Chapter 7: Jealousy (6)

Monday evening, after the last study session.

Jiang Shengsheng held her book as she stepped out of the classroom and paused at the corner.

She narrowed her eyes, gazing at two familiar gray-black figures in the distance.

The streetlamp by the path cast a faint halo of light, dim enough that Jiang Shengsheng couldn't clearly see their faces; all she sensed was that the three of them were acting stealthily.

Then she heard a familiar voice: "...Liu Liu, is this really okay... No, no, no, this is all my money, there's no way I can give you more..."

...Was that Wang Dali?

Jiang Shengsheng originally intended to pretend she hadn't seen anything. She took a few steps forward but then heard the person named Liu Liu say, "Stop pretending. If you don't want to... then hurry... be careful that Song Wu doesn't come looking for you tonight..."

Song Wu???

Jiang Shengsheng froze in her tracks, her legs feeling as if weighted with lead. She knew going alone was dangerous, but this was the script the scenario had laid out.

She was a pawn, meant to push the boss further into the abyss, to trigger his complete descent into darkness.

Turning her steps, Jiang Shengsheng crouched low and tiptoed along the wall, trailing behind the two.

She recognized them: Wang Dali, Song Wu's roommate, and another man both familiar and yet strange.

Wang Dali and Liu Liu planned to destroy evidence tonight. They sneaked out of the dormitory behind Song Wu’s back, intending to find some hidden corner to burn and bury it.

Wang Dali took out a black plastic bag from his coat and shook his head regretfully as he worked. "I thought Song Wu was so tough, but it turns out someone wants him dead. Tsk, tsk, tsk."

Liu Liu pulled out some flammable toilet paper and flicked a lighter.

The faint orange-yellow flame suddenly flared, casting ominous, twisted shadows on their faces, making them look grotesque and terrifying.

"Stop babbling nonsense! Don't tempt fate with your words!" Liu Liu glared fiercely at Wang Dali, snatched the plastic sealed bag from his arms, and threw it into the fire.

Nervously glancing around as if afraid of campus patrol, they hurriedly stamped out the flames and roughly covered the ashes with dirt.

Hiding in the shadows around the corner, Jiang Shengsheng dared not rush out. She waited quietly a little longer until she was sure they had left, then carefully slipped out.

She hurried to the dirt pit and dug with her hands.

Among the gray-black ashes, her fingertips touched something hard. Without looking, she wrapped it in her palm and fled without hesitation.

Less than a minute after she ran off, Wang Dali and Liu Liu appeared, sprinting swiftly from afar.

They stared down at the disturbed dirt pit, then squinted their eyes toward Jiang Shengsheng’s fleeing silhouette.

Wang Dali’s usual honest face twisted into a vicious sneer as he spat on the ground and cursed harshly, "Who the hell is that filthy bitch? How dare she ruin my good plans!"

---

“Don’t you think she looks familiar?” Liu Liu narrowed his sinister eyes. Under Wang Dali’s urging, he coolly said, “That’s Song Wu’s damn girlfriend, Jiang Shengsheng…”

Wang Dali stopped cursing abruptly. The two exchanged a look and smiled darkly, their expressions unreadable in the dim light.

“...So someone wants to be a pair of wild mandarin ducks, huh...”

Their ominous words shattered into the darkness of the night.

***

Jiang Shengsheng ran all the way to the student council office, banging desperately on the door, occasionally peeking left and right, afraid two familiar sinister faces would suddenly appear from the shadows.

Song Qingxiu, Zhu Dan, and the other four players remained on duty in the student council, abiding by their roles in the scenario and hoping to investigate further under the cover of night.

Hearing the frantic knocking, the five exchanged glances before Zhu Dan stepped forward to open the door.

“Jiang Shengsheng?”

Zhu Dan hadn’t expected Song Wu’s girlfriend to be the one at the door.

According to their deductions, the main boss of this scenario was most likely Song Wu, who had already become a ghost.

Until now, they had only heard of Song Wu’s existence through Jiang Shengsheng’s NPC; they had never encountered him directly.

Seeing Jiang Shengsheng rush in, flustered and breathless, Zhu Dan and Song Qingxiu exchanged a glance, their eyes flickering with meaning.

Jiang Shengsheng hurried to stand before Song Qingxiu, extending the tightly clenched object in her hand toward him, gasping, “Song Qingxiu, Wang Dali and that roommate are up to something!”

They hadn’t expected the timid boy from the dormitory to be an accomplice; appearances could be deceiving.

Zhu Dan and the others silently gathered around, looking at the object in her palm—a small piece of plastic sealed bag that hadn’t been completely burned.

Song Qingxiu reached out, pinched a corner, and held it up to his eyes.

To be honest, the scenario had cut them some slack this time.

Wang Dali and the others had been sloppy, leaving behind clues.

The six of them stood around a round table. The boy with the braids rubbed his chin thoughtfully and pointed to suspicious powder in the corner.

“Let’s send this to a private hospital for analysis. It might be some banned substance.”

One side of the plastic bag had been curled and charred by the fire, just enough to trap the powder inside.

More than that, Song Qingxiu cared most about one thing: “Did they notice you?”

“No, I was very careful,” Jiang Shengsheng shook her head.

Actually, she wasn’t entirely sure.

---

But what mattered more now was to help Song Wu let go of his obsession. Wandering the mortal world alone was too lonely for him; it was better for him to reincarnate sooner.

Hearing Jiang Shengsheng’s answer, the five exchanged a look and sighed inwardly.

Song Qingxiu studied her deeply, offering no reply.

“It’s getting late. I’ll walk you back,” he said proactively. Jiang Shengsheng thought for a moment and didn’t refuse.

Three days later, after evening study ended, Jiang Shengsheng walked under the streetlamp, clutching her book.

Her steps gradually faltered; she kept glancing back over her shoulder.

The dim path was lined with lush camphor trees, their thick leaves blocking the lamp’s light thoroughly.

A breeze rustled through the leaves, and beneath the shifting shadows seemed to lurk a venomous snake waiting to strike.

In recent days, Jiang Shengsheng had occasionally sensed a watching gaze following her like a shadow.

She wasn’t sure if it was paranoia, but today the feeling was especially strong.

The chilling sensation made her scalp tingle. She hugged her book tighter, uneasy inside.

Few classes had ended around her, and the path was almost deserted.

Like a frightened small animal, a surge of acute danger awareness flooded her heart. She whipped her head around and broke into a frantic run.

Her ears filled with the rapid pounding of her own heartbeat, each thump like a drum against her eardrums, mingling with her heavy breaths.

Her legs began to weaken, and her hands trembled uncontrollably.

She forced herself to calm down. When her eyes caught the elongated shadow at her feet, her pupils dilated in shock—behind her was a tall figure, raising a shovel high, about to strike!

“Ah—” Jiang Shengsheng screamed involuntarily and dove forward.

The sharp shovel grazed her nose, and she even smelled the damp earth’s scent clearly.

The attacker pressed the advantage, readying a second blow.

“Who! What are you doing, student?!” At the critical moment, a blinding beam of light shot from behind.

A patrolling security guard heard the noise and rushed over, shining a flashlight and brandishing an electric baton as he charged forward.

At that moment, lying on the ground, Jiang Shengsheng finally saw the attacker’s face clearly.