Chapter 25: A Beast in Human Guise

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Li Kang had barely left the security office when the evening study session ended. Alone, he made his way toward the equipment storage room by the gym. At this hour, all the students had either returned to their dormitories or were strolling across the sports field—no one would come to this secluded storage room. Rumor had it, after all, that He Qing had seen a ghost here.

As Li Kang arrived outside the equipment room, he spotted Zhou Xiaowan sitting alone on the bench at its entrance.

“Why did you ask me to come here?” Li Kang asked, hands stuffed in his pockets as he sat down beside her.

Zhou Xiaowan kept her head lowered, her voice barely audible. “I want to tell you something.”

“Didn’t we make things clear enough during the day?” Li Kang snorted coldly. “Zhao Qingqing’s death has nothing to do with me. She killed herself in her own dormitory. You can’t pin this on me.”

“Yan Yu said—”

“Why do you care what he says? He’s just a penniless nobody—you really take him for your cousin?” Li Kang grabbed Zhou Xiaowan by the shoulders. “Don’t you know what kind of person I am?”

Zhou Xiaowan shook her head silently. In the past, she would have believed Li Kang to be a well-mannered, decent, and sunny young man. But now, he seemed increasingly unfamiliar to her.

She looked up, her face already streaked with tears. “Li Kang, tell me the truth. Did you do something to Qingqing?”

“What do you mean by that?” Li Kang’s expression darkened.

“I saw you give Qingqing an iPhone with my own eyes. But after she died, you started spreading rumors that she traded her body for it…” Zhou Xiaowan choked out through sobs. “I know Qingqing. She’d never do something like that. But after the incident, she wouldn’t tell me anything… That day after school, I saw Qingqing go into the equipment room. Not long after, you and Xu Jin went in as well. When Qingqing came out, she seemed like a completely different person…”

“You saw all that?!” Li Kang’s face changed.

Zhou Xiaowan nodded through her tears. She liked Li Kang and naturally wanted to know what he was up to, which was why she had followed him—never expecting to witness such a scene.

“Li Kang, tell me—what did you do to Qingqing?”

Li Kang’s face darkened further, then he suddenly broke into a laugh. “Xiaowan, you’ve got it all wrong. That day, I just happened to be borrowing some equipment. I did see Zhao Qingqing there, but we only exchanged a few words. If you don’t believe me, you can come in and check the rental log with me—my signature’s there.”

Zhou Xiaowan was startled, sizing Li Kang up. His smile seemed genuine, not like he was lying. As if bewitched, she followed him inside the equipment room.

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But—

The moment Zhou Xiaowan stepped into the equipment room, Li Kang slammed the door shut behind them and locked it. He lunged, knocking her to the ground.

“Li Kang, what are you doing?!” Zhou Xiaowan screamed.

“Zhou Xiaowan, you didn’t see anything that day, did you? I know your family has some money, but your family’s wealth is just leftovers from my father’s table. If you want to keep living this way, you’ll do as I say. Otherwise… you’ll end up just like Zhao Qingqing!”

In the dim light, Li Kang seemed to shed his human skin, revealing the beast beneath. His face twisted with ferocity, he clamped his hands tightly around Zhou Xiaowan’s neck.

“So it was you… it really was you! Yan Yu was right— you and Xu Jin, you’re the ones who killed Qingqing!”

Zhou Xiaowan was overwhelmed with regret. She should have listened to Yan Yu from the start.

“Zhao Qingqing was just an orphan. You and she were never the same. If you promise to keep your mouth shut, we can pretend none of this ever happened!” Li Kang roared.

Zhou Xiaowan gritted her teeth, her face turning ghostly pale from lack of oxygen. Suddenly, she pulled a fruit knife from her pocket and stabbed Li Kang’s arm.

“Aah—!”

Li Kang howled in pain and released her. Zhou Xiaowan scrambled to her feet and backed into a corner. Blood dripped from the long wound on Li Kang’s arm, pooling on the floor.

“You filthy—!” Li Kang spat, furious.

Trembling but defiant, Zhou Xiaowan shouted, “Qingqing died because of you! I won’t let her die in vain!”

“And who do you think you are?” Li Kang sneered coldly. “While she was alive, Zhao Qingqing was nothing but a whore. Worthless even in death. Is what you’re doing for her really worth it? Do you think she’ll crawl back from hell just to thank you?”

Before he finished, the window of the equipment room suddenly slammed shut.

Bang—

The sharp noise startled them both. The temperature in the room seemed to plunge.

“Trying to play ghostly tricks?” Li Kang shouted in anger. “Yan Yu, I know it’s you. Get out here right now!”

At that moment, Zhou Xiaowan felt something stirring in her pocket—and then, a wooden comb floated into the air before her eyes.

“It’s Qingqing… Qingqing is here…” Zhou Xiaowan said, her voice trembling with excitement.

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Li Kang, however, was so terrified he stumbled backward until he hit the wall, pressing his back tightly against it.

The lights in the equipment room flickered. From the wooden comb, a pale figure slowly materialized—it was Zhao Qingqing, dressed in white.

Her hair loose and wild, her face as pale as paper, and her eyes wider than ping-pong balls. Her neck bent at an unnatural angle, as if an invisible rope still hung tightly around it.

“Ghost… a ghost… aaaaah!” Li Kang couldn’t hold it in any longer. He screamed in terror.

Zhao Qingqing’s mouth stretched into a ghastly smile, her long tongue rolling out between her lips. “Li Kang… didn’t you say… you liked me?… Why are you… so scared now… to see me…”

“Get… get away! You killed yourself—it’s not my fault!” Li Kang stammered in terror.

Zhao Qingqing drifted closer and closer, her deathly white face almost touching his. “If you like me so much… take a good look… I’ll give you the chance…”

“No… no… no!”

. . .

“No!”

In the teachers’ dormitory, Yan Yu suddenly shot to his feet.

Su Han looked at him in confusion. “What’s wrong… don’t tell me you’re still a virgin?”

Yan Yu flushed. Embarrassed, he mumbled, “I just don’t feel ready. Maybe… maybe we could try again next week?”

Su Han snorted and crossed her legs, her tone sharp. “You think you can just come and go in my place as you please? Either you give in to me now, or you’ll never get another chance.”

Yan Yu forced a bitter smile. “Miss Su, I’d love to have a heart-to-heart with you, but… I prefer to do those things with the living. Doing it with the dead would ruin my yang energy!”

Su Han’s face drained of all color.