After ninety-nine online romances, I finally met my ex in person when school started.

Gu Qinghan stood on the steps in front of the abandoned building. Her seven-centimeter red-soled high heels crushed a withered leaf. She looked down at Zhu Xunchuan. The night wind lifted the hem of her black trench coat, revealing the taut lines of her calves.

The two sophomore boys next to him didn't dare to breathe. The counselor's intimidating presence was absolute for ordinary students.

Zhu Xun Chuan put one hand in his pocket. He looked at Gu Qing Han's serious room check-up demeanor and couldn't help but find it amusing.

No sooner had Shen Tianxi left than Gu Qinghan arrived in her high heels. Zhu Xunchuan was fully aware of the military district heiress's petty scheme of using someone else to do her dirty work. And Gu Qinghan, a woman of exceptional intelligence, naturally understood as well.

But she still came. In the middle of the night, dressed in a haute couture trench coat and exquisite black stockings, she came to this abandoned building in the middle of nowhere to "check on the students."

If you're jealous, just say so; why do you have to come up with a high-sounding excuse?

"Teacher Gu." Zhu Xun Chuan walked up the steps, closing the distance between them. "This is the club recruitment test, and I'm about to go in."

Gu Qinghan pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses. The lenses reflected the cold light of the streetlights.

"The school has explicit regulations prohibiting students from engaging in unsafe activities in abandoned buildings late at night," Gu Qinghan said coldly. "It's pitch black inside, and the floor is littered with broken glass. Who will be responsible if something happens?"

She turned to look at Wen Yiqing.

The eyes of the two women wearing gold-rimmed glasses met in mid-air.

Wen Yiqing was wearing a fitted khaki trench coat today. She met Gu Qinghan's gaze without flinching.

"Teacher Gu is overthinking it." Wen Yiqing said calmly, pulling a neatly folded A4 sheet of paper from her trench coat pocket and handing it over. "The Paranormal Society is registered with the school's Youth League Committee. All the testing projects here have undergone safety assessments. This is the approval document."

Gu Qinghan didn't answer. She glanced at the bright red official seal, her eyes turning cold.

"Just because you've registered, you can bring freshmen to a place like this in the middle of the night?" Gu Qinghan's gaze shifted downwards, landing on the blood-stained jade ring on Wen Yiqing's right index finger.

That ring was of the highest quality; anyone who knew its value could tell at a glance that it was priceless.

Wen Yiqing put the approval document back into her pocket and looked Gu Qinghan up and down.

"Professor Gu is here to check the dorms, dressed quite formally." Wen Yiqing pushed up her glasses, her tone clearly mocking. "A custom-made Chanel trench coat from this season, red-soled CL heels, paired with these exquisite black stockings. I thought Professor Gu was going to walk the red carpet, but I didn't expect him to come to this dusty abandoned building. You're really dedicated."

Hit the nail on the head.

Gu Qinghan's ears burned. She had rushed out after receiving Shen Tianxi's call, tearing off her nightgown and changing into this outfit without considering the abandoned building's environment.

She cursed herself for being impulsive. To catch this bastard, she'd actually come to this godforsaken place to suffer.

But despite her long tenure in a high position, her aura remained completely composed.

"You, a student, have no right to judge a teacher's attire." Gu Qinghan raised her chin. "Since you insist on going in, for the students' safety, as the counselor, I must supervise the entire process."

The two boys looked at each other, bewildered. It was obvious this counselor had come specifically for Zhu Xunchuan.

Wen Yiqing smiled faintly. She didn't care about the title of counselor at all.

Zhu Xun Chuan stood to the side. His system panel had already displayed Wen Yi Qing's core information.

The eldest granddaughter of the Wen family, the Huabei Fresh Food Group. This behemoth controls the logistics, cold chain, and fresh food lifeline of six provinces in northern China. A single word from the Wen family patriarch can leave more than half of the supermarkets in Beijing empty. This kind of industrial conglomerate, which controls the food supply of an entire city, has capital power that is not much weaker than Xia Wanying's Dinghe Group.

As the daughter of the Wen family, Wen Yiqing was used to seeing high-ranking officials and nobles since childhood. The intimidation of a university counselor had no effect on her.

"Supervision is fine." Wen Yiqing turned and walked towards the gate of the abandoned building. "If you fall, you're responsible for it."

She pulled open the rusty iron door.

The grating sound of metal scraping together was especially eerie at night.

A strong musty smell mixed with a cold draft wafted over me.

The beam of the flashlight sliced ​​through the darkness. The hall was littered with withered branches and leaves, the walls were peeling, and several collapsed plaster statues lay in the corner, casting distorted shadows.

The two boys swallowed hard and followed closely behind Wen Yiqing.

Zhu Xunchuan took the powerful flashlight from a boy.

He turned around and walked to Gu Qinghan's side.

"The road to the abandoned building is difficult to walk on. Teacher Gu, be careful not to twist your ankle with those high heels." Zhu Xun Chuan lowered the beam of his flashlight.

He deliberately moved very close, his shoulder almost touching Gu Qinghan's. His masculine scent instantly enveloped Gu Qinghan.

Gu Qinghan smelled the faint scent of tobacco on him, as well as a lingering trace of Shen Tianxi's perfume.

A wave of bitterness welled up in my heart.

"You don't need to worry about it." Gu Qinghan took half a step to the side, her voice cold and hard.

Zhu Xun Chuan didn't back down. Instead, he moved forward an inch. The flashlight switch clicked crisply between the two of them.

"Shen Tianxi made a phone call, and you rushed over in a hurry." Zhu Xun Chuan lowered his head, his lips close to Gu Qinghan's ear. His warm breath brushed against her fair earlobe.

"Teacher Gu's trick of embezzling from his own post is truly ingenious," Zhu Xun Chuan said in a very low voice, with undisguised mockery.

Gu Qinghan froze. Her ears quickly turned crimson.

That bastard. He can always see through her disguise at a glance.

She gritted her teeth and turned to glare at him.

"Shut up. Go inside," Gu Qinghan warned in a low voice.

Zhu Xun Chuan smiled. He straightened up, picked up his flashlight, and walked through the gate. Gu Qing Han followed behind in her high heels.

As soon as Gu Qinghan stepped into the hall, her pace slowed down.

It was so quiet all around. The only sound was the crunching of shoes on broken glass and withered leaves.

Darkness pressed in from all sides. The claustrophobic space made my heart race. The overhead light bulbs were reduced to broken supports, threatening to fall at any moment.

Gu Qinghan has been afraid of the dark since she was a child. She is used to bright offices and spacious apartments, and this dilapidated and gloomy environment makes her instinctively uncomfortable.

A gust of cold wind blew in through the broken window, making a mournful howling sound.

Gu Qinghan shrugged slightly. She unconsciously quickened her pace, taking half a step closer to Zhu Xunchuan. The distance between them shrank to less than ten centimeters.

Gu Qinghan struggled to walk on the gravel and glass shards in her seven-centimeter heels. Her ankle twisted, and she cried out softly, almost falling.

Zhu Xun Chuan reacted quickly. Instead of helping her arm, he reached out and grasped Gu Qing Han's soft hand.

"Let go. The students are still in front." Gu Qinghan's heart skipped a beat, and she warned in a low voice, trying to shake them off.

"The road is too slippery. If Teacher Gu slips and falls flat on her face, the whole college will know tomorrow that the counselor twisted her ankle in the abandoned building." Ignoring her resistance, Zhu Xun Chuan forcibly slid his fingers between hers, their fingers intertwined tightly.

Gu Qinghan's palms were slightly sweaty. She couldn't break free and could only let him lead her. But her body honestly leaned towards him, using his strength to steady her steps.

Zhu Xunchuan turned up the beam of his flashlight, illuminating the path beneath Gu Qinghan's feet.

"Go to the left. It's the old music room at the end of the corridor on the first floor." Wen Yiqing's voice rang out from ahead.

She walked at the front. Her khaki trench coat stood out brightly in the flashlight beam.

The corridor was long. Abandoned classrooms lined both sides. The dark doorframes exuded a chilling aura. The walls were covered in graffiti and peeling paint. Dust swirled in the beams of light.

The wind howled mournfully in the corridor. The two sophomores huddled together, muttering "Amitabha," not daring to turn their heads.

Wen Yiqing, who was ahead of them, stopped at the end of the corridor.

A wooden door was tightly shut. The sign on the door read "Music Classroom 1" in a blurry way. The lock was rusty.

"This is it." Wen Yiqing turned around and looked at Zhu Xunchuan.

The beam of her flashlight shone upwards onto her face, creating an eerie and terrifying effect against the stark white ambient light.

"Three years ago, a senior from the music department practiced piano here. She was preparing for the final piece at the welcome party." Wen Yiqing's voice was soft and echoed in the empty corridor. "But she disappeared the day before the party. After that, every night at midnight, the sound of a piano would come from this locked practice room."

The two boys were so scared they were trembling and their legs went weak.

Upon hearing this legend, Gu Qinghan unconsciously tightened her grip on Zhu Xunchuan's hand. Her long nails dug into his flesh.

Zhu Xun Chuan grasped her hand in return. He gently stroked the back of her hand with the pad of his thumb, offering silent comfort.

He watched Wen Yiqing's charade and chuckled inwardly.

The fact that the Wen family's daughter personally participated in this kind of club game suggests she must have arranged traps or hired accomplices. Beneath her arrogant and aloof facade lies a fierce competitive spirit; she's determined to see him make a fool of himself.

Gu Qinghan straightened up and adjusted the hem of her trench coat. She glanced at the mottled wooden door, forcibly suppressing the nervousness in her heart.

"The door is locked, how can you guarantee the safety inside?" Gu Qinghan maintained her teacher's authority.

"If Teacher Gu is scared, it's not too late to turn back now." Wen Yiqing said coldly, showing no respect whatsoever.

She took a black walkie-talkie out of her trench coat pocket.

Wen Yiqing pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses. The lenses reflected the cold light of the flashlight.

She pressed the call button on the walkie-talkie, her voice sounding particularly cold and distant in the empty corridor.

"First floor, section A, let's begin testing the courage of our new members."

P.S.: Congratulations to [一梦浮尘心]! Oh no! It looks like A Yin's royalties are going to go down the drain! For everyone's benefit, A Yin, hang in there! ٩(ŏ﹏ŏ、)۶