Translator: CinderTL
"We're Gao Yan's classmates. What's wrong with him?" Jiang Cheng pressed, giving the woman no time to react.
Hearing this, the woman hesitated, her gaze sweeping over the group. "Which of you is Jiang Cheng?" she asked.
Jiang Cheng's first thought was that Gao Yan, under interrogation by the security guards, had thrown him under the bus to take the blame. Maintaining a calm demeanor, he countered, "Senior Sister, why are you looking for him?"
The woman, who appeared young and likely hadn't considered the implications, replied casually, "Professor Wu asked me to find him. Wait, he's not here?"
The mention of Professor Wu immediately put Jiang Cheng at ease. He quickly adopted an expression of someone meeting an old acquaintance in a foreign land. "Senior Sister, I'm the person you're looking for."
"You're Jiang Cheng?" The woman seemed surprised.
Jiang Cheng pulled out the ID card Professor Wu had given him, complete with his photo, and presented it to her. "Genuine article."
"Don't just stand there like fools," the woman said, glancing at the others behind Jiang Cheng. She corrected herself: "You... all of you, come with me."
They followed the woman to a small office containing only two desks and a large bookshelf against the wall, densely packed with blue binders.
The layout resembled Jiang Cheng's studio, suggesting the blue binders on the bookshelf likely contained medical records or similar materials.
"Were you involved in Gao Yan's case?" the woman asked, her words rushing out as if she wanted to get straight to the point.
"What case?" Jiang Cheng replied, his face radiating innocence.
Seeing this, the woman seemed to relax slightly. She waved her hand and said, "Just remember, if the School Security Office asks, deny knowing anything about it. Don't admit to anything, no matter what."
Jiang Cheng pursed his lips and murmured, "Senior Sister, what are you talking about? You're making me nervous."
Fatty took a deep breath, recognizing Jiang Cheng's acting bug had bitten him again.
"Earlier, staff discovered the warehouse door on the fourth floor of the Activity Center was open. Through the gap, they saw someone lying unconscious inside and alerted the School Security Office." The woman paused, then continued, "He was still unconscious when they brought him in, and only woke up recently."
"Just that? He probably just tripped," Jiang Cheng said. "Senior Sister, you might not know, we're new here and still unfamiliar with the campus."
But as soon as Jiang Cheng finished speaking, the woman's expression changed, and her breathing quickened. "The warehouse is in a remote location. How could a freshman find it so easily? And the door was locked—how did he open it and then conveniently faint inside?"
Jiang Cheng keenly noticed that the woman's emotional turmoil stemmed more from fear than anger.
Her fear was connected to that warehouse.
"He must have heard rumors about the warehouse and, driven by curiosity, decided to investigate. It's fortunate we found him in time," the woman said, her face pale.
Judging by her reaction, this wasn't the first time such an incident had occurred, and the consequences had never been good.
"Senior Sister," Jiang Cheng asked softly, his voice tinged with vulnerability, "is there something strange about that warehouse? You seem very reluctant to talk about it."
"Don't ask. Just stay away from that place from now on," the woman said, shaking her head as if unwilling to elaborate.
Jiang Cheng looked up and winked at Fatty and Huai Yi.
Fatty immediately understood. He straightened up, adopted a disdainful expression, and boomed, "Everyone says that warehouse is haunted, but I think it's all just rumors. Last time I passed by, there was even a note on the door saying 'Resting, please do not disturb.' Someone's living inside!"
"Exactly!" Huai Yi chimed in. "I heard it's the gym teacher's break room. All those ridiculous stories are just school gossip. We should pick a good day, the two of us, and do a livestream there to debunk the rumors."
"You... you're not listening to me!" The woman, already in a foul mood, snapped, her anger flaring at their words. "I'm only trying to help. If it weren't for Professor Wu, I wouldn't bother with you. The entire school knows how cursed that place is! Do you even know how many incidents have happened there recently?"
"No way! A gym teacher living in a cursed place?" Fatty scoffed, his large face incredulous. "I don't believe it."
The woman, still furious, retorted immediately, "What do you know? You think those P.E. teachers volunteered? It was because the rumors kept getting worse. The school administration organized for the male teachers from the sports department to stay there to debunk the rumors. At first, the teachers didn't take it seriously—they just chatted and played cards. But who could have imagined what would happen later?"
She stopped abruptly, realizing she had said too much. Her chest heaved violently, her anger still simmering.
"Senior Sister, you must be close to Professor Wu," Jiang Cheng said pleadingly. "We're his students too. Could you please tell us what really happened? It would finally put these two guys' minds at ease." He gestured toward Fatty and Huai Yi.
Perhaps remembering Professor Wu's past kindness toward her, combined with Jiang Cheng's earnest face, the woman finally relented. She waved her hand, signaling everyone to sit down.
Jiang Cheng hurried to the water dispenser and poured a cup of warm water for her. She accepted it but didn't drink, instead cupping it in her hands as if drawing warmth from the liquid.
After a long pause, she spoke gravely, "You've probably heard some rumors about that place. But I can tell you with certainty that those rumors aren't entirely baseless."
"That warehouse is definitely strange," the woman said, looking up into Jiang Cheng's eyes. "It's cursed. Several students and teachers have had incidents there. Anyone who knows the situation avoids it."
"Once, a student got lost on the fourth floor of the Activity Center at night. He wandered all night without finding his way out, and his phone wouldn't work. By dawn, he discovered he'd been locked inside the warehouse."
"Another time, a teacher organizing an event stayed late, around 11 PM. The School Security Office received a call from him—a tall, muscular man—you wouldn't believe how he was crying, like a baby, insisting he'd seen a ghost."
The woman took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "They found him at the warehouse entrance, unable to stand. They had to carry him out. His pants were soaked, and he resigned the next day."
"Similar incidents have happened repeatedly. At first, everyone dismissed them as coincidences, just like you. To dispel the rumors, the school even brought in several physically strong male teachers from the sports department to stay there. But... no one could have predicted..."
(End of the Chapter)
---
📖Read (NS) on Pa.treon@CinderTL - c1166. [+4]
🔑Early Access at $1.
💥Translated (6) Series, (4.6K+) Chapters, (6.7M+) Words.