Oh, right.
She suddenly remembered—she was already dead.
Under the heavy dark circles, Hanako’s eyes dimmed slightly.
“Think again. How many people are there?”
Shen Mosi smiled gently, her voice soft as she spoke.
“Three! It’s definitely three!”
If she weren’t a ghost, Hanako would have broken out in a cold sweat. Her eyeballs trembled violently in their sockets from fear, her voice hoarse as she shouted out.
“Any more questions?”
“No.”
Shen Mosi glanced down at the Ladies’ Wristwatch on her wrist. “Class starts in five minutes. Let’s go.”
She walked to the door and noticed Xunian hadn’t moved. Turning back, she looked at Xunian. “What’s wrong?”
“How do you know class starts in five minutes?” Xunian asked bluntly.
She remembered there was no rule about class times. Today Shen Mosi had been with her the entire time, and there was no hint about the schedule.
“Hm?” Shen Mosi looked a bit puzzled but answered anyway. “I have a Class Schedule in my desk that marks the start time for each lesson.”
“Can I see it?”
“Sure.”
Shen Mosi readily agreed.
Hanako immediately brightened. Were these two demons finally leaving? She’d been waiting a long time!
Finally, the two giant Buddhas were sent away!
The two left with Hanako watching them go.
“Wait,” Xunian was about to close the door when something occurred to her. She held the handle and turned to Shen Mosi. “I have some questions for Hanako. Wait for me.”
The door opened again, and Xunian barged back in.
The smile that had just appeared on Hanako’s face froze awkwardly.
She looked at Xunian in embarrassment, and her expression instantly fell.
Forcing calm, she pulled a smile more pitiful than tears across her pale face.
“Is there something else you need?”
Xunian pointed at Hanako’s damp blue pleated skirt. “Is your School Uniform issued uniformly?”
“Yes, it is…” Hanako replied weakly.
Just as expected.
Xunian wouldn’t be mistaken. Although it was subtle, she could still guess from the details that Hanako and Shen Mosi were probably wearing the same style.
……
Outside the door, Shen Mosi stared at the chain locking them in, sighing regretfully.
Xunian was too perceptive.
Through the crack in the door, she watched Hanako talking to Xunian and couldn’t help but feel a hint of jealousy.
Her smile gradually faded, her expression darkened, and a flash of obsession appeared in her eyes.
No, she had to control herself.
Her clenched fist turned slightly white at the knuckles, fingertips pressing into her palm, leaving crescent-shaped marks.
She couldn’t let herself be discovered.
She still had unfinished business.
Once she dealt with some troubles, she would properly punish Xunian.
……
“In any case, I might have more questions later.”
Xunian politely gave Hanako a heads-up in advance, so it would be easier to come bother her next time.
Hanako was already too exhausted to deal with Xunian, waving her off as she floated back to her cubicle.
Xunian came back out.
“Done asking?”
The figure in her eyes grew larger, then warm, soft arms entwined around her wrist again. Shen Mosi was very close—close enough to count each eyelash.
“Yeah, let’s go back.”
Only a minute apart, but this deskmate seemed even clingier.
Shen Mosi linked arms with her, humming a tune, clearly in a good mood.
On the way back to the Classroom, Xunian’s gaze never left Shen Mosi.
Her deskmate wasn’t as simple as she appeared.
First, she had bumped into people Yuan Shen and Qi Dong knew by name, then she was wearing the same School Uniform as the female ghost in the school bathroom.
If it were just one thing, maybe it was coincidence—but if coincidences pile up, can it still be called coincidence?
There were too many mysteries surrounding Shen Mosi. What kind of identity did she have?
Xunian was deep in thought when her head suddenly swam and she lost her footing. Before she could fall, Shen Mosi caught her.
Shen Mosi helped her steady herself, then let go and stepped aside.
That was very unlike a Duke’s Daughter.
If she really were a Duke’s Daughter… chances were she’d have acted out, like forcibly picking her up in a princess carry.
“Deskmate?”
Shen Mosi cupped her face, worry written all over her expression.
“I just lost my balance. Thanks.”
Xunian pushed Shen Mosi away and kept a safe distance, unaware that the air around her had suddenly turned cold for a moment.
Xunian paid no mind to Shen Mosi and walked back to the Classroom on her own, leaving Shen Mosi behind.
She suddenly realized she had thought too much about the Duke’s Daughter and almost forgot the real matter.
Finding the “Key” to clear the level was the real task.
She couldn’t let anything else distract her.
She pushed open the Classroom door.
Xunian and Shen Mosi entered one after another. The atmosphere between them felt strange.
They took their seats.
Behind them, Yuan Shen and Qi Dong exchanged a glance when they saw both girls clean and unscathed, looking perfectly fine. Surprise showed in their eyes.
Xunian and Shen Mosi were okay?
Qi Dong scoffed softly—just loud enough for Xunian and Shen Mosi to hear.
Unfortunately, both were lost in their own thoughts and paid no attention to the strange sound behind them.
Only one minute remained before class.
“Xunian… deskmate, this is the Class Schedule. Do you want to take a look?”
A Class Schedule marked with notes was passed across the desk.
Xunian grew alert.
Had Shen Mosi just called her “Xunian”?
She probably meant to.
Shen Mosi held the schedule in one hand while pulling an English book from the desk with the other.
The next class was English, so she needed to prepare the textbook.
Xunian took the schedule but felt the handwriting looked like two different styles. One of them seemed familiar, though she couldn’t recall where she had seen it before.
Since leaving the last strange tale world, her condition had been off, and it seemed she had forgotten some things.
She thought hard, but thankfully her memories about the Duke’s Daughter were still intact. It was her memories about others that were fuzzy.
She studied the schedule for a while, memorized the time for each class, then handed the paper back to Shen Mosi.
Shen Mosi continued pulling out books when a sheet slipped from between the pages and fluttered down.
Xunian caught the paper before it hit the floor.
It felt rough to the touch. She picked it up and immediately recognized that it had been balled up before, the coarse texture marred by countless ‘Resentment’ characters written on it.
The entire sheet seemed stabbed through by the pen filled with hatred, repeatedly written and then crossed out.
“It fell by accident. Thanks, deskmate.”
Shen Mosi took the paper from her and thanked her.
Xunian’s gaze shifted to the English textbook on Shen Mosi’s desk and was startled to see a familiar name written on it.
Xunian froze.