The Midnight Infiltration

“I’ll go talk to Ling Qianwu and see if I can get it back for you.”

Upon hearing this, Li Yan nearly knelt before Qin Ruoxue. He had never imagined she would intercede on his behalf.

“Class Monitor Qin, I will never forget your immense kindness for as long as I live…”

“It’s hard to say if I can get it back, but I’ll try my best.”

Qin Ruoxue couldn’t make any promises. Though she knew Ling Qianwu, the girl adhered to her own strict code of conduct.

Ordinarily, no one could persuade her when it came to matters violating school rules.

“Thank you, Class Monitor Qin. I will surely serve you like an ox or a horse in the future!”

Li Yan’s words startled Lin Yi. Qin Ruoxue was one of the female leads, destined to turn dark later.

If Li Yan truly acted on his promise, Lin Yi would find himself in grave danger.

“You shouldn’t speak so carelessly. ‘Serving like an ox or a horse’—how many centuries has it been? Do people still use such terms?”

“Ah, it was just a figure of speech. Still, I’ve noted this favor from Class Monitor Qin.”

Qin Ruoxue offered them a polite smile, then turned and departed. A moment later, she returned, her face etched with disappointment.

Seeing her expression, Li Yan’s heart sank with a thud. His phone, he realized, might be gone from him forever.

“Li Yan, I couldn’t get it back, but she promised not to report it to the school.”

Li Yan nodded silently, a result slightly better than he had anticipated.

Lin Yi observed his crestfallen expression and patted him reassuringly on the shoulder.

“Alright, if you can’t get it back, then you can’t.”

Despite the words, the thought of his lost phone gnawed at Li Yan, leaving a knot in his heart.

****

Once school let out that evening, Li Yan pulled Lin Yi into a small grove of trees. Lin Yi, still somewhat bewildered, heard him whisper.

“Brother Lin, I need your help with something in a bit.”

Lin Yi’s brow furrowed slightly. He was eager to get home for his sister’s cooking; he had no time for Li Yan’s nonsense.

“Spit it out, whatever it is. I’m starving.”

“Hehe, Brother Lin, how about I treat you to some bubble tea if we succeed?”

Considering it, Lin Yi decided the offer wasn’t bad, so he might as well hear him out.

“Alright, what’s the plan?”

“Brother Lin, once everyone’s gone, we’ll sneak into the student council office and retrieve my phone. What do you say?”

“What? Are you out of your mind? The school gates will be locked soon. How do you plan to get in?”

“I have my ways. Just help me keep watch, Brother Lin.”

Lin Yi sighed helplessly, yet nodded. What else could he do with a friend like this?

As dusk deepened, they finally emerged furtively from the trees, waiting until most students had left the campus.

“Brother Lin, you’ll cover me in a moment, and I’ll slip in through the window.”

“Are you sure this will work?”

“Trust me, Brother Lin. Once I have the phone, you climb over the wall and leave. I’ll head back to the dorm.”

“Alright.”

Lin Yi agreed. He couldn’t very well refuse to help his good friend.

The campus was quiet at night, with only a few boarding students strolling along the asphalt paths. Lin Yi and Li Yan maintained perfectly natural demeanors, betraying no hint of their clandestine intentions.

They walked boldly, brushing past other boarders, none of whom noticed anything amiss.

Outside the academic building, a long flowerbed encircled it almost entirely. Lush shrubs filled it, providing ample cover for their figures.

Hidden behind the dense foliage, they scanned for passersby while searching for an unlocked window. After a long search, Li Yan finally managed to pry one open. Overjoyed, he quickly motioned for Lin Yi to keep watch.

Slipping through the wide window, Li Yan discerned the room’s interior by the faint moonlight. He saw numerous partitions and small doors, with several mops propped in a corner.

Such an arrangement immediately told him what it was: the first-floor restroom. Unlike the smoky, foul-smelling restrooms Li Yan was accustomed to, this one had minimal odor, even carrying a faint fragrance.

Turning his head again, he noticed the absence of urinals, leaving Li Yan momentarily flustered. ‘What was this called?’ he wondered. ‘A nighttime raid on the women’s restroom?’

His chest heaved, a faint blush of shame rising within him. Yet, as he reconsidered, something about it felt off.

Still, no one would be in the restroom at this hour anyway. As long as no one saw him, it wouldn’t count as entering the women’s restroom.

Just as he managed to calm himself, Lin Yi’s voice suddenly called from outside.

“Are you done yet? Should I come in?”

Lin Yi crouched low, concealed behind the shrubs. He had nearly been spotted moments ago.

Fortunately, there were no lights near the academic building, or he would have been exposed.

“Hurry up. I feel like someone will see me squatting here sooner or later.”

“Brother Lin, just come in first. I don’t have a flashlight, and I can’t see clearly.”

No sooner had Li Yan finished speaking than Lin Yi eagerly climbed through the window, quickly shutting it behind him. When he turned back and saw the room’s interior, his expression froze.

“Damn it, a women’s restroom?”

“Alright, Brother Lin, we’re lucky to even be in here. Let’s just find the student council office first.”

“Oh…”

Lin Yi mumbled in response, pulling out his phone and activating its flashlight. The dim beam illuminated the women’s restroom more clearly. It was Lin Yi’s first time in such a place, and he curiously glanced around.

He realized that apart from the lack of urinals and the absence of a urine smell, it wasn’t much different from a men’s restroom.

Quietly, Lin Yi walked to the door, nudged Li Yan’s shoulder, and whispered.

“I recall there being surveillance cameras outside, right? Should we be careful?”

“No need to worry about that. The academic building loses power at night, so even if we stood brazenly in front of the cameras, they wouldn’t register a thing.”

Despite Li Yan’s assurance, Lin Yi still felt a flicker of unease. Perhaps it was from his prolonged contact with yandere individuals, but he possessed a heightened sense of vigilance in certain matters.

Pushing open the restroom door, they were met by a large mirror, spanning nearly a quarter of the entire wall. The mirror’s surface was dark, but as Lin Yi shone his phone light upon it, a faint glow appeared within its depths.

Gazing at his reflection, Lin Yi felt a peculiar sensation. He extended a hand, and his mirrored image did the same.

Just as Lin Yi turned his head, the reflection flickered several times, like an old television set malfunctioning. When he looked back, a small, inconspicuous line of text materialized on the mirror’s surface.

“Don’t run away…”

A chill shot directly to his brain, leaving Lin Yi frozen in place. Li Yan, who had walked only a few steps ahead, noticed his stillness and turned back to tap his shoulder.

“What are you spacing out for? Let’s go quickly, or we’ll be in trouble when the dorm lights go out.”

Lin Yi rubbed his eyes, staring at the mirror multiple times, but saw nothing.

“Did you see any writing on the mirror just now?”

“Writing? Where was there any writing?”

Li Yan was utterly bewildered. He glanced at the mirror, which appeared entirely ordinary, devoid of any text.

“You must have seen wrong, right?”

Lin Yi scratched his head, attributing it to his imagination. After they departed, the previously flawless mirror developed a subtle crack, like a tear tracing a cheek.