Something Happened

"Zhang Chen, what's wrong? Did another one of my fingernails turn red?" Wang Yizhi was startled by Zhang Chen's sudden change in mood. She quickly raised her hands and looked them over, but couldn't see anything.

Zhang Chen snapped back to his senses and immediately said gently, "It's nothing. The red fingernail on your pinky just got a little brighter. It's fine."

"Later, you have to tell me what happened tonight. I was worried sick." Somehow, this girl had thought of something again, and tears started welling up in her eyes as she spoke.

"If you cry again, I won't tell you. Go take a shower." Zhang Chen sounded helpless.

"I wonder if my cousin is okay." Wang Yizhi rubbed her eyes.

"She's fine. We'll know tomorrow. Go shower first. Oh, and give me that little pouch I gave you." Zhang Chen hadn't expected Yi Zhi to still be worrying about her cousin at a time like this. It was obvious that her cousin must have doted on her when they were young.

Wang Yizhi rubbed her eyes, untied the pouch from her wrist, and handed it to Zhang Chen before running off to shower. Zhang Chen sat alone on the sofa, his hands clasped against his forehead, his heart filled with indescribable agitation. He opened the pouch and found that the yellow talisman Master Pu Hu had placed inside had turned into a clump of blackened, burned-looking scraps.

"Forget it. I should call Mom first." Zhang Chen took out his phone and dialed his mother.

"Mom, I might not be coming home tonight. Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm staying at a classmate's house. Don't worry about me. Get some rest early. I'll come to the mahjong parlor for lunch tomorrow." The moment the call connected, Zhang Chen rattled off a long string of words, afraid his mother would refuse to let him stay out overnight. After all, he had slept at home his entire life.

There was no sound from the other end for quite a while. Zhang Chen thought the call hadn't gone through, and just as he checked his phone, a voice came through.

"Mm, as long as you're okay. Get some rest early at your classmate's house. Tomorrow at noon, Mom will make your favorite braised pork ribs with potatoes."

"Okay, I'll go rest in a bit." Zhang Chen hung up. The difference between a good mother and one who only knew how to worry about her children could be clearly seen in how they handled things like this. Zhang Chen knew his mother was worried too; she had simply kept it all to herself.

"Alright, now I need to deal with this. Wang Yizhi's situation is nothing like what Xie Wen said. Two more fingernails turned red today. What if three turn red tomorrow? Why would Xie Wen lie to me? There's no reason for it." The moment Zhang Chen thought about Wang Yizhi's life hanging in the balance, he became restless and unable to analyze the situation.

"Ring, ring, ring~~~~" A phone began ringing. It was Wang Yizhi's phone on the table. Zhang Chen picked it up and saw two words on the screen: "Cousin."

Zhang Chen answered at once, and an anxious voice came from the other end.

"Zhi'er, thank goodness you're alright."

"It's Zhang Chen," he said in a low voice.

"Where did you take Yi Zhi? How is she? Is she alright?" Xie Wen sounded extremely anxious.

"You've got the nerve to ask where I took her? There was such a huge commotion in Yi Zhi's room, and you didn't hear it? If I hadn't stayed, do you know what could've happened? You don't need to worry about where Yi Zhi and I are. We'll be at school tomorrow. She's taking a shower right now." Zhang Chen was furious that Xie Wen had the gall to question him instead. Besides, he didn't trust her enough to tell her where they were.

"I was watching TV in my room. I didn't hear anything. I just went out to pour a glass of water, and I saw Yi Zhi's door wide open. Her room was a mess, and even the railing was gone. That's why I called." Xie Wen sounded a little wronged.

"Shouldn't you think about what's in that house of yours? Fine, we'll talk tomorrow." Zhang Chen hung up directly.

Not long after, Wang Yizhi came out of the shower. She had changed out of the pajamas she wore at her cousin's place and into a white, low-cut spaghetti-strap nightgown. Fourteen-year-old Wang Yizhi was already very pretty, with fair skin, a height of around five foot three, and a body that had only just begun to develop.

When Wang Yizhi saw Zhang Chen staring at her, she hurriedly covered her chest with her hands.

"Zhang Chen, what are you doing?" Wang Yizhi asked, blushing.

"I... I wanted to tell you that your cousin called just now. She's fine, so don't worry." Zhang Chen spoke with a perfectly serious expression.

"Ah, it's good that my cousin is okay." The moment Wang Yizhi heard her cousin was fine, she brightened up.

Zhang Chen was speechless. This top student was actually so single-minded.

"Yi Zhi, go sleep. It's almost eleven, and we still have school tomorrow," Zhang Chen said.

"What about you?" This was Wang Yizhi's first time bringing a male classmate home, and even more so, the first time she would be spending the night with one. Her face reddened again.

"I-I'll sleep on the sofa." For a moment, Zhang Chen had actually imagined sleeping in the same bed as Wang Yizhi.

Wang Yizhi looked at him, then suddenly rushed over and threw her arms around him. In a soft voice by his ear, she said, "Thank you."

Wang Yizhi's embrace caught Zhang Chen off guard. They were both lightly dressed, and with their bodies pressed together, his face immediately turned red and his whole body heated up. After Wang Yizhi let go, she saw what he looked like and hurriedly said,

"Ah, Zhang Chen, do you have a fever? Why is your face so red? You're so hot too."

Zhang Chen was truly defeated by this single-minded top student. "Go to sleep, and I'll be fine. And no need to thank me. I told you before that I'd protect you."

Wang Yizhi smiled faintly, as though she had forgotten all the unsettling things, then skipped into the bedroom.

Zhang Chen still seemed immersed in the happiness from just now. He quickly shook his head and thought, Damn it, what time is this, and what am I thinking about? Nothing should happen tonight. I'll wait for my sister's news before doing anything else. Otherwise, there are too many unstable factors. I should rest for now.

Zhang Chen stood up and was about to turn off the living room light when a beetle flew onto the chandelier and kept crashing around wildly. He was already irritated, and with a thought, the beetle instantly turned into a meat pancake and fell from the ceiling.

"Bugs are so annoying. Wait, bugs!" Zhang Chen suddenly remembered his fight with Nail Man that night. "Nail Man didn't try to kill me when he first attacked. He was trying to make me lose my ability to move. Then he spat out a red, fingernail-like bug, as if he wanted to put it in my ear."

"That's right. That's why he didn't kill me. If that bug got into my body, I'd probably become like Wang Yizhi. My fingernails would start turning red, and when all ten turned red, it definitely wouldn't just mean death. Otherwise, he could've killed me long ago. So what happens when all ten fingernails turn red?"

Zhang Chen recalled what Xie Wen had told him. He remembered the ten red fingernails on Xie Wen's hands, along with that house and the twenty-three Ghosts. He had roughly guessed something.

"Sis, you need to hurry." The thought that Wang Yizhi might have one of those bugs inside her made it impossible for Zhang Chen to calm down.

He turned off the lights and lay down on the sofa, only gradually falling asleep in the middle of the night.

"Zhang the Slacker, Zhang the Slacker, get up already. At this rate, you're going to bomb your exams." Zhang Chen groggily opened his eyes and found Wang Yizhi sitting beside him with her hair in a ponytail, dressed in a white T-shirt and denim shorts.

"Ugh, I'm exhausted. Yesterday was so tiring. I wish today were the weekend." Zhang Chen rubbed his eyes and started getting up.

"Hurry up. I'm all ready; I've just been waiting for you. There's a new toothbrush at home, and I already took it out for you. But you can use my towel." Wang Yizhi pinched Zhang Chen's cheek.

The moment Zhang Chen saw the three bright red fingernails on Wang Yizhi's hand, his sleepy mind instantly cleared. He patted her head and quickly ran off to wash up.

Boys took much less time to get ready than girls. In under five minutes, the two of them headed downstairs and set off for school. The seven o'clock morning sun shone warmly on them.

Once this is over, I have to take Yi Zhi on a trip somewhere. Zhang Chen pushed his bicycle, looking at Wang Yizhi beside him.

As they left, the security guard kept staring at Zhang Chen, apparently unable to remember when he had entered the complex. But seeing him come out with Wang Yizhi, the guard didn't ask any questions. Wang Yizhi saw this and covered her mouth as she laughed. To keep the guard from tattling, Zhang Chen waited until they were out of the man's sight before getting on his bike with Wang Yizhi and heading to school.

There were four classes that morning, and the second was Xie Wen's chemistry class. Xie Wen entered the classroom wearing a standard professional outfit. She only glanced at the two of them once before starting the lesson seriously, as if nothing had happened the night before. After an excellent chemistry class, Xie Wen walked over to Wang Yizhi's desk and told her to come to the office. Wang Yizhi glanced at Zhang Chen before following her.

"It's broad daylight at school. I doubt she can pull anything." Zhang Chen didn't pay it much mind.

"Brother Chen, Sister-in-law got taken away. Do you know what's going on?" Tan Fei suddenly turned around.

Fatty Tan hadn't changed at all. With that lecherous look on his face, he stared at Zhang Chen for a long time. Before Zhang Chen could say anything, he suddenly went wild and said, "Brother Chen, what's with those dark circles? Why didn't you come to evening study last night? Did you plan it all along? Did you take leave to get a room, then take Sister-in-law out for an all-nighter after evening study? You bastard, even if Sister-in-law is yours now, she's still everyone's goddess. How could you be so shamelessly blatant?"

Zhang Chen nearly spat blood from anger at this perverted fatty. He grabbed Fatty Tan's hand and gave it a light twist. A pig-slaughtering scream rang out, followed by Fatty Tan glaring at him resentfully. "You only know how to bully me. Why don't you dare bully the boss lady?"

As soon as he said that, Fatty Tan's hand was twisted into a knot again. This time, he truly didn't dare say another word. His eyes conveyed only one thing: resentment.

Before long, Wang Yizhi returned. Zhang Chen asked what Xie Wen had said to her, and Wang Yizhi replied, "Mostly just asking how I was doing. But my cousin said she'll take me out for lunch at noon. She also asked whether you wanted to come."

Naturally, Zhang Chen wanted to go with her, but he had called his mother the night before and told her he would go eat there at noon.

"Yi Zhi, I didn't go home last night, and I already told my mom I'd eat at her place. You go eat with your cousin. If anything happens, call me right away, okay?" Zhang Chen said.

"What could happen from eating out with my cousin? Go see your auntie. You didn't go home all night, so she must've been worried sick." In Wang Yizhi's eyes, her cousin was a wonderful older sister. She had no reason to suspect her at all.

Zhang Chen nodded. After all, Xie Wen had taken Wang Yizhi out to eat many times at noon, and nothing had happened.

After school let out at noon, Zhang Chen watched Wang Yizhi get into the Mercedes-Benz, then rode his bicycle to his mother's mahjong parlor. The moment he got off, the rich aroma of braised pork ribs with potatoes hit him.

"Mom, I'm back," Zhang Chen called as he entered.

"It's good that you're back. The food will be ready soon. Sit outside and watch some TV." Mother Zhang's voice came from the kitchen.

"Mm." Because of what happened yesterday, Zhang Chen was still worried about Wang Yizhi. He took out his phone and called her.

"Sorry, the number you have dialed is powered off." An annoyingly smug automated voice came through.

"Huh? What's going on? Did her battery die?" Zhang Chen thought about it and remembered that Wang Yizhi hadn't charged her phone yesterday either, so he assumed the battery had run out.

As he ate the potato ribs his mother had cooked, Zhang Chen couldn't stop himself from wolfing down three huge bowls of rice. Seeing how much he ate, Mother Zhang didn't ask about last night.

"Mom, this is so good. I'm coming here again tomorrow. Make it for me one more time," Zhang Chen said, as if he still hadn't had enough.

Mother Zhang nodded. Zhang Chen sat in the mahjong parlor and watched TV for a while, then headed for school at one-thirty.

Half the class was already seated, but Wang Yizhi's desk was empty. A sense of foreboding rose in Zhang Chen's heart. He called her again, but her phone was still off. Five minutes before class, everyone in the class had arrived, yet Wang Yizhi still hadn't come.

Zhang Chen could no longer sit still. He headed toward the office and happened to run into the homeroom teacher.

"Zhang Chen, right, where's the medical certificate you got from the hospital last night?" Teacher Lu asked.

"Teacher Lu, the doctor said it's a little serious. I still need an IV tonight, so I'll bring you the paperwork tomorrow. Oh, has Teacher Xie arrived?" Zhang Chen answered respectfully, taking the chance to ask if Xie Wen was in the office.

"Teacher Xie hasn't come yet. You can't keep doing this..." Before the homeroom teacher could finish, Zhang Chen heard that Xie Wen hadn't come and felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

"It's over. Something happened."