After finishing reading all those messages, Jiang Luo carefully restored the documents to their original order and placed them back into the cabinet.
From her academic performance and teachers’ comments, Fu Yuaner was exactly the kind of child parents love and teachers praise—a model student. A good girl who always listened to her teachers and parents, returned to the dorm before curfew, didn’t date, didn’t play on her phone, and generally didn’t do anything she wasn’t supposed to.
While that kind of life might feel restrictive, it at least helped her avoid many dangers.
Evergreen High School was a boarding school. Boarding schools typically enforced stricter rules, especially regarding student outings and safety—extra caution was never too much.
Even under such circumstances, Fu Yuaner still managed to go missing, which was inseparably linked to the construction work going on at the time.
During the school expansion, unfamiliar workers came and went. These laborers were busy with their jobs, and the school was overwhelmed by the expansion project. It was easy for some people to take advantage of the chaos to do things normally not allowed on school grounds.
Because everyone was so busy, most of those violations went unnoticed.
“Did you notice?” Jiang Luo pondered aloud, repeating what the staff member had said before the contest started, “We have three tasks. First, find the missing girl. Second, find out the cause of the worker’s death. Third, figure out what really happened back then.”
“The first task is strange,” Jiang Luo paused and looked at Zhuo Zhongqiu and Ye Xun. “To find the missing girl.”
“That suggests the girl is still somewhere on school grounds,” Zhuo Zhongqiu concluded.
There was another unspoken implication they all understood clearly.
What they were likely looking for… was the girl’s corpse.
“The teachers from Senior Class 4 back in 2012 are still teaching here at Changqing High,” Ye Xun said calmly. “Let’s go talk to them.”
The teachers who taught senior students in 2012 happened to be teaching senior students again this year. The group left the dormitory area and headed to the academic building, just in time to catch one of the former teachers wrapping up a class.
Jiang Luo and his companions waited at the back door of the classroom. Students inside noticed them, turning their heads sneakily and whispering among themselves.
The teacher at the podium said, “Quiet.”
The students gradually settled down.
The man teaching looked to be in his early thirties, still handsome and well-proportioned—clearly someone who kept in shape.
The students clearly liked him. A few girls even unconsciously fixed their hair.
Jiang Luo blinked and suddenly took out his phone, pulling up a photo of Fu Yuaner.
He zoomed in on the image. Ye Xun asked curiously, “Jiang Luo, what are you looking at?”
Jiang Luo’s fingers slid from Fu Yuaner’s hair, to her lips, and then to the necklace around her neck. “Doesn’t she look like she’s in love?”
“Or maybe she had a crush and wanted to show her best self,” Jiang Luo murmured. “Her bangs are neatly trimmed, just above her eyebrows—probably just cut recently. But boarding school students have to wait until monthly holidays to get haircuts. She’s not wearing tinted lip balm, but her lips are glossy—probably lip moisturizer.”
“And that necklace—it’s far too mature in style, something a girl her age normally wouldn’t wear.”
Zhuo Zhongqiu leaned in to look. “You’re right.”
Ye Xun thought for a moment. “Cyril’s intel said the gender ratio was imbalanced.”
Jiang Luo thoughtfully closed his phone. “Whoever gave her that necklace was probably much older, had a more mature aesthetic. Single, able to interact closely with her, likely to build intimacy. And handsome.”
What eighteen-year-old girl falls for an older, unattractive man?
All three of their gazes slowly shifted toward the man teaching at the front.
Zhuo Zhongqiu: “…It can’t be that much of a coincidence.”
Ye Xun: “It could’ve also been one of the construction workers from that time.”
They hadn’t discussed it much longer before the class ended. The handsome middle-aged teacher walked out and asked, “Are you here to see me?”
Jiang Luo walked over with a bright smile. “Teacher, we’d like to ask you a few things.”
The man’s gaze lingered on Jiang Luo’s striking face for a moment longer than usual. “Let’s talk in my office.”
Just as they were about to leave, two girls from the class came over, giving each other nervous encouragement. Blushing, they handed the teacher a bottle of water and said shyly, “Thank you for your hard work, Teacher Liu.”
Zhuo Zhongqiu couldn’t help but whistle. The two girls glanced at her, blushed harder, and quickly ran off.
The teacher shook his head with an exasperated smile. “These girls…”
In the office—where the teacher was momentarily alone—Jiang Luo took the chance to glance at the lesson materials while the man was pouring water. The name “Liu Zhi” was written at the top.
Jiang Luo then looked at the wall, where class schedules and Liu Zhi’s attendance sheet were posted.
The attendance record showed only this year’s five months, each day checked off. Liu Zhi hadn’t missed a single day.
Impressive.
Jiang Luo raised an eyebrow and casually glanced at Liu Zhi’s desk drawer.
Locked.
Liu Zhi returned with the drinks and said apologetically, “Sorry, I only have paper cups here.”
They all shook their heads, indicating it was fine.
“Teacher, we came to ask about the disappearance of that female student back in 2012,” Jiang Luo smiled gently—enough to lower anyone’s guard. “We don’t know much about what happened back then. Was there a missing student in your class?”
Liu Zhi frowned and thought for a moment. “2012… I was teaching several classes back then. There was a case of a missing girl, but I’ve forgotten which class it was from.”
“Understandable,” Jiang Luo replied with a look of comprehension. “It’s been so long. The school’s changed so much—it’s hard to remember things from back then.”
Liu Zhi let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you for understanding. I’ll try to recall, and if I remember anything, I’ll let you know.”
Jiang Luo took out his phone. “Then, teacher, let’s exchange contact info?”
Liu Zhi was momentarily taken aback, then gave his phone number.
They didn’t stay with Liu Zhi for long—ten minutes later, he left for his next class. The three of them retraced their steps and strolled back slowly.
On the first floor of the dorm, Jiang Luo and Ye Xun agreed to head to the restroom, while Zhuo Zhongqiu waited outside, bored. “Even if we now know that Fu Yuaner had a boyfriend, it doesn’t really help us crack the case.”
Jiang Luo replied casually, “Who knows? Maybe it was a crime of passion.”
Ye Xun involuntarily shuddered.
He gave Jiang Luo a complicated look, remembering how every time Jiang Luo made an offhand “cursed” remark at Hotel 129, it always came true—uncannily so.
Around noon, the group met up again for lunch. Wenren Lian shook his head and sighed. “It rained yesterday, so everything’s damp. We walked along places that would still be wet even before the rain—like by the lake and around outdoor faucets—but didn’t find anything. We’ll probably have to wait until tonight or tomorrow, when the ground dries, to have a better chance of tracking where Xu Yan went.”
But tomorrow would already be the third day.
Jiang Luo made a decision. “I’m going to search Liu Zhi’s office tonight.”
Zhuo Zhongqiu said, “Count me in.”
They didn’t waste the afternoon and went out to collect more information. When night fell, the dorm lights flickered on one by one. Jiang Luo and Zhuo Zhongqiu washed up early, planning to nap a bit and then sneak out after midnight to search for clues.
At 1 a.m., Jiang Luo opened his tired eyes. After a moment of grogginess, he woke up fully. Zhuo Zhongqiu had already climbed down and was urging him to get moving.
Jiang Luo gave an “OK” gesture, sat up, and put on his shoes. Because of the late-night bell the night before, he’d only gotten a few hours of sleep and still felt sluggish.
But as a designer, staying up late was nothing new. After splashing some water on his face, Jiang Luo was fully awake. As he opened the bathroom door, he almost bumped straight into Bai Yefeng’s chest.
Bai Yefeng smiled warmly. “You two heading out?”
This guy was seriously like a haunting spirit. Jiang Luo forced a smile and replied flatly, “We’re just going to the restroom.”
“Oh?” Bai Yefeng glanced meaningfully at Zhuo Zhongqiu, then at Jiang Luo. “You’re going to the restroom together?”
Jiang Luo remained calm. “She’s just keeping me company.”
“But Classmate Zhuo is a girl,” Bai Yefeng said with a smile. “If you’re scared, Classmate Jiang Luo, I can accompany you instead. It’s not proper to make a girl go with you.”
Then he turned to Zhuo Zhongqiu. “Classmate Zhuo, you go rest. I’ll go with Classmate Jiang Luo.”
He looked like he was genuinely offering help.
Jiang Luo: “…”
Zhuo Zhongqiu: “…”
Jiang Luo forced a grin. “Besides the restroom, we have other things to do. Classmate Bai, you should just go to bed.”
Bai Yefeng, acting as though he couldn’t take a hint, asked curiously, “What things? Maybe I can come along?”
Jiang Luo was about to refuse when something occurred to him. He gave Bai Yefeng a deep look, then let a sly smile spread across his face. “Sure.”
The three got ready and left. To maintain their cover, Jiang Luo even went into the restroom.
And Bai Yefeng followed him in.
Cursing Chi You silently in his head, Jiang Luo calmly zipped up after using the urinal—only to notice something odd.
“This thing’s age…”
The wall was old and worn, but the urinal looked newer by comparison.
Jiang Luo murmured thoughtfully, “So they swapped male and female dorms.”
That would explain why the urinal had been installed after the walls were built.
In schools, it’s common for male and female dorms to be reassigned every few years. Which meant that their current dorm building might very well have been where the missing girls from 2012 once lived.
Just as this thought crossed Jiang Luo’s mind, the ceiling light above them started to flicker.
The light dimmed and brightened erratically. A foul stench suddenly intensified, and the sound of something wet and viscous dragging across the floor drew near—heralding the arrival of something.
Jiang Luo instinctively sensed danger. He stood up straight, alert. Just then, Bai Yefeng reached out from behind him and yanked him into the janitor’s closet at the back of the restroom.
The space was tiny, and with two tall young men inside, it felt even more cramped.
Jiang Luo’s hair brushed against Bai Yefeng’s cheek and neck, stirring an itch that seemed to seep down to the bone. Bai Yefeng slowly reached out and tucked the hair behind Jiang Luo’s ear.
Jiang Luo turned his head away in disgust, about to speak, but Bai Yefeng covered his mouth.
“Shhh.”
Bai Yefeng’s tone was gentle, but if you listened closely, you could hear the hidden malice—almost gleeful—in his voice. “Something’s coming.”
