Chapter 1 (1/2)

“Mutualism refers to the relations.h.i.+p between two organisms whereby each individual benefits from the activity of the other individual. When either individual is absent, the other individual experience serious negative repercussions, and may even die.” The biology teacher’s voice rang out loudly and clearly, as though he was a singing cicada.

The warm glow of the setting sun filtered into the cla.s.sroom, casting its light on half the cla.s.sroom, whilst the other half remained shrouded in darkness. Chen Nian sat on the boundary that divided the dark from the light. The bright sunlight caused her to squint, her long, black eyelashes offering little help in blocking the sunlight.

A shadow loomed over her. It was the form teacher. Two police officers trailed behind him.

Silence descended upon the entire cla.s.sroom.

“Chen Nian,” The form teacher stood before her, a warm smile plastered over his usually stern face. “Could you come out for a minute?”

Chen Nian looked towards the two police officers, her face paling slightly. She took a quick glance at the empty seat in front of her, and slowly put her mechanical pencil down. When she rose from her seat, she tugged at the skirt that had been stuck to her legs.

The gaze of the biology teacher, along with those of the entire cla.s.s, followed her out of the cla.s.sroom; and when their eyes could no longer see her, their ears followed her, the hair on their ears standing upright in their effort to hear what little news they could.

The form teacher patted Chen Nian’s skinny shoulders, and attempted to comfort her, “Don’t be anxious, they’re just going to ask you a few questions.”

One officer had an extremely stern expression on his face, whilst the other young police officer wore a gentle smile on his face.

Chen Nian nodded her head, and silently followed the form teacher to his office. Having taken a few steps, the form teacher suddenly turned his head back into the cla.s.sroom, chiding the students who were bursting with curiosity, “Concentrate!”

Upon arriving at the form teacher’s office, Chen Nian sat down, the cold air from the air conditioner crawling into her skin……

The form teacher looked at Chen Nian and asked calmly, “Chen Nian, you do know why these two police officers are here today, don’t you?”

“I……kn……know.” Chen Nian had a habit of stuttering despite not being anxious in the least. Although her face was terribly pale, it was because she was born with naturally pale skin.

The young police officer took sympathy on Chen Nian, and asked, “You know we’re here because Hu Xiao Die committed suicide by jumping off the school building?

Chen Nian nodded her head, her black eyes staring unblinkingly at him.

“You ought to know why we chose to ask you, and not anyone else, right?”

“That day I……I was…… was on clean…… clean-up duty.”

“That day, Hu Xiao Die, you, and two other cla.s.smates were responsible for cleaning up the cla.s.sroom together. After the four of you had completed the duty of cleaning up the cla.s.sroom, the two students left, leaving you and Hu Xiao Die in the cla.s.sroom.”

Chen Nian nodded her head.

“You mentioned that you left before Hu Xiao Die did?”

Chen Nian nodded her head once more.

“That day, did Hu Xiao Die leave you with any message or reveal any information to you?”

Chen Nian shook her head, her eyes sharp and clear.

“Did you detect any abnormal behaviour on Hu Xiao Die’s part?”

Chen Nian shook her head once more.

The other police officer interjected, “Could you describe to us Hu Xiao Die’s state and behaviour that day when only the two of you were left in the cla.s.sroom?”

“I already wrote…… wrote my……ob……observations down.”

The form teacher interrupted at this point, “It’s simply too difficult for this child to speak. The police had already questioned her previously – the interrogation was recorded too.”

Chen Nian quietly glanced at the form teacher.

The police officer thought for a moment before asking, “You mentioned that you didn’t see Hu Xiao Die after school that day. As such, you decided to return home.”

Chen Nian nodded her head.

Last week, as the security guard conducted his usual patrol on the school grounds, he discovered a pool of blood on the tiles in front of the staff building, with Hu Xiao Die’s broken corpse lying in the middle of the blood pool. Hu Xiao Die was the school belle, but she died in a most ugly fas.h.i.+on.

The police officers made an initial determination that Hu Xiao Die had committed suicide. However, the reasons for her suicide remain clouded in mystery…..

When the police had no further questions, the form teacher instructed Chen Nian to return to cla.s.s.

As Chen Nian walked out of the air-conditioned room, a thin layer of sweat  formed over her body immediately, as though she had been cling wrapped. Chen Nian gazed at the blindingly white sunlight. For a moment, Hu Xiao Die’s milky white corpse flashed before her eyes, causing a cold s.h.i.+ver to crawl up her spine.

Having taken a few steps, a voice rang out from behind, “Chen Nian.”

It was the young police officer. He pa.s.sed her his namecard and smiled, his piercing gaze seemingly capable of deciphering the unknown, “My surname is Zheng. If you ever need help in the future, you could always give me a call.”

Chen Nian’s heart dropped for a moment. She nodded her head slowly.

When she entered the cla.s.sroom, it was as though someone had accidentally pressed the mute b.u.t.ton – all ballpoint pens and a.s.signment books were frozen at a standstill. Chen Nian acted as though she hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary, and simply walked towards her seat. Amongst the ten gazes that were glued onto her body, Chen Nian felt one which was particularly cold and sharp.

Chen Nian glanced at Wei Cai, who was seated in the last row. Wei Cai’s eyes were framed with eyeliner, and her dark gaze conveyed a harsh and cruel threat.

The minute Chen Nian sat down, Zeng Hao, who had been sitting diagonally in front of her, pinched her legs slightly under the table. Chen Nian started feeling under the table, and retrieved a note from Zeng Hao’s hands. The note asked, “What did they ask you?”

Chen Nian fell silent, glancing at Hu Xiao Die’s empty seat in front of her before glancing at the rest of the students surrounding her. Despite the sudden disappearance of one single cla.s.smate, the cla.s.s didn’t appear to be terribly affected – only Hu Xiao Die’s good friend, Zeng Hao, had been found crying on various occasions.

The rest of the cla.s.s were mostly focused on gossip; rather than being melancholic, the majority of the cla.s.s was simply curious and confused.

Or rather, they were simply bewildered.

One of the significant traits and advantages of being a youth is one’s forgetfulness. Despite the setbacks one encounters, one is nevertheless still able to easily forge ahead after shrugging off one’s disappointment.

The students who had been whispering away just a minute ago all fell silent at this very moment. Their bright eyes were fully focused on the clock above the blackboard – one last minute till the end of school!

Although students were not allowed to talk or whisper during cla.s.s, the knowledge that school was about to end gave courage to every single student. The students who were usually extremely disobedient even began to count down aloud, “20……19……”

Gradually, the noise became louder, as though a horde of bees was slowly nearing.