An Moxue hung up the phone, a warm feeling welling up in her heart. Her father's comrades-in-arms had been keeping their promise from back then, and would protect her just as her parents had when they were alive.

Seeing her fluctuating emotions, Wu Sicheng said, "Mo Xue, we can repay them together in the future. You should go to school first, or you'll be late. I'll make another call."

"Okay, I'll be going now." An Moxue said, then turned and left.

Wu Sicheng watched her departing figure, chuckled under his breath, and muttered, "You little ingrate, I've been busy all night, and you still leave so quickly, always." Then he turned around and dialed a number.

In the staff quarters of Kyoto University, Teacher Dai, a neighbor of Director Feng, was quite puzzled today. It was already time for class, and not only had she not noticed that Director Feng's family had started cooking this morning, but no one had come out yet. If they didn't come out soon, they would be late for work.

She stopped another neighbor and asked, "Teacher Zhou, did you see anyone come out of Director Feng's house?"

Teacher Zhou said, "No, and no one comes out to make breakfast."

Teacher Dai said, "Yes, I didn't see anyone come out either. Let's knock on the door and ask!"

The two of them stood at the door of Director Feng's house and knocked several times, but no one answered. So Teacher Dai knocked harder, and finally the door opened, almost making Teacher Dai stumble. In the end, Teacher Zhou grabbed her to prevent her from falling.

Once she had regained her footing, the two looked at each other and saw the surprise and doubt in each other's eyes.

"Shall we go in and take a look?" Teacher Dai asked, mustering his courage.

Teacher Zhou said, "Come in." After saying that, she went into the house first.

The two carefully made their way into the house, calling out as they went, "Director Feng? Sister-in-law? Jiaojiao?"

No one responded. Teacher Dai said, "I'll go check on Jiao Jiao in her room first."

She pushed open Feng Jiaojiao's door and saw Feng Jiaojiao lying on the bed. She called out loudly a few times, "Jiaojiao? Jiaojiao?" Then she carefully checked her breathing.

A scream of "Ah—" pierced the sky above the family dormitory building.

"What's wrong, Teacher Dai!" Teacher Zhou disregarded the traditional separation of men and women and entered the room.

There lay Feng Jiaojiao on the bed, completely unresponsive to the loud scream. Teacher Dai, sitting slumped on the floor beside her, was deathly pale and kept pointing at Feng Jiaojiao, repeatedly saying, "She...she...she..."

Teacher Zhou sensed something was wrong, went over, and checked her breath, but there was nothing there. He checked again, but still nothing.

He said with some fear, "Let's go out first, and I'll go check on Director Feng's bedroom." As he spoke, he helped Teacher Dai up.

The two went outside and saw some neighbors who had come after hearing the noise.

One of them said, "What happened? That scream was terrifying!"

Teacher Zhou said, "Two of you help Teacher Dai out, and two of you go to report to the police and find the principal. Jiao Jiao is not breathing. Who else can come with me to check on Director Feng and his wife? With such a commotion, they should have made a sound, but there's not a sound at all. It's very abnormal."

Upon hearing that someone had died, everyone left the room, leaving only the male teacher with him. The two looked at each other, and the man said, "Wouldn't it be inappropriate for two grown men to go in?"

The few people who had already retreated to the door said, "It's okay. In an emergency, special treatment is given. We'll be your witnesses."

"Yes, to testify."

"Make a certificate."

Hearing what the people at the door said, the two of them forced themselves to say, "Come in."

"good."

The two men entered the house together. Director Feng and his wife lay side by side on the bed, lifeless, as if they were asleep.

The two men rushed out of the house in terror, saying, "They're all dead. No one is allowed to enter the house. Two more people should go and explain the situation to the principal!"

With that, the two of them left the house.

A group of people stood at the door of Director Feng's house. Several people were asking the school for leave, especially Teacher Dai, who was frightened. Teacher Zhou had to wait for the school and the police to arrive and cooperate with the investigation.

The neighbor asked, "How come all three of them are gone? Teacher Zhou, is there anything unusual? They were fine when they left work yesterday."

Teacher Zhou replied, "I don't know either! Teacher Dai said she didn't see anyone get up at Director Feng's house, so we thought we'd knock on the door to ask. But the door opened by itself, and no matter how we called, there was no response. When Teacher Dai went into Jiao Jiao's bedroom, she found that she was lifeless, just like she was asleep. Director Feng and his wife were also lifeless, just like they were asleep."

Then one of them said, "I heard that Jiaojiao apparently had someone switch a student's score on this exam, but the student found out and reported it to the police. The news has spread throughout their college."

When did this happen?

"Yesterday afternoon."

"Is it true that the child is usually a bit spoiled and willful?"

"Judging from that, it's pretty much true. Apparently, that student asked to retake the exam, but Jiaojiao didn't go. She went home instead and didn't go back to the dormitory."

"Oh dear, if I went back to the dorm, would I be spared from dying?"

How did those three people die?

"Teacher Zhou, do they look like they've been poisoned?"

Teacher Zhou shook his head.

Are there any external injuries?

He shook his head again, perhaps feeling that he hadn't expressed himself accurately, and said, "I didn't look closely at the time, I just checked his breathing, and when he stopped breathing, we came out."

"It seems the cause of death is still unclear."

"Of course, this family of three is all gone. It can't be an accident, can it? That would be too much of a coincidence."

"But Teacher Zhou said she looked like she was asleep. What's going on?"

"Let's wait for the police to arrive before we say anything. We're just guessing."

"Do you think it could be related to what happened yesterday?"

"It's a matter of life and death, so you can't just talk nonsense."

Listening to the neighbors' discussions, Teacher Zhou felt regretful and a little scared. It was the first time she had been so close to a dead person, and someone she knew at that. The feeling was definitely not pleasant.

Now, when he thinks about it, his head feels like it's buzzing, and he can't think calmly.

A sharp-eyed neighbor noticed and asked, "Teacher Zhou, are you alright? Your face looks a little pale!"

"It's nothing serious, just a bit scary and unbelievable."

As the group was talking, a neighbor led over Principal Geng and the security captain from the school.

The crowd parted to make way, and the two men walked to the door. Principal Geng asked, "Who noticed the anomaly first?"

Teacher Zhou stepped forward and said, "Principal Geng, it was Teacher Dai from next door who went in and found them. Director Feng and his family of three were all dead."

Seeing that his face looked bad, Principal Geng said, "We'll go in and take a look first. You stay at the door and don't let anyone in."

The two went in and came out again quickly, standing at the door waiting for the police. Principal Geng inquired about the situation of Director Feng's family from last night to this morning, while waiting for the police to arrive.