Chen Yang sat on the chair, and within his sight was a single dormitory. The conditions were very ordinary, and the daily necessities were rather messy, but the textbooks were very tidy.
The head teacher put the water bottle under the desk and rolled up his jacket sleeves: "Have you had lunch?"
"I've eaten." There was still vegetable oil on Chen Yang's mouth.
The head teacher rummaged around in the corner and handed him a box of original yogurt.
Chen Yang took the yogurt with a subtle and somewhat dreamy expression.
The head teacher's beer belly was against the edge of the desk, and he picked up a pile of papers with both hands: "I got your papers yesterday, and I was just about to talk to you."
Chen Yang was confused. What test paper? A flash of lightning flashed through his mind. Today is the beginning of November... Is this the time for the midterm exam
"Here." The head teacher pulled out a test paper, pulled out a chair and sat next to the student. "You lost the most points in the reading section this time."
Chen Yang sighed that a young man with good acting skills was the most suitable for this task, while trying to get himself into the right state. His grades in school were always in the upper middle of the class, very stable, so he was never the target of one-on-one private chats by teachers. He was only called two or three times, and they were all because he skipped classes and climbed over the wall to play basketball or fight.
The situation back then was different from now. Now he came to me on his own initiative, and he was still standing on the side of a top student who had serious academic imbalance and encountered difficulties in learning.
Chen Yang thought to himself that at his age, no matter how outspoken or arrogant he was, he was still a minor. He would always feel a bit of fear and awe when facing the teacher.
So he showed a trace of embarrassment and loss that was consistent with a teenager.
"Reading comprehension cannot be improved in a short period of time." The head teacher comforted him softly, "You need to write and read more. Develop the habit of keeping a diary and record some poems and famous quotes."
The head teacher turned to the end of the paper and said: "Your composition is very colloquial."
Chen Yang: “…”
"You have a good foundation." The head teacher handed him the test paper, "You need to pay attention to reading and writing."
Chen Yang took the paper and looked at it. It was his own handwriting and the composition was also in his style. He really used the plain water style, with a straightforward narrative without fancy words or dazzling sentence structures.
79 points, this is his Chinese midterm exam score, full marks... Chen Yang calculated, 150, he chose not to speak.
The head teacher took off his glasses with thin legs and wiped the dust off them with a cloth: "There's not much time left in the last semester. Have you ever thought about studying liberal arts or science in your second year of high school?"
Chen Yang's eyebrows moved. The head teacher of Class 1 taught Chinese. This class should be a liberal arts class. He deliberately said, "Science."
While speaking, Chen Yang noticed that the head teacher paused while wiping his glasses.
The head teacher's nose had traces of being pressed by the glasses frame for a long time. He lowered his eyes to check the lenses and said gently, "Have you discussed this with your family?"
"No." Chen Yang glanced at the two beers in the pile of sundries. The head teacher's belly was so round.
"We still need to discuss it. The most important thing in the three years of high school is the college entrance examination, and the second is the class division. The two are closely related." The head teacher put his glasses back on. "We can't be careless. We must take it seriously and think twice before acting."
Chen Yang looked confused.
"There is still more than half a year before the class division." The head teacher said, "You are only weak in Chinese in the liberal arts field, but your comprehensive liberal arts are quite good. If your Chinese improves, you will have no problem studying liberal arts."
Chen Yang rubbed the corner of his curled paper and thought, is it just a little bit worse? Chinese is not as abnormal as other subjects. It is not easy to fail the exam. He took the opportunity to take a look at the head teacher while he was pouring water. It seems that he has no family and is less than 40 years old. It is the most exciting time in his teaching career.
"If you don't study, don't hold others back." This reminder will make people think of the teacher first. In addition, this head teacher hopes that students with good grades can stay when the second year of high school is divided into classes. It seems that these two points combined reveal his teaching attitude, and the task target is him.
But when Xiao Zhang died, the class teacher was in front of Chen Yang.
Chen Yang guessed that the hint was what the head teacher had said, and there was a more than 70% chance that he played a special or key role in this mission, but he was not a murderous ghost.
I need to check the background of the story again.
"Then I'll think about it next year." Chen Yang scratched his head, "Teacher, I want to change my seat."
"Change seats? Isn't your current seat pretty good?" The head teacher was stunned. "Jiang Wei and Jin Xiaochang are both excellent students in all subjects. It would be best for you to sit with them."
Chen Yang's mouth twitched. It turned out that Jin Xiaozhang was the school idol and the top student. He coughed and said, "Well, I want to sit in the back."
"What?" The head teacher reacted loudly, slamming his hand on the table. "Why are you running to the back one by one? Are you trying to be the king?"
Chen Yang: “…”
"Wenqing is even more biased in his studies than you are. He got full marks in Chinese, but only got single-digit or double-digit marks in other subjects. He still insisted on sitting in the back and refused to come to the front. Now you want to do the same, too. You guys." The head teacher took a sip of the cold strong tea and said earnestly, "The learning atmosphere is very important. The teacher has been there and knows more than you do."
Chen Yang struggled: "Then I..."
"When your Chinese score is over 120 and your other subjects are not failing, I will let you go," said the head teacher.
Chen Yang laughed: "Okay!"
For requirements that may affect students' studies, the class teacher still gives them room for negotiation and there are no mandatory "can't" or "don'ts".
As soon as Chen Yang came out of the dormitory building, he saw Wen Qing and Jin Xiaochang under the camphor tree. He walked towards them, and the bright sky began to change.
It was as if there was a post-production team behind the scene. It was both shocking and weird. Before Chen Yang reached Wen Qing and Jin Xiaochang, it was already dark.
He looked at the date on his phone and realized that half a month had passed.
A gust of cold wind blew and Chen Yang sneezed. He pulled his school uniform jacket tight, put his hands in his pockets, and walked under the tree at a leisurely pace.
"It's almost time for evening study."
"Yes, it's really exciting to jump in and out so quickly. I don't even want to go out." Wen Qing stretched lazily.
"If you fail the mission, you can stay here forever." Chen Yang glanced at the brightly lit cafeteria. Lunch and dinner were connected too quickly.
The scary thing is, he's actually hungry?!
"That's right." Wen Qing thought seriously, "But then I thought again, except for the interesting timeline, everything else here is average. I'd better not stay here. I want to settle down in a place with the most fun and interesting missions."
Chen Yang frowned and looked at him: "Are you telling the truth?"
The wind swept across Wen Qing's fringe and birthmark, leaving a chill behind. He narrowed his not-so-big eyes and smiled wickedly, flicking the coin into the air with his fingers: "It depends on fate. When fate comes, nothing can stop it."
Jin Xiaochang on the side looked at Chen Yang and said, "What did you find out? Tell me after you have sorted it out."
Chen Yang was stunned for a moment. This was the first time that Jin Xiaochang took the initiative to talk to him. He pursed his lips and said, "We skipped the midterm." Then he talked about the relationship between Jin Xiaochang and Wen Qing's personality, as well as his analysis of the head teacher.
Neither of the two audience members responded.
Chen Yang rubbed his face. The sunrise and sunset for the mission at the beach were abnormal, and the day was very short. This mission was even more exaggerated. He didn’t know how long he had been here, and he would always fall into a state of sluggishness from time to time.
"Ayang, if you didn't insist on meeting Jian, I would have wanted to fight for the status of partner." Wen Qing said regretfully, "I think we would be a good match."
Chen Yang suspected that he had heard wrongly: "No, without Chao Jian, we can't be partners."
"I don't like to hear that." Wen Qing smiled and straightened Chen Yang's school uniform collar. "You must tell me the whole story, otherwise this matter will not end."
Jin Xiaochang beside him laughed lazily: "Qingqing, you are being stupid again. He is doing the task and you are playing games. He wants to reach the end, but you want to stay on the road. How can we form a team?"
Wen Qing said to Chen Yang: "Let's ignore him. I'll listen to you."
Chen Yang said "Ah" and nodded: "So you also think that the task prompt was given by the class teacher, but he is not a ghost."
Wen Qing, who thought he had taken Chen Yang away: "..."
Wen Qing had done countless missions and met many people who wanted to live. Chen Yang was not the one with the strongest will, but he walked the straightest. He seemed to have walked too long on the way home, and his family had been waiting for too long. Longing and hope became an invisible rope connecting them, pulling each other.
Meeting Chen Yang's trusting eyes, Wen Qing stopped chewing gum for a second or two before continuing: "Yes."
Chen Yang held the white card in his pocket. "Then we will follow this clue. The evil ghost is the 'you' in 'Don't delay others if you don't learn.'" He felt something was wrong and said carefully, "Whether it is true or not, we must follow this direction and verify it after finding the clues."
When Wen Qing saw Chen Yang looking at him with trust again, he sighed, "Are you going to discuss clues with me in such a formal way? I have no experience like this, I'm not used to it."
"Okay, if you really want it, I'll brew it. It may take a long time." Wen Qing blew a bubble, put it into his mouth, chewed it, and then blew a bigger one. This was the time he would take to brew it. After he finished brewing, he started discussing it with Chen Yang.
"Let's sort it out slowly. First of all, the evil spirit is not omnipotent and cannot clone itself. Xiao Zhang's death can clear the suspicion of the head teacher and the sixteen students. The evil spirit is not among them. Secondly..."
Withered yellow leaves swirled and fell. Jin Xiaochang looked at the two heads that came together, and his eyes stopped at the shorter one: "Qingqing."
"Grass by the river." Wen Qing added with a smile.
"..." Chen Yang suddenly looked towards the teaching building. Soon, he saw two figures, Qian Qin and Qian Han. One of the brothers looked cold and wooden, while the other was anxious.
Chen Yang took a breath. It seemed something happened in the classroom.
After a moment, Qian Qin recounted what had happened. It was so concise that Qian Han couldn't listen any further and couldn't help but add to it several times.
What happened was that Qian Han was chatting with Wang Juan to get information. She was drinking water and somehow she started to have cramps and looked very painful. Zhong Qi and a few other students were in the class at the time and they wanted to send her to the infirmary, but she just started vomiting.
Qian Han pulled his brother out to find the teacher, but before they reached the stairs they heard noise coming from the classroom. When they returned they found Wang Juan chatting and joking with her deskmate.
Everyone in the class was there and it was getting dark.
They returned to the classroom and found out that Wang Juan was hospitalized for indigestion half a month ago, but was fine afterwards.
"Indigestion will cause vomiting, but it will not cause severe convulsions and spasms, or smaller and more dilated pupils," said Qian Qin.
Qian Han pulled his brother's hand. What else? Qian Qin looked at Chen Yang and squeezed out a sentence like squeezing toothpaste: "Xiao Han asked me to bring him downstairs to find you."
"That's not it!" Qian Han was so embarrassed that he let go of his brother's hand. "Mr. Chen, I mean... I think..."
Chen Yang said: "You think Wang Juan is dead."
Chen Yang said exactly what Qian Han hadn't said, word for word. He paused for a moment before muttering, "Her breathing is already very weak. It's unlikely that the school's medical facilities will be able to save her. How could she just have indigestion? It's impossible."
Wen Qing sighed: "Classmate Qian, so what if classmate Wang Juan is a ghost? Is she the life-reaper in this mission?"
Qian Han hesitated and said, "No, she was in the class when Xiao Zhang died."
"Since she's not a ghost, why are you panicking? Even if she's really dead, you can still treat her as an ordinary high school student, just an NPC." Wen Qing said, "Human energy is limited. If you worry about things that you don't need to worry about, you will ignore things that you should worry about. It's very dangerous."
Qian Han was shocked: "Mr. Wen is right, thank you for your reminder and warning!"
The young man bowed and said, "Let's encourage each other."
Qian Han reciprocated with the same gesture.
Chen Yang: “…”
Jin Xiaochang remained calm, as if he was used to it.
Qian Qin took Qian Han away.
Qian Han struggled and turned around and shouted, "Mr. Chen, what did you learn from the class teacher?"
Chen Yang told them briefly.
"Vomiting is a hint." Qian Qin spoke after Chen Yang finished speaking. Chen Yang looked at him and nodded. As for what the hint was, he needed to check further.
"Where are the others?" Chen Yang asked.
“They are all in the classroom.”
In Chen Yang's eyes, only one classroom in the teaching building was lit, and the rest were pitch black. He and Jin Xiaochang and Wenqing returned to the classroom, and there was only coldness and darkness on the way.
It was not yet time for evening self-study. Some people were playing music and singing in the classroom. Chen Yang walked from the front to the back, and then from the back to the front. He walked back and forth several times and found a clue.
There is a number under the right leg of each table. There are 36 tables in the class, but they are not numbered from 1 to 36, but from 1 to 37, with one number missing in the middle.
Chen Yang called his teammates to gather in the corridor, and he shared his new discovery.
"It's normal to have one number missing." Lin Chengye didn't take it seriously and thought it was nothing.
"The real world is normal, but the mission world is not." Qian Han said firmly, "This is a clue." At the end, he said in a dependent manner, "Right, brother?"
Qian Qin: “Yeah.”
"The owner of that numbered table is the 'you' in the task prompt." Bai Tang felt dizzy. He would feel this way whenever a cold wind blew. "He's not in the class."
"No way, isn't a double table for two people?" someone questioned timidly.
"There are also single-person seats at double tables." Chen Yang reminded, "Xiao Zhang is dead, so his deskmate is sitting alone, right?"
The man suddenly fell silent.
Yang Xue was silent by the wall, with the taste of kelp soup still in her mouth, which reminded her of her analysis at the cafeteria door, in which she firmly believed that the evil ghost was another teacher.
Being slapped in the face so quickly, she didn't dare to speak easily. The impact of having her ideas overturned was too great and was very detrimental to her mental state.
"Sister, failure is the mother of success. Experience is accumulated. Come on." A considerate and friendly voice sounded from the left.
Yang Xue looked over when she heard the voice, then looked away.
The blow he suffered during morning exercises was still vivid in his mind. This man was in a state of madness, a clear and rational madness, but he had a way out.
His escape route was the mixed-race doll next to him.
Wen Qing pulled Captain Jin Xiao's school uniform, lowered him, and said, "Old Jin, I'm afraid you won't have a chance to take action on this mission. It's going well so far."
Jin Xiaochang was about to stand up, but Wen Qing pulled him down again: "Go back and tell Chao Jian that her boyfriend performed steadily in the mission without him."
"Then my patient will laugh, saying it's so good, and cry at the same time, saying he doesn't need me anymore," said Director Jin Xiao.