The loud noise naturally reached Yan Chi, who rushed out, "What happened? What was that noise?"
Mingcai was a little flustered, but tried her best to calm Yan Chi down, "It's nothing, just a blind bird accidentally bumped into our window."
Yan Chi was relieved and returned to apartment 202.
To Yan Chi's surprise, the cleanliness of Feng Wang and Li Huai's apartment rivaled that of the two girls' apartments. The floors and tabletops were spotless, and all the furniture was in its proper place.
When he and Shen Mingsu entered, Li Huai greeted them, while Feng Wang, the cool red-haired guy, was busily cleaning in an apron. Seeing them arrive, he stood to the side with a mop, leaning against the wall and watching them.
Yan Chi glanced at the floor, which could be used as a mirror, and stubbornly refused to take a step. "...It's fine, we won't go in."
Meanwhile, in the apartment next door, Mingcai and Ahui, certain that Yan Chi wouldn't come out again, hurried downstairs. At that moment, Sethia and Tan Mo were already standing at their door. Tan Mo calmly removed the leaf from his head, a large red mark still visible on his face.
Mingcai: "Why did you bump into our window for no reason?"
"An accident." Tan Mo seemed used to his bad luck. "We came to ask you something, and we didn't think you'd close the window so quickly."
But by sheer coincidence, the window was closed just as he arrived.
Mingcai was also speechless. "So, what do you want from us?"
Tan Mo: "Those players have items that conceal their tracks, and they're quite high-level. We can't find them, so we came to ask you."
Sethia leaned wearily on Tan Mo's shoulder. "We've already run laps around the school twice, and we still can't find them."
Mingcai pondered for a moment. "They got separated. The two younger ones are near the teachers' apartments... in Teacher Xi Chang's swimming pool."
"So Teacher Xi Chang wasn't home today, so they snuck in. Luckily, Teacher Xi Chang's neighbor is Teacher Xiaochi, and he came to check the dorms today. That's incredible luck."
"As for the two older ones, they're in the first cafeteria... in the pile of onions." Mingcai seemed to smell the pungent smell of onions and coughed twice. "They're really going all out. Remember to make sure they die quickly."
Having learned the players' whereabouts, Sethia and Tan Mo set off again. Before leaving, Sethia also took the half-empty bottle of milk from the table.
In just a short while, Yan Chi arrived at Apartment 203.
Apartment 203 housed three people: Tan Mo, Sethia, and Xingluo. The first two had gone on patrol, so Xingluo should have been home, but Yan Chi knocked on the door for a long time without any response.
“Xingluo, are you there?”
“Xingluo?”
Xingluo’s voice approached, “Yes, yes! Teacher, wait a moment, it’s a bit messy here, I’ll clean it up.”
Yan Chi: “It’s okay, I’ll just take a look and leave.”
Boys’ dorms are naturally not comparable to girls’ dorms. Feng Wang and Li Huai were exceptions, Yan Chi knew this, and naturally didn’t have high expectations, as long as there wasn’t a biological attack.
Xingluo, exhausted and sweating profusely, opened the door for Yan Chi.
After entering the living room, Yan Chi looked around. It wasn’t particularly clean; the trash cans were overflowing, but it wasn’t particularly dirty either; at least there weren’t any dirty socks on the sofa.
“Alright.” Yan Chi nodded. “It’s also…”
“Cluck cluck.”
Yan Chi: “?”
He looked up and saw a plump hen standing proudly at the top of the stairs, followed by a flock of chirping chicks.
The family swaggered past Yan Chi. One of the chicks lost its footing and fell with a thud onto his shoe. It was dazed for a moment, then shook its head and trotted off to catch up with its mother.
Yan Chi’s mouth dropped open slightly: “…These chickens, you raise them?”
Xingluo: “Um…no! They’re raised by Sethia.”
Yan Chi was puzzled. “Why does he raise so many chickens?”
“To eat…” Xingluo said instinctively, then suddenly sensed danger, shuddered, and looked up into Shen Mingsu’s eyes. “Ah, no, they’re pets. These are all Sethia's pets.”
Yan Chi was surprised. Keeping a hen as a pet?
I don't understand, but I respect it.
"I'll talk to Sethia later and tell him not to keep the chickens indoors; they can roam freely in the yard," Yan Chi said to Xingluo. He looked down and saw a tiny, bright yellow chick staring at him expectantly, tilting its little head.
The chick was adorable, and Yan Chi couldn't resist squatting down to stroke its head.
Seeing this, Xingluo immediately grabbed the chick. "Teacher, if you like it, take it with you."
Yan Chi: "No, no."
"Please, Teacher." Xingluo picked up another chick, making a pair, and presented them to Yan Chi. "Take them with you. You won't need to buy eggs anymore, and they'll lay more, their offspring will be endless."
Yan Chi: "...But these are Sethia's chickens."
"No, these are mine." Xingluo told the truth. "He gave me two, but I really don't like raising chickens. Please, Teacher, help me."
Sethia originally planned to raise chickens for eggs and meat, but the chickens kept multiplying, so he shared them with his two roommates. Even Tan Mo has several, and now they're all mixed together.
Xingluo couldn't be happier if Yan Chi took his two chicks with him; he was almost sick of eating eggs.
"And teacher, did you know?" Xingluo approached Yan Chi mysteriously, "Actually, I can tell fortunes. I did a quick calculation and found out you're destined to be with these two chicks."
Yan Chi found it amusing. "Oh? You can do that?"
"Of course! My family has a long tradition of fortune telling; it's a family skill, okay?" Xingluo practically patted his chest to assure him. "Teacher, don't doubt me. Let me tell you something. What should I tell you? How about your marriage?"
"Teacher, you must still be single. Let me calculate when you'll find someone."
Xingluo pretended to do some calculations, but the smile on his face slowly froze. He looked at Shen Mingsu beside Yan Chi, his fingers trembling slightly.
Shen Mingsu gave a forced smile. "Keep calculating. Why are you staring at me?"
Xingluo was caught in a dilemma, unsure whether to speak or remain silent. He shouldn't have been so talkative. Now he'd inadvertently discovered a huge secret. Was he going to be silenced?
"Xingluo?" Yan Chi waved his hand in front of the dazed Xingluo. "Did you figure it out?"
Xingluo stammered, "I...I..."
"Okay, okay, teacher, don't believe me. I was just joking. Actually, I don't know how to calculate romance at all." Xingluo, seemingly resigned to his fate, kept glancing at Shen Mingsu out of the corner of his eye. "I didn't figure anything out."
Shen Mingsu said cryptically, "It seems Xingluo's family tradition isn't very good."
Xingluo: "Yes, yes, it's all my dad's fault for not passing it down well, that's why my generation is so disappointing."
"So, teacher, you should take these two chickens." Xingluo was still thinking about giving away the two chickens.
Yan Chi couldn't refuse, so he took the two chicks. "Thank you."
After leaving Xingluo, Yan Chi looked at the two chicks nestled in his arms, feeling a sense of déjà vu, like someone who had gone to the countryside to help the poor, was thanked by the villagers, and left with some local specialties.
Shen Mingsu held out his hand: "Want me to get one for you?"
Yan Chi handed him the chick that liked to jump around a lot. "This one's for you."
The little chick was tiny, but suddenly became docile when it was near Shen Mingsu, sitting obediently in his palm.
Next, they went to room 204, Lian Deng and Ning Zhu's apartment. As usual, Yan Chi knocked on the door. Lian Deng opened it, saying softly, "Sorry, teacher, Ning Zhu is already asleep."
It's not even nine o'clock yet, and he's already asleep? Sleeping during the day and sleeping at night, is this kid ever awake?
Yan Chi was surprised by this unusual sleep schedule for such a young person. "Then we won't go in. Be careful."
Lian Deng nodded: "Okay, teacher, take care."
After Yan Chi left, a creature resembling a stick insect, dragging a segmented arm, came running out, like a little dog on a treasure hunt, happily bringing its spoils to its owner.
"No, it's too dirty." Lian Deng squatted down, opened his hand, and the little stick insect crawled onto his hand. Lian Deng stroked its little head. "If you're hungry, I'll ask Sethia for two chickens for you, okay?"
The little stick insect: *crunch crunch*
"I'm not hungry. But if you get hungry, you must tell me."
Lian Deng turned and went back into the house with the little stick insect.
After checking the dorms, Yan Chi and Shen Mingsu prepared to go home. As they parted at their respective doors, Shen Mingsu handed the chick to Yan Chi. "Goodnight."
The chick, which had been playing dead, became lively again in Yan Chi's hands, chirping incessantly, as if complaining to its brother about Shen Mingsu.
Yan Chi gently pressed the heads of the two chicks, looked up at Shen Mingsu, and smiled. "Goodnight. Thank you for coming with me tonight."
"It's nothing. You can call me next time you go out." Shen Mingsu then pulled out his nephew, "Chang Le has been eating at your place these past few days. I've already been quite irresponsible as his uncle. Teacher Yan should at least give me a chance to thank you."
For some reason, hearing Shen Mingsu address him as "Teacher Yan" made Yan Chi feel a strange sense of shame.
Yan Chi: "Principal, you can just call me Yan Chi."
"Then just call me Shen Mingsu." Shen Mingsu poked the chick, which somersaulted. He smiled, "Relax, little Yan Chi, this isn't work time."
Yan Chi stammered, "Okay, Shen... Shen Mingsu."
Shen Mingsu suddenly glanced at Xi Chang's house, "It's late, you should go back to sleep too."
Yan Chi nodded, "Okay, goodbye."
The two parted ways. Yan Chi pushed open the door, put the two chicks on the ground, and suddenly heard footsteps. He turned his head and saw a flash of gold in the dim moonlight.
“Sethia?” Yan Chi called tentatively, “Is that you?”
Seeing Yan Chi approach, Sethia couldn’t hide any longer and emerged from behind the courtyard gate, calling out guiltily, “Teacher…”
Yan Chi: “What are you doing here?”
He looked around, not seeing any patrolling teachers, not even Tan Mo. “Are you alone? Where did Tan Mo go?”
“We separated.” Sethia hesitated, looking at Yan Chi. If it were any other teacher, he would have directly invited them to kill players with him, but it was the harmless Yan Chi.
If he ate a player in front of the teacher, would the teacher be afraid?
Sethia thought about it seriously, increasingly feeling it was very likely. After all, last time Feng Wang only died in front of the teacher, yet it scared the teacher into fainting. If he ate someone and frightened the teacher to the point of illness, Sethia would truly have nowhere to turn.
Seeing Sethia's furrowed brow, seemingly lost in thought, Yan Chi asked, "Have you finished your patrol mission?"
Sethia's eyes darted around. "Not yet, there are still two other players from other schools we haven't found."
He lied. The two players were hiding in the pond not far from them. He was there to kill them. Deceiving his teacher made Sethia feel guilty.
Yan Chi keenly sensed that something was off about Sethia tonight. He gently rubbed his head and asked softly, "Sethia, are you hungry?"
"Huh?" Sethia paused, then touched his stomach. "A little."
Yan Chi's eyes crinkled with a smile. "Want to come to my house? I'll cook you some noodles."
Sethia already knew that anything Yan Chi gave him tasted good. In an instant, he forgot all about the players and the mission, happily clinging to Yan Chi's arm. "Okay, okay!"
So Yan Chi took Sethia home.
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