This Damned Thirst for Survival

Fu Yuaner is a good child in the eyes of her parents and a good student in the eyes of her teachers, judging from her academic performance and teachers’ comments. She always listens to her teachers and parents, returns to the dormitory before the door, does not fall in love or play with her mobile phone, and does not do anything she is not allowed to do.

This way, although somewhat constrained, you can at least avoid many dangers.

Evergreen High School is a boarding school and boarding schools are generally more strict with their students, especially when it comes to their travel and safety, and cannot be more careful.

The disappearance of Fu Yuaner in these circumstances is inextricably linked to the work of expansion at the time.

When the school is being expanded, strange people come and go into the school. These workers are busy, the school is busy with the expansion, and there are always people who take advantage of the situation and do things that the school is not normally allowed to do.

Because they are busy, most of these disciplinary offences will not be detected either.

“Have you noticed?” Jiang Luo thought slowly, repeating what the staff had said before the game began, “We have three tasks, the first is to find the missing girls, the second is to find out why the workers died, and the third is to find out what happened back then.”

“The first one is strange,” Jiang Luo stood still, locking eyes with Zhuo Zhongqiu and Ye Xun, “‘find’ the missing girl.”

“It means that the girl is still in this school.” Zhuo Zhongqiu understood.

There was another sentence she didn’t say, but everyone knew it by heart.

What they were looking for, most likely, was the body of this girl.

“The teachers of senior class (4) are still teaching at Evergreen High School,” Ye Xun said lightly, “let’s go and ask them.”

The teachers who taught the senior class in 2012 happened to be teaching the senior class this year as well. They made their way from the dormitory area to the teaching area just as one of the teachers who served that year was about to leave class.

Jiang Luo and his companion were waiting at the back door of the class when people in the class spotted them and peeked around to watch and whisper.

The teacher above said, “Quiet.”

The students below gradually fell silent.

The class was taught by a male teacher who looked to be in his early thirties, still handsome and not out of shape, so he must have been working out.

The students below clearly liked him and a few of the girls couldn’t help but cut their hair.

Jiang Luo froze and suddenly pulled out his phone and flipped out a picture of Fu Yuaner.

As he zoomed in on Fu Yuaner’s picture with both fingers, Ye Xun asked curiously, “Jiang Luo, what are you looking at?”

Jiang Luo’s fingers slid through Fu Yuaner’s hair, then to Fu Yuaner’s lips and the necklace around her neck, “Does she look like she’s in love this way?”

“Or maybe she has someone she likes and wants to put her best foot forward for the person she likes,” Jiang Luo murmurs, “The bangs are neat and above her eyebrows, so she must have just had a cut, but boarding school students who want a haircut have to wait until the end of the month for the holidays. She’s not wearing lipstick with colour, but looking at the gloss on her lips, she should be wearing lip balm.”

“And the necklace, the style is a little too mature and feminine to be something a little girl of that age would wear.”

Zhuo Zhongqiu got a closer look, “It’s true.”

Ye Xun thought for a moment and said, “Sai Liaoer got the message that there is an imbalance between men and women.”

Jiang Luo turned off his phone thoughtfully, “The person who gave her this necklace is most likely much older than her and has a more mature aesthetic. Single enough to be close enough to touch so that you can cultivate a relationship, and still handsome.”

How could a good looking eighteen year old girl fall for an ugly man who is older than she is.

Gradually, the three men’s eyes moved to the teacher who was giving the lecture.

Zhuo Zhongqiu : “…… It can’t be such a coincidence.”

Ye Xun : “It’s also possible that they were workers on the expansion during that period.”

They hadn’t talked for more than a few minutes before the classroom was dismissed. The handsome, middle-aged male teacher came out, “Are you here to see me?”

Jiang Luo smiled as he walked over, “Teacher, we would like to ask you something.”

The male teacher couldn’t help but look at him a few more times because of his overly distinguished looks, “Come and talk in my office.”

They were just about to leave when two girls from the class came up to each other cheering them on, embarrassed, handed the male teacher a bottle of water and said with a red face, “Teacher Liu has worked hard.”

Zhuo Zhongqiu couldn’t help but whistle, and the two girls looked at her and couldn’t help but be even more shy as they turned and ran away.

The male teacher shook his head in tears, “These girls.”

He was the only one back in the male teacher’s office for the time being. Jiang Luo took advantage of the male teacher pouring them water to look through the male teacher’s lesson plans, which had his name written on them: Liu Zhi.

He looks up at the wall where the class schedules and Liu Zhi’s attendance sheets are posted.

The only records on the attendance sheet are for five months of work this year, all with one check mark, so Liu Zhi has not missed a single day of attendance.

It is truly remarkable.

Jiang Luo raised his eyebrows and glanced unobtrusively at Liu Zhi’s drawer.

Locked.

Liu Zhi brought the water over and apologised, “Sorry, I have all paper cups here.”

Several people shook their heads.

“Teacher, we’re here to ask about the missing girls in 2012,” Jiang Luo smiled and said gently, easily defusing people’s defences, “We don’t know much about what happened back then, may I ask if there are any missing girls in your class?”

Liu Zhi frowned and thought about it, “In 2012 …… I would have taken several classes in that time and there was indeed something about a girl going missing, but I forget which class it was that went wrong.”

“That’s true,” Jiang Luo looked understanding, “it’s been so long, the school has changed so much, it’s really not easy to remember what happened back then.”

Liu Zhi breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank you for understanding, I’ll do my best to think about it and I’ll let you know if I think of anything.”

Jiang Luo took out his mobile phone, “So teacher, let’s add a contact?”

Liu Zhi froze and gave his phone number.

They didn’t stay with Liu Zhi for long, because ten minutes later he was off to his next class. The three of them returned the way they came, walking slowly back.

On the ground floor of the dormitory, Jiang Luo and Ye Xun meet in the toilet, while Zhuo Zhongqiu waits for them outside, bored: “Even if we know Fu Yuaner is in love, it doesn’t seem to help us break the barrier.”

Jiang Luo said casually, “Who says so? What if it was a love killing?”

Ye Xun shivered involuntarily.

He looked at Jiang Luo for a moment, remembering the wonderful physique that was bound to hit Jiang Luo whenever he had a mouthful of poisoned milk in Hotel 129.

At lunchtime, the group regrouped for a meal and Wen Renlian shook his head and sighed, “It rained only yesterday and everywhere was wet. We walked along places that would have been wet even before the heavy rain, such as by the lake and by the water tap, but found nothing. I guess we won’t be able to find out where Xu Yan has gone until tonight or tomorrow when the ground dries out.”

But tomorrow is the third day.

Jiang Luo made up his mind, “I’ve decided to go through Liu Zhi’s office tonight.”

Zhuo Zhongqiu said, “Take me with you.”

They didn’t waste any time in the afternoon and went out to gather a lot of information. As the night wore on and the warm yellow lights of the dormitory came on, Jiang Luo and Zhuo Zhongqiu washed up early, intending to catch up on their sleep before getting up in the middle of the night to look for clues.

Jiang Luo opened his sleepy eyes at one o’clock in the morning, and after a moment’s reprieve from sleep, Zhuo Zhongqiu was already out of bed to greet him.

Jiang Luo gave an OK, sat up and put on his shoes. He had only slept for a few hours yesterday because of the midnight bell, and even now he was a bit unrefreshed.

But designers stay up late all the time, and after a quick wash, Jiang Luo is completely refreshed. He opened the bathroom door and almost ran headlong into Bai Yefeng’s chest.

Bai Yefeng smiles and asks, “You’re going out?”

Jiang Luo said perfunctorily, with a smile on his face, “We’re going to the toilet.”

“Oh?” Bai Yefeng looked at Zhuo Zhongqiu and then at Jiang Luo in a different way, “You two went to the toilet together?”

Jiang Luo’s face didn’t change: “She’s with me.”

“Zhuo is a girl,” Bai Yefeng said with a smile, “and if Jiang Luo is scared, I can go to the toilet with you, but it’s not very nice to have a girl go with you.”

After saying that, Bai Yefeng said to Zhuo Zhongqiu, “Zhuo, take a rest, I will accompany Jiang Luo to the toilet.”

A helpful look.

Jiang Luo : “……”

Zhuo Zhongqiu : “……”

Jiang Luo said with a fake smile, “Apart from going to the toilet, we have to go out on an errand. Student Bai, you’d better wash up early and go to bed.”

Bai Yefeng, as if unable to read the refusal of others, said curiously, “What is it? Can I join you?”

Jiang Luo was about to refuse when he suddenly remembered something, he looked deeply at Bai Yefeng and then his eyes darted around and he raised a smile, “Sure.”

The three of them packed up and left the house, and Jiang Luo made a special trip to the toilet in order to tell his lie.

Bai Yefeng surprisingly followed him in.

Jiang Luo cursed at Chi You in his mind, calmly zipped up his trousers and looked at the urinal when he realised something was wrong.

“This is new and old ……”

The walls are shabby and the urinal is a bit newer than the walls.

Jiang Luo pondered, “So the boys and girls have switched dormitories.”

This is why the urinal was installed later than the wall was built.

Inside the school, it is common for boys and girls to change dormitory buildings every few years. But this means that the dormitory building they live in is most likely the same dormitory building where the girls who went missing in 2012 used to live.

Jiang Luo had just finished thinking this when the lights on the ceiling suddenly flickered on.

Between the bright lights, the stench suddenly intensified and there was a thick, sticky sound of water approaching the ground that seemed to signify the arrival of something.

Jiang Luo instinctively sensed a sense of crisis and stood up straight, on guard. At that moment, Bai Yefeng, who was standing behind him, suddenly reached out and grabbed Jiang Luo, pulling him into the innermost compartment of the bathroom, where the miscellaneous items were stacked.

The cubicle is small and even more cramped with two tall boys standing in it.

Jiang Luo’s hair swept across the side of Bai Yefeng’s face and neck, causing an itch that seeped from flesh to bone as Bai Yefeng slowly reached out and smoothed the strands behind his ear.

Jiang Luo turned his head away in disgust and was about to speak when Bai Yefeng covered his lips.

“Shh.”

Bai Yefeng’s tone was gentle, but upon closer listening, it seemed to be laced with a few hidden hints of interest that were full of pure malice, “Something is coming.”