Shen Yi stared at him blankly.
Even though she had her suspicions about his identity, seeing it with her own eyes was still somewhat shocking.
Shen Ruxu's shirt was stained with scattered drops of blood. When he stood in front of her and asked, Aren't you going to run?, a spine-chilling terror instantly shot straight to the top of her skull.
"You..."
Shen Yi's voice was trembling a little.
She swallowed hard, steadying herself.
"Are you telling me to run?"
Shen Ruxu tilted his head, his tone lazy. "What else?"
He paused.
The corners of his mouth curved up slightly.
It wasn't a smile.
Just a slight curve, and his voice was as relaxed and cheerful as always. "It's not like I'm going to chase you."
Shen Yi was almost numb.
Really?
But you just called me by my full name, when you were clearly calling me Xiao Yi before.
The shift in how he addressed her made Shen Yi quickly realize that if she dared to run right now, she would absolutely end up lying in a coffin right next to that dead man, dead as a doornail.
Running was out of the question for the time being.
When faced with life and death, a person's tolerance is far higher than they imagine. She quickly calmed herself down. Not only did she not run, but she was even able to converse with him in a normal tone. "You killed someone, Teacher."
They had known each other for about a month, more or less.
But Shen Yi had never truly understood him. He treated her more like a stray cat or dog on the side of the road—he would tease her a couple of times when he was bored, and naturally, he wouldn't mind casually killing her off when it came down to it.
"Mm-hmm." He nodded, looking at her with a smile, his expression perfectly normal.
As if nothing had happened.
Shen Yi swallowed hard.
Her mind raced, and she started, "Then do you..."
Shen Ruxu was a little curious about what she wanted to say, so he didn't want to make a move just yet. At least until she finished speaking, he had no intention of doing anything.
"—Then do you need my help?" the girl suddenly spoke faster, blurting it out in one breath. "If you don't dispose of the body, it will be easily discovered."
Help?
Shen Ruxu was stunned.
"If you don't dispose of the body, it will be easily discovered!" Shen Yi repeated rapidly, her voice soft and fast, as if terrified of being interrupted. "I can be your lookout, I can help you find a place, I can help you..."
"You want to help me?"
Shen Ruxu tilted his head and looked at her, his expression a little strange.
Shen Yi nodded, trying hard not to look at the man lying dead in the flowerbeds. "Do you need it?"
"...No." His expression was odd. "It doesn't need to be dealt with."
At least not here, it wasn't needed.
Shen Yi asked in surprise, "Won't it be found?"
Shen Ruxu shook his head.
He surprisingly looked exceptionally docile. "It doesn't matter even if it is found."
Shen Yi looked at him.
Shen Ruxu was looking at her too.
He was genuinely a bit bewildered right now.
His mind was filled with: How strange, how incredibly strange.
Shen Ruxu liked to go around making friends and was an optimist, but his friendships rarely lasted long.
His previous friends were also very strange.
They would clearly often tell him how much they hated their colleagues or their bosses, even wishing they would all just die. He would then enthusiastically help them solve all their problems.
Yet in the end, they would all come to resent him, and some even threatened to kill him.
To the point that out of the group of friends he had finally managed to make, he had killed almost all of them until only a few were left.
Originally, Shen Ruxu had thought that if she dared to run away, he would just conveniently dispose of her too.
It was just one dead person, one more wouldn't make a difference.
Don't expect him to have a conscience. In his eyes, everything was just scenery passing by for a fleeting moment; if he missed one, there would be another.
Although this kid was very interesting, the world was so big.
There would definitely be a second one like her.
Shen Ruxu had never cared about the consequences of his actions.
But now...
She was actually asking if he needed help?
Help disposing of a body?
In all the years Shen Ruxu had lived, this was the first time he had ever encountered such a situation.
"But if the police come, you will go to prison and be executed," the girl's voice sounded again, confirming repeatedly. "I heard that inside, you have to wake up early to work and operate a sewing machine. Do you really not need me to help?"
Hearing this, Shen Ruxu seriously recalled his own brief stint in prison, his train of thought successfully derailed.
He muttered, "It seems so. I haven't operated a sewing machine yet, but on the first day, they made me get up early, eat, and go straight to work, and the food was terrible."
Shen Yi: "...You've actually been in there?!"
Shen Ruxu felt no shame at all. "Of course!"
It was even his older brother who had personally locked him up.
The girl couldn't help but speak with awe, "That's so impressive..."
He really was an eccentric god among men.
This bizarre conversation between the two of them actually succeeded in making Shen Ruxu drop the idea of getting rid of her.
He checked the time on his phone, realized it was about time, and since the flowers were delivered, he turned around, preparing to go do some actual business...
Like, kidnapping his own younger brother first.
"Bye-bye, bye-bye," the young man waved goodbye, his voice lazy. "I hope to see you again in the future, Xiao Yi."
She better absolutely not die here.
Sensing that the crisis was averted, Shen Yi's suspended heart dropped a little, and she obediently waved her hand and thanked him, "Thank you, Teacher."
The moment she turned her back, the smile on the girl's face vanished.
She sincerely prayed in her heart, hoping she would never, ever see this murderer, this homeless tramp again in her life.
...
Shen Yi didn't dare return to the classroom the way she came. Right now, even an idiot could realize that something was wrong. Chen Jiaojiao's whereabouts were unknown, and who knew where that group of people would take her.
And her brother.
The surroundings were quiet. The campus was empty and silent. Just then, a man's voice suddenly came over the broadcasting system.
His tone was flat, devoid of any emotion.
"All students in the school, please gather at the rooftop."
He repeated it a total of three times.
Hearing the broadcast, Shen Yi's footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
She was shocked.
Were these people not even pretending anymore?
The rooftop??
Gather??
Don't make her laugh.
She could understand gathering at the sports field.
To the rooftop?
A bunch of students trapped on the rooftop would have nowhere to run.
Were they trying to catch everyone in one fell swoop?
Because of the broadcast's call, students had already started walking out. The sound of students chatting and discussing drifted continuously down the hallways.
"Why do we have to gather on the rooftop?"
"Maybe there's an announcement."
"Where are the teachers? Why just a broadcast?"
"I don't know. Let's just go and see."
However, not all students obediently ran to the rooftop.
Many students still stayed in their classrooms, or wandered around in groups of three or five.
Without a doubt, those going to the rooftop were a flock of lambs walking straight into the wolf's den.
Shen Yi returned to the classroom and looked around for someone. After finding that Shen Xun wasn't there, she decisively turned around and rushed to the lockers. Opening her locker door, she fumbled around and successfully found the stun baton she had prepared long ago.
This was originally prepared in advance with the intention of fiercely electrocuting that homeless tramp.
But considering the height and age gap between the two of them, Shen Yi ultimately regrettably gave up on this suicidal behavior.
She never expected that it would actually have a second chance to make an appearance.
A thousand words melted into one sentence: Thank you to her sponsor, Shen Xun! Thank you to the homeless tramp for giving her a sense of crisis! Thank you to all of humanity!
Harboring a heart full of gratitude, Shen Yi gripped the weapon in her hand and ran as fast as her legs could carry her.
While sprinting down the corridor, she soon spotted a familiar figure.
Relieved to finally see someone she knew, Shen Yi called out to her without hesitation, "Zhao Shumin!"
Zhao Shumin turned around, freezing for a moment when she saw her. "Shen Yi?"
"Have you seen my brother?" Shen Yi asked, her words tumbling out rapidly.
Zhao Shumin gently shook her head.
"Shen Xun? I didn't really notice." Looking completely lost, she kept asking, "What is going on with our school? The broadcast told us to gather on the rooftop. Should we go?"
Shen Yi replied, "Don't ask me, I don't know."
Trying to find an exit in the school right now was completely unrealistic. These people had clearly come fully prepared. If they tried to leave, not only would they fail to escape, but they would also be walking right into a trap.
Zhao Shumin hurried her steps to keep up. "Shen Yi, where are we going?"
Shen Yi didn't shoo her away. After all, she was free to do what she wanted. If she wanted to tag along, let her. When push came to shove, it would be every man for himself anyway.
"I don't know. Let's find a place to hide first. The situation is too chaotic, and I can't make sense of it right now," Shen Yi said. "What about the rest of our class?"
"A lot of them went out to hang around, and some went to the rooftop to gather." Zhao Shumin felt a growing sense of unease. "What are we going to do?"
Half of the students had run to the rooftop. The other half were mostly just too lazy to move, brushing off the broadcast as if it were nothing.
"Steer clear of the adults. We need to hide. If you run into anyone who looks like a teacher or a security guard, run immediately. None of them are up to any good."
Shen Yi was surprisingly calm in this moment. Zhao Shumin, finally feeling like she had found someone to rely on, nodded vigorously and whispered back:
"Okay, I will."
