Chapter 13: The Terrifying Video (As promised, an extra chapter for every hundred recommendation votes)

However, he pretended as if nothing had happened, coughed twice, and asked, “What did you find?”

Su Qianqian pointed at the computer. “Look at this.”

Zhang Xiaofan walked over and saw that the screen displayed a history of their school’s grounds before its construction. During the Republic era, the region was plagued by warlords, and the people suffered greatly. Because this place was a barren mountain, after one particularly large battle, the military dumped all the corpses here.

From then on, it became a mass grave.

“So this place used to be a grave pit,” Zhang Xiaofan felt a chill settle in his heart. Even if he knew little of the supernatural, he was aware of the terrors bred in such places—where vengeful spirits most often festered.

“Look, it also says that when the school was first built, many people died. Later, they invited a Taoist priest to conduct a ritual, and things improved. But the ritual wasn’t performed at the school—it took place on the back mountain,” Su Qianqian explained.

“That makes sense. The graveyard must have spanned a vast area back then, and perhaps the main spirits all gathered on the back mountain,” Zhang Xiaofan replied.

“Then it seems the problem lies with the back mountain,” Su Qianqian concluded.

Just then, a message alert chimed.

Bao Lei: Xu Xiaolong, Zhou Jian, and Zhang Yanyan have completed the game. Congratulations to them.

Zhang Xiaofan stared at his phone in shock, muttering, “They actually did it…”

His mind whirled, conjuring up images of Zhang Yanyan with the two boys in bed…

A rush of excitement surged in his chest. If only he could be with two girls like that.

Su Qianqian sighed softly, her cheeks tinged with red. “Guo Daqiang must be furious right now.”

“Hmph, he’s not much of a man. He’s got several girls outside, but now that something’s happened with his girlfriend, the first thing he thinks of is his pride,” Zhang Xiaofan said angrily.

The group chat was buzzing, everyone expressing their shock and disbelief.

“With Guo Daqiang’s temperament, I’m afraid something will happen tomorrow,” Su Qianqian said with concern.

“We’ll have to stop them, or there’ll be a fight,” Zhang Xiaofan sighed. Looking at Su Qianqian’s delicate features, he suddenly smiled. “By the way, thanks for helping me out today—kissing me in front of everyone like that. I really appreciate it.”

Su Qianqian was instantly embarrassed. Their eyes met, and for a moment, the air between them thickened with a dreamy tension.

For the first time, Zhang Xiaofan felt his heart racing. Inspiration struck: in novels, this would be the moment to press his advantage, to win Su Qianqian’s heart in one swoop—the way of a true victor.

With this in mind, Zhang Xiaofan straightened his back, and slowly leaned toward her.

Su Qianqian’s body trembled; she seemed at a loss.

Suddenly, the door burst open. Ma Ying, Su Qianqian’s roommate, walked in, clutching her chest. “Oh my god, I was scared to death—really saw a ghost…”

She immediately noticed the ambiguous atmosphere between Zhang Xiaofan and Su Qianqian. “Hey, you two…”

Zhang Xiaofan hastily stood up. “We were just talking… I mean, investigating.”

Su Qianqian, equally flustered, added, “We’re looking into the school’s history.”

“Oh, I get it—investigating your way into bed, huh?” Ma Ying was always outspoken. She grinned, “Bad timing on my part, but seriously, my boyfriend and I were nearly scared to death just now.”

“What happened?” Zhang Xiaofan asked.

“We went off campus for food and asked the owner if anything strange ever happened around here. The owner said there really are hauntings at the hotel next door to our school,” Ma Ying replied.

She pulled out a video. “Here’s some security footage my boyfriend and I got from the hotel.”

“They just gave you the footage?” Su Qianqian asked in surprise.

“Please, my boyfriend’s a taekwondo expert. Took down the security guard in no time, and he handed it right over.”

Ma Ying seemed unfazed, then added mysteriously, “Watch this—it’s really creepy.”

She played the footage. The timestamp was from a month ago. Nothing happened during the day, but at ten at night, a girl appeared in front of the elevator. When the doors opened, she was startled and ran away in panic.

However, the camera angle didn’t reveal what was inside the elevator.

“This part is the scariest,” Ma Ying said, switching to the next clip.

The same girl appeared. She seemed to see something strange, and ran frantically into the stairwell, going downstairs, then upstairs, over and over, endlessly. The footage looked like it was on repeat, but all three of them could tell it wasn’t—the girl’s movements each time were different. She ran for more than two hours before, on her last trip down the stairs, she lost her footing, fell, and died.

Terrified, Su Qianqian clutched Zhang Xiaofan’s arm, a gesture so intimate she probably didn’t even realize it herself.

She asked in a trembling voice, “What happened to her? Why did she keep running up and down?”

“Who knows?” Ma Ying shrugged. “Lots of people say she saw a ghost.”

“But there’s nothing supernatural in the hallway footage,” Zhang Xiaofan frowned.

“Please, if a ghost doesn’t want you to see it, you won’t see it,” Ma Ying replied.

Zhang Xiaofan shook his head. If he wanted, his right eye could see ghosts. He’d just checked the video—there was nothing there. So why did the girl keep running?

“Here’s another clip. This one’s even worse.”

The next video showed a boy, apparently headed upstairs. He pressed the elevator button, but nothing happened, so he took the stairs.

Then, shockingly, after climbing two flights, he too began running up and down, over and over, for more than an hour. He made several phone calls, but seemed to get no signal.

Suddenly, he reached a window and leapt out.

“That was the eighth floor. His head was smashed to pieces,” Ma Ying said, rubbing her arm, which was covered in goosebumps.

“He must have seen something terrifying too, but why keep running up and down?” Zhang Xiaofan fell deep into thought.

“Luckily, these hauntings happened outside. They have nothing to do with our school,” Su Qianqian said with relief.

“Alright, let’s stop worrying. Tomorrow, Guo Daqiang is definitely going to fight Zhou Jian and Xu Xiaolong. It’s going to be a show,” Ma Ying said breezily, stripping off her clothes right there. Wearing only her bra, she looked at Zhang Xiaofan and said, “Hey, can’t you see I’m changing for bed? If you want to sleep with me, fine—but I’m afraid Qianqian will get jealous, haha…”

Su Qianqian shot her a glare.

Zhang Xiaofan stole a glance at Ma Ying’s ample chest, feeling he’d gotten quite an eyeful, then left.

The next day, Zhang Xiaofan and his roommates arrived in the classroom to find Zhou Jian, Xu Xiaolong, and Zhang Yanyan already there, all three looking deeply uncomfortable.