The two of them looked towards the back door at the same time.

Seigetsu Zhu seemed startled, standing still in place; while Sunny Xu held his breath and instinctively lifted his leg, preparing to pull someone and run.

...But there was no one in that direction.

Not even half a shadow, only a gust of night wind blowing into the classroom, causing the door to sway slightly.

"Is someone playing a prank?"

Seigetsu Zhu muttered, her voice trembling involuntarily.

"You wait here, I'll go outside and check the situation."

Sunny Xu didn't wait for her opinion, and directly walked quickly to the door.

The classroom door was originally not closed, and he stood at the door frame and looked left and right; the dimly lit staircase, the empty corridor immersed in darkness, all empty.

Sunny Xu took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Even in a closed-eye state, a normal person can still sense the presence of light and objects, because external stimuli are not completely isolated;

In addition, even in an environment of absolute darkness, one can still perceive the faint light, which is the "noise" generated by the retinal nerve cells when they are in operation.

But besides that, Sunny Xu can "see" more things than an ordinary person, things that do not exist in reality--

For example, Little An.

As long as it appears within a certain range, he can "see" a huge fish-shaped outline, shining with faint light, entering his field of vision.

This kind of "seeing" is not through the observation of the naked eye, but a new application of "mental perception". Compared to the ability to see the past or present scenes through a medium and the "eyes" of others, it is more convenient and easy to achieve.

Sunny Xu even had a sudden realization. Perhaps the reason why he could see the existence of Little An from the beginning was the manifestation of this ability... but he mistakenly thought it was observed through the naked eye at that time.

Of course, because of this, Sunny Xu can still do it with his eyes open, but it is easy to be distracted by other things within his visual range.

During this week, he and Starry Lin didn't let it go to waste like that. They tested different ways of using "mental perception" several times together.

Taking Little An as an example, as long as it enters a range of two hundred meters, he can sense its presence, regardless of whether it is within the limits of his field of vision. It seems that it is not so easy for Starry Lin to scare herself by suddenly appearing in front of her like before.

In other words, if the old man in Zhongshan suit from No. 41 Anning Street "haunted house" appears again at this moment, he should be able to sense whether the other party has entered the campus of No. 15 Middle School...

"It seems like there's still no one."

Sunny Xu opened his eyes.

"Is there anyone?"

Captain Zhu's questioning voice came from behind.

"Well... I didn't see anyone."

Sunny Xu turned his head and shook it at her.

If there were just no people, it would be fine, but this time he really didn't even see a "ghost".

Theoretically, the Little An summoned by Starry Lin and the ghosts in the haunted house are of the same kind, both from another world, invisible to ordinary people but able to interfere with reality... but now he seems a bit uncertain, because the examples that can be used as a basis are still too scarce.

Sunny Xu suddenly heard footsteps.

Different from the eerie running sound just now, this one seemed more human, mixed with the sound of talking and laughing.

In a short while, students wearing school uniforms walked up the stairs one after another,

...They were members of the study group, and this time they really came back.

*

There were a total of five people, two males and three females.

"Seigetsu, I brought you something to eat~"

The girl who seemed to be the leader, with her hair twisted into a bun, walked in first and greeted the class monitor on her seat warmly.

"No need."

"Oh, it's okay. Just consider it as a reward for teaching me before!"

The other party still insisted.

Seigetsu Zhu hesitated for a moment and casually found an excuse to say.

"It will make me gain weight..."

"It's fine, it's just a drink."

The girl forcefully placed the plastic cup in the bag in front of her, then curiously looked towards Sunny Xu.

"So, is this the new member joining the group?"

Seigetsu Zhu nodded and introduced.

"This is Sunny Xu from Class One."

"Oh, the one who ranked second in the grade last time, right?"

Someone said so.

The girls cast curious glances at Sunny Xu, and two of them whispered to each other, laughing exaggeratedly after a few words, patting each other's shoulders... Sunny Xu couldn't figure out what was going on in their heads sometimes, it was not easier than solving a difficult math problem.

One of the boys with glasses glanced at Sunny Xu, didn't say hello, and walked straight past him back to his seat; the other one, on the other hand, was very enthusiastic and came over to shake his hand.

"Hello, I'm Wang Yue."

This person was obviously overweight, but fortunately, his physique was still tall and he didn't look too bloated. Compared to people of the same age, he seemed a bit anxious.

"I'm Sunny Xu..."

Sunny Xu shook hands with him and just introduced himself with a name, but he heard him laugh and say.

"I already knew about you, bro!"

"..."

"In fact, many people in the school know your name. The incident that morning has spread, and everyone admires you!" Wang Yue shook the hand held together forcefully, "To be able to handle that female school bully, you're really amazing!"...Here we go again. Sunny Xu was starting to feel numb.

After chatting about some annoying and boring topics, Wang Yue suddenly put on a mysterious expression and asked in a low voice, "By the way, did Starry Lin have a boyfriend before?"

"No."

"Does she not smoke, drink, or go to bars?"

"That's right."

The nearby entertainment venues were like a dangerous place for the previous Starry Lin. She just hoped to avoid the attention of others.

For ordinary children from normal families, when they are bullied at school or extorted by gangsters on the street, and they don't want to be seen by others, the only choice is to hide at home and cry secretly... But for Starry Lin, even this last choice did not exist.

As far as he knew, when his friend had nothing to do, her favorite thing was to run to the rooftop of a certain residential building - the place they now considered their "secret base" - overlooking the city below or gazing at the night sky, while fantasizing about when the end-of-the-world prophecy written in those cheap books would actually come true. The legendary terror king would descend from the sky and burn the entire city to ashes, and then she would be able to relax.

...Although it didn't sound like a positive and healthy activity, compared to the average delinquent girl, she was relatively well-behaved.

"That's right! That's perfect," Wang Yue said with envy in his tone. "But well, I knew about it a long time ago. When those people spread rumors about Starry Lin, I didn't even bother."

"Is that so?"

"Of course! It's obvious if you think about it," the other person said with an air of certainty. "Starry Lin fought with a group of gangsters at the school gate before. Someone even pulled out a knife, but she took them down in just a few moves. With such strength, who in our school can be worthy of her? No wonder she doesn't have many friends, she must look down on them."

"Is that right?"

Emotionally excited, Wang Yue, who was splattering saliva as he spoke, threw the topic back at himself.

Well, Sunny Xu thought, so that's how the incident during the midterm exams got blown out of proportion.

He was an eyewitness and knew that it was Starry Lin who had wielded the knife back then. She wasn't like she is now, capable of fighting off multiple opponents. Carrying a knife with her was purely for intimidation.

This move was quite effective in general situations. The gangsters were not desperate criminals; they were mostly bullies who would instinctively back off when they saw a gleaming blade. In addition, Starry Lin was indeed good at running and could always escape from trouble.

But one thing led to another. At that time, although she could barely handle those who had ill intentions towards her, her life was definitely not carefree. For ordinary people, high school life was just a straight line between school and home, but for Starry Lin, both places were like dangerous primeval forests, and she had to rack her brains every day to avoid getting hurt.

During the midterm exams, she was even blocked by outsiders at the school gate. It might have been the doing of Shi Hui. If Sunny Xu hadn't seen him reporting it, there might have been real danger.

But now, in the eyes of the unknowing students, the situation was completely different: Starry Lin was a hidden identity in the school, a master of unparalleled martial arts. No one would think about how she had lived in such a miserable and difficult way, how many times she had thought about giving up...

Sunny Xu's mood was somewhat complicated, but faced with the curious inquiries of others, he could only smile and say nothing.

"...But I'm still a little curious. How did you and Starry Lin meet? Are you two... um, good friends?" Wang Yue asked tentatively. "I don't mean to look down on you, my brother, but..."

"We just live close to each other."

Sunny Xu vaguely replied, and the other person showed an expression of "I guessed it right."

"Ah, pursuing girls is indeed like reaching for the moon from a water tower," Wang Yue sighed deeply. "It would be great if I had a childhood friend as a neighbor! Even if she's not as beautiful and skilled as Starry Lin, it would be nice if she could be gentle and considerate to me..."

"Yue Yue, stop daydreaming," a girl next to them teased with a smile. "Even if there really is a girl who grew up with you, she might not necessarily be interested in you."

"That's right, that's right," the girl with braided hair, who was talking to Zhu Seigetsu, chimed in. "And also, don't ask about the relationship between Xu and Lin. It has nothing to do with you. Don't meddle in other people's business."

"I'm not..."

Sunny Xu's words were cut off halfway, and his classmate Wang Yue shouted in a resentful and indignant voice.

"Hey, you guys are too harsh on me!"

"Hahaha!"

"Hahaha..."

The classroom was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

...

Sunny Xu closed his mouth and laughed along.

According to Zhu Seigetsu, the rumors about him and Starry Lin came from her friends. Sunny Xu thought it might be this group of people.

Although he was once again treated as a topic of conversation, Sunny Xu had gotten used to it and didn't feel too angry.

At least the atmosphere in the study group was quite good. Even the strange atmosphere that had arisen when he and Zhu Seigetsu were alone in the classroom, due to a series of strange incidents of knocking on windows and doors, had completely disappeared.

He unconsciously looked at Zhu Seigetsu.

The girl seemed a little helpless, and after exchanging a glance with Sunny Xu, she quickly understood his thoughts.

The class leader coughed lightly.

"By the way, there's something I want to ask you all. Did anyone see anyone when we were going upstairs?"Seigetsu Zhu held quite a bit of authority in the eyes of these people, and the students from Class Five quickly quieted down, their attention all focused on her.

"What just happened?"

The bespectacled male student who had been silent at the back finally spoke up.

"Just a few minutes before you all arrived, Xu and I were in the classroom when we suddenly heard someone running around outside the door, knocking and banging on the windows. But when we went out to check, we found no one."

"Right, right," Sunny Xu chimed in from the side, "It was quite scary."

The members of the study group exchanged glances.

"We didn't see anything..."

"Was someone playing a prank?"

"Could it be a lunatic?" The girl with the braided hair made a clawing gesture, half-jokingly said, "Escaped from the hospital and ran to the school? I think I've heard of such things before."

Sunny Xu nodded vigorously in agreement.

Whether it was a ghost or a lunatic, it was all the same. Anything that posed a danger should be avoided in advance. As the saying goes, "A wise man keeps away from danger."

But what he didn't expect was that after a while of chatting, they actually started to sit down and do their homework! Occasionally discussing academic problems in hushed voices, they showed no intention of continuing the previous topic.

After all, those who voluntarily participated in this study group were definitely ambitious students, all with a sense of dedication to their studies. The problem was...

Sunny Xu held his head, beginning to wonder if he was being too sensitive.

Perhaps it was because these people hadn't personally experienced the horror, so they didn't take it seriously?

He thought for a moment, walked over to Seigetsu Zhu, and asked in a low voice:

"Class President Zhu, should we...?"

"I think we should wait for the teacher to arrive, explain the situation to him first, and then decide. It should be safer with an adult present."

Sunny Xu nodded slightly, feeling that this was indeed the more appropriate course of action.

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......

However, about twenty minutes later, the teacher still hadn't arrived.

He finally began to feel restless.