Resurgence of the Unknown

Chapter 23: Never Going Back to School

The bus arrived at its stop, and Yang Jian escorted Wang Shanshan home. As they approached the entrance of an upscale residential area, a fashionable middle-aged woman with a slightly displeased expression walked over, frowning.

"Mom!" Wang Shanshan's face lit up with joy.

"Do you still remember to come home? Where have you been all night? Your phone was unreachable. Do you know how worried we were? What if something happened to you, a young girl, out there? If you hadn't come home today, your father and I were going to report you missing," Wang Shanshan's mother, Wang Haiyan, scolded.

"Mom, I'm sorry. Something happened at school, and that's why..." Wang Shanshan lowered her head.

Wang Haiyan interrupted, "Alright, you can explain everything to your father later. Now tell me, who is this boy? Why did he come home with you?"

"He's my classmate, Yang Jian. You met him before at school, remember?" Wang Shanshan explained.

"Classmate? Your class has so many students, how am I supposed to remember?" Wang Haiyan eyed Yang Jian.

Yang Jian greeted her politely, "Hello, Auntie Wang. Since everything seems fine now, I'll be heading off. I'll visit another time if there's a chance."

He had no intention of staying longer and was about to leave immediately.

"Wait," Wang Haiyan called out. "You're Shanshan's classmate? Tell me, where did you both go last night? Why is she only coming back now? Did you take her somewhere to fool around?"

Yang Jian explained, "Auntie Wang, it's not what you think. Something unusual happened at school during evening study, and everyone in our class had to stay there. We just got back, and I was worried about Shanshan's safety on the way home, so I accompanied her."

"I called her teacher, Mr. Wang, and he said nothing unusual happened at school yesterday," Wang Haiyan countered.

Yang Jian smiled, "Mr. Wang's phone wasn't even reachable yesterday, Auntie. You must be joking."

Wang Haiyan, knowing full well that Mr. Wang's phone had been unreachable, had merely tried to catch Yang Jian in a lie. Sensing nothing suspicious, she continued, "I should thank you for bringing Shanshan home safely, but our family is strict. Shanshan has never stayed out or hung around with inappropriate people. She's in her senior year, and her studies are important. I hope you won't distract her in the future."

Her message was clear: she wanted Yang Jian to stay away from Wang Shanshan and not get any ideas about her daughter.

After saying this, Wang Haiyan pulled out two hundred yuan from her wallet and handed it to Yang Jian. "You must be tired from bringing Shanshan home so early in the morning. Here's two hundred yuan for breakfast, take it, please."

Yang Jian was momentarily stunned as he looked at the money in his hand. Then, his smile faded, and he calmly replied, "Thank you, Auntie."

With that, he pocketed the money and left.

As soon as Yang Jian walked away, Wang Shanshan nearly burst into tears. "Mom, that was too much! Yang Jian might not be the best student, but he's a good person. Giving him money like that is humiliating!"

"What do you know, young lady? I was testing that boy. Look, he took the two hundred yuan without hesitation, not even thinking of refusing. It's clear he's just a poor kid with no ambition. Stay away from people like that—they'll only sweet-talk you and lead you astray," Wang Haiyan lectured.

"You don't understand! Do you know what happened at school last night? Without Yang Jian, I'd be dead by now. I begged him to bring me home; he didn't want to do it. How am I supposed to face him after what you did?"

"People like him, without any pride, are best avoided," Wang Haiyan insisted. "Our family isn't just anyone."

"Ugh..." Wang Shanshan couldn't hold back her tears any longer and ran off.

Meanwhile, on the bus, Yang Jian stared at the two hundred yuan in his hand, fully understanding the meaning behind Wang Shanshan's mother's actions—disdain mixed with a bit of humiliation. Most people would have been furious.

But Yang Jian remained calm and unshaken. What good would anger do? Wang Shanshan came from a well-off family, was attractive, and rarely associated with someone like him, a nobody. Her parents would naturally be wary of him and try to push him away. Getting angry would only make him look foolish. He wasn't going to lash out over two hundred yuan.

Moreover, after everything that had happened, this was just a trivial matter to him. He hadn't saved Wang Shanshan expecting anything in return.

"Being a good person isn't easy. No wonder ghosts are appearing everywhere," Yang Jian muttered to himself with a wry smile, pocketing the money.

Back at home, he collapsed into bed and fell asleep immediately—he was utterly exhausted.

The other classmates also went home, despite everything that had happened. After all, home was where they had to go.

At this moment, Zhang Wei returned to his family's villa. He hadn't lied; he really was a wealthy second-generation kid, just low-key about it and without the usual spoiled tendencies.

"Why are you home so late? Your phone was off. Where were you all night?" Zhang Wei's father, Zhang Xiangui, asked sternly as he came out of his room upon hearing the door.

Zhang Wei's neck shrank a bit. "School... and then I went out with some friends."

He wanted to say that the school was haunted and that he had barely escaped with his life, but the thought of it seemed like an insult to his father's intelligence, so he kept quiet and lied instead.

"Out with friends? Don't let it happen again," Zhang Xiangui warned him. "Eat your breakfast and get to school. Don't be late."

School?

Zhang Wei's eyes widened in horror. "No way, I'm not going to school."

"What do you mean, you're not going to school? What else are you going to do?" Zhang Xiangui asked.

"I don't care what I do, as long as I don't have to go to school," Zhang Wei replied.

Go back to the Seventh High School? That place was haunted! He had barely escaped with his life a few hours ago. Going back to school would be suicide! He wouldn't go back there even if it meant dying.

"If you skip school, don't expect any allowance from me. You'll have to support yourself," Zhang Xiangui said, growing angry.

Zhang Wei went silent, then turned and walked back to his room.

"Stay in there if you've got the guts!" Zhang Xiangui called after him.

A moment later, Zhang Wei emerged with two books in hand. "Dad, I'm going to school."

"Hmm." Zhang Xiangui nodded approvingly.

But as Zhang Wei left the house, he smirked.

School?

Never in this life, not even in the next. Just because I'm carrying books doesn't mean I'm going to school. Can't I go to an internet cafe?

"Today, I'm going to win twenty games of Chicken Dinner at the internet cafe!" Zhang Wei declared loudly as he approached the internet cafe.

But shortly after Zhang Wei started playing, two police officers approached him.

"Are you Zhang Wei, a student at the Seventh High School?" one officer asked.

Zhang Wei froze, then, putting on a smug look, he crossed his legs and said, "You've got the wrong guy, officer. My name is Yang Jian. Zhang Wei is my classmate."

"The ID registered at the counter matches yours. Come with us. We need your help with an investigation."

Zhang Wei was stunned, and before he knew it, the police had taken him away.