Chapter 141: Ghost
It was evening self-study time.
Although it hadn’t been mentioned before, recently whenever Li Mu stayed in the dorm at night, he would come to the classroom to join evening study sessions.
The dorm was too noisy, but the classroom had a better study atmosphere. He could also ask teachers questions if he didn’t understand something.
Many students skipped evening study. Out of more than 40 students in the class, only about 30 showed up. The other 10 or so could probably be found in internet cafés.
But not all students were interested in the Winter Clothing Festival, just like not everyone takes part in big shopping events like Black Friday.
Only a bit over 20 students joined the hide-and-seek game. Three of them had already been “ruined” beyond recognition, their faces were painted with so much makeup and color that they’d scare people even in broad daylight.
Ugly enough to be scary.
They didn’t use masks, not because they didn’t want to, but because it was dark and there were no lights. Wearing a mask made it hard to see, and it was easy to fall and get hurt.
“Hide-and-seek, huh…” Yu Fan followed the group toward the school’s old abandoned building, looking uninterested.
He was a class committee member and knew Yang Ye well. Even if he didn’t want to join, they would still make him help keep order. So he decided to just join the game.
“It’s called a ghost-tag,” Yang Ye said with a grin, enjoying the chaos. “Hide-and-seek is boring if you just watch, but this is fun.”
This homeroom teacher had a bit of a dark sense of humor, he liked hearing people scream.
To be honest, the old building really was a great place for a scare. With a bit of renovation, it could probably be turned into a real haunted house attraction.
Yu Fan had been in the building before. Even for someone as brave as him, it still made him a little nervous.
“Where’s Li Mu?” Yang Ye suddenly asked. “Isn’t she always where you are?”
“Li Mu is probably in the classroom doing homework.”
Yang Ye nodded. “Yeah, she doesn’t seem like the brave type.”
Nonsense, he’s super brave. The kind of person who dares to grab a ghost’s wrist and not let go!
“Alright, let’s start. Remember, no flashlights!”
The game began. The first group of ten students laughed and ran into the dark building to find hiding spots. Three other students, playing as “ghosts,” joked around while planning how to scare and catch the others.
The three “ghosts” were dressed in all black, with soft pads on the bottom of their shoes so they made no sound. In the dark, it was nearly impossible to see or hear them.
After five minutes, Yang Ye waved his hand, and the “ghost” students ran into the building with creepy smiles.
Not even thirty seconds later, a loud scream came from inside.
“Sounds like Wang Ruoyan,” Yu Fan mumbled. “That girl is way too timid.”
“It’s normal for girls to be scared,” Yang Ye replied.
Just then, they heard footsteps coming from nearby. When they turned to look, they saw Li Mu arriving, a bit late.
He had finished most of his homework during the breaks that day. After making a few final changes during evening study, he decided to come check things out.
Yu Fan quickly went over to him and asked with a gentle smile, “You’re joining too?”
“I’ll just watch from outside,” Li Mu shook his head. “I’m just worried… what if there’s a real ghost…”
“You’re overthinking it,” Yu Fan scratched his head, then looked again at the dark, creepy building that was only barely visible thanks to the streetlights.
At that moment, they could see a black-clothed “ghost” chasing another student. The two of them ran from the third floor all the way to the first, then back up to the third.
Finally, the “ghost” got frustrated and called his two teammates over to help trap the student. That’s how they finally caught him.
But Li Mu continued speaking, “It’s just… whenever I’m around, these kinds of places always seem to become really haunted.”
“For example, those times you played spirit-summoning games.”
Yu Fan froze.
It was true, he had hung out with Chen Yi for a whole month and hadn’t seen a single ghost. But the one time he went with Li Mu to Yingfeng Town, they ran into a brand-new vengeful ghost.
Even though those spirit-summoning games were said to have a very low chance of working, they always ended up running into ghosts when Li Mu was involved. And ghosts were supposed to be really rare.
“You might have an ‘MC curse’,” Yu Fan joked.
“Maybe.”
Li Mu looked at the abandoned building with a slightly worried expression.
Yang Ye, who might’ve overheard part of their conversation, walked over with his hands in his pockets and asked, “What spirit-summoning game?”
“It’s nothing,” Yu Fan quickly answered, shaking his head. “We were just talking about a movie.”
It’s usually harmless when regular people play spirit-summoning games, but the scary part is if they actually attract real ghosts.
Honestly, Yu Fan felt that all those online guides on how to play spirit games should be banned, in case someone got hurt.
From inside the old building, several screams rang out. The three of them turned their heads at the same time. Yang Ye chuckled and said, “Sounds like a group got caught all at once.”
The hide-and-seek game didn’t turn into a ghost story like Li Mu had expected. The first group of students were quickly all caught by the “ghosts.” They came out excited, chatting about how thrilling it was.
“Damn! Wang Chen is so shameless, he clearly saw me but still snuck up behind me and scared me!”
“Zhao Yu, do you even know how to hide? You got our whole dorm wiped out.”
“Not everyone. Li Mu is still in there. So we didn’t lose completely.”
“I don’t know… I just felt a strange chill earlier.”
After all, there weren’t many good hiding spots in the abandoned building. Some classrooms were packed with desks and chairs, while others were just empty.
“Sh*t, I ran too fast and fell!”
A student grumbled as he walked past Li Mu.
Li Mu and Yu Fan suddenly froze.
“Let’s play again! No way I’m losing this time!”
The student stood there casually and shouted, “Hurry up! Next round! I’ll definitely be the last one standing!”
The two of them slowly turned to look at the student.
“What are you staring at me for?”
“......”
Li Mu carefully asked Yu Fan, “Are there ghosts who don’t know they’re dead?”
Yu Fan was silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head. “Maybe?”
“What are you two talking about?”
The student walked up to them with hands on his hips, then suddenly his eyes lit up. “Hey, pretty girl, can I add you on WeChat?”
“Pretty sure… you can’t.” Li Mu crossed his arms and wrapped his coat tighter around himself. “Also, I’m a guy.”
“Even better!”
Yu Fan couldn’t take it anymore. He stepped forward to block the student’s view, though his expression was still strange.
He couldn’t help but ask, “You’re a ghost… how are you even playing this game? I mean, they can’t see you, right?”
“Ghost, my a**! You’re the ghost!” The student shouted.
So Yu Fan casually reached out, and his hand went straight through the student’s shoulder. “See?”
The student froze, then looked down at Yu Fan’s hand in disbelief.
Li Mu was speechless. He turned to look at the students still organizing the next round of the game.
But then, a raw, frantic scream suddenly erupted from the student.