If You Were to Disappear for a Day

"Brother Chen, what's going on? Why is the Dean back again? Does he have more business with us?"

Tang Wulin spoke with a hint of nervousness. He knew full well that he was the one who had broken the item, yet it was Zhou Changxi and Xie Xie who had ended up paying for it.

He assumed Long Hengxu had come to cause trouble for him.

However, Chen Ye simply patted him on the shoulder. "It has nothing to do with you. You should head back first."

"Isn't he here for me?" Tang Wulin looked at Chen Ye, stunned for a moment, before noticing the gazes several people had fixed upon Chen Ye.

He swallowed hard, sensing the clear hostility in their stares.

But seeing Long Hengxu walking toward Chen Ye, Tang Wulin hesitated for only a second before stepping directly in front of Chen Ye.

"Why are you looking for Brother Chen? Brother Chen hasn't done anything, and he certainly hasn't offended you."

"Hasn't done anything? He nearly beat the three of us to death." Wei Xiaofeng's voice rang out from behind Long Hengxu, his tone laced with malice as he stared straight at Chen Ye.

Yet, Chen Ye merely watched him with interest.

Under Chen Ye's half-smiling gaze, the three of them shuddered involuntarily.

"Student Wei Xiaofeng claims you beat him up and even humiliated him by stepping on his face. Is this true?"

Long Hengxu looked at Chen Ye, and Chen Ye met his gaze without backing down.

"Do you have any evidence?"

Chen Ye's tone was inquisitive, but his question left Long Hengxu silent.

He had already checked the surveillance footage, but it was broken. While all three of them insisted that Chen Ye had beaten them, there wasn't a single mark on their bodies.

"The footprint on his face—are you going to tell me that isn't yours?" Long Hengxu pointed at Wei Xiaofeng's face.

There was a footprint on Wei Xiaofeng's face; he hadn't wiped it off, keeping it as evidence until Chen Ye arrived.

He had been seen by countless people along the way, which had been deeply humiliating.

But if he could get Chen Ye disciplined and kicked out of their dormitory, Wei Xiaofeng felt it would be worth it.

Unfortunately, after hearing Long Hengxu, Chen Ye's expression remained unchanged. Instead, he blinked innocently. "Teacher, the footprint on his face has a round sole, but I'm wearing flat-soled shoes. The prints don't seem to match, do they? Besides, this footprint is a bit too large."

Chen Ye wore an innocent look, completely unbothered by Long Hengxu's interrogation.

He had already destroyed the surveillance footage, the three of them had no injuries, and he had even swapped the footprint on the face to match Wang Jinxi's shoe.

In this situation, he had nothing to fear; there was no evidence to prove he had beaten anyone.

Seeing Chen Ye's nonchalant attitude, and even watching as Chen Ye took off his own shoe and handed it over, Long Hengxu fell silent for a moment. As the Dean, he naturally had to follow the rules.

Even if these children had impressive backgrounds, he couldn't simply turn black into white.

After comparing the shoe and confirming it wasn't Chen Ye's, Long Hengxu looked at the three of them with a sharp, piercing gaze. "Are you three lying? Are you trying to frame this student?"

"According to you, he beat you all up. But you are all two-ring masters—can he, a two-ring master himself, really take on all three of you?"

"I'm sorry, Dean. He did hit us, but the whole thing started because Wei Xiaofeng took his bed and spoke rudely to him, which is why he lashed out..." Zhang Ziyang said, glancing at Chen Ye.

Before Long Hengxu could speak, Tang Wulin interjected angrily:

"You guys are truly villains! You're clearly just trying to frame my Brother Chen! Isn't it obvious that the three of you are bullying him?!"

Tang Wulin's tone was filled with indignation. These were three two-ring masters; no matter how capable his Brother Chen was, he couldn't possibly take on three people at once.

Hearing this, Long Hengxu's expression darkened further.

He swept his gaze over the three of them. "I acknowledge that you three have certain backgrounds, but this school is not a place for you to run wild."

"Three thousand words of self-reflection from each of you. Bring them to me tomorrow."

"Teacher, this really has nothing to do with us!" Wang Jinxi looked at them, his face filled with despair.

This had nothing to do with him or the other, but before he could explain, Long Hengxu turned and walked away.

Watching the Dean leave without looking back, the three of them felt a sense of despair for the first time.

The injuries on their own bodies had suddenly vanished, and the footprint had been swapped to Wang Jinxi's.

"No, why does it feel like this was caused by the three of us fighting each other?" Wang Jinxi's tone was laced with hopelessness.

All three of them looked at Chen Ye. Only those who wrong you know exactly how wronged you truly are.

Chen Ye didn't speak immediately, instead patting Tang Wulin on the shoulder.

"I'm heading back now. You should get back early too; the official class assignments start tomorrow."

"Brother Chen, why don't you come stay in our dorm? Those three don't have good intentions toward you," Tang Wulin said, eyeing the three of them warily.

Chen Ye just smiled at him. "It's fine. We're all classmates; they wouldn't hit me, right?"

As Chen Ye said this, he looked at the three of them, and they nodded somewhat numbly.

Then, under Tang Wulin's guarded gaze, the four of them returned to the dormitory together.

As soon as they entered, Wang Jinxi and Zhang Ziyang sat on their beds, looking defeated and utterly bewildered.

Wei Xiaofeng's body trembled, and he looked at Chen Ye with a flicker of fear.

Unexpectedly, Chen Ye did not lay a hand on him. Instead, he said calmly:

"I despise those with impure intentions, so your punishment is that for the entirety of tomorrow, you will be erased."

Chen Ye's voice was soft, his pale golden eyes fixed directly on Wei Xiaofeng.

Confusion washed over Wei Xiaofeng's face; he did not understand what Chen Ye meant.

But before he could open his mouth to speak, Chen Ye had already looked away and silently laid down on his bed.

Meanwhile, Wang Jinxi and Zhang Ziyang acted as if they hadn't heard Chen Ye's words at all.

Seeing that Chen Ye did not move against them, the two fell silent for a moment before returning to their respective beds, either reading books or going straight to sleep.

The night passed quickly.

Early the next morning, Wei Xiaofeng opened his eyes and let out a yawn.

He subconsciously glanced around, only to realize it was already nine o'clock, yet his three roommates acted as if he weren't there, not a single one of them calling out to him.

Thinking back to yesterday's events, Wei Xiaofeng's expression darkened.

Today was the day of class assignments, and they were naturally expected to head to the playground to listen to the principal's speech.

Seeing that it was already nine, he didn't linger, throwing on his clothes and sprinting out.

Arriving at the playground and seeing it packed with students, Wei Xiaofeng caught his breath and quickly approached the crowd.

Looking at the students gathered before him, Wei Xiaofeng was just about to push through the crowd when he suddenly froze.

He stared blankly at his own hand, watching it pass straight through another person's body.

He walked right through the crowd without the slightest obstruction.

From start to finish, he was like air; no one could see him, and no one could perceive his presence.