The Hooded Man suddenly stopped. "We're here."
Li Ying looked around and realized that, while they had been talking, they had already reached the entrance to a large classroom. She gave the Hooded Man a shove. "Go in."
The Hooded Man did not move. "You go in first."
Li Ying shook her head repeatedly. "Have you no shame? Making a girl go in first and get yelled at? No way."
The Hooded Man countered, "You really won't go in?"
"I'll go in after you do."
"All right, as you wish."
The Hooded Man pushed the door open without hesitation and went in at once. Li Ying followed close behind, only to find the entire classroom deathly silent, with everyone staring at her.
There was one desk per person, each clearly spaced apart. The Hooded Man had already taken one of the only two empty seats in the back row. Only one seat remained in the entire classroom.
Suddenly, someone said, "She's the last latecomer, right?"
"Counting her, everyone's here."
"So it's her?"
"Teacher Qin, everyone's here. Aren't you coming out?"
The classroom buzzed with noise. Li Ying suddenly felt a wave of panic. Everyone in the room, male and female alike, was watching her from the corners of their eyes. And those looks were definitely not the looks people gave a late student. They concealed something stranger, colder, and far more terrifying.
She walked step by step toward the last empty seat. Before she could sit down, the student beside her suddenly pointed ahead. "Look at the blackboard."
Li Ying looked over and saw several lines written on it:
"First official class."
"People still aren't all here. Someone is late and absent."
"I will not appear until the last student arrives."
"The last student to arrive is clearly disrespectful of