Volume One (Prequel): The Seventh Reader - Epilogue

Fang Mu applied for half a year of sick leave.

One sunny afternoon in the second month after the start of the school year, Fang Mu received a call from the big boss.

"The second dormitory has been demolished."

"Oh, why?"

"I don't know."

"..."

"When will you come back to school?"

"In a while, I'm not sure."

"There are only four of us left."

"..."

"We all miss you. Come back and visit when you have time."

"Okay."

After hanging up the phone, Fang Mu picked up his crutches, hailed a taxi, and went to the school.

The second dormitory had turned into a pile of broken walls and rubble, with various unnamable construction machinery bustling about in the dusty construction site. Many people curiously gazed at the pale-faced boy leaning on crutches.

Fang Mu picked a stone and sat down, squinting at the dormitory building where so much had happened.

Someone was cursing loudly in the corridor.

Someone took the opportunity to grab someone else's crotch while they were washing their face.

Someone was jumping up and down loudly in the hallway.

And someone was killed in this building.

Everything had been buried, the good and the bad, the sorrowful and the joyful, all disappeared beneath this pile of rubble.

Not far away, something was shining.

Fang Mu laboriously moved over, squatted down, and turned over a large piece of cement.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

It was a large military knife, charred black, with some parts of the handle already melted.

Fang Mu recognized it as the knife that Wu Han had pressed against his neck that night.

In fact, you are just like me.

Fang Mu picked up the knife and tucked it into his arms.

Leaning on his crutches, he left the construction site and slowly walked to the edge of the artificial lake on campus.

The artificial lake named "Quiet Lake" had already thawed, with wisps of steam floating on the surface. Occasionally, small fish would swim up from the bottom of the lake, splashing a few drops of water before disappearing.

Fang Mu sat by the lake, watching the slightly green-tinged water, with students rushing to and from classes around him. They chatted loudly, hurried in their steps, and occasionally someone noticed the strange boy by the lake, but it was just a casual glance.

Fang Mu felt a bit weary. He looked up and gazed into the distance, where on the opposite shore of the lake, a row of willow trees had already begun to show a hint of green. The gentle breeze brushed past, causing the branches to sway softly. From a distance, it looked as if someone was beckoning.

Fang Mu's eyes gradually became unfocused, and he tried hard to see what was on the other side. A large mass of mist rose from the lake, expanding, swirling, and dissipating in the air, making the swaying hand on the other side even more blurry. In the end, he couldn't tell whether it was right in front of him or on the distant shore.

(The end of the text)