The Student Council oversaw three departments: the Disciplinary Inspection Department where Xu Peng belonged, the Life Management Department, and the Arts and Sports Department. Directly under Senior Bailin was the Secretarial Office.
Their duties intertwined, complementing each other in the details.
Xu Peng often visited Senior Bailin’s office. Though officially part of Disciplinary Inspection, his fellow members joked he might as well transfer to the Secretarial Office.
Technically off-duty with no patrols scheduled, Xu Peng found himself drawn by a haunting melody. A sorrowful, winding song blended with the crisp pluck of a guzheng, tugging at his heart like magic. Everyone should be resting now—such noise clearly broke the rules. Duty pulled him toward the sound.
His movements turned stiff, soulless. That bittersweet tune dragged him forward, step by step.
Xu Peng’s mind ignored one critical detail: the music room’s soundproofing was top-tier. Ordinary rehearsals never carried this far.
And this ethereal voice seemed heard by no one but him.
*"So many blooms in crimson and violet...*
*Scattered now among crumbling wells and broken walls..."*
*"Fair hours and fine sights—why must heaven deny...*
*Joyful hearts and happy scenes... whose courtyard holds them now?"*
*"Do you know my heart’s longing? Why linger so long away?*
*Have you been bewitched by some mountain fox spirit... my love?"*
The mournful opera voice pierced Xu Peng’s ears. A deep, soul-crushing grief bowed his head. *This grave mistake is mine. How can I face the world?*
Reality blurred. He lost himself in the lament. The opera’s piercing climax felt like a blade splitting his chest open.
The classical tune twisted into something shrill as suona horns and funeral gongs crashed in—a prelude to a burial march. Beautiful music warped into eerie horror. Xu Peng, lost in the song, noticed nothing.
Joy and sorrow drowned his thoughts. He only wanted to reach the singer, to comfort her: *I’m here. Fear nothing.*
To Xu Peng, the voice was the most heart-wrenching performance he’d ever heard. He tasted her growing delight as he drew nearer. The song swelled with happiness—he almost laughed aloud. But when his lips parted, tears streamed down his face.
This wasn’t sharp, wailing pain. It was a slow, wordless sorrow. A grief no joy could mask. A raw, lingering accusation that seeped into his bones.
*"Fair hours and fine sights—why must heaven deny...*
*Joyful hearts and happy scenes... whose courtyard holds them now?"*
*"A hundred flowers swept by wind and snow...*
*Whitening my hair, wrinkling my face...*
*Still no word of your return from beyond the frontier..."*
*"Rotted... is the armor!*
*So many embroidered shoes laid before me...*
*Faithless man! Where do you wander now...?"*
Closer. Ever closer!
With each step, Xu Peng’s tears flowed faster. Just ahead, in a sea of blossoms, his long-lost lover smiled as she stitched embroidery.
He finally saw her—a fragile, sorrowful figure begging to be held and cherished.
Dignified yet heartbroken, she stitched slowly, wasting away for a faithless lover. Her frail body would surely fade like a wilting flower.
Xu Peng forgot his own name. Forgot why this ache for her lived in his chest.
When she turned, gazing at him with tender longing, Xu Peng jolted as if struck. His hollow eyes flickered with struggle. That breathtaking face—*it was Bai Ling!*
*"Hesitating even now? Heartless traitor Chen Shimei!*
*Even in death, in the underworld’s depths,*
*I’ll never forgive you."*
Familiar features sparked violent resistance inside him. *That’s not Senior Bailin!* a voice screamed. *Run! Leave now!*
But her heartbroken tone scattered like petals, blinding his eyes and his heart.
Thoughts shattered. He stumbled toward his phantom lover. The bliss of reunion had stolen his very soul.
Just one more step. Then another. He’d fly away with her, leaving this world’s troubles behind.
She seemed to sense his approach. Smiling behind a raised sleeve, her eyes danced with warmth—*blooming among the flowers when spring arrives.*
**"What are you doing, Xu Peng?"**
A sharp voice froze him mid-step.
Usually gentle and understanding, Senior Bailin’s tone now crackled with fury. Xu Peng’s face twisted in turmoil. A sliver of clarity returned.
*"Bai Ling...? How are you... behind me?"*
He turned. Thick fog had swallowed the space behind him. A blurred figure emerged—but Xu Peng knew her voice.
**"What are you doing? Why didn’t you come to my office?"**
*"I... I was on patrol... No. I had no duties today. I don’t know—"*
**"Why are you still standing there?"**
Each question drove Bai Ling forward. She materialized through the mist, posture elegant but stern. The fog recoiled like a frightened beast.
Gone was her usual warmth. Her eyes pinned him with icy pressure—as if he’d committed an unforgivable sin.
*"No—you wanted me to follow you! You were just ahead, waiting! I—"*
Xu Peng’s mind shattered. Which Bai Ling was real? The tender lover waiting ahead? Or this furious woman behind him?
*"I wanted you to follow? Xu Peng, are you possessed? Look down. See where you stand!"*
Down?
Xu Peng stared. His breath hitched.
He stood on the very edge of the Student Council building’s roof. Six stories below. The ground swam beneath him.
*How did I get here?!*
The song—! He’d been heading to the Arts and Sports Department’s music room on the fourth floor. Not the roof.
Goosebumps erupted across his skin. Cold sweat soaked his shirt.
A ghostly sigh slithered into his ear. Terror, thick and suffocating, closed around his throat.
