The shadow looked slender and normal. At least the head was not detached from the body. Jiang Cheng stared at the shadow and didn’t dare to move.
“Get up.” The person said. When Jiang Cheng heard the voice, his body trembled. It was a young voice. The person was female and probably around thirty. Her voice was deep like she was talking in a low register on purpose. Jiang Cheng slowly stood up. He didn’t say anything or turn around. He didn’t even move one step.
“You can turn around now,” The woman said.
Jiang Cheng hesitated, “Then, you have to promise you won’t kill me.”
“Okay,” The woman said, “I promise.”
“I’m afraid that is not enough,” Jiang Cheng raised his hands higher. His hands were placed higher than his head. He thought about it and said, “Why don’t you swear on it?”
The woman started to cough violently. When the coughing petered away, she continued, “That sounds so troublesome. I should just kill you.”
Jiang Cheng instantly turned around. “Never mind. You don’t need to swear. Based on your voice, I know you’re a beauty. Beauties never lie because they have horrible ends if they do. I once knew a beautiful sister. She was crushed by machinery because she lied.”
The woman was silent before saying, “Actually, you can open your eyes.”
“I…” Fatty said blurrily as if he had just woken up. Then, his voice filled with panic. “Who is this woman? Where are the three security guards?”
Jiang Cheng didn’t answer. After a while, he repeated, “Fatty?”
“Doctor, I’m here.” Fatty climbed up shakily. He didn’t even pat away the dust on his body as he stared at the strange woman. He had never seen this woman at the school before.
“Fatty, are you alright?” Jiang Cheng asked for the third time.
“Doctor, I’m fine.” Fatty seemed to remember something, and he groused. “If you hadn’t sold me out, I would have felt better.”
“Are… you still alive?”
If not for the strange woman, Fatty would have continued to complain. He glanced at Jiang Cheng, “Doctor, can you act normal? You are not blind…” Fatty suddenly stopped talking. He realised Jiang Cheng kept his eyes closed until he answered him for the third time.
“Then, I feel more at ease.” Jiang Cheng opened his eyes and sighed in relief. Fatty realised something, and he looked like a hurt woman.
Jiang Cheng studied the woman before them. Her body was wrapped in a beige coat. Her proportions were not as stunning as the woman in the qipao. Strangely enough, she wore a giant mask on her face. The mask covered half of her face. Plus, the mask looked thick because she sounded like she was gasping for air every time she breathed. She wore sunglasses that blocked the upper half of her face.
“Who are you?” Fatty asked.
The woman turned her face. “This is Fatty, so you…” The woman turned back to Jiang Cheng, “Must be Mr. Hao Shuai.”
After being in society for so many years, Jiang Cheng knew that observing a woman’s hand made it easier to determine her age rather than her face. However, that was pointless for this woman. Most of her hands were hidden in her sleeves. Her fingertips were rough, and there were minor callouses around her joints. The woman clearly had a good life. This was clear from her appearance and presence. Jiang Cheng knew a few of such women.
“My surname is Li.” The woman introduced herself as “Li Yanwei.”
Jiang Cheng frowned. Then, he asked, “Are you the school’s Education Department Head Li?”
The woman nodded. Her expression was hidden by the mask. “That’s me.” Her voice was strange. It did not belong to a woman her age. Jiang Cheng was confident she was over 30.
“You are Department Head Li?!” Fatty frowned. Clearly, he didn’t believe a woman this young would already rise to the position of department head. Jiang Cheng didn’t believe it either. However, he was persuaded by logic. As part of the mission, Department Head Li had to show up. She had been mentioned so many times by the other NPCs, so she must be important. The mission was ending in a day. It was time for her to show up.
The first NPC to mention her was Feng Lan. If they couldn’t find Department Head Li around the file room, Jiang Cheng would locate Feng Lan. Jiang Cheng predicted that they would run into Department Head Li there, especially after the three guards showed up. Based on Luo Yi's statement, the three guards reported directly to Department Head Li. Jiang Cheng purposely said those things to the guards to make matters worse so that the guards couldn’t handle it on their level. Then, they would have to report it to their superior, Department Head Li. However, Jiang Cheng didn’t expect the guards to be so cowardly and let them go just like that.
Even though he predicted Department Head Li’s appearance, he didn’t think she would show up in this manner. He glanced at the woman and then at the files room behind Department Head Li. A hypothesis slowly formed in his mind.
When did she arrive? Did she come with the guards?
Jiang Cheng quickly denied this idea. The reason was simple. If the guards knew she was there, they wouldn’t have let them go so easily. People had to act like they treated their jobs seriously when their superiors were around. In other words, Department Head Li was inside the file room before the guards arrived.
As he thought about it, Jiang Cheng’s face darkened. When Fatty saw this, his body started to tremble. Fatty gasped internally. ‘Is this woman a ghost?’
Jiang Cheng came upon a scary thought. Could this woman have arrived earlier than he thought? Earlier than the guards. Earlier than Xu Wen and Zhou Taifu. Even… earlier than him!
She had been hiding in the deep darkness of the file room, sensing everything… that happened among the humans and the ghosts.