Chapter 6

Rumor 

Lu Shen touched his chin, however he couldn’t help but laugh when he looked at Shengjian’s warning look, “If you call me that again, I’ll kill you”, even his shoulders began to shake, “…Okay. I know.” 

“You know, if you hadn’t helped me previously, you would’ve been beaten by me now.”  Bian Shengjian was speechless from his words, and reached out and patted Lu Shen’s wrinkled coat. “Don’t use my words against me.”

“Third brother,” Lu Shen stated unexpectedly with a smile on his face, yet his words appeared thorny. “Who do you think would win if we really fought?”

“What do you mean?” Bian Shengjiang asked, his eyes narrowing.

“It’s nothing, just asking,” Lu Shen replied, leaning forward abruptly and said, “I didn’t notice it before… but your skin is very fine.”

“…You’re sick,” Bian Shengjian touched his face subconsciously, and the slight unhappiness that had been there before was swiftly erased by this sudden change of subject. “Whether it looks good or bad is none of your concern.”

“Seriously, you can’t even see the pores when you come closer, you’re more sensitive than other little girls,” Lu Shen observed solemnly. “And you appear quite white.”

“Move away,” Bian Shengjian said, pointing at him. Although he had received praise from teachers since he was a child, this was the first time he had been observed and commented on from such a close distance.  He didn’t feel proud at all. Instead, the uneasy feeling he couldn’t shake every time he stayed with Lu Shen grew stronger. “Don’t stare at me like a pervert.”

“Class will begin now!” someone in the class exclaimed, and the class monitor went to the entrance, looking curiously at Bian Shengjian. “What are you doing standing at the door, Shenjian?”

“Having a talk with a certain idiot,” Bian Shengjian grumbled and returned to his seat through the rear door, really considering whether to relocate his seat to a location where Lu Shen would not be spotted during the next class.

“Class, stand up.” A small voice suddenly sounded from the front. Bian Shengjian was lowering his head. Before he could react, the whole class stood up in unison, and the monitor immediately shouted, “Hello, teacher!”

Bian Shengjian was startled by the sudden shout, and sat in a daze for a while.

“This classmate, why are you not standing up?

A thin-looking female teacher stood on the podium, her voice matching her appearance.  “Is your leg injured?”

“No,” Bian Shengjian hurriedly responded as he rose up, disregarding the curious looks around him, and added, “Hello, teacher.”

“What’s your name?” asked the female teacher.

“Bian Shengjian,” said Shengjian calmly.

“Are you a transferee, Bian Shengjian?” The female teacher adjusted her glasses, her voice so low that Bian Shengjian could not quite hear her. “Remember to abide by the rules in my class in the future, or you will be kicked outside. Okay, let’s get started, you all sit down.”

Bian Shengjian remained silent. He had grown to admire his capacity to adjust to his surroundings. After all, he had already suffered a number of blows since arriving at this school, and being called immediately before the second class began no longer made huge waves in his heart.

“Good.” Bian Shengjian sighed.

This was a history class. Bian Shengjian planned to carefully listen to Teacher Chen Li’s amazing class once he laid out the book, but then he shortly scowled, grabbed a pen in his hand, and twirled it around.

No, she should be called Teacher Mosquito instead of Teacher Chen. She was clearly petite, and her voice was also soft. She’s not like the other teachers in class, she’s like a little bee with a higher volume. Bian Shengjian sat in the rear row of the classroom, and all he could hear was her mumbling voice, which was more than the buzzing from a small fan.

He furrowed his brows and twirled the pen in his fingers more quickly. Afterimages pass through his fingertips.

Bian Shengjian couldn’t help but look around to see if the other students were as dissatisfied as he was, but practically everyone except him sat erect in a fixed posture and seemed to be paying close attention. Although….he’s not sure whether they could understand her completely.

“Damn.” Bian Shengjian said in a low voice, “I have never experienced anything like this for the past 18 years of my life.”

“Student Shengjian,” the buzzing came to a halt, and Teacher Chen’s unexpected rise in loudness even startled Shengjian Bian for a brief while. “Have you had enough of twirling your pen?”

“What?” Bian Shengjian was caught off guard.

“Go out.” Teacher Chen put down the book, “I don’t welcome people with bad attitudes in my class.” 

“I am not,” Bian Sheng looked at her. Although he was trying his best to suppress his emotions, the latter sentence clearly sounded with anger, “I have always respected your class. “

“Did you hear me when I said not to fiddle with your pen?”

Teacher Chen suddenly yelled out, in a tone that was far from gentle, and Bian Shengjian felt as if the ends of her hair were about to ignite into flames. “Get out!

“I won’t,” Bian Shengjian stated emphatically, his countenance serene. “However, I can explain why I keep turning my pen.”

“First and foremost, it’s because your voice is too low, not to mention someone like me seated in the back, I guess the students in the front row also have a difficult time attempting to hear it clearly.” Shengjian looked at her, “But I’m not sure why other students don’t have any opinion on this, maybe they’re used to it, but I just transferred and I can’t get used to it.”

For a moment, Teacher Chen was astonished.

“Secondly, I strongly advise you to have a loudspeaker in class. If you are short on funds, I can purchase one for you, and I will guarantee that it is of the highest quality,” Bian Shengjian added.

“Fuck,” Zhou Li exclaimed, turning to face him like all the others, “…you’re terrific.”

“What’s with your attitude?” Mrs. Chen glared at him, and unexpectedly her eyes began to turn red at the speed visible to the naked eye, and a weeping voice came out, “Okay, I won’t go to this class in the future. Let him lecture you all himself!” She slapped the book on the podium, wiped her tears, and raced out of the classroom. She dashed to the office, obviously to complain to Lao Tan.

The students became agitated all of a sudden. However, Bian Shengjian simply sat down in his seat, picked up the pen, and began to twirl it around again.

“Brother Jian,” Zhou Li said, reaching out and tapping on his desk a few times.

“Knock again, and you’ll fracture your hand,” Bian Shengjian said flatly without lifting his head.

“Damn it,” Zhou Li grumbled and leaned back in annoyance, “I’ve even called you a fucking brother, why don’t you give me some face?”

“I don’t want to give you any face,” Bian Shengjian said as he peered at him, “since you’re merely a fart in my eyes.” 

“…Okay,” Zhou Li said after a brief look at him, “I won’t quarrel with you today.”

“Then shut up,” Bian Shengjian said as he rotated the slim tube on his slender knuckles, the pen making a beautiful round in his hand, “Turn back.”

“Fuck, you don’t know what she is like… She’s very awful! ” Zhou Li entirely ignored his statements and returned to the previous topic. “It’s over. She went to Cai Zong to complain. He’ll undoubtedly come looking for you later.”

“Can you guys really  hear her voice during the lecture?” Bian Shengjian pressed, not raising the volume of his voice, “or are you guys just pretending?”

“No,” Zhou Li glanced at him before groaning deeply. “Let me tell you, there was a student in class who bowed his head and ate a mouthful of bread during her lecture, and was accidentally seen by her. He couldn’t hold back and said a few words, and after a semester, she asked him to answer every difficult question during her lesson. It was pointless for his parents to come to school and apologize. Later, he simply left and transferred to another school.”

“Ah?” Bian Shengjian didn’t react for a while, “This….. Does she have any mental illness?” 

“It usually happens, and it lasts a long time.” “Zhou Li sadly nodded.

“…anyway, I don’t care,” Bian Shengjian leaned back with his arms folded, “even better if she comes at me.” 

“Damn, I like your straightforwardness.” Zhou Li looked at him and smiled suddenly, “Brother Jian, let’s be friends.”

Bian Shengjian frowned. Although he felt like a pot of rotten and fermented tomatoes at the moment, he still raised his hand and shook Zhou Li’s outstretched hand. “Don’t keep turning around and bothering me.”

“All right, can I go to the restroom with you after class?” Zhou Li asked, sighing, “Hey, ever since students started transferring, I’ve rarely encountered individuals like you again….To be honest, I really wanted to make friends with you.”

“Didn’t you say before that you would break my leg?” Bian Shengjian looked at him, “after school?”

“Those words are farts.” Zhou Li said. 

“You are a fart.” Bian Shengjian remarked.

“Someone would have already been pressed to the ground by me, you know?” Zhou Li glared at him, “Just tell me if you want to be my friend!”

“I don’t want to.” Bian Shengjian’s pen turned around his fingertips leaving afterimages resembling a blooming flower, but he added another sentence before Zhou Li pointed at him and stood up, “…but we can go to the toilet together after class.”

“Your uncle.” Zhou Li smiled and snapped his fingers. 

Bian Shengjian pressed his temples and sighed. He didn’t know what was wrong with him, why he was sitting here doing nothing, yet troubles came to the door one after another as if asking for money. Thinking about staying here for two years, he felt like he was suffocating in pain.

He wanted to cry. He wanted to find a place where no one was there and cried hard. Fuck this new life.

“Third brother,” Bian Shengjian was lowering his head when he heard someone calling him. He swiftly pressed a finger over his eye socket, turned around, and said, “If you have nothing to ask for, I’ll beat you straightaway.”

“Here,”  Lu Shen reached out and threw something from his hands.

Bian Shengjian narrowed his eyes and extended out his hand, finding a milk candy in his palm as he spread it out.

“Eating sugar might cause dopamine secretion,” Lu Shen explained, raising his chin. “It has the potential of making you feel good.”

Bian Shengjian hesitated for a while but still peeled off the candy wrapper, stuffed the candy into his mouth and chewed it hard, as if he was chewing the flesh of his most hated enemy. “Thank you.”

The entire class was buzzing with enthusiasm and commotion until the period ended. Although a few people were still upset by the disruption of the lesson, they never dared to come to Bian Shengjian for trouble, but Lao Tan was also unusually silent. The entire morning’s class had passed without anyone bringing Chen Li up to speak with him. Although Bian Shengjian exhaled a sigh of relief, he couldn’t stand hearing Zhou Li’s explosive thoughts, so he waited until the last class.

When the bell rang, he immediately jumped up and rushed to the back door, carrying his schoolbag.

“Brother!” Zhou Li immediately chased after him. “Let’s have lunch together!”

“I can’t”. Bian Shengjian frowned, and glanced at Lu Shen who was standing by the door looking at him. “I…I have something to do with Lu Shen. “

Before Zhou Li could say anything, he immediately pulled Lu Shen’s arm out of the door and said, “Next time.”

“Third brother,” Lu Shen glanced at Shengjian’s hand on his arm with a faint smile, “what do you mean?”

“I’m sorry. Sorry for using you as a tool man for a while.” Bian Shengjian loosened his hand, “Fuck, how can I spread all kinds of annoying spirits.”

(t/n tool man-Tool person, an online buzzword, generally refers to someone who helps others unknowing or willingly, works hard without complaint , pays on call, does not ask for return whether in emotional , material or economic terms, and has always been like a tool used or ordered by the opponent.)

“He’s your friend, what about me?” Lu Shen asked suddenly.

“What?” Bian Shengjian looked at him for a while.

“Am I your friend?”

Lu Shen and him shuttled through the crowded hallway. He didn’t know if it was an illusion. Bian Shengjian felt that Lu Shen’s tone was cold when he said this. “Really?”

“…Yes.” Bian Shengjian replied suspiciously.

“That’s good,” Lu Shen said with a sigh of relief, and his smile brightened again. “How about we go to the dining hall at noon? The meals at No. 4 Middle School are still fine.”

“Nonsense, where do you go if you don’t go to the dining hall?” Bian Shengjian snapped awake, but still remained in a weird state of peculiarity. But he couldn’t figure out what was odd. “Let’s hurry, we still have to wait in line afterwards.”

It wasn’t until the two of them found a place to sit down with their plates, that Bian Shengjian figured out what was wrong just now. He glanced at Lu Shen, who was concentrating on eating with his head down, and couldn’t help but say, “You just….”

“Third brother, let me ask you something,” Lu Shen took a sip of the soup and raised his head, “Do you know why so many people in class left?”

“Because it’s haunted?” Bian Shengjian remembered what Zhou Li said to him in the morning, and tapped his fingers on the table a few times. “Okay, today I want to hear how this ghost is making trouble. And don’t fucking play any tricks on me again.”

“Because a homicide happened in No. 4 Middle School more than ten years ago.” For some reason, Lu Shen’s voice seemed incomparably clear and calm inside the noisy dining hall. Bian Shengjian suddenly felt a little chilly–

“That year, class 8 of sophomore year, 56 students including the class adviser…all died.”

The author has something to say

I still want to mention it. Although this novel is supernatural, it is still a campus story, so it will be slower in the early stage. I hope everyone will bear more. Thank you. Continue tomorrow.

Translator: +1