Chapter 20 Bubbles (4) The devil granted his wish! ...
Xie Tan then realized that the blood on the boy's body was not from being beaten, but from being splattered.
Chang Mingai took a step back, not understanding why Xie Tan didn't run. She ran into this gloomy guy covered in blood as soon as she went upstairs, dragging an axe, looking like he had just killed someone!
But as she calmed down, she realized she couldn't outrun him, and continuing to run would only provoke an even fiercer pursuit.
She didn't know why the other party stopped. Was the stalemate just going to continue like this?
For a moment, only the teacher on the loudspeaker was still talking non-stop in the classroom.
In a state of confusion, Chang Mingai looked at Xie Tan and was infected by his calmness, and her heartbeat gradually stabilized.
No, that wasn't the calmness of encountering an emergency; it was... the calmness of nothing happening.
She realized that, in her partner's eyes, the sudden intrusion of the slasher, the blood of the suspected victim, the chase, and the life-threatening crisis were no different from the arrival of another strange student studying in an empty classroom.
Why would a normal person react this way?
For a moment, she didn't know if her fear stemmed from the slasher or...
Suddenly, the male student moved, raised the axe, and swung it violently in front of Chang Mingai's horrified gaze.
The loudspeaker was cut off by the roots and fell to the ground with a thud.
The classroom was completely quiet.
The male student nodded to Xie Tan, turned around and left, gently closing the door to the study room behind him.
Chang Mingai's brain is overloaded.
She looked at Xie Tan seeking an answer, only to see her partner acting as if nothing had happened, taking out the materials and talking to her about the materials and PPT plan.
"Xie Tan, just now..." She couldn't help it; who in their right mind could hold back?
But Xie Tan stopped talking and looked at her with a calm gaze that inexplicably sent a chill down her spine. She shut her mouth and pretended not to say anything.
Today's discussion went smoothly. They were all well-prepared, and their exchanges were smooth. They stayed in the same classroom the entire time and did not leave.
But Chang Mingai was always a little distracted, paying attention to the sounds inside the building. It was very quiet, but it was precisely this quietness that left room for imagination, like a kind of ill-intentioned blank space.
The discussion ended, and she just wanted to leave immediately.
She walked out of the teaching building with Xie Tan, feeling relieved, but still uneasy.
After descending the long staircase, the two remained silent. Before parting, she finally remembered the main reason she had arranged to meet Xie Tan today, and hesitated before saying, "Xie Tan, last time, it was... have you seen me these past few days? I... some strange things have happened to me..."
Xie Tan suddenly asked, "You went to the art museum?"
Chang Mingai was stunned for a moment, then thought carefully: "No today. I went there in the morning on the day we made the appointment last time."
In recent weeks, the art museum has been open to students free of charge, allowing them to visit and view the artworks at any time.
When Chang Mingai came to her senses, Xie Tan had already left, disappearing into the crowd of students leaving get out of class.
She realized that this was not a simple question.
Could it be related to an art museum?
Xie Tan took a car home.
He didn't know much about the situation either, so he didn't say much, preferring to leave it at that.
At the convenience store downstairs, he was printing materials when he ran into Lu Jinzhao, who was buying snacks. The black-haired young man, holding his things across the long shelf, waved enthusiastically with one hand free.
Xie Tan nodded, took the materials, and left.
The black-haired youth ran to the cashier and quickly paid. The printer was still printing paper, and Xie Tan missed a page. He glanced at it and saw it was an introduction to a place called Jiao'an Art Museum.
He picked up his shopping bag, grabbed his materials, and chased after them.
"What a coincidence, here, the materials you left behind." Lu Jinchao asked with a smile, "Going home? Want to come together?"
Xie Tan took the materials and calmly continued walking forward: "Aren't we already walking together?"
Lu Jinzhao's smile shone even brighter.
They opened the unit door and walked into the building one after the other. Lu Jinzhao, who was a step behind, noticed the dark red marks on the edge of Xie Tan's shoes.
He recognized it as blood at a glance.
Lu Jinzhao was stunned for a moment, then took a few steps to catch up: "Xie Tan, you..."
Hearing Lu Jinzhao's hesitant words, Xie Tan followed the direction of his gaze and saw the bloodstains on the edge of his shoe.
It must have been because I wasn't paying attention when I left the classroom and accidentally brushed against it.
He thought to himself that this was troublesome, but his expression remained unchanged, even turning somewhat cold, as he quietly waited for Lu Jinzhao's reaction.
But Lu Jinzhao only looked at him with her beautiful eyes full of concern: "Are you injured?"
"..." Xie Tan said, "No."
Lu Jinzhao breathed a sigh of relief and said seriously, "If you encounter any trouble or need my help, be sure to tell me."
Xie Tan silently climbed to the top floor, then chuckled softly: "Are you this kind to everyone?"
His smile had a stunning beauty, like a vibrant flower that becomes even more enigmatic at dusk.
However, if one retains even a sliver of reason, one can perceive an inner coldness even more palpable than when he is expressionless.
Xie Tan took out his keys and opened the door, hoping that his unkind and malicious question would at least make the neighbor back down for a moment.
Lu Jinzhao, however, grabbed his wrist even more decisively.
Seeing that Xie Tan didn't move or turn around, Lu Jinchao walked around to Xie Tan's side so that Xie Tan could see his face and his eyes.
“I’m very worried, really.”
"..."
Why would someone care about a complete stranger, or even someone who brings trouble and danger?
Xie Tan moved his wrist and entered the room after Lu Jinzhao let go: "I remember we've already exchanged contact information."
The door was closed.
Lu Jinzhao took a moment to process what was being said. Did this mean that they would contact him if something came up?
He smiled and called out energetically through the door, "Ready at any time!"
The cat jumped off Xie Tan's shoulder and landed on the cabinet by the door, slowly turning around: "He's so enthusiastic. If you have any problems, maybe you can ask him for help, meow."
Xie Tan hung up the clothes and glanced at it: "Has the comic been updated?"
"It's over, meow!" Number 7 was immediately pulled back to the main topic and ran to Xie Tan's side.
The new episode begins with a scene from the swimming pool on a rainy day.
Xie Tan was a little surprised. This episode was called "Bubble," and the theme was obviously the painting in the art gallery. The main characters should be from their class, so why was it related to that male classmate?
In the comic, a male student named Sun Enze is thrown into the swimming pool, where the splashing water hits the tiles and scatters the clay.
Xie Tan noticed that the clay on the ground was originally designed to be in a certain shape, but when the comic showed the full view, it was already a muddy mess.
He had doubts at the time. In the videos and photos on Sun Enze's phone, the clay on the ground didn't seem to be used much. Could it be that the bullying group was just being childish and wanted to play in the mud?
Sun Enze struggled in the water, but the more he struggled, the more water he choked on and he couldn't stand up.
Finally, he stopped exerting himself and let himself slowly sink.
The laughter faded into the distance, leaving him feeling dreamlike and sleepy.
He felt his body getting heavier, but his consciousness getting lighter, as if he was about to float away.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps.
It was light and unhurried, yet exceptionally clear in the empty swimming pool, piercing through his dream.
He suddenly came to his senses, but was plunged into a deeper fear. He remembered what those guys had said, and thought desperately:
[A demon...a demon has been summoned!]
But as the footsteps approached the poolside, fear was replaced by another desire, born of hatred.
He burst out of the water with his strength and grabbed the man's trouser leg.
"Please...save me, you devil, Mr. Devil, I'll do anything..."
But he soon regretted it, hiding away in self-deception. When he looked up again, the demon he couldn't see was gone, leaving only an umbrella and the address in the memo.
He stood blankly in the rain. The senior students who came over said many caring words, but he was rude and kept lost in thought, forgetting to refuse, and was sent to the infirmary.
Xie Tan read it again and understood.
This is not just bullying; it could be a summoning ritual, using Sun Enze to please the demon.
But they failed; the demon didn't come, but he did.
Since this part of the story has been included, is it related to bubbles, foreshadowing for the next chapter, or... the main plot?
But in the eyes of the forum, it is strongly related to him.
[He's so handsome, who can understand? When Ah Tan walked in with an umbrella, my heart skipped a beat.]
Why is he called Ah-Tan the Demon? Ah-Tan isn't human.
[A demon who responds to the desires of the desperate, indifferent, condescending, yet still demands payment... captivating.]
[Could it be a case of mistaken identity? The demon might not necessarily refer to Ah Tan.]
The summoned "demon" might not necessarily be Ah Tan, but it just so happens to be Ah Tan. Looking back from upstairs, Ah Tan truly granted his wish.
What responded to the wish? Xie Tan, puzzled, continued reading.
Behind it is the art museum, where he first encountered two Chang Ming'ai after discovering "Bubble".
Surprisingly, after he went upstairs, the male classmate who had given him the umbrella did not leave. Instead, he wandered around the building, looking around hesitantly, as if searching for him.
But instead of finding Xie Tan, I saw "Bubble".
He was immediately captivated by the painting, gazing at it for a long time, but unlike Xie Tan's indifferent observation, he seemed completely immersed in the painting.
He hallucinated a "pop" sound, like the sound of bubbles breaking apart, but he couldn't find the source of the sound no matter how he looked around. It was as if... the sound was coming from his head.
He was startled by his own thoughts and quickly left the art gallery.
Then Xie Tan appeared as a new student, and the art gallery session ended.
Then, in the study room, he encountered the fake Chang Mingai again, and Chang Mingai bumped into another version of himself.
Finally, there's the old teaching building today.
In a daze, Sun Enze unfortunately encountered a bullying group and was taken to an old building.
Last time he almost drowned after being submerged in the pool, this time it was even worse. They pinned him to the edge of the rooftop and threatened to throw him in.
With his upper body pressed off the rooftop, Sun Enze could no longer bear it and said, "Let me go."
The guy who had been swallowing his anger dared to talk back, which further fueled the bullying group's passion. They grabbed his hair and dragged him back to the rooftop: "What can you do if we don't let go? You coward, do you dare to hit me? What can you do about it!"
“…I’ll kill you.” Sun Enze said, his head bowed, which drew laughter from the others.
"Hahahaha, you! You..."
The door to the rooftop suddenly opened, and everyone looked behind them.
A man who looked exactly like Sun Enze stood at the door, holding an axe. He slowly raised his head, revealing his eyes, which were covered by his bangs, and there was a deathly silence.
The ensuing hack-and-slash scene then unfolds naturally.
After everything was over, he met Xie Tan in the restroom and left first, then he met Chang Mingai.
Then they cut the loudspeaker in the classroom.
At the end of the comic, Xie Tan and Chang Mingai part ways.
Xie Tan's doubts were resolved; the Sun Enze he encountered in the restroom was also a fake.
More accurately, it's not the main body, it's... a bubble?
So looking at the painting creates a clone of yourself, like a splitting bubble?
[Like a doppelganger? If you encounter someone who looks exactly like you, one of you has to die?]
[They're so hard to tell apart, they're really identical. Without Ah Tan, I can't distinguish between the real body and Bubble at all.]
[Ah Tan recognized him immediately, haha. The clone's closeness to Ah Tan is so obvious. The bathroom scene and the radio broadcast scene made me laugh. He's really trying to stick to me.]
[She's so attractive to ghosts, even succubi in the underworld are like her. Little Ai's clone even said that Atan smells nice and asked me to smell him—]
[Ah Tan is indeed a student of Di University! A true authority at Di University!]
[The address for delivering the umbrella was probably to let Sun Enze see the painting by Bubble, so his clone appeared to protect him and avenge him. The demon granted his wish!]
Xie Tan fell silent. Was it possible that his male classmate simply needed the umbrella more than he did, and he just gave it to him without thinking?
He checked the campus group chat and the confession wall, and sure enough, the old campus was locked down. The bodies of the bullying group were taken away by the police, and everyone was saying that Sun Enze, who had fainted at the scene, was the one who killed them.
Surprisingly, Sun Enze was released quickly, and the police and school even arranged psychological counseling for him.
Moreover, they didn't contact Chang Mingai and Xie Tan. Xie Tan guessed it was some classic monitoring malfunction, and that they might have been taken care of by their own personal assistants.
What's intriguing is the police's attitude; it's as if they know there's more to the story.
A note from the author:
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