My House of Horrors

“I know where the art club is, but I cannot tell you the location now. How about this?” Chen Ge continued speaking after a short pause. “You join my club for now to fill up the members. If your performance is satisfactory, then I guarantee that I’ll personally take you to the art club.”

“Join your club first?” Zhou Tu looked at Zhang Ju next to Chen Ge. Honestly, the child really did look quite scary.

Is this some kind of test? he grumbled internally. He had asked a lot of them, and they either had not even heard of the art club or tried their best to change the topic. Only Chen Ge had given him a clear answer that the art club really did exist.

After giving it some thought, even though Zhou Tu thought that Chen Ge was a bit unconventional, he trusted that a teacher would not lie to a student, so in the end, he nodded. “Okay, I’ll join. But Mr. Bai, what club is this?”

“Fill in the form first.” After Zhou Tu filled in the form, Chen Ge said, “Our club is called supernatural phenomenon observation club. Its main objective is to study the supernatural events happening around the school.”

Zhou Tu was baffled when he heard the introduction. He could barely believe that his school would even have a club like that. However, since it was managed by Mr. Bai, it had to have been officially approved by the school.

“There are too many people here. We’ll find a quieter place to talk.” Chen Ge led his two new members to leave the pavilion. Suddenly, an argument erupted in the middle of the pavilion. Many students stopped to see what it was. Even Chen Ge stopped moving.

“What happened?”

“Looks like someone wanted to join the street dance club but was rejected. Then they got into an argument.”

“It’s just a club. What’s there to argue about?”

“Someone threw a punch! There’s a fight!’

“Mr. Bai, should we go stop the fight?”

“This is so horrible that new students would act like this.” Even though that was what he said, Chen Ge did not personally go to stop the fight. He was masquerading as Mr. Bai, and thus, he could not pull too much attention at this kind of public event.

After a while, both parties of the fight were pulled away. The female teacher that Chen Ge had seen in the office earlier came out. The teacher appeared like she had many things to do and was very busy. Therefore, without asking for an explanation, she lectured all the students that were involved in the fight. After the students dispersed, the teacher with the explosive temper also left. She returned to the office, continuing her work.

“The teachers at this school seem to have lost some of their memory as well. That is different from the teachers on the eastern campus.” Chen Ge did not want to find trouble, but trouble liked to seek him out. The student who had gotten into a fight with the members of the dance club shuffled Chen Ge’s way while holding his arm. It was unclear whether he was not looking ahead or some other reason, but he tripped when he was going up the stairs and happened to fell next to Chen Ge.

“F*ck! Even the stairs are bullying me today! Why is everyone bullying me‽” he yelled. His eyes were red as he tried to force himself to get up.

“Are you alright?” Chen Ge studied this student. The young man had a refreshing look, not that old. His earlobes were punctured, and there was a large stain on his arm like a tattoo that had not been properly erased. The child had a rather special appearance. He was not dressed in any branded goods, but he was quite fashionable. He did not look like a student.

“I’m fine.” The male glanced at Chen Ge. The teacher before him was the first who had shown him any care.

“You were the one who threw the first punch during the fight with the members of the dance club, right?”

“What if that’s true? Are you going to punish me?” The gaze that the student gave Chen Ge became unfriendly almost instantly.

“I merely wish to say that there are so many members from the dance club, and there is only one you. Why would you pick a fight with them? Couldn’t you have talked it out? Such recklessness will only bring you harm.” Chen Ge’s voice was mature and calm just like a big brother.

Seeing that Chen Ge had no intention of scolding him but seemed to be concerned about him, the male student’s voice softened, and he stopped being so aggressive. “Mainly, it’s because they bullied me. Because of my appearance, the student responsible for the recruitment was purposely going against me. To join the club, I reached the limit of my patience, but in the end, they told me that the registration had already reached the limit and told me to join another club.”

“If that’s really the case, then you’re not entirely in the wrong.” Chen Ge signaled for the student to move to the side. “But why is it that you insist on joining the club? Do you like street dancing that much?”

“That’s not really true either.” The student finally told the truth after holding it in for so long. “I’ve gone to ask a few clubs already, and I’ve been rejected. Probably because I stand out too much.”

The student laughed self-deprecatingly. He probably thought that was too embarrassing to admit, so he left right after.

“Wait a minute, I have a club here. Do you want to consider joining it?” Chen Ge took out the registration form. “I see a great potential in you. If those clubs don’t want you, it’s their loss.”

Seeing the form that Chen Ge was holding, the student hesitated. He shook his head. “Pride is earned—something given is called charity. I do not need charity from anyone.”

“That’s quite a backbone you have there. I find myself admiring you more and more.” Chen Ge gave the student the form directly. “Your appearance is different from other students’, which means that you must have a history that is different from them. Can you tell me your history?”

Chen Ge acted sincerely and spoke with a soft tone. This helped the student to walk out from his ‘unapproachable exterior’.

“There’s nothing to tell really. I haven’t really met my parents before—it was my grandmother who raised me. She opened a small food cart selling dumplings inside an alley, and the two of us barely survived with that income. When I was young, I got mixed up with the ruffians running the alley. Smoking, drinking, stealing—I have done all that you can think of. It’s fun.

“After mixing with them for a few years, one day, it started to rain heavily. I returned earlier to my grandmother’s stall, and I saw the local police trying to take my grandmother’s stall away. At the time, I lost it and got into a fight with them.”

The student bit on his lips, and his expression was quite complicated. “Injuring them caused me to get sent to the youth penitentiary. When I came out, my grandmother hugged me and cried for a long time.

“Actually, there is nothing to be said. Later, I got back to school, and I managed to score high enough to get into this university.”

The student’s life was rather harsh. Chen Ge studied the man’s face closely, and he saw shyness of youth. However, behind it hid plenty of anxiety and tiredness, like he had been in constant fear and worry of something.

“You are a good kid. You just have a tendency to act to rashly. But I like that recklessness. Come and join my club, credits are not that big an issue.” Chen Ge gave the invitation again. The student did not reject him this time. He signed his name on the form—Zhu Long.

“I have another new member. Looks like our club is quite popular.” Chen Ge put the form away. “Come, let’s go find a more secluded place, and we will start our first club activity.”