Something Happened

"Zhang Chen, what's wrong? Did another one of my nails turn red?" Wang Yizhi was startled by Zhang Chen's sudden change in mood. She quickly raised her hand, looking around but seeing nothing.

Zhang Chen snapped back to reality and immediately said gently, "It's nothing. Your pinky nail just got a little brighter red. It's fine."

"You have to tell me what happened tonight later, okay? You scared me to death." Wang Yizhi started to tear up again, thinking of something.

"If you cry again, I won't tell you. Go take a bath," Zhang Chen said helplessly.

"I wonder if my cousin is okay," Wang Yizhi said, rubbing her eyes.

"She'll be fine. We'll know tomorrow. Go take a bath first. Oh, and bring me that little pouch I gave you," Zhang Chen said. He hadn't expected Yizhi to be worried about her cousin now. It seemed her cousin must have doted on her a lot when they were young.

Wang Yizhi rubbed her eyes and untied the pouch from her hand, giving it to Zhang Chen. Then she ran off to take a bath, leaving Zhang Chen sitting alone on the sofa, forehead propped on his interlaced hands, feeling an indescribable frustration. He opened the pouch. Inside, there was a yellow talisman that Master Pu Hu had placed there. Now, it had turned into a clump of black paper scraps, as if burned.

"Forget it, I'll call mom first," Zhang Chen said, pulling out his phone and calling his mother.

"Mom, I might not be back tonight. Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm at a classmate's house. Don't worry about me, just get some rest. I'll come to the mahjong hall for lunch tomorrow." As soon as the call connected, Zhang Chen rattled off a string of words, afraid his mother wouldn't let him stay out overnight, as he had always slept at home since he was a child.

There was no response from the other end for a long time, and Zhang Chen thought the call hadn't gone through. Just as he was checking his phone, a voice came through.

"En, it's good that you're okay. Get some rest at your classmate's house. Mom will make your favorite braised pork ribs with potatoes for you tomorrow at noon."

"Okay, I'll go rest soon." Zhang Chen hung up the phone. One could tell the difference between a good mother and one who only worried about her children from how they handled such matters. Zhang Chen knew his mother was worried, but she hid it all in her heart.

"Alright, now I need to deal with this. Wang Yizhi's situation is completely different from what Xie Wen said. Two more nails turned red today. What if three more turn red tomorrow? Why would Xie Wen lie to me? There's no reason." The thought of Wang Yizhi's life made Zhang Chen agitated, unable to analyze the problem.

"Ring ring ring~~~~" A phone rang. 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 the call immediately, and a worried voice came through.

"Zhi'er, it's so good that you're okay."

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

"Where did you take Yizhi? How is she now? Is she okay?" Xie Wen's voice on the other end was very anxious.

"How dare you ask me where I took her? Didn't you hear the commotion in Yizhi's room? If I hadn't stayed, do you know what could have happened? You don't need to know where Yizhi and I are. We'll be at school tomorrow. She's taking a bath right now." Zhang Chen was very angry that Xie Wen was questioning him and didn't trust her. Of course, he couldn't tell her his location.

"I was in my room watching TV and didn't hear anything. I just went out to get a cup of water and saw that Yizhi's room door was wide open, the inside was a mess, and the railing was gone, so I called," Xie Wen said with a hint of grievance in her voice.

"Don't you think about what's in your house? Anyway, we'll talk about it tomorrow." Zhang Chen hung up the phone directly.

A moment later, Wang Yizhi came out after her bath, changing out of the pajamas she wore at her cousin's house into a white, low-cut slip dress. The 14-year-old Wang Yizhi was already very beautiful, with fair skin, standing at 1.6 meters tall, and her body had just started to develop.

Seeing Zhang Chen staring at her, Wang Yizhi quickly covered her chest with her hands.

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

"I… I wanted to tell you that your cousin called just now. She's okay, don't worry," Zhang Chen said matter-of-factly.

"Ah, it's good that my cousin is okay." Wang Yizhi's face lit up as soon as she heard her cousin was fine.

Zhang Chen felt helpless. This top student was so single-minded.

"Yizhi, go to bed. It's almost 11 o'clock, and you have school tomorrow," Zhang Chen said.

"What about you?" Wang Yizhi had never brought a male classmate home before, let alone stayed overnight. Her face turned red again.

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

Wang Yizhi looked at him, then rushed over and hugged him tightly, whispering in his ear, "Thank you."

Being hugged by Wang Yizhi like that, especially with them both wearing so little, made Zhang Chen's face flush and his body heat up as their bodies pressed together. After Wang Yizhi let go, she saw Zhang Chen's appearance and quickly said, "Ah, Zhang Chen, do you have a fever? Why is your face so red and your body so hot?"

Zhang Chen was truly conquered by this single-minded top student. He said, "Go to sleep, I'm fine. And you don't need to thank me. I told you before, I'll protect you."

Wang Yizhi smiled slightly, as if she had forgotten all her anxieties, and bounced into the bedroom.

Zhang Chen seemed to still be immersed in the previous happiness. He immediately shook his head and thought, "Damn it, what time is it, and you're still thinking about that? Nothing should happen today. Let's wait for my sister's news for now, otherwise, there are too many unstable factors. I'll rest for today."

Zhang Chen stood up to turn off the living room lights when a beetle flew onto the living room chandelier and kept crashing into it. Zhang Chen was already annoyed. With a thought, the beetle instantly turned into a meat patty and fell from the ceiling.

"Bugs are so annoying. Wait, bugs!" Zhang Chen suddenly remembered the situation when he fought with that nail-person tonight. "That nail-person didn't try to kill me immediately. Instead, he wanted to incapacitate me. Then, he spat out a red, nail-like bug from his mouth, seemingly wanting to put it into my ear."

"Yes, that's why he didn't kill me. If that bug had entered my body, I probably would have become like Wang Yizhi, with my nails turning red. And when all ten turn red, it definitely won't be simple death, otherwise, he could have killed me long ago. So what happens when all ten fingers turn red?"

Zhang Chen recalled what Xie Wen had told him, remembered the ten red nails on Xie Wen's hands, and combined with that house and the 23 ghosts, he had a rough guess.

"Sister, you have to hurry," Zhang Chen thought, imagining there might be such a bug inside Wang Yizhi, and he couldn't calm down.

He turned off the lights and lay on the sofa, finally falling into a deep sleep around midnight.

"Wake up, Zhang Xue Zha, wake up! If you keep this up, you'll fail your exams." Zhang Chen groggily opened his eyes and saw Wang Yizhi, her hair in a ponytail, wearing a white T-shirt and denim shorts, sitting beside him.

"Ugh, I'm so sleepy. I was so tired yesterday. I wish it was the weekend," Zhang Chen said, rubbing his eyes as he prepared to get up.

"Hurry up, I've already gotten everything ready, just waiting for you. The house has new toothbrushes, I've gotten them all out for you, but you'll have to use my towel," Wang Yizhi said, pinching Zhang Chen's cheek.

Seeing the three red nails on Wang Yizhi's hand, Zhang Chen's sleepy mind immediately cleared up. He patted Wang Yizhi's head and then quickly went to wash up.

Boys took much less time to get ready than girls. In less than five minutes, the two of them went downstairs and headed towards the school. The morning sun at seven o'clock shone on them comfortably.

"Ah, after this is over, I must take Yizhi on a trip," Zhang Chen thought, pushing his bicycle and looking at Wang Yizhi beside him.

The gatekeeper uncle kept staring at Zhang Chen as they left. He didn't seem to remember when this person had entered the complex, but since he was leaving with Wang Yizhi, the gatekeeper uncle didn't ask any further questions. Wang Yizhi, seeing this, couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh. To avoid the gatekeeper uncle reporting them, Zhang Chen waited until they were out of the uncle's sight before getting on Wang Yizhi's bike and heading to school.

There were four classes in the morning, and the second class was Xie Wen's chemistry lesson. When she entered the classroom, Xie Wen was wearing a standard professional outfit. After a single glance at the two of them, she began her lesson as if nothing had happened the previous night. After a brilliant chemistry class, Xie Wen walked to Wang Yizhi's desk and asked her to accompany her to the office. Wang Yizhi glanced at Zhang Chen before following.

"It's broad daylight in school; I doubt she can do anything too outrageous," Zhang Chen thought, unconcerned.

"Brother Chen, the sister-in-law's been taken away! Do you know what's going on?" Tan Fei suddenly turned around and said.

This Fatty Tan hadn't changed a bit, still sporting that lewd expression. He stared at Zhang Chen for a long time. Before Zhang Chen could even speak, Fatty Tan suddenly blurted out, "Brother Chen, what's with the dark circles under your eyes? Why didn't you come to evening study yesterday? Did you plan this all out last night, took leave to get a room, and then took the sister-in-law out all night after evening study? You **! Even though the sister-in-law is yours, she's still everyone's goddess. Why are you so blatant?"

Zhang Chen was so infuriated by the lewd fatty that he almost spat blood. He grabbed Tan Fei's hand and twisted it gently. A pig-like scream erupted, followed by Tan Fei's venomous glare. "You only bully me. Why don't you dare to bully the elder sister-in-law?"

After speaking, Tan Fei's hand was twisted into a pretzel. This time, he truly dared not say anything more, his eyes conveying only one emotion: resentment.

A short while later, Wang Yizhi returned. Zhang Chen asked her what Xie Wen had said. Wang Yizhi replied, "Mostly just asking how I was doing. But my cousin said she'd take me out for lunch today, outside, and she even asked if you wanted to join."

Zhang Chen naturally wanted to go, but he had spoken with his mother the previous night and arranged to eat at her place for lunch.

"Yizhi, I didn't come home last night, and I told my mom I'd eat at her place. You go eat with your cousin. Call me immediately if anything happens," Zhang Chen said.

"What could possibly happen when I'm eating out with my cousin? Hurry and go to Auntie's place. You haven't been home all night; Auntie must be worried sick." In Wang Yizhi's eyes, her cousin was a wonderful older sister and completely trustworthy.

Zhang Chen nodded. After all, Xie Wen had taken Wang Yizhi out for lunch so many times before without any issues.

After classes ended at noon, Zhang Chen watched Wang Yizhi get into a Mercedes-Benz before riding his own bike to his mother's mahjong parlor. As soon as he dismounted, a rich aroma of braised pork ribs with potatoes wafted towards him.

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

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

"Okay." Zhang Chen responded. Due to yesterday's events, he was still worried about Wang Yizhi and took out his phone to call her.

"Sorry, the number you have dialed is switched off." An annoying voice announced.

"Huh? What's going on? Did her phone run out of battery?" Zhang Chen pondered. It seemed Wang Yizhi's phone hadn't been charged yesterday either, so he assumed that was the reason.

While eating the potato and rib dish his mother had cooked, Zhang Chen couldn't help but devour three large bowls of rice. Mother Zhang, seeing how much he could eat, didn't ask any further questions about last night.

"Mom, this is delicious! I'll come over again tomorrow. Make it for me again," Zhang Chen said, as if he hadn't had his fill.

Mother Zhang nodded. Zhang Chen sat in the mahjong parlor, watched some TV, and then headed back to school at half-past one.

Half the class was already seated, but Wang Yizhi's desk was empty. An ominous feeling washed over Zhang Chen. He tried calling her again, but her phone was still switched off. By five minutes before class started, the entire class had arrived, but Wang Yizhi was still absent.

Zhang Chen couldn't sit still any longer and headed towards the office. Coincidentally, he ran into the homeroom teacher.

"Zhang Chen, speaking of which, where's the hospital certificate you got last night?" the homeroom teacher asked.

"Teacher Lu, the doctor said it was quite serious, and I still need to get an IV drip tonight. I'll bring you the slip tomorrow. Oh, by the way, has Teacher Xie Wen arrived?" Zhang Chen replied respectfully, also inquiring if Xie Wen was in the office.

"Teacher Xie hasn't arrived yet. This won't do..." Before the homeroom teacher could finish speaking, Zhang Chen heard that Xie Wen hadn't arrived and felt as if he'd been struck by lightning.

"It's over. Something's happened."