Don’t Play Games at Evil Spirit High

Chapter 19: Do You Want to Try It?

The sky in this space was forever shrouded in gloom.

Beyond the fence of the old mansion was a thick, gray-white fog, as if stepping into it would mean being lost completely.

The sky grew darker and darker.

Lights gradually lit up within the old mansion, like a solitary lamp on the River of the Dead amidst the heavy mist.

After having dinner together with everyone, Lu Feng went as promised to Liuli’s room.

The girl seemed to have just finished bathing.

Wrapped in a bath towel, with her still-damp hair dripping with water, she brought a refreshing fragrance with her as she came to open the door.

“You wait a moment, I’ll make you some tea.”

Liuli spoke as she was, wrapped in a towel and barefoot, as she walked to the lounge.

Lu Feng stared blankly at the girl’s exposed delicate shoulders.

It felt as though someone was blowing warm breath against his ear, stirring up a sudden heat within him.

When he arrived at the lounge, Liuli had already brewed the tea.

She sat lazily on the sofa, her slender, pale legs revealed, the bath towel wrapping her body outlining the full curves of her chest, the lower edge barely covering that most private part of her.

Lu Feng’s steps stiffened.

He sat dazed across from Liuli, but his eyes flickered nervously elsewhere.

“C-could you maybe go and change… change into some clothes?”

He stammered.

“No need, this is more convenient.”

Liuli replied softly.

Con… convenient?

Which kind of convenience did she mean?

Perhaps because she had just bathed, her cheeks and body carried a faint blush, like a delicate flower bud.

Lu Feng dared not look at her again and quickly lowered his head to drink the hot tea.

Suddenly, he froze.

Where had the boiling water and tea leaves come from?

As if sensing his confusion, Liuli explained,

“The tea leaves were taken from the kitchen. The hot water was boiled in the room’s fireplace.”

She pointed at the fireplace behind Lu Feng where some embers still burned.

Lu Feng said nothing, only stiffly nodded.

By now, nothing that appeared here could truly surprise him.

For a time, the room fell into an ambiguous silence.

Before long, Liuli was the one to break it.

She spoke slowly,

“Lu Feng, you’ve always wanted to know why I was resurrected, haven’t you?”

He nodded.

Liuli thought for a moment, then turned her back to him, letting the towel slip from her back, revealing large stretches of delicate, enticing skin.

Lu Feng instinctively started to turn his head away, but suddenly recalled something.

Awkwardly twisting his neck, he cautiously let his gaze fall upon Liuli’s bare back.

And then he froze.

The complicated markings that had once been incomprehensible were now legible words—repeating over and over, only three characters:

Cheater.

Her entire back was covered with the words “Cheater” in countless fonts, black ink scrawled across her originally pale skin, forming an oddly eerie, almost bewitching beauty.

“…Now, I can tell you who I am—”

Liuli spoke with her back to him, her voice trembling faintly,

“I was a student of the second class enrolled by Evil Spirit High School.”

Lu Feng listened blankly, though his thoughts drifted elsewhere—

Even though the girl was facing away, the fallen towel revealed too much.

Aside from her slender, graceful waist, from the side he could faintly glimpse the pink tips upon her full curves…

A surge of heat rushed through him, and his body reacted as any man’s would.

“Are you listening, Lu Feng?”

“Y-yes, yes, I’m listening…”

Snapping back to himself, he quickly looked away, his cheeks burning hot.

Liuli turned in surprise.

Seeing his state, she froze as well, then realized she had exposed too much, letting him see something private.

Her face flushed red.

She hurriedly pulled the towel tighter around herself.

“L-Liuli, you’re a second-class student… then why did you become a ghost lingering at the school?”

Lu Feng forced himself to sound calm.

“Because… I was judged as a ‘Cheater.’ My body and memories were left in Evil Spirit High School, while only my soul returned to the real world…”

She spoke in a low voice.

“And when this session of Evil Spirit High School reopened, my soul rejoined my body… Strictly speaking, this wasn’t resurrection, but awakening.”

“Then… why were you judged a cheater?”

Lu Feng finally steadied himself.

Liuli shook her head,

“All the memories I had of the game were erased… I only vaguely remember it was because of someone.”

“I see…”

Lu Feng thought for a moment, then asked,

“Liuli, you were a student of the second class. When was that?”

“Twenty years ago.”

“Twenty years ago? Then why is there no record?”

“Because all trace of our existence was erased…”

At this, Liuli no longer answered his questions.

She turned her gaze on Lu Feng, her piercing eyes making him shiver inside.

“Lu Feng, do you know why I hate you?”

He shook his head.

“Because, if on that day of the school anniversary, you had kept the promise of ‘not coming to school,’ this game would never have begun.”

Liuli’s voice was cold.

“W-what do you mean?”

Lu Feng asked in shock, a bad premonition rising.

Looking at him, Liuli let out a powerless sigh,

“You know, Evil Spirit High School opens once every ten years. But in its fifty-year history, there have only been three classes of students. The reason for the missing ones is this: for the game to begin, there is one necessary condition—”

Necessary condition?

Lu Feng froze.

His mind spun rapidly.

Suddenly, his eyes widened in realization.

“C-could it be… that the necessary condition is… full attendance!?”

Liuli’s confirming nod nearly crushed him.

“If you hadn’t come to school that day, then by the next morning everything would have reset. The game would never have started, and no one would remember what happened… The missing classes were for this exact reason.”

Her gentle words pierced sharper than steel spikes in Lu Feng’s ears… So everything was caused by him? If he hadn’t gone to school, none of this would have happened?

Shaking, Lu Feng buried his head in his hands, unable to accept the truth.

“Actually, it’s not your fault. If I hadn’t lost my memories, I could have warned you. But…”

Liuli sat beside him, her voice soft with comfort,

“The root of all this is Evil Spirit High School. It has nothing to do with you. You are a victim too.”

“…I’m sorry, if only I…”

Liuli pressed her finger against his lips, stopping him,

“This isn’t your fault. If anyone is to blame, it is the creator of Evil Spirit High School. You and I are only victims.”

“…”

Her comfort worked.

Lu Feng steadied, his body stopped trembling, though his eyes carried exhaustion and helplessness.

The room fell silent.

The lamps glowed softly, filling the air with a faint fragrance of tea.

After a long silence, Lu Feng drained the cooled tea in one gulp and spoke in a low voice,

“Thank you, Liuli. Thank you for telling me so much… I know what I should do next.”

He stood up, preparing to leave.

But his movements were too large, and his clothes accidentally brushed against the towel wrapped around Liuli.

Already loose, the towel slipped.

Though Liuli reacted quickly, grabbing it before it fully fell, a fleeting glimpse was enough for Lu Feng to see.

The part of him that had already lost willpower stirred once more—this time even stronger than before.

“S-sorry! I didn’t mean it!”

Lu Feng hurriedly explained, but his body betrayed him.

Liuli, too, noticed.

Her face flushed an even deeper red, her eyes dropping as if lost in thought.

“T-then… I’ll just go…”

Lu Feng turned stiffly, ready to leave, when Liuli’s voice came from behind.

“…Do you want to try it?”

“…Huh?”

Try it? Try what?

Lu Feng turned back with a nervous glance.

He saw Liuli slightly lift the towel covering her private place, revealing her long, pale legs—and a flash of white at the most hidden spot.

“…Do you want to try… that kind of thing?”

Her eyes averted, her voice barely audible.

As if afraid he might misunderstand, she added quickly,

“Also… don’t worry, it’s my first time too…”

“…”

Lu Feng was completely stunned, as if struck by lightning, frozen on the spot.

The next instant, his mind rebooted at last—

“Y-you should get some rest!”

Leaving behind the words, he bolted like a man fleeing for his life, slamming the door shut behind him.

Liuli stared blankly after his panicked retreat.

When she finally reacted, she covered her mouth with a soft laugh,

“To think, someone always so calm and rational would have a moment like that…”

Smiling faintly, she picked up her cup of tea and sipped lightly.

As memories surfaced in her mind, her gaze dimmed,

“I thought, at the very least, I could experience it once before dying…”

Her beautiful face carried a hint of regret as she whispered to herself, her expression settling back into cold indifference.