The Morning at Dengke Tower

At the peak of the distant mountains, the morning sun revealed half its face. More and more people were passing through the platform, and a female ghost also peeked out from between the flowing floral curtains. Watching the hurried teenagers rushing towards the classroom building, Fu Ziqing drifted down from a tree to the platform. Standing on the platform for a moment, she looked up at the impressively grand Dengke Tower.

Last night, she had wandered through Chuanbei Middle School, feeling a sense of nostalgia. Twenty years have brought such significant changes, she mused.

Remembering Ming Zhong’s question about whether she had a place to go, Fu Ziqing found herself at a loss, even if she was genuinely upset. Without the constraints of a physical body, the world seemed vast, and she could go almost anywhere. Being a happy ghost, scaring people, and having fun with the spirits was actually quite nice. Yet, she had her own desires.

Following this train of thought, Fu Ziqing entered Dengke Tower with the hurried teenagers. The tower was square in shape, with an internal ‘回’ (hui) structure. The corridors leading into the building were adorned with banners related to preparing for the college entrance exams. The walls on either side were covered with students’ exam scores from each test this semester. Interestingly, the top-performing students even had their photos displayed. The top ten students each had a solo full-body photo with a personal message, while the top fifty were in a large group photo.

Fu Ziqing lingered in front of these photos, admiring the young talents with a senior’s perspective. Which school leader came up with this policy? They’re a true genius. Why didn’t I meet someone like this back then… she sighed. If such a policy had existed in her time, her photo would have been at the top every single time!

Wow, this girl is quite cute!

Thinking about her own photo being at the top, Fu Ziqing naturally looked up and saw a girl’s photo. The girl had fair skin, a beautiful face, and a sweet smile directed at the camera. Below the photo was a message: “Learning brings me joy!”

Looking further, most of the photos were of girls, including the group photo of the top fifty, where girls dominated. Even after all these years, Chuanbei Middle School still has more girls than boys, she thought.

Moving on to the next section, she saw the results of another round of exam battles. After browsing through several sections, Fu Ziqing noticed that the cheerful girl wasn’t always at the top; sometimes, a boy would take her place. She’s still quite far from me, but she’s not bad, Fu Ziqing commented.

Finally, in a large group photo, she spotted a face she disliked. Ming Zhong was in the last row, far right, just barely making it into the top fifty. He’s only just avoiding being a complete academic failure? Fu Ziqing was a bit unhappy.

Continuing to the next section, she saw that the face she disliked appeared very rarely.

With a light step, Fu Ziqing entered the inner part of Dengke Tower. Inside, the bottom floor had a smooth courtyard in the center, with a bronze statue of Confucius at its heart. Above the courtyard, the space was open, allowing a view of the sky. Around the courtyard were classrooms and teacher offices, stacked five floors high. Since Dengke Tower was reserved for the elite classes of the third year, the classrooms on the fourth and fifth floors were empty.

Fu Ziqing wandered through the building, and as she passed by the back door of a classroom, she sensed a familiar presence. She paused and peeked inside, seeing Ming Zhong’s back. Ming Zhong seemed deeply focused on solving problems. Fu Ziqing’s gaze swept across the classroom, noticing that most students were seriously writing, while a few chatted softly. From their conversation, it seemed there would be an exam soon.

Turning her attention back to Ming Zhong, who was fully engrossed, Fu Ziqing raised her hand, ready to give him a smack on the head, but suddenly pulled back. She looked at the student sitting in front of Ming Zhong, a girl with a ponytail who was also engrossed in her work.

Fu Ziqing had an idea, and the ponytail immediately reacted, standing upright!

“Ow!” the girl exclaimed softly, and the ponytail fell back down.

The girl turned around, but not seeing Fu Ziqing, naturally looked at Ming Zhong, who was still focused on his work. The girl frowned in confusion and turned back to her problems.

About ten seconds later, the ponytail stood up again!

The girl turned around once more. Ming Zhong was still focused. This time, the girl opened her mouth but didn’t speak, then turned back to her work.

A few seconds later, the ponytail stood up again.

“Ming Zhong? Did you need something?” the girl asked, turning back.

Ming Zhong looked up, equally confused: “I didn’t call you.”

“Hmph,” the girl huffed, but as soon as she turned back, she felt her ponytail being played with.

Slap!

A hand struck Ming Zhong’s desk, and the girl’s eyebrows shot up: “Ming Zhong, are you still a child?!”

Ming Zhong, looking innocent, slowly replied: “Li Yu, did I do something to you?”

Li Yu’s face turned red, obviously more annoyed by his innocent act, and angrily said: “Then who was pulling my hair?!”

“I’ve been doing problems; I don’t have time to pull your hair,” Ming Zhong said calmly.

Li Yu glared at him: “You’re the only one sitting behind me. Who else could it be?!”

Ming Zhong shrugged: “It wasn’t me…”

As he spoke, Ming Zhong had an idea and quickly looked behind him… Nothing was there.

Ming Zhong turned back, and Li Yu warned sternly: “Do. Not. Touch. Me. Again!”

“Okay,” Ming Zhong agreed, his expression strange.

Ming Zhong couldn’t focus on his work anymore; he was thinking about whether it was his senior causing trouble.

A few minutes of silence passed.

“Ah!”

Li Yu suddenly screamed.

The scream echoed through the classroom, filled with outrage and disbelief. Everyone looked up to see what was happening. Ming Zhong sensed something was wrong from the moment the scream started.

Looking up, he saw Li Yu slightly turned, her face flushed, and her eyes glistening with tears as she stared at him. That wasn’t all; Li Yu was covering her chest with both hands.

The classroom fell silent. Everyone’s eyes were filled with curiosity, fixed on Ming Zhong and Li Yu.

“If I said it was a ghost, would you believe me?” Ming Zhong’s voice was heavy with both seriousness and resignation.

Li Yu’s eyes filled with tears: “Pervert!”

Then she buried her face on the desk, her shoulders shaking as she cried. The classroom burst into chatter and commotion.

She’s crying?!

Fu Ziqing felt a bit panicked, wondering if she had gone too far with her prank?

No, no one knows it was me; they’ll all think it was Ming Zhong. It’s all on him!

It’s not my fault~

Time to leave! Time to leave!

Amidst the noise, a ghost who had played a prank quickly fled the scene of the crime.