Carrying My Senior's Coffin (GL) - Chapter 5

It was not actually that serious.

Those people often amused themselves at her expense whenever they had nothing better to do. Sometimes, in order to keep her obedient, they would deliberately hold some kind of leverage over her.

All Fang Yiyi wanted was to graduate successfully and receive her diploma. She did not care about anything else.

They had discovered that weakness early on, when she first became their target.

So they controlled her with it, like people teasing a hamster that had spent its entire life inside a cage. They would spin the wheel and watch as the hamster was forced to run desperately, panting for breath. Sometimes, when it stumbled and fell, they would look down from above and burst into laughter.

This photograph was merely one of many.

In truth, it had been staged.

But Fang Yiyi could not say that.

She knew this was their warning, telling her to behave. The moment she tried to resist, they still had plenty of other tricks waiting for her.

Fang Yiyi’s face had gone pale, her lips pressed into a thin line.

Ever since her parents died, she had begun closing herself off. She became unwilling to fight, timid whenever trouble arose, blindly enduring everything and merely trying to scrape by.

After enough time passed, even she began to believe that this was simply how the world was supposed to be.

She could only cling weakly to life in exchange for the smallest sliver of peace.

She recalled what had happened the previous night.

Darkness.

Cold.

Something sticky and suffocating.

Her lower abdomen was still throbbing faintly with pain.

That had only been one night.

If she continued staying there, what would happen next?

Would that ghost simply kill her?

Should she seek death, or continue living without the slightest shred of dignity?

Fang Yiyi squeezed her fingers together.

“Teacher…”

“Teacher.”

The lock turned with a crisp click.

Someone entered without knocking, interrupting Fang Yiyi before she could finish.

Nancy walked in wearing a neat school uniform and white princess-style leather shoes.

She swept a glance over Fang Yiyi. A trace of contempt flashed through the corners of her eyes, but she quickly concealed it and replaced it with an innocent, harmless smile.

The carefully groomed ends of her hair brushed past Fang Yiyi, carrying a faint fragrance of shampoo through the air.

As long as she was on campus, Nancy always presented herself as a sweet, obedient model student.

She maintained that image perfectly and seemed like a completely different person from the one she was outside school.

The adviser brightened considerably upon seeing her. Most teachers liked students like Nancy.

“Student Nancy, you’re here. Is there something you need from me?”

Nancy lowered her head and smiled shyly.

“There is something… but could we…”

She hesitated and glanced at Fang Yiyi.

The adviser looked puzzled.

“You’re both female students. Is there something inconvenient to discuss in front of her?”

Fang Yiyi’s matter had not yet been settled, and the adviser did not want to let her leave so easily.

Nancy’s face turned red. She nodded awkwardly, her voice thin and quiet as though the subject were difficult to bring up.

“Yes… Teacher, it’s something personal. I’d like to speak with you about it.”

“All right, then.”

Seeing that Nancy genuinely seemed embarrassed, the adviser had no choice but to set Fang Yiyi’s matter aside.

“Student Fang Yiyi, go back for now. I have class this afternoon. Come to my office again tomorrow.”

“Teacher!”

For once in her life, Fang Yiyi tried to fight for herself.

“Student Yiyi.”

Nancy tugged lightly at Fang Yiyi’s sleeve and clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture.

Her hair fell forward with the movement and brushed beside her ears, making her face appear even softer, fairer, and more delicate.

Only her eyes were different.

Using the angle to hide them from everyone else, she glared viciously at Fang Yiyi.

Yet her voice remained gentle and weak, the complete opposite of her gaze.

“I’m terribly sorry for interrupting your matter. I know things should usually be handled in order, but some matters are more urgent than others. I’m truly in a hurry. I really am. Could you please let me speak first? I’m so sorry!”

After saying that, she silently mouthed something at Fang Yiyi.

Fang Yiyi did not bother figuring out what it meant.

Either way, it was a warning.

A warning to remain obedient and not cause trouble.

“Student Fang Yiyi, go back first,” the adviser said. “Whatever you have to say can wait until tomorrow.”

Fang Yiyi bit her lower lip, her face pale.

Instinct told her that she should continue trying.

Her lips moved, but it was as though her voice had suddenly disappeared.

Her mind went completely blank.

She had spent so long being oppressed that now, when she finally wanted to resist, she did not even know how to form a single sentence.

Fang Yiyi stood there blankly.

A defeated grayness spread across her eyes.

Then she quietly withdrew from the office.

Her body still ached faintly, especially in places too embarrassing to mention. Every step made the pain worse.

She walked out of the academic building and stood on the steps at the entrance hall, raising her eyes to look around.

There were many people at this school.

They were young, vibrant, filled with dreams and hope. They walked beneath the sunlight with bright futures ahead of them.

Groups of two and three brushed past her.

Everyone seemed to have companions.

Everyone seemed happy.

Their laughter and cheerful voices reached Fang Yiyi’s ears.

Only then did she suddenly realize that in this place, perhaps she was the only one who had been alone from beginning to end.

Her clothes were worn and shabby. Her personality was withdrawn. Wherever she went, she received plenty of looks, yet no one ever approached her to say hello or ask what her name was.

No one wanted to become her friend either.

To them, she had always been nothing more than an insignificant passerby.

It seemed that aside from that haunted dormitory, she had nowhere else to go.

All her belongings were there.

That place had become her only shelter.

Perhaps she was not truly afraid of death.

The so-called will to survive was merely an instinct of life.

Otherwise, why had she gone to seek help from the adviser when she did not even feel particularly frightened?

And why, knowing she might die, was she still walking back toward the dormitory?

Fang Yiyi’s thoughts drifted aimlessly.

When she finally returned to her senses, someone was blocking her path and calling her name.

Fang Yiyi blinked as though suddenly waking from a dream. Her eyes slowly regained focus.

She discovered that she had already reached the fourth floor.

She had just turned the corner from the stairwell, and her dormitory was only five steps away.

“Fang Yiyi! I’m talking to you. Did you hear me or not?”

Youlan stood with her arms crossed, her brows raised in anger.

“Are you deaf?”

She had been waiting there ever since hearing that Fang Yiyi had gone to the adviser’s office. Her legs were almost numb.

Fang Yiyi going to the teacher was completely beyond their expectations.

Given Fang Yiyi’s spineless personality, she should never have dared disobey them unless she no longer cared about graduating.

But then Youlan had started wondering what could possibly make Fang Yiyi risk expulsion just to change dormitories.

Could there truly be something inside that room?

Had the ghost they dreamed about that day actually been real?

The moment she thought of that possibility, Youlan could no longer remain calm.

In a panic, she went to find the others who had played the Pen Spirit game with her and discussed what to do.

In the end, they decided that Nancy would go to the adviser’s office and force Fang Yiyi out.

The others would split up and wait at the places Fang Yiyi might go, corner her when they found her, and use threats, intimidation, or promises—whatever it took.

No matter what, they could not allow Fang Yiyi to change dormitories.

What if Fang Yiyi moved out and that ghost came after them again?

Fang Yiyi raised her eyes to look at Youlan, then glanced behind her.

Sure enough, Manman stood there as well, also with her arms crossed.

The two of them usually acted together, practically inseparable, though their relationship was not as close as the one between Youlan and Nancy.

Fang Yiyi withdrew her gaze.

With her eyelids half lowered, she stared numbly at the floor and stood there like a foolish mute.

Her reaction pleased Youlan.

She shifted her posture and leaned lightly against the wall to rest her numb legs.

A contemptuous smile tugged at her lips as she looked Fang Yiyi over.

“I heard you went to the teacher and asked to change dormitories. What, do you feel wronged because we let you have such a huge private room all to yourself?”

“Don’t be so ungrateful. Do you know how much it would cost to rent a place like that off campus?”

Fang Yiyi lowered her head and remained silent.

On the surface, it seemed as though she had already abandoned the idea of changing rooms.

Youlan thought that her goal had been achieved and that she could leave now.

She understood Fang Yiyi far too well.

Timid, weak, hopeless.

Going to complain to the adviser today had probably used up every ounce of courage Fang Yiyi possessed for her entire university life.

Now that she had been interrupted, she would likely never dare cause trouble again.

And yet such a worthless coward had actually frightened her and made her wait nervously for so long.

Who did Fang Yiyi think she was?

Remembering the fear she had felt when she first learned Fang Yiyi had gone to the adviser, Youlan’s anger immediately flared.

Open contempt filled her eyes as she looked Fang Yiyi up and down.

“Forget everything else. Even in the residential complexes around our school, a private room like yours would cost three thousand yuan a month.”

She gave a mocking laugh.

“Have you ever even seen that much money in your life?”

“We’re kindhearted people. We couldn’t stand looking at your poor, pathetic state, so we decided to do some charity and help the disadvantaged. That’s why we let you stay in 404.”

“Don’t be ungrateful and waste all our good intentions. Otherwise, don’t blame us for being rude!”

At those words, Fang Yiyi suddenly raised her head.

She looked directly at Youlan. Her eyes were dark and bright, her gaze icy.

“Do you know there’s a ghost living inside?”

Youlan had not expected her to answer back so suddenly and was startled.

She cleared her throat and raised her voice.

“W-what ghost? The only ghost there is a penniless ghost like you!”

“Just look at how shabby you are. Manman, let’s go!”

She turned around, grabbed Manman by the sleeve near her shoulder, and prepared to drag her away.

At that moment, the light above them suddenly flashed.

Then, with a loud bang, it went out.

A crackling sound followed, as though electricity were leaking from the wiring.

It was broad daylight, yet a sinister chill appeared from nowhere and swept through the corridor.