Chapter 272: Snowflakes of Sweetness Will Fall from the Sky

Sixth floor corner.

Yang and Huang, both only in their underwear, crouched at the stairwell entrance, peering down like rats.

Then they looked at each other, dumbfounded.

Good news: reinforcements have arrived.

Bad news: it's Jiang Nian and Cai Xiaoqing.

The other side had no keys; the only hope was to send someone back to fetch another roommate who had the key.

Or have Jiang Nian help pick up the keys.

The problem is: who goes?

The one who notifies them will suffer social death, but the other will be spared.

Lie and claim the other already went downstairs for breakfast or something.

So who will be the sacrificial lamb?

Huang Cailang gritted his teeth, thinking: trained troops for a thousand days, used for one moment. To repay the mess hall's favor, I'll carry the Jade Dragon and die for you.

He stood up and shouted loudly.

"Bro, wait here for me."

Yang Qiming froze, looking up at Huang Cailang in nothing but his underwear.

"Cailang, where are you going?"

Huang Cailang took two steps forward, his towering bare back exposed, his underwear flapping in the wind, his voice tragic and resolute.

"I'm going to find Jiang Nian and Jiwei, and get them to send someone with the keys."

He turned back, glancing at Yang Qiming.

"Bro, stay here. Wait for me to come back alone."

Yang Qiming understood: Huang Cailang was planning to sacrifice himself—his social death to preserve Yang's dignity, so only one of them would be humiliated.

"No, Cailang! I won't allow it!"

"Bro, don't bother with words of farewell," Huang Cailang waved him off, sighing. "If not me, then who? It's fine."

In truth, Yang Qiming had only pretended to be brave.

Just imagining social death before Jiwei made him go limp.

Cai Xiaoqing might be a bit fierce, but she was still a pretty girl.

Others feared her, but Yang Qiming wasn't afraid—he came from a decent family, with more awareness and courage than most in his class.

After graduation, could Cai Xiaoqing still be fierce?

Definitely not, prison cell.

Of course, these were just Yang Qiming's fantasies. If it were anyone else—even Nie Qiqi—he wouldn't want to lose face in front of them.

Who knows if fate might bring them together later?

"Cailang, good brother!" Yang Qiming was deeply moved, returning the favor. "Nothing else to say—I'm buying all your meals this week. We'll eat the best, drink the finest!"

Hearing this, Huang Cailang's eyes lit up.

Brother Yang never lied. When he said "eat the best, drink the finest," he wouldn't just serve cafeteria slop—he meant real luxury!

Thinking of the glorious week ahead, his stomach warmed, tears welling in his eyes.

"Bro! A scholar dies for one who understands him!"

Guys are like this: if you give me a hundred yuan, I won't take it. But if you say you'll cover my lunch for a week, then you might as well ask if I prefer white or black stockings.

Anyway, brother, just come on.

Inside the fifth-floor corridor.

Jiang Nian suddenly stopped, turned back, and stared into the dark hallway.

"Did you hear something?"

The dormitory building was utterly silent. Cai Xiaoqing had been focused on finding the room, and his words sent a chill up her spine.

"What?"

Jiang Nian stepped closer to her, lowering his voice to a whisper.

"It feels like someone's watching us."

Hearing this, Cai Xiaoqing went pale.

"Don't scare me like that—is it Yang Qiming and the others?"

It was only 7:30 a. m., the corridor long and dim, thick with damp air, genuinely eerie.

"I don't know. I heard something." Jiang Nian shrugged.

Cai Xiaoqing tightened, swallowing hard.

"What kind of sound?"

She knew this bastard might be lying, but the atmosphere was thick—Jiang Nian hadn't spoken, yet she too had heard faint rustling.

Humans are naturally afraid of the unknown.

"Nothing. Maybe I imagined it," Jiang Nian said. "All the rooms here are locked, meaning no one's inside."

"But they might still be in the dorm building, so let's split up and search."

Cai Xiaoqing heard his two lines—exactly like the stupid lines in horror movies—and knew instantly he was doing it on purpose. She was furious.

"You're not going anywhere!"

"Forced love?"

"..." Cai Xiaoqing stared at Jiang Nian, regretting bringing him along. "Forget it. Let's go tell the homeroom teacher."

She was extremely calm; looking for someone was only out of class loyalty. If attendance wasn't checked in the morning, finding the person was just something that never happened.

But if you can't find them before eight, you'll have to go to the homeroom teacher.

Fifth floor, corner.

Huang Cailang, who had been spying on them, panicked—what the hell was going on?

Are you leaving already?

He'd just thought to call the guy over, but felt too embarrassed—after all, he was only wearing underwear. It wouldn't matter if they were all guys, but Cai Xiaoqing had shown up.

He was just figuring out how to attract Jiang Nian, and now he'd scared him off.

Again, they said they were leaving—and were going to tell the homeroom teacher!

No way!

They can't leave! If they go, the homeroom teacher will come with people—no, very likely bring teachers, maybe even call their parents.

The thought of that scene made Huang Cailang break out in a cold sweat.

He instinctively wanted to run back and ask Yang Ge, who was waiting on the sixth floor, but saw Cai Xiaoqing and Jiang Nian about to leave. In a flash of inspiration, he came up with a desperate idea.

He formed a mouth shape and emitted a sound not of this world.

Lifelike, eerily accurate.

"What was that sound?" Cai Xiaoqing jumped, turning toward the end of the corridor.

"Someone's there. I'll go check." Jiang Nian wasn't as timid as her—it was daytime, what could possibly happen? Could he run into some naked jerk jerking off?

"No, don't go!" Cai Xiaoqing grabbed his arm, pointing to the stairs on the other side. "Let's go down that way first, then talk."

Hearing this, Huang Cailang panicked—this wouldn't do at all.

So he dashed up the stairs, planning to run across the sixth floor and reach the fifth-floor corridor entrance first. He'd block them and repeat his trick.

His goal, of course, was to buy time—to keep them stuck in the middle.

Yang Qiming had been crouching quietly at the stairwell entrance, waiting patiently for his brother's good news, when suddenly he heard a howling wind—his blood ran cold.

Seeing Huang Cailang rush up, pale and terrified, he couldn't help asking:

"Cailang, did you hear that sound?"

Huang Cailang was in a mad rush to reach the other stairwell on the fifth floor before Cai Xiaoqing and Jiang Nian—he had no time to answer, only muttered:

"Yang Ge, I'll tell you later."

Yang Qiming watched, bewildered, as Huang Cailang sprinted like he was possessed, then glanced at the sixth-floor corridor, its paint peeling.

Dormitory Building Five had something unusual—the sixth floor was abandoned.

No one lived there; by evening, it felt eerie.

In the morning it was fine, but as soon as Yang Qiming's mind conjured certain thoughts, dread rushed in. He glanced at the corridor—and his skin prickled.

As if summoned, a cold wind brushed past his ear.

That faint, terrifying sound returned again, like a heavy hammer slamming into his heart, squeezing his throat shut.

Fuck!

Th-there's…

Yang Qiming broke out in goosebumps, regretting he hadn't stopped Cailang. If he had just one companion now, he wouldn't be this terrified.

If his brother were here, he could save him from this hell.

"Did you hear that?" Cai Xiaoqing's scalp tightened, frozen in the middle of the corridor. "Same sound as before—this time—"

Jiang Nian turned to look at Cai Xiaoqing's pale face and reassured her:

"Don't be afraid. I'll go see what the ghost looks like."

Hearing this, Cai Xiaoqing nearly fainted.

This guy was truly born to live dangerously!

She turned and saw Jiang Nian actually walking forward—her heart shot up. After a few seconds of hesitation, she gritted her teeth and followed.

Jiang Nian reached the corner first—and struck without warning.

There stood Huang Cailang in nothing but underwear, awkwardly waving at him.

If it had been Cai Xiaoqing, seeing this bizarre sight, she'd probably have dropped dead on the spot.

"Don't let her come over! No!!" Huang Cailang waved frantically.

Jiang Nian realized he shouldn't let Cai Xiaoqing come over—he turned sharply to her, not far behind, and said sternly:

"Stop!"

Cai Xiaoqing froze, pupils contracting sharply.

"W-what's wrong?"

"Don't ask. Just stay there." Jiang Nian's face was serious, almost grim. "Don't move until I tell you."

Her expression was held captive by his intensity—and something inside her felt "confirmed."

"What did you see?"

Jiang Nian didn't know how to answer, so he evaded vaguely:

"You wouldn't want to know."

Cai Xiaoqing's heart jolted again—but now she had no idea what to do.

"Should I help you?"

"No. Stay there. Don't do anything." Jiang Nian feared she'd come closer, so he warned: "One look and your life is over."

Huang Cailang listened, stunned—he thought Jiang Nian was pretty badass.

Could he even teach the Discipline Committee?

Seeing Jiang Nian turn back, he lowered his voice and said briefly:

"Get Duan Hongtao to bring the dorm key and rescue us!"

Hearing this, Jiang Nian didn't know where Yang Qiming was, but he could roughly guess the other's situation.

"Fine."

After they sorted it out, Jiang Nian took Cai Xiaoqing and headed in another direction.

"It's dealt with."

"What do you mean?" Cai Xiaoqing caught on a little, but waited until they had completely left the dormitory building to ask, "Did they go hide somewhere?"

"Pretty much. Anyway, they'll come back on their own later." Jiang Nian didn't elaborate.

Cai Xiaoqing hummed an acknowledgment, keeping up her cool image, though her curiosity grew inside.

Anyone who plays edging games can drop dead!

Yang Qiming waited until his heart was in a panic, and suddenly felt the urge to use the bathroom.

A cold wind blew, and his stomach immediately started rumbling.

"No way!"

Faster than words could tell, Huang Cailang crawled over from the shadows of the sixth-floor corridor. He was afraid of making noise and startling Cai Xiaoqing on her way down.

So he took a serpentine, roundabout route—silent legs even quieter!

The corridor was already dark, and when this scene landed in Yang Qiming's eyes, it was like something unholy had crashed into him. He let out a yelp and nearly fainted on the spot.

Not until Huang Cailang walked right up to him did he speak, face alight with excitement.

"This is great, bro. We're saved."

Yang Qiming glanced at Huang Cailang's shadow, then quietly checked whether his heels were lifted off the ground. Seeing nothing amiss, he finally relaxed.

"That's good, but Cailang, I kinda need to use the bathroom right now. Did you bring any paper?"

Huang Cailang looked down at his own single pair of shorts, then at Yang Qiming, who was just as naked in a single pair of shorts, and couldn't help scratching his head as he asked.

"Bro, if I told you I brought some, wanna guess where I hid it?"

Yang Qiming's gaze drifted downward, a theory forming in his mind, and he spoke up.

"Cailang, I understand you."

Huang Cailang was a bit confused and let out an "ah?"

"Bro, understand what?"

"Ahem, my cousin used to like working the night shift as a cashier." Yang Qiming was a little awkward. "After he finished the register, he'd lay down a few sheets of paper before going to sleep."

Hearing this, Huang Cailang's eyes went wide.

"Huh?"

Seeing that Huang Cailang didn't get his humor, Yang Qiming couldn't help but wave it off.

"Forget it, I'll just hold it for a bit."

Meanwhile.

On his way back to the classroom, Jiang Nian also bought some snacks along the way. Acting on the principle that whoever sees gets a share, he casually stuffed some into Cai Xiaoqing's hands too.

As for himself, he stuffed every pocket on his body full, and the moment he got back to his seat, he started handing out treats.

"Here."

Morning reading hadn't ended yet.

Zhang Ningzhi was using the last dozen or so minutes to do homework, and when she looked up, she saw a snowflake-cracker rain falling from the sky.

Crackle, crackle—it fell in a circle.