"When I came to this school, it was already like this." Zhang Jinlian's expression grew serious. "An older student told me I had to listen to the teachers and follow the rules on the sheet."
Pei Yanchuan twirled his pen. "Even when the teachers are this strange, we still have to listen to them?"
Zhang Jinlian took a sip of hot water. "According to rule eight, no. But that older student managed to escape, and he said we'd be better off obeying them. Survive a month, and we can leave this hellhole."
Pei Yanchuan and Su Fengzi exchanged a glance and nodded.
Zhang Jinlian continued, "Our school doesn't have many subjects, just four: Chinese, math, music, and PE. We used to have English, too, but it was canceled for some reason.
"We have to be in the classroom for morning lessons before seven every day, and there's a dorm inspection at midnight. There'll be rules in your dorm. You can read those when you get there."
"Oh, right," Zhang Jinlian added, her expression turning even more serious. "Every Friday, the school assigns students to clean the Laboratory Building. It's an extremely dangerous place, with lots of supernatural incidents." As she spoke, she sighed. "Unfortunately, I got picked to clean it today. But at least there's a safe zone on the third floor. If anything dangerous happens, I can hide there."
Pei Yanchuan sat up straight, seemingly intrigued. "How many people get assigned to clean the Laboratory Building?"
"Two." Zhang Jinlian flipped through the cleaning roster. "Today, it's me and... Dad."
Pei Yanchuan's eyes widened slightly. He had only just learned that he had to clean the laboratory, too.
Su Fengzi frowned. "Is there any way I can take Little Zhang's place?"
The Laboratory Building was dangerous, which had to mean there were clues or secrets inside.
Pei Yanchuan glanced at the sheet of rules. "Maybe make her sick?" Then he shook his head. "The school doctor would catch her faking it, wouldn't they?"
He looked up to find Su Fengzi grinning slyly. "Faking it won't work, so why not make it real?" He pulled a little bottle from his pocket. "I borrowed this from Ye Chu this morning. Poison."
Pei Yanchuan's eyes widened even further. "That's not making someone sick! That's killing someone!"
Su Fengzi waved a dismissive hand. "Relax. Ye Chu tested it and worked out the dosage. It won't kill her. At most, she'll sleep for a while."
Pei Yanchuan: ...
If he remembered correctly, Ye Chu studied finance. Why the hell was a finance student running experiments all day?!!
While nobody else was looking, Su Fengzi unscrewed a bottle of water and tipped the purple drug inside. The purple powder quickly dissolved into the water, vanishing without a trace.
Su Fengzi calmly screwed the cap back on and set the water bottle on Zhang Jinlian's desk.
Jinlian, take your medicine.
Pei Yanchuan watched in shock as Su Fengzi spiked the water, then watched in equal shock as Zhang Jinlian drank it without the slightest suspicion. She even thanked him, leaving Su Fengzi feeling a little embarrassed.
The drug took effect quickly. Less than a minute after drinking it, Zhang Jinlian slumped over her desk, unconscious.
Pei Yanchuan poked her. When she didn't move, he said, "Is she dead? She's not even breathing!"
Su Fengzi remained calm. "It's fine. Trust Ye Chu."
Pei Yanchuan: ...
It's not Ye Chu I don't trust. It's you!
"Are you sure this is okay? Won't the school doctor take one look at her and bury her on the spot?" Pei Yanchuan still looked worried.
"Oh, she's fine." Su Fengzi pushed Pei Yanchuan back into his seat. "Are you that worried I'll kill someone?"
Pei Yanchuan shook his head earnestly. "No. I'm worried you'll make Ye Chu take the blame."
Su Fengzi: ...
Pei Yanchuan and Su Fengzi each took one of Little Zhang's arms and hauled her to the school infirmary. The doctor took a single look and swept a hand through the air. "She's done for! Her injuries are too severe! She's dying!" Without another word, the doctor approved a sick leave slip.
The entire process was remarkably slapdash.
Meanwhile, over at the Huizhi Building...
Ye Chu looked helplessly at the student in charge of cleaning. He had no idea why this girl insisted on clinging to his arm and dragging him along to clean with her.
Asking when you didn't understand was a fine virtue of modern students.
The girl innocently fluttered her big eyes. "Because you're so tall, girl! You look like you could really fight, Rare Character."
Ye Chu: ... Has it occurred to you that I might be a guy?
Ye Chu tried to put up a little resistance. "Um, I'm a..."
But she immediately cut him off. "Ah, I wonder if those boys in the Zhiyuan Building are behaving themselves. If they sneak over to the girls' side, that's a direct violation of school rules."
Ye Chu's gaze darkened. He knew she was warning him not to reveal his gender. There would be a punishment.
That made sense. Although Ye Chu's looks could be described as beautiful, anyone could still tell at a glance that he was male. His height and voice only made it more obvious. Only those strange students and teachers failed to recognize his actual gender.
He felt a little helpless. Don't tell me I really have to wear a skirt for a whole month in this hellhole...
Ye Chu glanced at her name badge. "I'm a Dumbass."
Ye Chu: "..." Another distinguished individual, I see. A pleasure to meet you.
The moment Ye Chu and the other two entered the classroom, the girl had known they were no ordinary students. They had probably been dragged into this school against their will, too, which made them fellow allies of sorts.
"Is the Laboratory Building dangerous? Nobody seems very keen to go," Ye Chu asked. She looked as though she had been at this school for some time, so she probably knew quite a few useful things.
"Just call me Xiao Xiao." Xiao Xiao pulled up a chair beside Ye Chu. "I've been at this school for two months. I've never been to the Laboratory Building, but apparently, it's really dangerous! Extremely dangerous! Super dangerous!"
Ye Chu blinked and nodded. Judging by Xiao Xiao's threefold repetition, the Laboratory Building really was dangerous. He introduced himself, too. "You can call me Ye Chu."
"Every Friday, the teachers send people to clean the Laboratory Building. Usually, they send two, but often, only one student comes back that night." They had no way of knowing what had happened to the other.
Ye Chu frowned and asked, "Can students move between the Huizhi Building and the Zhiyuan Building?"
"We have Chinese and math separately, but both classes have music and PE together. You can meet the students from the Zhiyuan Building then. Not at any other time, though. Even meals and returning to the dorms are staggered. If a teacher catches a boy and a girl standing together, they'll count it as dating and breaking the rules."
Ye Chu's frown deepened. Today's music and PE classes were already over. It seemed he would have to wait until tomorrow to contact the other two in the Zhiyuan Building.
"How did you end up in this school?" Ye Chu asked next.
This time, Xiao Xiao didn't answer immediately. A few seconds passed before she spoke. "I was out on a date with my boyfriend. We walked past a school, and its design was like nothing we'd ever seen. We got curious and went inside. The next time I opened my eyes, I was a student here."
"What's your boyfriend's name?"
"Zhang Lian."
Before you continue