The Haunted School Periodical

As you know, our country has always shied away from discussions of the supernatural. Our school’s curriculum, too, avoids feudal superstitions and archaic ideologies. Consequently, ghost stories and local horror legends are rarely encountered now. This holds true for both novels and films.

With the passage of time, at least our generation largely disbelieves in deities, Buddhas, or spirits. Even if some profess belief, it is often treated as a form of entertainment.

Yet, some individuals still seek thrills, actively searching for eerie locations and terrifying atmospheres, only to film their experiences and upload them online.

Occasionally, one might hear tales of driving late at night, spotting a disheveled woman in red by the roadside. The next day, the driver inexplicably dies at home.

These are generally wild, illogical occurrences, serving primarily to underscore the story’s eerie nature.

Although the school doesn’t advocate for such things, it hasn’t strictly forbidden them either. The Supernatural Research Club and the Board Game Club occasionally organize activities involving ghosts and spirits.

The girls in our class, too, sometimes discuss strange occurrences within the school. For instance, they’d say if you turn off the lights in the school restroom at night and light a lighter in front of the mirror, you’ll see a blurry figure behind you.

Another tale involves the boys’ dorm, where someone once swept a large clump of women’s hair from under a bed. Such fantastic tales abound, with some even claiming to have genuinely experienced these events.

Yet, no concrete evidence has ever surfaced for the public to see.

But now, things were different.

Our school’s periodical is updated every Monday. It’s written by the Student Union’s Culture and Entertainment Department, primarily focusing on Student Union activities and other campus events.

Normally, when our homeroom teacher has us sit down and projects a few PPT slides, the perfunctory photos taken by the class committee occasionally make it into print.

Setting aside these highly ceremonial aspects, the periodical also features a small column dedicated to student gossip and sensational news. These entries are mainly student submissions.

Titles like Yu Tianman’s ‘Most Beautiful Freshman’ and Mei Ruolan’s ‘School-wide Big Sister’ – which are rather hard to describe – all originated here.

Beyond that, there were stories of a brave male student rescuing a kitten from the river, of History Teacher Peng Dan’s happy sixtieth birthday, and of Teacher Ye Shangheng dating his beautiful lover on campus. In short, they wrote about everything imaginable.

However, this was the first time they had ever published an article about a supernatural incident on campus.

“A mysterious figure sighted in the old school building… Students claim to have seen the legendary vengeful spirit… The rumored ritual is real.”

Yu Tianman sat beside me, reading the words from the periodical aloud, line by line.

“What is this, a ghost story?”

I thought the same. After all, the periodical was written by the Student Union, so it felt like a student submission, fabricated out of boredom for amusement.

However, this particular column had an accompanying illustration: a nighttime photograph of the old school building. Though unused for years, there were no plans for its demolition.

The image was remarkably clear. One could discern various details of the dilapidated, aged structure: the peeling exterior, cracks and stains on the walls, a weathered banner… and a striking white, human-shaped shadow in a window.

“Is our school haunted?” Even with Yu Tianman posing the question, I found myself at a loss for how to answer her.

“There are no ghosts in this world, Yu Tianman,” Dorothy stated. “Don’t be like a child, foolishly believing every supernatural tale you encounter.”

“But there’s a photo, and witnesses claim to have seen a vengeful spirit.”

“Photos can be faked, and a ghost’s shadow could simply be something that vaguely resembles one. As for witnesses, their accounts can easily be fabricated,” she continued. “Let’s not discuss such meaningless things, okay?”

Yu Tianman offered a knowing smile.

“Aha—after all these years, Dot, you’re not still afraid of these things, are you?”

“Huh?” She wore a displeased expression. “Don’t be childish. You clearly know ghosts don’t exist; it’s foolish to make this our topic of conversation. Why don’t you talk about how you bombed your quiz today? Miss Yu, with your 89 on the Chinese exam.”

“Oh, don’t mention that, don’t mention that,” she whined playfully. “I wasn’t feeling well that day~”

“Wasn’t it because you were listening to music with Yi Chang until late last night?”

“How did you know!?” Yu Tianman reacted somewhat excessively. She shot up so abruptly that the table visibly shook.

Dorothy merely lifted her eyes slightly. She waited until Tianman realized her faux pas and slowly sat back down before speaking. “Last time I borrowed your phone to listen to music, your shared listening session with Yi Chang was still connected… You can’t blame me.”

Yu Tianman slumped onto the desk, her arms cradling her head, her face buried low. She let out a soft, almost babylike groan. “I really didn’t want anyone to know~” she mumbled.

Dorothy remained unfazed by this. She simply returned to her book.

“Isn’t 89 a pretty good score?” I was still lingering on the previous topic. “Our teacher said this test was particularly difficult; hardly anyone scored well.”

“She’s never dropped out of the top ten in her year, ever since she was little,” Dorothy explained. “This time, not only did she miss the top ten, but she also scored below ninety for the first time. Her tutor is going to give her quite the lecture now.”

“…I admit I’ve been a bit too carefree these past few days,” Tianman’s voice was muffled by her arms. “I’ve put the cart before the horse, gotten carried away. I’ll reflect.”

“And?”

“But I don’t regret listening to music with Yi Chang last night!” She suddenly perked up.

“…” Dorothy was speechless again. “Who asked you about that?”

Yu Tianman borrowed the periodical from my hands and quietly began to read it beside me. Her spirits recovered quickly; her earlier dejection had vanished. Noticing my gaze, she returned it with a sweet smile.

“Speaking of which, what did you get on your Chinese exam?” Dorothy asked me.

“71.”

“Huh… I thought you were good at Chinese.”

“I can score high on essays, but I always mess up reading comprehension.”

“Is that so?” she said. “Then it’s not surprising.”

“What about you?”

“Me what?”

“What did you score?”

“Couldn’t you have been clear from the start? Haven’t you learned about subjects, verbs, and objects?”

“I thought you understood.”

“Hmph…” She paused, seemingly hesitant to speak further. “…97.”

“That’s so high,” I mused. “First in your year?”

“If you’re thinking, ‘How can a German person be so good at Chinese,’ I’ll hit you.”

“I wasn’t thinking that.”

“Good.”

Dorothy turned back to her book, saying nothing more. Yu Tianman was still engrossed in the periodical, leaving me momentarily idle. I pulled out my phone to clear my stamina. The light outside slowly transformed into a warm orange-yellow, streaking the sky with blue and purple hues. The setting sun, with its remaining brilliance, was soon to plunge into the sea.

“I have an idea!” Yu Tianman exclaimed. “I have a plan! A big plan!”

It sounded like something a character from *Red Dead Redemption 2* would often say.

“How about we go on an adventure to the old school building tonight?”

“Huh?” Dorothy was the first to object. “What’s gotten into you?”

“Anyway, there are no ghosts in this world, right? We’ll just go to the room where the shadow was seen in the photo and check it out. That way we’ll know what’s going on, won’t we?”

“Then why go at night?”

“Because that’s what makes it an adventure! A terrifying story, an eerie atmosphere, a perplexing truth—isn’t that exciting?”

“Going to school late at night to look for ghosts in the old building? I don’t see anything exciting about that. I only see an idle idiot asking for trouble. First, tell me how a day student like you plans to get into school at night.”

“Climb the wall,” Tianman said. “The iron gate by the sports field isn’t very tall, and there are trees next to it. We can climb over using the trees.”

“Hahahaha, it seems calling you an idiot earlier was an overestimation.” She shook her head, laughing. “If you want to be foolish, do it yourself.”

“You’re not coming?”

“No.”

“Scared?”

“Don’t use such a cheap trick to provoke me,” she said. “Have you considered what you’ll tell your family if the security guards catch you?”

“We’ll worry about getting caught then! Come on, please, Dot~”

Dorothy turned her head away, clearly unwilling to continue the topic.

“Yi Chang will definitely come, right? You don’t have anything to do tonight, do you?”

“Yeah, I can come.” I was originally supposed to play games with Huang Zhouyu, but he was punished with copying an essay for not doing his homework, so that plan was off.

“See? Yi Chang is coming, so if you don’t come, Dot, it’ll just be the two of us.”

“What’s that got to do with me?” she retorted. “I wouldn’t be caught dead doing something so childish, boring, and utterly brain-dead, the kind of thrill-seeking only normies engage in. Go if you want, but don’t involve me. If you and Yi Chang cause trouble, you’ll be responsible for yourselves.”

****

That night. By the iron gate of the school wall.

“Don’t get the wrong idea,” Dorothy said. “I’m here to stop you two, okay?”