Chapter 73 – Do You Believe In It?

008 drilled into his brain and didn’t speak again.

Later on, Song Yu shouted for him for a long time but got no response.

Song Yu rubbed at his temples wearily.

He guessed that 008 had likely really gone into seclusion. It was so stupid that it might’ve been scolded quite a lot by that ‘Lord God’ it kept referring to and then be angry at him again when it came back.

The corners of his mouth turned down speechlessly. He’d woken up in the middle of the night and had a conversation with 008. The dream he’d had earlier had been completely forgotten—he couldn’t remember anything. The negative emotions it’d created had been sucked away, and Song Yu felt sleepy again. He rubbed at the corners of his eyes and was stunned by the coolness at his fingertips; they were damp.

Song Yu’s eyes widened slightly and he stared at them.

What, he’d had nightmares and was scared into crying?

And then, he’d had nightmares at night and was scared into crying, and during the day, he was dragged to the haunted house. How miserable.

When everyone gathered at the school gates—

Song Yu looked like he hadn’t woken up at all. He wore jeans and a white t-shirt, his eyelids drooping and his mouth turned down. His entire person exuded the aura of ‘I’m really sleepy, don’t bother me’.

Then, Old Cheng slapped him fiercely on the shoulder.

“Song Yu, what’s the matter with you? Did you stay up all night last night? Cheer up! Young people should look their age! Wake up! Come on, smile at the sun.”

This one slap directly shattered his image as a school bully who didn’t allow strangers to come close. Song Yu smiled superficially, the corners of his lips pulling upward. Old Cheng was very satisfied with this.

Everyone from Class One held back their laughter.

Song Yu sat down in the second row from the back after getting on the bus, while Ma Xiaoding and Xi Bowen sat in the last row.

Ma Xiaoding waved the small peach wood sword in his hand from the seat behind him and said, “I heard that there will be a scene with a bride in a coffin. A whole group of ghosts will rush up, so I have to be prepared for it first. Oh, prosperity, socialism, civilization, and harmony! Brother Yu, I’ll protect you!”

Song Yu was so sleepy that he wanted to die. He yawned, then lazily said, “”You’re badass, practicing superstition under socialism.”

Ma Xiaoding held up his peach wood sword, “Isn’t this double the protection?”

Xi Bowen tilted his head and asked, “The haunted house is fake, so what are you afraid of?”

Ma Xiaoding started growing nervous again and scared himself, “Did you know, the theme of the bride in the coffin was actually inspired by a real story? And it’s said that the name of the heroine was kept the same. What is a name? It’s something that connects life and death, and it might attract the evil spirit of the bride. Truth in falsehood, and falsehood in truth. You may think that it’s an employee, but in fact, there could be a pale, green face when you tear off the mask.”

The girl sitting beside him was so frightened that she covered her ears and started scolding him, “Ahhhhh, Ma Xiaoding, shut up!!”

Ma Xiaoding covered up his mouth. The crowd of boys all started laughing out loud.

Song Yu opened up the window slightly, letting the wind from outside blow in and ease his sleepiness. The bus was filled with noise and laughter, which helped him recover from the strange feelings that had been stirred up last night. In fact, he was the type of person who’d been born rebellious, and the more 008 emphasized that he shouldn’t like Xie Sui, the more curious he became. Why shouldn’t he? What would happen if he liked him?

Would the sky fall down and the earth shake?

Would the world collapse?

Of course, he was just curious about it. After all, something like liking someone wasn’t a joke.

008 had said that it would send him away at the end of the semester. Song Yu felt a bit of resistance towards this, but he couldn’t find the reason why.

The seat beside him suddenly sank.

Song Yu immediately drew back his scattered thoughts and turned his head. Xie Sui had just come back from buying water. He’d been pondering questions about him in his heart, causing him to be a little distracted now at the sight of his face.

Xie Sui twisted open the bottle and handed it over. He smiled when he saw his sleepy appearance and asked, “Did you not sleep well last night?”

Song Yu accepted the drink, took a sip, and said vaguely, “Yeah, I had a nightmare.”

Xie Sui: “What did you dream of?”

Song Yu shook his head, “I don’t remember clearly, but it probably wasn’t a good dream.”

Xie Sui stilled for a moment and didn’t continue asking about the dream. Instead, he asked, “Are you going to sleep on the bus?”

Song Yu was really too tired. He nodded, propped his hand against the window, leaned his head over, closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.

The bus started up. The ride was a little bumpy, and the drive took some time. He was half asleep, half awake, and wasn’t very comfortable. He unconsciously ended up leaning against Xie Sui’s shoulder.

Xie Sui turned his head to glance at him but didn’t say anything. His attitude was very natural, as though nothing had happened. The morning light penetrated through the clouds, streaming through the window to shine on the boy’s face. The upper layer of his eyelashes were coated with a golden glow, and his skin looked pale and gentle.

Ma Xiaoding had originally been about to shout out that he’d seen a very poetic cloud. Yet as a result, Xi Bowen forcibly covered his mouth and gestured for him to look in front of him.

Everyone in the bus was quiet. They didn’t even dare to breathe loudly.

The bus was silent, but the private group chats were very lively.

[ Damn it, I want to switch places with Brother Yu. I also want to lean on the school grass’ shoulder! ]

[ If you go, God Xie might screw your head off ]

[ … Getting angrier the more I look. I’m so angry I want to kick the pig sleeping next to me! ]

Towards the end, they started fighting.

[ ? Don’t fight anymore, don’t fight anymore. If we keep fighting, we’ll wake up Brother Yu, and the two of you will be done for. ]

The original intent behind Old Cheng holding this team-building activity was to reward them for their excellent results in the mid-term exams. After they all gathered together at the entrance to the amusement park, he let them make whatever arrangements they liked.

When Song Yu got off the bus, he took out a piece of candy to wake himself up.

Ma Xiaoding took the lead, charging forth with his peach wood sword. Eight of the boys from Class One came, and four girls had enough courage to follow them.

There was a long line at the entrance to the haunted house. The estimated wait time shown above the entrance was half an hour.

Song Yu had originally been leaning against a pillar, planning to sleep some more, but Ma Xiaoding unexpectedly tugged at his clothes and spoke in a stunned tone, “F*ck me, Brother Yu, it’s people from No.13 High.”

Song Yu glanced in the direction he’d indicated. Just in front of them was another group of students. They were dressed in their school uniforms and had brought along some hot girls.

Ma Xiaoding was completely stunned, “How can we even run into them like this? Brother Yu, look, that flat head with a bunch of tattoos on his neck is No.13 High’s school bully, Yao Rui!”

Song Yu shifted his gaze away indifferently, “It’s none of my business.”

Ma Xiaoding had originally wanted to say, “What do you mean it’s none of your business? Shouldn’t it be like kings not coming into contact with other kings between school bullies?” But then he thought about the evaluation about Song Yu on the forums and fell silent.

Damn it, Brother Yu wasn’t a school bully, he was a security guard.

Lin Shuangqiu was amongst the girls who’d come along with them. She’d done a lot of homework before she came and explained the rules to everyone, “The scene of the bride in the coffin is quite big. We shouldn’t wander off. If we can find the door of life within twenty minutes, then it’s considered a success. If we can’t find it, then the staff will come to lead us out. First things first, don’t scare yourselves. Every time I enter a haunted house, my teammates will scare me into having a heart attack before anything else.”

After she finished speaking, she took out the lollipop in her mouth and tilted her head, smiling, “Of course, we have Brother Yu with us this time. Passing this stage should be easy.”

The person who was in line in front of them turned around. When he saw Lin Shuangqiu, he spoke in a flirty tone, “Little beauty, is it your first time here?”

Lin Shuangqiu was wearing a college style shirt and pleated skirt that day. Her short hair reached her shoulders, and she had her hair pinned back with star-shaped hair clips. She looked like a good girl.

She ignored him and pretended not to have heard.

The speaker was from No.13 High, and Yao Rui was standing beside him. Yao Rui had a hand wrapped around the waist of a girl who wore makeup, and when he noticed them, he narrowed his eyes and whistled, “You’re from No.1 High? Pretty girl, how about coming with me? Big brother will protect you.” The crowd of people beside him all laughed roguishly.

Lin Shuangqiu rolled her eyes.

After the group of people up front came out, it was their turn. It just worked out that the next group to go in were the groups from No.1 High and No.13 High. The entrance to the haunted house looked like a cave, and after entering, they headed to the left. The staff invited them to head towards a dark tunnel, and after the door closed, everyone headed in that direction. At the same time, gloomy background music began to play, and a sad, female voice slowly drifted out.

“They cut off my tongue, so that I wouldn’t be able to cry for help. They dug out my eyes, so that I wouldn’t be able to see the way. They nailed me inside a coffin, and buried me alive. They bled me out, dying my wedding dress red.”

There seemed to be someone hanging from the wall of the tunnel, reaching out from time to time. The atmosphere in the tunnel was executed very well, and the girls all huddled together nervously.

The crowd moved forward. When they reached a turn, Lin Shuangqiu suddenly shouted out loud.

The girl beside her was almost scared to death, “What are you doing!”

Lin Shuangqiu seemed to be quivering with anger, “Nothing much.”

The activity at the back of the crowd didn’t reach the front.

Song Yu walked along smoothly, tilting his head to ask Xie Sui, “Are you afraid of ghosts?”

Xie Sui burst out laughing, “No.”

In fact, Song Yu wasn’t afraid, either. However, he’d been indoctrinated by 008’s messy words yesterday, and his thoughts now were very philosophical.

“Do you believe in the reincarnation of souls, spirits, and gods?”

Xie Sui: “Why do you ask about this?”

Song Yu: “Isn’t it normal to ask such things in a haunted house? It creates a sort of atmosphere.”

Xie Sui chuckled suddenly, “I guess I believe in it.”

Song Yu: “Mhm-hm, huh?”

Xie Sui continued abruptly, “I believe in reincarnation and rebirth, but believing in it or not is meaningless.”

He started guessing about what kind of dream Song Yu had had yesterday.

He’d probably been dreaming about the past again.

However, if the past had been a nightmare for Song Yu, then it probably shouldn’t have been anything memorable. His thoughts circled around a hundred times in that short moment.

Xie Sui smiled, his tone gentle and casual, and said, “The past can’t be changed, but the present is very good.”

—

Butter’s Thoughts:
No. 13 High is setting up death flags…
Prepare the cannons! Fire at my command!

XavierForest’s Thoughts:
*sits back to watch the show*

xiin: *sneaks back in…*