Chapter 89: Death Class 7 (Part 13)

Shen Qingqiu’s interrogation and Chen Kaijie’s investigation gradually pieced together Xiao Muyu’s rough hypothesis about Instance No. 004’s storyline.

A conflict among students had triggered a tragic incident that cursed the entire Class 3-7. Someone would be dragged into a nightmarish game each time. Those who failed—died.

Xiao Muyu looked toward the distant window of Class 7’s classroom. Liu Ya and Lin Xue happened to be sitting by the window.

The two were huddled together, deep in conversation. Lin Xue must have said something amusing because the usually withdrawn Liu Ya suddenly laughed.

Then, Xiao Muyu saw Lin Xue reach out and ruffle Liu Ya’s hair. It was a gesture full of warmth and affection. She even leaned in to whisper something in Liu Ya’s ear. Eventually, their hands intertwined.

The harmonious scene contrasted sharply with the lifeless atmosphere looming over Class 7.

Xiao Muyu kept her gaze on them. Shen Qingqiu noticed and followed her line of sight.

“Did you notice something?” she asked.

The two students had already separated their hands and returned to their tasks. Xiao Muyu seemed a bit distracted. “I feel like Liu Ya and Lin Xue are close.”

Shen Qingqiu observed for a moment. “They are. They go everywhere together and sit at the same desk. They’re inseparable.” She turned to Xiao Muyu. “Do you think she’s suspicious?”

Xiao Muyu nodded. “Liu Ya has been drawing my attention far too often in this instance.”

She took a deep breath before addressing the group chat. “We now have a clear direction. First, we must survive the night-time hunting game. Second, we have to uncover what happened during the two police reports at Yuanning High and how this curse came to be.”

Su Jin and Chen Kaijie quickly responded, “Understood.”

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Zhang Zhu had been rebellious and never believed in Class 7’s so-called curse. However, he had become noticeably more obedient after everything that happened. He stayed within sight of his classmates at all times to avoid accidents.

Xiao Muyu didn’t say anything more. She only listened to the lesson, appearing unusually quiet.

After dinner, Shen Qingqiu, Xiao Muyu, and Zuo Tiantian walked by the artificial lake. The moment Zuo Tiantian saw the pavilion, she felt apprehensive. Voice lowered, she said, “You two still have the guts to come here for a walk?”

Xiao Muyu glanced at the pavilion and the water at the same level as in her dream. Her gaze drifted slightly.

Noticing her expression, Shen Qingqiu smirked and touched her lips. Amusement flashed in her eyes. Sly as a fox, she said meaningfully, “Last night was thrilling but had its appeal. A little horror is nothing.”

Xiao Muyu wordlessly shot her a sidelong glance before lowering her head and continuing to walk in silence.

Shen Qingqiu’s expression turned contemplative. She smothered her smile and spoke seriously. “Muyu, is there something bothering you? You’ve seemed distracted all day.”

Xiao Muyu’s steps faltered. After a moment, she nodded.

There was exasperation in Shen Qingqiu’s eyes. “I know you’re incredibly smart, but even the wisest need help sometimes. If something’s troubling you, talk to us. Keeping it in won’t do any good.”

“That’s not it.” Xiao Muyu shook her head. “I don’t know what’s bothering me yet. That’s why I haven’t said anything. I was afraid I’d mislead you all.”

Zuo Tiantian’s eyes widened. “How could that be!”

“Zuo Tiantian’s right,” Shen Qingqiu showed none of her usual teasing. “Anything that brain of yours comes up with serves as our guiding light. There’s no way you’d mislead us. What part are you struggling with?”

It wasn’t that Xiao Muyu didn’t plan on telling them. But speaking of some suspicions too early might not be a good thing, especially when the others trusted her so completely.

“Most of my doubts up to this point have at least a preliminary explanation. But there are two things I still can’t quite figure out,” she finally admitted.

Zuo Tiantian looked confused. Shen Qingqiu, however, had been closely observing Xiao Muyu the entire time. She already had a guess. “Is it about the listening comprehension materials handed out today?”

Xiao Muyu looked up at her. Surprise flickered in her eyes before she gradually relaxed. “Yes.”

Shen Qingqiu chuckled. “Then I think I know what’s been bothering you.”

With some softness in her gray eyes, she gazed at Xiao Muyu. “The missing desk and chair on the day Luo Zihao died must have been weighing on your mind. And another item went missing today. A single copy of material going missing isn’t unusual. But it becomes suspicious when you connect the two, doesn’t it?”

Xiao Muyu had to admit—no one understood her better than Shen Qingqiu.

“You’re right. Still, I feel like everything is falling into place too easily. I shouldn’t be reaching conclusions this quickly. Sometimes, arriving at an answer with little challenge is not good.”

Like last night—her hasty assumption had almost cost Shen Qingqiu’s life. If Su Jin hadn’t intervened, Shen Qingqiu would have been last night’s sacrifice.

Xiao Muyu instinctively glanced at Shen Qingqiu again.

Only Shen Qingqiu could grasp the feeling of understanding someone too well, especially someone you liked. The moment Xiao Muyu spoke those words and looked at her, Shen Qingqiu immediately understood what was going through her mind.

“We’ve faced countless dangers along the way.” Shen Qingqiu steadily gazed at Xiao Muyu. “We’ve survived, and cleared instances quickly, all thanks to your supposedly arbitrary conclusions. How can you abandon them because of one mistake?”

Her voice was unbelievably soft, unlike her usual fox-like self.

Xiao Muyu remained silent as she looked away. This person had seen right through her again.

“What’s the big deal? You’re not a god, Leader Xiao. Everyone makes mistakes. That’s just human nature. Besides, your mistakes are negligible.” Zuo Tiantian also tried to offer some comfort upon realizing Xiao Muyu had a knot in her heart.

“Xiao Muyu, the other three aren’t useless,” added Shen Qingqiu. “You chose them because you trust them. What’s the harm in taking some risks? And you have me. Take a leap of faith with your guess. If it turns out wrong, we’ve got your back. There’s always room for recovery.”

“That’s right! Ms. Shen makes ghosts run in fear, and we’re not pushovers either.”

“We’re all in this together. Even if Leader Xiao miscalculates, we’ll shoulder it together.”

Su Jin and Chen Kaijie were not present but had been quietly listening. They also voiced their support through the voice call.

Xiao Muyu stared at them. After a silent moment, she only murmured, “Thank you.”

But those two words were enough to convey her gratitude.

“Actually, I have a theory after connecting these two things.” Xiao Muyu spoke in a careful, measured tone. “Luo Zihao’s desk and chair disappearing can be regarded as the classroom having one set short. The same can apply to a missing book. But another student in class mentioned it wasn’t the first time a book had gone missing. So, it’s no coincidence. After all, if there’s always a shortage, the person in charge of ordering the books would take extra care not to repeat the same mistake.”

As Su Jin listened, she began to understand her point.

“Leader Xiao, are you suggesting the problem isn’t with the number of books but people?”

The others felt an unexplainable chill and couldn’t help shivering slightly.

It was scary to think about. Zuo Tiantian could feel her skin prickling with goosebumps.

“Leader Xiao… do you mean there’s… there’s an extra person in Class 7?” Chen Kaijie stuttered. “Someone… not human?”

Zuo Tiantian rubbed her arms, feeling cold all over. They had been in the instance long enough to have encountered ghosts. But being unable to distinguish between humans and ghosts? That was far more terrifying.

The idea that someone you saw every day could be a ghost… Not just any ghost, but a vengeful spirit causing everyone around you to die one by one. That was enough to give you a heart attack.

Shen Qingqiu mentally reviewed everything she had observed about the students and teachers in the past few days. She still couldn’t shake that something was off about Liu Ya. “If Muyu’s right, Liu Ya’s suspicion just skyrocketed.”

Zuo Tiantian nodded. “You don’t think Liu Ya is a ghost, do you?”

“It’s just a guess.” Xiao Muyu shook her head. “We have no evidence. Besides, Liu Ya stands out too much. I think it’s unlikely to be her.”

A sudden thought crossed Su Jin’s mind while listening in her room.

“If Leader Xiao’s guess is correct, there must be someone in Class 7 who shouldn’t be there. Since I’m a teacher, I should have access to a student roster. The midterm, final, and monthly exam scores are all stored in the system. Those should include the full list of students. I’ll check to see if there’s any clue in there.”

Xiao Muyu’s eyes brightened a little. “That could work, Su Jin. Go check.”

Su Jin immediately headed straight to the office and booted up her computer.

Her computer did contain the exam results for each semester’s monthly exams, midterms, and finals. Su Jin scanned through them. She discovered she hadn’t always been in charge of Class 7. She had only started teaching them during their third year.

After a quick overview, Su Jin shared Class 3-7’s score sheets for the six exams within two semesters with the group.

Xiao Muyu clicked on the six documents and began cross-referencing them. She noticed since Class 7 entered their third year, no students had transferred in or out.

All four exam score sheets from the first semester consistently listed 50 students, including Xiao Muyu, Shen Qingqiu, and Zuo Tiantian.

Shen Qingqiu always focused on Xiao Muyu. She pointed to the results. “As expected of the top student. You placed first and have an over thirty-point lead on the second place.”

Xiao Muyu glanced at Shen Qingqiu, then at her scores. She was at the bottom of the list, ‘ahead’ of the second-to-last student by more than thirty points as well.

“Same to you,” returned Xiao Muyu.

Shen Qingqiu: “……”

There were still fifty students at the end of the semester. But during the second semester’s March exams, the number had dropped to 48.

Xiao Muyu quickly found two names: a male and a female student. They were two of the three students who had died previously. The sixth score sheet from April’s exams listed 47 students. Luo Zihao was still on the list.

Xiao Muyu didn’t speak. She only continued to cross-reference the information. Eventually, she pointed at Liu Ya’s name and the two score sheets where Liu Ya’s scores appeared.

In just a few months between the midterm and final exams, Liu Ya’s total score plummeted from 598 to 144. She had successfully replaced Shen Qingqiu in last place.

“What happened here?” Zuo Tiantian couldn’t help but frown. “This is a huge drop.”

“Final exams usually take place in mid to late January,” Xiao Muyu said quietly. Almost everyone immediately thought of the police report Chen Kaijie had shared earlier.

“Could it really be Liu Ya?” said one of the others. “Her grades dropped in January…”

Xiao Muyu silently continued to scan the list. Class 7’s overall performance had plummeted in the second semester. But Liu Ya had risen back above 570 points. In the March mock exam and the midterms, she continued to improve.

“How about Lin Xue?” Shen Qingqiu suggested.

Xiao Muyu paused, then started looking through the list again. Sorting the names by scores had jumbled their order.

The first semester had four exams, and the second semester had two. Xiao Muyu quickly found Lin Xue’s name in a few score sheets. Yet, in the final exam score sheet, she had to scroll up and down twice before finally finding Lin Xue’s name.

Xiao Muyu furrowed her brows. She shook her head and looked at it more carefully.

Lin Xue performed above average, which was consistent with the rest of the class. Nothing stood out about her.

“Lin Xue seems pretty normal,” said Su Jin. She printed out the score sheets one by one and compared them.

At this point, four students in Class 7 were outliers—three boys and one girl. Their scores fluctuated wildly. The January exam marked the lowest points for them.

These six sheets each listed over forty students. It was messy, making it hard to spot things.

Xiao Muyu addressed Su Jin. “Su Jin, you have a computer? Follow my instructions. Import the exam results into an Excel sheet.”

Su Jin hurriedly complied. She started a video call before inputting formulas into Excel following Xiao Muyu’s commands.

Finally, the computer screen displayed a working chart. By entering a student’s name, the program would generate a line graph showing their scores across the six exams.

The trend of each student’s performance became immediately clear with this setup.

Su Jin stared at the screen for a moment. “I had no idea you could use Excel like this.”

“You haven’t seen her play with a computer.” Shen Qingqiu grinned. “This is just scraps to her.”

The others were all impressed. The School Bully on their team was an actual school bully. The same went for their Top Student. The pair’s ways of solving puzzles and escaping predicaments were novel and unconventional.

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Author had something to say:

Xiao Xiao and Xiao Shen are like rivals. One’s always teasing, the other’s always retorting. Watch Xiao Xiao show off her skills and play the puzzle game.