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

Fight back… herself?

Fang Yiyi repeatedly turned those words over in her mind.

It felt as though something had lightly scratched at her heart, leaving behind a strange soreness and numbness, along with a faint swelling sensation.

Li Ting narrowed her eyes and stared at her. Her voice was low and subtly bewitching.

“I’m hungry.”

Fang Yiyi’s long eyelashes fluttered.

She shifted backward uneasily as a flood of memories—ones that would definitely be censored if shown—rose to the surface.

Her face instantly reddened, and she suddenly felt embarrassed.

“Then you…”

Before she could finish, Li Ting swiftly retreated and floated back into the air.

She crossed her arms and said coolly, “Forget it. You look too ugly. I’ve lost my appetite.”

The distance between them abruptly widened.

Fang Yiyi sat there blankly for a long moment before realizing that Li Ting meant the injuries covering her body were too ugly.

At a loss, she pulled the quilt over herself and buried her entire body beneath it.

In the few days she had spent with Li Ting, aside from the time Fang Yiyi was outside during the day, whenever the human and ghost shared the room, they had basically spent all their time on the bed.

This was the first time they had peacefully kept to themselves without either one bothering the other.

Fang Yiyi found the experience novel.

Then she realized that this was an excellent opportunity to study.

Barefoot, she hurried to the desk, grabbed her books, and hurried back again. She slid her legs beneath the quilt and leaned halfway against the headboard to begin studying.

Li Ting drifted in midair like a cloud of smoke.

She gathered the nearly transparent sleeves of her bright red dress and closed her eyes to rest.

For a time, Dormitory 404 was utterly silent, with only the occasional sound of a page turning.

At nine thirty that evening, Fang Yiyi turned off the lights on time.

Perhaps it was because she had been beaten, or perhaps the few laps she had run around the sports field yesterday had exhausted her.

Either way, she slept straight through until she woke naturally.

As usual, she began stretching after waking.

Halfway through, pain flared across her body, and she curled back up.

“Hiss…”

Her body was covered in blue and purple bruises. Even her calves were swollen, making her injuries look rather frightening.

Even though no bones were broken, she still needed several days to recover.

Her body also seemed to hurt more than it had the night before.

Fang Yiyi was deeply troubled.

She felt she might not even be able to make it downstairs today.

She also had no one who could bring her food.

Unless something unexpected happened, she might have to go hungry all day.

She should have gone to the hospital after all.

As though someone had read her mind, a short burst of knocking suddenly sounded.

Knock, knock, knock!

Fang Yiyi’s first reaction was that someone was knocking on the neighboring door.

Only when the sound came again did she realize that someone was indeed knocking on hers.

“I’m coming, I’m coming! Just a moment—”

Fang Yiyi gathered her nightdress around herself. It was an extremely old-fashioned cotton slip dress that had faded from repeated washing.

Calling out as she moved, she carefully got out of bed and went to open the door.

The class adviser stood outside holding a plastic bag.

The aroma drifting from it immediately made Fang Yiyi’s nose twitch, and her stomach let out a loud growl.

With one hand braced against the door and the other covering her stomach, Fang Yiyi smiled awkwardly.

“Teacher, why are you here? Come in, come in.”

The adviser had been worried about Fang Yiyi’s injuries and quickly supported her arm.

“Student Fang Yiyi, slow down. Don’t rush.”

She helped Fang Yiyi sit on the edge of the bed closest to the door.

Then she took a steamed bun from the plastic bag and handed it to her. She carefully removed a plastic container of porridge and placed it on the cardboard box serving as a bedside table.

She opened the lid and set the complimentary disposable spoon on top.

“I knew you probably hadn’t eaten. Have breakfast first.”

Fang Yiyi was deeply moved.

“Thank you, Teacher!”

She took two bites of the bun and discovered it was filled with pork and glass noodles, which delighted her even more.

Politely, she asked, “Teacher, have you eaten?”

The adviser smiled.

“I ate before coming. I brought this especially for you.”

Fang Yiyi nearly cried from gratitude.

“Teacher, you’re so kind!”

The adviser did not answer. She merely motioned for Fang Yiyi to continue eating while carefully examining the room.

The room was approximately fifteen square meters and came with a balcony and a small private bathroom.

There was a desk and chair, a single bed, a built-in wardrobe, and a cardboard box serving as a nightstand.

There were very few belongings, but the room was spotless. The floor had been polished until it shone, and everything was neatly arranged.

The entire room could be taken in at a glance, yet it did not feel empty.

Instead, it carried a relaxing and comfortable atmosphere.

The adviser had passed by this area before but had never entered.

Her impression of the room had always been of a pitch-black space, a tightly closed door, no occupant, and a false haunting rumor repeated from person to person.

She had never placed much faith in stories about haunted rooms.

Could a school even call itself a school if it did not have a few frightening legends?

They were merely stories distorted through endless retelling over meals and idle conversation.

Dormitory 404 was a perfect example.

She had once specifically asked around about it.

The room had originally been left empty purely because of the principal’s decision. There was nothing unusual about it.

Its position was simply too convenient.

It was neither too high nor too low, located directly in the middle of the entire dormitory building.

When the building was first constructed, it did not have elevators. Each dormitory building had two supervisors—one responsible for the main entrance and the other for emergencies.

At first, the room had been intended as a storage room or an emergency duty room for the supervisor.

However, no extra beds or supplies were ever moved inside, and there was rarely any need for the emergency supervisor to use it.

So it remained empty.

Later, some ingenious person came up with the idea that the student ranked first in the entire university could choose to live alone in 404 as an incentive for others to improve.

After that, no one knew exactly how it happened, but rumors began spreading that Dormitory 404 was haunted.

Each new class passed the story on to the next, and the tale grew increasingly ridiculous with every retelling.

Now, through a series of accidents, Fang Yiyi had moved inside.

Still, it was not entirely inappropriate.

Although Fang Yiyi was introverted, her grades had always been excellent.

As for her conduct…

The adviser frowned as she remembered the photograph.

She looked at Fang Yiyi and found that Fang Yiyi was also looking at her.

Their eyes met.

Fang Yiyi curved her eyes and smiled. Her smile was sincere, her gaze pure and without the slightest impurity.

She looked completely innocent and inexperienced.

She truly did not seem like the kind of girl who would do such a thing.

Combined with Fang Yiyi’s usual behavior, the adviser grew increasingly suspicious that something was wrong with the photograph.

By then, Fang Yiyi had finished the bun.

She did not use the spoon. Instead, she lifted the plastic bowl with both hands and gulped down the porridge as though drinking water.

She looked as though she had not tasted porridge in several lifetimes.

The adviser could not help saying, “Slow down. No one is going to take it from you.”

“Mm… mm…”

Fang Yiyi made several indistinct sounds.

Then she picked up the plastic spoon, tilted her head back, and scraped the remaining food into her mouth.

The adviser fell silent.

Why did she have the impression that Fang Yiyi had never eaten enough at school before?

Had she prepared too little food?

Fang Yiyi swallowed the final grain of rice, wiped her mouth, and thanked her again.

“The bun was delicious, and the porridge was delicious too. I’m full. Thank you, Teacher!”

“You’re truly full?”

“Mhm!”

Fang Yiyi nodded.

“I’m not used to wasting food.”

“Oh. That’s a good habit. As long as you’re full.”

The adviser then moved directly to the reason for her visit.

“Student Fang Yiyi, I actually came because there’s another matter.”

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

“Yes. The police still need your cooperation to take a statement.”

“How do you feel now? Can you go downstairs, or should we ask the officers to come up?”

Fang Yiyi answered awkwardly, “I probably can’t go down. I can’t really walk.”

The adviser sighed and looked worried.

“I thought so. I don’t know how those children could bring themselves to hit you so badly.”

“And none of them seem to understand what they’ve done. They’re still acting strange and muttering about…”

She glanced at Fang Yiyi.

Realizing that she had once again started rambling, she stopped herself in time.

Fang Yiyi smiled faintly.

“I know, Teacher. Are they saying I’m the one who caused their deaths? That I’m raising a ghost to hurt people?”

The adviser had not expected Fang Yiyi to guess.

Then she realized that those words had probably already been shouted directly at her.

She could not help feeling sympathy for the girl.

“Don’t pay attention to them. They’ve all become obsessed and lost their senses.”

“There are no ghosts in this world. Those things only exist to frighten people.”

Fang Yiyi lowered her eyes and lightly played with the Buddhist bead around her wrist.

“Mhm.”

“Ah… Just focus on your studies…”

The adviser released a heavy sigh and was about to continue when Fang Yiyi’s old phone began vibrating.

Bzzz—bzzz—

Phones designed for elderly users generally had extremely loud ringtones and call volume.

To avoid disturbing others, Fang Yiyi kept hers permanently on vibrate.

She picked it up and saw an unfamiliar number.

She glanced at the adviser, who gestured for her to answer first.

Fang Yiyi did not think much about it and pressed the answer button.

“You think you’re impressive?”

“Fang Yiyi, do you know what happens to everyone who moves into Dormitory 404?”

“Six months at most.”

“I’ll be waiting to see you die a horrible death—with no intact corpse left behind!”