When Li Xiugang transferred to Qiming Middle School, he noticed the large wasteland covered with weeds behind the campus.
As the top aristocratic school recognized by the entire City A, Qiming is located right in the city center. Land is extremely valuable, but there is such a large piece of wasteland left vacant. People who are not aware of the situation would find it a pity.
However, the locals of City A are not surprised by this scene.
After all, that piece of land... is the Xiao family haunted house.
To put it bluntly, the land behind Qiming Middle School is not really a wasteland - many years ago, this was the land of the Xiao family, the most prosperous family in City A. They spent a lot of money to build a large villa complex specifically for their family.
However, not long after moving into Xiaojia Garden, the Xiao family encountered a bizarre family murder case that shocked the whole country.
Since then, the land has been completely empty.
Perhaps it was because of its "bad reputation" that in an era when real estate development was in full swing, Xiaojia Garden had so many large pieces of land but no one was willing to take over the development.
To this day, the Xiao family villa still stands there. The magnificent building still vaguely shows the beauty, luxury and elegance of the past.
However, after so many years of neglect, the luxurious Xiao Family Garden had become a dilapidated and terrifying "Xiao Family Haunted House." As for the courtyard surrounding the villa, it had long been covered by wild vegetation.
The lush and dense wild trees are stacked one after another. Even at noon in summer, it is difficult for sunlight to penetrate the dense branches and leaves and fall into the forest. Combined with the various horror legends about this place, the Xiao family garden always looks dark and damp, as if there is always an inexplicable and solemn deathly aura.
That is to say, the young and fearless boys in Qiming Middle School are not afraid of the various rumors and gloomy atmosphere of the Xiao family haunted house.
The school is strictly managed, and some particularly unruly students in Qiming Middle School would secretly run to the Xiao family villa to find a place to smoke during class breaks... However, this kind of thing has never had anything to do with Li Xiu.
Li Xiu has always instinctively hated this kind of eerie place.
If possible, he would never set foot in the Xiao family's "haunted house" in his life.
But now, Li Xiu was being held down and pressed directly onto the floor of an abandoned room in the Xiao family villa.
"Bang--"
A muffled sound.
Dust and the smell of mold rushed into Li Xiu's nose. He struggled and was hit hard on the back again.
"What are you doing?! It's already this late, and you still want to run away?"
Someone cursed in a rough voice above his head.
"Pfft, Wang Rongfa, why are you so nervous? He's a cripple. Even if you let him go and let him run, is there really any way he can get away?"
Then, another boy sneered.
The boy called Wang Rongfa pressed on Li Xiu's back a little harder.
"Song Cheng, you don't know, this cripple may be lame, but he's very cunning. If it weren't for our Brother Fang, I almost let him get away this time—"
As they were talking, Li Xiu suddenly broke free, raised her hand and elbowed Wang Rongfa. While the boy was in pain, Li Xiu suddenly ran out the door.
However, just as the boys surrounding him said, Li Xiuwei's lame right leg really made it difficult for him to maintain his balance. If he were an ordinary person, he might really find a chance to escape at this time, but he was caught up by Wang Rongfa's cronies before he ran two steps. He was punched in the abdomen and then thrown back onto the dirty floor.
"Fuck fuck fuck—"
Wang Rongfa covered his face and cursed several times in one breath.
"I told you you deserve a beating—"
He rushed forward and kicked Li Xiu several times.
Li Xiu's body was lying on the ground, suddenly arched up, and he felt a huge pain. A trace of blood flowed out from between his lips, but he clenched his teeth and didn't even groan.
Such a tough reaction even made the boys who beat the boy gasp in surprise.
"This good student is really able to endure pain."
Someone muttered.
In the shadows deep in the room, Li Xiu hunched over. The skin exposed outside his school uniform was so white that it seemed transparent. His jet-black hair was as black as crow feathers, sticking messily to his face covered with fine cold sweat, covering his eyes.
Even if you don't compare him with the tall and strong boys beside him who are holding cigarettes and have reached the end of puberty and have shown adult figures, Li Xiu's figure can be said to be too frail for a teenager of this age.
Compared to her peers, Li Xiu is obviously much thinner. However, her body shape, which should be unpopular, coupled with her almost beautiful face, has a subtle and indescribable attraction - at least that is the case for the girls in Qiming Middle School.
It was no surprise that Li Xiu, a quiet transfer student from a poor family, was surprisingly popular with the girls after arriving at Qiming. It had nothing to do with the ambiguity between innocent boys and girls; simply because Li Xiu sat in the classroom, the girls inevitably showed him an unconscious favoritism and affection.
After all, few girls would hate a quiet, handsome, smart, and beautiful boy with obvious physical defects.
However, this special kind of love seems extremely annoying in the eyes of some stupid and reckless boys.
*
Li Xiu's body spasmed unconsciously, his vision went slightly dark, and a fishy smell with a metallic flavor rose from his throat.
He gasped silently to recover from the piercing pain in his abdomen and back.
At the same time, he listened to the unpleasant shouting from Wang Rongfa and his group of lackeys, and felt a little irritated.
He never thought of getting into conflict with such idiots.
The reason why Li Xiu transferred to Qiming at this time was purely to get Qiming's high scholarship.
In its early years, Qiming Middle School was an international school, so many students didn't have to compete against each other for admission. However, in recent years, national policies have changed dramatically, and even students at Qiming Middle School must take the college entrance examination. To improve its admission rate, Qiming Middle School has frequently recruited top students from other middle schools.
Li Xiu was one of the people Qiming lured over with money.
Yes, Li Xiu's grades were excellent, so good that the Qiming admissions office could overlook his inconvenient right leg. According to the agreement, as long as Li Xiu achieved the required high scores in the school entrance exam, the city entrance exam, and the college entrance exam, he would receive a substantial "bonus."
Li Xiu calculated that with this money, he wouldn't have to find ways to borrow money from relatives and friends with whom he had long lost contact to pay for his college living expenses, nor would he have to worry about his grandmother's medical expenses at the hospital.
From the moment he entered the school, he knew that he and the children of the powerful and wealthy in the school were not from the same world.
He came to Qiming to study just to get money and never thought about becoming friends with this group of people.
He had originally planned to wait quietly until the end of the college entrance examination and then leave with the money based on his grades. However, Li Xiu had never expected that he would inexplicably become a thorn in Wang Rongfa's side just because he explained a few questions to the girl sitting next to him.
Actually, things weren't that bad. After all, when Wang Rongfa first scolded her, Li Xiu held back and ignored him. But one time in the men's restroom, Wang Rongfa took advantage of the situation and threatened to take off Li Xiu's pants in front of his friends, under the pretext of checking if she was actually a boy. Li Xiu couldn't help herself and, expressionless, grabbed the mop in the corner and threw it at him.
Then, there was a boring scene that Li Xiu was not unfamiliar with, which should be called school bullying.
It was fine during class time. Although Qiming's teachers rarely strictly managed these wealthy students, Li Xiu's grades and health were important, so even the most indifferent and snobbish teachers had to show some respect. But after school, Wang Rongfa often gathered his friends and chased Li Xiu after him.
Sometimes Li Xiu could find a way to escape, but sometimes... he would be caught red-handed by Wang Rongfa and his gang, just like today.
Unfortunately, today, Wang Rongfa seemed to be more excited than ever. I don't know if his brain, which is not even as big as a mung bean, has come up with some new way to play a prank on people.
Li Xiu felt the severe pain spreading throughout his body and thought coldly.
In the past, the only bullying methods Wang Rongfa could think of were elementary school methods like dragging him to a corner and pouring cold water on him, or deliberately dirtying his desk and pouring garbage into his schoolbag.
But this time, Wang Rongfa dragged Li Xiu directly into the abandoned villa in Xiao's Garden.
"It's really unpleasant just looking at this guy's face."
Wang Rongfa kicked Li Xiu, and the harsh curse drew Li Xiu's attention back.
"Come on, Old Wang, you're just jealous of her good looks. Zhang Yan isn't blind. This cripple is definitely more pleasing to the eye than you, hahahaha..."
"Hahaha, that's not true. The Zhang family is not short of money. They might just want to support a gigolo."
…
A group of boys surrounded Wang Rongfa and the immobilized Li Xiu, chuckling. In the end, it was Wang Rongfa's blushing face and angry outbursts that finally drowned out the other boys' increasingly vulgar teasing.
"Where's the place? Didn't you say you found the darkroom? I want to see if this guy can still put on that deadpan face when I come over tomorrow."
When Li Xiu heard the conversation between Wang Rongfa and others, his expression changed.
Noticing Li Xiu's tenseness, Wang Rongfa grinned, "Oh, so you're scared now? That's not right... Isn't your family a place that specializes in this kind of feudal superstition? What? Are you really afraid of ghosts?"
Li Xiu remained silent.
When Qiming Middle School was founded, the Xiao family tragedy had already occurred. Everyone in Qiming Middle School knew the legend of this haunted house.
For example, it was said that Qiming had evening self-study classes like other schools in the early years, but it was hastily stopped by the principal not long after. The reason was that students who attended evening self-study classes at the school could clearly see the brightly lit villa in the deserted garden.
Through the glass covered with cobwebs and dust, you can even vaguely catch a glimpse of a shadowy figure.
In the night wind, there are faint sounds of old songs that have long been outdated.
Some people also said that the land of Qiming Middle School was originally part of the Xiao family haunted house. After the school was built, the old villa was renovated and used as a staff dormitory for school workers.
As a result, the janitor didn't even live there for a full week before he fled from the villa in a hurry. It is said that every night, this old villa is haunted by ghosts.
There are only two of us in the dormitory, but when we wake up in the middle of the night, we feel that the whole room is so crowded that we can't even move our feet.
…
There are countless legends like this.
As for Wang Rongfa's method of playing a prank this time, it was also very simple and crude.
A few days ago, when some of his friends were looking for a place to smoke in the old villa, they accidentally discovered a very small, enclosed dark room with no windows. If you lock someone in there for a night, you probably will be scared stupid when you let them out.
"...I wonder how long you can continue to be so proud in front of me!"
What Wang Rongfa found most disgusting was Li Xiu's expressionless face. He was clearly the one being bullied in school, but when the lame and effeminate boy looked at him indifferently across the crowd, Wang Rongfa always felt that he was the clown.
Finally, this time, after hearing his plan, Li Xiu finally showed the panic he wanted to see.
"Let me go back."
After being dragged here for so long, this was the first time Wang Rongfa heard Li Xiu's hoarse voice.
Li Xiu's face was tense.
Indeed, Li Xiu was anxious at the moment.
He didn't really care about Wang Rongfa's clumsy bullying, but being locked up in a place like this was another matter.
If I come home late and miss "that thing"…
He shuddered involuntarily.
"Tsk tsk, that's rare. Wait, Cripple, are you really afraid of ghosts?!"
After mocking Li Xiu, Wang Rongfa turned around and urged his companions.
"Hey, hey, hey, haven't you opened the door yet?"
The few people who had been following him were now bent over, roughly rummaging through the discarded debris that had been piled in the corner of the room for who knows how long. Hearing Wang Rongfa's questioning, they also grumbled in confusion.
"That's strange. He was here two days ago? That door is quite conspicuous..."
The boys looked at the wall in confusion after the debris was pushed away, revealing it to everyone.
Years of damp had already inadvertently soaked into the brick walls, and the lower edges of the once luxurious European-style wallpaper were now covered in patches of dark green mold. Several of the boys remembered clearly that it was here that they had discovered that strange, scarlet door, barely half a man's height.
It looks very much like the door of a storage room, although it is somewhat strange to have a storage room in this location.
Behind that door was the narrow and enclosed dark room they had told Wang Rongfa about before, and the door could be locked from the outside.
The boys remembered it very clearly. After all, the door was so strange that it was hard to forget it even if they wanted to.
But now they have been searching for so long, and all they see in front of them is a wall covered in mold and water marks, with no trace of the door at all.
"Are you kidding? That place is really nowhere to be found?"
"Did I remember the wrong place? This shabby house has too many rooms—"
"How is that possible? There are cigarette butts all over the floor."
…
"It's like a ghost."
A boy blurted out a sentence unintentionally, but it suddenly made everyone stop talking.
After a brief silence, everyone's expression became strange.
No one showed any genuine fear, but the atmosphere grew tense. Only Wang Rongfa, still consumed by his resentment towards Li Xiu, continued to clamor for the search to continue, which in turn stirred up the anger of the others.
In the dilapidated room, the sound of several people questioning and cursing each other could be heard.
"ah..."
Until someone's yawn interrupted the boys' shrill shouting.
Wang Rongfa's voice suddenly got stuck in his throat. At the same time, all the boys in the room fell silent as if they had received some order. For a moment, everyone focused their attention on that man.
He was a handsome and tall young man.
Unlike Wang Rongfa and the others, he didn't wear any flashy, luxury brand. Instead, he wore the Qiming Middle School suit-style uniform like a well-behaved student. But for some reason, even in this formal, British-style uniform designed by a renowned teacher, he still had a lingering sense of playfulness.
His hair color is very light, which is the same as his eye color.
Under the setting sun, the boy's irises appeared a light yellow like some kind of cat, with only a thin black pupil embedded in the middle.
"Mr. Fang, what do you think——"
Several people swallowed their saliva, carefully looked at the expression of the "Mr. Fang" they were talking about, and asked.
When they were beating up Li Xiu before, this "Mr. Fang" had been staying out of it. He sat cross-legged on the windowsill of the haunted villa, like an outsider, and buried his head in playing with his mobile phone.
"Fuck, another dead one... Are you planning to use the tower as a grave by leaving it untouched?"
It was not until this time that he looked up from his phone and looked at Wang Rongfa and his gang with a frown.
Fang Qianan complained and threw his phone aside.
Immediately, a lackey came forward and diligently helped him put away his phone.
Fang Qianan jumped off the windowsill and stretched like a big cat. He seemed to finally realize what had just happened here and glanced at Li Xiu, who was pinned to the ground, his face covered in dust.
"Hey." He tilted his head and muttered to Li Xiu.
"Just apologize."
He said.
Realizing that Fang Qianan was talking to him, Li Xiu raised his head with difficulty and looked at him.
Meeting Li Xiu's gaze, Fang Qianan yawned again out of boredom.
"Old Wang doesn't have any bad intentions. It's normal for him to be unhappy seeing someone like you around his goddess. You provoked him so many times afterwards, always making him scream and screech. I'd be annoyed even if you weren't annoyed." Wang Rongfa moved his lips indignantly when he heard Fang Qianan's words, but no sound came out. Fang Qianan didn't notice the stiffness of the boy next to him. He continued with that lazy look, "Just apologize to him and say you won't be an eyesore anymore, and this matter will be over."
He shrugged after saying that.
"Old Wang won't bother you again."
Li Xiu stared at Fang Qianan, and after a moment of silence, he curled the corners of his mouth.
"Pooh."
Li Xiu spat at Fang Qianan.