Carrying My Senior's Coffin (GL) - Chapter 9

Me… fight back myself?

Fang Yiyi repeatedly chewed on these words. Her heart felt scratched by something, a mix of sourness and tingling, with a slight swelling sensation.

Li Ting narrowed her eyes, staring at her, her voice low and seductive: “I’m hungry.”

Her long eyelashes fluttered. Fang Yiyi instinctively shrank back uncomfortably. Fragments of memory that would be censored if revealed rushed to the surface. Her face flushed, and she suddenly felt embarrassed: “Then you…”

Before she could finish, Li Ting swiftly backed away, floating in the air again. She crossed her arms, her voice cool: “Never mind. Too unsightly. Can’t stomach it.”

The sudden distance left Fang Yiyi stunned. After a moment, she understood that Li Ting was referring to her injuries being too unsightly. She helplessly pulled the quilt over herself and buried her face inside.

In the past few days of coexisting with Li Ting, the time they spent alone in the room, excluding daytime outings, had been predominantly spent on the bed. This “you don’t bother me, I don’t bother you” arrangement was a first.

Fang Yiyi found it novel and then realized it was an excellent opportunity to study.

She padded barefoot to the desk to grab her books, then padded back, tucking her legs under the covers and leaning against the headboard to start studying.

Li Ting floated in mid-air like a wisp of smoke, adjusting her nearly transparent, voluminous red sleeves, and closed her eyes to rest.

For a time, the 404 dorm was completely silent, save for the occasional turning of a book page.

At 9:30 p.m., Fang Yiyi turned off the light on schedule.

Perhaps because of the beating, or perhaps because she had run a few laps around the track yesterday and was exhausted, Fang Yiyi slept until she woke up naturally.

As was her habit upon waking, she stretched, only to realize halfway through the stretch that her body was severely painful. She curled back up. “Hiss—”

Her body was covered in bruises, and her calves were swollen, looking quite alarming. Even if no bones were broken, she would need a few days to recover, and her body seemed to hurt even more than last night.

Fang Yiyi was worried. She thought she might not be able to walk downstairs today, and she had no one to ask to bring her food. Unless something unexpected happened, she might have to go hungry for a whole day.

…I should have gone to the hospital.

As if by telepathy, a brief knock on the door sounded at that moment.

Knock, knock, knock!

Fang Yiyi’s first thought was that it was the door next door. It wasn’t until the knocking sound came again that she confirmed someone was indeed knocking on her door.

“Coming, coming, just a moment—” Fang Yiyi clutched her nightgown—a very old-fashioned, faded pure cotton slip dress—and, calling out, she cautiously got out of bed to open the door.

When she opened it, the counselor was standing outside, holding a plastic bag. The aroma wafting from inside made Fang Yiyi’s nose twitch, and her stomach immediately began to rumble.

Fang Yiyi leaned against the door with one hand and clutched her stomach with the other, laughing sheepishly: “Teacher, why are you here? Please, come in, come in.”

The counselor was concerned about her injuries and quickly took her arm, saying worriedly, “Fang Yiyi, go slow. Don’t rush.”

She helped Fang Yiyi sit down on the bed closest to the door, handed her the buns from the plastic bag, and then carefully placed the porridge, which was in a plastic container, on the cardboard box serving as a bedside table. She lifted the lid and placed the complimentary disposable plastic spoon on it. “I knew you hadn’t eaten. Eat first.”

Fang Yiyi was deeply touched: “Thank you, Teacher!” She took two bites of a bun, realizing it was pork and vermicelli, which made her even happier. She politely asked, “Have you eaten, Teacher?”

The counselor smiled: “I ate before I came. I brought this specifically for you.”

Fang Yiyi was nearly moved to tears: “You’re so kind, Teacher!”

The counselor didn’t speak, signaling Fang Yiyi to eat first, and began to examine the room carefully.

It was about a 15-square-meter room with a small balcony and a private bathroom suite, a set of desk and chair, a bed, a built-in closet, and a cardboard box serving as a bedside table. There were few belongings, but the room was impeccably clean, the floor polished bright, and everything was neatly arranged. It allowed one to see everything at a glance without feeling empty, giving a relaxed sense of comfort.

She had only passed by here before and had never come inside. Her impression of this dorm had been a dark room, tightly closed doors, no one living there, and a false haunting rumor spread by word of mouth.

She had never given much credence to haunting rumors. What kind of school didn’t have a few scary legends? They were just stories for people to gossip about, exaggerated through telling.

Like this 404 dorm. She had specifically asked about it before. The only reason it was originally empty was purely due to the principal’s wishes. Its location was excellent, neither too high nor too low, right in the center of the unit block. When the building was constructed, there was no elevator, and a dorm building required two managers—one for the main entrance and one for emergencies. The room was initially intended to be a storage room or an emergency dorm manager’s office, but they never put in extra beds or required an emergency manager, so it stayed empty. Later, some genius came up with the idea that the top-ranked student in the whole school could live in the 404 single room by choice to incentivize students to work hard. After that, the rumor of 404 being haunted somehow started and was passed down, becoming increasingly exaggerated.

Now, Fang Yiyi had moved in by accident.

But it was fine. Although Fang Yiyi was introverted, her grades had always been good, and her character—

The counselor frowned, recalling the photo incident.

She looked at Fang Yiyi, who was looking back at her. Their eyes met. Fang Yiyi curved her eyes and smiled, her expression sincere, her eyes pure and unadulterated, extremely innocent. She really didn’t look like a girl who would do such things.

Considering Fang Yiyi’s usual behavior, the counselor grew more suspicious that the photo might be misleading.

By then, Fang Yiyi had finished the bun. She didn’t use the spoon but directly held the plastic bowl with both hands and gulped the soup down as if drinking water. She looked like she hadn’t had porridge in ages. The counselor couldn’t help but say, “Eat slowly. No one is taking it from you.”

“Mmm… Mmm…” Fang Yiyi mumbled a few syllables, picked up the plastic spoon, and finished the remaining rice in her mouth with her head tilted back.

The counselor: “…” Why did she have the feeling that Fang Yiyi hadn’t been getting enough to eat at school? Had she brought too little?

Fang Yiyi swallowed the last grain of rice, wiped her mouth, and thanked her again: “The bun was delicious, and the porridge was very good. I’m full. Thank you, Teacher!”

“Are you really full?”

“Mhm!” Fang Yiyi nodded. “I don’t like to leave leftovers.”

“Oh, that’s a good habit. I’m glad you’re full, Fang Yiyi. I actually have one more thing to discuss today.” The counselor got straight to the point.

“I know. Is it about the five people who attacked me yesterday?”

“Yes. The police still need your cooperation to take a statement. How do you feel now? Can you go downstairs, or should I ask the police to come up?”

Fang Yiyi said with difficulty, “I probably can’t go down… I can’t really walk.”

The counselor sighed, worriedly: “I can see that. Those kids were truly ruthless. I don’t know what’s gotten into them. They’re still deluded, talking nonsense, still claiming that…” She glanced at Fang Yiyi, realizing her bad habit of rambling had returned, and quickly stopped herself.

Fang Yiyi smiled faintly: “I know, Teacher. Are they saying I killed them and that I’m keeping a ghost to harm people?”

The counselor hadn’t expected Fang Yiyi to guess. On second thought, she must have been directly cursed at. She felt a surge of pity for the girl and comforted her: “Don’t listen to them. They’ve all been completely bewitched. There are no ghosts in this world. It’s all just meant to scare people.”

Fang Yiyi lowered her eyes, fiddling with the Buddhist bead on her wrist, and softly replied, “Mhm.”

“Sigh… Just focus on your studies…” The counselor sighed heavily, about to say more, when Fang Yiyi’s old-fashioned phone rang.

Buzz—Buzz—

Older phones, to accommodate the elderly, usually had the volume for both ringing and calls turned up high. To avoid disturbing others, Fang Yiyi’s phone was perpetually set to vibrate mode.

She picked it up. It was an unknown number. She looked at the counselor, who gestured for her to answer.

Fang Yiyi didn’t think much of it and pressed “Answer.”

“You think you’re so great? Fang Yiyi, do you know what happens to everyone who moves into 404? Six months at most. I’m waiting to see you die a miserable death! Not even a whole body left!”