will. Images of me pinning her beneath me began to fill my mind.

Just as I was lost in thought, Jin Yuan started laughing again.

The laughter went like this: "Hehehe, hahaha, hehehe, hahaha."

It repeated, over and over, in a cycle.

After a while, the laughter turned into sobbing: "Woooo, woooo."

My back prickled with cold sweat. I quickly pulled the covers over my head. In my heart, I decided that tomorrow I had to get to the bottom of this; I couldn't let Jin Yuan keep acting this crazy.

I spent the night amidst his laughter and weeping. When I opened my eyes the next day, everyone else in the room had already left. I checked the time—it was 9:30, and the first class was already over.

It was all because I’d stayed up so late, and what was worse, neither Li Xiang nor Hu Tou had bothered to wake me up.

Feeling both angry and frustrated, I scrambled up, got dressed, and prepared to head to class. After washing up, I had just reached the ground floor when I spotted the janitor I’d seen yesterday—Liu Sui—sweeping the area in front of the dormitory.

"Liu Sui!" I called out.

He stopped moving abruptly and turned around slowly. For an instant, I saw a look of terror on his face. I froze, staring at him in confusion. "Liu Sui, are you alright?"

"Are you calling me?" Liu Sui stared at me with his stubbled face and suddenly walked toward me. "Tell me, how do you know my name?"

A fierce aura emanated from him, and I was immediately frightened. I shrank back. "Don't get excited. It's just a name, isn't it? I have my ways of knowing you're called Liu Sui."

At this, Liu Sui suddenly stopped. His ferocious expression shifted into one of cold indifference. "I am not Liu Sui. You have the wrong person."

After saying this, he walked away silently and picked up his broom again. I took out the money, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it toward him. "Your money. Take it."

After class, I returned to the dorm as usual. On the way, I saw Liu Sui sweeping from a distance, but I didn't call out to him.

Night gradually darkened. I lay on my bed while Hu Tou played games and Li Xiang bragged incessantly. He spent most of his time talking about how he picked up girls, though he claimed to succeed every day, he failed every single time.

Hu Tou and I were responsible for responding to him every so often just to keep him going.

Before long, Jin Yuan returned. I stood up silently and locked the door. Li Xiang and Hu Tou stopped what they were doing and stood up as well.

We had already agreed that tonight we would force Jin Yuan to tell us the truth. What exactly was he hiding from us?

I shouted, "Li Xiang, Hu Tou, grab him!"

Li Xiang responded, jumping down with a coil of rope. Hu Tou lunged and grabbed Jin Yuan, while I pinned his arms.

Jin Yuan was quickly tied up, and he began to scream at the top of his lungs. I seized the opportunity and stuffed a rag into his mouth.

The three of us stared at him like he was a prisoner. With his mouth gagged, he couldn't speak, only发出 muffled whimpering sounds.

"Jin Yuan," I said, "you should know why we tied you up. I suggest you tell us yourself."

As I was speaking, Hu Tou yelled, "Jin Yuan’s phone fell out!"

He crouched down to pick it up and saw that it was an iPhone. We hadn't been with Jin Yuan much lately, so how had he suddenly gotten an iPhone? He had always insisted he wouldn't be caught dead using such "trashy" phones.

Li Xiang leaned over to look at the phone and suddenly shrieked, "What the hell? Isn't this the phone that Ren Yunwen brought back from the graveyard?"