Chen Ge was just a stranger to Yan Fei, but Li Bing was different — he had once been Yan Fei's friend.
Whatever Chen Ge said carried little credibility, but the same words coming from Li Bing would have a completely different effect.
Chen Ge knew breaking through Yan Fei's psychological defenses would be difficult, so he started by reaching Yan Fei's friend first.
Li Bing spoke at length to Yan Fei. Little by little, a trace of color returned to the boy's eyes. His resolve was clearly wavering, yet he still couldn't bring himself to trust Chen Ge.
"This haunted school is no longer what it was before. I will change everything from the very root." Chen Ge gently lifted Yan Fei's arm and rolled back his long sleeve. The boy instinctively tried to pull away — he didn't want anyone to see his secret.
Beneath the long sleeve were layers of bandages, and beneath the bandages, wounds that had yet to heal.
"Wounds on your body — wrap them in bandages, apply some medicine, and they'll heal. But the wounds torn into your heart will remain forever. I know you've been using the pain in your body to numb yourself, but that solves nothing. Why must you punish yourself with your own suffering? Even if you die, the people who hate you won't shed a single tear. They'll stand beside your grave, staring at your black-and-white portrait, gloating."
He carefully lowered the sleeve back into place, then took Yan Fei's hand. The warmth of a living person's palm sent a long-forgotten warmth through Yan Fei.
"I know you still can't trust me, but I'll prove it through my actions." Chen Ge stood beside the bed. "The haunted school is about to descend into chaos. It's dangerous for you to stay here alone. Come with Li Bing and me — we'll protect you."
"That's right, Yan Fei. This time I won't run away. I'll stand in front of you." Li Bing played along perfectly, and together the two of them kept persuading him. Yan Fei's attitude began to shift.
"You, me, Li Bing — we still have so many friends. Everyone is tired of staying silent. I'll bring them all here!"
The students Chen Ge had rescued from the other side of the mirror were also somewhere in this blood-red world. Though they had become separated from him, Chen Ge still considered them friends and companions.
"There are others?" Li Bing and Yan Fei both looked at Chen Ge at the same time.
"Yes. We are not alone." Chen Ge slowly helped Yan Fei sit up. "Kind people are like light. All who are drawn toward goodness will be drawn together. Just wait and see — I won't let you down."
This school had reached a point where it needed to change. It had given homeless children a roof over their heads, but it was a cold, chaotic home — not a place that truly suited them.
It was time for someone new to take charge.
He asked Li Bing to look after Yan Fei. Rather than leaving the infirmary immediately, Chen Ge walked over to the bed where Ying Bai lay.
He knew this child had known the old principal — there was no way he could leave her here unattended.
He pulled back the white sheet. Ying Bai sat wide-eyed beside the bed, having been secretly listening to Chen Ge's conversation the entire time.
"I... wasn't listening to you talk..."
She looked like a child caught snacking while her parents were away — her expression was utterly adorable, a stark contrast to this world of pain and suffering behind the door.
"Ying Bai, there's something I need to tell you." Chen Ge played his trump card, pulling the comic book from his bag. "I knew your grandfather. He was one of the people I respected most."
"You knew my grandfather?" Now it was Ying Bai's turn to be stunned. Her little mouth opened and closed, eyes full of astonishment.
"That's right. I won't lie to you. The old man once ran a private welfare institution and adopted many orphans. Later, with the help of the local government, he converted that institution into a school called Muyang Middle School. I entered that school many times." What Chen Ge said only deepened the girl's surprise.
"Grandfather did run a welfare institution, but he never turned it into a school. Could you be thinking of the wrong person?" Chen Ge's words had successfully piqued Ying Bai's curiosity.
"I'm not wrong. Since you know the old man ran a welfare institution, then you must know them too." Chen Ge knew he had already won. He stepped out of the ward, flipped through the comic book, and summoned the students of Muyang Middle School.
In the span of a few breaths, when Chen Ge re-entered the room, several students followed behind him.
Curiosity and smiles adorned their faces. Though they existed as nothing more than phantom wills, they looked genuinely happy.
For these adopted orphans, fame and fortune meant nothing to them. They lived together. They were a family. And for a family, being together was all that mattered.
"Ying Bai, I've been looking for you for a long time." Chen Ge's voice carried a note of emotion. He stepped aside, and the Muyang Middle School students finally caught sight of Ying Bai on the bed — skin and bones.
The students froze. It was as if they couldn't believe their own eyes.
"You..."
Tears streamed straight down Ying Bai's face, her voice trembling. "It's been so long."
Chen Ge didn't intrude on their reunion. He set his bag down and stood guard outside the door.
He found an inconspicuous corner, took out the bandage-wrapped ballpoint pen from his bag, and placed it on a sheet of white paper. "Pen Spirit, can you tell me the story between your principal and that girl? You must be old friends, right?"
The pen hovered motionless over the paper for a long while before it finally began to write: "Thank you."
To Chen Ge's surprise, the Pen Spirit — foul-tempered and thoroughly unpleasant — had actually said "thank you" to him.
"Don't be like this — I'll think you've been possessed by some other scapegoat ghost."
The Pen Spirit paid no mind to his words and continued writing on the paper: "A welfare institution and a private elementary school are two different things. The principal always had the idea, but it was extremely difficult to put into practice. It wasn't until the incident with Li Xueying that he became truly determined to found a school for the adopted children."
"Her name is Li Xueying? But isn't this child called Ying Bai?"
"I wouldn't mistake her. She is Li Xueying. She is the child of the very first child the old principal adopted."
"That's a bit roundabout. Can you be more specific?" Chen Ge held the pen and stared intently at the sheet of white paper.