Chapter 74: Group Photo
Red is the color with the longest wavelength and the most vivid sense of color in the visible spectrum, while black is the exact opposite. When paired together, the two colors create a special visual effect.
The black house was like the night, and the red figures were like blood. The two merged together, creating an overwhelmingly oppressive feeling.
"This kid likes to space out and draw all the time. He never goes out to play, always locking himself in his room." The thin, dark woman had walked in at some point, holding two glasses of water. "I don't wish for anything else now. I just hope he can grow up happy and healthy, like a normal child."
She handed one glass to Chen Ge and placed the other beside the boy. "Let's talk outside. He's very afraid of strangers."
"Alright." Chen Ge took the glass and returned to the living room, where the thin, dark woman sat across from him.
"Is there anything else you want to ask?" The woman seemed a bit nervous.
"Fan Yu really does seem pitiful. I think he must have been traumatized by something. To cure him, we need to find the root cause and then prescribe the right treatment." Chen Ge spoke his mind. "You're his only family, and it's clear you love him deeply. Can I ask you a few more questions?"
The thin, dark woman nodded. Perhaps because of the heat, fine beads of sweat had formed on her forehead.
"You mentioned earlier that Fan Yu's parents went missing looking for him. Where was Fan Yu eventually found?"
"At Muyang Middle School. He was hiding in my brother's office."
"Muyang Middle School again. That school seems to have a lot of incidents."
"Tell me about it." The thin, dark woman sighed softly. "Muyang is the worst school in Hanjiang. I don't even know what purpose it serves. There were always incidents—fights and brawls that even brought in the police."
"That serious?" Chen Ge listened intently. Having the woman explain firsthand was much more convenient than searching online himself.
"There are even worse things." The woman straightened up, looking serious. "That school is cursed. The old folks around say the site used to be a crematorium, but it was all demolished long ago due to city planning. But think about it—building a school on top of that is bound to attract all sorts of strange things. I warned my brother back then, but he wouldn't listen."
"Why was your brother so determined to teach at Muyang Middle School?"
"The pay was good, plus he had made mistakes before and had trouble finding work. He wanted to earn some money, but in the end, he ended up dragging his wife down with him."
"Made mistakes? Did he have any enemies? Could his disappearance be the work of someone holding a grudge?" Chen Ge immediately caught the detail in her words.
"No, not that. My brother liked to drink, and he was a terrible drunk. He kept messing things up because of it, and eventually, the school he worked at fired him, leaving a bad mark on his record. There are only so many schools in Hanjiang, and everyone knows everyone else's business, so it was hard for him to find another job."
"So it's not a revenge killing."
"Definitely not."
The woman's choice of words made Chen Ge narrow his eyes. "How can you be so sure?"
"I won't hide it from you anymore." The woman pulled a photo from the back of a drawer and placed it on the table. "Ever since Muyang Middle School was built, there's been one classroom with both front and back doors locked, forbidden for students to enter. No one knows why except the old principal. After he passed away, it became an unsolved mystery. There are all sorts of legends about that classroom—that the spirits of the crematorium hold classes there, that workers died in the unfinished classroom during construction, and so on. In short, it's a very ominous place."
"But what does that have to do with your brother's disappearance?" Chen Ge still didn't quite understand.
"Look at this photo."
Chen Ge took the photo from the woman. It was a very eerie group photo.
A clearly drunk man sat dizzily in the center, surrounded by several rows of students of varying heights.
At first glance, it looked like an ordinary graduation photo. But the problem was that all the students were standing with their backs to the camera!
And if you looked closely, you could see that each student's posture was strange, as if they were all standing on tiptoes.
"Where did you get this photo? Have the police seen it?" Chen Ge set the photo on the table and wiped the sweat from his palm.
"The night before he disappeared, he stayed up drinking and watching a ball game with friends. Afterward, to avoid being late for class, he went straight to school in a daze. It wasn't fully light out yet, and he planned to sleep in the infirmary. On the way, he passed a classroom and saw a lot of people inside. He thought, 'Which class is studying so hard?' and stopped for a moment. The people in the class seemed to be preparing for a group photo. When they saw him, they invited him to sit in the middle. After the photo was taken, the students left, and someone handed him this photo." The woman's voice was calm, but the story she told was chilling.
"When my brother looked at the photo and saw that everyone was facing away from the camera, the alcohol scared him sober. That's when he realized he was sitting right in front of that sealed-off classroom." The thin, dark woman pushed the photo toward Chen Ge. "He only told me and his wife about this. He thought it would blow over, but that very night, the misfortune happened. Xiao Yu wandered off, and the two of them went out to look for him, only to both disappear. So I don't think his disappearance was a revenge killing—it has to be connected to that sealed classroom."
"What did the police say?" Chen Ge pushed the photo back.
"They took it to Muyang Middle School to investigate. Although the students in the photo were all wearing Muyang uniforms, none of them were actually students there. Later, they opened the sealed classroom and searched it thoroughly. They only found my brother's footprints, confirming that he had indeed entered the classroom that day." The woman's story grew more and more eerie.
"Alright, I understand." Chen Ge asked a few more questions, but there were things she didn't know, only giving vague answers.
Deciding he wouldn't get anything new, Chen Ge stood up to leave.
"Leaving already? It's so hot out—have some water before you go?"
"No, thanks." Chen Ge declined her kindness, took his phone, and left the two-story building.
After talking with the woman, Chen Ge had a more comprehensive understanding of Muyang Middle School. "Muyang Middle School has four side quests, and two of them are connected to this little boy's family."
He took out Fan Yu's drawing from his pocket and looked at it again. The black and red seemed to be desperately trying to express something. "A black house and red figures—is there some connection between this and Muyang Middle School? Could the pattern in the drawing be one of the school's buildings?"