“Then how did you know I was looking for Xiao Xue?” Qi Yezhou asked again.
“That’s even simpler. Do you remember when we first ran into each other on the sports field? You were so terrified of me that you fled in panic, dropping your backpack in the process.” Ye Li waved the notebook in her hand toward him. “I saw an identical red notebook in your backpack. If I’m not mistaken, it was this very one in my hands. And once I realized you were the one pulling the strings behind the scenes, all your strange actions earlier made complete sense.
“For instance, you never let that backpack leave your side—not because of how studious you were, but because Wen Xue’s diary was inside. And every time you held out until midnight, even knowing it was a dead end, you still searched all over the school—not to look for a way out, but to look for someone. Even before entering this teaching building, it was because you caught a glimpse of Wen Xue’s ghost that you hurried upstairs. Am I right?”
Because he had trapped everyone involved in Wen Xue’s ordeal inside this ghost domain, yet the protagonist alone was missing.
“You truly are clever!” Qi Yezhou pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose, madness seeping through his frigid voice. “But you still have to die!”
Faced with his threat, however, Ye Li appeared entirely unfazed.
Her lips curled into a mocking sneer. “Listen to yourself. Aren’t we already dead?”
Her words struck like a sudden clap of thunder, instantly unsettling everyone to their core.
Qi Yezhou didn’t reply for a moment, merely glaring at her with an ashen expression.
Meanwhile, Le Jun, who had been completely lost this whole time, finally realized what she meant.
“Ningning, what do you mean by that?” he pressed, panicked and bewildered. “What do you mean we’re already dead?”
Yet even as he asked, an answer had already begun to dawn on him.
She was right. They were already dead—all of them!
And all of this had shown signs from the very beginning!
Every evening at six, the school turned into a dilapidated, desolate ghost domain, and everyone transformed into walking corpses.
Moreover, inside the teaching building, they had found ashes on everyone’s desks—ashes that were actually human remains.
Even the “minced flesh” that swallowed everything and the man-eating “mud figures” were actually formed from the dead...
All of this indicated that there were no living people in the school at all, including them, who were trapped in the endless loop within the ghost domain!
Ye Li offered no further explanation. She simply patted the boy’s shoulder and offered a comforting word: “Don’t worry, it’ll be over soon.”
Having said that, she turned her gaze back to Qi Yezhou, her tone detached yet brimming with oppression. “I know you hate us, and you hate yourself too. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have scheduled your own awakening alongside Luo Jiajia’s as a form of self-punishment.
“You didn’t just destroy everyone; you also trapped those of us you deemed guilty in this ghost domain, subjecting us to endless loops and ceaseless torment day after day.
“And everything you did, while ostensibly avenging Wen Xue, was really just to make amends and dispel the guilt gnawing at your own heart.
“You trapped us, you trapped yourself, and you even delusionally thought to trap Wen Xue? From start to finish, you’ve just been a selfish, heartless, pitiful coward...”
“What do you know?! You don’t know anything!” Qi Yezhou was instantly provoked by her words. His expression contorted into a frenzied snarl as he cut her off, roaring with bloodshot eyes.
“We grew up together! Our impoverished backgrounds and shared circumstances brought us together. We supported each other, encouraged each other, and looked out for one another every step of the way. No matter how harsh and bitter life was, no matter how depressed and pessimistic I became, she always faced everything with a smile, always positive, always bright. To me, she was a beam of light in the depths of despair!”
Yet someone so kind, someone so gentle, someone who meant the world to him—they took her away just like that!
He hated himself too—why had he neglected her during that period just for some academic competition? But by the time he learned the truth and wanted to comfort her, wanted to make it up to her, it was already too late!
His beam of light had perished right before his eyes!
“After the tragedy, I went to the school administration. I only wanted justice for her! But they brushed off the grave issues, focused on the trivial, and dismissed me without a second thought. I refused to accept it. I wrote letters to report and expose them, but what I got in return was having my guaranteed admission spot stolen and handed to someone else! You took everything that belonged to me, piece by piece. Why shouldn't I hate you? Why on earth should I let you off?!”
As he spoke, he seemed unable to bear the weight any longer and sank to his knees in deep, sorrowful despair. “I just wanted to see her again... I just wanted to tell her I’m sorry with my own two lips...”
Ye Li looked at him, her gaze solemn.
Perhaps this person had always been paranoid and unhinged, but before this, he had an anchor, a vulnerability that kept him from losing control.
If Wen Xue leaping to her death was the beginning of his descent into madness, then having his guaranteed admission spot to Qing University stolen was the final straw that broke him and sent him spiraling completely out of control. That had been the very last promise left between the two of them.
Never urge another to be kind if you haven’t suffered their pain.
Had she been in his shoes, she might not have been any less mad than he was.
The only reason she had spoken those harsh words earlier was to pry open his walled-off emotions and give him an outlet to vent them.
Suppressing the restlessness surging within her chest, Ye Li sighed softly. “Don’t you understand yet? The girl you yearn for day and night can’t bear to see you trapped in this endless vortex of resentment, buried in gloom where the sun never shines. As long as you let go of everything, you’ll find that she’s waiting for you in the light.”
Qi Yezhou froze, staring intently at Ye Li. “Is what you’re saying true?”
“Whether it’s true or not, wouldn’t you know once you try?” Ye Li said. “Besides, you can’t trap us anymore anyway. Why not just let it all go?”
The entire ghost domain was the manifestation of Qi Yezhou’s resentment, while what truly trapped them was the fear lurking within their own hearts. Now that they knew they were already dead, that fear ceased to exist.
Seemingly taking her words to heart, Qi Yezhou finally unclenched his fists and slumped onto the floor.
In an instant, a raging inferno suddenly swept forth, engulfing the entire rooftop in a sea of flames.
Le Jun watched in stunned disbelief, reaching a hand out toward the roaring flames rising beside him. Strangely, there was no pain whatsoever; instead, they brought him a sense of warmth and relief.
He instinctively looked toward the girl. Her figure, too, was gradually fading amid the swirling flames and leaping sparks.
The boy opened his mouth as though wishing to say something, but in the end, he said nothing. He simply smiled and waved goodbye to her.
Ye Li waved back at him, then watched as his figure vanished completely into the brilliant firelight, dissolving into scattered embers.
This time, he was truly free!
Everything had come to an end!
Before her consciousness completely dispersed, Ye Li caught sight of a girl’s silhouette within the firelight.
It was Wen Xue.
At this moment, she had returned to her original appearance—long hair fluttering, sweet and lovely, a gentle smile still gracing her face—as she reached out a hand toward the boy sitting alone on the ground...
Rate on N.U.
