Solitary confinement | Why don't you sleep a little longer?????

Violation warning: Unapproved examination stationery was used. The invigilators have been notified.

Invigilators: 001, 154, 922

A rooster suddenly crowed inside the house.

Yu Wen nearly crowed along with it in fright. He grabbed his cousin's sleeve and hunched his shoulders as he looked toward the sound.

The rooster hanging on the door had twisted its neck to an unnatural angle, its lifeless eyes staring at the door.

You Huo started toward the door, but Yu Wen clung to his sleeve like a dead dog, trying to hold him back. In the end, he was dragged to the door with him.

Outside the window, three figures had silently approached through the snowstorm whipped up by the raging wind.

The man at the front was tall, with short black hair and a fitted overcoat. Even in silhouette, his figure looked upright and formidable. As he reached the door, a gust swept past at an angle, filling his eyes with a haze of snow.

He lowered his head and blinked, letting the snowflakes slide from his brows and eyes. When he looked up again, a hint of snow reflected in his dark eyes, and his gaze met You Huo's inside the house.

You Huo touched his ear stud almost unconsciously.

Yu Wen asked softly in his ear, his voice no louder than a mosquito's whine, "Don't tell me you know him?"

You Huo frowned. "I forgot," he said quietly.

Chapter 3: Solitary confinement | Why don't you sleep a little longer?????

Judging by where he stood, the man in front was probably Invigilator 001.

Like a visitor taking shelter from the snow, he surveyed the room as he removed his black leather gloves. He smiled and said, "Not bad. You knew to make a fire. The snow's pretty heavy outside. It was cold coming over here."

No one smiled back.

More than half the people in the room shrank back.

As though he hadn't seen their reaction, he walked over to the stove and warmed his hands by the fire. The smile still lingered at the corner of his lips, carrying a lazy hint of mockery.

The snow on his shoulders and collar slowly vanished, leaving damp patches that gradually dried in the heat.

Everyone stared at him, but no one dared speak.

The tin can had been reduced to powder when it was thrown outside, yet these men had made the trek without so much as breaking their skin.

Yu Wen trembled behind You Huo, making him shake along with him.

The coward whispered, "Are they even human?"

Mr. 001 seemed to hear him and turned to glance at You Huo.

His eyes were an extremely deep black, hidden in the shadows with the light behind him. Now and then, a glimmer from the lamp flickered in them and vanished. But the mockery hadn't faded.

You Huo looked at him expressionlessly, held down the trembling ghost at his back, and asked calmly, "Can you shut up?"

Yu Wen didn't dare move.

Only after Mr. 001 had finished warming himself and put his gloves back on did the invigilator who had remained at the door speak in a businesslike tone. "We are the invigilators for this exam. I am No. 154. We just received word that two of you failed to answer the questions according to the rules."

The heavily pregnant Yu Yao was deathly pale. She had already been struggling to stand, and now she was close to fainting.

She was like a water

tap,

tears pouring out in streams.

As for the balding man tied to the sofa... he didn't dare breathe.

"But..."

Someone suddenly spoke up.

Invigilator 154 broke off and looked toward the speaker.

Yu Wen abruptly poked his head out from behind You Huo.

Surprisingly, the fearless person questioning him was his drunkard father, Old Yu.

"At... at the very beginning, there weren't any rules saying what we had to use to answer the questions," Old Yu stammered, cowed by his gaze.

"There are clues for every rule," 154 said.

"Where are the clues?"

No. 154 looked at him expressionlessly. "I'm not a candidate."

"B-but we didn't know! You can't punish someone for what they didn't know..." Old Yu's voice grew fainter as he spoke, until it was no louder than a mosquito's whine.

No. 154 said, "That has nothing to do with us."

Wearing a grim, expressionless face, No. 154 continued in the same businesslike tone, "We will only punish those involved in the violation. Everyone else will continue the exam."

As he spoke, he pulled out a stark white slip of paper and read the hastily scrawled information on it.

"According to the information we received, the violators are a middle-aged man and a young girl-"

He turned to glance at Mr. 001, then looked back at the slip. After a few seconds, he repeated with a straight face, "A middle-aged man and a lady. Both violators will come with us."

While he was speaking, the other invigilator, No. 922, had already seized the balding man on the sofa and dragged him to the door like a dead dog.

The door opened, and the cold wind howled into the room.

Snow pellets lashed at their heads and faces. The people inside screamed and huddled around the stove, as though a single touch of snow would reduce them to ashes.

Everyone watched as Invigilator 922 led the balding man out the door and abruptly vanished into the wind and snow.

All that remained was the balding man's terrified wailing and a wet patch on the floor.

Still wearing his grim, expressionless face, No. 154 said, "There's also a young, um, a lady..."

He looked up and swept his gaze around the room with a frown.

Taking advantage of the commotion, Old Yu and the two kindhearted old ladies had shielded Yu Yao behind them, but they were shaking like sieves.

Just as No. 154's gaze was about to land on them, Mr. 001 lifted his chin toward You Huo. "The other one is him. Take him away."

"Who?"

No. 154 looked down at the slip of paper.

There, in bold, hasty handwriting, were the words: young girl.

No. 154 stared blankly at You Huo.

You Huo frowned and stared back at Mr. 001, his expression cold.

No. 154 had no doubt that if this cold-faced handsome man had a knife in his hand, their boss's head would already have been chopped off.

"This-"

Before he could say anything more, Mr. 001, who had given the order, turned up his coat collar and walked into the wind and snow.

"Fuck! Cousin!!"

"Goddamn it!! How can you be so unreasonable?!" Old Yu jumped to his feet.