Case Files Chapter 41: Campus Suspicions (3)

Translated by Vivian of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

 

As he stood under the dormitory building with his suitcase, Guan Jin’s eyes twitched.

Lu YunYang, who was standing next to him, looked very pleased. “I feel as if a child in my family has grown up. Parents who bring their children here must feel the same.”

“If you haven’t woken up yet, then you don’t have to see me off.”

“That won’t work, I have to make sure that you move into the dorm and see you set up your things.”

“Ah, if it isn’t Professor Lu.” A middle-aged woman walked out of the dorm’s Area A and waved at him. “Is this your kid? Probably not, how can your kid be this old, you don’t even look to be thirty.”

Guan Jin slowly turned around, “Dad.”

“This kid just likes to joke around, don’t mind him.” Lu YunYang wrapped an arm around Guan Jin’s shoulder. “This is my friend’s little brother, so he’s like my own brother. He’s an exchange student, so please look after him in the future.”

“Of course, Professor Lu.” The woman beamed brightly.

Lu YunYang followed the dormitory supervisor into the building and whispered to Guan Jin, “Unfilial son, be careful your dad comes to discipline you.”

“He wouldn’t, but he might come to find you.”

“…” 

*****

The dormitory was in good condition. It housed four people, it was set up with the beds on top and desks underneath, as well as a private bathroom.

Guan Jin occupied the bed and desk that used to belong to Dong Ping. The other people who lived in the dormitory weren’t there, and as Lu YunYang watched him efficiently set up his things, he commented curiously, “Your independent living skills are very strong.”

“Nonsense, I’ve lived independently for so many years already.”

“You’re very good at making the dorm bed, and it matches the requirements of military training.”

“I’ve gone to university for four years before.”

“Didn’t you forget everything?”

Guan Jin paused briefly before continuing to wipe the desk. “Perhaps it has already become a habit.”

After Lu YunYang left, Guan Jin sat at his desk and spaced out. Unexpectedly, he was going to experience university after dying. If-if at the time, he had been a child born in an ordinary family, would he have yearned to go down this path? Study at a university, find a decent job with a good salary, get married and have kids, and then let his own children continue this type of life… 

Unfortunately, even though he had been given a second chance at life, he discovered that the excitement and dizziness of wandering at the edge of life and death had already become part of his soul, so there was no way for him to become attached to a calm life. In this way, it seemed that becoming a police officer was actually a pretty good result; at least his days wouldn’t be as plain as boiled water. Otherwise, he would’ve thought of a way to go back a long time ago.

Suddenly, the door opened, and three boys walked in. When they saw Guan Jin, they were stunned. The chubby boy in the lead scratched his head in embarrassment. “You must be the exchange student our teacher was talking about, I didn’t expect you would come so early.” The other two also came forward to introduce themselves.

Although Guan Jin didn’t like to talk that much, he knew how to act. He nodded politely and said, “My name is Guan Jin, nice to meet you all.”

After exchanging pleasantries, the boys couldn’t help but look at the bed Guan Jin had made. Guan Jin knew that Dong Ping had died less than a week ago, so they definitely felt a little uneasy. “I know that something happened to the person who lived here, I’m sorry for your loss.”

The three boys were surprised, and their eyes dimmed in sadness.

*****

Lin Bai was quickly on intimate terms with his roommates, and they were discussing strategies for defeating a certain boss in the videogame Tianxia.

Two of his roommates were in the physics department, and one was in the chemistry department. The chemistry student stood up and said reluctantly, “Ah, I’m going to go to the ghost building to do an experiment, wish me a safe return.”

Lin Bai immediately turned around. “Ghost building?!”

“You’re new here, so you don’t know about it. Our old laboratory building was built by some German people, so it has a European style from the early 20th century, and the lights are dim… I heard that since it was put into use, nine people have died inside it,” Physics Number One——a codename Lin Bai had come up with——said mysteriously.

“What? It’s nineteen,” refuted Physics Number Two.

“Forget about the ones in that period of time, just in the last six months, two people have died, and they both died in very strange ways.” The chemistry student shook his head helplessly. “One of them died in our laboratory room, and just thinking about it gives me the chills.”

 *****

Ding Ding hadn’t been able to move into the dormitory Cheng JiaoJiao used to live in, since her roommates had all dispersed. In the end, she moved into a female dormitory for Chinese language and literature majors, since the marine biology majors lived on the floor above hers.

The girls in Ding Ding’s dormitory were all very pretty, and they were known as the room with all the Chinese beauties. Chen MinMin was very beautiful and had a humble background, Tang ZiYou was very mature and ladylike, Jiang Nan was lively and pretty, and herself, who everyone deemed as innocent and cute. Ding Ding thought to herself, I bet you can’t tell that I’m older than you all, ahaha, it’s not my fault I look so young.

However, Ding Ding was an elite member of the Special Cases Unit, so she was very keen and observant. She quickly noticed that the dormitory’s atmosphere was a little strange, so when only she and Jiang Nan were in the room, she quietly remarked, “I don’t think ZiYou and MinMin are in good spirits.”

Jiang Nan was a very efficient girl, and she didn’t beat around the bush. “Yeah, when they came for their first year of university, they were very talkative and cheerful, but two months later, they suddenly became very gloomy. However, they slowly recovered, but starting from June this year, they became like this again, and I think that it’s more serious this time. ZiYou’s complexion is getting worse and worse, and MinMin gets startled very easily. Ah, I don’t know how to help them, and since they didn’t tell me anything, it’s not very convenient to ask them about it.”

June this year… Wang TianPeng had died around that time. 

*****

“It turns out you’re the exchange student, what a coincidence. I’m Qin Xiao, do you still remember me?”

Guan Jin, who was yawning, looked up at the overly cheerful boy who had sat next to him. “Mn.”

“What’s your name? We’re in the same class, this really is fate.”

To be honest, Qin Xiao was very handsome, he was full of youthful vigor, and his smile was very likable. However, Guan Jin had always inexplicably disliked overly cheerful people, so he was too lazy to even act his part.

“Guan Jin,” he said dully.

Qin Xiao wasn’t annoyed by his terseness and remained sitting next to him, though he didn’t say anything else.

The English class was relatively small, so the female teacher noticed the new student right away. She said in English, “We have a new student, so can you please stand up and introduce yourself? Welcome.”

Guan Jin stood up uneasily among the scattered applause. This was his first time attending a class, and the first time a teacher had called on him to speak in front of the class.

“My name is Guan Jin, I come from XX University, and my hometown is City S. Nice to meet you all.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“Haha, Guan Jin is very concise. However, your pronunciation is very accurate.” The teacher was surprised. “Do you have an English name?”

“Tom,” Guan Jin said off the top of his head.

“We already have a Tom.”

“Green.”

“We also have a Green already.”

These kids were so uncreative. “Ethan.”

After class was dismissed and he was walking back, Qin Xiao caught up to him. “Your English is so good, but I think that I detect a hint of Southern California.”

Guan Jin glanced at him. “Yours is also very good, I think that your English has a hint of Northern Spain.”

Qin Xiao was stunned, but after a bit, he laughed.

What a brat, he didn’t even know to respect his elders!

On Guan Jin’s third day of attending the school, Lu YunYang was skimming through some papers. The door was suddenly and rudely pushed open, and Guan Jin strode in furiously.

Lu YunYang stood up in surprise and walked over to close his office door. “Is there any progress? Why’d you suddenly come?”

“There’s no progress, but there is danger.”

“Danger?”

“If I can’t get a good night’s sleep, I’m going to turn this school into a bloodbath!” Smoke was practically coming out of Guan Jin’s ears.

Lu YunYang finally noticed his faint eyebags. “You’re not used to sharing a room with others?”

“Nonsense. Sleep talking, teeth grinding, and farting! How am I supposed to sleep?!”

The others seem to sleep just fine. Of course, Lu YunYang wasn’t going to say this out loud.

“How horrible, they really need to increase the sleeping environment for students,” placated Lu YunYang.  “Then how about this,” Lu YunYang’s eyes suddenly lit up, “I have a separate apartment in the teacher’s lodging near the student dorms, and I usually stay there if I have classes very late and don’t have time to go home. You can live there, and as for the dorms, I’ll think of a way to explain it for you.”

*****

“It’s not bad,” Guan Jin said in satisfaction as he toured around.

“Then you can rest assured and live here.” Lu YunYang put down the papers he was holding, took off his shoes, and began changing.

“…What’s this supposed to mean, are you also going to live here?”

Lu YunYang blinked. “This is my apartment, if I don’t live here, then where do I live?”

“How about your house that’s filled with antiques?” prompted Guan Jin.

“It’s too far, I have class first thing in the morning tomorrow.”

“There’s only one bed here.”

“It’s very big. After the school provided me with this place, I specially requested a change of beds. I also have very high requirements for my sleeping conditions, so you can rest assured.”

“I’m not used to sharing a bed with someone else!”

“Sleep talking.”

“…”

“Teeth grinding.”

“…”

“Fa——”

“Enough.” Guan Jin warned fiercely, “Stay far away from me. I hurt people in my sleep, so if something happens, it’s on you, not me.”

“I recall that you look really good when you sleep, quiet and cute.” Lu YunYang was immersed in his fond memories.

“How come you don’t even have a knife here?”

“What do you want a knife for?”

“If I say that I murdered you while I was sleepwalking, would the police believe it?”

 

“…”