My House of Horrors

Zhu Long was acting up again. His expression was severe, and his eyes were bloodshot, but strangely enough, other than blood streaks in Zhu Long’s eyes, there were also tears. He looked like was in plenty of pain. The group worked together to drag Zhu Long to a more secluded place, but through this process, they still attracted some attention. Thankfully no one gave chase after them.

Zhu Long flipped over the operating table in the autopsy room, and this might cause the admin staff to come chase after us. Worse than that, Zhu Long carved another Zhu character on the back of the table, which might trigger the culprit in this school!

Chen Ge was very careful. Whether they were exposed or not, he would always plan for the worst.

On the surface, the western campus looks normal, but that is because there is ‘something’ here to maintain the rules and regulations and to transport the negative emotions to the eastern campus. When the staff see the additional ‘zhu’ on the back of the table, they will realize that there is a problem with one of the students.

They quickened their steps. Chen Ge was not betting on his adversary being an idiot; all he could do was leave the crime scene as soon as possible.

“Sir, let’s hurry and get him to the medic room. He looks like he’s seriously ill. Perhaps even before joining our club, this kid hid his real physical condition from the school. He might have a mental illness history!” Zhou Tu did not wish to stay with those strange people one moment longer. He planned to take Zhu Long to the medic room and then leave to find a guidance counsellor and ask to see if he could leave this club. If that did not work, he would sacrifice the credits. Compared to the additional credits, his life was more important.

“You think he has a mental illness?” In the midst of running away, Chen Ge did not have time to act like a kind teacher anymore. Slightly turning his head, Chen Ge looked around. There was a smile on his face, but when Zhou Tu saw his smile, he felt the grip of a deepening chill. This Mr. Bai seemed to have two personalities; sometimes, he was very warm, but other times, he was hard to get close to.

“No, no, that is just my speculation. After all, you have to admit it is very abnormal for a normal person to scream something about a killer and being killed.” Zhou Tu nudged closer to Wang Yicheng.

“Zhou Tu, no matter from which perspective, you have no ground to judge him. From how I see it, you’re the one with the sickest illness of all the members.” Chen Ge paused after a while and added with a smile, “Of course, that’s excluding myself.”

“What are you talking about?” Zhou Tu was both afraid and angry at Chen Ge, and his tone was not as friendly as before.

“I know you won’t believe me now.” Chen Ge held Zhu Long and continued without raising his head. “But when I take you to the art club and you see the scene from your dreams, you might even be more affected than he is now.”

“Wh… what? Why?” Zhou Tu had a feeling that Chen Ge was not joking with him.

“Because Zhu Long is just one of the segments to his painting, but you’re the one with the paint brush.” Chen Ge had been working for several years already, and coupled with the trials given by the black phone, his experience was totally different from that of the children. Zhou Tu did not dare look Chen Ge in the eye. His right hand twitched slightly. His muscles were already starting to ‘remember’ some things. This kind of reaction would only occur in someone who had spent a long time painting.

Zhu Long hugged his head and yelled and heaved. His eyes were bulging out of their sockets, and tears streaming down his face.

“We’re still too in the open. Let’s get closer to the wall,” Chen Ge ordered Zhou Tu and Zhang Ju. The three of them worked together to control Zhu Long.

“Sir, are we sure we shouldn’t be taking him to the medic room?” Zhang Ju was worried as well. He looked at the calmness in Chen Ge’s eyes. He felt like Chen Ge was not thinking about saving Zhu Long; he was actually trying to find a quiet place to kill and bury the poor boy.

“The medic room is for those with sicknesses; he is not sick. He is merely taking back what belongs to him.” Chen Ge needed help from those who could give it to him without hesitation. “Any kind of recovery comes with a price. When he regains his memory, he will thank us.”

“I am worried that, before he finds his memory, he will first lose his life. After all, memories can be reforged, but there is only one life.” Zhang Ju very naturally said that memories could be reforged; it did not even cross his mind that it was a strange thing to say.

“There is only one life?” Chen Ge leaned closer to Zhang Ju and stared at his face. “Think back to that big fire and the things that happened at the hospital. Are you sure the only thing that the fire took away from you was your fair skin?”

Wang Yicheng was the first to join the club. Even though he also thought that Chen Ge was acting quite scarily, he insisted on the kindness of this ‘Mr. Bai’.

“We should listen to our teachers. I’ll come and help.”

“Try to keep up, and don’t get left behind.”

The group moved a few dozen meters, and Zhu Long already felt more like himself. He gasped for air, but his gaze was sharper than before. “I’m fine now. I’m so sorry for the trouble I’ve caused.”

Zhang Ju and Zhou Tu let go, leaving Chen Ge the only one who was holding Zhu Long. His chest was rising frantically from his great gasps for air. Several deep gouges were left on his face, and his hands were covered with bloody scars.

“Have you remembered anything?” Chen Ge raised the pink phone. Whenever Zhu Long saw the girl’s face on the screensaver, his condition would worsen like he was losing his breath. “According to the chat history, you two love each other—at least, you believe that. Why would you act so frightened before your lover? What kind of girl is she? What did she do to you?”

With each of Chen Ge’s questions, Zhu Long’s face whitened further. If not for the support that Chen Ge gave him physically, he would have fallen already.

“I don’t know, I swear! I haven’t sent any of these messages; I have no memory of doing that at all!”

“Then, what memory do you have?” Chen Ge’s hand that was holding Zhu Long slowly tightened, and he looked around alertly.

“I can only remember her name is Gao Jie. The name suddenly popped up in my mind.”

“Looks like all that knocking wasn’t for naught. Congratulations, you’re one step closer to the truth.” Chen Ge’s hand landed on Zhu Long’s shoulders lightly as he tried to loosen the man’s taut nerves. “Are you feeling better?”

“Yes, thank you, sir. I can walk on my own now.” Zhu Long used his shirtsleeve to wipe his face.

“I mean, do you want to take a look at this phone yourself to regain more memories that you’ve lost?” Chen Ge wished to know how Zhu Long had ended up at the school. Only by knowing that would he have a chance to find the way out.

The school’s secret was hidden among the students’ missing memories. Even though those memories were filled with despair, there was no better idea because hope was hidden among them as well. Zhu Long did not reject Chen Ge. After remembering the girl’s name, he seemed to have gained some immunity against the content of the phone.

He looked at the phone with his both eyes. Zhu Long’s gaze wandered alternatively between the sweet loving messages and the pictures of grotesque gore. After a while, he started to dry heave again.

“When she was chatting with me, what kind emotion was she experiencing? Did she treat me as one of her projects from the very beginning? Was she admiring her work when she was sending these messages with me?”