Chapter 16

The underground meeting room at Minton School was dimly lit by candlelight, and at a glance, about a dozen girls were sitting around a square table.

The table was filled with highly respected senior female students from the school. Pei Yanxi sat at the very front of the square table, her slender fingertips tapping the surface. She was wearing a black shirt today, which made her skin appear even paler under the dim light.

Pei Yanxi wore gold-rimmed glasses, her delicate eyebrows relaxed and then furrowed, her expression becoming increasingly gloomy as the story progressed.

“Pei Yanxi, the principal is really difficult to deal with... We can’t push her too hard.” Xue Qi broke the silence in the meeting room first, a hesitant smile on her lips, her breath caught between her half-open lips.

“Yes, we can’t touch the principal. There must be some very subtle informants among the students… We might get bitten back. It’s better to wait and see for now,” Yan Ji added.

As she spoke, her fingers unconsciously rubbed the hem of her clothes, causing the fabric to fray.

People are like that; when making decisions, they often become timid and hesitant.

“Mington School is one of the Pei family’s assets, you all know that, right? Everyone here has received so many benefits from the Pei family, if you back down now... wouldn’t that be giving away an opportunity for nothing?”

Pei Yanxi's voice was icy cold as she leaned back into the large, high-backed chair, her left arm draped lazily over the armrest, an unlit cigarette twirling between her fingers. The cigarette slid halfway around her fingertip before coming to a steady stop. Each pause was like a silent drumbeat, striking their nerves.

Pei Yanxi slowly raised her gaze from below, her eyelids only slightly parted, the lamplight reflecting in her eyes, the flames flickering and shimmering within them.

"Are people always so hesitant and timid when making decisions? No one dares to take any risks."

How disappointing... Pei Yanxi pinched her brow and closed her eyes in annoyance.

This group of people are usually so imposing at school, but when it comes to something really important, they start to get scared and afraid of everything. It's a complete waste of their training.

After a soft sigh, Pei Yanxi stood up from her chair, extended her right hand—her fingers were distinct and pale from long periods of contemplation—and slammed a document across the table in a clean, crisp arc.

Pei Yanxi's voice was not loud, but it carried an undeniable calmness: "That's how it's done. I'll take full responsibility for all the consequences."

...

late at night

Yun Zhan made her way into the archives room by herself. Last time she came here to find information about Shi Mingyue, but now she came back for a different purpose.

"Although it's risky, I'm also curious to know what secrets Minton School holds."

Dressed in black night clothes, Yun Zhan scaled the wall on this dark and windy night, passed through blind spots in the surveillance cameras, and arrived near the archives room. A cool breeze lifted a corner of her hood, revealing her face, stiffened by the cold wind.

The main mission of this world is to "uncover the mystery of Minton School".

Unveiling the mystery? Yun Zhan murmured to herself, though she didn't really know what it meant, or what the world wanted her to do.

But one thing she was certain of was that schools like Minton School, where the elite gather, have a lot of shady dealings going on behind the scenes.

Last time I went to the resource room, the senior students only gave her the key to the first floor... but according to 21, this resource room also has a basement level.

The low hum of the temperature control system, like the song of a whale in the deep sea, echoed through the database. Yun Zhan climbed in through the ventilation control and found that there were only two colors here: the cold white of the file boxes and the matte black of the metal shelves.

The ceiling is embedded with cool white light strips that illuminate every corner. The light is reflected and refracted by the mirrored stainless steel, making it seem as if even the air itself has been sliced ​​into neat, thin pieces. Every breath carries a subtle smell of paper dust and static electricity, like dry snow seeping into the lungs.

"It should be around here. Let's find it slowly." Yun Zhan took out her small map and marked it. It was 1 a.m. and she would be back at 4 a.m., so she had three hours.

After finishing her meeting in the underground conference room, Pei Yanxi thought about it and decided to go to the archives room.

Pei Yanxi took the elevator to the basement level. She stood at the end of the main corridor, having already taken off her uniform jacket, leaving only a black turtleneck shirt with the collar buttoned tightly to her neck, which appeared fair and delicate under the light.

In the dim light, Pei Yanxi's pupils were an extremely deep icy gray, and her eyelashes cast fan-shaped shadows that covered half of her face.

Stepping into the archives, the first thing you smell is the scent of dust itself—dry, light, like paper dust baked brittle by the sun, crumbling into finer powder with a breath, sticking deep into your nasal cavity, carrying a slightly rusty, fishy smell.

It looked no different from before... However, Pei Yanxi smelled a very faint fragrance—the soap on the hem of her clothes and the slightly astringent pine needle scent at her collar. It was very familiar... Pei Yanxi narrowed her eyes. This scent was like a key, instantly unlocking her memories.

She had smelled this scent on Yun Zhan before during Spanish class. She remembered that time when Yun Zhan stood in front of her, and the faint scent of pine needles swept over her breath. She also remembered the time when she treated Yun Zhan's burns in the infirmary, and there was this scent in the ward as well.

Pei Yanxi paused, her lips slightly pursed. The warmer the memory, the colder the reality. This was a sensitive time, especially regarding students entering and leaving without permission... Pei Yanxi clenched her fists, her expression obscured by the lamplight...

The rustling sound from the archives room, the turning of papers, could no longer calm Pei Yanxi. The moment she took a step, her heels made a crisp sound on the floor, and the rustling stopped immediately.

Pei Yanxi turned on the light and, unsurprisingly, saw Yun Zhan's face.

Yun Zhan quickly put the documents back, his fingertips turning white with nervousness. Pei Yanxi looked at Yun Zhan—there was a small beauty mark under his left eye, which she had noticed during her Spanish class.

"Senior, it's me." Yun Zhan lowered his voice, the air rushing past his throat like the back of a knife scraping across ice.

Pei Yanxi didn't answer, her gaze quickly sweeping over Yun Zhan's entire body: black night clothes, a flashlight clipped to his waist, half a buckle protruding from his boots, slightly disheveled hair, and a few beads of sweat on his forehead. Pei Yanxi's gaze finally settled on Yun Zhan's eyes—those usually nonchalant black eyes, now slightly dilated with tension, with barely perceptible bloodshot veins seeping from the edges of his pupils.

Just as Pei Yanxi was about to speak, Yun Zhan took a half step back due to excessive nervousness.

My heel slammed into the metal base of the bookshelf with a dull thud. The bookshelf wobbled, and the entire row of red hardcover filing boxes on the top shelf lost its balance, tilting, sliding, and accelerating.

"Yun Zhan, get out of the way!" Pei Yanxi didn't care about anything else the moment she saw the book fall, and immediately rushed over.

Time stretched into a viscous thread, and just as the heavy box was about to fall, Pei Yanxi first opened her left arm and pushed Yun Zhan in the opposite direction.

The next second, a book weighing over ten kilograms slammed into Pei Yanxi's back, armpits, and the back of her neck. The dull thud of the box's hard spine hitting the metal lock echoed in the archives. Pei Yanxi's face contorted for a moment, turning deathly pale, her lips slightly parted as she breathed.

"Yun Zhan, are you alright?"

Pei Yanxi's first action wasn't to check herself, but to look up and confirm Yun Zhan's presence—Yun Zhan had slumped down two meters away, his eyes momentarily blank.

After confirming that Yun Zhan was safe and sound, Pei Yanxi lowered her eyes, her eyelashes casting dappled shadows on her cheeks like two frozen raven feathers.

The archive fell silent again, with only the fine dust kicked up by the scattered papers slowly swirling in the lamplight.

Pei Yanxi knelt on the ground, her arms still wrapped around Yun Zhan, the pain spreading from her back to her fingertips. She released her hands, palms facing upwards, signaling Yun Zhan not to move.

"What are you doing here?" Pei Yanxi broke the silence first, and quietly clenched her palms where Yun Zhan couldn't see.

Pei Yanxi kept her eyes fixed on Yun Zhan, not daring to miss a single micro-expression.

Yun Zhan...please...don't be a bad person...

"I was asked by some senior students to come and clean last time, but I slacked off before the Lantern Festival and didn't clean it properly. If I don't come today... the senior students will scold me when they check tomorrow." Yun Zhan innocently picked up the rag next to her; it was the one she had left on the first floor. Luckily, she brought it with her this time...

Reason slammed an alarm in her ears: sensitive period, principal's insider, leak of secrets... every word was barbed, making Pei Yanxi's back go cold.

Looking into Yun Zhan's dark eyes, the emotions in her heart surged up like a tide from the depths of her memory, gradually convincing her.

Pei Yanxi stared at Yun Zhan. She was rational; Yun Zhan was definitely a suspect, but... she couldn't punish him right now.

She didn't want to lock Yun Zhan in the forbidden room; she didn't want to use those torturous methods on her; she didn't want to harbor any bad intentions towards her.

Forget it... let's find out what happened first.

Pei Yanxi suddenly felt like a stranger to herself. If it were before, she would never have let any suspicious person leave this room.

Clenching his back teeth, he tasted a hint of rust on his tongue—the pain actually made his thoughts clearer: going to the archives late at night, the sensitivity of the documents—all of these pointed to Yun Zhan.

But when Pei Yanxi looked up and saw Yun Zhan's fingertips trembling slightly with guilt, all her questions got stuck in her throat, turning into a soft, almost inaudible question: "Can you move?"

"Sure, senior, you got hit by the box. Do you want me to go to the hospital with you?" Yun Zhan stood up, turned around and looked at Pei Yanxi's shoulder. It had been hit and must still hurt quite a bit.

They put the last document away together, and Pei Yanxi said to her, "Yun Zhan, come with me first."

The sound was still that snow line, but it had quietly melted a little, like the dawn breaking through the end of the polar night.

Yun Zhan didn't ask where she was going, but reached out to help her. He stopped the moment his fingertips touched her elbow—there was a fresh bruise there, and the purplish-black color underneath was visible after her shirt was lifted up.

Pei Yanxi glanced at her, a crack appearing in her eyes for the first time: "Don't touch it, it hurts."

During the thirty seconds the elevator descended, their silhouettes were reflected in the metal wall: Pei Yanxi stood ramrod straight, secretly observing Yun Zhan through the elevator mirror. Yun Zhan hunched slightly, intentionally avoiding Pei Yanxi's gaze.

The elevator lights were so bright that neither of them cast a shadow.

"It's very late now, and the dorm supervisor won't let you in. Come home with me and sleep in my room."

The night wind swept in, carrying the sharpness of early winter. Pei Yanxi took a deep breath, the pain climbing up her spine, but dissipating in the white mist of her exhalation.

When the car lights came on, Yun Zhan was shoved into the car by her.

"Senior, you can drive too?" In Yun Zhan's memory, Pei Yanxi seemed to be only 18 years old.

"Yeah, you got your driver's license right after you turned 18." Pei Yanxi looked at Yun Zhan, who was shivering from the cold, and casually covered him with her own work. "Go back and get some rest. I'll deal with those senior students who made you clean. That shouldn't have been done by a freshman. And the archives... you don't need to go there anymore."