El hibisco como pintura

Capítulo 5

Gao Xiaoyuan slowly turned her head and quietly looked towards the door. Under the beam of the flashlight, a basketball slowly rolled to the doorway.

Gao Xiaoyuan rushed out and shone her flashlight into the corridor.

The corridor was quiet, without a single person in sight, only the dim lights casting a pale glow.

Gao Xiaoyuan lowered her head in disappointment. She thought Xu An had come, but he didn't appear. She squatted down, picked up the basketball on the ground, and murmured to herself, "Xu An, where are you? Why are you hiding from me? I still have so many questions to ask you."

Section 16: Are they a couple? (2)

Gao Xiaoyuan sighed softly and casually dribbled the basketball. Suddenly, she noticed something stuck to the side of the basketball. Gao Xiaoyuan quickly spun the basketball and immediately saw a large photo sticker on its surface.

Although the photo booth pictures were a bit old, Gao Xiaoyuan could still clearly see the faces of the people in them.

"Xu An!" Gao Xiaoyuan exclaimed. It was a close-up photo of Xu An and a pretty girl, their faces pressed together, looking very sweet, making it easy to imagine that they were a student couple.

Gao Xiaoyuan's lips trembled slightly. She herself didn't know why seeing this photo booth picture made her feel a strange pain in her heart, as if she had been stung by something.

Was that his girlfriend? Or maybe just a friend...?

This is the first time I've seen you smile. Your smile is captivating, but I'm curious to know if your smile is because of her. I'm even more curious to know who she is, where she is, and where you are.

This morning, I saw a line of unfamiliar handwriting in my diary. Did you write that? I don't know why, but I really hope it's you. Even if you're a ghost, I'm not afraid. I just hope you can come out and see me. I really have so many questions I want to ask you.

Gao Xiaoyuan had so many questions she wanted to ask Xu An, but she didn't know what she would ask him when she actually met him. Her mind was filled with unanswered questions, and even more so with a strange, bittersweet feeling. Gao Xiaoyuan picked up the basketball from the ground and stared blankly at the photo booth picture on it.

They were laughing genuinely, and that happiness came from the bottom of their hearts.

Gao Xiaoyuan was very sad.

Why do I feel that way? Why does my heart ache so much?

Gao Xiaoyuan threw down the basketball, buried her head in her arms, and slumped onto the table. She wanted to cry, she really wanted to cry.

The sound of rain came from outside the window, as if it were crying for Gao Xiaoyuan.

At this moment, the question Gao Xiaoyuan most wanted to ask was: Xu An, do you like that girl?

Prince Siqiu and Su Siyu

The rain had stopped in the early morning, and fresh air flowed in through the window.

When Gao Xiaoyuan woke up, she couldn't wait to look at the table.

The diary was indeed opened.

Gao Xiaoyuan excitedly picked up the diary and carefully looked at the words on it; it was that unfamiliar man's handwriting again.

I love it when you ride your bicycle through the school in the early morning, singing a beautiful song. At that time, you are the most beautiful angel in the world.

"It's Xu An, isn't it?" Gao Xiaoyuan's eyes were slightly red. She forced back her inner pain as she looked at the faint handwriting and murmured to herself, "You like that girl, don't you?" Gao Xiaoyuan seemed to be asking Xu An, but also seemed to be talking to herself. She felt extremely lost, and that confused feeling made her disoriented and sad. She slowly closed the diary.

When Gao Xiaoyuan returned to the red phone booth with her basketball, she saw that it was once again covered by fallen leaves.

Although it's already autumn, the leaves won't be falling this quickly.

Gao Xiaoyuan looked up at the fallen leaves, which appeared to have been laid there intentionally. Who would want to bury this red phone booth? And why would they bury it?

Gao Xiaoyuan stopped thinking about it and walked to the phone booth, brushing away the fallen leaves on it. She stared blankly at the phone inside.

Perhaps Xu An stood right here back then, listening to the words of the girl he loved. His face must have been beaming with happiness then; maybe he was a sunny boy then, but now…

Gao Xiaoyuan suddenly frowned. She remembered what Principal Chen had once said: "That night, the concert hall suddenly lost power. Teacher Xia brought candles to light the way for the children, but unexpectedly, that fire broke out. The fire was quickly extinguished, but their bodies could not be found; they may have already turned to ashes..."

If all the students in Class 0 of Grade 11 died back then, why did their bodies disappear? And Peng Zhi's body was found, but why did it disappear again? The girl on the phone mentioned Teacher Xia; she might be a student in Class 0 of Grade 11, but who is she? Could she not be dead? If she was a student in Class 0 of Grade 11, then Xu An... might also be one? Gao Xiaoyuan stared blankly at the photo booth picture on the basketball.

That girl is really pretty. Is she the girl from the phone call?

"It's you again." Grandpa Liu had appeared beside Gao Xiaoyuan without her noticing. Gao Xiaoyuan looked up at Grandpa Liu with a somewhat confused expression.

"Why aren't you going to class? You're not planning to skip class, are you?" Grandpa Liu looked Gao Xiaoyuan up and down. He glanced at the phone booth and said, "This phone booth was built to make it easier for students from other places to contact their families, but unfortunately it was abandoned later."

"Why was it abandoned?" Gao Xiaoyuan pressed.

Grandpa Liu didn't say anything, he just sighed.

Gao Xiaoyuan looked at Grandpa Liu and seemed to find a trace of sadness in his eyes. What kind of sadness was it?

Grandpa Liu's gaze casually fell on the basketball Gao Xiaoyuan was holding, but then his expression suddenly changed, and he shouted, "How did you get this basketball?"

Gao Xiaoyuan looked at the basketball in her arms and then at Grandpa Liu: "I don't know." She was telling the truth.

Grandpa Liu snatched the basketball, staring wide-eyed at the boy and girl students in the photo booth picture: "They...they were burned to death, weren't they?"

Burned to death? Gao Xiaoyuan remembered that Grandpa Liu had been at this school for many years, so he must know what happened back then and must recognize the person in the photo. So she immediately asked, "Grandpa Liu, do you know the name of the girl next to Xu An?"

"Xu An? Who is Xu An?"

Gao Xiaoyuan was taken aback, then pointed to the boy in the photo booth picture and said, "That's Xu An."

Grandpa Liu shook his head, looked at the photo booth picture, and said, "You've got it wrong. His name isn't Xu An; it's Prince Qiu."

As soon as Grandpa Liu finished speaking, Gao Xiaoyuan was stunned. His name wasn't Xu An; he had been lying to her all along.

Grandpa Liu, oblivious to Gao Xiaoyuan's reaction, continued, "The girl next to the prince is named Su Siyu. They were in the same class. This girl named Siyu loved to sing. She had a beautiful voice. Every morning, I would see her riding her bicycle and singing as she entered the school. Her voice was so lovely. It's a pity... Ah, what a wonderful student."

"Are they all students from Class 0 of the first year of high school?" Gao Xiaoyuan asked blankly.

"Yes, it's such a pity about those children, they just died like that. Luckily I wasn't there at the time, otherwise, if I had seen that scene, this old man would have fainted."

Gao Xiaoyuan stood there blankly, her eyes fixed on the phone booth.

So Xu An, no, it was Prince Qiu who was dead. And the voice on the phone must have been Su Siyu's, so she was also dead. Had I been dealing with dead people all along?

Gao Xiaoyuan gasped. Could there really be ghosts in this world?

"Go to class now. So much time has passed, nobody wants to bring it up again." Grandpa Liu urged her a few times, then handed the basketball back to Gao Xiaoyuan and turned to leave.

Gao Xiaoyuan watched Grandpa Liu's departing figure, but she couldn't calm down. She suddenly turned her head, her terrified gaze once again focusing on the red telephone booth.

"Ding-ling-ling—"

Five dead people are calling for help.

The phone kept ringing, as if it would ring forever.

Gao Xiaoyuan walked blankly into the phone booth, took another deep breath, and calmly picked up the receiver.

"Is it Su Siyu?" Gao Xiaoyuan insisted on getting to the bottom of it.

"This is Su Siyu," the voice on the phone was still pleasant, but it had become unusually urgent: "Help—"

Gao Xiaoyuan was startled and moved the receiver away, causing the basketball in her hand to fall to the ground and roll away.

"Help! Help me—ah—" The voice on the other end of the phone was still screaming.

Gao Xiaoyuan trembled as she brought the receiver to her ear. A commotion came from the other end of the line, as if something had fallen or broken. Then came several screams, making it quite noisy. However, Gao Xiaoyuan could tell that the screams were coming from Su Siyu.

"Su Siyu! Su Siyu! What happened to you? Tell me quickly!" Gao Xiaoyuan called out anxiously.

“Call the police… Ah—” Another scream came from the other end of the phone.

"Call the police?" Gao Xiaoyuan's body began to tremble. She had no idea what was going on. She was extremely nervous. She was talking to a "dead person," but the "dead person" was telling her to call the police. If she really called the police, what would she tell them?

Another commotion came from the other end of the phone, sounding like fighting or something being pushed over.

Just as Gao Xiaoyuan was wondering what to do, she heard someone call her from behind.

"Xiaoyuan!"

When Gao Xiaoyuan turned around, she saw Principal Chen.

"Xiaoyuan, why are you skipping class?" Principal Chen stared at Gao Xiaoyuan with a serious expression.

"Principal Chen, Su Siyu is calling for help!" Gao Xiaoyuan said anxiously, holding up the receiver.

“Su Siyu…” Principal Chen recalled the name, when suddenly a cold, fearful glint flashed in her eyes: “Isn’t she already dead?”

"It's her, it really is her!" A scream came from the phone as Gao Xiaoyuan said this.

Principal Chen strode forward, snatched the microphone, and listened intently to the voice inside. In that instant, her facial expression underwent a dramatic change. Her face grew increasingly pale, her terrified eyes filled with the aura of death. Her hand loosened, and the microphone dangled in mid-air.

Section 19: The Dead Are Crying for Help (2)

"Principal Chen..." Gao Xiaoyuan called softly, but Principal Chen did not respond.

"List……"

"Go to class." Principal Chen's face instantly returned to calm.

"Principal Chen, that phone call..."

"This was just a student's prank. You can go to class now." Although Principal Chen's face returned to calm, Gao Xiaoyuan could still tell that it was an act.

Gao Xiaoyuan didn't dare to say anything more. She lowered her head to pick up the basketball, but found that it was gone.

"Hey, where's the basketball?" Gao Xiaoyuan searched back and forth.

"Why aren't you in class yet!"

Gao Xiaoyuan was about to say something, but seeing Principal Chen's serious expression, she could only lower her head, turn around, and leave quickly.

The moment Gao Xiaoyuan left, Principal Chen could no longer stand. She reached out and grabbed the phone booth, cold sweat beading on her forehead.

“How could this be… She’s dead… She couldn’t possibly be alive… But that voice…” Principal Chen’s gaze was fixed on the microphone.

There was no sound coming from that microphone, but Principal Chen still felt her scalp tingle and her limbs go weak; she simply couldn't accept this fact.

Suddenly, a voice came through the telephone receiver again:

"Principal Chen, please save me..."