Xia Miao whispered softly, "It seems like there's a third person here."
After the lights went out, she thought she heard another sound. If there really was a third person in the restroom, why would they hide for so long without making a sound? There must be some purpose behind it!
Xia Miao grew tense.
Fu Lan noticed she was finally afraid and decided not to dwell on her touching him with unclean hands. He swatted her hand away, his tone amused, "Scared now? If you kneel—"
"Do you know how famous I am? How many people pay for my photos?" Xia Miao cut him off, her voice deliberately hushed but brimming with anger. "If someone snaps a picture of me tangled up with a guy like you in the women's restroom, how am I supposed to show my face? How is my family supposed to show theirs?"
Fu Lan seized on her phrasing. "What do you mean, 'a guy like me'?"
"Flashy, hypocritical, arrogant, spoiled, and stupid—that kind of guy."
Fu Lan laughed in disbelief.
Legend had it that a terrifying story once unfolded in the women's restroom on the fourth floor.
It was said that a girl had been pregnant, hiding it so well under loose clothing that no one noticed. But one night, she went into premature labor. Desperate, she hid in the farthest stall, where she ultimately died from complications, giving birth to a stillborn child.
The next day, a janitor discovered the scene—blood everywhere, a horror beyond words.
Afterward, rumors of paranormal activity spread through the school. To quell the panic, the school sealed the cursed stall with thick cement walls.
Yet, the ghost stories persisted.
At midnight, when the lights flickered out, the sealed stall would reappear.
With a creak, the door swung open, and a woman clutching a child stepped out.
Her hair hung in disarray, obscuring her pale, blood-streaked face. Barefoot, she left crimson footprints with every step.
But the most chilling detail was the child in her arms—a tiny, underdeveloped mass of flesh, still connected to her by a bloodied umbilical cord.
The woman moved slowly, pushing open stall doors one by one, her voice eerie and hollow.
"Anyone there?"
"Anyone there?"
"Anyone… there?"
She seemed to be reliving her final moments, desperately searching for help.
According to the legend, if she found someone, that person would become nourishment for her child.
From the last stall, voices murmured.
People!
The bloodied infant let out a garbled cry, as if urging the woman forward.
They couldn’t let this rare nighttime prey escape!
The woman quickened her pace as the voices grew clearer.
"Xia Miao, are you insane? I am the most perfect being in existence. Everyone loves me, everyone adores me. Do you know how many people would bankrupt themselves just for a glimpse of me? The fact that I’m even speaking to you right now should make you grovel in gratitude!"
"Ha! Ridiculous. Fu Lan, if so many people love you, why waste time hovering around me? I, the epitome of grace and intellect, have countless suitors vying for my attention. The fact that I’m tolerating you at all should have you kneeling at my feet, thanking me—'Thank you, Queen!'"
"Queen? More like a queen of idiots!"
"They call you the 'Prince of Charisma,' but honestly, you’re just a peacock in perpetual mating display, oozing pheromones and begging for a lineup of breeding partners!"
Fu Lan: "Who are you calling a peacock?!"
Xia Miao: "If the shoe fits."
Fu Lan: "You brainless slug!"
Xia Miao: "Deflect."
Fu Lan: "Disgusting swine!"
Xia Miao: "Deflect."
Fu Lan was practically hopping with rage. "Repulsive vermin!"
Xia Miao: "Deflect."
Two people, clearly, and they were locked in a heated argument.
The air thickened with negativity, a feast for lurking spirits.
Unable to resist, the woman and child pressed their hands—one large, one small—against the stall door, leaving bloody prints before swinging it open.
"Anyone—"
The pair inside whipped around in unison. "Get lost!"
The woman shuddered, her child burying itself in her arms. Blood droplets rained to the floor as she trembled.
The furious boy’s neck bulged unnaturally, a lump writhing beneath his skin, faintly resembling a human face.
As if countless versions of himself were fighting to break free.
Sensing danger, the woman bolted, dragging her child back to the fourteenth stall and slamming the door shut.
Fu Lan had never been this angry.
Normally, his emotions oscillated between amusement and boredom. But Xia Miao had pushed him to the brink of self-destruction.
"You ignorant, vile, contemptible insect!" He advanced, cornering her. Taller and broader, his presence alone was suffocating.
He hated how she rarely looked him in the eye. One hand shot out, gripping her chin and forcing her gaze up. Leaning down, he finally saw his own reflection in her widened eyes.
His lips curled into a vicious smirk. "I’ll make sure you regret crossing me."
Xia Miao seemed genuinely shaken—she stayed silent for a long moment. Then, abruptly, she covered her face, leaving only her shimmering, flustered eyes visible.
Fu Lan’s scalp prickled. "Why… why are you blushing?"
She squeezed her eyes shut, swatting his face away as she turned aside, mortified. "Obviously! You’re this close—how am I supposed to handle it?!"
So this was her breaking point.
Fu Lan's eyes gleamed with cunning intelligence as he straightened his crooked neck. This time, he firmly cupped Xia Miao’s face with both hands, forcing her flushed cheeks to stay in place, unable to evade his gaze.
His youthful features drew closer to hers again, this time near enough for him to feel her breath, to catch every flutter of her lashes.
"Xia Miao, you’re done for," he grinned, baring his little canine teeth. "I’ve found your weakness!"
Xia Miao felt as if he were just a hair’s breadth away from kissing her. Her face burned, her ears scorched, and her heart pounded wildly. The starlight in her eyes flickered like embers, radiating a heat that seemed capable of burning.
The air itself grew thick with an unnatural warmth.
Fu Lan’s hands twitched, nearly making him retreat in disarray. But he steeled himself, jaw clenched, his expression fierce and domineering.
"Xia Miao, look at how pathetic you are right now. If you don’t want to keep getting bullied, then do what everyone else does—admire me, chase after me, worship me. Got it?!"
