Ghost Detective Records

Chapter 107

"Let me see it! You're so stingy." Juanzi said coquettishly to a quiet girl wearing glasses, pulling hard on her, but the girl clung tightly to a large notebook and shook her head desperately.

"Hey, don't do that. It won't kill you to let me see it, and we're such good friends." Juanzi persisted, trying to persuade the quiet girl, seemingly wanting to snatch her notebook away.

"Juanzi." I walked over, and Juanzi immediately stopped grabbing. I saw the quiet girl breathe a sigh of relief and give me a grateful look.

"Lin Xiao!" Juanzi glanced at me and then said, "Senior, you be the judge. She and I are best friends, but she has a secret she won't tell me!"

I smiled and looked at Juanzi, who looked like a child who hadn't received her candy, and said, "Everyone has secrets, and even the best of friends should have the right to keep their own secrets. Don't take advantage of her honesty."

"I didn't!" Juanzi glared at me and said, "She said last time that she designed a nice dress to show me, but now she's gone back on her word."

"I...I..." The quiet girl pouted awkwardly, looking like she was about to cry, and said, "I made an agreement with someone that I can't show this to others."

"Alright, alright, I won't look then!" Juanzi seemed surprised that she was about to cry, waved her hand and said, "Then you have to show me your next design."

"Yes! Definitely." The quiet girl nodded immediately and smiled.

"Let's go back to the dorm!" Juanzi took the quiet girl's hand. The girls' argument came and went quickly. In the blink of an eye, the two of them were walking away, hugging and jumping, leaving me, the senior, standing there.

With a helpless smile, I immediately rushed out of the school gate.

*********

The wooden floorboards creaked and groaned, as if they were groaning. Reaching the door in the dark, I hesitated. Should I just rush in and ask about the documents from back then? What if he didn't tear that photo with the missing corner? But even if he did, so what? It's just an old adult photo. Yet, a knot in my heart remained, a thorn that would keep pricking me until I got to the bottom of it.

Frustrated, I gently knocked on the door. The door...? It wasn't locked?

Squeak... It sounded like a mouse squeaking. I pushed hard, and the door opened, releasing a strong smell of Chinese medicine. It was dark and gaping inside, like the gaping maw of a wild beast, ready to devour me at any moment.

"Teacher Zhao? Are you there?" I called out tentatively.

He's not here? But why isn't the door locked? Relying on my memory of last visit, I found a light switch next to the door. With a click, a messy room—no, an empty room—appeared before me.

The floor was littered with books, torn papers, a brown glass flask, and countless sheets of paper covered in writing. Where was Zhao Xing? Had he moved? Or…did he never even exist?

No, there must be. I've been here several times already.

I picked up a few pieces of paper from the ground, covered with strange symbols. They looked like ancient Chinese oracle bone script? But no, more like pictographs. And… strange red patterns! The exact same red patterns as those on my body!

What are these patterns? Symbols? Words? Or some kind of design?

Looking at those books, they are nothing more than things about ancient Chinese ethnic minorities, funerary practices, writing, history, and some ancient myths and unofficial histories.

Zhao Xing? What exactly do you need all this for?

Looking around, I felt the walls were damp, as if they were seeping water. The light flickered on and off, and the red patterns on the white paper seemed to float slowly in the light and shadow.

Suddenly, with a bang, the door seemed to slam shut by the wind, sending several pieces of paper fluttering to the ground like white butterflies. But... where did that wind come from?

This room has only one window, and it's closed...!

The light above my head suddenly started swaying, and I felt the light shimmering in my eyes like waves...

What was that? It blinked at my eyes...?

I walked over and saw a mirror lying on the table. I slowly picked it up, my skin burning. I saw myself in the mirror, my whole body covered in red patterns.

Whew... I let out a heavy breath, and as soon as I blinked, I saw a small, white-faced red figure reflected in the mirror behind me...

It's her again? The little girl in red?

I turned around abruptly, only to hear a scream.

"What are you doing here?" We both exclaimed at the same time. What is that quiet girl who was just arguing with Juanzi doing here? When did she come in?

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"N-nothing..." The quiet girl shook her head vigorously.

"Are you also here to see Teacher Zhao Xing?" I asked, puzzled.

"No...no...no...that's not it." The quiet girl continued to shake her head, and took a few steps back. Before I could ask her any more questions, she turned around and ran away.

"Hey~~!" I was about to chase after her when I saw a note floating down from the quiet girl's body.

I picked it up and saw that it was Zhao Xing's handwriting. It read: "The appointment is moved up. Please wait at the entrance of the equipment building at the old playground at 10:30 tonight."

A date? Zhao Xing and this girl? It can't be the kind of date between lovers, can it? Zhao Xing is old enough to be her father. So, what kind of date is it?

I frowned. Although it's not right to speculate about other people's privacy, I still felt that this date was strange. What secrets did they have?

10:30 tonight...? I checked my watch and realized that all this commotion had already made it almost 5 pm. That means they still have five hours until their 10:30 pm date. I have five hours to consider whether I should go with them tonight.

To go or not to go?

I scratched my head, and finally decided to go and see, even if it was just to find Zhao Xing, since there was no way to find him now anyway.

*********

Back at the guesthouse, I pretended to have just returned from a walk and had dinner with Li Yang and Su Qiao. After dinner, I made an excuse that I needed to rest early and went to bed early. Then, I secretly vomited up all the medicine that Su Qiao had given me, just like I had done before.

I planned to sneak out after Su Qiao left, but my plan backfired. Su Qiao stayed by my bedside the whole time. I could only obediently pretend to be asleep in bed, not daring to move an inch.

Just as I was wondering if she was going to stay up all night, Su Qiao finally got up and went back to her room. When I checked the time, it was already 11:15, long past their date time.

Should I still go? Maybe they've already finished! No, I have to try my luck, maybe they're still there! With that thought, I immediately got out of bed and tiptoed out the door.

I walked out of the guesthouse feeling guilty and extremely cautious. I had a persistent feeling that someone was following me. Who was it? Su Qiao? Or Li Yang? Neither of them; they would definitely call out to me. Unless it was…

Sure enough, when I turned around abruptly, I saw Fang Lei standing not far from me with an embarrassed look on her face.

"It's you?" I really don't know what to call her now. Fang Lei? Or Su Qiao? Or neither?

"Where are you going so late?" The person who had been following them was the first to challenge them.

"Go find someone," I confessed honestly.

"Why are you looking for someone so late?" Fang Lei asked.

"And what about you?" I asked back.

"I'm just curious. I want to see if all forensic doctors have any quirks?" Fang Lei replied.

A forensic pathologist? Aren't you one too? But I didn't say anything more, just gave them a "whatever" look and walked away without looking back. Fang Lei immediately caught up and asked, "Where are you going?"

“If you want to follow, then be quiet,” I replied. Fang Lei immediately fell silent, simply following closely behind me. But I didn't know if this was the right thing to do. Was it okay to let her follow?

Sigh... I sighed. I don't know why, but I didn't want to go alone. Maybe it would be better if she went with me. Looking at her beautiful, delicate face in the moonlight, I really wanted to go up and take her hand. But unfortunately, I didn't have the courage. Because she seemed to have become a different person, a stranger. She no longer remembered me, or perhaps I never remembered her at all.

So this is what it feels like to forget each other.

***********************

Author's Note: Practicing the Sunflower Manual wasn't my intention; I was just incredibly busy with work lately! Just when I was ready to turn over a new leaf, this happened. Now I realize that owning a car isn't always a good thing! I was in a car accident a few days ago, sigh... speechless... I'm so sorry everyone!

Volume 3: Delicacies of Hell, Chapter 51: The Surface of Water

Volume 3: Delicacies of Hell, Chapter 51: The Surface of Water

When we reached our destination, I began to regret it deeply, especially letting Fang Lei follow me. The sports equipment storage building, shrouded in darkness, resembled a gloomy, abandoned old house in a deserted village. The single-story building was hidden among the dark green trees, with only a small patch of land in front, once a volleyball training ground, bathed in a faint moonlight. Further ahead lay the school's oldest playground, extremely rudimentary, with even the running track paved with cinders. There were no lighting facilities whatsoever, making the entire playground seem like a desolate graveyard hidden in the dark.

Standing in front of the building, the green, peeling paint on the gate looked even more eerily green under the moonlight, as if it were covered in ancient moss. I only now realized that the school actually had such a place suitable for filming ghost movies.

"Who are you waiting for so late?" Fang Lei didn't seem scared at all, looking around as she asked me.

"They've probably already left." I glanced at my watch with a hint of regret. It was 11:30, a full hour late. It seemed Zhao Xing's date with that quiet girl had probably ended long ago. Thinking this, I turned to leave, but Fang Lei grabbed me.

"Since we're here, let's go in and take a look. Maybe someone's inside." Fang Lei said, pulling me along as she pushed open the door, which was surprisingly unlocked.

"What are you going in for? There won't be anyone there." I insisted on not going in, but Fang Lei seemed determined to argue with me. With no other choice, I had to follow her inside.

There didn't seem to be anything of value inside, just some discarded old tables and chairs and broken sports equipment. I casually kicked a deflated basketball at my feet.

"Ah~~!" A soft cry startled Fang Lei and me. Who could be here so late?

Fang Lei and I followed the sound and found a girl huddled up behind a pile of abandoned old tables and chairs, looking like a startled rabbit.

"Who?" I asked.

The girl looked up. It was her? That quiet girl. She was still here? Had Zhao Xing not come? Had he broken his promise?

"It's you?" the quiet girl and I exclaimed at the same time.

"Do you know her?" Fang Lei asked from the side.

"Ah, you must be Juanzi's classmate." I looked at the quiet girl and asked, "What's your name?"

“I…I’m Zhuang Jing,” Zhuang Jing replied, standing up from the ground.

"What are you doing here so late?" Fang Lei asked curiously. Then she glanced at me, seemingly misunderstanding that she was waiting for me.

"I...I..." Zhuang Jing looked at us awkwardly, unable to utter a word for a long time, her face already flushed red.

She's such a shy girl. I smiled and helped her out: "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. If there's nothing else, you should go back to your dorm. It's not safe here."

"Yes!" Zhuang Jing nodded and said, "This place is really scary. You guys scared me half to death just now."

"Aren't you going to go back obediently?" Fang Lei patted Zhuang Jing's head like an older sister and took her hand.

I smiled. Although I hadn't found Zhao Xing, there was still a chance. As long as I could get information out of Zhuang Jing, I wouldn't have to worry about not finding her. With that thought, I turned around and prepared to leave.

"Oh dear..." Zhuang Jing suddenly groaned at this moment, as if she was in great pain.

"What's wrong?" Fang Lei and I quickly supported her on either side and asked with concern.

"It hurts... my stomach hurts," Zhuang Jing said embarrassedly.

"She probably caught a chill just now," Fang Lei said to me as she helped her up. "Let's get her back to her dorm quickly."

"Okay, sure." I nodded.

"Ah..." Zhuang Jing seemed to be in even more pain, and her whole body was bent over like a shrimp. Seeing that the situation seemed bad, I quickly squatted down in front of Zhuang Jing and said, "Let me carry her on my back."

"Okay." Fang Lei quickly helped Zhuang Jing lie down on my back. But just then, as I subconsciously turned around to look at Zhuang Jing who was about to lie down, I saw a familiar face, and that splash of red that filled me with fear. My body trembled.

"Ah~~!" Zhuang Jing, who was about to lie down, lost her balance because of my tremor and almost fell off my back. Fortunately, Fang Lei caught her quickly.

"Be careful," Fang Lei complained from behind. I looked back carefully, but there was nothing there.

I hoisted Zhuang Jing back onto my back and Fang Lei and I hurried forward, but for some reason, we couldn't move at all. We were clearly trying to take steps, but our bodies remained rooted to the spot, and the scenery around us didn't move either. It was as if we were standing on a level escalator, but the concrete floor beneath us seemed completely still.

"What's going on?" Fang Lei asked me in surprise. I didn't answer, and quickened my pace even more, until I was almost running. But it was no use; I remained in the same place. That door seemed like an unreachable place, so close yet so far away.

"Put her down first," Fang Lei said anxiously beside me.