Zhao Shen

The next morning, sunlight streamed through the blinds of the base dormitory, casting dappled patterns of light on Liang An's face. Ling Xiao had already finished washing up and was sitting at his desk watching him.

"How did you sleep?" Ling Xiao asked, his tone filled with concern.

Liang An rubbed his eyes: "It's alright, I just had some weird dreams." He got up and dressed, the screams of the kitten in his dream still echoing in his mind.

When the two arrived at the cafeteria, most of the students were already seated. Teacher Zhang Rui was carrying a plate of fruit, moving between the tables and greeting the students with a bright smile.

"Liang An, Ling Xiao, over here!" Zhang Rui waved enthusiastically when she saw them. "I saved you seats."

She was wearing a light blue coat and beige trousers today, looking neat and tidy. The gloomy figure in the lab last night seemed to be just Liang An's imagination.

"Thank you, Teacher Zhang." Ling Xiao responded politely, pulling Liang An to sit down in the spot Zhang Rui had designated.

Wen Zhi sat at the same table with them, eating his breakfast with his head down, seemingly avoiding Zhang Rui's enthusiasm. Liang An sat down next to him, but he didn't deliberately look up either.

During breakfast, Zhang Rui discussed the day's experimental arrangements in a clear and organized voice. She even specifically asked Liang An for his views on certain difficult problems in electromagnetism, displaying a professional and sincere attitude.

“We’re going to that lab from yesterday in a bit,” Zhang Rui said. “Some of the equipment needs to be adjusted.”

Liang An and Ling Xiao exchanged a glance.

After breakfast, the group went to the laboratory. The classroom was bright and clean, bathed in sunlight; the lab benches were spotless, and all the instruments were neatly arranged. Liang An went to the podium and checked the corner where Zhang Rui had stood the night before; it was clean and tidy, with nothing unusual.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Rui noticed his movements and walked over with a smile. "Are you looking for something?"

"No, no," Liang An shook his head. "I just wanted to check out the experimental equipment."

"Don't worry, I've checked everything." Zhang Rui patted his shoulder naturally. "Today we're going to do a photoelectric effect experiment."

Throughout the morning's lab class, Zhang Rui demonstrated professionalism and patience. She moved between groups, answering questions and guiding operations, befitting a dedicated high school physics teacher. Liang An almost believed that everything from last night was just his imagination.

The afternoon session was for outdoor experiments.

There's an open area on the hill behind the base, used for physics experiments that require a large space. Today's experiment is measuring gravitational acceleration, which requires a free-fall device.

"Be careful, this stand is a bit unstable," Zhang Rui reminded the students who were assembling the equipment.

A tall, thin boy wearing black-rimmed glasses was intently adjusting the height of the electromagnet, trying to make the falling path of the steel ball more precise. His name was Zhao Shen, and he was the physics class representative appointed by Zhang Rui.

"Teacher Zhang, do you think this angle is okay?" Zhao Shen asked, turning around.

Zhang Rui walked over quickly: "Let me see." She stood next to Zhao Shen and reached out to adjust the angle of the device.

Liang An noticed that Zhang Rui's fingers paused slightly when they touched the back of Zhao Shen's hand. Zhao Shen, however, didn't seem to notice anything amiss and remained focused on the experimental setup.

"Alright, that's good enough." Zhang Rui took a step back, a satisfied smile on her face. "Zhao Shen is always so meticulous in his work."

The experiment went smoothly until the measurement stage. Zhao Shen needed to climb a small ladder to read the data from the ruler. The ladder wasn't high, with only about five steps.

“I’ll do it,” Zhao Shen volunteered.

He had just climbed to the third step when the ladder suddenly wobbled. Actually, the wobbling was very small; normally, a slight touch against the wall would have stabilized it. But in that instant, Zhang Rui rushed forward, almost lunging to catch the ladder.

"Watch out!" Her voice was shrill and unnatural.

Zhao Shen was startled by the sudden movement, lost his footing, and fell off the ladder. The fall was low; he only suffered scrapes on his hands and some bruises on his knees.

"It's nothing, it's nothing." Zhao Shen got up, a little embarrassed. "It's just a scrape."

Zhang Rui's face was unusually pale. She grabbed Zhao Shen's arm, her fingers tightening: "He's bleeding! We need to get it treated right away!" Her voice trembled.

“Teacher Zhang, it’s really okay…” Zhao Shen tried to pull his hand away.

But Zhang Rui had already pulled him towards the base's medical room, her pace almost a jog. The remaining students looked at each other in bewilderment. The other teacher in charge, Teacher Wang, coughed and said, "Everyone, continue the experiment. Teacher Zhang will take care of Zhao Shen."

As Liang An watched Zhang Rui and Zhao Shen's departing figures, doubts resurfaced in her heart. That excessive tension and concern went beyond a teacher's normal reaction to a student's injury; it was as if... as if she were particularly afraid that Zhao Shen would get hurt.

After two days of intensive training, apart from Zhao Shen suffering a minor external injury, everything else was normal.

After returning to school, the days passed by, and the physics competition training proceeded in an orderly manner.

Liang An and Ling Xiao would go to the physics lab for training every day after school. Wen Zhi would always show up on time. He usually chose to sit in the back row of the classroom, but he would always try to get close to Liang An whenever he had the chance.

"Liang An, can you explain this problem to me?" Wen Zhi came over again with the exercise book.

Liang An sighed. He noticed that Wen Zhi's complexion did improve when he was close to him, and the pale and weak look that always lingered between his brows would temporarily subside.

Liang An touched the black bracelet on his left wrist, but there was no reaction.

"We need to use the Lorentz transformation first..." Liang An began to explain.

Wen Zhi listened attentively, but Liang An could sense that his attention wasn't entirely on the question. He was just sitting quietly beside him, pretending to listen carefully to his explanation.

Liang An felt helpless, but when he thought of his past self, he couldn't help but feel a pang of pity. He wasn't sympathizing with Wen Zhi; both he and Wen Zhi were merely puppets manipulated by the so-called plot bracelet and the consciousness of the main god.

Zhang Rui's teaching was as excellent as ever. She prepared a wealth of high-quality materials and exercises for the participating students and often sacrificed her rest time to answer their questions. When she met students on campus, she always greeted them warmly and showed concern for their studies and lives.

If it weren't for the bizarre scene in the lab that night, Liang An would almost believe that Zhang Rui was a perfect teacher.

The days passed peacefully until a week before the physics competition.

Zhao Shen did not come to school.

At first, everyone thought he was just sick, but after several days of absence, the news slowly spread among his classmates: Zhao Shen left a letter and ran away from home.

"I heard he left in the middle of the night without taking anything with him, except for a letter," some students were saying during break.

"What did the letter say?"

"I don't know, his parents haven't made it public. But I heard the letter was written in a very strange way, saying something like 'go pursue true knowledge' or something like that."

Hearing these comments, Liang An's heart sank. He recalled Zhang Rui's unusual attention to Zhao Shen during the training camp.

That afternoon, the police arrived at the school and questioned Zhao Shen's classmates and teachers. Liang An and Ling Xiao were also called in for questioning, and they truthfully recounted the events of the training camp, including Zhao Shen's injury and Zhang Rui's overreaction.

"Teacher Zhang Rui?" the police officer in charge of the interrogation noted. "She was particularly concerned about student Zhao Shen?"

“Yes, she seemed particularly nervous when Zhao Shen was injured,” Liang An said.

The police officer nodded, saying nothing more. After the questioning, Liang An saw Zhang Rui also invited into the conference room. About half an hour later, she came out with a worried expression on her face.

"The police asked me about Zhao Shen," she said to Liang An and Ling Xiao, who were waiting outside, her voice low. "I'm really worried about that kid. He's been under too much academic pressure lately; I should have noticed sooner..."

Her eyes were red, and she looked genuinely upset.

"Teacher Zhang, where do you think Zhao Shen will go?" Liang An asked tentatively.

Zhang Rui shook her head: "I don't know. He's so smart, if he really wants to hide..." She sighed, "I hope the police can find him soon."

She patted Liang An on the shoulder and turned to leave. Liang An watched her departing figure, his doubts undiminished, but he couldn't find any concrete evidence.

Zhao Shen was officially listed as a missing person. The discussions at the school gradually subsided, and life had to go on.

The physics competition was fast approaching. Liang An and Ling Xiao were engrossed in their final review, having no time for anything else. Wen Zhi continued to seek opportunities to get close to Liang An, but he seemed to sense the tense atmosphere as well, and no longer bothered Liang An with his usual playful antics.

The night before he was to depart for Huaishan City, Ling Xiao helped Liang An check his luggage at his home.

“Huaishan City…” Ling Xiao checked the information on his phone. “A famous historical and cultural city, but the most discussed topic online is actually the legend of corpse driving.”

"Corpse driving?" Liang An looked up from his book.

“Yes, have you heard of it? It’s said to be a kind of witchcraft that makes corpses walk home by themselves.” Ling Xiao turned the phone screen towards Liang An. “Huaishan City is one of the important birthplaces of the legendary corpse-driving culture, although it only appears in folk performances now.”

Liang An glanced at the description on the screen: "They're all just legends..."

“Hmm…” Ling Xiao smiled and said, “Physics is based on materialism as its core philosophy. I didn’t expect the competition venue to be in Huaishan City, which is famous for its corpse-driving tradition.”

The next morning, the Haicheng No. 1 Middle School team gathered on campus. In addition to Liang An and Ling Xiao, there were six other officially participating students, as well as Wang, the head of the physics teaching and research group, and Zhang Rui, who were leading the team.

Wen Zhi also arrived, dragging a suitcase that was clearly too luxurious.

"Wen Zhi, are you really going?" Teacher Wang adjusted her glasses. "You're not a contestant, so accommodation and transportation..."

"I've already made arrangements, Teacher Wang," Wen Zhi said with a smile. "It won't cause any trouble for the school."

Teacher Wang looked at Zhang Rui, who smiled and said, "The principal has already spoken to you. It's a good thing that Wen Zhi is so interested in physics."

Her attitude was natural and gentle; she was a truly enlightened and good teacher.

The team traveled to Huaishan City by high-speed rail. During the four-hour journey, Zhang Rui continuously explained competition precautions to the students, her attitude impeccable.

It was afternoon when we arrived in Huaishan City. This city is a blend of ancient and modern; the old town retains its cobblestone streets and ancient buildings with upturned eaves, while the new district is filled with modern high-rise buildings. The hotel arranged for the competition was located in the new district and was a standard four-star hotel.

"Two people per room, here are the room keys." Teacher Wang distributed rooms in the hotel lobby. "Liang An and Ling Xiao, you'll stay in 607. The rest of you..."

“Teacher Wang, I booked a room myself.” Wen Zhi waved the room key in his hand. “It’s on the sixth floor, room 609.”

Liang An glanced at him. This guy was indeed prepared.