Dying in the Male Lead's Arms Every Time - Chapter 8

On the table lay a sheet of white paper, hastily scribbled with words. Three girls held a red lacquered pencil, their hands intertwined. This time, the chant went smoothly. All four of them watched the paper with bated breath, especially Huang Li, who was the most enthusiastic about the game and had suggested it. The other two, Du Li and Su Xue, were merely looking for a thrill, not really believing in it.

Du Li yawned, “Seems like this game is fake…”

Before she could finish, the pencil suddenly moved, drawing a circle with their hands. “It-it-it…” Su Xue stammered. Su Qingqing screamed in fright. Huang Li, however, was thrilled, snapping at her, “The pen fairy is here, don’t scream!”

Her voice trembled with excitement as she asked, “Pen fairy, pen fairy, will I pass my internship this time?” She had switched several jobs since her school arranged internships, never lasting long before quitting.

The red pencil remained still. Du Li couldn’t help but speak up, “Someone must have moved the pencil just now. What pen fairy? It’s fake.” She tried to withdraw her hand, but the pencil moved again, slowly, as if creeping across their hearts. It circled the word “yes.”

Huang Li burst into laughter, “Hahaha…” In her excitement, she let go of the pencil, which fell to the ground. All four felt a chill on their necks, as if someone was blowing cold air. They had only wanted to leave a thrilling memory of their college days, but now it was real.

The pencil moving on its own was undeniable. Du Li swallowed hard, her legs trembling, “What pen fairy? It’s just a trick. I’m going to sleep. I have to get up early tomorrow to go home.” Her words prompted Su Xue to climb into bed as well.

Su Qingqing, already timid, followed suit, scrambling up to her bunk without washing her face. In an instant, only Huang Li was left downstairs. Her heart raced, nearly leaping from her chest. She had always believed in the supernatural and wanted to experience it, but witnessing it firsthand was overwhelming.

Seeing the others in bed, Huang Li sneered. “Such cowards, playing the pen fairy and getting scared over nothing.” Suddenly, the candle went out, plunging the dormitory into darkness. Huang Li shouted, “Su Qingqing, did you leave the window open again? Useless.”

She stumbled through the dark to the window, familiar with the dormitory layout after four years. Despite the summer heat, Su Qingqing huddled under her blanket, head covered. She remembered clearly closing the window and drawing the curtains, even if there was a small hole, how could the wind be strong enough to blow out the candle?

The dormitory was silent except for Huang Li’s footsteps and muttering. After a few seconds, the dormitory fell silent again. After a long while, Su Qingqing couldn’t help but ask, “Huang Li? Are you still down there?” No one answered.

Su Qingqing panicked, “Du Li? Su Xue?” Just as she finished, her curtain was pulled open, and Huang Li stood on a chair, shining a flashlight under her chin, leaning over her bed. “Ah-”

Huang Li rolled her eyes, “Su Qingqing, you’re such a coward. How boring, getting scared over this.” Su Qingqing shivered under the blanket, her lips pale, cold sweat pouring. Did she see wrong? Was there a red shadow behind Huang Li? She must have imagined it.

Suddenly, footsteps approached their dormitory from outside. The footsteps stopped at the door, followed by a sudden knock. Su Qingqing’s heart raced; who would knock at this hour? She immediately thought of the ghost stories she’d read online, her breathing heavy.

The door opened, and Huang Li asked, “Who?” “Who was screaming just now?” It was the dormitory supervisor. They lived on the first floor, close to the supervisor, and the old dormitory had poor soundproofing, so hearing them was normal.

Huang Li blocked her view, “We saw a cockroach, and my roommate is scared.” The supervisor didn’t suspect anything, gave a few reminders, and left, her footsteps fading down the hallway. Su Qingqing thought it was over, but the following days plunged her into fear.

“So, what was the red shadow you saw?” Ning Meng asked, “A ghost in red?” As an old madam, she made Su Qingqing feel less afraid, who shook her head, “I don’t know…” She was too startled by Huang Li to look closely, only catching a glimpse of something blurry, and hadn’t seen it since.

Shi Shanjin tapped the table, “Continue.” Su Qingqing clutched Su Jianhua’s hand, trembling uncontrollably, her voice shaking, “Later… I was called back to school, Huang Li… she died in the dormitory bathroom…”

When she arrived, the police had already removed the body, but there were chalk marks on the floor and blood splattered on the walls. The white tiles were dotted with red, making her scalp tingle. Soon after, she saw photos from the police, Huang Li had died horribly.

Their private bathroom was small, barely two square meters, very cramped, divided into a washbasin and a shower cubicle. Huang Li died in the cubicle. In the one-square-meter space, her limbs twisted, joints dislocated, her neck seemed broken, her head tilted to one side, the photo showed her looking like a mechanical clown.

What frightened Su Qingqing more was the smile on her face. A very happy smile. It chilled Su Qingqing to the bone. But the police concluded Huang Li’s death was an accident, as there were no signs of anyone else at the scene, and her injuries were caused by a clothesline wire.

The wire had severed her neck. Ning Meng listened, feeling chilled to the core. It must have been the pen fairy’s doing; they hadn’t properly sent the pen fairy away, and there were all sorts of incidents during the process. Shi Shanjin placed a photo in front of Ning Meng, “It’s this.”

Ning Meng took it, squinting closely, nearly dropping it in fright. But to maintain her dignity as Old Madam Shi, she held the photo expressionlessly, thankful her eyesight wasn’t clear. She whispered, “Seventeen, what do you think?”

Shi Qi was lost in thought, surprised by the question, eventually shaking his head. Ning Meng patted his head; once his yin-yang eyes were opened, the plus version would surely be different from her garbage version. Su Qingqing continued, “Du Li died the day after Huang Li. Also at school, but in the large classroom.”

She still shivered at the memory. “Du Li… she died on the podium… hung there.” Su Qingqing covered her mouth, “With the rope from the classroom.” The study room had been decorated for graduation celebrations, with banners and balloons, which hadn’t been taken down.

The next day, the cleaner opened the classroom door to find Du Li hanging in the center of the blackboard, wearing her favorite long dress. Ning Meng shivered. Shi Qi asked, “Grandma, are you cold?” Ning Meng remained stoic, “Old age, just cramped up.”

Shi Qi immediately knelt to massage her leg. “Oh, such a good grandson, where to find one?” Ning Meng complained to the system, “The old madam didn’t know how good she had it.” The system ignored her. Shi Shanjin glanced at Shi Qi, said nothing, and placed Du Li’s photo before Ning Meng.

She took it, and compared to the bloody scene of Huang Li, she nearly choked, thankful Shi Qi was there to hand her water. The photo was even scarier than Su Qingqing’s description, like a horror movie set. She stared at the photo, while Su Qingqing, under Shi Shanjin’s gaze, began to recount the third death, Su Xue.

Shi Qi’s eyes flickered, sitting nearby, seemingly lost in thought but listening intently. “Su Xue… she died in front of me!” Su Qingqing suddenly panicked. Because of this, she knew it wasn’t human-caused or accidental as the police concluded.

She was closest to Su Xue in the dormitory, due to their shared surname. That day, they planned to go to the dormitory to get things, then Su Xue suddenly said she needed to go to the medical room. The medical room was at the back of the school, a quiet building.

Recently, with the holidays, there were few people at school, and the medical room was mostly empty. She waited at first, but when Su Xue didn’t return for a long time, she went to check. The medical room door was locked from the inside, Su Qingqing couldn’t open it, eventually noticing the window was open, and went to look.

What she saw nearly scared her to death.