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

The dragging sound echoed in the deathly silent second-floor corridor.

Two second-year male students at the corner of the stairs were trembling with fear, their legs spinning so fast they could barely hold their flashlights. The beams of light swung wildly across the mottled wall.

Wen Yiqing stopped in her tracks.

She pressed the intercom: "Second floor group, who gave you permission to change the props and procedures without authorization?"

The walkie-talkie was filled with static; there was no response.

Wen Yiqing lost face. She always prided herself on being bold and aloof, and tonight she had intended to give Zhu Xunchuan a hard time, but she didn't expect her subordinates to disobey her orders and add unnecessary drama.

With a cold face, she strode forward in her leather shoes, ready to reprimand those reckless club members.

Zhu Xun Chuan's left arm was still around Gu Qing Han's waist. Gu Qing Han was pressed against his shoulder, breathing rapidly. Zhu Xun Chuan's fingers gently pressed on the soft flesh of her waist, the pressure just right.

Gu Qinghan bit her red lips, swallowing back that shy, coquettish cry.

Wen Yiqing walked to the door of an abandoned classroom in the middle of the corridor. The beam of her flashlight shone on the half-open wooden door.

The eerie dragging sound was coming from this classroom.

"Li Fei, stop playing tricks and come out here." Wen Yiqing said sternly, pushing up her gold-rimmed glasses.

There has still been no response.

Suddenly, a sickening metallic creaking sound came from above.

"Boom!"

The long-neglected ventilation ducts suddenly collapsed. Large clouds of dust mixed with gravel and mud crashed down.

Wen Yiqing gasped and instinctively backed away.

"Smack!"

A dark, lumpy object slammed heavily into the pile of rubble at Wen Yiqing's feet with a muffled thud.

The flashlight fell to the ground, its pale beam shining obliquely.

It was a completely dead black cat. Its internal organs were ruptured, emitting a strong stench of decay and blood. This was a texture that could never be replicated by silicone props.

The real smell of blood assaulted my nostrils.

No matter how aloof Wen Yiqing usually acts, she is ultimately a wealthy heiress who never lifts a finger. Her involvement in the paranormal club is purely due to her incompetence and love of fun; she satisfies her competitive spirit by having her subordinates set up traps and enjoys the superior feeling of controlling fear.

This real, dead cat, emitting a foul stench, completely shattered her psychological defenses.

"ah--!"

Wen Yiqing let out a terrified scream. The aloof and arrogant mask she had worn shattered instantly. Terrified, her face turned pale, her legs went weak, and she turned and lunged at the nearest living person.

Zhu Xun Chuan was standing less than two steps behind her.

Wen Yiqing didn't care who it was and buried her face in Zhu Xunchuan's arms. She wrapped her arms tightly around Zhu Xunchuan's neck, hanging her whole body on him, wishing she could shrink into his bones and blood.

Beneath the khaki trench coat, her delicate body was trembling violently with extreme fear.

Zhu Xun Chuan's right hand shot out like lightning, firmly supporting her back.

He could feel the woman's body temperature and curves through the fabric of her trench coat. Wen Yiqing carried a faint scent of fir perfume, which now mingled with her rapid breathing as she pressed herself against Zhu Xunchuan's neck.

The scene instantly became extremely bizarre.

Zhu Xun Chuan had his left arm around Gu Qinghan, the counselor in a black silk trench coat, and his right arm around Wen Yiqing, the heiress of a wealthy family in a khaki trench coat.

The flashlight lay on the ground, its beam casting the intertwined shadows of the three people onto the peeling wall.

"Vice President Wen," Zhu Xun Chuan lowered his head, his lips almost touching Wen Yi Qing's ear. His voice was deep, with an undisguised wicked smile, "Is your test of courage to throw yourself into my arms?"

The man's hot breath hit my earlobe.

Wen Yiqing's mind went blank. She then realized that she wasn't hugging a club member, but the "freshman" she had been talking about evaluating that night.

Zhu Xun Chuan's broad, strong chest exuded a powerful masculine aura, dispelling the surrounding chill. For a woman gripped by extreme fear, this sense of security was a fatal temptation.

Wen Yiqing's cheeks instantly burned, turning red all the way to the roots of her neck. She wanted to back away, but when she caught a glimpse of the dead cat on the ground, her legs were still too weak to move, and she could only awkwardly freeze in Zhu Xunchuan's arms.

Gu Qinghan, who was standing next to him, couldn't stand it anymore.

When that dummy head fell down, she twisted her ankle and leaned against Zhu Xun Chuan's chest, feeling a secret, smug joy. But in the blink of an eye, that bastard was holding another young, beautiful girl.

Moreover, Wen Yiqing was hugging him so tightly that the front of her trench coat was pressed against Zhu Xunchuan's shirt.

Gu Qinghan felt a surge of jealousy welling up inside her, and her vinegar jar seemed to explode on the spot.

She pulled her left hand away from Zhu Xun Chuan's and stood up straight, enduring the soreness in her ankle. She pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses, her eyes cold as ice.

"Cough." Gu Qinghan coughed heavily.

The air temperature in the corridor seemed to drop a few degrees.

"Wen, my classmate." Gu Qinghan's voice carried the authority of a superior, as well as the sharpness of a woman possessing her food. "As the vice president of the club, you're so frightened by this little emergency? Where's your composure? Let go right now! What kind of behavior is it to hug a male classmate like that!"

These words were spoken in a grand and dignified manner, without a single fault to be found.

Wen Yiqing was already proud and arrogant. Being reprimanded like this by a counselor in front of her immediately brought out her proud nature.

She forced herself to sit up from Zhu Xunchuan's embrace. But her hands were still clutching Zhu Xunchuan's shirt cuffs, and she didn't dare to let go completely.

"Teacher Gu is right to reprimand me." Wen Yiqing bit her red lips, her eyes still a little red, but her tone was sharp. "At least I was scared by a real dead cat. Teacher Gu was so scared by a silicone mannequin head that she slumped in the male student's arms for a long time and couldn't get up. I think your demeanor is quite peculiar too."

Gu Qinghan blushed, her anger intensifying.

"I just sprained my ankle!" Gu Qinghan retorted sharply.

"Oh." Wen Yiqing twitched the corner of her mouth. "Then Teacher Gu's ankle sprained at just the right time. It just so happened that Zhu Xunchuan caught you before it sprained."

Two women, both wearing gold-rimmed glasses and exuding a cold, aloof air, began to tear each other apart across Zhu Xun Chuan. The slightly tense atmosphere in the corridor had long been completely washed away by the intense jealousy and chaotic scene.

Zhu Xunchuan stood calmly in the middle.

He didn't find it annoying at all; on the contrary, he enjoyed the feeling of being fought over by amazing women.

"Alright," Zhu Xun Chuan interrupted them.

He looked down at the dead cat at his feet, his eyes darkening.

The security and mechanisms in this abandoned building were arranged by the Wen family. Wen Yiqing would never use a real dead cat as a prop, much less sabotage her own event. This proves that a third party did indeed infiltrate the building.

Zhu Xun Chuan recalled the tape recorder left in the backstage dressing room by the yandere female hacker named "Xiao Bai".

They came for him.

"There are other people in the building." Zhu Xun Chuan's tone was calm, yet it carried a chilling undertone.

Gu Qinghan and Wen Yiqing were both taken aback, and the argument on their faces instantly vanished.

Wen Yiqing gripped Zhu Xunchuan's sleeve even tighter.

Gu Qinghan unconsciously took a half step closer to Zhu Xunchuan's side.

Just then, a series of extremely dull thuds came from both ends of the corridor at the same time.

"Bang!"

The two heavy fire doors, rusted shut for years, were suddenly slammed shut from the outside by a tremendous force. The entire second-floor corridor instantly plunged into deeper darkness and isolation.

Dead silence.

Two second-year male students at the corner of the stairs let out a short scream, immediately fainting and collapsing to the ground.