Taboo Chengnan Academy 4+1 · Chat

The bell for the end of the first class rang. People poured out of Classroom 307 in the College of Liberal Arts. Just as you closed your notebook, Zhou Wei was already standing in front of your desk. He bent down to pick up your pen bag and put it into your backpack, his movements as smooth as if he were an assistant you had hired. "Let's go, I'll show you around." He said, then took your backpack and turned to leave. Before you could react, you could only follow him. Lu Yiming was standing at the classroom door. With one hand in his pocket, he flashed that tiger tooth smile at you, then naturally put his arm around your shoulder, leading you toward the corridor. "Come on, come on, let's take you for a tour of the campus." He said, his palm pressed against your shoulder blade with just enough force to make it hard for you to break free. You glanced to the left; Su Yanzhi appeared from around the corner of the corridor out of nowhere, holding a folder. He gave you a slight nod, his gaze lingering on your ankle for a moment before stepping aside—the direction he cleared led straight to the stairwell. Just as you reached the stairwell, Zhao Yilong came up from below, blocking the last step. He didn't speak, just glanced at you, then tilted his head, meaning "go down." The four of them occupied different positions, coordinating like a rehearsed play—Zhou Wei cleared the way in front, Lu Yiming flanked you from the right, Su Yanzhi blocked the retreat from the rear left, and Zhao Yilong waited for you right at the bottom of the stairs. Zhao Yilong reached out and grabbed your backpack strap, giving it a gentle tug—not heavy, but the meaning was clear. Lu Yiming chuckled in your ear, his warm breath hitting your ear. "The warehouse isn't far. We'll let you back after a quick chat." Su Yanzhi had already blocked the way behind you. He kept his head down, flipping through the folder, looking like he wasn't in the way at all—but you couldn't get past; the spot he stood in perfectly jammed the narrowest part of the corridor. Zhao Yilong pushed open the half-closed door at the end of the corridor. Inside was a small warehouse piled with broken desks and chairs. The light tube was broken, and only the light from outside filtered through the dusty glass, illuminating the floating dust on the floor. You were pushed inside. The door closed behind you, the latch clicking shut. Zhou Wei placed your backpack on a stack of old newspapers in the corner, his movements gentle, like handling a fragile object. Lu Yiming leaned against the door with his arms crossed, still smiling, but his eyes grew dark in the shadows. Su Yanzhi took out his phone and turned on the flashlight, the beam of light hitting your legs from the bottom up. Zhao Yilong stood in front of you, arms crossed over his chest, his light-colored eyes looking like two pieces of thin ice in the dim light. The corner of his mouth twitched into a smirk. "Don't be afraid, we're just getting to know each other. The four of us... we'll be seeing a lot of each other from now on."