Jiang Wei was practically carried back to the dormitory, half-leaning against Tang Zihe.
He remained uncharacteristically silent the entire way. It wasn't until he heard the dormitory door click shut, confirming they were alone, that he finally let out a long, slow breath. It was as if he were finally shedding his defenses. His face was pale as he spoke. "Tang Zihe, help me call my brother."
"I need him to take me to the hospital... for an exam," he added, trying to sound casual. But no matter how light his tone was, it lacked any conviction when paired with those tightly shut eyes.
Tang Zihe frowned, but ultimately agreed. "I don't have your brother's number."
"Get my phone; it should be in my bag." Jiang Wei pointed vaguely in a direction—the exact spot where Tang Zihe had just set their bags down. The sound of the bags hitting the floor hadn't been loud, yet Jiang Wei had clearly distinguished it.
Tang Zihe placed the phone in Jiang Wei's hand.
Jiang Wei fumbled for a moment until he found the fingerprint scanner, then handed the phone back.
"It's in the contacts."
Tang Zihe opened the address book and realized he didn't even need to search. There was only one number saved, under the contact name "Brother."
"Can I use your phone directly?"
"Use mine," Jiang Wei said, feeling around as if trying to find a place to lie down. "He doesn't always pick up for numbers he doesn't recognize."
Tang Zihe quickly freed a hand to adjust the pillow for him.
"Hello?" A burst of static came through the line. Tang Zihe pulled his focus away from the person on the bed and concentrated on the call.
"Hello, is this Jiang Wei's brother? This is Tang Zihe..."
***
"Holy shit, all that happened last night?" Xia Shan listened to Tang Zihe’s recount of the events, scratching his head in shock for a long time before finally letting out an indignant curse. "So that's why Brother Jiang took the day off?"
He had only asked because Jiang Wei hadn't shown up by the time class started and Tang Zihe looked exceptionally haggard. He’d braced himself to ask, thinking the two had gotten into a fight, but the reality was completely beyond his expectations.
Tang Zihe rubbed his temples, looking exhausted. In his explanation, he hadn't explicitly stated that Gu Renwen was responsible. He believed in speaking only of what he had seen with his own eyes, and he had only witnessed the very end of the incident. Furthermore, Gu Renwen had slipped away at some point last night and hadn't even returned to the dorm. Tang Zihe hadn't had a chance to confront him yet.
It was a classic case of "protesting too much" by way of absence.
Regardless, Tang Zihe couldn't help but feel a surge of resentment toward him. His intuition told him that this matter was definitely linked to Gu Renwen—or perhaps his suspicion was simply the truth: Gu Renwen had caused it.
Shen Yannan wasn't as agitated as Xia Shan. Instead, he sat with a deep frown, lost in thought, remaining silent.
"Gu Renwen..." Ding Banfan’s voice piped up from beside Xia Shan. "Talk about 'never judging a book by its cover.' I never realized he had the guts to do something like that."
Tang Zihe glanced at Gu Renwen, who was currently shrinking into his seat, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. Tang Zihe’s brow furrowed so tightly it looked like a knot, and a flash of disgust crossed his eyes. Ultimately, he shook his head. "The commotion last night wasn't exactly quiet. Other people might know about it too. You guys should..."
Xia Shan felt his phone vibrate. He took it out, glanced at it, and froze as if he’d been struck by lightning.
Before Tang Zihe could finish his sentence, he saw Xia Shan staring at him with an expression like he’d seen a ghost. Unsettled, Tang Zihe asked, "What is it?"
"Brother Tang..." Xia Shan swallowed hard and held the phone up to Tang Zihe’s face. "Are your words... cursed?"
The screen on Xia Shan’s phone showed a trending post at the very top of the school forum. It had no title and no description—just a three-minute video.
It was an anonymous post.
Posted time: early this morning.
Tang Wanbai came running over in a hurry. Seeing the phone on the desk, she asked urgently, "Has anyone watched this video yet?"
"Not yet, I was just scrolling through the comments." Alarm bells were ringing in Xia Shan's head. "The camera angle on this thing looks like a horror movie..."
"The person in the video is Jiang Wei," Tang Wanbai said succinctly. "Someone anonymously posted this video into our grade's Omega group chat. By the time I saw it, a lot of people already knew. If you haven't watched it, don't. I'm already asking friends to help delete the video from the chat..."
*If you haven't watched it, don't.*
Hearing this, Tang Zihe’s brow, which had briefly relaxed, knotted again.
It had to be something truly awful.
But humans are, by nature, creatures of curiosity.
Ignoring the warning, Tang Zihe opened the video.
A minute later.
Not just his, but everyone’s faces turned grim.
Shen Yannan reached out and snapped the video shut. His expression was even darker than Tang Zihe’s—so much so that no one doubted that if he found out who posted it, there wouldn't be enough left of them to bury.
Tang Zihe gritted his teeth, his hands clenched into fists beneath the desk. No one knew that in order to prevent Jiang Wei’s state from last night being exposed, he had gone to the classroom at five in the morning to straighten the wrecked desks and chairs and scrub away every trace of blood. He thought he could keep the incident under wraps, but...
But now, a video from last night had suddenly surfaced!
"Which bastard filmed this and uploaded it to the school site?" Xia Shan hissed through gritted teeth, his fingers flying across his screen. "No, I can't take this. I'm going to find my friend in the Student Union right now and have them wipe this video from the site."
"Can't you hear the bell? Why is it still so noisy in here!"
Teacher Shi had entered the classroom at some point. He slammed his hand on the podium, and the room instantly fell silent.
They had dared to chat earlier only because Teacher Shi had been uncharacteristically late for morning self-study—nearly ten minutes late. Now that the period was almost over, he had finally arrived. They had completely forgotten that the bell had even rung.
"I have an announcement." Teacher Shi cleared his throat. His expression was incredibly grave, forcing everyone to sit up straight and focus on him. "This morning, the school administration discovered a video involving one of our students. The dissemination of this video's content would cause irreparable harm to that student's physical and mental well-being. A notice is hereby issued: anyone in possession of this video must delete it from their personal devices immediately. Further distribution is strictly prohibited. Those who have seen it must not discuss this matter on campus or online."
"I know many of you know exactly what I'm talking about and have likely seen the video mentioned. This is a very serious matter with severe implications. I expect you to follow this notice voluntarily. Delete what needs to be deleted, and keep your mouths shut. The school will handle the resolution of this matter."
Teacher Shi’s tone was more serious than ever before, but Tang Zihe was more shocked by the speed at which the administration had learned of the situation and acted upon it. It was incredibly fast.
As Teacher Shi moved on to other matters, Tang Zihe found himself distracted. His mind uncontrollably replayed the image of Jiang Wei from the night before.
It was a side of him he had never seen.
In front of others, Jiang Wei always maintained a faint smile. He would curl his lips and answer brightly whenever someone called his name—as if he were always in a good mood, devoid of any worries. His speech and mannerisms were always composed, maintaining a precise sense of propriety. He always knew exactly what people wanted to hear—to put it bluntly, he lived by the principle of "speaking human to humans and ghost to ghosts." Because of this, he could easily charm everyone around him into thinking he was a "great guy."
Even at home, when he shed that "embroidered mask," he appeared relaxed and natural.
If a person like that found out that his most insecure, terrified, and fragile moment had been forcibly exposed to everyone, what kind of expression would he make?
Tang Zihe couldn't bear to think about it.
If it were him... he probably wouldn't want to stay here anymore.
Would Jiang Wei feel the same?
Tang Zihe lowered his head, a bitter smile touching his lips.
*If he leaves again, I'm afraid I really won't be able to find him...*
"Gu Renwen, Tang Zihe, come out for a moment." Teacher Shi finally finished his instructions in the last few minutes of class. He called their names and walked toward the door.
Usually, when a teacher called students out, the class could guess the reason based on the names. But this time, they were stumped. These two usually had nothing to do with each other; why were they being called out together?
"Is it because of last night?" Xia Shan leaned toward Shen Yannan and whispered.
Shen Yannan nodded wordlessly.
Xia Shan’s expression shifted instantly. "I fucking knew Gu Renwen was involved."
"The school probably checked the surveillance," Shen Yannan explained softly. "They're calling in everyone who was there to get a statement and understand the specifics of what happened."
Shen Yannan’s guess was correct. Teacher Shi led Tang Zihe and Gu Renwen on a short detour, waiting until the bell for the next class rang before leading them into a small, empty classroom next to the staff office. It had originally been used for storage, but one day it had been cleared out and repurposed for private disciplinary talks.
"Tang Zihe, wait outside for a bit." Teacher Shi made a quick choice between the two and brought Gu Renwen inside.
Since he was going to miss this class anyway, Tang Zihe simply leaned against the wall by the door, tilting his head slightly.
This spot was the easiest place to overhear the conversation inside. The door didn't sit perfectly flush with the frame, leaving a small gap. If the people inside spoke even slightly loudly, the sound would carry out as clearly as lossless audio.
Tang Zihe leaned there without a shred of guilt, shamelessly eavesdropping.
The school administration had indeed checked the cameras. they saw Gu Renwen was the last to leave the classroom, lingered in the hallway, and returned to the Class 1 entrance a few minutes later. However, the footage was recorded at night. Having been to the security room before, Tang Zihe knew the image quality was poor to begin with. The night footage likely only showed blurry silhouettes, making it impossible to see exactly what a person was doing.
Teacher Shi asked Gu Renwen several questions, essentially trying to find out exactly what he had been doing there.
Finally, Gu Renwen’s voice drifted through the crack in the door. "Teacher, about this..."
"I did it."
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
---|---|---
施总 | Teacher Shi | "Shi Zong." A nickname for the teacher; "Zong" (Boss/Manager) is common student slang for teachers.
Omega | Omega | Part of the ABO (Alpha/Beta/Omega) setting.
大群 | Group chat | Refers to a large school or grade-level chat group.
早自习 | Morning self-study | A common period in Chinese schools before formal classes begin.
学生会 | Student Union | Student government organization.
监控 | Surveillance / CCTV | School security cameras.
