The next morning after waking up.
Song Yi patted her flat stomach and got up to drink three glasses of water.
Then...
She fell back down and continued sleeping.
Meanwhile, Murong Huan was quite confident.
After all, she naturally had a small appetite, and to maintain her perfect figure, she always ate only until she was 30% full before going to bed hungry every night.
Going hungry for two days? That was nothing but a trivial matter for her.
With this thought, Murong Huan got up to freshen up and changed into pretty clothes.
Song Yi, lying in bed, asked her, "What are you going to do?"
Murong Huan replied, "Going out for a walk, of course. Want to join?"
Song Yi shook her head, "No thanks."
"Then I'll go by myself," Murong Huan said as she picked up her bag, "I'll call you if I find anything interesting."
Song Yi earnestly reminded her, "Come back early and conserve your energy."
"Got it," Murong Huan said as she left.
Song Yi lay in bed, trying to go back to sleep but failed.
So she took out her phone and checked the points ranking in the group chat.
As expected, other teams had spent money buying supplies to varying degrees.
Their team was in first place with exactly 500 points.
The second place team was far behind with only 390 points.
Good, Song Yi was satisfied, her plan seemed perfect.
However, what surprised Song Yi was that by noon they were still in first place, but their points had increased by forty.
Song Yi sent a string of question marks in the temporary WeChat group she created last night.
[We Are The Champions]
[Song Leaves You]: What's going on [Picture]?
[Lonely Wolf]: Do points fall from the sky?
[Welcome]: I was walking around outside and saw a task we could complete, so I just did it.
[Lonely Wolf]: Amazing!
[Song Leaves You]: Amazing, amazing!
[Power Is Mine]: Amazing, amazing, amazing!
[Welcome]: [Shy]
[Lonely Wolf] patted [Hang Feng]
[Song Leaves You] patted [Hang Feng]
[Power Is Mine] patted [Hang Feng]
[Hang Feng]: ?
[Lonely Wolf]: Follow the pattern!
[Power Is Mine]: Not giving face to my sister Huan?
[Song Leaves You]: Mm-hmm
[Hang Feng]: .
A simple period perfectly represented Hang Feng's speechless state of mind.
Anyone with sense should have been able to tell that Hang Feng simply couldn't be bothered to deal with them, but these three were clearly not very self-aware.
In Song Yi's view, lying around was too boring, so if she could tease Hang Feng, that would at least be entertaining.
Finally, after being mentioned in at least a hundred messages, Hang Feng gave in.
[Hang Feng]: Amazing!
[Lonely Wolf]: Wrong @Hang Feng.
[Song Leaves You]: It increases each time, so you need to say "amazing" four times @Hang Feng.
[Power Is Mine]: Not giving face to my sister Huan? @Hang Feng.
Hang Feng: "..."
How could there be such boring people in this world, and three of them at that.
After a while, Hang Feng sighed.
Sitting on the sofa, he looked up at the ceiling and suddenly accepted his fate.
[Hang Feng]: Amazing amazing amazing amazing!
[Song Leaves You]: He's so slow to react, it took him half an hour to follow the pattern.
[Lonely Wolf]: And typing "amazing" four times in a row looks really silly, doesn't seem very smart.
[Power Is Mine]: Half an hour has passed? Really not giving face to my sister Huan! Sister Huan, beat him up!
Hang Feng: "..."
The young man's grip on his phone tightened slightly, his hands visibly trembling.
Obviously, he was angry.
He must have been possessed by some evil spirit to bother dealing with these utterly boring people.
Deep breath, deep breath.
After trying hard to adjust his emotions, Hang Feng didn't hesitate to mute the group chat.
After a while, still not feeling secure, he directly turned off his phone.
Ah, the world was finally completely peaceful.
*
In the afternoon.
Just as Song Yi woke up from her nap, Murong Huan returned.
The two looked at the current points ranking in the group, their heads close together as they studied it for a while.
Song Yi came to a conclusion: "The second place team only has 400 points now, about the same as this morning. So our judgment was correct, spending points to buy things was definitely going to be a losing business."
Murong Huan nodded in agreement and looked at Song Yi with an admiring expression, "Yi Yi, you're so smart. With us here, Jiang Yiheng's team can only be second."
Song Yi: "?"
Huh? Jiang Yiheng's team? They're second?
Song Yi immediately checked the rankings again, and her smile froze on her face.
Murong Huan asked, "What's wrong? We're 140 points ahead of Jiang Yiheng, isn't that enough?"
Song Yi's lips twitched as she looked at Murong Huan, "But this morning, Jiang Yiheng's team only had 100 points."
Most teams had kept at least half their points as a precaution, which was why Jiang Yiheng's team had left such a deep impression on Song Yi.
Murong Huan's smile also froze, and for a moment she couldn't quite process it.
After a while, Murong Huan slowly spoke, "You mean they earned a full 300 points in just one morning?"
Song Yi nodded and said four words, "Terrifying beyond belief."
When the points table was posted in their five-person group chat, Shen Yujing's first reaction was also joy.
[Lonely Wolf]: Holding first place steady!
[Welcome]: But they only had 100 points this morning.
[Lonely Wolf]: ???
[Power Is Mine]: ????
[Hang Feng]: ...
Obviously, against these fierce competitors from Jiang Yiheng's team, the "lying low" strategy wouldn't work.
The second meeting was again held in Hang Feng's room.
The five were still sitting around the sofa, but their expressions were much more troubled than last night.
Finally, Song Yi made the decision, "Everyone head out now and complete some simple tasks. Don't worry about how many points they're worth, just pick the easy ones."
By evening.
Song Yi's team had earned a total of 750 points, while Jiang Yiheng's team had caught up to 700 points.
The third meeting was again held in Hang Feng's room.
However, by now, everyone was starving and looked completely exhausted.
Shen Yujing couldn't hold back anymore, "Are Jiang Yiheng's team all crazy?"
They hadn't eaten a single bite of food yet and hadn't spent any points, which was how they'd managed to save up 750 points.
And what about Jiang Yiheng's team?
They now had 700 points, and that was probably after deducting points for food and other expenses - just how many tasks had they actually completed?
Song Yi analyzed the situation, "We can't just sit back and wait anymore. Tomorrow we must give it our all."
Quan Le said, "But we're already trying our hardest."
Murong Huan slapped his arm, "Then why are we still gaining fewer points than Jiang Yiheng's team? Are we not as good as them?"
Quan Le leaned back on the sofa, "But we really won't have the energy to bounce around tomorrow on empty stomachs."
Everyone started discussing how they could possibly defeat Jiang Yiheng's team.
After a while, Hang Feng spoke up.
Hang Feng: "Use points to buy food normally tonight and tomorrow, we can even spend them all, because tomorrow night there will be a chance to completely turn the tables."
Quan Le: "How do you know?"
Shen Yujing: "You're not just making this up because you're too hungry, are you?"
But Song Yi interrupted them. In her understanding, Hang Feng wasn't someone who would joke around or lie.
Even when faced with questions he couldn't answer, he would usually choose silence over lies.
Since Hang Feng said this, it was probably true.
So Song Yi asked him, "Can you be certain?"
Hang Feng nodded.
Shen Yujing still wasn't convinced and continued pressing, "Why? Give us a reason to believe you."
Hang Feng remained silent for a long time, until Shen Yujing had almost lost patience and Song Yi thought he wouldn't answer, before finally speaking.
Hang Feng said: "Saint Yu Boys' School did it this way last year. Our school and theirs have always shared the same planning team. Many activities in the past two years have been identical. I have a... friend who studies there."
"Friend?" Shen Yujing became curious, "Who is it? I know quite a few people there, maybe I know them."
Hang Feng lowered his eyes, "We haven't been in touch for a long time."
Obviously, Hang Feng had no intention of continuing the conversation, and angering the antagonist never ends well.
With the mindset that saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda, Song Yi changed the subject, "Alright, we believe you."
Murong Huan: "So does this mean we can eat now?"
At the mention of "food," Shen Yujing's eyes nearly turned green with hunger. He was naturally the first to reach out, "I want to eat! Rice! Lots of rice!"
Seven hundred points wasn't particularly much or little, but combined with their remaining food, it was enough for five people to have two full meals.
The next morning, all five of them went out again to complete some tasks, earning enough for their lunch that day.
Until—
Looking at the zero balance in their points, Song Yi doubtfully looked at Hang Feng, "Even if we've spent all our points, can we still turn this around?"
Hang Feng nodded, "One round will be enough to determine the outcome."
At six in the evening, everyone gathered at the mountaintop.
According to the rules of this grade trip, everything would end completely at nine o'clock.
Which meant that in the next three hours, something else was going to happen.
The teacher once again stood in the center of the crowd with a microphone, giving a long summary of the activity before finally saying, "Everyone has seen their points for this activity. According to previous years' rules, the top three groups will receive rewards. But students, the current points aren't final, so don't be discouraged, because there's one last activity—Jungle Adventure!"
A wave of discussion arose from below, with some directly asking, "What's Jungle Adventure?"
The teacher explained, "Look at that area behind us—when you go in, there's a forest. Groups need to follow the markers and successfully exit the forest to win. Based on the order of completion, first through third place will receive three thousand, two thousand, and one thousand points respectively. Before entering the forest, teachers will give each student a wristband with tracking capabilities. If you encounter danger, you can press the red button at any time, and a teacher will come to escort you out, but at that moment, your entire group will be considered eliminated."
Song Yi clarified the situation for everyone, "Jiang Yiheng's group currently has nine hundred points, which means if we're the first group out of the forest, even if they're second, we can take first place with a hundred-point advantage."
Murong Huan nodded and added, "But a thousand points—clearly this forest won't be easy to exit. There must be some things in there."
Quan Le asked, "What could it be?"
Shen Yujing: "No idea."
Song Yi: "No idea."
Murong Huan: "No idea."
Hang Feng: "..."
But soon, others around them asked the question they were all curious about, "We just need to follow the markers out of the forest? Is it that simple?"
The teacher smiled, "Of course not."
A wave of murmurs arose from below.
The teacher added, "There will be some mildly scary elements. Students with heart conditions or those who are afraid of such things can choose not to participate."
Even without guaranteed top three placement, after the teacher's explanation, nearly a quarter of the students chose to give up and return to pack their things.
Song Yi looked at Murong Huan, somewhat reluctantly saying, "If you can't handle it, we can give up."
"Who says I can't handle it?" Murong Huan replied, "I'm just afraid of the dark, but look at that forest—it has lights. If these horror elements were in complete darkness, that wouldn't be interesting. They definitely need people to see the path and the scary things around them clearly to feel fear."
Murong Huan's analysis made perfect sense, so Song Yi turned to Shen Yujing, "What about you?"
While Murong Huan was only afraid of the dark, Shen Yujing was afraid of ghosts.
Though Shen Yujing's face had turned pale, his lips whiter than usual, he still lifted his chin and said, "Don't be ridiculous! Of course I can do it."
Song Yi looked at him, "Are you sure?"
Shen Yujing nodded.
Song Yi asked with sincere eyes, "Have you bought insurance? Can you list me as the beneficiary?"
Shen Yujing was taken aback, "What do you mean?"
Quan Le explained, "Can't you tell? Song Yi thinks you're going to die of fright in there."
This comment directly provoked Shen Yujing, or perhaps sparked his competitive spirit.
Shen Yujing said, "How many times do I have to say I'm not afraid of ghosts?"
At that moment, Jiang Yiheng's group happened to pass by them.
A boy looked back at them and commented loud enough for everyone to hear, "Who would have thought? Shen Yujing is afraid of ghosts? Looks like their group is going to forfeit!"
Shen Yujing: "Are they idiots? Is what I said anything like what they understood? What are they even talking about? What rumors are they trying to spread?"
Hang Feng's cold voice spoke up: "You're usually just like them."
Always interpreting things as they want to, confidently presenting falsehoods as truth.
Shen Yujing: "?"
What was Hang Feng saying now? Was he slandering him too?
But the urgent matter now wasn't to reason with Hang Feng, but to clarify that he truly wasn't afraid of ghosts.
In anger, Shen Yujing shouted at their retreating backs, "Whoever's afraid of ghosts is a son of a b*tch!"
Suddenly, Jiang Yiheng stopped in his tracks and turned back to look thoughtfully at Shen Yujing.
Naturally, Shen Yujing glared back without backing down.
The next second, Jiang Yiheng turned and walked away, clearly not considering Shen Yujing much of a competitor.
"Alright, alright," Murong Huan stepped in to mediate, "If you're all capable, then let's go in. Why waste time arguing here?"
Murong Huan's words made sense, so everyone headed toward the forest together.
Just as they stepped through the entrance that the school had set up before the forest, they felt a cool breeze brush across their faces.
The surroundings were illuminated mainly by blue and green cold light sources which, although lighting up the area in the darkness, made it appear even more eerie and frightening.
In front of them, a person wearing a creepy smiling mask grinned at them, their voice squeezed out of their throat like a rusty tape, each word popping out one by one: "Wel-come-to-your-ar-ri-val."
Seeing this environment, Song Yi understood.
This was just a haunted house, wasn't it? That's simple.
Quan Le also immediately breathed a sigh of relief, "I thought it was something else, this is nothing."
Song Yi looked at Murong Huan on her left, then at Shen Yujing on her right, making sure neither of their expressions had changed before leading everyone forward following the markers.
When they passed the first fork in the path, Song Yi clearly felt a cold hand reach out from under the ground and grab her ankle.
Seeing Song Yi suddenly stop, Shen Yujing asked curiously, "What are you doing?"
Instead of answering Shen Yujing's question, Song Yi started negotiating with the hand gripping her foot, "I sprained this foot recently, could you be gentler? I don't want to go back to the hospital."
After hearing Song Yi's words, the hand hesitated for a few seconds before withdrawing.
"Thank you," Song Yi said politely before continuing forward.
But because of what Song Yi had just said, the others remained standing in place, seemingly hesitant about whether to continue forward.
Murong Huan called out to Song Yi, "Yi Yi! What just happened?"
Song Yi replied, "Nothing much, just a hand grabbed my foot."
Murong Huan: "!!!"
How terrifying!
Why could Song Yi be so calm, talking about it as casually as if she were saying "tonight's chicken leg was delicious"?
The atmosphere here was already creepy, and even with mental preparation, having a hand suddenly grab your ankle was still quite scary.
While Murong Huan was hesitating, Hang Feng was the first to walk forward.
His steps were steady, though he paused for a full five seconds midway, clearly struggling with the hand on the ground.
Seeing Hang Feng had made it across, Shen Yujing immediately followed.
He walked so fast that those hands couldn't even catch his feet.
Meanwhile, Murong Huan and Quan Le looked at each other, then linked arms and supported each other as they walked across, accompanied by occasional screams.
Song Yi rubbed her ears and looked at Murong Huan, beginning to wonder if she had ever considered studying music—she truly had the makings of a natural soprano.
And on the path ahead—
The red-robed female ghost stood with her back to them, braiding her long hair while emitting wailing sounds like a banshee. After laughing maniacally, she said, "I'll show you my true face! I'll make you stay here forever to keep me company!"
As the red-robed ghost was about to turn around, Song Yi casually remarked, "When the ghost turns around, everyone will discover that her face is still completely covered with hair because she doesn't have a front face."
The ghost: "...?"
Passing by a tombstone, they saw a young girl sitting on it, smiling eerily at them. "This is my first time seeing living humans. Since you're here, why don't you stay forever to keep me company!"
Song Yi sat down on the neighboring tombstone and greeted her enthusiastically, "What a coincidence, I'm actually your neighbor."
The young ghost: "??"
The "headless man" holding bloody clothes had a horrifying makeup wound on his neck. He stood there with a vacant smile and began telling his story: "I once had a girlfriend I loved deeply, but she betrayed me for someone else, so I killed her. Afterward, I had nightmares every night where she came to claim my life."
"A master told me that if I could just wash clean the clothes I wore when I killed her, she would leave me alone. But no matter how much I wash them, they won't come clean. The blood keeps spreading... Then she came back for revenge! She killed me! She killed me!"
"I refuse to die like this! My soul is trapped here, unable to reincarnate! So I must kill another woman! I'll make you take my place..."
"Wait," Song Yi interrupted him, "Have you considered why you couldn't wash the clothes clean?"
The man paused, forgetting his scripted lines, and asked, "Why?"
Song Yi: "Because you didn't use Diao Brand laundry detergent [Note 1]."
The man: "???"
Shen Yujing & Murong Huan & Quan Le: "OAO."
Hang Feng: "..."
For a moment, he couldn't tell if this was supposed to be a mildly scary forest adventure or Song Yi's stand-up comedy show.
Until—
They encountered Jiang Yiheng's group.
The soccer forward who had previously invited Song Yi to join their team was looking down, while the other two student council members besides Jiang Yiheng were particularly arrogant.
One of them, remembering that they had heard about Shen Yujing being afraid of ghosts, said, "This journey has been so boring. These ghost actors are terrible. Why don't they bring out a real ghost for us to see?"
The other one chimed in, "Better not. If there were real ghosts, our fearless young master Shen might just faint."
They both laughed, clearly showing their unfriendly attitude toward Shen Yujing.
Shen Yujing, known for his short temper, wanted to teach them a lesson with his fists.
Suddenly, Song Yi, who had been facing away from them with her hoodie on, slowly turned around. "Indeed, it's too boring."
"I've been waiting here for eight hundred years and haven't seen a single ghost."
As Song Yi spoke, she turned completely, revealing her face.
And on her face was a ponytail.
The air seemed to freeze at that moment as everyone recalled the female ghost they had just encountered.
In the next second, screams erupted as Jiang Yiheng's team members fled in panic.
Song Yi pulled down her hood, expressing disappointment: "Why are they so easily scared?"
She had merely worn her clothes inside out and put on a hood, yet such a simple trick had terrified them so much. What happened to all their previous bragging and showing off?
Shen Yujing let out a sneer, his eyes filled with contempt, and said, "Well done."
Song Yi asked him, "Why didn't you run? I thought I would scare you too."
Shen Yujing shrugged, "I told you, I'm not afraid of ghosts."
Song Yi didn't understand but couldn't be bothered to ask further.
So she crossed her arms and began admiring the sight of Jiang Yiheng's five-person team fleeing in panic.
But as she watched, she furrowed her brows.
Because among the group, the one running the fastest was... Jiang Yiheng???
Huh? No way?
It couldn't be what she was thinking!
