I'll Remember You

"Your name was Hao Shuai, right?" The Ponytail Woman nodded. "I'll remember you."

"Remembering my name is no use," Jiang Cheng said seriously, lifting his chin. "If you want to pick me, you need to remember my number. I'm No. 49 in the advanced group."

The woman introduced herself next. Her name was Yu Wen, and she was an expert in international relations.

She said she spent most of the year traveling abroad. She hadn't expected to be swept into this nightmare as soon as she returned home.

This was her fourth mission.

Soon, the Sleepwear Woman spoke in a timid voice. Her name was Zhang Yinyin, and she was a kindergarten teacher, still in her internship and not yet officially working.

Last was the other man, the one holding a camera. He and Zhou Taifu were the only newcomers in this instance.

His ill-fitting shirt and blunt bangs made him look rather dull.

"Hello, everyone," he introduced himself. "My name is Long Tao. I'm currently working as an extra on a film set."

That left only the fatty.

Just as the fatty was gearing up to introduce himself, Jiang Cheng suddenly spoke. "His situation is a little special. He doesn't have a name, because..." He pressed his lips together and looked pained. "He's an orphan."

"He didn't have parents growing up?" Zhang Yinyin's face was full of pity. "How pitiful."

"Just call him Fatty," Jiang Cheng said. "I heard that's what everyone at the orphanage calls him."

Fatty: "..."

A while later, they stood in front of a school building.

From time to time, pretty, innocent-looking girls went in and out through the entrance.

"This is the place," Zhen Jianren said, turning his gaze away. "Let's go in."

The interior was even bigger than Jiang Cheng had imagined. Classrooms lined both sides of the corridor, and singing and instrumental music drifted out now and then.

Although there was an elevator, everyone tacitly ignored it and took the stairs on the right.

The large music room was at the end of the fourth-floor corridor. As they approached, a woman in high heels came hurrying over.

She looked to be in her early thirties and wore light makeup. As soon as she reached them, she asked, "Are you the photography teachers?"

Only after they confirmed it did she breathe a sigh of relief.

During their conversation, the woman explained that the director had assigned her to wait there and coordinate with the photography team.

Today was the first rehearsal.

After thinking it over, Yu Wen asked, "How many rehearsals will there be before the celebration?"

"Three," the woman replied briskly.

"When will they start?"

"We can start right now." As she spoke, the woman ushered them into the music room.

It was called a music room, but it looked more like an auditorium.

Beneath the spotlights stood a choir riser, already occupied by students in costume.

People moved back and forth, adjusting the lights and various pieces of equipment.

It was clear the school was taking this anniversary celebration very seriously.

When the student organization members on site learned that Jiang Cheng and the others were the rehearsal photographers, they immediately brought over several bottles of mineral water. "Photography teachers, please have some water!"

Everyone naturally declined, but even after being refused three times, the students wouldn't give up. As more and more of them gathered around, the group had no choice but to take a bottle each.

To their surprise, the students were so persistent that they wouldn't leave until they'd watched them drink.

"Photography teachers," the woman coordinating with them said. After talking with the on-site staff, she ran back and beckoned them over. "We're ready over here."

Jiang Cheng and the others had already set up their cameras.

The man named Long Tao had chosen their positions.

After all, he worked on film sets and knew more about filming than the others.

"We need to record four performances at this rehearsal," the woman said politely. She smoothed the wispy hairs at her temples, then continued, "The first three will be choirs organized by three selected classes, one class at a time. The last one will be all three classes singing together."

"Okay," Jiang Cheng replied. "Let's get started, then."

Once he was back in position, Jiang Cheng picked up the camera bag and took out the camera he'd left at the equipment center earlier.

Fatty saw him and asked in confusion, "What are you doing with that?"

Moisture had gotten inside this camera's lens. It could still take pictures, but the results would be affected.

"Might as well keep busy." Jiang Cheng took out the camera, turned it on, and aimed it at the choir riser. He tried several different angles, looking quite serious as he did.

But to Fatty's surprise, Zhen Jianren and Yu Wen both walked over as soon as they saw Jiang Cheng with the camera.

Jiang Cheng rolled his shoulders, looked up, and raised the camera toward Zhen Jianren. "Want to give it a try?"

Zhen Jianren backed away again.

But he kept his attention fixed on Jiang Cheng.

The first class's performance soon ended, and the students filed off in an orderly manner.

Students from another class began to enter.

Since the camera was on a tripod, Jiang Cheng didn't have to hold it the whole time.

After aiming it at the choir riser, he began sizing up the students onstage.

They wore matching outfits: pure white tops and blue-and-white color-blocked dresses.

Ribbon bows adorned their collars and cuffs.

The well-tailored, fitted dresses accentuated the girls' slender waists, while their lotus-like skirts gave them a classic British schoolgirl look.

Jiang Cheng's gaze swept across them one by one. Now and then, his eyes met those of a girl looking his way.

The difference was that the girls quickly looked away, while Jiang Cheng stared openly, without a trace of the modesty he was supposed to show.

While the second group of students was leaving and nobody was paying attention to them, Fatty sidled over and whispered, "What are you up to?"

Jiang Cheng protested, displeased. "Don't talk nonsense. If the ghost hears you say I want to get it, how's that going to look?"

Fatty: "...I really have to hand it to you. At a time like this, you still have the energy to crack jokes."

Jiang Cheng didn't even look at him. "I don't think the NPC would damage our equipment for no reason, so I suspect there's something going on."

Fatty was startled. "What could be wrong with it?"

"I don't know yet." Jiang Cheng glanced sideways at Fatty and said gravely, "You don't need to worry about me. Keep an eye on the other camera. Don't let anyone tamper with it."

Fatty nodded. "Okay, got it."

The third group's performance soon ended.

The final performance was about to begin.

Just then, Long Tao, who was in charge of filming, furrowed his brows. He clutched his stomach, and his expression suddenly turned awful.

Luo Yi, who was watching the camera too, was the first to notice something was wrong. "What's the matter?"

"M-my stomach hurts." Long Tao looked miserable.

Zhou Taifu looked toward the choir riser in the distance. It was packed with people, and others nearby were walking back and forth with different-colored cables and equipment in their hands.

They seemed to be making final adjustments.

"Can't you hold it in?" Zhou Taifu snapped, growing irritated. This place made him feel deeply uneasy.

Everyone looked perfectly normal, but that very normality had a strange, inexplicable quality to it.

He couldn't say what was strange about it, though.

"We'll go back as soon as filming is done!"

"I don't think I can." Long Tao trembled, cold sweat already beading on his cheeks. "The pain is unbearable."