STG 43

Chapter 43: Again?!

No. 2 High School.

The school bell rang leisurely, signaling the end of the day. Groups of high school students streamed out of the school gates, chatting and laughing as they headed home.

“Ugh, so much homework again today. I’ll be up past eleven…”

“Tell me about it! That stupid teacher assigned 12 reading comprehension passages! Does she want to kill us?”

“Huh? Isn’t reading comprehension just guesswork?”

“How do you guess?”

“Three long options and one short? Pick the short one. Three short and one long? Pick the long one. If they’re all uneven, choose C. If it’s ambiguous, go with D.”

“…Wait, let me write that down!”

“…”

Suddenly, one student turned around and called out to Li Yifei, who was lagging behind:

“Li Yifei, why are you so slow? Hurry up!”

Li Yifei snapped out of his daze. “Oh, coming, coming!”

He quickened his pace to catch up with the group but kept glancing around distractedly.

“What’s wrong with you? What are you looking for?” Wang Liang asked curiously.

Li Yifei hesitated for a moment, then sighed. “After what happened last time, I’ve developed a phobia of walking home after school… Even though there’s no night study now and it’s still daylight, I just feel… creeped out!”

Wang Liang rolled his eyes. “It was just a murderer! How dramatic can you get? Li Yifei, you look so tough, but you’re such a scaredy-cat!”

“It’s not just… Ugh, never mind. You wouldn’t understand,” Li Yifei shook his head.

Then, as if remembering something, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“What now?”

“I just remembered I forgot my homework—it’s still in my desk drawer,” Li Yifei said, rubbing his temples.

“Your brain is really failing you. You were already dumb, and now it’s getting worse… Luckily the school gates aren’t closed yet. Go get it quickly. I’ll go ahead with the others.”

Wang Liang waved at Li Yifei, then turned and left with the rest of the group.

Li Yifei sighed and headed back toward the school.

By the time he reached the school gates, twenty minutes had passed since dismissal. Most students had already left, and the campus was eerily empty.

“Lucky the gates are still open,” Li Yifei muttered to himself, hurrying inside.

The school grounds at dusk were quieter than usual, lacking the usual buzz of activity.

Occasionally, a few students who had been cleaning their classrooms emerged, checking the time and rushing toward the gates, passing Li Yifei as he walked against the flow.

They were all in a hurry to get home, to enjoy a hot meal with their families.

The further Li Yifei walked, the fewer people he saw, and the darker the twilight grew.

Tall trees lining the path rustled in the wind, and the fading light of the setting sun seeped through the leaves, growing dimmer and scarcer…

Li Yifei hurried to the teaching building for the second-year students, bounded up to the fourth floor, and reached his classroom.

The empty hallway was bathed in the dim glow of dusk, with Li Yifei as its only occupant.

By now, even the cleaning students had left, and the classroom door was locked.

But this didn’t faze Li Yifei. He skillfully opened the window, set down his backpack, and hoisted himself inside.

“Homework, homework, homework… Found it!” After rummaging through his desk, he pulled out a notebook, his eyes lighting up.

He stuffed the notebook into his bag, went back to the window, and prepared to climb out the same way.

Just then, two figures appeared at the end of the hallway.

Catching them in his peripheral vision, Li Yifei froze, then quickly crouched down, hiding behind the tiled wall beneath the window.

“What kind of luck is this? Of all people, the dean of academics?” Li Yifei cursed under his breath.

The two figures were Liu Xiaoyan, the Chinese class representative from his class, and the dean of academics for the second year.

Sneaking into the classroom after hours by climbing through the window was easily misunderstood. If the dean caught him, he’d have no way to explain himself and would be in serious trouble.

So, Li Yifei pressed himself against the wall, planning to wait until they left.

As the two chatted, they drew closer to the classroom where Li Yifei was hiding. Gradually, he could clearly make out their conversation.

“…So, your class really needs to focus on Chinese. Pick the best essay writer to represent us in the city-wide competition.”

“Understood, Dean. Several students in our class write excellent essays, like…”

As they walked, the dean seemed to tire and stopped, leaning against the hallway railing to rest.

Liu Xiaoyan also paused, continuing to speak beside him.

And their stopping point happened to be right outside the classroom where Li Yifei was hiding!

Seeing this reflected in the window, Li Yifei rolled his eyes in frustration and simply sat down to wait for them to leave.

“Good, those are excellent choices. Have them come to my office tomorrow, and I’ll speak with them,” the dean said approvingly, turning to leave.

“Dean!” Liu Xiaoyan suddenly called out, stopping him.

The dean turned back, looking puzzled. “Is there something else, Liu Xiaoyan?”

In the twilight, a faint blush appeared on Liu Xiaoyan’s cheeks, and she suddenly grew oddly shy.

“Dean, actually, I… I’ve always wanted to tell you…”

Hidden nearby, Li Yifei’s eyes widened in shock, nearly popping out of their sockets!

Holy crap!

I just came back to get my homework—what the hell am I witnessing?!

Liu Xiaoyan has a crush on the dean?!

But… the dean’s almost fifty! And he’s balding!

Her taste is that questionable?!

The dean’s frown deepened as he stood before Liu Xiaoyan.

“Actually, I… I’ve always wanted…

to…

eat you!”

As the last three words left her mouth, Liu Xiaoyan’s jaw split open at an alarming angle, as if torn apart by force! Rows of barbed, sharp teeth were exposed!

Her pupils had vanished, leaving only the whites of her eyes, which looked utterly terrifying! Meanwhile, the dimples on her cheeks still glowed with an eerie wine-red hue in the twilight…

The dean’s eyes bulged, and he instinctively opened his mouth to scream!

The next moment, Liu Xiaoyan’s entire head split open from the mouth, revealing the dense packed fangs emit a cold light!

The mouth was so large it could easily swallow a whole person!

In an instant, the gaping maw engulfed the dean. Flesh squirmed and twisted inside, a nauseating sight!

Witnessing the entire scene, Li Yifei clamped a hand over his mouth, staring in horror through the window, his entire body trembling uncontrollably!

Liu Xiaoyan chewed for what felt like an eternity, then suddenly, the monstrous mouth opened again and—

Gulp!—spat out the dean, completely intact.

Aside from being covered in slime, he hadn’t lost a single hair.

He lay quietly on the ground while Liu Xiaoyan’s flesh-head gradually reformed, returning to that of an ordinary high school girl within seconds.

She stared down at the dean, motionless.

A few seconds later, the dean on the ground suddenly opened his eyes and stood up in an eerily unnatural manner.

He and Liu Xiaoyan locked eyes,

and simultaneously broke into smiles.

Moving in perfect, unsettling synchronization, the two turned and walked away, gradually disappearing down the hallway.

Only when he was sure they were truly gone did Li Yifei remove his hand from his mouth, collapsing weakly to the floor as he gasped for air.

Only two words echoed in his mind:

“Again?!!!”

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