As soon as the get out of class was over, "Jiang Wei" was called out by the head teacher. Chen Yang sat on the chair without moving, his mind racing.
"Mr. Chen!" Bai Tang rushed in from the back door, breathing heavily, "Something happened!"
Chen Yang followed Bai Tang downstairs and stopped in front of an old sycamore tree. He looked at the scene in front of him and wiped his stiff face for a long time.
The four girls were all dead. They were hung under the tree by invisible ropes, swaying in the wind like wind chimes.
After the four girls violated the death taboo, Chen Yang had expected it in his heart, but when it really happened, he still felt like drowning.
Chen Yang's hands reached to the side uncontrollably and grabbed an arm. It didn't have the familiar strength and thin muscles, but was soft and limp. He suddenly woke up.
Before Chen Yang could explain awkwardly, Bai Tang said, "I understand."
Chen Yang nodded: "That's good." He hesitated at the end, "Do you really understand?"
"Is my IQ that low..." Bai Tang turned around and faced the four corpses, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, "The evil ghost must be Jiang Wei," he said with certainty.
"Yeah." Chen Yang mentioned the new content in Xia Le's diary, the photo, and the words on the back of the photo.
Before Bai Tang could come to his senses, a scream rang in his ears. It was Yang Xue who came over. She fell to the ground, looking in the direction of the old Wutong tree, her limbs shaking uncontrollably.
It was horrifying to see four bodies hanging in a row.
Yang Xue blocked her eyes with one hand and held something in the other hand: "Mr. Chen, Professor Bai, look at this!"
As soon as Chen Yang walked over, Yang Xue threw the paper ball to him.
"This was given to me by Zeng Jin." Yang Xue covered her eyes with both hands. She really didn't have the courage to look at so many corpses at once. It was too horrifying. Although she could complete this mission, she would still have to see a doctor and take medicine when she returned.
"He saw it from his desk mate." Yang Xue had the illusion that the four girls would raise their heads to look at her the next moment. She couldn't stand it and got up and ran towards Chen Yang.
"Mr. Chen, let me hide here." Yang Xue shivered and huddled behind him.
"You have to get used to it." Bai Tang said to Yang Xue on the side, reminding himself for the nth time that he must get used to it.
"Let's go over there, bright spot." Chen Yang took his two tails to the street lamp. He spread out the crumpled paper and found that it was the registration form for the spring sports meeting of the second year of high school. The name of the shot put event was - Jiang Wei.
When Chen Yang saw Jiang Wei signed up for the shot put, he felt that it was both unexpected and expected. During the sports meet, if no one signed up for an event, the class monitor would fill in his own name.
Especially a class monitor with high demands, who attaches great importance to both collective honor and personal honor.
This is the clue to Lin Chengye’s corpse posture.
The moment he was sure that his deskmate was not Jiang Wei, the ball of wool in Chen Yang's mind was untangled. Now, holding the registration form in his hand, his eyes suddenly became clear.
Wang Yang saw Jiang Wei before he died. He must have felt very strange. Wasn't the class monitor in the class? How could he show up? So he was in a state of shock when he died.
And Xia Le is indeed secretly in love with Jiang Wei.
The reason why Yang Xue and Qian Han, who had experience in secret crushes, felt that there was a problem was not entirely appropriate, because Xia Le was looking at Jiang Wei through "Jiang Wei" and took a detour emotionally.
Chen Yang put away the registration form, let out a long breath, and all the sense of incongruity and contradictions lingering in his heart disappeared.
The task target is not the “you” in the prompt “Don’t delay others if you don’t write”, but “others”.
Now when Chen Yang thinks back, he will find that many small details are in line with the mission goal. When the truth came out, he was not surprised at all.
"Who is that person in the classroom?" Yang Xue couldn't help but ask.
"Stupid, they look the same, who else could they be? Twins." A grinning voice suddenly sounded from behind.
When Yang Xue turned around, she was met with an enlarged face of a good baby. When did this person come over and how come she didn't notice him at all
Wen Qing was like a worm in Yang Xue's stomach, and he saw through her thoughts at a glance: "Ask classmate Chen, he knows."
Seeing Yang Xue looking over, Chen Yang said absentmindedly, "About a minute ago."
Chen Yang was thinking about the twins. In fact, if he hadn't learned that Chang Chao had done something stupid, he wouldn't have dared to go upstairs. He really thought that his deskmate was a transformed person, and his purpose was to experience the treatment of a top student. There was a certain logic in this.
Chen Yang thought again, no, there is no logic, because no matter whether Chang Chao turned into Jiang Wei or possessed, he could not turn from a poor student at the bottom of the class into a real academic master. Personality can be disguised, but IQ is not. Chen Yang bit his mouth, but his deskmate was a real academic master, the best of the best.
Therefore, based on the current situation, it can only be twins. There is no other possibility.
"If they are twins, then the one in the classroom is the younger brother Jiang Lai?" Bai Tang thought for a moment and said a word, "Future?"
"Future?" Wen Qing clicked his tongue. "Are parents so casual about naming?"
A white light suddenly appeared in front of Chen Yang's eyes. He closed his eyes uncomfortably. A chirping sound came from not far away.
When Chen Yang opened his eyes again, there was a group of students in his sight. They were standing on the steps, some in groups and some alone.
"What are those students doing?" Yang Xue knew the answer after asking: they were taking graduation photos.
Chen looked up at the students on the stairs and "Jiang Wei" was among them.
The head teacher's voice came, urging Chen Yang and his group to line up quickly and not to dawdle!
So Chen Yang and the others also stood in the team.
On Chen Yang's right was Director Jin Xiao, and on his left was "Jiang Wei". He raised his hand and touched the school badge that had appeared on his chest at some point, and glanced at "Jiang Wei".
"Jiang Wei" stood straight and upright. His posture was out of place in the team, not just in his posture, but in many aspects.
Chen Yang raised his eyebrows. “Jiang Wei” was playing the real Jiang Wei.
The real Jiang Wei is such a person, who is unique in his youthful time and is lonely in a mature and proud manner.
The head teacher counted the number of people and said, "Not all of them are here yet."
Chen Yang's face changed. Eleven of his teammates were missing. It was obvious that the head teacher didn't care about the number of deaths. He only cared about his own students.
Those who didn't come are Chang Chao and Jiang Wei.
"Everyone, please go back to class. We won't take graduation photos today. We'll take them at this time tomorrow. No one can be left behind." The head teacher took away the tripod and camera.
The message revealed by the head teacher's words was like a thunderclap. Chen Yang's heart was slightly shaken. This time the task was to let the head teacher make up for the regrets of his career and his last wish.
There were only nine taskers left on the stairs. Chen Yang said solemnly, "Tomorrow is our last chance."
Qian Han was confused: "Ah? Why?"
"It seems that the timeline belongs to the class teacher." Bai Tang rubbed his dry and red peach blossom eyes, "When taking graduation photos, Chang Chao and Jiang Wei must be there. If one of them is missing, the timeline will start over."
"Start over? Start from the first year of high school?" Zeng Jin grabbed his hair with a look of panic on his face. "No, I can't do it anymore. I really can't bear it if I start over again."
"Not only you, but we all can't do it." Yang Xue tried to calm herself down. "Chang Chao is easy to deal with. He doesn't dare to go back to class because he's afraid of Jiang Wei..."
"As long as we deal with Jiang Wei, Chang Chao will return to class." The light in Yang Xue's eyes only lasted for a second or two before dimming. It was easier said than done. They still haven't seen Jiang Wei in person.
Chen Yang suddenly asked, "How did Jiang Wei die?" He was not asking his teammates, but talking to himself.
"Chang Chao's father poisoned him." Yang Xue said.
"Why is Jiang Wei so resentful?" Qian Han muttered, "I can't figure it out."
Chen Yang remembered the three sentences Xia Le wrote in his diary.
—I know you are very unhappy. I am sorry that I can’t help you. I am really useless…
—Ignore those people!!! Ignore them!!! They are not worth your attention!!!
—You are the best, you are not wrong!
Chen Yang circled the words "unhappy", "those people", and "not worth your care" as the focus of his thinking.
What is the reason why Jiang Wei is unhappy, who are those people referring to... And the last key point, Xia Le wrote "not worth your care", which means that she saw that Jiang Wei cares a lot, and he cares about those people's opinions or attitudes.
Chen Yang followed this line of thought and said after a while: "I roughly know why Jiang Wei is so resentful."
"What's the reason?" Qian Han asked curiously.
Chen Yang did not answer immediately, but asked a question: "If you were in this class and your classmate Chang Chao committed suicide by leaving a suicide note, would you think the class monitor was wrong?"
"I wouldn't." Qian Han was stunned for a moment, and he muttered softly, "But some people would think so."
Chen Yang asked again: "What if Chang Chao is still alive and dead, and his father always comes to class to make trouble, blaming him indiscriminately?"
Qian Han coughed: "Then I will complain..."
"You might irrationally think that it was all the class monitor's fault. If he hadn't said anything about Chang Chao at the time, nothing would have happened..." Qian Han tried to think from the perspective of one of the students in that class. He paused, scratched his head and said, "Okay, I know the reason too."
The others didn't discuss it, but it was obvious that they had thought of it a long time ago.
After Chang Chao committed suicide, he went from being a poor student who did not study well and influenced others to a member of a vulnerable group.
Public opinion will lean towards disadvantaged groups.
Once Chang Chao died, Jiang Wei became the indirect murderer who killed him.
In addition to the hatred from Chang Chao's father, Jiang Wei had to face blame from many parties, such as classmates, teachers, students from other classes and grades, even relatives who saw the news, and the media and netizens who were trying to stir up trouble.
For Jiang Weilai, who was only focused on studying and working towards his goal and was about to take the college entrance examination, this was no less than ruining his life.
Chen Yang couldn't help but think that it was possible that Jiang Wei had poisoned someone. When he realized his thoughts, his heart skipped a beat and his throat tightened. "This is just our speculation. We still need to find a way to confirm it."
No one knows what Chen Yang wants to prove, whether it was Chang Chao's father who poisoned the person, or...
Once the seed of doubt was planted, Chen Yang couldn't ignore it.
"Time is still jumping. It may jump to the graduation photo shooting scene tomorrow at any time. We have to hurry. Xia Le knows everything. Let's go ask her!" Wu Lingling shouted with a sore throat.
Chen Yang didn't think so. Xia Le was probably like the class teacher, knowing some things but not everything.
You still have to ask.
"Let's split up, half of us will deal with Xia Le, and the other half will go find Jiang Wei, okay?" Chen Yang suggested.
"I agree." Bai Tang said.
The hipster was poking an ant's butt with a branch: "I don't care. I'll go wherever I'm needed."
The remaining few people did not object. So everyone was divided into two groups. Chen Yang, Wen Qing, Yang Xue, and Wu Lingling went to find Xia Le. Bai Tang, Zeng Jin, and the Qian brothers were responsible for obtaining information from "Jiang Wei".
Jin Xiaochang...sleeps.
Chen Yang and his three friends found Xia Le on the playground.
Xia Le walked around the playground alone, ignoring Chen Yang and the others.
"You guys go ahead." Chen Yang said to Yang Xue and Wu Lingling beside him, "Girls have something to talk about."
"But she and I are not only of the same sex, but also humans and ghosts are on different paths." Wu Lingling's whole body was resisting.
Chen Yang did not force Wu Lingling, he just looked at her with a helpless and gentle look. The mission has reached the last stage, everyone is working hard, we are a team, and everyone is needed.
"Then I'll try..." Wu Lingling felt respected and encouraged by Chen Yang's gaze. She adjusted her mood and left, and Yang Xue followed her.
"Ayang, you have such a good temper." Wen Qing said.
Chen Yang disagreed: "That is the most efficient way of communication."
"As the mission progresses, everyone's mental state becomes worse. Forcing it will only backfire." Chen Yang said with emotion.
Wen Qing shook his head and sighed: "It's so boring every time I do a task with you."
"This is our third collaboration. For me, it accounts for a large proportion." Chen Yang said, "But for you who have completed countless missions, the proportion is so small that it can be ignored."
Chen Yang said seriously: "Without my other tasks, you can't have fun. Forget about my tasks. Just be honest."
Wen Qing snorted, looking very reluctant, but leaned towards Chen Yang.
"I suspect there is another reason for the poisoning. This is just my intuition, and I have no basis for it." Chen Yang avoided the young man who was a head shorter than him, "What do you think?"
Wen Qing leaned towards him again: "If you have any doubts, check it out."
"Since it's food poisoning, then check the cafeteria and the chef. If that doesn't work, go to the principal's office, a place you haven't been to yet." Wen Qing rarely showed off and gave a serious answer.
Chen Yang helped him up: "Just talk, can you stand still?"
"How could there be such a cruel person like you in this world? You used me and then just ignored me." Wen Qing pretended to cry.
Chen Yang: “…”
After a while, the two girls returned empty-handed.
"It's useless. She doesn't respond to anything we say." Yang Xue was helpless.
Chen Yang was troubled by this result. He looked at Wen Qing and said, "Then we have to change..."
"Let me make this clear first." Wen Qing interrupted him, "I can go, but I won't be able to speak. I don't like girls like that. It's not that they look ordinary, but I don't like their personality."
Chen Yang rolled his eyes and said, I’m not taking you on a blind date!
Xia Le walked with her head down. The black hairpin was not pinned on her head, but held in her hand.
Chen Yang said something shocking: "Xia Le, let me apologize to you first." He bowed to Xia Le, and the next sentence was, "I peeked at your diary."
The literary young man twitched his mouth and said, "What a ruthless person."
Xia Le stopped and raised his head, his face no longer had the luster of a living person.
Chen Yang looked at her frankly. He was the tasker and she was a ghost trapped in the school. He wanted to find clues to pass the level from her. They were in an antagonistic relationship.
"The Jiang Wei you like hasn't come back yet. My deskmate is his twin brother." Chen Yang took out the photo from his school uniform.
The young intellectual watching the show: “…” Ayang is such an amazing person, he can be both humble and gentle, and also simple and rough.
Chen Yang took out another pack of tissues from his pocket, tore them open, took out two and handed them to Xia Le who was holding the photo.
A tear fell from Xia Le's eyes.
Chen Yang observed Xia Le's emotional changes. He had already made his attitude clear and tried to be as friendly as possible. He hoped that she could give him some clues, at least a little.
Wen Qing stood on tiptoe and leaned close to Chen Yang's ear: "Didn't you use up all the tissues? Why do you still have a whole pack?"
"Bai Tang gave it to me." Chen Yang said.
Wen Qing's eyes widened exaggeratedly: "What? I asked him for it, but he didn't give it to me!"
Chen Yang glanced at him helplessly: "Okay, stop making trouble at this time."
The literary youth snorted twice and continued to look for ants to poke at his butt.
Xia Le kept crying and walking, and Chen Yang quietly walked with her for almost five laps before she stopped crying.
"You saved me once, thank you." Xia Le's voice was small and cold.
Chen Yang was stunned for several seconds: "It's okay."
The girl in front of him was not the living Xia Le, but the dead Xia Le. There was no timidity or shyness in her eyes, but a strong sense of death and resentment.
"But you're too late," she said.
Chen Yang neither refuted nor admitted it. He knew that it was not a complete sentence and there must be a second half.
As expected, the girl said again: "It's still rescue even if it's too late."
When Chen Yang heard this, he was ready to receive information and he took the attitude of a listener.
After a moment, Xia Le told him a short story.
Xia Le has liked Jiang Wei since the beginning of his freshman year in high school and has always had a crush on him. Sometimes he couldn't help but follow him after school.
Once, Xia Le accidentally saw a group of boys playing basketball. One of the boys looked exactly like Jiang Wei, but his temperament was completely different.
It was then that Xia Le found out that Jiang Wei had a twin brother. She didn't tell anyone because she unilaterally felt that it was a secret between the two of them, and she was closer to him than other girls.
The black hairpin was given to her by Jiang Wei. It had nothing to do with love, but only with her duty as a class monitor.
Because she had bangs that time and the wind blew them up, revealing her big forehead, her classmates laughed at her and called her the birthday girl. She lay on the table and cried. Jiang Wei went to the grocery store and bought her a hairpin, asking her to pin her hair aside.
He is a good monitor, very good.
"Everything was fine until Chang Chao committed suicide and Jiang Wei became the target of public criticism." Xia Le's eyes bulged outwards and his face was pale. "He did nothing wrong, but many people criticized him. But he cared about what those people thought. He is a fool. He is obsessed with trivial matters and it will hurt him."
Chen Yang narrowed his eyes. The missing part in this tragedy was filled in by Xia Le. That was also his guess, and now it has been confirmed.
But it was not enough. Chen Yang waited and waited, but Xia Le did not make any sound, as if she only knew about what happened before her death, but not about what happened after her death.
When Chen Yang came to his senses, Xia Le had disappeared. He shouted into the air, "Are you still waiting for Jiang Wei?"
There was no response from anyone around.
Chen Yang spoke word by word: "He is in school, in class!"
Still no sound.
Chen Yang was not sure if Xia Le knew that Jiang Wei had returned as a ghost. He pursed his lips and said, "Never mind, it's not important."
Matters of the heart are too complicated. Whether it is in the real world or the mission world, as long as it is not related to the mission, Chen Yang does not want to bother to understand it.
Chen Yang called over the young man who was poking ants and Yang Xue and Wu Lingling who were watching, and briefly revealed Xia Le's story. The clues she gave were actually not of much value, as they had all guessed them.
"Go find other people." Chen Yang pinched his Adam's apple. His voice was a little hoarse. The two sounds he just made were forced out.
The two girls looked at him strangely.
"What's wrong?" Chen Yang smiled in confusion, "If you have something to say, just say it."
"We want to know the secret to communicating with people." Wu Lingling's fingers were wrapped around a strand of wig in front of her.
"The secret to communication? Is there such a thing? I want it too." Chen Yang slapped away Wen Qing's claws and said to the two girls who were still eagerly waiting for his answer, "Be sincere, I can feel it."
"What if you can't feel it?" Yang Xue asked.
"That means we are not destined to be together. Let's move on to the next one. The next one will be better." Chen Yang strode forward.
“… … ”