Jiang Cong leaned against the sofa, lost in thought. His waist-length silver hair was silky and magnificent, and the pitch darkness around him did nothing to hinder his sight.
He was a completely different person from before.
It was only natural that Che Quan did not recognize him.
Jiang Cong closed his eyes, an obsessive, sickly smile blooming on his lips.
The scene from back then seemed to rise before his eyes again. He would never forget it for as long as he lived.
Huge snowflakes drifted down thick and fast.
The world was blanketed in silver-white.
He alone wore rags.
The young Che Quan stood in his carriage, pampered and proud, looking down at him as though it were only natural.
Looking at him, as lowly and insignificant as an ant.
After hearing what he said, the young Che Quan furrowed his delicate brows and fell silent for two seconds. Then he turned toward the servant beside the carriage and ordered, "Give him my money pouch."
No one knew how shocked he had been at that moment, how utterly unable to believe it.
When the exquisite money pouch was placed in his chipped bowl, little Jiang Cong felt dazed, afraid this was some cruel prank.
But then Che Quan asked, "Is that enough?"
Che Quan's manner was so matter-of-fact. There was no sympathy or pity, no disgust or desire to brush him off, only a cool clarity he could see straight through.
For a moment, little Jiang Cong forgot to answer. Without his realizing it, the seed of a secret love took root in his heart and quietly began to sprout.
But Che Quan misunderstood.
He thought that meant it was not enough.
After a moment's thought, he searched himself, found a ruby in his pocket, and handed it straight to him.
"This should be enough. You can go."
Little Jiang Cong accepted it with awed trepidation, stammering his thanks. He carefully retreated to the roadside and watched the luxurious carriage recede into the swirling snow.
He used the money to buy medicine for his mother and cure her illness, then helped his father open a small shop. At last, his family had enough to eat and warm clothes to wear.
No one knew that he had secretly kept the beautiful, delicately scented money pouch. Nor had he sold the priceless ruby, whose color resembled Che Quan's blood-red, lotus-like eyes.
But Che Quan's eyes were more beautiful and mesmerizing than all the gems in the world put together. Even in his dreams, he longed to monopolize his gaze.
Jiang Cong pulled himself out of his memories, reined in all his emotions, and left the dark little room.
Elsewhere.
Although Che Quan had weathered this episode of skin hunger syndrome, his whole body still felt languid and somewhat weak.
Since night had already fallen, he returned to his dorm.
Whether it was because his presence had previously been so negligible or for some other reason, he had been assigned a room without roommates. That suited Che Quan perfectly.
As he lay down and closed his eyes to sleep, Che Quan thought hazily, They should have made their move by now.
That night.
Miao Rouning once again let out a horrified, deafening scream.
Her bed was covered in blood.
Her duvet cover had been sliced to shreds.
Little bloodstained razor blades spilled out, landing on the bed and floor, gleaming coldly.
The blood was Miao Rouning's.
After the incident with blood dripping from her bed frame the previous night, she had slept especially restlessly that night, tossing and turning.
She had finally managed to fall asleep, but as she slept, unbearable pain spread throughout her body. In some places, it gradually turned into a stabbing pain, leaving her in absolute agony.
Finally struggling awake from her terrifying dream, Miao Rouning got up to use the bathroom.
As she passed the large mirror in front of the bathroom, Miao Rouning instinctively glanced into it. By the faint moonlight, she saw that her reflection was covered in blood.
A scream burst from her throat.
The dorm matron came over to investigate, bleary-eyed and grumbling. The sight gave her a terrible fright as well.
She could not help murmuring in horror, "Who could be this vicious? What if these blades had slit a student's throat? Whoever did this wanted someone dead!"
Beside her, Miao Rouning was trembling all over as her wounds were bandaged. At those words, her expression twisted for an instant, and her eyes filled with fear at what might have happened.
Yes.
There were more than a hundred tiny razor blades scattered about.
Someone wanted her dead.
But who could hate her this much, and sneak in undetected to put so many little blades inside her duvet cover...?
As she thought about it, an image rose uncontrollably in Miao Rouning's mind-
In the eerie darkness, a black-haired girl with disheveled hair and a grotesquely twisted face hid blades inside her duvet cover, her eyes filled with crazed, terrifying murderous intent.
Miao Rouning abruptly cried out, "Ah!" Ignoring her bandages, she rushed straight to her bed and lifted the pillow with trembling hands.
Sure enough, she saw that nightmare of a student ID card again.
Ying Jiajia.
Who would want to kill her this badly...?
It was Ying Jiajia.
It had to be that bitch Ying Jiajia!
Even in death, she refused to rest, turning into a vengeful ghost to claim her life!
Nearly driven mad with fright, Miao Rouning hurled the pillow to the floor. She did not dare even touch the student ID lying there silently, as terrifying as an evil spirit.
The school doctor and teachers who arrived belatedly hurried to restrain Miao Rouning. Together, they pulled her out of the wrecked dorm room.
As Miao Rouning was led away from the dorm building, she happened to pass the teachers' dorm where Chang Jianfeng lived.
In the darkness, the wan streetlight barely illuminated that small patch of ground.
Miao Rouning saw Chang Jianfeng sitting on the steps, curled up and cowering as though he feared something. His entire body had gone rigid.
Then, as if sensing her gaze, Chang Jianfeng suddenly looked up. His feverish stare shot straight toward her, making Miao Rouning's hair stand on end.
Suddenly, as though someone were tugging up the corners of his mouth, Chang Jianfeng split his lips into an eerie smile at her. Under the pallid streetlight, it looked less like a man's smile than a woman's sinister grin.
At the sight, Miao Rouning could no longer even scream. It was as though a black hole in her throat had swallowed her voice.
She fainted from sheer terror.
Chen Yuxiang and Ning Dantong had succeeded again.
No one knew that the two of them had poured a small sack of razor blades into Miao Rouning's duvet cover while chatting away animatedly.
The scene was jarringly incongruous.
It had absolutely nothing in common with the terrifying horror Miao Rouning had imagined.
The viewers in the scrolling comments were utterly stunned.
As for Chang Jianfeng, Che Quan had handled him, using his vampire abilities to hypnotize him.
He left Chang Jianfeng, Teacher Chang, trapped within his own inner demons, constantly engulfed in the most intense terror as his psychological defenses crumbled bit by bit.
Soon, the whole school was discussing the pair's deranged behavior, and all manner of rumors and speculation ran rampant.
Qiao Qiao was naturally no exception. She heard about it all.
She could not help feeling surprised and puzzled.
She had originally thought that once Miao Rouning and Chang Jianfeng returned to school unscathed, they would take cruel revenge on her. She had spent a long time worrying and keeping her guard up.
Yet unexpectedly, in less than two days, the two of them seemed to have become possessed by evil spirits, their rotten luck growing worse by the day.
They had no time to deal with her at all.
She was able to keep focusing on her studies, working hard to get into the school she wanted.
What was more, she and her best friend Chen Chen had been growing closer lately.
In the past, she had always felt that Chen Chen was not particularly warm toward her. Occasionally, she had the unpleasant sense that her affection was being met with indifference.
But now, that feeling was completely gone.
Now she and Chen Chen truly were as close as sisters.
Whenever Qiao Qiao heard people around her discussing how deranged and jittery Miao Rouning and Chang Jianfeng had become, she could not help relaxing a little more.
At the same time, though, Qiao Qiao could not help worrying. Would their crazed state drive those two to do something even more vicious to her, Chen Chen, or that Che Quan?
Before you continue