Chapter 16: A Night Visit to the Dormitory

Even now, though Yan Yu knew that the people who had indirectly caused Zhao Qingqing’s death were Li Kang and Xu Jin, he still needed some evidence to thoroughly expose the truth behind the whole affair. Therefore, he planned to go directly to Zhao Qingqing’s dormitory and find a way to see her one more time.

Chug-chug-chug...

Master Cao rode his little scooter, carrying Yan Yu to the gates of Banyan City No. 1 High School.

Zhang Dagen, the head of security, was squatting by the roadside at the school gate, smoking a cigarette. When he saw Master Cao, dressed in his eccentric way, heading toward the gate, he couldn’t help but shout, “Where did this little punk come from? Move along!”

Master Cao stopped the scooter, took off his sunglasses, and snorted coldly. “I’m no punk—I’m the Little White Dragon of Banyan City’s Waves.”

“I might as well be the Invincible Cute Darling of Banyan City! Get lost!” Zhang Dagen pulled out his baton from his belt.

At this moment, Yan Yu jumped off the back seat of the scooter and greeted Zhang Dagen, “It’s me.”

“Yan, Young Master Yan?” Zhang Dagen was startled, hurriedly putting away his baton. “With your status, how come you’re riding a scooter?”

“...It’s fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly,” Yan Yu replied quietly.

“Fuel-efficient...environmentally friendly...That’s great! There aren’t many high school students today with an environmental consciousness like yours!” Zhang Dagen didn’t forget to flatter Yan Yu.

Yan Yu waved his hand, opened his mouth as if to speak, and Zhang Dagen quickly said, “Young Master Yan, just call me Xiao Zhang.”

Even Principal Deng, who was so high and mighty, let Yan Yu call him Little Deng. Zhang Dagen certainly didn’t dare claim seniority; even being called Xiao Zhang seemed like too much of an honor.

Yan Yu smiled. “Forget it, I’ll just call you Brother Zhang. So, I’ve got a bit of a favor to ask.”

“If there’s anything you need, just say the word. If I can help, I’ll make sure it’s done perfectly!” Zhang Dagen thumped his chest as he spoke.

“I want to go into the girls’ dormitory.”

“What?!” Zhang Dagen said awkwardly, “Young Master Yan, that’s a bit...”

“Building One, Room 401. My cousin Zhou Xiaowan used to live there, but now she’s staying at home. I’m here to pick up something for her.”

As soon as Yan Yu mentioned Room 401 in Building One, Zhang Dagen’s expression changed. He clearly knew about Zhao Qingqing’s case.

“If you’re just picking something up, that’s not too difficult. But that room—401—has some issues. Why don’t you come back during the day? That dorm, well... it’s haunted!” Zhang Dagen whispered.

Yan Yu rolled his eyes. Hadn’t he come all this way precisely to see a ghost?

“My cousin left something very important there,” Yan Yu reminded him.

“In that case... Well, fine. Wait here, I’ll go get the key.” Zhang Dagen gritted his teeth and went into the security office to fetch a bunch of keys. When he came out, he said, “The students are still in evening study, so no one will be in the dorms. We won’t attract any gossip if we go in now, but we should be out by ten, or the dorm manager aunties will be hard to deal with...”

“Understood.”

Yan Yu grinned, bringing Master Cao along behind Zhang Dagen as they walked toward Building One.

The dormitory building was pitch dark—because all the girls were at study hall—except for the faint light from the dorm manager’s office by the stairs on the ground floor. The dorm manager aunt was sitting at the door, knitting a sweater.

Zhang Dagen greeted her and explained their purpose, but the aunt still went on and on for nearly ten minutes before, sweating profusely, he finally led Yan Yu and Master Cao upstairs.

As soon as they reached the fourth floor, Yan Yu couldn’t help but frown.

The yin energy on this floor was far heavier than he had imagined.

Could there be another ghost on this floor?

“Room 401 is at the end of the hall. Last week, a girl hanged herself here. Since then, students living here have seen ghostly shadows, or heard crying, and some even claim to have seen the dead girl sitting on the ceiling fan, combing her hair... In short, this place isn’t clean. Young Master Yan, be careful,” Zhang Dagen cautioned.

Yan Yu took the key and smiled at Zhang Dagen. “Brother Zhang, you’re still single, right?”

“Huh? Why do you ask?” Zhang Dagen looked puzzled.

“I heard the dorm manager aunt downstairs say she wants to set you up with someone. Why don’t you go down and have a chat with her?” Yan Yu smiled.

Zhang Dagen’s eyes flickered. He immediately understood that Yan Yu wanted him to leave. With a knowing smile, he said, “I’ll wait downstairs for you.”

Once Zhang Dagen was gone, Master Cao finally spoke. “Master, why do I feel it’s colder here than outside?”

“It’s common knowledge that girls’ dorms are full of yin energy,” Yan Yu replied.

“Is yin energy really a thing?”

“If you lived here for a week or two, even a strong young man like yourself would feel it,” Yan Yu said.

Master Cao reached out and touched some of the girls’ underwear hanging outside, nodding gravely. “I believe it!”

“...” Yan Yu.

Shameless! Absolutely shameless!

The two of them came to the door of Room 401 and found that the seal on the door had already been torn off. The door and windows were plastered with all sorts of crooked, strange talismans. Yan Yu looked them over carefully; not a single one was genuine.

“Hey, one of mine is here! So the girl who bought talismans from me the other day lives here too,” Master Cao chuckled, pointing at one of the papers.

Yan Yu stepped forward and opened the dormitory door. A gust of icy wind surged out, blowing down all the talismans on the door as if guided by some unseen force.

Master Cao quietly retreated to the side and whispered, “Master, I’ve got sharp eyes—I’ll keep watch out here for you?”

Yan Yu hadn’t expected Master Cao to be much help anyway. He instructed, “Keep an eye on the hallway—don’t let anyone in. If I call you, break down the door.”

“Got it!” Master Cao nodded cheerfully.

Using the key Zhang Dagen had given him, Yan Yu opened the door to Room 401. The first thing he saw was the ceiling fan, spinning slowly above.

Once the door was closed, the dorm was so silent you could hear a pin drop. Even Yan Yu felt a chill run down his spine.

“Zhao Qingqing died in this room. The yin energy here is thick enough—she must still be here. But…”

Yan Yu looked around, but he didn’t seem to sense Zhao Qingqing’s presence.

He’d already discarded the willow leaf from earlier that afternoon. Now, unless Zhao Qingqing appeared of her own will, he wouldn’t see her.

There were six beds in the dorm, each labeled with a name. Yan Yu quickly found Zhao Qingqing’s bed and searched it, but found no clues.

Suddenly, the dorm window slammed shut with a harsh sound, making Yan Yu jump.

Just as he was about to turn around, he suddenly realized—there was an extra shadow at his feet.

From the looks of it, it was the shadow of a woman with long hair, standing motionless right behind him.

“Zhao Qingqing?” Yan Yu asked quietly.

“What are you doing here?!”

A somewhat familiar voice sounded. Yan Yu turned around to find his homeroom teacher, Su Han, dressed in a nightgown, standing right behind him—he had no idea when she’d entered the dorm!