HYSE - 10

If one were to count carefully, the first time Shi Yin met Gu Congli wasn’t actually under the arts building.

Experimental High School No. 1 originally had only one campus. Although located in the city center, it was small, and its outdated teaching facilities were fitting for a school with a century-old reputation. Later, as the school expanded, a new campus was built.

The new campus was slightly remote, near the suburbs, but it was spacious, with a large park nearby separated from the school by an artificial lake. The air was fresh, and the environment was excellent.

Freshmen started at the old campus and moved to the new campus after being divided into arts and science classes at the end of the semester. Since the new campus was far from the city and evening study sessions ended late, most students stayed on campus unless their parents rented apartments nearby to accompany them.

Shi Yin met Gu Congli on her very first day at the new campus.

The campus was newly built, with fresh dormitory buildings. As a science-focused school, there were more boys than girls—two dormitory buildings for girls and three for boys. They were separated by a road, two railings, and three green belts.

The old campus was small, so the school didn’t enforce mandatory boarding. Most of Shi Yin’s classmates hadn’t lived on campus before, and their first experience felt like a group camping trip, exciting and restless.

Shi Yin was good-looking, likable, and had an affable personality, making her popular in class and part of a small celebrity circle that many wanted to join.

Right after physics class ended, she was pulled aside by Ergou, who was only 150 cm tall at the time, into a corner. He whispered mysteriously: “At 9:30 PM, third male dormitory building, wanna come?”

Shi Yin glanced around and whispered back: “What’s the activity?”

Ergou refused to divulge more: “You’ll know when you come.”

Shi Yin discreetly made a江湖 gesture.

Ergou returned it, throwing her a flirtatious wink and bouncing back to class.

The kids coming from the old campus felt like they were seeing the world for the first time. On their first day at the new campus, they realized that Experimental High School No. 1 could have brand-new desks and chairs, blackboards that were truly black, and crystal-clear broadcast sounds.

Even evening study sessions felt invigorating, motivating everyone to memorize vocabulary enthusiastically.

When evening study ended at 8:30 PM, Shi Yin returned to her dormitory with Fang Shu. The others weren’t back yet, so Shi Yin put her things down, took a shower, changed clothes, and waited until 9:30 PM.

The dormitory doors weren’t locked yet; the dorm supervisor was sitting by the glass window, tearfully watching My Fair Princess .

Shi Yin pulled Fang Shu along, sneaking out quietly. There were still many students returning from evening study, laughing and chatting. The lamplights flickered, and cicadas chirped loudly from the vast greenery.

When they reached the boys’ dormitory building, they couldn’t just walk in boldly. Ergou had only mentioned meeting at the entrance, so they had no choice but to wait outside.

Shi Yin hesitantly turned her head: “He only told us to come, but how do we get in?”

Fang Shu, the studious one, looked uninterested: “How would I know? You’re the one who dragged me here.”

“It was Ergou who asked me to bring you.”

“He told you to, so you did? You’re really obedient.”

Shi Yin leaned over, whispering mysteriously: “Do you know who Ergou’s roommate is? It’s Shen Zhiyang from Class Three, the grade’s top beauty.”

Fang Shu gave her a look that said, “Do you think I’m like you?”

Shi Yin shook her head smugly: “Don’t pretend to be reserved. Everyone loves handsome guys. Who doesn’t? Besides, I’ve coincidentally met Shen Zhiyang a few times—he’s truly a rare beauty.”

Fang Shu ignored her, and Shi Yin, used to this, didn’t mind. She squatted by the entrance, wondering if shouting for Ergou would work, when she heard someone chuckle beside her.

Shi Yin tilted her head up and turned.

A boy in uniform stood nearby, somewhat familiar. After a few moments, Shi Yin slowly recognized him—it was indeed Shen Zhiyang, the “rare beauty” himself.

Caught off guard by her gaze, he paused, awkwardly rubbing his nose.

Ergou popped out from behind him, slapping Shi Yin’s shoulder with surprising strength despite his short stature, lifting her up effortlessly. He tilted his chin: “Let’s go.”

Shi Yin rubbed her legs, which had started to go numb from squatting, and followed him.

Beside the dormitory building, separated by greenery and a gravel path, was the arts building. Outside the building was a staircase, with doors at the end of each corridor serving as emergency exits, usually locked and inaccessible.

Ergou led them there, walking ahead, with the two girls in the middle and Shen Zhiyang trailing behind. The four climbed the stairs outside the arts building all the way to the rooftop terrace.

A few people were already there, huddled in groups of twos and threes. Seeing them approach, someone waved.

As Shi Yin got closer, she saw about four or five people—one unfamiliar face, likely a new roommate brought by someone, and the rest were classmates.

They had brought all the necessary tools. In the center of the terrace was a large bedsheet, with an antique-style night lamp standing in the middle.

Everyone sat cross-legged on it. In the darkness, their bodies were invisible, leaving only eerie faces illuminated by the dim yellow light, like disembodied heads floating in mid-air.

Shi Yin: “...”

She began regretting joining this event.

Before she could retreat, Ergou pushed her forward.

The heads tilted up, grinning at her.

Shi Yin’s goosebumps rose, trembling: “Can’t you bring a brighter light?”

Ergou grinned: “If it’s too bright, won’t we get caught?”

“Who looks at rooftops anyway? And you’re sitting in the middle; no one can see you from below.”

“No atmosphere then, how would we play?”

The sports committee member, already seated, chimed in eerily: “Exactly. Do you know why we chose this spot?”

Shi Yin shuddered, her mind flashing through countless campus ghost stories—like the story of a female student who met a tragic fate or a teacher who vanished mysteriously.

She tensed, ready to cover her ears, when the sports committee member ominously said: “I’ve checked every rooftop. Only this one has grass laid out, making it comfortable to sit on.”

Shi Yin: “...”

She rolled her eyes, settling at the edge, becoming another floating head in the circle.

Once everyone settled, Ergou raised his hand, silencing the group.

The campus was silent in the dark. Ergou’s fair, delicate face appeared hazy under the dim light. He pulled out a deck of cards from his pocket, speaking softly but clearly: “This game is simple. Before playing, do you feel like there are more than just us on the rooftop?”

A girl shivered, leaning closer to her companion, instinctively glancing behind her.

Shi Yin: “...”

She hadn’t thought much of it until this girl’s reaction made her feel like someone was behind her too.

Ergou lowered his eyes, shuffling the cards with a sound that echoed eerily in the atmosphere, his voice distorted and floating: “The gates of hell open in July, and it’s almost the end of the month. Those dirty things won’t stay in the human world much longer. Where do you think they’d like to linger?”

As soon as he finished, a scream pierced the air—from a girl next to Fang Shu.

Her scream triggered another girl, who leapt up shrieking. Like dominoes, those who weren’t scared initially were now terrified by the sudden high-pitched screams. Even Ergou jumped, shouting: “What’s wrong with you all?! You nearly scared me to death!”

The first girl to scream was pale, looking even more terrifying. She stared past Shi Yin, trembling as she pointed ahead, her voice quivering: “Th-there’s really someone… with red eyes…”

Shi Yin’s hairs stood on end as she whipped her head around.

In the silent darkness, a faint red glow flickered behind her, moving slightly up and down.

Shi Yin stood up, squinting, staring boldly into the dark to discern.

The red dots paused, stopped for two seconds, then swayed closer. From what she could tell…

A figure approached.

An adult man’s frame emerged—black pants, a loose white shirt revealing the waistband beneath. His sleeves were casually rolled up, forearms low, hands slender with prominent veins and knuckles, holding a cigarette between long fingers.

Shi Yin’s suspicion was confirmed. Her shoulders slumped as she shot an exasperated glance at the girl behind her.

The only light source on the rooftop was the lamp they brought. Now, everyone stood up, blocking most of the light. The man’s face was hidden in shadow, with only the outline of his features vaguely visible.

He seemed quite handsome.

But at this hour, teachers should have gone home long ago.

Was he a security guard?

Shi Yin was intrigued by the man’s obscured appearance, leaning over to whisper to Fang Shu: “This new campus really is different. Even the security guards seem handsome?”

Her voice wasn’t loud, akin to whispering to a desk mate during class.

But the surrounding silence made her whisper stand out clearly and abruptly.

Her words jolted the group awake. Caught red-handed in the middle of the night, the previously rowdy boys fell silent, while the girls, relieved it was a human, quickly grew tense again.

Honestly, thinking about it now, if anyone should be scared, it should be this man. He was just smoking on the rooftop when he saw a circle of glowing heads suspended in midair, resembling ghosts having a meeting.

Anyone would be frightened.

Shi Yin felt awkward, looking up at the man. Seeing he showed no intention of speaking, she didn’t know what to say either, awkwardly greeting: “Hello, sir…?”

He gave no reaction, perhaps not hearing her. Only the hand holding the cigarette moved slightly, index finger flicking ash before bringing it back to his lips.

In the silent night, the red glow illuminated the sharp contours of the lower half of his face, quickly swallowed again by darkness. It was like a scene from an old film reel.

Holding the cigarette, his speech was slightly muffled, his voice cold and low: “Ten thirty, bedtime for kids. What are you doing wandering around.”