The bell rang.
"Teacher Chang" eagerly announced the end of class, then looked toward Che Quan in the back row and forced an extremely unnatural smile. "Che Quan, come to my office. Let's have a good chat."
The drastic change in his attitude once again stunned everyone in the classroom. No one dared say anything out of turn.
More than forty pairs of eyes turned in unison toward Che Quan, whom no one had ever paid attention to before.
Che Quan merely stared expressionlessly at the man at the podium and shook his head. "We'll talk later."
Humiliated in front of everyone, the man was so furious that his forced smile nearly slipped.
With Che Quan holding something over him, the man still nodded and said with an air of kindness, "All right. Come see me whenever you feel like talking."
Che Quan could not be bothered to answer.
Once the man had left the classroom and gone some distance away, Chen Yuxiang immediately came over to Che Quan's seat and whispered in relief, "We can finally talk."
Che Quan looked at her and asked, "Are Chang Jianfeng, Yuan Zhou, and Miao Rouning dead?"
Otherwise, how could their assimilation here be explained?
But Chen Yuxiang immediately denied it. "No, no, they aren't dead. We were all in the room right up until we came here."
Chen Yuxiang pressed her lips together awkwardly and offered her analysis with a little uncertainty. "I think maybe their instance characters' consciousnesses were too strong and overwhelmed their own."
At her words, Che Quan fell into thought.
Two or three seconds later, Che Quan raised an eyebrow slightly. "You mean they aren't dead, just suppressed by their instance characters' consciousnesses, so they're acting according to those characters' personalities?"
Chen Yuxiang nodded and cautiously continued her analysis.
"Yuan Zhou and Miao Rouning were already extremely emotionally unstable, so their instance characters' consciousnesses could easily overwhelm them. But Chang Jianfeng was actually very calm and composed, so I suspect that 'Teacher Chang' might be too important a character, or his consciousness too strong, and that overwhelmed Chang Jianfeng too...
"I was so scared and confused just now that I couldn't go out and check, so I don't know how Tongtong is doing... but I think she should still have her own consciousness.
"Because 'Cousin Ning' isn't a very important character, much like my instance character, and Tongtong is rational and brave... so she should be all right."
Chen Yuxiang's theory made a lot of sense.
And just as Chen Yuxiang had guessed, Ning Dantong still retained her own consciousness.
Che Quan said nothing more.
To him, the most important thing about this news was that dealing with living people was different from dealing with the dead.
As for the livestream viewers, after watching this exchange, they could not help praising Chen Yuxiang.
They had never expected the girl who had initially been the least remarkable, the one nobody had much hope for, to grow so quickly in such a short time.
She had even mustered the courage to stand up for the little beauty in that demonic "Teacher Chang's" class.
It really had been... so long since they had seen such a harmonious, mutually supportive team in an instance livestream.
This was the long break between classes, a full twenty minutes.
After Chen Yuxiang finished sharing her analysis with Che Quan, seventeen minutes remained.
Chen Yuxiang sat in the seat in front of Che Quan, gazing at him hopefully as though he were her only lifeline.
She whispered, "B-boss, what should we do now? Sh-should we go find Tongtong?"
Che Quan shook his head calmly. "Later."
"Then... what should we do now?"
Rather than answer, Che Quan asked, "Your deskmate is that 'Qiao Qiao'?"
"Yes," Chen Yuxiang confirmed.
"Keep an eye on her. Don't leave her side."
Hearing Che Quan's instructions, Chen Yuxiang froze, a little frightened and confused. "Why...?"
Che Quan had not wanted to waste time explaining, but after a moment's silence, he pointed at one corner of the blackboard and said, "Eighty-three days until the big exam. That means today is March seventeenth."
At first, Chen Yuxiang did not quite understand what he meant.
Only when she recalled the diary Ghost Shadow had read aloud did her eyes suddenly widen. "Is today the day that 'Teacher Chang' makes 'Qiao Qiao' solve that equation?"
Che Quan neither confirmed nor denied it.
"Then why... do I have to stay by her side?"
Chen Yuxiang could not help asking again, her face full of embarrassment.
She was already rather introverted and easily embarrassed. Feeling that she was asking far too many questions, Chen Yuxiang grew uncomfortable.
Hearing her question and seeing her reaction, Che Quan said expressionlessly, "Figure it out yourself."
Then Che Quan stood up and left the classroom.
Chen Yuxiang watched him leave, filled with admiration. Although she had no idea what he was going to do, having someone lead the way gave her an inexplicable sense of security.
Che Quan only just returned when the bell rang for class.
As Chen Yuxiang returned to her seat, she was still turning over the question of why the boss wanted her to watch "Qiao Qiao" without leaving her side.
She could not help looking at "Qiao Qiao" beside her.
The girl sat perfectly straight in her seat, studying with a serious expression. Her delicate face, high ponytail, and neatly arranged bangs all conveyed meticulous care.
The "Qiao Qiao" of the present was a petite girl who studied diligently and took everything seriously.
She was worlds apart from that putrid heap of rotting flesh, swollen into something like a small mountain, that she would later become...
Chen Yuxiang could not help feeling a pang of sorrow.
Just then, she happened to notice what looked like a faint burn mark behind "Qiao Qiao's" uniform collar.
Chen Yuxiang immediately frowned.
On the back of her neck... how had she been burned there?
Out of the corner of her eye, Chen Yuxiang caught sight of Miao Rouning nearby, tilting her head from side to side as she touched up her makeup in a small mirror.
Wait.
If "Teacher Chang" was already picking on "Qiao Qiao" today, that meant Miao Rouning and the others had already started bullying her.
Was that why the boss had told me not to leave "Qiao Qiao's" side?
Understanding dawned on Chen Yuxiang.
A second later, the man walked in carrying a teaching pointer and a textbook.
With his chin raised high, the man surveyed the room haughtily. When his gaze met Che Quan in the back row, he instinctively flinched, looking rather flustered.
He coughed loudly to cover it up.
"Your language teacher is busy this period, so I'll be filling in. Everyone, turn to page 154!" he barked.
The rustle of turning pages immediately filled the silent classroom.
Teacher Chang had lost face because of Che Quan in the previous class. This time, he was determined to restore his authority.
Taking a deep breath, the man swept his slightly clouded eyes behind his fashionable glasses over the students below.
The Miao girl and those around her were all off-limits.
Suddenly, the man noticed a girl sitting straight, looking serious and attentive as she waited for the lesson to begin. His gaze locked onto her.
This girl... her surname was Qiao, wasn't it? What was her name again? He could not remember.
But he remembered that Miao Rouning and the others did not get along with this girl at all.
Then I'll make an example of her and do Miao Rouning and her friends a favor while I'm at it.
Having made up his mind, Teacher Chang asked with feigned casualness, "Does anyone know how to solve this problem?"
The entire class remained silent, afraid of attracting the man's attention.
"Since nobody's volunteering, I'll pick someone." Teacher Chang deliberately raised his hand and waved it back and forth across the classroom, leaving everyone on edge, before finally pointing at Qiao Qiao, whose gaze was open and unafraid. "You there. Yes, you. Come up."
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