Lei Xiaojia's mother suddenly fainted, and the autopsy center fell silent. Qin Feng led Lin Fan into the office and poured her a glass of water. "Have some water."

Lin Fan held the cup, her eyes red, and sniffed.

Qin Feng leaned against the table, lit a cigarette, and asked, "They had a party tonight?"

"Yes." Lin Fan nodded. "She even invited me, but I didn't go." Lin Fan put down the cup and buried her face in her hands, taking a deep breath. "If I had gone, would this have happened?"

"Do you know where their party was?"

"No."

"The party was at your school's old library." Qin Feng flicked the ash from his cigarette. "These kids have nothing better to do, going there on a weekend instead of going home."

"The old library?" Lin Fan suddenly remembered the news Lei Xiaojia had shown her. "How did she die? What's the cause of death?"

"We haven't found out yet," Qin Feng said. "Her parents don't agree to an autopsy. The preliminary conclusion from the forensic doctor is that it might be sudden death, but we can't be sure without further examination."

After a brief silence, Lin Fan stood up and pulled Qin Feng, heading outside. "Let's go to our school library."

Qin Feng followed her out, extinguishing his cigarette at the door. "What for?"

"I know why she went there. She was looking for ghosts." The cold wind outside cut like a knife, and Lin Fan clung to Qin Feng's hand, looking up. "Lei Xiaojia can't just die in vain. I want to find out the truth."

Qin Feng pulled her closer and walked briskly towards the parking lot. "Okay."

They arrived at the school at twelve-thirty in the morning. Qin Feng showed his badge and was let in. The scene had already been cordoned off, with two police officers on duty.

"Captain Qin, why are you here?"

"To check the scene."

"Now?"

"Come with me." Qin Feng called one officer and stepped over the cordon into the library building. The front door had been damaged, likely by firefighters. Inside, the floor was wet, and the air was filled with a choking smell. Qin Feng turned back and held Lin Fan's hand, the officer leading the way. "She died here."

Qin Feng surveyed the surroundings and walked upstairs, his shoes making noise on the wet floor. Lin Fan's hand was cold. He moved forward, scanning the area, when suddenly Lin Fan tightened her grip and hid behind him.

In the corner on the third floor stood a woman in red, quietly watching them. Qin Feng turned back, "What's wrong?" He looked around warily. Lin Fan pointed to where the woman was, "There's a woman."

Qin Feng quickly drew his gun, aiming at the upstairs direction. The other officer also drew his gun and shouted, "Come out."

The flashlight scanned the upper floor, but there was nothing, just emptiness. He turned back to Lin Fan, "Did you see wrong?"

There really were ghosts; this place was not clean. Qin Feng pulled Lin Fan towards the third floor, saying, "I'll go check."

"Okay."

Lin Fan held Qin Feng's hand tightly. As they reached the third floor, a chill ran down Lin Fan's spine, and she pulled Qin Feng back. A flash of red passed and then disappeared. Lin Fan's short sword was now visible in her hand, and she held it firmly. Qin Feng looked at her, "What's that?"

A ghost unafraid of Qin Feng. Lin Fan pressed the short sword against her arm, keeping a watchful eye on her surroundings. This entity was scarier than the little ghost summoned by that actress, showing no fear of Qin Feng.

"Wearing red clothes, couldn't see her face," Lin Fan said.

Qin Feng shielded Lin Fan and moved along the corridor. A cold wind hit them, and before Lin Fan could react, Qin Feng threw a punch. A piercing scream echoed, and Lin Fan quickly pulled Qin Feng downstairs. The officers below were stunned. "What was that? What screamed just now?"

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"No idea," Qin Feng said. "Let's get out."

They retreated outside, and Lin Fan grabbed Qin Feng's hand. Seeing it uninjured, she felt relieved. They sat on the flowerbed, Lin Fan looking up at the dark third floor. "What was it?"

"Maybe a ghost," Qin Feng's face was grim.

"Why isn't it afraid of you?"

Qin Feng didn't know either and shook his head.

After sitting for a while, Qin Feng finished a cigarette. Worried about the two officers' safety, he went over to have them leave the scene. One officer asked, "What about the scene? What if someone comes?"

"Stay in the security room. The school's empty now, just guard the gate."

"Got it."

The two officers were also terrified. That scream was too eerie, and they didn't want to think too much. Lei Xiaojia's death was suspicious, and the place was creepy. If there really were ghosts, they wanted to stay alive.

In the car, Qin Feng handed Lin Fan a cup of water. Lin Fan took a couple of sips, then turned to Qin Feng, "Was the library closed when you were at this school?"

"It was closed when I was in the second year of high school."

"Why?"

"A female student died in there, hanged herself. Back then, the library still used ceiling fans, and she hanged herself from one." Qin Feng lit a cigarette, took a couple of heavy drags, and rubbed his temples. "She died a horrible death."

Lin Fan looked at Qin Feng, his gaze heavy.

Lin Fan bit her lip, "Did you know her?"

"Yes," Qin Feng opened the car window and looked out into the endless darkness. "When she died, she was wearing a red down jacket. The police handling the case at the time concluded it was suicide and quickly closed the case."

"Was it really suicide?"

Qin Feng shook his head. "I don't know."

"What do you think?"

Qin Feng extinguished the cigarette, leaving a black mark in the ashtray. He turned to Lin Fan, "The ceiling fan was three meters high. How did she get up there? There was nothing for her to climb on. Besides, she had been admitted to B University. Why would she commit suicide?"

"Why did she go to the library?"

Qin Feng didn't answer. He rested his arm on the car window, looking outside with a calm gaze. The cold wind poured in through the window, and Lin Fan felt she had guessed something but couldn't be sure.

Lin Fan leaned back in the seat, her clenched fingers gradually relaxing. "Was she waiting for someone?"

"Yes."

"For you?"

Qin Feng turned to look at her, rolling up the window. "Let's go home."

"Did you have a romantic relationship back then?"

Qin Feng shook his head. "No." He smiled, "I was very rebellious back then, with a terrible temper. If you had known me then, you definitely wouldn't have been with me."

Lin Fan felt too heavy-hearted to joke. She stared at Qin Feng's profile. "What kind of rebellion?"

Qin Feng came from a wealthy family, a second-generation rich kid. He was also a good student, always at the top of his class. He didn't care about love, looking down on everyone.

Qin Feng reached over and patted Lin Fan's head. "Nothing worth mentioning."

A bold thought flashed through Lin Fan's mind, fitting Qin Feng's description of his rebellious past. "Did you sleep with her and then abandon her?"

Qin Feng paused, pinching her face. "What kind of thoughts are in that head of yours? Hmm? What kind of thoughts?"

Lin Fan felt the pain and sucked in a cold breath. "It hurts."

Qin Feng let go. "I was a virgin when I met you, idiot."

Lin Fan: "..."

Qin Feng started the engine and drove away. "She asked to meet me at the library, but I didn't go. I went back to the dorm and slept." Qin Feng's grip on the steering wheel tightened. "When you mentioned a woman in red, it reminded me of this. For her, it must have been hard to let go. After she died, the whole school was buzzing, and the library was sealed off. It was around this season."

With his temper back then, Qin Feng looked down on everyone. Other people's dignity meant nothing to him.

"Could it be her?" Lin Fan's mind was in turmoil. She couldn't calm down, thinking of Lei Xiaojia's death. As they neared home, Lin Fan asked, "Could Lei Xiaojia have been scared to death? Or killed by her? It's been eleven or twelve years, right? How old were you when you were a junior?"

Qin Feng nodded. "Twelve years."

He drove into the underground parking lot and glanced at the time. It was almost three.

"She didn't kill anyone in those twelve years. Why now? Could there be something else we don't know?"

Qin Feng parked the car. "We'll find out tomorrow. Stop thinking about it. Let's go home and sleep. We'll deal with it tomorrow."

They were both exhausted. After washing up, they fell asleep immediately. Around seven, Qin Feng got up to shower. Lin Fan woke up briefly, checked the time on her phone, then went back to sleep. Qin Feng said something, but Lin Fan was too sleepy to hear it clearly.

She woke up again, feeling cold despite being wrapped up tightly. Opening her eyes, she saw someone standing by the bed. Lin Fan was so scared she almost fell off the bed, suddenly wide awake.

"Lin Fan, it's me."

Lin Fan heard Lei Xiaojia's voice and looked up to see her standing by the bed, looking lost. "I finally found you."

Lin Fan sat up, still in her clothes from last night.

"Lei Xiaojia—"

"I know I'm dead." The curtains were drawn, and she stood in the darkness, her face pale. Lin Fan sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Lei Xiaojia. "How did you die?"

Lei Xiaojia seemed terrified, shivering. Lin Fan turned on the bedside lamp. Lei Xiaojia shrank into the corner, trembling. "I don't know."

"What game were you playing last night?"

"Summoning ghosts." Lei Xiaojia looked up at Lin Fan, forcing a smile. "You said there were no ghosts there last time. I didn't believe you. I thought you were just pretending to know."

Lin Fan didn't know what to say, feeling a deep sadness, unsure for whom.

"Do you believe now?"

"The library really has ghosts." Lei Xiaojia shivered again. "A powerful ghost, very scary. I wasn't lying. You really didn't understand."

She had lost her life over this.

"Okay, I was wrong," Lin Fan said. "Did you summon a ghost and it killed you?"

She started shaking again, curling up, her voice sharp and trembling. "She's terrifying—so scary. She wants to kill me!" She looked up, eyes full of fear, pupils dilated. "Lin Fan, she's so scary! Don't go to the library. She'll kill you!"