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

In the empty, deathly silent fourth-floor corridor, the intermittent laughter of a little girl crept out from the intercom speaker, like a cold, sinister snake's tongue, instantly licking the back of everyone present.

"Clatter."

Wen Yiqing's hand trembled, and the black military walkie-talkie crashed straight to the ground.

Zhu Xun Chuan reacted quickly, catching the walkie-talkie precisely in mid-air with his right hand, and then grasping Wen Yi Qing's cold, trembling wrist.

This usually glamorous and arrogant heiress from a prominent seafood conglomerate, who commanded respect at Peking University, now had bloodless lips and couldn't help but shrink into Zhu Xun Chuan's arms, her voice trembling with tears: "This...this isn't Zhang Yang Liu Feng's voice! I swear, I absolutely didn't arrange this!"

Fear is contagious.

Gu Qinghan had already sprained her ankle, and coupled with the fright she had suffered from the dummy head earlier, her usual dignified and aloof demeanor as a counselor completely vanished.

Instinctively, she pressed herself against Zhu Xun Chuan's left side, tightly embracing his left arm. Her delicate body, beneath her haute couture trench coat, trembled slightly against the fabric of his suit, her long, slender legs, encased in black stockings, almost entirely resting on his body for support.

Standing behind the two, Fu Xinghe reacted most genuinely. Already startled from climbing over the wall, she was thrown into turmoil by stumbling upon this chaotic scene. Hearing this eerie laughter, the high-ranking daughter of the municipal party committee and specially appointed professor's legs went weak.

Forget about the reserve of a noble family, she took half a step forward, grabbed Zhu Xun Chuan's trench coat belt tightly from behind, and pressed her cheek directly against his broad and thick back.

The finest sandalwood, the cool elegance of rose, and the crisp crispness of fir. Three distinctly different, expensive perfume scents, accompanied by the rapid, warm breaths of three women, completely enveloped Zhu Xun Chuan in the cramped, dark corridor.

Zhu Xun Chuan stood still, letting the three women treat him as their only lifeline.

He exerted a little force with his left arm, pulling Gu Qinghan closer to himself to prevent her sprained ankle from bearing the strain; with his right hand, he grasped Wen Yiqing's hand and gently squeezed the base of her thumb to soothe her; at the same time, he straightened his back, giving Fu Xinghe behind him a very solid counterforce.

The water-carrying action was so fluid and natural that, under the pressure of extreme fear, the three women not only didn't feel disgusted, but were secretly glad that they had caught this man.

"Don't panic." Zhu Xun Chuan turned off the walkie-talkie and casually tossed it into his pocket. "You're just scaring yourself."

The moment he finished speaking.

Ding……

A few dozen meters ahead, from the abandoned music classroom where even the signboard had fallen to the ground, a clear piano note suddenly rang out.

Immediately afterwards, a fragmented melody drifted softly into the corridor.

It is "Für Elise".

However, the person playing the piano seemed very casual, and the rhythm was out of control. In this dark and abandoned building at night, it exuded a creepy feeling that made one's scalp tingle.

"Xun Chuan..." Fu Xinghe's voice trembled, his fingers gripping the belt tightly.

Gu Qinghan bit her lower lip, her cold and arrogant face devoid of color, and urged in a low voice, "Let's go down and call the police. We can't stay here any longer."

Wen Yiqing was so frightened that she didn't even have the strength to refute Gu Qinghan, and she clung tightly to Zhu Xunchuan's clothes.

"They're all staying behind me."

Zhu Xun Chuan abandoned his usual roguish and composed demeanor, his face darkening. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a powerful, oppressive aura of someone accustomed to a position of power, and an undeniable domineering presence.

He released his grip, took a large step forward, and used his broad body to completely shield the three women behind him.

Looking at the man before them, as reliable as a mountain, Fu Xinghe, Gu Qinghan, and Wen Yiqing were all stunned. They were all seasoned women from elite backgrounds, and they were never short of men's flattery.

But faced with this truly unknown danger, Zhu Xun Chuan didn't waste any words. The absolute sense of security he built with his actions instantly broke through the softest defenses in their hearts.

A strong hormonal scent wafted over, even dispelling the sour smell of the previous chaotic scene.

Zhu Xun Chuan ignored what the women behind him were thinking. He took a deep breath, his eyes narrowed slightly in the darkness, and activated his combat hearing, which he had developed through special training in the Yanshan Dragon Fang Brigade.

Although the music was eerie, Zhu Xun Chuan keenly caught a very light breath between the chaotic melodies.

Stable and prolonged, without any fluctuations of fear.

This is a living person. Moreover, it is a living person with extremely high psychological qualities, and may even have received special training.

Zhu Xun Chuan instantly recalled the pink note that read "very satisfied" and the precise and ruthless blow to the head last night.

This isn't some kind of supernatural event at all! It's a series of elaborate schemes orchestrated by that yandere "Shiro." Not only did she hack the security cameras and leave a recording device, but tonight she even dared to sneak into this abandoned building herself and play tricks right under his nose.

"Close your eyes and cover your ears. No one is allowed to move unless I call your name."

Zhu Xun Chuan left behind a firm command, then charged out like a cheetah poised to pounce.

He was moving at an incredible speed; his leather shoes made almost no extra sound as they trod on the dusty cement floor.

boom!

Zhu Xun Chuan raised his long leg and kicked open the rickety wooden door of the abandoned music classroom.

The wooden door, unable to withstand the weight, slammed directly against the wall, kicking up clouds of dust.

The bright moonlight streamed in unobstructed through the broken windows, illuminating the messy classroom and the dilapidated upright piano.

A petite, dark figure sat on the piano bench in front of the piano.

The shadowy figure clearly hadn't expected Zhu Xun Chuan to react so quickly, nor had he anticipated that Zhu Xun Chuan would not be intimidated by the trickery, but instead dare to kick down the door and launch a direct attack all by himself.

She wore a black baseball cap, and most of her face was covered by a black mask, revealing only a pair of exquisitely shaped almond-shaped eyes. When she saw Zhu Xun Chuan rush in, there was no panic in her eyes; instead, they curved into a smile, revealing a morbid excitement and provocation.

She moved with extreme agility, standing up the instant Zhu Xun Chuan kicked the door open.

With one hand, she pressed a key on the piano, used the momentum to leap up, and without hesitation, stepped onto the windowsill and vaulted out of the broken fourth-floor window.

Zhu Xun Chuan didn't stop. He rushed to the window in a few strides and leaned most of his body out of the window.

By the moonlight, he could clearly see that the dark figure did not fall, but rather, like a nimble night cat, it gripped the rusty old drainpipe on the outer wall with its legs and slid down rapidly.

Her movements were so skillful that they were astonishing. In the blink of an eye, she slid onto the second-floor awning, then rolled on the spot to dissipate the impact and landed steadily in the weeds below.

A high ponytail and a pair of extremely eye-catching white sneakers.

The dark figure straightened up and dusted off her hands. Instead of running away, she turned around and looked up at Zhu Xunchuan on the fourth-floor windowsill.

Across the night sky, several meters away, Zhu Xun Chuan saw her extend her right hand, making a gun gesture with her thumb and forefinger, aiming it at him, and playfully adding a firing motion.

Then she turned and disappeared into the dense, secluded woods of the West District.

Zhu Xun Chuan's expression was cold and he didn't climb out the window to chase after them. Not to mention the complicated terrain below, there were three defenseless women standing in the corridor outside the door. He absolutely could not leave them alone in this dangerous place.

"Xun Chuan! Are you alright?"

Fu Xinghe's anxious shouts came from outside the door. Accompanied by the clatter of high heels, three women, supporting each other, walked to the classroom door.

"It's nothing, just a naughty little wildcat." Zhu Xun Chuan turned around, casually made up a lie, and his tone returned to calm.

He didn't want them to get involved in this crazy game.

Fu Xinghe breathed a sigh of relief and stepped forward to carefully check if he was injured; Gu Qinghan leaned against the door frame and snorted coldly to cover up his worry; Wen Yiqing slumped down on the steps of the corridor, panting heavily.

Zhu Xun Chuan's gaze passed over Fu Xing He's shoulder and landed on the piano where the dark figure had just sat.

The piano keys, covered in a thick layer of dust, had a small clean area wiped out.

There was something placed neatly on top.

Zhu Xun Chuan's gaze pierced through the dusty air and landed on the old upright piano.

On the piano keys, where a small area had been wiped clean, lay a pink sticky note, with a half-torn red hair ribbon pressed down beside it.