Due to Fang Qian’an’s presence, even the teacher and students were a little distracted during class.

However, as the initiator of disturbing classroom discipline, Fang Qian’an had no awareness of this. All of his thoughts were focused on the vague figure he had glimpsed just now…..in fact, when he thought about it carefully, he couldn’t even remember if he had seen something strange or not. After all, people normally didn’t take a close look at the reflection on their phone screen.

He supposed he was frightened by that thing in the complex before, so was that why he was so paranoid?

Fang Qian’an smoothly pulled a reference book out of the pile of texts on the desk of a student next to him. He flipped through it uneasily without reading it.

Naturally, the student didn’t dare to get angry and speak out, and his face changed slightly. He didn’t say anything, but his expression was extremely ugly.

Sitting next to Fang Qian’an, Li Xiu was even more directly affected. The fingers holding his pen became faintly white, and it was extremely hard to restrain himself.

Thus, when the bell rang out, everyone breathed sighs of relief.

……

Once the politics teacher announced that class was dismissed, Fang Qian’an couldn’t even wait for the other party to leave the classroom. He jumped up from his seat and walked directly in front of Li Xiu, saying eagerly: “Hey, A-Xiu, hurry up, hurry up. Tell me the method you mentioned for exorcizing ghosts.”

Li Xiu was startled by the cold breath that suddenly fell on his ear, and subconsciously avoided it. But Fang Qian’an put one hand on the desk and the other against the back of his chair, and Li Xiu’s whole body seemed to be wrapped in Fang Qian’an’s arms. Even if he tried to get away, there was nowhere to go.

“Wu…..wait a minute, wait until the others leave,” Li Xiu hummed faintly, trying in vain to make himself less noticeable.

However, looking over Fang Qian’an’s shoulder, Li Xiu was not surprised to see that as early as when Fang Qian’an took the initiative to talk to him, the other students had all invariably turned in his direction, casting glances full of inquiry and confusion.

Li Xiu was silent.

In fact, it was not the fault of the others in class who couldn’t help but peek at the two of them.

To outsiders, Li Xiu’s figure looked increasingly frail under Fang Qian’an’s suppression. Not to mention using his power and position to suppress him, just because of their physical differences, Fang Qian’an looked like he could crush Li Xiu to death at any time.

It could be said that Fang Qian’an disliked Li Xiu to the extreme and planned to personally teach him a lesson, but judging from the current situation, this didn’t seem to be the case.

It could even be said that the way Fang Qian’an bowed his head slightly and whispered in Li Xiu’s ear seemed……to have a very subtle hint of an intent to please.

Wait, wait a minute, since when did the prince of the Fang family, Qiming’s most feared bully, Fang Qian’an, need to “please” others?

Someone who was still looking at Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an thought wildly.

But the moment the thought “Fang Qian’an is trying to ingratiate himself to Li Xiu” flashed through his mind, he came back to his senses due to the extreme absurdity of the idea.

In the next second, he shuddered again due to his thoughts at that moment: Damn, what on earth was he thinking? If he accidentally revealed what he just thought, it was likely that he wouldn’t be able to attend Qiming anymore.

The student wiped his cold sweat and looked at the other classmates curiously. He found that everyone else had also retracted their gazes, acting as if they were busy with other things.

He breathed out a tiny sigh of relief.

……

Li Xiu’s expression was not quite right. Seeing Li Xiu like this, the extremely nervous Fang Qian’an felt to his surprise that something was wrong with the atmosphere in the classroom.

The boy looked back with a frown.

“What, you haven’t finished class yet?”

Young Master Fang’s cold words caused everyone to instantly shrink their necks. They directly abandoned the curiosity in their minds to a distant place and left the room in a fluster one by one, so as to avoid offending the prince.

Watching the classroom empty out at an astonishing speed, Fang Qian’an raised his eyebrows and turned back in satisfaction, smiling solicitously at Li Xiu.

With a hint of unconscious eagerness, Fang Qian’an continued to urge: “Okay, can you say it now?”

Li Xiu sighed from the bottom of his heart.

…..He didn’t have any serious methods for exorcizing ghosts.

A faint, bitter smile appeared on the weak, pale young man’s lips. His dark eyelashes fluttered, and he tore off a piece of paper from his notebook, writing a flamboyant line of words on the white piece of paper.

[Prosperity, democracy, civilization, harmony, freedom, equality, justice, rule of law, patriotism, dedication, integrity, friendship]

After writing it, he handed the note to Fang Qian’an.

Fang Qian’an stared blankly at the familiar words on it, his expression frozen.

“What is this?” he asked in astonishment.

He had thought that Li Xiu, who was born in a family that practiced witchcraft, would draw some charms and spells for him.

But what he saw now was…..

“The core values of socialism.”

Li Xiu had actually answered him seriously.

Fang Qian’an’s expression turned a bit ugly: “Are you playing a joke on me?”

His tone was a little heavier, and the aura lingering around him instantly became a bit sinister. In that moment, the indifferent, arrogant boy who didn’t care about violence and school bullying seemed to be back in front of Li Xiu. Li Xiu couldn’t help but tremble slightly, inching back. The underdeveloped ankle obviously didn’t suffer from any external forces, but an unbearable stabbing pain began to appear for no apparent reason.

However, Li Xiu’s gaffe only lasted for a short moment.

“Who would dare to play a joke on you, Fang Qian’an. I don’t want to be bullied at school again,” Li Xiu said with an indifferent expression.

Fang Qian’an was taken aback: “Didn’t we make it clear that the matter is settled? And I swear, is it not enough that nobody will bully you in the future?”

Li Xiu didn’t respond to Fang Qian’an’s various promises about the school bullying.

His eyes and expression were ice-cold, so cold that Fang Qian’an felt inexplicably flustered.

Fang Qian’an scratched his hair and said in a muffled voice: “Hey, A-Xiu, um…..I’ve said it before, I’m sorry and I won’t do it again…..I didn’t mean it…..”

Li Xiu looked at him steadily. It was obvious that Fang Qian’an, as a young master at the top of the pyramid, simply could not understand what his previous actions meant for an ordinary student like Li Xiu.

After a couple seconds of silence, the corners of Li Xiu’s mouth twitched.

He thought mockingly, what exactly are you expecting?

After suppressing all emotions, Li Xiu opened his mouth expressionlessly and easily dropped the topic. 

“Reason and science are the most useful weapons to drive away strange forces and chaos. If you want, the next time you encounter something like this, you can face them directly and memorize mathematical equations…..but you can’t memorize such complicated mathematical principles, right?”

Li Xiu spoke softly to Fang Qian’an, without the slightest ripple in his tone.

As for what he said, it did sound a bit strange at first, but with Li Xiu’s solemn expression, it seemed he was serious.

“There are only twenty-four words in the core values of socialism. Even you should be able to memorize it.”

“……Oh.”

Fang Qian’an was a little confused by Li Xiu’s words, and didn’t know how to answer for a moment. He could only tighten his grip on the note Li Xiu had given him and respond blankly.

“En, well, I’m leaving.”

At this time, Li Xiu also picked up the reference book he would read during lunch break. Holding the book under his arm, Li Xiu pulled the seat away and limped toward the classroom door.

Fang Qian’an looked after him in confusion and asked: “A-Xiu, where are you going?”

“Lunch break,” Li Xiu replied.

Fang Qian’an said subconsciously: “You aren’t going with me?”

Hearing these words, Li Xiu turned around and gave him a strange look: “Why should the two of us go together?”

Fang Qian’an was startled, and realized that after encountering the ghosts, he also took a politics class and memorized the core values of socialism. The two of them were not close friends, so there was really no reason to stick together even during lunch break.

This was the reality. But why did he feel so uncomfortable?

Fang Qian’an felt lost.

Seeing that Li Xiu paid no attention to him and turned to leave, Fang Qian’an suddenly felt an impulse surge in his heart.

He didn’t want this person to leave him.

There seemed to be a voice whispering in the back of his mind.

[A-xiu can only stay…..by my side.]

“Fang Qian’an……it hurts, let go!”

When he returned to his senses, Fang Qian’an realized that he had rushed into the hallway and directly stopped Li Xiu. Not only that, but in order to arrest the young man’s movements, he had inadvertently caught the other’s wrist.

Perhaps due to the excessive force, Li Xiu gasped and grimaced, with a slight look of silently enduring the pain. 

Fang Qian’an’s pupils instantly shrank.

He stared at Li Xiu’s face. The other party still had that slightly pained expression. Inexplicably, his mind flashed back to the time he had humiliated Li Xiu. Because the latter was at the mercy of others, his eyes had been red with anger and full of tears.

An unexpected dark heat suddenly surged deep within his body.

Fang Qian’an’s hand trembled as if he had been burned, and he quickly shook off Li Xiu.

“Sorry,” the youth said hoarsely.

“What else do you still want?”

Li Xiu didn’t notice Fang Qian’an’s abnormality.

He rubbed his wrist with a frown. No matter how he reminded himself that the person before him was a school bully, his tone still became uncontrollably harsh.

“N-nothing,” Fang Qian’an stammered. “It’s just……”

Halfway through, Fang Qian’an fell silent again. Li Xiu looked up at him sourly, and then realized that for some reason, the other party had a look of bewilderment and uncertainty on his face.

Had he been scared stupid before?

Li Xiu thought this maliciously in his heart.

And at this moment, a flattering call suddenly came from the hallway.

“Young Master Fang!”

Li Xiu turned his head and saw at a glance that Fang Qian’an’s few goldfish shit followers had all come to this floor.

“I’m leaving.”

As soon as Li Xiu saw those privileged children, he had a headache and couldn’t care about anything else. Taking advantage of Fang Qian’an’s lapse in concentration, he made a quick decision and escaped while holding his book.

[A-Xiu— —]

Fang Qian’an subconsciously went to follow him again, but the others had already come over at this time, blocking his way.

“Young Master Fang, I thought they were lying to me when I read the messages in the group chat. Unexpectedly, you were actually in the classroom?”

“Hahaha, that old thing in class must have been shocked, right?”

“Right, Young Master Fang, I saw a particularly funny joke in the other class group text. It said that now you and that little cripple…..” Halfway through speaking, the follower suddenly remembered the message sent by Fang Qian’an and quickly changed his words. “It said that you have a good relationship with that guy Li Xiu now, hahaha.”

“I could die laughing. Don’t those people know about your status, Young Master Fang, ah? And they still dare to talk nonsense.”

The followers had actually seen Li Xiu long before. At this moment, someone finally couldn’t hold it in any longer and nonchalantly asked as if it were business as usual:  “But the person with you just now was Li Xiu, right? What’s going on, ah, Young Master Fang? Are you looking for fun for yourself?”

Fang Qian’an’s eyes were still fixed on the direction Li Xiu had gone. He didn’t immediately respond to the probing of his followers, but his expression…..

The group of people exchanged glances back and forth, all of them feeling that Fang Qian’an expression was truly strange.

He didn’t look like he was angry, but if he was happy, his stiff facial muscles seemed to have nothing to do with the emotion.

These were all ambitious people who had worked hard to grab a space at Fang Qian’an’s side. They had been with the prince for so long but had never seen Fang Qian’an like this—

“Young Master Fang, did that guy offend you?”

Fortunately, there was also this fool Wang Rongfa in their group.

While everyone else remained silent and tried to figure out Fang Qian’an’s thoughts, this one just shouted out regardless of the situation.

“How about I go and show him what’s what? I say, this little cripple hasn’t suffered enough. He’s still an eyesore…..”

Due to the malicious intent in his heart, Wang Rongfa naturally disliked Li Xiu. Now, when he saw that Fang Qian’an’s expression wasn’t right, he took it for granted that Li Xiu had offended him.

As a result, as soon as he finished speaking, he saw Fang Qian’an suddenly turn his head to give him a cold look.

“You dare—”

For a moment, the sound that fell into Wang Rongfa’s ears was somewhat distorted.

It was clearly noon in the school hallway, but the moment he was caught in Fang Qian’an’s gaze, Wang Rongfa felt that his surroundings seemed to darken in an instant. Fang Qian’an’s light irises looked like the eyes of a living corpse, containing the gloomy, chilling air of death.

Wang Rongfa’s body was unable to move.

“Hey, Young Master Fang, Lao Wang was probably just talking casually.”

“Haha, he’s also bewitched by the goddess. Young Master Fang, just as you said, who would dare bully that little classmate Li Xiu?”

“That is…..”

Fortunately, after noticing the tense atmosphere just now, someone in the crowd naturally spoke up and started to smooth things over.

At the same time the other spoke, the terrifying aura immobilizing Wang Rongfa vanished in an instant, so fast that Wang Rongfa himself was somewhat dazed.

He couldn’t help but look at Fang Qian’an again.

Fang Qian’an expression was still very ugly as he regarded him, his eyes full of admonition…..however, Wang Rongfa didn’t feel the slightest bit spooked.

“…..You are already high school juniors, yet you’re still engaging in school bullying. Don’t you know how very pathetic you are?”

Fang Qian’an felt increasingly unhappy when he saw Wong Rongfa staring at him in a daze.

With his status, he naturally didn’t have to take into consideration the self-esteem of a little shrimp like Wang Rongfa.

“Bullying Li Xiu, who has no background or family ancestry. Ha, ridiculous. From now on, how about you marry into the Cheng family, or maybe battle with the Xu family, ah? Those two families are the marriage partners the Zhang family would choose.” As he spoke, Fang Qian’an scoffed coldly. “But you don’t dare, isn’t that right?”

“I, I—”

“The Wang family business relies entirely on those two families, so how dare you compete with them?”

Fang Qian’an’s tone was calm, but his words were not polite.

Wang Ronfa’s face reddened, but he didn’t dare say a word.

Fang Qian’an regarded Wang Ronfa as if he was looking at garbage.

“A toad can’t eat swan meat. You can’t blame that on anyone. Wang Ronfa, don’t even think about venting your anger on anyone else. When you have the time, take a look in the mirror and see what virtue you have.”

…….

It was rare for Fang Qian’an to say so many words at one time.

And his unabashed disgust no longer allowed Wang Ronfa a place in the group.

He was effectively expelled.

When the others gathered around Fang Qian’an, chatting and laughing as they left for lunch break, Wang Ronfa was the only one left in the hallway. Looking at the departing figures of those boys, the face that was originally flushed purple gradually paled.

“Wa, that guy is finished now…..”

“I suppose the business will be affected, right?”

“Ha, he’s nouveau riche. Him being able to enter Young Master Fang’s circle must be due to luck and shamelessness. It’s normal for him to be kicked out.”

There were many students who witnessed the scene just now.

Wang Rongfa stood stiffly on the spot, easily hearing the laughter of others. After he was expelled by Fang Qian’an, the other students in this school naturally didn’t need to worry about his thoughts.

Humiliation.

Pain.

Panic.

Everything had happened so fast. Even now, Wang Rongfa couldn’t comprehend how he had ended up in this situation. Clearly, he was talking and laughing with those second-generation friends just ten minutes ago.

Just because he said he would cause trouble for that cripple, the social circle he had worked so long and so hard to build was completely destroyed.

Now that Fang Qian’an had spoken, it was likely that no one in Qiming would want anything to do with him.

This time he was really finished.

Countless terrible ideas flashed through his mind. Wang Rongfa’s body felt chilled, his chest felt like heavy stone was pressing down on him, and his eyes were filled with darkness.

He didn’t even know how he left that hallway. He was only aware that he was running away in a panic, because no matter where he went, he seemed to hear those people’s wild and vicious taunts.

“He’s just a little cripple…..when did he hook up with Fang Qian’an? Fuck, with those androgenous looks, there was probably no other way except selling his ass.”

In order to avoid other students, Wang Rongfa unknowingly walked to the side of the complex. The teachers had already gone to eat at this point, and students wouldn’t come here.

The vast, magnificent complex therefore appeared particularly quiet.

Wang Rongfa found a corner at random and sat down on a bench with his back hunched over. While grabbing his hair, he lowered his head and stared at the ground — He recalled the Fang Qian’an and Li Xiu he had just seen, and his expression gradually became ferocious and twisted.

He wasn’t broad-minded in the first place. After being so openly humiliated, the number of people he resented changed from one to two.

“That bastard Fang Qian’an really thinks he’s the crown prince, and wants to punish me for the sake of a cripple? A person like that is so fucking perverted…..”

Wang Rongfa’s voice suddenly stopped.

Because just now, he happened to catch a glimpse of a familiar shadow walking past not far away. He could never mistake that limping and slightly skewed figure.

It was Li Xiu.

Wang Rongfa’s eyes lit up at once.

He never thought he would have such good luck…..see, when he was at his lowest, he still had someone to vent his anger on.

It was unknown why Li Xiu had come to the complex at this time, but in Wang Rongfa’s opinion, Li Xiu had suffered bullying at some point and looked gloomier than usual.

His head was lowered, almost touching his chest, and his long hair fell down to cover his face.

Wang Ronfa didn’t overthink it. He sneered and followed him directly.

Thud—

Thud—

Thud—

Unfortunately, Wang Rongfa had forgotten that the complex was very quiet at this time. He had only taken a few steps when he found that the sound of his footsteps echoed very clearly in the empty hall. 

Li Xiu, standing not far in front of him, seemed to pause for a moment. At that moment, Wang Rongfa thought he had been discovered, but the other party unexpectedly didn’t stop at all. After that slight pause, he continued to walk toward somewhere on the first floor of the complex, not even turning his head.

Wang Rongfa chased after him and found that Li Xiu had gone directly downstairs via the fire escape.

Fuck, this little bastard had actually discovered him just now, hadn’t he?

Wang Rongfa no longer cared about the sound of his footsteps, and opened the door directly to pursue him. However, he had to say that although this cripple was lame, his steps were actually quite fast. Wang Ronfa thought he could run pretty fast, but across the stair railing, Li Xiu’s shadow always loomed ahead.

Fortunately, Wang Rongfa didn’t lose sight of him in the end. He watched as Li Xiu ultimately pushed open the fire door at the end of the stairs and walked into the negative third floor.

Kacha—

Wang Ronfa also pushed open the fire door, and once he reached negative three, he saw a long corridor.

At one end of the corridor was an elevator, at the other end was a public restroom, and in the middle were several offices, which all appeared to be locked.

A dusty chill spread up his ankles, and Wang Rongfa shivered.

Fuck, it was really cold.

He grumbled softly, glancing at the elevator with a sneer—the elevator lights were completely dark. It was obviously not running.

Li Xiu had apparently discovered Wang Rongfa just now and fled to the third underground floor to escape. His original plan should be to press the elevator button and use the elevator to return to the first floor while Wang Rongfa was still on the stairs, then flee.

As a result, that guy had a bad fate. When he came down, he found that the elevator wasn’t working and had no way to escape. 

So…..

That little cripple only had one place to go.

As he thought, Wang Rongfa also walked into the public toilet at the end of the corridor.

Drip, drip—

It was eerily quiet here.

Even the sound from an untightened faucet could be heard clearly. There was a faint stench in the air, masked by the thick, nauseating scent of sandalwood. There was no one else in the bathroom. 

Wang Rongfa poked his head in to take a look around and found that there was nobody in the other stalls. Only the compartment at the far end was closed.

Obviously, Li Xiu was inside.

He could only say that God was helping him……

Wang Rongfa couldn’t help but grin.

He looked around again, and after ensuring that there was no one around, he picked up the mop behind the door and approached the stall.

…..In fact, at that very moment, Wang Ronfa wanted to drag Li Xiu out of the stall and end him.

However, Fang Qian’an’s previous warning to him still rang in his ears. Even as he cursed fiercely, Wang Rongfa still didn’t have the courage to confront Fang Qian’an directly.

However, this didn’t mean that he intended to let Li Xiu off.

Because just now, he had discovered that Li Xiu had nothing on him, not even his school bag or jacket.

And as he walked with his hands down like that, they had been empty.

This guy hadn’t brought his cell phone.

“……So, who made you not bring your cell phone? Otherwise, you could call your husband who loves to fuck the disabled to save you, ah.”

Wang Rongfa laughed, taunting the person in the bathroom stall.

As he spoke, he put the mop through the door handle of the stall and locked it firmly from the outside.

In this way, Li Xiu was blocked into the stall by him and couldn’t push the door open. And that guy’s leg was no good, so even if he wanted to climb out from above, it wouldn’t work. Unless someone actually heard his cries for help and removed the mop from the outside, Li Xiu couldn’t escape.

It was a pity that Li Xiu had arrived at the negative third floor. It could be seen from the desertedness just now that no one was using this floor at all, and nobody would come.

Bang—

There was a light knock from the inside of the door.

Wang Rongfa clapped his hands and took a step back.

“You just stay here,” he said to Li Xiu spitefully.

“Wait a day or two, and I’ll let you out when I’m feeling better.”

Inside the stall, Li Xiu remained silent.

There was another knock on the compartment door.

Bang—

“Tsk, you’re still putting on an act here.”

He had to say, it was rather refreshing to lock someone in a stall himself, where they could only bang on the door.

Once his boiling blood cooled, Wang Rongfa calmed down somewhat.

Of course, Li Xiu would definitely tell on him when he got out, but there were no flesh injuries on his body. En, at worst, he could gather a few people as false witnesses to say he hadn’t done anything…..there was no evidence or proof. Was it possible that Fang Qian’an would really make things difficult for him in front of so many people for a damn cripple?

With a hint of apprehension, Wang Rongfa swallowed his saliva as he considered this.

He turned and walked toward the stall door.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Wang Rongfa glanced at the mirror above the bathroom sinks.

Occupying almost an entire wall, it faced the bathroom stalls.

The reflected scene froze Wang Rongfa in place.

Bang—

Bang—

Bang—

There were still regular knocks on the stall door.

Wang Rongfa’s breathing gradually became heavier. Like a robot that had not been oiled for a long time, he turned his head with difficulty and looked above the stall in the corner.

When he’d entered, he was busy searching for a figure inside the stalls, and naturally had no intention of looking at the ceiling above them.

But now, he finally set his sights there.

Above the stall at the end of the row hung a long, thin figure.

A piece of waste wire that was not hidden during renovation hung from the ceiling to make a rough noose, and in that noose was a blue, swollen face. That face was drooping down so that its chin almost reached its chest. 

A long tongue had fallen out to block the gaping mouth. The handsome face that was once popular among students now looked extremely twisted and hideous. 

Maybe…..just maybe, the man had struggled too hard when the noose tightened, which was why his neck was so long and thin now.

And in the windless bathroom, the stretched-out dead man was swaying regularly.

Because of this, its toes hit the stall door in a regular pattern, one after another.

Bang—

Bang—

Bang—

---

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Chapter 14 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 16