The moment that blood-red message appeared onscreen, the group chat—lively just seconds ago—fell instantly silent.
"He died horribly today. His brains were splattered everywhere."The same crimson text continued to float up the screen, cold and steady.
The sender was—Li Tianpeng.
A chill crawled down my spine. Cold sweat gathered on my forehead. My fingers trembled uncontrollably.
"Who are you?"
After thirty seconds of suffocating silence, Liang Yu finally typed.
"Who else? I'm Li Tianpeng."
Liang Yu didn't reply.
Then the class finally reacted, messages flooding in with terrified emojis.
"Impossible! Li Tianpeng is dead! Who the hell are you?! 😱""Stop it! You're scaring me! 😱😱""Someone must've hacked his account! Trying to freak us out! 😡"
That thought had crossed my mind too.But who would be sick enough—or brave enough—to log into a dead person's account?
Another blood-red message suddenly appeared.
"Li Tianpeng, I hope you'll take your homework more seriously next time."
It was from—our homeroom teacher.
A fresh wave of dread washed over me.
This group was created privately.A place to copy homework.We never added the teacher.We didn't even dare mention her here.
Yet she was speaking in the chat.
"Sorry, teacher. I troubled you this time. 😳""Li Tianpeng" replied politely.
"It's alright. This is my duty. 😊"the teacher answered.
Watching that horrifying exchange, my stomach twisted.
If someone hacked Li Tianpeng's account…What about the teacher's?Who could fake both?
Before I could think more, a notification popped up—Liang Yu invited me to a new group.
It was just created.Today.
The moment I entered, messages exploded like firecrackers.
"How did the teacher get into the group?!""Gao Zhan, what happened?!""Is her account hacked?!"
Gao Zhan was one of the most honest guys in class.Everyone liked him.He was the one who created the previous group.
"Gao Zhan, why did you add the teacher?"Liang Yu asked.
"I didn't! I swear I didn't!"
"Then maybe an admin did?"
"Impossible. I never assigned admins—too risky. No one but me could add anyone."
"So someone hacked your account?" I asked."Or stole your phone?"
"How would I know?! 😫😫"Gao Zhan replied miserably.
Just then, a new message appeared—in that same blood-red font.
"No need to guess. I entered on my own."
The group fell silent.
Then "Li Tianpeng" typed:
"Liang Yu, why didn't you invite me? 😡🥺"
"I—I was just about to…"
So he came in by himself too.
"Don't bother switching groups,"the teacher wrote."It's pointless. Use the time to finish your homework."
If not for the dripping crimson text, it would've sounded like ordinary teacher talk.
"Oh, by the way,"she added,"I want to praise Jia Jing. Her homework today was excellent."
"Th-thank you, teacher! 😱"
She replied instantly—something she had never done before.
"Everyone should learn from her,"the teacher continued,"especially you, Li Tianpeng. 😊"
"Yes, teacher. 😊"he replied.
"😱😱"Jia Jing sent.
I quickly closed the group and checked my contact list.
There—Li Tianpeng's avatar was glowing. Online.
His status message had changed too.
"He died horribly today."
A cold current shot from my heels all the way to my skull.
I resisted the urge to delete him.Having a dead friend on my list was terrifying—but deleting him…might be even worse.
That night I tossed and turned.Scenes from the day replayed in my mind like a nightmare on loop.
Eventually, exhaustion dragged me into sleep.
I dreamed of him.
Li Tianpeng's blood-covered face twisted in agony.He accused me of something—asking why I didn't save him.Then his expression twisted into hatred.His bloody hand shot toward me—
The moment his fingers touched me,I jolted awake drenched in sweat.
His final words still echoed in my skull.
"All of you… will be buried with me!!"
I wiped my forehead and sighed in relief—just a dream.
Yanyu saw me and gasped."Where'd you get those panda eyes?"
I checked the mirror—two solid dark circles stared back.
I couldn't tell her the truth,so I said I stayed up reading.
She looked at me like she'd actually seen a panda.
I could only sigh.
When I reached the classroom door, chaos roared inside.
Everyone was discussing the group chat incident.
Zhang Hao approached, whispering:"Do you think the one messaging us last night… was really him?"
"I'm not sure," I said,"but honestly… I think it's possible."
It was Wednesday.Chinese class was second period.
I was exhausted, so I told Zhang Hao to wake me later.
But it felt like barely a minute passed before he shook me urgently.
"Wake up—the homeroom teacher is here!"
I shot up instantly, all sleep gone.
Her footsteps echoed through the classroom.Each one made my heart tremble.
The bell rang—and she entered right on cue.
She scanned the room,and her gaze landed on Jia Jing.
"Still as excellent as always. Keep it up."She walked over and patted Jia Jing's shoulder.
Jia Jing nearly fainted.I saw her trembling from where I sat.
"Th… thank you, teacher…"she whispered, voice quivering.
The teacher nodded and returned to the podium.
But the way she stared at the class…It felt like her eyes were locked only on me.
Then she lifted her hand and lightly tapped the blackboard.
Blood-red text oozed onto the surface.
Today's homework.
We hurried to snap photos.
—Wang Wei must touch Lin Min's chest for one full minute.Otherwise, he will be punished.
Everyone froze.
Wang Wei—a timid boy despite his fierce-sounding name—went pale.
Lin Min wasn't even our classmate.She was our young, beautiful Politics teacher.
Asking Wang Wei to touch her chest for a whole minute…
That was fatal.Refusing…was also fatal.
He sat motionless for several periods.Then during the fourth break, he suddenly sprinted out of the classroom.
People started whispering.
"How big do you think Teacher Lin is?""Probably a D.""Lucky bastard… maybe.""Why'd he run out?""Scared?"
A moment later, Wang Wei rushed back in.
Then the bell rang.
Teacher Lin walked into the classroom.