Actions fantômes - Chapitre 8
Zhong Lei and Yu Kai stood dumbfounded at the hospital entrance.
Yu Kai raised his wrist to check his watch:
"It's only a little past three o'clock, there's still plenty of time before it gets dark! How come..."
A muffled clap of thunder suddenly exploded above his head, startling him.
"Damn! That lightning was way too close, it was trying to kill someone!" Zhong Lei exclaimed, picking at his ear with his right hand. His gaze lingered on the vehicles driving on the highway. Suddenly, a strange feeling washed over him. Why did all those cars seem so gloomy? Zhong Lei rubbed his eyes. There... none of those cars had drivers!
"Holy crap!" Zhong Lei exclaimed a second time as if by reflex, then his eyes widened, his mouth opened, and he stared at the cars on the road.
Yu Kai noticed that Zhong Lei was acting strangely again.
"Lei Zi! Are you alright?" Having learned from his previous experience of being scolded by the doctor, Yu Kai became much more cautious.
Zhong Lei suddenly shuddered, as if waking from a dream, and slowly regained his normal expression. He smiled at Kai and shook his head.
Yu Kai seemed dissatisfied with his reaction.
"Lei Zi, you seem to be acting a little crazy, don't you?"
Zhong Lei just smiled bitterly and remained silent.
Yu Kai was helpless.
At this moment, in Zhong Lei's eyes, all the cars returned to normal, with all sorts of people sitting in the driver's seat, driving all sorts of cars.
A taxi stopped in front of them, and the smiling driver called out:
"Hey you two young bosses, where are you headed? Shall I give you a ride?"
Yu Kai stepped forward, opened the back door of the car, and climbed inside.
"Phoenix City High School. Lei Zi, get going! What are you waiting for?"
Zhong Lei, who had just been expressionless, suddenly jolted awake.
"Oh, oh, I'm here." After saying that, she got into the car, glancing back before entering.
"The weather's awful today!" the driver started to say. Yu Kai and Zhong Lei weren't in the mood for conversation, only responding with a simple "Mmm!" The driver, feeling a bit awkward, coughed lightly.
"Phoenix City High School is amazing! You're all about to become college students! Wow!" The driver turned around and gave a thumbs up while driving.
This time, Yu Kai smiled, feeling secretly pleased.
"Hehe, it's not that amazing!"
The driver was quite persistent.
"Yes! It's really impressive! One of my neighbors' kids was sent there and got into Fudan University last year! I don't know what Fudan is, but at least those who get into that place must be really good at studying."
Zhong Lei pondered, "Fudan University is among the top universities in China, how could it not be impressive?"
However, I was still very happy to hear my school being praised.
The driver continued:
"But I heard that school is like a prison, some students go crazy from studying, and some even jump off buildings. I also recently heard that there was another murder in Phoenix, that a student was murdered, his arms and legs were broken and thrown into the toilet. Do you think a student did that? That's so perverted, he must have been driven to that point by the school! I also heard that one student was so scared that he was hospitalized! You might even know him!"
A long shadow line appeared on Zhong Lei's forehead (a professional term; please refer to the basics of comic book techniques for details). He thought to himself: If it has reached these people's ears so quickly, then... it won't be long before it spreads throughout all of China.
"Do many people know about this?" Zhong Lei asked.
The driver shook his head.
"No, didn't I just say that? My neighbor's child goes to school in Phoenix, and my neighbor's nephew is the student who was murdered. He told me not to tell anyone, so you all need to keep it a secret too!"
Zhong Lei was covered in sweat again, saying, "You told me but I kept talking!"
"What's your neighbor's last name?"
"Your surname is Bi, so don't go spreading rumors! And even if you do, don't say I told you!"
Zhong Lei paused for a moment, then asked:
"Uncle, could you give me your address? I'm the classmate of the student who was killed, the one who was so frightened he ended up in the hospital. I'd like to find a chance to contact Bi Bin's parents. Could you tell me?"
Upon hearing this, the driver suddenly slammed on the brakes, his eyes wide as he turned around:
"You are...? Oh, my address is Apartment 74, Beiqiao Village, Room 201. Your classmate's uncle lives across the hall from me... Hey! Can you tell me what happened? I'm really curious!"
Zhong Lei only replied, "Thank you, Uncle!" and then fell silent. The driver, feeling awkward, had no choice but to turn back and focus on driving.
Yu Kai was already barely holding back his laughter.
Half an hour later, they said goodbye to the lisp driver and stood at the main entrance of Phoenix High School.
Chapter Four: Death Appears (Part Three)
three
The two walked side by side into the guard room at the entrance.
Zhong Lei handed a leave slip to the obese, carnivorous head of security, who was reading a newspaper. (Cut! Lights! Sound! Author: This is the first part of the Phoenix City Senior High School's elementary curriculum: Leave and Return. Every student must have a leave slip to leave the school; otherwise, no one is allowed to enter or leave at will, except for faculty and staff and their families. This leave slip must include the student's name, the reason for leave, the duration of leave, the homeroom teacher's signature, and the school's Youth League Committee's stamp—all are indispensable. Registration is required when leaving the school and upon returning. When students return, they must go to the Youth League Committee and their homeroom teacher to return. Well, that's all. Please continue reading. Author exits.)
The fat section chief raised his toad-like eyelids, a hint of impatience twitching in his eyes. He checked the leave slip, tossed a register to Zhong Lei, and then lowered his head to continue reading his Phoenix City Daily.
Zhong Lei took the register, glared at the fat man inwardly, and flipped to the first page. He looked, but it wasn't there. He looked at the second page, still nothing. The third page, still nothing. The two of them were immediately filled with doubt.
Suddenly, Zhong Lei slapped his forehead.
"Ah! I was taken away by ambulance that night! How could it be registered?"
Yu Kai nodded in sudden understanding, but the fat section chief spat out the tea he had just drunk, and the two of them looked at the fat man in confusion.
"What did you say? You were taken away in an ambulance? Last Monday night?" The fat man's eyes were as wide as car headlights.
“Yes! That’s right! We were on duty that night!” Zhong Lei answered honestly.
Something suddenly dimmed in the fat man's eyes, or rather, something replaced what was in them.
"You...you...who are you?" he suddenly stammered.
Zhong Lei was very puzzled.
"I'm a student here! Who else could I be?"
The fat man wiped the sweat from his brow, as if to calm himself down, and said:
"Impossible! Those two students who were carried onto the bus died in the hospital despite all efforts to save them. How could they possibly come back? Don't talk nonsense!"
Zhong Lei's face immediately darkened. Seeing this, Yu Kai quickly said:
"He was indeed taken away by ambulance. He fainted because he saw his classmate... and then he was taken to the hospital and revived." He finished speaking and looked at the fat man.
The fat man's perception of the character had changed again.
"Oh, I see. Go back to your homeroom teacher and report back! You've already passed the leave period here."
Surprisingly, this fat man was actually quite humane.
Yu Kai dragged Zhong Lei, who seemed a bit off, towards the teacher's office with his right hand, while carrying a bag full of clothes and snacks in his left.
"Zhong Lei!"
A sudden shout startled even Yu Kai.
A middle-aged man walked out of the office building. He was dressed in a suit and tie, with his hair parted to the side. He had a sharply defined face and a pair of imposing eyes that made the students shudder. He was also quite tall; Zhong Lei and Yu Kai, both nearly 1.9 meters tall, didn't seem to have much of an advantage standing in front of him.
He stopped in front of the two men:
“Zhong Lei, you’re discharged from the hospital, that’s good. Come to my office first, I have some questions for you. I’ve already spoken to your homeroom teacher. Yu Kai, take Zhong Lei’s things back to his dorm first, then hurry back to class. Okay, is there anything else?” Those eyes were fixed on Yu Kai.
Yu Kai felt as if he had been electrocuted and immediately went to carry out his order. He released Zhong Lei, said "No, no! Goodbye, Principal!" and ran off.
The principal turned and walked towards the office building, leaving behind a remark:
"Zhong Lei, come here."
Chapter Four: Death Appears (Part 4)
4
As Zhong Lei watched Yu Kai's departing figure, he suddenly felt something was amiss, a sense of unease creeping into his heart, a feeling that something was about to happen.
"Zhong Lei! What are you daydreaming about? Come here right now!"
He turned his head and saw that the principal was already standing at the main entrance of the office building, waiting for him.
A sudden surge of nervousness got through me, and I ran towards the office building with my head down.
Zhong Lei followed the principal into the office building. Teachers and students passing by in the lobby stared at him with strange looks, their eyes filled with both admiration and sympathy. Some thought he was receiving personal care from the principal, while others thought he was being personally reprimanded by the principal.
The principal pushed open the office door, walked in first, and said without turning his head:
"Come in!"
It was Zhong Lei's first time entering the principal's office. He was both flustered and curious, so as soon as he walked in, his eyes darted around, trying to see how the principal's office differed from the teachers' offices.
The wall to the right of the entrance was covered with all sorts of banners, the most eye-catching of them all. Judging by the signatures, most were from students' parents, some from the Municipal Education Commission, and the most impressive was even a banner from the Provincial Education Department. Zhong Lei's respect for his school instantly deepened, while his hatred for it intensified.
After the principal sat down behind his desk, he saw Zhong Lei looking at the banner, and a slight smile crossed his face.
"Stop looking. I didn't call you here to look at this. Come sit down on this chair."
Upon hearing this, Zhong Lei quickly went over and sat down in the chair.