The early morning sun shone through the thin curtains into every corner of the room, illuminating the big bed in the centre.
The quilt that looked very comfortable covered the messy bed, wrapping around an extremely exquisite teenager. Soft black hair covered the forehead and his eyelids moved slightly, soon opening to show a pair of beautiful black eyes.
Xiao Li rubbed his hair and leaned over to grab the mobile phone next to him. After seeing the time shown on it, he yawned and got up from the bed, entering the bathroom connected to the suite.
He had a simple wash, pulled off his pyjamas and changed into a school uniform. He picked up the bag that was thrown to the ground, hanging it from his shoulder as he walked out of the room.
Xiao Li left the room and through the second-floor stair railings, he saw the long table downstairs filled with food. A stylishly dressed lady was sitting in the main seat, wavy brown hair curled behind his head and conspicuous red lips. She held a spoon to stir her coffee, head turning from time to time to talk to the youth next to her. It looked like a happy scene.
The corners of Xiao Li"s lips curved sarcastically and he walked slowly.
The moment Xiao Li"s footsteps were heard, the n.o.ble lady"s face shaded and then she smiled innocently again, waving to the teenager who came down. "Come over Xiao Li, have breakfast together. I"ve been busy with the company for a while and we haven"t gathered together in a long time."
Xiao Li glanced at the breakfast on the table, shifted the schoolbag to his neck and spoke coldly, "No, there is nothing I want to eat."
The teenager next to the woman showed a trace of displeasure while the woman didn"t seem to hear Xiao Li"s words. She waved her hand to the servant beside her, who handed over a packed lunchbox. "Then remember to take this with you and eat on the way."
Xiao Li took the box and said nothing. He directly waved at them with his right hand holding the box and signalled that he would leave. He left the mansion and there was already a black car waiting to take him to school. He opened the door and sat inside, throwing the lunchbox to one side. The car drove smoothly on the road. Xiao Li leaned against the window, watching the traffic as he thought about when he could leave this place that didn"t belong to him.
To some extent, Xiao Li had always been regarded as a very lucky person by those around him.
For example, his lucky value was MAX and he often opened a box that contained rare products. For example, when he lacked money to buy ice cream, he always won a small prize. For example, he grew up with a single mother and when she died at the age of 10, he didn"t live on the streets. Instead, he was taken back by his father of the Xiao family, a famous wealthy family in S City.
In the eyes of others, they had to feel envy. It was like a pie falling from the sky. From then on, he would embark on the peak of life and no longer have to worry about money.
However, as far as Xiao Li himself was concerned, it was better not to be taken back. He hadn"t received any so-called "elite training" and to the n.o.ble woman just now, his stepmother Xu Mei, he was a thorn in the eye.
This dog blood story was very long. Xiao Li"s father, Xiao Yuzheng, was dissolute by nature. His first wife was the youngest daughter of the Ning family. However, the young daughter of the Ning family was sick. After giving birth to the first son of the Xiao family, she died of illness. Then he married his second wife, Xiao Li"s mother, a famous model. The famous model gave birth to his second son, Xiao Li. On the day of Xiao Li"s one month birthday, Xiao Yuzheng wanted to divorce the famous model because of a group crisis and then make a political alliance by marrying Xu Mei. Once divorced, the model proposed to take Xiao Li away. Xiao Yuzheng agreed and the model took Xiao Li to leave the Xiao family. They lived alone while Xiao Yuzheng married Xu Mei, giving birth to the third child Xiao Ming.
It was unknown where Xiao Yu got the news that Xiao Li"s mother died but he said he couldn"t let a Xiao son die outside and forced him to go back. Suddenly, there was a stepchild added to the family. How could Xu Mei show him a good face? She was busy being a boss and now there was Xiao Li.
As Xiao Li grew older, he became more beautiful. He was just like his father when young combined with the softness of his model mother. In contrast, Xu Mei"s son Xiao Ming looked ordinary. Xu Mei herself could only be regarded as "not ugly." Her biological child was ordinary like her and didn"t look like his handsome father.
Whenever Xiao Li and Xiao Ming stood together, unsuspecting people would think that Xiao Li was the orthodox heir of the family since he looked more like Xiao Yuzheng while Xiao Ming was the second master. Moreover, the Xiao family showed signs of treating Xiao Li differently and she became more anxious, doing many things in the dark.
Xiao Li himself had no interest in the Xiao family. His cheap father said that he could make his own decisions when he was 20 years old. When his father first brought him back to the Xiao house, he didn"t allow Xiao Li to go back and forcibly transferred Xiao Li"s school. Every time Xiao Li sneaked away, he would be forcibly brought back by the bodyguards and forced to stay in the Xiao house.
Xiao Li"s eyes changed unpredictably and slowly closed his eyes to doze off. Once the car stopped, he opened his eyes again and pushed the car door open.
"Second master, the madam"s lunch…" Xiao Li had just got off the car when he heard the driver lower the window and speak to him hesitantly.
"Throw it away." Xiao Li spoke lightly and walked into the campus without looking back.
On the bustling campus, Xiao Li walked into the teaching building and as usual, he saw in the last row by the window. He pulled his textbooks out of his bag, placed them in front of him as a cover and then laid down on the table, casually putting on his headphones and playing the newest game. He had been this way since entering the school that Father Xiao had found him and the teacher didn"t care too much about him.
Approximately 10 minutes pa.s.sed and someone sat down next to him. Xiao Li raised his head and happened to meet the man"s eyes. The other person had a handsome face, was tall and should be very popular. Yet the cold eyes made him look hard to approach.
He nodded at Xiao Li and sat down. This person was called Shen Chenzhi and he transferred to the school not long ago.
Xiao Li hadn"t been very happy when the other person first sat down beside him. After all, this person had the temperament of a top student and this was incompatible with himself. Then after he sat down, he played with his phone during maths cla.s.s. cla.s.ses. It was the same game as Xiao Li and Xiao Li became interested in him.
Xiao Li also didn"t pay attention in maths cla.s.s and supported his chin, blatantly observing the other person. Shen Chenzhi didn"t like to talk and didn"t care about his deskmate staring at him. He just silently played the game. The Xiao family’s second master faintly smelt a similar person"s breath from the other side and took the initiative to ask Shen Chenzhi to be friends. The two people became friends in the game.
"Most handsome student in school, you came so early today?" Xiao Li took off his headphones and teased the other person. Shen Chenzhi was handsome. He might be difficult to get close to but people called him the "most handsome body in school" in private. One time, Xiao Li heard it and started calling the other person this.
Shen Chenzhi glanced helplessly at him.
Xiao Li wondered, "You aren"t happy about being called the most handsome student in school?"
"…I"m not as handsome as you," Shen Chenzhi replied.
"No, don"t be modest." Xiao Li shook his head and stopped this table. He placed the phone with the game in front of the other person. "Come, look at this. Can you pa.s.s it?"
Shen Chenzhi took his phone and manipulated the little man on the phone screen. The game was new and the two people studied the strategy all morning and afternoon. It wasn"t until school was almost over that Xiao Li fell asleep on the table.
Xiao Li looked very good when he fell asleep. His slightly long eyelashes trembled and his lips were closed tightly. Xiao Li only slept half the time when he felt something pushing at him. He pushed the thing impatiently and said, "Go away." It stopped and he fell asleep again. Once he opened his eyes, the cla.s.sroom was empty and the sky was dark. He was alone.
There was a slow pause before he got up, rubbing his neck. He placed the books on his table into his bag and prepared to leave the cla.s.sroom. The driver was presumably waiting at the entrance.
Bright moonlight shone through the window into the corridor, so that it wasn"t dark. Xiao Li carried his bag and headed to the door. Before he could pull out his mobile phone, he found a letter lying quietly on the ground.
Xiao Li hesitated before bending over to pick up the letter. He examined it and found there was no envelope. To be exact, this was a half-folded piece of paper. Thanks to the moonlight, the black-haired teenager could vaguely see the crooked handwriting.
【 Save me, save me! I don"t want to keep… always… here, keep going like this…I don"t want to… I don"t want it! 】
The next moment, something seemed to appear slowly in the air. Like the calm before the storm, the moonlight entering the corridor through the window was hidden by dark clouds and Xiao Li was completely covered in darkness. He raised his head and looked outside. In addition to the original round moon, beyond it was a blood moon! The strange red moon "ate" the original moon, firmly occupying the sky and overlooking everything.
Then an invisible force seemed to shroud Xiao Li. In the black-haired teenager"s stunned eyes, the letter for help shivered and gradually grew larger, eventually letting out a huge roar. Meanwhile, a river appeared outside the window, hidden between the clouds. The river was like the Milky Way, whirling in a strange manner. Xiao Li was feeling a strange thrill when the "river" started to flow. Numerous black shadows emerged from the inside, like a river pouring out of the Underworld and rushing to the rest of the world.
The next second, this vision disappeared without a trace and the sky changed back to its former appearance. In the silence, the young man"s heart was beating wildly. He noticed that his coat was heavier. Xiao Li placed a hand in his pocket and found a simple book inside.
Xiao Li swore that he had never seen such a book before. The cover was simple parchment and the insides had yellowed pages. At this moment, it was very hot and emitting a red light. His hand shook. It wasn"t just fear and panic but also adrenaline-fuelled excitement. Xiao Li turned to one page of the yellow book and saw a line of sentences like someone was writing.
【 The Nandu Girls’ High School, located in the suburbs, is a famous high school in the city but it closed three years ago for no reason. Some people say that in the middle of the night, one of the cla.s.srooms would suddenly have its lights turn on. Some people say that in the evening, they could hear the sound of ghosts in the school… However, only a few people know the truth. What is hidden in the place where ghosts are sleeping? Explore it and complete your newcomer mission! 】
Along with the appearance of these sentences, Xiao Li saw darkness in front of his eyes. The ground under his feet became a soft swamp, pulling him down. Then a storm blew over him causing his face to hurt. Everything returned to normal and he opened his eyes to find himself in a strange place.
He stood under a candlestick where a candle was burning. The faint candlelight illuminated the world. Behind the candle was an iron gate with the sign "Nandu Girls" School of Higher Education". Through the iron gate, the dark and gloomy campus could be seen like a beast lurking in the darkness.
Xiao Li was silent and touched his mobile phone for the first time. Perhaps he wanted to make a call or locate this mythical place. However, there was no signal on the phone and he had to put it away.
At the school gate, apart from Xiao Li, there were four other people looking at each other in a confused and panicked manner. There was a girl who was around 20 years old, an uncle, a young man and a teenager. The black-haired teenager swept over the four people one by one before finally stopping on the teenager similar to his age. It was only a moment before he removed his gaze.
The teenager wore an exaggerated gold coat and the shoes on his feet were the expensive limited edition AJs. His entire body was trendy as he held the latest Apple phone in his right hand and there was a black book under his arm. He glanced around and finally stopped on Xiao Li. He looked a bit excited but didn"t dare go to talk to Xiao Li.
Just then, the young man with gla.s.ses spoke first. "How did you come here? I was on my way home when a small notebook appeared. In the blink of an eye, I was here."
The AJ teenager immediately answered, "I was at an Internet cafe. As a result, I encountered a ghost. A female ghost appeared on my computer screen…"
He spoke too fast and had to stop to gasp. It was obvious that everything that happened exceeded his capacity to withstand it.
"Y-You too?" The girl with long wavy hair and a delicate make-up look interjected. "Me too! I was watching TV at home when I encountered this situation… this small book became hot and there was the profile of the girls" high school—"
She opened her book and showed it to everyone. The moment she opened it, she froze. It was because there were more lines under the introduction.
【 Remaining safety time: 9 minutes. 】
【 Mission:
1. Survival until dawn which is at 4 o"clock.
2. Find out the truth about the ghosts.
The above tasks can be optionally completed and after completion, you will be randomly transmitted back to the real world. 】
The other people saw this scene and immediately bowed their heads to look at their own book. The man in gla.s.ses instantly cried out, "I also have these two tasks!"
The AJ teenager also looked up. "Me too."
As for Xiao Li, his head was bowed as he looked at his little yellow book. It originally had the same tasks as the rest. "Same."
He spoke and was about to close the book when the original lines were erased and new lines appeared.
【 Hidden tasks:
1. Tell me your name.
2. Tell me what you like.
3. Kiss me.
All the above tasks must be completed. 】
【 Note: The hidden tasks don"t conflict with the original tasks. You can choose either of them to complete. 】
Xiao Li, "………"
Xiao Li: ????
Black question mark.JPG.
h.e.l.lo everyone, I am picking up two new novels in addition to Shh, There’s a Beast in the Imperial Palace.
This is the first one and its a comedic horror type novel. The second one is called Card Room (Rebirth). It is by the same author as G.o.d Level Summoner and is an escape room/puzzles/murder mystery type novel.
Card Room can be found on my wordpress:
Shh can receive bonus chapters through ko-fi. Meanwhile, I Wasn’t Born Lucky and Card Room have tiers on Patreon where you can get 12 (or more) advance chapters of those currently released. Goals met on Patreon will also increase the weekly release rate.
All three novels will have one chapter released every day and you can find the links to my patreon and ko-fi below.