Chapter 59: Let's Be Together Forever
The dance studio was eerily silent. In the dim mirrors, the man was the first to regain his composure. Standing before the five girls, he threatened them viciously and maliciously.
One of the girls started crying. The man grabbed her, pointed at her face, and said something. The girl shook her head frantically in response.
At that moment, a girl about the same height as Zhang Ya stood up. She walked over to the man on her own and began helping him persuade the other girls.
She and the man seemed to know each other from before, their relationship far from simple. It was even possible that the man's timely appearance right after the teacher left was all part of her premeditated plan.
Under the tall girl's persuasion and the man's coercion, the girls finally bowed their heads. After a few minutes of discussion, the man left first.
The five girls also went into the changing room to change clothes, then all of them departed.
The mirror returned to normal, but the atmosphere in the dance studio grew heavier. Chen Ge could feel a chill creeping up from behind him, as if he were leaning against a corpse that had been frozen for a long time.
"Is that it?" The mirror had only recorded what had happened in the dance studio. Chen Ge didn't know what came after, but he had a nagging feeling that this matter wouldn't be so simple.
Jumping from the fourth floor, as long as you didn't land headfirst, there was still a chance of survival. Zhang Ya was very likely still alive at that point.
"A vengeful spirit in red, deep with resentment. Could that fat man have been afraid of exposure and killed Zhang Ya while she was still breathing? The entire drainage system in the activity center was replaced with new pipes—could it be because the fat man used it to dispose of the body?" The thought flashed through his mind but was quickly dismissed. If Zhang Ya had gone missing at school, the police would have launched a thorough investigation. Besides, disposing of a body wasn't something just anyone could do; often, the more you did, the more clues you left behind.
He was curious about what happened next, but the images on the mirror had ended. This mirror had only recorded the scenes inside the dance studio.
"Maybe I should call Captain Li. A life is at stake, and West City Private School falls under the jurisdiction of the West City Police Station. He must have the relevant records."
Chen Ge's idea was sound, but as he bent down to pick up his phone, the moment he moved, a piercing scream erupted from behind him.
Zhang Ya was pressed against his back, her red dress dripping with blood. Strands of hair, like winding venomous snakes, slithered up his shoulders, coiling around his neck and chest, binding them together.
"I'm not trying to leave! I just want to help you!"
Chen Ge quickly spoke up. He could barely breathe, but the black hair kept tightening, as if it intended to crush him, stuffing every part of his body into hers.
Perhaps, in Zhang Ya's eyes, this was the only way for them to be together forever—the truest form of love.
Chen Ge had just escaped the wolf's den only to fall into the tiger's lair. He now finally understood why Zhang Ya's love letter was a curse. This woman simply didn't like the living. The more she loved someone, the more she wanted to kill them.
Back to back, his limbs cold and numb, unable to muster any strength, Chen Ge couldn't fight back even if he wanted to. He could only keep pleading: "I'll help you call the police! Let them bring you justice and punish the murderer who hurt you!"
As he said this, Chen Ge felt a pang of guilt. Zhang Ya's situation was unique, different from the family of four at Ping An Apartments. Those who had harmed her were already stuffed into chairs!
The once elegant and kind girl had completely transformed into a deranged vengeful spirit. Chen Ge couldn't even imagine the horrors the five girls who had hurt her must have endured before being forced into those chairs.
He had given up trying to persuade her, but to his surprise, when he mentioned bringing the murderer to justice, the black hair around him stopped tightening.
"What's going on? Is there still a culprit who hasn't faced punishment?" He quickly spoke again, repeatedly emphasizing that he would help Zhang Ya catch everyone who had wronged her.
The black hair slowly loosened. Zhang Ya seemed to be weighing her options. Chen Ge could only wait.
The dark dance studio fell silent again. Then, after more than ten seconds, something no one expected happened.
At this life-or-death moment, the back door of the dance studio suddenly swung open. A tall, thin man poked his head in and glanced around.
When he saw Chen Ge, a cruel, excited grin spread across his face. From behind his back, he pulled out a fruit knife, his hand adorned with a peony tattoo.
Coincidentally, when Chen Ge saw this man, a smile also appeared on his face. His eager expression seemed to say—You're finally here!
"Didn't expect to see me here, did you? You left too many traces. The ivy on the school's outer wall was torn off by you. The only window in the activity center had fresh dirt and grass seeds on it. After you entered this building, your footprints were everywhere. You were too careless. Today, I'm going to settle old and new scores with you!"
The tall, thin man at the door was Zhang Peng. His eyes were bloodshot, his spirit abnormally agitated, gripping the knife with his uninjured arm.
But what Chen Ge never expected was that after Zhang Peng finished his long speech and stepped into the dance studio, his expression shifted rapidly, as if he had changed faces.
One moment, his face was twisted with rage; the next, he stumbled back in panic, his eyes filled with hatred and malice.
"Did the mirror monster take over his body?" Before Chen Ge could react, Zhang Peng turned and fled downstairs faster than he had entered. It was as if he had seen something terrifying. His limbs twisted grotesquely, like a marionette running away crookedly.
The black hair around Chen Ge loosened. The girl who had been leaning against his back vanished. All he could see was a faint red shadow flickering in the mirror, as if chasing after him.
The cold sensation on his back slowly faded. Chen Ge stretched his stiff, numb body, picked up his phone and backpack, and ran toward the stairs on the other side of the building. He was no slower than Zhang Peng.
"Maybe I should put this favorability quest on hold for now. If I actually win Zhang Ya over, life from then on would be way too intense." Chen Ge burst out of the activity center, glancing back at the eerie campus as he dialed Captain Li's number.
The phone rang only once before it was picked up. Captain Li's voice came through: "Xiao Chen? Did Zhang Peng come after you again?"
"West City Private School! Zhang Peng is here! And I have something very important to tell you." Chen Ge's tone was urgent. He had already moved far from the activity center, running toward the school gate.
"Fu Jun, Da Yong, notify the criminal investigation team immediately." Captain Li didn't hang up. After giving the order, he spoke to Chen Ge again: "You have something else important?"
"Yes, at West City Private School, I've discovered another murder case!"