Chapter 16: Elective Course
“What the hell, Li Xiaozhen?!”
Snapping back to what happened, Zhao Yingying’s face twisted.
She stared in disbelief at the pencil now snapped in two on the floor, then at Li Xiaozhen, who looked possessed.
They hadn’t even dismissed the Pen Fairy yet!
Now the pen was broken—what now?
But Li Xiaozhen clearly had no bandwidth for Zhao Yingying; her face ashen, she lifted her head stiffly and shuffled toward the broken pencil.
She bent down and picked it up.
Then, expressionless, she walked toward Zhao Yingying.
Seeing Li Xiaozhen’s pallor, Zhao Yingying’s earlier irritation evaporated in a flash.
The eerie behavior finally clicked for her, sending a chill down her spine.
“The lighter.”
Li Xiaozhen fixed Zhao Yingying with a dead stare, her tone clipped.
Zhao Yingying fished the candle lighter from her pocket and handed it over awkwardly.
Li Xiaozhen took it, then blew out the two candles that had set the mood.
“Click.”
The sudden light after darkness made their eyes squint involuntarily.
But something seemed to drive Li Xiaozhen; she endured the sting, snatched the Pen Fairy paper from the table, rolled it up with the candles, and bolted into the bathroom.
“Clack!”
The door locked from inside.
Li Xiaozhen had barricaded herself in.
“…Xiaozhen okay?”
He Yi had shaken off her earlier mood, rubbing her eyes as she eyed the bathroom door worriedly.
She’d really lost it, snapping at Xiao Qian like that.
Think about it—Pen Fairy? Total superstition.
She’d just blanked out for a sec, heh…
Maybe it was all Li Xiaozhen and Zhao Yingying pranking her.
In this dorm, she was the only one truly nice to Xiao Qian.
Xiao Qian must like her back.
With that, she shot Hua Qi’an a grin.
Only to find, in this mess… Hua Qi’an was on her phone?
From earlier, her phone had buzzed nonstop.
It was past midnight, yet someone was spamming her messages.
Hua Qi’an’s eyes dimmed; her mood soured.
Humoring this pointless farce with them was bad enough.
If it’d been a random classmate, she wouldn’t mind as much.
But the bold “Counselor” in the contact name made her scalp tingle.
[Qi’an, sorry to bother— you asleep?]
[Some students reported noise from your dorm. Everything okay?]
[If there’s an issue, tell the dorm monitor. It’s late; others need rest.]
[I’m asking you specifically because I have something else to discuss.]
[Did you know about elective registration today? I see you didn’t pick any, but your roommates all did.]
[The class rep said she messaged each dorm head after the group announcement to remind their roommates.]
[Did yours not tell you?]
[The auto-assigned course might not be one you’re into.]
[…If you’re facing any life issues, you can always talk to me.]
Staring at the screenful, Hua Qi’an’s face fell completely.
She fired back to the counselor, still fretting over students this late:
[Got it—I’ll remind them to keep it down. It’s late; get some rest too, Teacher.]
Implying the noise wasn’t on her.
But the elective thing…
Hua Qi’an had no clue how to respond, so she didn’t.
Expression blank, she opened the academic portal and checked her schedule.
The empty Monday afternoon slot now held a new, unfamiliar class.
[Course: Law of Evidence]
Boring and dry on sight.
Felt like legal stuff a mile from her life.
With auto-assignment as backup, most grabbed electives for interest or easy passes.
The dregs left? Either soul-crushingly dull or taught by monsters…
Or worse—
[Department: Hangyang University Medical School]
“…”
Hua Qi’an’s face went stone-cold.
She scrolled down.
[Instructor: Lin Yanqiu]
Worse: dull as dirt and taught by a monster.
“…Xiao Qian, you alright?”
He Yi asked hesitantly, eyeing her state.
Hua Qi’an’s color was awful.
Not like Li Xiaozhen’s horrified pallor—this was the cold mask of someone about to unleash horror.
He Yi had never seen Hua Qi’an like this…
Even during Pen Fairy, she’d been all mild.
Hua Qi’an snapped back at He Yi’s voice.
Her phone-gripping hand trembled—maybe from clenching too hard.
She glanced at He Yi and forced a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
“I’m fine.”
“But I’m beat.”
“Heading to bed for a bit.”
Without another look at the other two, she strode to her bunk, kicked off her slippers, and climbed in.
Zhao Yingying glared at her back but was too rattled to care.
What was up with Li Xiaozhen?
Water splashed and odd noises echoed from the bathroom.
She knocked on the door.
“Y-Yingying…”
He Yi stammered suddenly, pointing at the door’s gap.
“See any smoke coming out?”
Zhao Yingying’s pupils shrank.
As she considered forcing it open, the door swung inward.
Smoke billowed out.
Li Xiaozhen stood there, face blank.
The bathroom floor gleamed wet, scorched black patches and charred scraps scattered.
She’d burned something, then doused it.
Before Zhao Yingying could demand answers, Li Xiaozhen hustled to the Pen Fairy table.
“Hurry—help me.”
“Take this thing back now.”
Zhao Yingying glanced at Hua Qi’an’s bunk, frowning.
“But…”
She’d wanted Hua Qi’an to haul it.
Li Xiaozhen had already hoisted one end, urging with frustrated impatience:
“I’ll explain what I saw on the way.”
“Get this cursed crap out!”
No one spared Hua Qi’an a thought; Zhao Yingying and He Yi pitched in, lifting the table and heading out.
As corridor footsteps faded, the room hushed.
Hua Qi’an lay still on her bed, staring blankly at her bank balance on her phone.
Only those digits could lift her spirits now.
The roommates’ noise muffled beyond the curtain.
Why…
No smiley face? Trouble.
Smiley face? More trouble.
She just wanted a quiet college stretch… why push like this.
Hua Qi’an had mulled switching dorms.
But post-high school, she’d barely socialized—classmates were face-only familiar.
No dorm would take a stranger mid-semester.
So she’d told herself: tough it out a few years.
Her fingertip grazed the screen.
The display shifted, light flickering in her eyes.
She scrolled video app recs listlessly.
Maybe from her haunted vlog research, big data still shoved spirit stuff her way.
It reminded her of the footage she’d shot.
Which platform was the company on? She hadn’t even asked…
Squeeze in a morning freebie tomorrow—head back to the house for more.
Hua Qi’an’s eyes gleamed with cash hunger.
Oh—and they’d mentioned safety gear, check shipping…
What could it be?