Chapter 59: Lun Sang High School (11)
Having eaten her fill, Ji Ning wiped herself clean and left the office. She cooled her face in the chilly wind, and only once the heat in her cheeks had subsided did she slip back into the classroom through the back door.
Song Weiyang was still sitting in Jia Shuang's seat. He looked up and fixed his gaze on Ji Ning, showing no intention of letting her pass.
With the teacher supervising evening study hall still on the podium, Ji Ning nudged Song Weiyang and chided him in a low whisper, "Come on, just let me in."
At her words, Song Weiyang pulled his legs in slightly. Just as Ji Ning was about to step over, he suddenly blocked her again, his hand darting out to feel between her legs.
The touch was completely smooth and dry. Only then did Song Weiyang lift his legs and lean back, letting Ji Ning in.
That brief touch nearly made Ji Ning's heart leap into her throat. Thank goodness she was fastidious; she'd grabbed half a pack of tissues from Jiang Ting's desk to dry off before returning. Otherwise, she'd have another jealous powder keg to deal with.
Once Ji Ning was seated, Song Weiyang propped his head on his hand and leaned in. "He didn't give you a hard time, did he?"
He gave me a terribly hard time, Ji Ning thought. But outwardly, she merely shook her head. She had serious business to attend to and didn't want to stir up more trouble.
Ji Ning looked toward the seat closest to the podium. Zhao Jiamin was still sitting alone at a double desk, head down, writing furiously.
She leaned closer to Song Weiyang, gestured in Zhao Jiamin's direction with her eyes, and asked him, "Anything unusual?"
The smile on Song Weiyang's face faded into a serious expression. He told Ji Ning, "A lot of people have been dumping their homework on her to do for them. The ringleader is the Arts and Culture Committee member, Yao Lu."
Doing other people's homework so brazenly? And the teachers don't do anything about it?
Ji Ning watched Zhao Jiamin's back, recalling the girl's desperate pleas for mercy she'd overheard in the office moments ago. A secret sadness welled up within her.
Yet the rules of the game dictated that players could not interfere with or influence the development of events, or they would face Elimination. No matter how brutal the plot became, Ji Ning and the others could only stand coldly by as spectators.
Ji Ning's mood soured slightly. She took out her own homework and looked it over slowly while mentally sorting through the situation. This scenario reminded her of her first investigative instance, the Lewd Cruise, which shared similarities with this "Lun Sang High School."
At that time, the main NPC was the victim, Young Master Hui. As events unfolded, the players unearthed multiple individuals connected to Young Master Hui, each with a motive to kill him.
And the final clearance condition was to correctly name the true killer responsible for Young Master Hui's death.
Ji Ning had now witnessed Zhao Jiamin's isolated state, her being coerced into a sexual relationship by her head teacher, and her being openly bullied by classmates.
So this time, just as Jiang Ting had said, the key NPC equivalent to Young Master Hui was undoubtedly Zhao Jiamin.
As long as she focused her observations around this girl, answering the killer question correctly shouldn't be a problem. After all, it was only a one-star instance, even simpler than her very first one.
Ji Ning jotted down an answer for her homework and rested her chin on her hand, thinking. Summarizing her experience from the cruise, each player's different identity helped them gather clues from different channels.
For instance, she was part of the girls' circle, Song Weiyang was in the boys' circle, and Jiang Ting shared an office with the head teacher. So what about Xing Ye?
He was a PE teacher with only two classes a week, and his office was even situated in the gymnasium. What kind of clues would he obtain?
…
After evening self-study ended, right up until the next morning, nothing out of the ordinary happened.
This high school had a morning run and exercise activity, scheduled between morning self-study and breakfast. All classes from the three grades gathered on the large outdoor sports field, led by over a dozen PE teachers in running and calisthenics.
Xing Ye wore a black tracksuit. Tall and upright, his model-like physique stood out conspicuously among the group of teachers.
Ji Ning shifted her gaze away from Xing Ye and onto Zhao Jiamin, who stood diagonally opposite her. She was startled to discover that Zhao Jiamin's gaze was also fixed intently in Xing Ye's direction.
A thought suddenly surfaced in Ji Ning's mind, astonishing her.
Could Zhao Jiamin have a crush on Xing Ye?
Xing Ye is a player, and Zhao Jiamin is an NPC. Is that even possible?
Ji Ning blinked in disbelief, watching Zhao Jiamin for a long time. She noticed that not only was Zhao Jiamin staring at Xing Ye, but the side of her face turned toward him was tinged with a faint, almost imperceptible blush, and her ears were reddening too. Her calisthenics movements were clearly half-hearted.
Ji Ning looked over at Xing Ye and saw him gazing back from a distance. When he saw her looking at him, he curved his lips into a smile.
However, because she and Zhao Jiamin were standing in a diagonal line, Xing Ye's gaze in this direction could also be interpreted as looking at Zhao Jiamin.
No wonder the girl was blushing.
She suddenly recalled the time Zhao Jiamin had bumped into her and Song Weiyang. The girl's face had only shown shock and panicked fear. During PE class, when everyone was gawking at the commotion around Song Weiyang, Zhao Jiamin hadn't been among them.
No wonder... So it was because Zhao Jiamin had feelings for Xing Ye that she was completely indifferent to the Campus Heartthrob, Song Weiyang.
Ji Ning was deeply shaken by this discovery, her mood indescribably complicated.
After morning exercise was breakfast time. The students were dismissed directly on the field and headed in small groups toward the two cafeterias.
Ji Ning saw Xing Ye walking toward the back of the rostrum. She told Jia Shuang and Song Weiyang to go ahead to breakfast. She dawdled for a bit until there were fewer people around, then looked around to confirm no one was watching her before following the spot where Xing Ye had disappeared to the back of the rostrum.
The moment she rounded the corner, Ji Ning was pulled by the waist and pressed against the wall. A hand cushioned the back of her head, a forefinger tilted her chin up, and a pair of lips claimed hers in a kiss.
Even without catching his scent or seeing his silhouette, based purely on the sensation of the kiss and the force of the sucking and licking, Ji Ning knew it was Xing Ye.
Although her mind was preoccupied, she was still kissed until her heart pounded wildly. Holding onto Xing Ye's shoulders, she responded fervently for a good long while.
Less than a dozen seconds into the kiss, Ji Ning's waist bumped against a rigid lump. If they kissed any longer, she feared things would get out of hand again.
Ji Ning pushed Xing Ye away, panting softly as she said to him, "Brother Xing Ye, wait. I have something to tell you."
Xing Ye had simply missed her too much and had seized the opportunity to wait for her here. Hearing that Ji Ning had business to discuss, he naturally became attentive. "Alright, tell me."
Following that, Ji Ning told Xing Ye everything about Zhao Jiamin and her deductions.
Xing Ye nodded, but noticed her expression was still off after she finished speaking. He cupped her face and stroked it gently with his thumbs, asking in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
Ji Ning frowned slightly, finding it strangely difficult to voice her thoughts. Hesitantly, she said, "I suspect... Zhao Jiamin likes you..."
Even Xing Ye was taken aback upon hearing this.
This kind of setup, had Ji Ning not told him, was something he'd never encountered before.
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