“Ahahahahaha—”

I couldn’t stop laughing like an idiot the whole way home.

“Hey, hey, look at that guy. Is he crazy or what?”

“I dunno… he’s kinda scary…”

“He must’ve been through something, poor thing.”

“Let’s just go, Ming-ge, hurry…”

Next to me was a little boy and a little girl clutching a plushie. The girl stared at me in terror, while the boy bravely stood in front of her, glaring at me with sharp eyes.

“Um…” I suddenly felt awkward for no reason. They’d totally mistaken me for some lunatic.

“Hey, little girl, little guy, don’t be scared.”

I put on my friendliest smile and greeted them. The boy only got more on guard, and the girl shrank further behind him.

“I just… today… ahahaha—”

“Ming-ge…!” the girl cried out in fright.

“Get lost, you psycho,” the boy said bluntly.

“I’m not crazy, I just had something really good happen today, and I can’t help it, ahahaha—”

I laughed again. I just couldn’t hold it back. Right when I was laughing my head off, the little boy suddenly kicked me, then grabbed the girl’s hand and ran, yelling, “You are a psycho!” He even pulled a face at me before they bolted. My temper flared, and I almost chased after them.

“Lili, run faster!”

The two brats ran surprisingly fast and disappeared in a blink.

But I was only pretending to get mad. No way was I actually gonna argue with kids.

Before it got completely dark, I made it back home. Thinking of what Su Yuqian had just said still filled me with joy. I honestly wanted to burst into song. Just as that thought popped up, I suddenly heard the steady, relentless sound of a knife chopping a cutting board. What the hell?

I walked into the kitchen and saw Zhiye wearing an apron over her clothes. There was nothing on the cutting board, yet she was chopping at it with a kitchen knife over and over. The atmosphere felt eerie and grim. A chill ran down my spine.

I tried to tiptoe away from the kitchen so I wouldn’t make a sound.

“Jie, you’re back?”

The moment I heard her voice, my whole body went rigid. It scared the life out of me.

“Yeah… I’m back.” I forced my voice to sound normal.

“Jie, how’s studying going?”

Zhiye turned around and looked at me with a smile, still holding that knife in her hand.

“Great, great,” I answered, eyes glued to the knife.

“Really?” Zhiye took a step toward me, but something about her felt off.

“Yeah, what’s wrong?” I asked, all confusion on my face.

“Then why didn’t I see you at the library?”

She actually went to the library. That instantly shattered any calm I had left.

“Y-You… went to the library?”

“Mhm. I really wanted to be with you. Missing you like that was unbearable.”

“Oh…”

“Then why weren’t you there, Jie?”

“Maybe I was in the bathroom at the time,” I replied, guilty as hell.

“But when I asked the librarian, she said she hasn’t seen you at all these past few days. What’s that about?”

She even went and asked the librarian. This was getting bad.

“Uh… maybe she just didn’t notice me?”

“There’s hardly anyone there after school. And she swore up and down she’s never seen you, Jie.”

This was truly the end. Sweat started pouring down my back.

“So where did you go, Jie? Why did you lie to me?”

Zhiye stepped closer again.

“I…” I had no idea how to answer.

“You were out flirting and playing with some other girl, weren’t you? Jie, you’re really not honest at all.”

She kept smiling, but the more I looked, the more chilling that smile became.

“How could you lie to me, Jie? You know I trust you so much.”

“…Zhiye… I didn’t lie to you,” I explained in a panic.

“Then where did you go? Can you give me an explanation?” Zhiye placed the knife right next to my neck.

“…I…” It all happened too suddenly. I couldn’t think of any way out.

“You definitely went on a date with some other girl, didn’t you? So mean, leaving me all alone.”

With that look in her eyes, if I kept dragging this out, I might actually get killed.

“I… I swear, I absolutely didn’t go on a date with another girl.” I raised my hand and swore.

“Then where did you go?”

“Maybe she really didn’t remember, or maybe I left in a hurry and she didn’t notice me.”

“Really?” Zhiye sounded half-convinced, but the knife still didn’t move away.

We couldn’t just keep standing there like that, so I finally swallowed my pride. “What do you want me to do so you’ll believe me?”

“Say you love me…” Zhiye said in a daze.

“I love you,” I answered without hesitating.

“Jie…” Zhiye threw herself into my arms, smiling from ear to ear. My heart pounded violently as I tried to suppress the trembling in my body.

“I believe you. Oh right, what do you want for dinner?”

Her smile turned gentle.

“How about curry? Your curry rice is really good.”

“Mm, then I’ll make curry rice. You go take a bath first.”

I nodded. She finally let go of me and happily went to start on the curry. The moment I left her arms, my legs almost gave out, but I forced myself to stay steady so she wouldn’t notice anything. I held on until I reached the bathroom, then lay down in the tub, letting the comfortably warm water wash away the fear in my chest.

I never expected Zhiye to go to the library—and I really didn’t expect her to be that terrifying.