Lonelytree

  Millman97

  Seeing the look in Chen Ge’s eyes, Wang Yicheng’s neck shrunk backward, and he grumbled internally,

  “Teacher, I’m just a very normal student. I have not encountered anything special in my life, much less any supernatural events,” Wang Yicheng said in embarrassment. “I am a bit clumsy, and you can see the issue with my leg. I think I will just join the calligraphy club. After all, they agreed to let me join even though the senior’s tone is not that good.”


  “I’ll ask you the questions, and you only need to answer them honestly,” Chen Ge said seriously. Once he put on such a demeanor, Wang Yicheng immediately surrendered. He sat on the steps and gave it some thought. After a while, he said, “I have not encountered any supernatural phenomenon myself, but when I joined the university, I did hear a curious ghost story from a senior.”


  “A ghost story?” When Chen Ge heard these words, his eyes twinkled.

  “The senior was from the student council. When we were assigned our dormitory, he was our guide. He seemed to have something against me. The story that he told was probably made up to scare me.”


  “What story is it? Tell me.”


  “The room that I was assigned is Room 413. Normally, a dormitory room houses six people, but strangely enough, my dormitory room only has five people. There is a bed that is purposely left empty.” Wang Yicheng started to tell the ghost story that he had heard. “Initially, I thought that the student who had bed number four was away due to some emergency, so he was not around for the new student orientation. However, that senior told me that no one actually occupies that bed number four.

  “When I asked him why, he told me, a long time ago, a student with a physical deformity owned that bed. No one was willing to be his friend, so he used pranks to get people’s attention. In the end, it only made others hate him even more. All the others ganged up to pull a prank on him.”


  As Wang Yicheng was about to continue, he was interrupted by Chen Ge. “Do you know what kind of prank the other students pulled on him?” Chen Ge wanted to confirm the speculation in his mind, so he asked this question.

  Scratching his head, Wang Yicheng continued with a frown. “According to the senior, the students tricked the kid to go to the toilet at midnight. They were going to scare him by acting like ghosts. But somehow, an accident happened, and the child perished.”


  “And then what happened?”


  “Since then, bed four in Room 413 has always been left empty. The senior said that the child would occasionally return at midnight. If we wake up to use the toilet at midnight and run into an extra person in the room, do not interact with him.”


  “That’s all? ” Chen Ge was not satisfied. “Try to think about other things that have happened to you. Like, have you been having a recurring dream, or do some extra memories appear in your mind?”


  Wang Yicheng looked at Chen Ge with a bitter expression. He knew that Chen Ge was not kidding, so he replied, “Teacher, I am a very heavy sleeper, and I never dream. It’s embarrassing to say this about myself, but I’m a forgiving person. I don’t mind the bullying that others do to me.”


  “That won’t do. There are good people and bad people in this world. Your kindness will only be seen as weakness in the bad people’s eyes. They will only bully you even more.” Chen Ge looked at Wang Yicheng, and his pupils narrowed. Suddenly, Chen Ge realized that this was the student whom he had been looking for.

  Wang Yicheng had a good impression of Chen Ge, trusted the latter, and most importantly, would listen to Chen Ge’s orders. There were obvious holes in the western campus’ students’ memory. Chen Ge wished to find out more, and he intended to ask some personal questions.

  “Wang Yicheng, what does your parent do for a living?” Family was the most important part of a child’s life. Chen Ge did not think that the students would forget something as important as that.

  “They own a restaurant. Why?” Wang Yicheng thought that Chen Ge had switched the topic very quickly.

  “Then, do you miss them?” After asking that question, Chen Ge was immediately grasped by worry.

  “Not really. They only dropped me here yesterday, but I guess I’ll start to miss them after some time,” Wang Yicheng answered seriously.

  “Yesterday?” Chen Ge asked a few more questions. The young man’s answers were flawless and truthful. However, once Chen Ge gave it some thought, he noticed that a great chunk of Wang Yicheng’s life was missing. For example, when Chen Ge asked him about the summer holiday after the big exam, the young man would stammer like that part of his memory had been vanquished.

  “It’s fine. There’s time to think about it. Maybe it’ll come back to you later.” Chen Ge had already gained a lot from Wang Yicheng. The western campus also had Room 413, and it was also tied to a ghost story. There were many similarities between the two campuses. Chen Ge wondered how deep the similarity went.

  “Compared to the eastern campus, the western campus is too friendly. I have to make use of this opportunity.” Chen Ge felt like he should not limit his questioning to Wang Yicheng. He needed more people to compile a fuller picture.

  Patting away the dust from his pants, Chen Ge stood up from the steps. “Xiao Wang, I’m going to take a spin around the pavilion and try to get a few new members for our club.”


  Chen Ge returned to the pavilion. The nature of the club meant that he could not have a big promotion. He could only approach some kind-looking students and ask about their interest. After being rejected five to six times, Chen Ge finally recruited the second member.

  This student was called Zhang Ju—his face looked like it had been burned by fire. His left cheek and neck were scarred, and it looked quite scary.

  “Mr. Bai, will I cause problem if I join your club? After all, I don’t think anyone is willing to be in the same club as me.” Zhang Ju had a scary exterior but a kind-hearted interior.

  “It’ll be fine. The kids in the club are all good people.” Chen Ge patted the young man’s shoulder. “I hope I won’t hear anything like that from you again.”


  Chen Ge’s sudden seriousness flustered Zhang Ju. This was the first time that someone had willingly come to be his friend.

  “Ok.”


  “That’s more like it. Come, I’ll bring you to go meet the other club members.” Chen Ge was about to leave when he heard a familiar voice.

  “Good evening, teacher, may I have some of your time?”


  Chen Ge turned and saw a familiar face. Behind him, the student who greeted him was Zhou Tu. He had met Chen Ge before and had asked him about the art club.

  “Xiao Zhou? How can I help you?” Chen Ge asked casually. Zhang Ju, who stood next to him, silently lowered his head, hiding his face from Zhou Tu’s sight.

  “Teacher, I’ve made my decision; I wish to join the art club. Can you tell me where it is?” Zhou Tu clenched his fists. He seemed to have something that he wished but had not said.