Vol. 1 Chapter 16 – Fresh Flowers Scorched Earth Campus. (16)

In the early morning, Chi Xi rubbed his eyes and went out, subconsciously greeting Yin Liuming. “Brother Yin, morning.”  

“Morning.”  

Yin Liuming wore bear-head cotton slippers, light yellow bear fleece pajamas, and a sleeping cap with small pom-poms that swayed as he walked. An eye mask hung around his neck, highlighting his fair skin and giving him a much gentler temperament.  

But Chi Xi was instantly frightened awake and asked cautiously, “Brother Yin, are you still not awake?”

In the past few nights, something happened every day. When he came to knock on Yin Liuming’s door, he would see Yin Liuming wearing that outfit with a cold expression, full of the warning, ‘I will beat you to death if you don’t say something serious.’

Now it’s late in the morning; could it be that Brother Yin hasn’t woken up yet?  

Yin Liuming coughed lightly and smiled. “I’m awake.”  

Upon seeing Yin Liuming’s smile, Chi Xi sighed with relief and scratched his head, saying, “You scared me… Brother Yin, did you forget to change your clothes?”  

Yin Liuming’s smile turned a little subtle. “No, I plan to wear this today.”

Chi Xi was at a loss.  

Yin Liuming: “…Yesterday when I entered the office building, my clothes were stained by smoke and I need to wash them.”  

He reached into his pocket and squeezed the illustration book hard.  

The day before, in order to get Shen Lou to agree to cooperate with him in scaring Yan Hang, Yin Liuming paid a small price—

“I think your pajamas look good.” Shen Lou’s translucent eyes had a mischievous smile. “As long as you wear pajamas until you finish this dream mission, I will help you.”  

Yin Liuming sighed softly.  

If it were him during the day, he would never agree to such a thing.  

The problem was… besides becoming irritable at night, his obsession with sleep and things related to it had also strengthened.

In that state, he didn’t think there was anything wrong with wearing pajamas at all, but he was even more resistant to wearing normal clothes.  

Yin Liuming rubbed his forehead and changed the subject. “Where are the others?”  

“Sister Ning went to the school store to buy cigarettes, and Yang Jiao still hasn’t gotten up,” Chi Xi said with a hint of contempt. “Ding Pei’an went out early this morning.”

Yin Liuming nodded and strode out.  

Although his cotton slippers fit well, they were no match for sneakers, and he walked down the street feeling particularly awkward.

“I feel like time has gone backward again today,” Chi Xi said as he walked. “I asked a few students, and the exam doesn’t start until tomorrow.”

Yin Liuming raised his eyes and looked at the outer wall of the dormitory building, squinting slightly.  

Yan Hang, who had been hanging on it last night, was no longer there.  

Yin Liuming rolled up his sleeves and went to the cafeteria to buy a few buns. Gnawing on the hot meat buns, he headed to the office building in his slippers.

The office building had reverted to its original state of disrepair from when they first arrived, with no trace of burns—as if the fire last night had never occurred.

This was Yin Liuming’s third visit to the office building of Anyang High School.

The first time was when he initially entered the instance to meet Director Jiang and receive the mission; the second was last night when he rushed in to investigate the fire.

He hadn’t observed carefully the first two times. This time, Yin Liuming slowly and patiently walked around the office building and discovered many intriguing details.  

Unlike the other buildings, the office building had no flowerpots or flowers; even its outer walls lacked the ivy that adorned the rest.

The corridor was filled with a blend of the dilapidated atmosphere from old wooden furniture and the fresh scent of new ink on books. These two scents combined, giving the small office building a unique sense of solemnity and gravity.

Like other places, there was no one in the office building.  

In fact, since they had entered the dream, they had seen only two adults besides the students—the security guard at the entrance and Director Jiang, who assigned the mission.

Yin Liuming thoroughly explored the first and second floors before going up to the third floor.  

Chi Xi seemed to be affected by the atmosphere of the office building and asked in a low voice, “Is the archive room on the third floor?”

“Yesterday Yan Hang was escaping for his life in the corridor on the third floor.” Yin Liuming paused as he reached the corner of the stairs and withdrew his gaze from the cabinet beside him, as if nothing had happened. “They shouldn’t go to other floors after the fire.”

Turning to the third floor, they unexpectedly saw a familiar figure.  

Ding Pei’an was standing at the door of a room without a doorplate, reaching out to twist the lock.  

The door was locked.  

Yin Liuming raised his eyebrows slightly.  

Sure enough, Ding Pei’an’s ‘breakthrough’ that he found last night was stealing the exam papers.  

Ding Pei’an noticed them coming and glared fiercely. “Do you also want to get a piece of the pie?”  

His eyes fell on Yin Liuming’s clothes, and then a trace of confusion appeared.  

…Probably never seen anyone investigating a fire scene in pajamas.  

Yin Liuming raised his eyebrows slightly and made a ‘please’ gesture.  

Ding Pei’an looked at Yin Liuming suspiciously.  

He didn’t believe that Yin Liuming would be so kind as to give him the credit.  

Seeing that Yin Liuming didn’t move, Ding Pei’an clenched his jaw, snapped his fingers, pulled out a silver key from somewhere, and lowered his head to unlock the door.

Chi Xi couldn’t help but mutter under his breath, “Why is Ding Pei’an so idle that he exchanges props without any reason?”

It seemed that Ning Yuanyuan had hardly exchanged any props. 

“Maybe this is his secret to clearing the level.” Yin Liuming fiddled with the small ball hanging from his sleeping cap and said coolly, “Rich man’s way of playing.”

Chi Xi pursed his lips and felt a little anxious. “What if the exam paper is snatched by him first? What should we do?”

“The dreamer is a student of this school, and his understanding is the iron law of this dream.” Yin Liuming said lightly, “Do you think that in the eyes of obedient students like Qi Xiaobei and Chu Dong, the archive room can be opened casually?”

Sure enough, Ding Pei’an poked the door with the key for a long time, but the seemingly ordinary broken wooden door still showed no sign of opening.  

Finally, Ding Pei’an’s patience gradually ran out.  

He kicked it directly.  

Bang!

The wooden door let out a mournful creak, and dust from the wall trickled down. Yet the door remained steadfastly closed.

Just as Ding Pei’an was about to kick again, a serious voice appeared behind him. “Teacher Ding, what are you doing?”

Ding Pei’an suddenly turned around to face a dignified and stern square face, hesitation flickering in his eyes.

“Director Jiang…” Ding Pei’an coughed lightly. “I just wanted to take a look at tomorrow’s exam paper in advance so that I could have a better understanding when grading the papers.”

Director Jiang’s expression softened. “It’s a good thing that Teacher Ding is dedicated, but the exam papers cannot be taken out of the archive room before the exam.”  

Ding Pei’an paused, about to think of another plea, when he heard Director Jiang continue, “If Teacher Ding wants to see it, you can see it in the archive room, but you can’t take it out.”

Ding Pei’an’s eyes lit up. “Then thank you, Director Jiang.”

Chi Xi watched worriedly. “Brother Yin, Ding Pei’an is going in!”

“What’s the hurry?” Yin Liuming asked calmly. “Didn’t we discuss yesterday that the focus should actually be on the students, not the exam papers?”

“But what if?” Chi Xi protested, still reluctant. “What if Ding Pei’an clears the level…”

Not to mention if it affected them, he would be so angry he could have died. 

Yin Liuming showed no signs of hurry. After Ding Pei’an entered the archive room, he stepped forward and chatted with Director Jiang. “Director Jiang.” 

He glanced around and noticed that the archive room’s doorknob was dented, as if it had been struck by something.

“Teacher Yin is here too? Are you also planning… to look at the exam paper?” Director Jiang eyed Yin Liuming in his pajamas, looking somewhat uncertain. He frowned slightly and said, “Teacher Yin, you just got up? As a teacher, you should pay attention to your image and attire—you can’t set a bad example for the students.”

No matter the time, Director Jiang was always dressed in an old but neat and tidy suit, with a strong scent of cologne around him.

Yin Liuming calmly ignored the next question. “No, I have some questions from the students I’d like to ask you.”

Director Jiang averted his gaze and said, “Then let’s go to my office and talk.”

……  

“Indeed, the issue of some students ganging up and engaging in campus bullying has become very serious now.”  

After listening to Yin Liuming’s brief introduction of Qi Xiaobei’s matter, Director Jiang sighed softly, “I have tried my best to control it, but there are still places that I can’t take care of.”  

“Yan Hang’s problem, I’m afraid it’s more than not being able to take care of him?”

Director Jiang fell silent for a moment, then spoke in a low voice, “The vice-principal is old and easily softens toward his grandchild. It’s said he plans to send Yan Hang abroad after the college entrance exam, so he lets him fool around. Previously, an old teacher couldn’t stand it and reported the matter to the Education Bureau, but it was suppressed, and his title and position took a nosedive. Alas…”

Yin Liuming frowned.  

“I know a bit about this child, Qi Xiaobei… His father has a leg disability, and his mother’s mental health isn’t stable. The couple makes a living from his father’s handicrafts and his mother’s stall, but she sometimes lapses into confusion and can be easily deceived.” Director Jiang took off his glasses and gently wiped them. “This child is quite sensitive. The school waived his tuition and fees under the guise of scholarships, and he felt indebted to the school. But since his grades weren’t good, the more he felt guilty, the less he could focus on studying. Worried he’d overthink things, I arranged for him to help with family affairs while living on campus. I remember some teachers did the same.”

Director Jiang opened the drawer and took a small pendant out of it.  

The pendant hung on a red cord and featured a wooden Buddha statue. Although the craftsmanship was somewhat rough, each knot and carving was done with care. A layer of wax coated the surface to protect it from water damage.

There were some burn marks on one corner of the Buddha statue.  

Yin Liuming’s expression changed slightly, and his brow furrowed a bit.  

He was silent for a moment, then asked, “Director Jiang, are there any teachers on duty at Anyang High School during the night?”

“Of course,” Director Jiang said. “Not only teachers, but I also have to be on duty.”

“Are you here all night?”  

“Yes, Teacher Yin. If anything comes up during the night, you can come to me.”

Yin Liuming nodded. “Okay, thank you, Director Jiang.”  

“No trouble at all; it’s all to make sure the students are well cared for.”

“Right!” Yin Liuming stood up, suddenly remembering something. He quickly took out a thin, grayish-yellow book and placed it in front of Director Jiang. “I’ve noted down some issues I’ve encountered while teaching the students these past two days. Director Jiang, could you please take a look?”

Director Jiang put on his glasses and leaned over to look at the book, not forgetting to praise, “Teacher Yin is really dedicated…”

Yin Liuming stood quietly behind Director Jiang and gently patted him on the back—

Director Jiang immediately disappeared.  

The illustration book on the table rustled twice and stopped on the second page.

Following ‘Zombie Student,’ ‘Corpse-Eating Ivy,’ and ‘Flames of Rage and Regret,’ a new illustration appeared.

‘Scorched Earth Lost Soul.’