The ghost school had become different from before. All the things hiding in the shadows had emerged — it was as though they knew their opportunity had finally come.
"Teacher Bai, may I ask one more question? That woman who left her aura on you — did she give you any kind of hint?" Zhou Tu's face was deathly pale. He had to pause after every sentence to catch his breath.
"I don't know Chang Wenyu at all, let alone how she left her aura on me." Chen Ge didn't want to continue this topic. He quickened his pace toward the library.
"Are you keeping secrets from us?" Zhou Tu was being carried on Zhang Ju's back. His body was slowly dissipating — it was questionable whether he could even last long enough to reach the library.
"Think whatever you want…" Chen Ge kept his head down and pressed forward. After a few steps, he suddenly furrowed his brow.
He genuinely didn't know Chang Wenyu and hadn't been trying to hide anything, yet the way Zhou Tu phrased it made it sound as if Chen Ge were deliberately concealing something.
Zhou Tu had been feeding Chen Ge information this whole time. Just now was the first time he had asked a question, and the very first thing he asked about was Chang Wenyu.
To anyone else, that would have seemed perfectly normal. Chen Ge hadn't thought much of it at first either, but the more he turned it over in his mind, the stranger it felt.
"Coincidence met coincidence, and together they formed an accident. The whole process looks fine on the surface, but something feels off," Chen Ge thought to himself. "There are still many secrets Zhou Tu hasn't shared, but judging by his condition, he probably doesn't have time to tell them all."
The painter was the one who had hurt him. If he truly hated the painter that much, he should have laid out everything related to the painter, not gone asking questions.
Perhaps it really had been an offhand remark, but Chen Ge couldn't help being cautious.
The library was quite close to the office building. The group made it through without any close calls, following the bushes until they arrived at the library entrance.
"I've been here before. The front door is locked year-round — the only way in is through a side door or by climbing through a window. Damn it, I'm remembering that terrible memory again." Zhang Ju had a very poor impression of Chang Wenyu. After all, she was the one who had betrayed him and shattered the only hope he had left.
With Zhang Ju leading the way, the group easily pried open the library's side door and stepped inside.
The East Campus library looked incredibly run-down. The building seemed like nothing more than a prop — neither students nor teachers ever really came here.
"It feels like a long time has passed, but nothing much has changed inside. It's as if she gouged out my left eye just yesterday." Zhang Ju walked at the front. His outer clothing had been dyed almost entirely red. "This is a path I once walked with her. Strictly speaking, she was my first love. This was where we used to go on dates."
A bitter smile hung on his face as Zhang Ju's fingers traced along the bookshelf beside him. "What kind of date is held in a library at midnight? I should have realized it sooner — she never liked me. She was just using me."
"Not necessarily. The choice of date spot doesn't prove anything." Chen Ge walked beside Zhang Ju at the front. "Take it from someone with experience — I've been on dates in abandoned schools at midnight, mental hospitals, underground morgues, and all sorts of places, and the woman still loves me deeply to this day."
"The person who went on dates with you — was she Chang Wenyu too?" Zhou Tu's gaze was curious. He didn't finish the sentence, but his eyes shifted back and forth between Chen Ge and Zhang Ju. "I can't think of anyone besides her who would come to a place like this for a date."
There wouldn't have been anything wrong with that on its own, but the way Zhou Tu put it made Zhang Ju stop in his tracks. He looked Chen Ge up and down, then shook his head. "Impossible. That woman doesn't have the emotion or the capacity for love. She's a monster."
Feeling irritated, Zhang Ju strode forward several steps on his own.
The library in the dead of night was eerily quiet. All they could hear were the footsteps and heartbeats of their companions.