Chapter Fifteen: The Broken Curse (2/2)

It was only noon, but because of the rain, not a single ray of sunlight could be seen—it felt as dark as night.

“Liu Mengchao…” Yukari Sakuragi smiled as she spoke to Liu Mengchao, “Whose home will you be staying at?”

“I don’t know,” Liu Mengchao shook his head, continuing up the stairs. “But I guess no matter whose house it is, it should be about the same.”

“Why is that?”

Liu Mengchao stopped and looked at Yukari Sakuragi.

“Because there’s an old Chinese saying: ‘Wherever the heart finds peace, that is home.’”

“Peace of heart…” Yukari Sakuragi’s gaze trembled as she looked out at the raging storm beyond the window, then softly sighed, “If it hadn’t rained today, maybe… just maybe, Mr. Mishin wouldn’t have had that accident.”

Mengchao nodded in agreement, still holding Yukari’s umbrella in his hand. “Maybe…” Even he found it hard to fully believe those words.

After all, he had just deduced the identity of the deceased from the mind of the proxy, Qingyun. But since there wasn’t yet a wise one to piece together all the speculations, Liu Mengchao couldn’t be absolutely certain who the victim was.

What if he was wrong?

With a faint smile, Liu Mengchao decided to put those thoughts aside. Right now, what deserved his full attention was the colorful pool before him. Such a golden opportunity placed in front of him—he could never forgive himself if he let the opposing master lose everything.

Click—

A soft sound.

Everyone in the classroom turned their heads to see who had entered.

Yukari Sakuragi and Liu Mengchao.

“You’re here,” Izumi Akazawa stood up, furrowing her brows slightly as she looked at the drenched Liu Mengchao. “Do you have spare clothes? You should change, or you’ll easily catch a cold in this weather.”

Listening to Izumi’s words, Liu Mengchao lowered his head to examine himself.

Not a single patch of his clothes was dry; rainwater dripped steadily from the hems of his pants onto the floor.

“It’s nothing,” Liu Mengchao said, smiling apologetically at Izumi as he made his way to a seat at the back of the classroom. “Sometimes getting caught in the rain can actually sharpen your senses.”

“You’re finally back,” said Shishi Kawahara, who sat beside Liu Mengchao. “Teacher Zhang said he’d be back soon to announce where the international students will be staying.”

“Where to stay…?” Liu Mengchao murmured, turning his head to glance at the desk on his other side.

That was where Minazaki Mei usually sat. No one occupied it now, but Liu Mengchao still felt a strange chill lingering there.

A ghost…?

With a smirk, Liu Mengchao glanced disdainfully at the seat beside him. The old desk was covered with uneven, carved marks.

“Is everyone here?”

At that moment, the Old Serpent pushed open the door and entered, though his face looked a bit unwell.

“Now, I’ll announce the housing arrangements for the Chinese exchange students,” said the Old Serpent, who went by the alias Zhang Han. Holding a thin sheet of paper, he slowly scanned the class.

“First, Zhao Weijie—after school, Fengjian will take care of you,” Old Serpent nodded toward the vice-class president, Tomohiko Kazami, then continued reading the list. “Next is Zhen Qianting… you’ll be looked after by—” He paused, searching the class as if trying to recognize the students. “By Yukari Sakuragi.”

Phew…

Liu Mengchao glanced from behind; Yukari Sakuragi smiled reluctantly at Zhen Qianting. She had originally thought she would be staying with Liu Mengchao.

“Maybe you’ll be staying at my place,” murmured Shishi Kawahara, resting his head on the desk and tilting it as he spoke to Liu Mengchao.

“Ryusato… tonight you’ll be staying at Shishi Kawahara’s house.”

“Seems unlikely,” Liu Mengchao shook his head as he looked at Shishi Kawahara, who stood and raised his hand.

“Hmm…” Shishi sat down, looking cautiously at Ryusato’s heavily bearded face. “Is he really only fifteen? He looks at least thirty-five.”

“Tao Yunchuan…” Old Serpent frowned as he read the hacker’s name, “You’re to leave with Mochizuki Yuya tonight. Please don’t cause trouble.”

“All right, all right,” Tao Yunchuan, with his smooth, pale face, tilted his head and spoke to the equally pale-faced Mochizuki Yuya, “I’m counting on you for the days ahead.”

Mochizuki seemed a bit stunned, then nodded. Honestly, he felt Tao Yunchuan had almost no presence. Had Tao not spoken to him just now, Mochizuki would have thought no one was sitting beside him.

“Finally, it’s your turn.” Despite some regret on his face, Shishi Kawahara still smiled at Liu Mengchao. “I guess you’ll be staying at Izumi Akazawa’s place? I think her home is quite large.”

“Not necessarily.”

Before Liu Mengchao finished speaking, Old Serpent read out the next name.

“Next, Liu Ling will stay at Izumi Akazawa’s house tonight.”

Liu Ling’s behavior was even stranger. Holding a doll in his arms, he simply turned around and nodded to Izumi Akazawa without uttering a word.

“Finally, Liu Mengchao…” Old Serpent paused and looked across the class, his gaze sweeping over everyone one by one, before he said, “You will be staying at Minazaki Mei’s home tonight.”

Dead silence.

Not a single sound.

Suddenly, Liu Mengchao laughed quietly.

Everyone in the class stared at Old Serpent at the podium as if they had seen a ghost.

“Teacher…”

Izumi Akazawa mustered her courage and stood up. Her red twin tails swayed gently behind her.

“Um… there is no such student in our class.”

“Oh!?” Old Serpent frowned deeply. The list before him included Minazaki Mei’s name. He only knew that this girl was the heroine of this anime, but due to time constraints, he hadn’t yet listened to the otaku Zhao Weijie’s detailed plot explanations.

“Are you sure there really isn’t…?”

Old Serpent’s brow furrowed even more.

“No,” Izumi Akazawa trembled but still stood by her statement.

What to do now…

Old Serpent’s gaze passed over Izumi’s head and landed on Liu Mengchao sitting in the last row.

“Liu Mengchao…” Shishi Kawahara, sitting beside Liu Mengchao, quickly intervened, “There’s really no such person in our class.”

No such person…?

Liu Mengchao looked playfully at Shishi Kawahara beside him, then nodded.

He was going to Minazaki Mei’s house. The best way to understand the story was to stay close to the protagonist. Compared to the male lead, Liu Mengchao preferred to be near the heroine.

Closing his eyes, the lonely figure walking through the rain slowly appeared in Liu Mengchao’s mind.

Short hair, red eyes.

An eyepatch over the left eye.

“I will go, right after school.”

Liu Mengchao said softly.

The entire class fell into a profound silence.

A terrible thought suddenly invaded their hearts.

The curse of Class 3-3 had been broken.

Broken by these Chinese exchange students who had suddenly appeared.

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The light in the room broke… Now I have to use a desk lamp to work at night, and my eyes hurt so much while typing.

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