Chapter 26: Being Hunted
After school that day.
I yawned as I walked towards the library in the comprehensive building.
Although Ji Lianbing said she would go home with me in the evening, I had an evening study session, so she went back first.
Finally, I could leave that guy. This means I have safely passed today.
Today is Friday, and tomorrow and the day after are Saturday and Sunday. If everything goes smoothly, I shouldn’t see Ji Lianbing again. Then, next Monday, she will return the photo to me… assuming she doesn’t go back on her word.
Although it was a bet without any guarantee, I think Ji Lianbing will keep her promise. It’s not that her credibility is very high, but I can see her absolute confidence. She probably thinks she can definitely kill me.
So, even though it’s the weekend starting tomorrow, I still can’t let my guard down. I should stay with my family as much as possible.
Pushing open the library door, I said instinctively.
“Teacher Yang, I’m here to pick up my school uniform… uh…”
“Ah…!”
Bang!
Teacher, no, Lily groaned and hit her head on the desk with a loud sound. It looks like it really hurts…
“Ugh! I told you not to call me Teacher!”
Lily, with a flushed face, covered her forehead and playfully chided me.
“Uh, sorry, it was a habit… As a student, isn’t it natural to call a teacher ‘teacher’?”
Bang!
Here we go again.
Lily looked at me with teary eyes, feeling very wronged. She puffed out her cheeks and complained childishly.
“Ugh ugh! You! I hate you! I’m never talking to you again!”
Bang!
It seems like that sentence also triggered something in our contract, causing Lily to get hurt again.
“Uh…”
It seems ‘Teacher’ has become a complete taboo. But I’m already completely used to calling her Teacher Yang. It’s hard for me to suddenly change to calling her by her name. I can still react when I’m conscious, but when I call out subconsciously, there’s nothing I can do. Isn’t there any other way to address her?
“Hoo… Honestly! Hurry up and get used to calling me by my name! Here, this is your school uniform. I’ve already mended it.”
Teacher Yang patted her chest, let out a long sigh, and her expression quickly returned to normal. She took out the mended school uniform from her handbag and handed it to me.
I didn’t take the school uniform immediately. Instead, I touched my chin, raised an eyebrow, and cautiously tried a different address.
“Mr. Yang?”
“Yaa!”
“Director Yang?”
“Hmm!”
“Miss Lily?”
“Ah!”
“Sister Lily?”
“Ugh…”
After trying out several titles, I found that the more respectful the address, the greater the impact on her, while more intimate terms like ‘sister’ had less of an effect.
“…Ha… ha…”
Lily, covered in sweat, slumped on the desk, panting weakly. Her body trembled slightly, and saliva dripped from the corner of her mouth, stringing with a few strands of hair. Her hair was also wet with sweat and hung loosely. In short, she looked terrible.
“Jun Cheng! What are you doing!”
“I was just testing it. Judging from your reaction just now, ‘Sister Lily’ had the smallest effect. Although calling you sister is a bit strange, it’s better than calling you by your name. I’ll call you Sister Lily from now on.”
“Jun Cheng… you really don’t consider other people’s feelings at all… I’m going to wash my face. I’ve made such a mess.”
Lily took off her glasses and sighed. She walked out from behind the service desk.
Then I noticed… there were tears in her eyes.
So I made the teacher cry again.
…
After the evening study session, I was silently mopping the floor in the library. Later, Lily changed into sportswear and went home. During the entire evening study session, Lily stared at me with a resentful expression, which made my scalp tingle. I originally wanted to ask Lily some questions, but because of this incident, we couldn’t have a proper conversation.
As punishment, I organized the books and files. It was almost ten o’clock.
Sigh… I feel so down.
These past two days, strange things have been happening, and the main theme of my life has been turned upside down.
There’s no smog in this city. Looking up, I can still see a sky full of stars.
And… slender legs like tender lotus roots.
“Good evening, Jun Cheng.”
I opened my mouth blankly. The voice came from above me.
She was sitting on the canopy above the main building’s entrance, looking down at me, happily swinging her legs. Her long brown hair, gleaming under the starlight, swayed in the night breeze. Her skin was fair and dewy, even in the darkness. She lowered her head slightly, gazing at me with her beautiful face, a faint smile on her lips.
She was facing me, yet I couldn’t see her face.
No, that’s not right. It’s not that I couldn’t see her face… it’s just that I could only see her smiling lips.
Everything else was blurred, like looking at someone standing very far away. But for some reason, only that bone-chilling smile was clear, like the Kuchisake-onna from urban legends.
The only difference might be that I didn’t feel any fear. Even with just her smile, she was still so beautiful… Perhaps dying by her hand wouldn’t be so bad…
Suddenly, a moment of clarity struck my mind, waking me from my daze. A sense of dread filled my heart.
Damn it, what was I thinking just now! I actually wanted to die for her!
I quickly shook my head and looked at Ji Lianbing again. This time, I could finally see her face clearly.
Her calm expression radiated a confident glow, with an innate air of arrogance. Her gaze, fixed on mine, held a fervent intensity.
The color of her title had turned to a purple I had never seen before.
Bizarre. Abnormal.
Besides a chilling killing intent, there were other emotions mixed in.
“Why are you here?”
“I told you at noon, ‘Let’s go home together tonight, Jun Cheng?’ That’s why I’ve been waiting for you until now.”
“Then you must have worked hard…”
“It’s my duty, after all, I’m Jun Cheng’s ‘girlfriend’.”
Girlfriend…
This false relationship has become the only bond between Ji Lianbing and me, yet there is no trust between us.
“Um, I’d like to ask, going home together means going back to our respective homes, right?”
“Of course, we’re going to my home.”
So it’s true…
When all pretense is shed, when we two as a couple are alone, in an empty school, she has removed her mask and revealed her true nature!
“Jun Cheng, I really want to possess your corpse. Can you die for me?”
“I must respectfully decline…”
“Then hurry up and run! Otherwise, if I catch you, you’ll die?”
Was it a warning? Or the last shred of her conscience?
Perhaps it was just a taunt…
“I don’t really like using weapons, as they can damage the integrity of the corpse. So, I’ll gently strangle you to death.”
Her tone was light, as if she were talking about a toy, not a human.
“Ah, they say one experiences a certain pleasure when suffocating. Jun Cheng, why don’t you experience it firsthand? Hehehehe~”
Ah… I’m such an idiot…
She wasn’t joking.
It was only at this moment that I realized how shallow I had been.
I told myself not to let my guard down and to be wary of Ji Lianbing, yet in my heart, I still held a naive hope, a wishful expectation.
Ji Lianbing wouldn’t really kill me, would she?
She definitely wouldn’t dare to kill me.
Maybe she’s just playing with me.
These thoughts still lingered in my mind, forming the basis of my wishful thinking.
And now, those foundations have crumbled instantly, and my unreliable wishful thinking has completely collapsed.
‘Daily life’ is quietly slipping away from me, and ‘abnormality’ is gleefully awaiting my arrival.
“Damn it!”
I turned and ran frantically towards the teaching building, pushing the door open and rushing inside. I didn’t even notice I had chosen the wrong escape route, only wanting to get away from Ji Lianbing as quickly as possible.
Late at night, my girlfriend and I are playing a game of hide-and-seek in the school, filled with killing intent, possessiveness, regret, and fear.
