Carrying My Senior's Coffin (GL) - Chapter 11

Li Ting died young, but that didn’t mean she was behind the times. Although she died in 404, she was not an earthbound spirit. When she felt like it, she wandered around but returned home on time. She was a ghost who stayed out late and came home early, maintained a regular schedule, witnessed the development of the era, and kept up with contemporary trends. Naturally, she knew what “online resources” meant.

Recalling Fang Yiyi’s previous dead-fish-like, passive postures, she felt that this condition… was not impossible to accept?

After all, she was only teaching someone to be bad! This was something she could do effortlessly!

Li Ting lifted her chin, her upward-slanted eyes looking aloof and stunning: “Fine. You must master at least two before the swelling on your face goes down.”

Fang Yiyi was overjoyed: “Great!”

Figuring the counselor would bring people soon, Fang Yiyi put on her only decent outfit—her school uniform.

The counselor pushed the door open. Her eyes fell upon a spotlessly clean room. Fang Yiyi sat on the edge of the bed with her legs dangling, wearing the long-sleeved, oversized autumn/winter school uniform jacket, which covered her arms and made her look even smaller. She wore the school uniform short skirt, her two legs exposed. Her skin, which was normally as white as jade, was now covered with countless alarming purplish bruises. She was barefoot, her ankles thin, and her small feet were delicately supported on the white floor tiles. Seen alone, her feet were quite pleasing to the eye. Fang Yiyi had always been a quiet person. Now, sitting on the edge of the bed, her back was perfectly straight, and her hands rested neatly on her lap in a proper posture. When she saw them enter, her brown eyes, moist with a hint of wateriness, fixed on them unblinking, like a primary school student waiting for the teacher to check their homework. Her face had a disproportionate slap mark on each side, swollen and red, a sight that made people’s hearts tremble. Yet, she seemed oblivious, her obedient and harmless demeanor naturally inciting pity.

Even the two police officers, despite their vast experience, couldn’t help but be stunned when they saw Fang Yiyi.

“This is outrageous! Such a good kid. How could they lay a hand on her?” the female police officer, who wore a ponytail, exclaimed in anger.

“Are you girls always this ruthless when you fight?” the male officer sighed.

“Hello, Sister. Hello, Brother.” Fang Yiyi’s watery eyes showed nervousness and timidity upon seeing the police.

The male officer rubbed his hands, trying to look friendly: “Don’t be scared, little sister. We are the police, not bad guys.”

Fang Yiyi tucked her chin into her neck and said softly, “Okay…”

The female officer gave her colleague a look of distaste: “Go take the statement over there. Don’t you know what you look like? Your smile is scarier than a cry.”

The naturally serious-faced officer smiled sheepishly, scratched the back of his head, took the notepad, and dejectedly walked to the desk to sit down.

There was only one chair in the room, so the male officer sat there. The female officer sat next to Fang Yiyi on the bed. The counselor felt fine standing. She placed a comforting hand on Fang Yiyi’s shoulder, sitting on the other side of her.

“Little sister, we need to take a statement now. Can you tell us what happened yesterday?” the female officer asked gently.

Fang Yiyi gripped the Buddhist beads in her hand, glanced at Li Ting, and, after confirming the look, slowly nodded.

“I left the cafeteria last night and wanted to return to the dorm to read. Because the back door is closer, I didn’t use the main entrance. Then, when I passed by the bike shed…”

Li Ting’s voice appeared in her mind: “Horse Face, Hawk Nose, surrounded you with people, demanding protection money.”

“…” Fang Yiyi choked slightly. A bizarre image of a horse head with a hawk’s beak formed in her mind. She blinked. The hawk-beaked horse head automatically transformed into Youlan: “Youlan surrounded me with people, demanding protection money.”

The counselor thought she was afraid and patted her shoulder: “Fang Yiyi, the police and your teacher are here. Don’t worry, and don’t be scared. Just tell us exactly what happened.”

Fang Yiyi had never lied. Her account was halting, but this very demeanor made the police and the teacher see her as extremely honest and harmless.

Such a pitiful girl who can’t even recount a story without stumbling, everyone felt even more compassion for her.

But this kind of child is certainly easy to bully, the three of them mused in unison.

Fang Yiyi continued: “My parents passed away when I was eight. I’ve been living with my uncle and aunt. My uncle and aunt are also poor. I don’t have pocket money, and I don’t have clothes,” she tugged at her sleeve: “I always wear the school uniform. I couldn’t give them money.”

“Because it wasn’t the first time they asked, they also knew I didn’t have money. Then they told me to go do that… you know, that thing. They said a person was already arranged, and if I just went to drink with them, they would waive my protection fee for a week. …Teacher, please don’t be angry, I definitely refused. Oh, yes, they said if I didn’t go, they would beat me…”

“Hmm? Where were you supposed to drink?” Fang Yiyi didn’t know anything else, so she casually mentioned the bar they frequently went to: “Barbara’s Tavern, the one two streets east of the school. Yes, Teacher, that’s the one in the photo. No, that time they were just threatening me to help them deliver something.”

“…Mhm, the detailed process? …First, Manman came over and choked my neck. Manman is so big. I wasn’t strong enough, and she pushed me down. She choked my neck and asked if I would go. I said no. Then they all came over and beat me… I couldn’t see clearly, Manman was blocking me. I just felt pain. After beating me for a while, they probably got tired and asked if I would go again. Of course, I couldn’t go. I had already taken the beating; going would be an even bigger loss… Youlan said I was ungrateful and came over to slap my face.”

“…Yes, they cursed me. Very harshly. Um… I can’t repeat it. At the time, I was focusing on the pain and trying to escape. I don’t remember clearly how they cursed me… I’m sorry.”

“This dorm? I know, there are haunting rumors,” she looked ahead, appearing to concentrate on her memory, but actually looking at Li Ting: “They often went to internet cafes to watch live horror streams, watched horror movies together, and studied divination and fortune-telling recently. I gave them clothes and bags, and even paid for them with my campus card. Yes, they didn’t pay me back. They played Ouija and the planchette game together, right here in this dorm… I’m not exactly sure, but they seemed to have nightmares and thought the ghost in this dorm was coming for them. So they brought me here, saying I was a substitute or something.”

“How is that possible? There’s no ghost here. I’ve been living here for days. But thanks to them, I got a single room. I should actually thank them for this…”

…

By the time Fang Yiyi finished her half-true, highly embellished account, both police officers were filled with righteous indignation, muttering curses and vowing to go back and discipline those delinquent girls. The counselor was overwhelmed with guilt, nearly in tears, vowing to treat students more attentively in the future to prevent such incidents.

Before the two officers left, Fang Yiyi said softly, “Um, there’s one more thing…”

“Yes, Xiao Yi, tell us,” the female officer patted her head affectionately.

“That… I’m this injured, and it hurts a lot. Can I ask for compensation for my medical bills?” Fang Yiyi asked uncertainly. She hadn’t thought of this before, but she needed a smartphone. Her old-fashioned phone couldn’t connect to the internet, let alone download online resources for her to study.

“You should, you absolutely should!” the male officer said angrily: “Assault means paying compensation. It’s only right. There’s no reason not to pay.”

The female officer asked, puzzled: “Didn’t you ask for it yesterday?” She had been on duty at the station and hadn’t been dispatched for the incident.

Fang Yiyi said sheepishly: “I didn’t think of it yesterday.”

The female officer sighed: “You’re too honest.”

The next day, the counselor brought her food and, along with it, the medical compensation. Five people, each paid 600, totaling 3,000. Had Fang Yiyi gone to the hospital, the compensation would have been much higher with various tests and medical expenses, but she insisted on not going, only getting checked at the school clinic. So this was the final amount.

For Fang Yiyi, it was enough. She had initially wanted to spend all the money on a phone, but since Li Ting had acquired a taste for vital essence, she didn’t want to go hungry for long and urged her to recover quickly. So, Fang Yiyi compromised, bought a slightly outdated model of a popular brand for 2,000, and used the rest to buy some anti-swelling medication, liniment patches, and antiseptic solution. She had a few hundred left over, which she saved.

Then she received a call from her cousin, Bai Xuan.

Fang Yiyi was doing practice problems at the time. She put her newly bought white smartphone on speaker and placed it on the desk to her right. “Xuanxuan?”

Bai Xuan: “Fang Yiyi, I heard you got beaten up?”

Fang Yiyi deliberated, filling in a ‘C’ in the parentheses on her paper, and said absentmindedly, “Mhm.”

“How are you now? Are you better?”

She stared at a light blue mark on the back of her hand: “It’s been a few days. It’s nothing much now.”

Bai Xuan’s tone became cheerful: “That’s good. You’re tough. You didn’t even go to the hospital, so it must be nothing serious. Oh, right, did those classmates who beat you pay you compensation?”

The tip of Fang Yiyi’s pen paused on the paper. She turned to look at Li Ting, who was lying on the bed, and found Li Ting was looking at her too. The girl and the ghost met eyes.

Fang Yiyi pursed her lips: “…Mhm.”

“How much did they give you?” Bai Xuan sounded joyful.

Li Ting floated over, sat on the edge of the desk, rested her hands on the edge, and crossed her legs beneath her red skirt, swinging them idly.

“Not much,” Fang Yiyi said flatly.

“How much is ‘not much’?”

Li Ting: “What does it have to do with her?”

Fang Yiyi clenched the pen shaft: “What does it have to do with you?”

“What do you mean, Fang Yiyi? You’re not thinking of keeping it all, are you?” Bai Xuan sounded displeased.

“But it’s mine to begin with…” Before Fang Yiyi could finish, Li Ting smacked her on the head.

“Remove the ‘but.’ Be assertive. You have every right to it. Why are you feeling guilty?” Even though Li Ting was used to Fang Yiyi’s way of speaking, it didn’t stop her from getting angry.

Bai Xuan couldn’t hear Li Ting, and started getting frantic: “You live in my house. My parents raise you, pay your tuition, and feed you. Your injuries aren’t that serious. You don’t have broken arms or legs. Ten dollars for a plaster patch is enough! You don’t need that much money! I heard they paid you 3,000. I won’t ask for much, but meeting me halfway is reasonable, right?”

Li Ting pulled a strand of Fang Yiyi’s hair, played with it in her hand, and chuckled: “Ask her, where does she get the nerve?”

Fang Yiyi couldn’t say profanity and was very awkward. She whispered, “This… is that really okay?”

Li Ting glared at her, looking fierce: “Hm?”

Fang Yiyi immediately spoke loudly into the phone: “Where do you get the nerve!”

Bai Xuan hadn’t expected Fang Yiyi to dare to speak to her like that. She became instantly furious and roared: “Fang Yiyi, you dare to curse at me! You are so dead! I’m telling my mom, and you won’t get a single penny from our house from now on! We won’t pay your tuition either!”

Fang Yiyi’s cheeks were flushed, and her hands were trembling. Without waiting for Li Ting to teach her, she shouted into the phone, “Then don’t pay it!” She then picked up the phone and fumbled but quickly slid the hang-up button, finally succeeding on the third try.

She held the phone with both hands against her chest, breathing heavily.

Li Ting was expressionless: “You’re afraid of her? So much that you’re shaking?”

“No…” Fang Yiyi looked at her, licked her lips, her eyes shining with excitement: “I’m too excited. I was so angry, so angry, so angry when she demanded money, but it felt so good when I said the words you taught me, Senior Sister! You are so amazing! It’s just my first time talking back to someone, so I’m not very proficient. Phew, I’m so nervous.”

“…” Li Ting was speechless. After a moment, she said, showing her disappointment: “Such limited ambition!”