"This way!"
One of the doors along the middle of the corridor was ajar. Wang Xiaoming had been scared out of his wits. The moment he saw the lights reappear after vanishing, he grabbed
Just as the two of them slipped inside, a beam of light swept down the corridor.
"That was close! Almost got spotted!" Wang Xiaoming panted, pressed flat against the door.
"Hiding in here keeps us safe for the moment, but it adds extra risk. Remember — there's a light on in this room, meaning someone's inside. Before, we only had to deal with one person. Now we might have to deal with two, or even more." Chen Ge didn't turn on Wang Xiaoming just because the guy had made a unilateral decision. Arguing wouldn't solve anything right now; it would only waste precious escape time.
"We'll wait here a bit. Once that person outside leaves, we go."
"First, you can't be sure the teacher in the hallway didn't spot us. If he did, he'll be waiting somewhere outside. Second, someone lives in this room. Whether we can even hold out here safely until the teacher leaves is anyone's guess." Chen Ge never left his life up to luck. He grabbed his bag and headed into the kitchen on his own.
"What are you doing?"
"Looking for a window."
The room was absurdly large — three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a kitchen. This was nothing like a normal apartment.
Chen Ge rushed into the kitchen and made straight for the window. But his heart sank when he saw that it was covered by a security grille.
Without a moment's hesitation, he moved to the cutting board. He rummaged through every drawer and cabinet but couldn't find a kitchen knife or anything remotely sharp.
"This isn't a dorm. It's more like a cage."
"Xiao Lin, someone's coming!" Wang Xiaoming pressed his ear against the door panel, whispering. His features were twisted with fear.
"Lock the door from the inside. Don't let him in." Chen Ge didn't know whether the person outside had seen them — he and Wang Xiaoming had been hiding in the dark, after all.
"Okay." Wang Xiaoming was so terrified he'd lost the ability to think. Whatever Chen Ge said, he did. "It's locked."
Even knowing the door was bolted, Wang Xiaoming was still on edge. He gripped the door handle, his forehead slick with cold sweat.
Chen Ge hadn't expected Wang Xiaoming to be this afraid of the teachers. He gently reached over and grabbed Wang Xiaoming's hand. "Don't panic. The more scared you are, the worse things will get."
"This isn't about panicking! Xiao Lin, don't you remember what the teachers are like after lights-out…" Wang Xiaoming was about to say more when footsteps suddenly sounded from outside.
Both of their faces went white. They exchanged a look and simultaneously raised a finger to their lips.
"Come here." Chen Ge pointed to the open space beside the door, gesturing for Wang Xiaoming to set up an ambush on either side, ready to rush out and pin the person down.
It was a solid plan — but unfortunately, Wang Xiaoming was nothing like him. He ignored Chen Ge's instructions entirely and slipped straight into the bathroom farthest from the bedrooms.
"Hey!" Chen Ge wasn't about to stay in the living room alone. He spun around and ran in after him.
"Hiding in the bathroom won't help! If all you ever do is run, you'll end up cornered with nowhere left to go! If you never learn to fight back, you'll never get to choose your own fate!"
"I know, I just… I can't help it." Wang Xiaoming's face crumpled as he quietly pulled the bathroom door shut.
Both of them held their breath and waited for what felt like an eternity — roughly ten seconds of absolute silence before everything went still again.