Chapter 75 075 Too much? Too little?
That night, Little Lotus took me and ran away from the window, after my mother fell asleep.
The moonlight was diluted by the clouds, leaving only a thin layer of gray, barely outlining the contours of the campus buildings.
The hustle and bustle of the day has long since died down. At this moment, the campus is like a dormant beast, breathing heavily and slowly.
Xiao Lianhua's hands were cold but extremely strong. He pulled me, and his movements were so light that it didn't seem like he was walking, but more like he was drifting on the ground.
He did not take any common route, but cleverly used the cover of shadows and bushes to avoid all areas where there might be surveillance.
I:……
"Do we... have to get in like this?" I lowered my voice, my heart pounding in my chest. Trespassing late at night was completely outside my normal code of conduct.
Well, although I mentioned it first, when I actually arrived at the school gate at night, I couldn't help but feel a little hesitant.
Little Lotus didn't turn around, but her voice drifted over clearly, with an undeniable calmness: "There's security at the main gate. Do you want to be kicked out and criticized tomorrow?" He paused, then added, "Don't worry, I know where there aren't any cameras." He'd adapted too harshly to modern society. Well, he wasn't exactly a decent person.
We arrived at the hallway of the teaching building, darker than outside. The air was thick with the delicate scent of flowers. Our footsteps landed on the smooth terrazzo floor, making a barely audible sound. But the sound was amplified infinitely in the absolute silence, and each step sent a shiver through my heart.
The teachers' office was at the end of the corridor. The classroom doors and windows on one side were all dark, like countless empty eyes staring at us, two uninvited guests. I didn't dare look around, only following the shadow of Little Lotus, which almost blended into the darkness.
Finally arrived at the door of the teacher's office.
The door is locked.
Little Lotus seemed to have anticipated this, pulling a small, metallic object from his pocket. It wasn't a key, more like a carefully bent paperclip. He squatted down and carefully inserted the tool into the keyhole, listening attentively for the slightest sound.
I:……
As early as when I saw him take out the paper clip, I was already stunned. I always feel that he has learned a lot of great knowledge without me knowing it!
Time seemed stretched out. I nervously kept watch for him, my ears perked up to catch any possible footsteps, my heart beating so fast and loud that it almost drowned out the slightest noise he made.
“Click.”
A soft sound, like thunder in the silence, rang out. Little Lotus gently turned the doorknob, and the office door swung open.
It was even darker inside than in the hallway. Only the dim green light from the emergency indicator barely illuminated the outlines of the piles of workbooks and computer monitors. The air was filled with the complex aroma of coffee, tea, and paper.
When I walked into the office, I didn't have to look for it deliberately. My feet walked over naturally and arrived in front of a desk.
During the day, I was still wondering who the head teacher of Class 2 would be, but by the evening, I had already naturally walked to her desk. It was as if I had walked this path so many times that it had become a reflex memory.
I swallowed involuntarily, having a bad feeling in my heart.
Little Lotus lowered her voice: "What's wrong?"
I shook my head with mixed feelings.
The teacher's computer screen was black. I tried to press the power button, but nothing happened. Apparently the main power supply had been cut off. It was so dark in here, I couldn't find the main power supply.
"Looking for paper documents." Little Lotus immediately turned to the filing cabinet.
The filing cabinet was locked. But compared to the door lock, this simple lock seemed easier for Little Lotus to deal with. With almost no effort, the cabinet door was opened.
Inside were neatly arranged folders. In the dim light of my phone screen, my fingers trembled as I ran over the labels... but there were no paper documents.
Wait, this...
March Monthly Exam Statistics
I pulled out the extraordinarily thin folder and opened it eagerly.
Inside were the March exam statistics for all the senior classes, including student IDs, subject scores, class rankings, school rankings, and even parents' contact information. I found the list for Class 2, and the flashlight slowly swept over the familiar yet unfamiliar names. My throat felt like it was clogged. These were once vibrant lives.
Just as I was counting down one by one, a bright beam of light suddenly swept across the window.
It's the security guard's flashlight.
Xiao Lianhua reacted very quickly and turned off my phone screen in an instant. At the same time, she pulled me down and hid under the large desk.
Footsteps approached, accompanied by grunting and panting and the erratic flickering of a flashlight. He seemed to be on a routine patrol and hadn't noticed anything unusual about the office door. The footsteps paused at the door for a few seconds, and my heart nearly stopped.
Fortunately, he didn't come in. The footsteps gradually faded away, and the flashlight moved elsewhere.
Xiao Lianhua and I looked at each other under the table, and we saw fear in each other's eyes.
"Take a picture with your phone and look at it later." Little Lotus whispered.
I didn't dare to delay, so I turned on my phone again and quickly took a picture of the photo belonging to Class 2. For some reason, or maybe it was my sixth sense that got the better of me, I also took a picture of the photo of Class 3. The rustling sound of the papers shuffling was particularly clear in the darkness.
With every photo I took, I felt one step closer to the truth, but at the same time, an indescribable sense of heaviness and guilt weighed on my heart.
I was stealing the privacy of the dead, driven by a nagging, unsettling question.
After taking the last photo, I carefully put the folder back where it belonged, trying to restore it to its original state. Little Lotus carefully closed the filing cabinet, erasing any traces of us.
Like two ghosts, we slipped out of the office silently along the same route, locked it, walked through the dark corridor, and finally avoided the surveillance and left the campus.
When I breathed in the cold air outside again, I realized I had been holding my breath. Moonlight barely seeped through the gaps in the clouds, illuminating Little Lotus's calm profile.
He looked at me, his eyes deep and unfathomable in the night.
He asked softly, "Will you be happy if you find the answer?"
I clenched the phone in my pocket, which contained those heavy names. The answer seemed to be within reach, but also seemed to be hidden deeper in this information.
The night wind blew, bringing a chill. I didn't know if it was the wind or my body that was cold.
After returning home, Xiao Lianhua followed in.
I couldn't help but ask, "Is Mrs. Yin working overtime again?"
He nodded.
I:……
Sometimes I wonder whether Madam Yin actually exists in this fantasy world.
I didn't turn on the light for fear that my mother would find out.
I opened my phone and pulled out the photos I'd taken of Class 2. My original intention was to contact the parents of the students in Class 2 to find out where they were going on their outing. But as I pointed at them one by one, I discovered a problem.
"One person is missing." I whispered.
Little Lotus came over and squinted her eyes for a moment, "Isn't that 43 people?"
I shook my head and said, "I took a quick look at Class 2 at noon and there were 42 sets of desks and chairs. I compared them with the list and found one set was missing."
"Maybe the list is too complicated?" asked Little Lotus.
"No, if there are duplicate names, what about the scores? The scores cannot be faked."
I took out the list of Class 3 again and found that there was one more set of desks and chairs compared to the classroom.
There's one more set...who could it be?
"Ayu, your hands are so cold."
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