The teacher gave a few instructions and personally escorted the three of them back to their rooms. As soon as Yumi saw Cheng Shuang, her eyes lit up with great enthusiasm. She patted the empty bed next to her and said, "Yuko, come quickly! I've already made up the bed for you. I've been waiting for you to come back!"

"Yuko, don't listen to Yumi, hahaha, she's scared and insists on sleeping with you!" a classmate joked. Yumi, unconcerned, made a face at the other person, got up, pulled Cheng Shuang, and lay down.

Qianli went directly from the girls' room to the boys' room. Through the thin sliding screen, she could hear the boys' louder atmosphere on the other side.

The teacher told the students in the room to go to bed early, then turned off the lights, closed the door, and left.

They are all young children, and having finally separated from their parents, everything is new and exciting for them, so they don't want to go to bed so early.

"This is the first time we've participated in an overnight stay together."

"Yes! Before, we could only participate in school days!"

"I don't want to sleep at all!"

"How about we tell ghost stories?" The screen in the middle was pushed open, and a boy leaning against it poked his head out. He scratched his head and said, "To be honest, I'm a little worried about Maki!"

"Me too!"

The kids who were close to Maki spoke up one after another. They were genuinely worried, but also genuinely excited!

"If you can't sleep, then tell ghost stories!" someone brought up the old suggestion again.

The room suddenly lit up; it turned out that Chisato had turned on his flashlight. He looked unwell and immediately refused, "I won't participate in telling ghost stories, and neither will Yuko!"

Yumi timidly extended her hand, "Count me in... I mean, if you're not participating, count me in!"

Even though her classmates laughed at her for being timid, Qianli still refused to give in, and several other girls were also unwilling to participate.

The boys and girls immediately mingled together, since almost all the boys participated. The ghost story tellers sat around the boys' room, turning on their flashlights to create an atmosphere.

Chisato and Yoshida (Maki's childhood friend) were the only two boys who didn't get involved. Chisato held onto Cheng Shuang tightly with a straight face, refusing to let go, while Yumi also hugged Cheng Shuang's arm.

Yoshida was immediately isolated, as the remaining girls were huddled together studying the contents of a fashion magazine.

Fortunately, Chisato was kind-hearted and knew how to take care of his friends. He pulled Yoshida over and comforted him, "Maki will be alright. If her problem is really serious, the teacher will definitely take you to see her..." Before he could finish saying the last four words, a hand grabbed his waist, forcing him to shut up.

Yoshida thought about it and realized that although the words were rough, the meaning was sound. He was instantly comforted. Fortunately, he didn't know what Chiri meant, otherwise he wouldn't have given Chiri a grateful smile, but rather a punch.

Cheng Shuang finally realized that Qianli was clearly a pretty good kid, so why did he have so few friends? It turned out he had a sharp tongue...

Yoshida wasn't exactly sullen anymore, but he really wasn't in the mood to play. He chose to go listen to everyone tell ghost stories and casually took Yumi with him.

Yumi was naturally unwilling to leave Cheng Shuang even for a moment, but Yoshida was a stubborn child. He had long disliked Yumi's status as a 'third party' and, in order to thank Chisato, deliberately created a private time for Chisato and his friend.

Cheng Shuang, who clearly saw through Yoshida's thoughts, vividly displayed an expression akin to that of an "old man on the subway looking at his phone." This generation of kids is too precocious; they're not to be trifled with!

Qianli was used to spending time alone with his friends, so he naturally ignored Yoshida's misunderstanding. He had something important to ask Cheng Shuang.

"Yuko, tell me a ghost story..."

“It’s not a game of Hundred Ghost Lanterns. Without the medium of candles, the Gate of Hell isn’t so easy to open,” Cheng Shuang reassured softly.

"When you went back, did you find anything?" Chisato asked with concern. Yoshida was beside her at the time, and out of consideration for his feelings, Chisato suppressed her curiosity.

"Yes!" Cheng Shuang didn't want to hide it. Since Qianli already knew that ghosts and monsters existed in the world, hiding it would be no less than pushing him into a dangerous situation.

"I suspect that you and Yoshida, or rather our class, are being watched. So, during your stay at the hotel, never act alone."

Qianli gasped, instinctively reaching for the talisman in his pocket for reassurance. Although he knew the talisman was given to him by Cheng Shuang, he did not suggest that Cheng Shuang share it with Yoshida or the others.

If talismans were really that easy to obtain, Yuko wouldn't have been targeted by the ghosts in the first place.

Qianli mistakenly believes that the talisman was given to Yuko by the Onmyoji who helped her before. If that's the case, Yuko herself doesn't have many left!

"What will you do if I'm with Yoshida?" Chisato was more worried about her friend.

"Yumi will be with me!"

"Her?!" Qianli curled her lip in disgust and muttered under her breath, "Don't think I don't know what happened during nap time. If it weren't for her, you wouldn't have been scolded by the teacher!"

Cheng Shuang then remembered the talisman in Qianli's pocket. Although it couldn't keep him fully awake when ghosts set up a barrier, it wouldn't make him fall into a deep sleep like the other students.

"I vaguely heard it! It's all Yumi's fault, she's incompetent yet causes trouble everywhere!" Chisato scolded angrily. If Yuko hadn't been able to protect herself, she would have been tricked and left with a bloody face by Yumi.

He used to ignore Yumi's advances towards Yuko. Yuko playing with girls was better than him having a boyfriend at such a young age. Although he was still a little unhappy, at least Yumi wouldn't completely take Yuko away from him.

But to my utter surprise...

Kurosaki's self-sacrifice to protect his classmates is admirable, and at least it proves that Yumi has good taste in boyfriends. But Yumi herself is completely useless except for crying and yelling and dragging others down when things happen.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!