The Creatures that We Are

Reception room, first floor of the teaching building. Nine o’clock in the morning.

Occupying the moderate room was a redwood sofa and a tea table, on which were three cups of hot tea and an assortment of nuts and snacks. A calendar hung on the wall, along with a few cheap-looking ink paintings and banners with empty praises.

In the corner was an old-school pendulum clock.

Tick, tock, tick…

Seconds crawled by.

Yellow Butterfly, Nine Frost, and Dark Li slowly lost their patience.

The moment the morning self-study ended, the three of them went to the teachers’ office as a journalist and her assistants. And once Yellow Butterfly explained the purpose of their visit, they were led to the reception room by a teacher and welcomed with great hospitality.

The teacher told them that the superintendent was busy, and that he would be right with them.

Yet no one had shown up for the past thirty minutes.

“Can they be playing a trick on us, Captain?” Dark Li felt the nunchucks he had hidden in his sleeves, his expression guarded. “Have the monsters identified us?”

Nine Frost had taken the possibility into consideration. That was why he left the door slightly ajar rather than closed properly. That way, he would be able to react immediately should anyone suspicious approach.

Yellow Butterfly didn’t say anything, but she seemed anxious as well.

“It’s unlikely,” Nine Frost assured them. “Even if that’s the case, the monsters will have been limited by the effect of total silence, rendering them a group of regular people. The three of us will be able to take them…”

Nine Frost quieted at once. Then someone pushed the door open.

Entering was a middle-aged man with moderate build and thinning hair. He was dressed in a set of somewhat formal suits and a pair of dress shoes.

“Apologies for the wait.” The man had a round, glinting forehead. His triangular eyes were paired with a garlic-shaped nose.

“Well met, Superintendent.” Yellow Butterfly quickly rose to her feet and greeted the man with a smile.

Nine Frost and Dark Li stood up to smile politely at the man as well.

The man was caught off guard by Yellow Butterfly’s beauty. Then he said in a well-mannered tone, “I’m not the superintendent. He was tending to an urgent matter and asked me to welcome you. I’m the Director of Academic Affairs. Here’s my card.”

He produced a name card.

Yellow Butterfly took it.

—Director of Academic Affairs of the Eleventh High School, Dai Xiaojun.

“Hello, Mr. Dai.” Yellow Butterfly put away the card and offered a hand. “I’m Xiang Hong[1] from the Li City Evening Post. These are my assistants. Forgive me for not giving you a card. I’ve forgotten them at home because I was in a rush this morning.”

“It’s an honor.” Dai Xiaojun shook Yellow Butterfly’s hand. “Have a seat, please.”

Once all four of them were seated, Yellow Butterfly took out her phone in a serious manner and placed it on the table. “Would you mind me recording our conversation, Mr. Dai?”

Dai Xiaojun paused. He had never seen such a high-tech recorder.

He waved his hand with a smile. “I don’t mind, of course. Our school has always prided ourselves for our transparency. There’s nothing we won’t talk about.”

“Then I’ll get right down to business.” Yellow Butterfly affected a professional tone. “To tell you the truth, we received an anonymous complaint earlier that there’s serious bullying among the students at the school, yet the school has been keeping a blind eye to it…”

“That’s preposterous!” Dai Xiaojun cut her off vehemently. “Our school is known for our stringent disciplinary measures. As the Director of Academic Affairs, I assure you that we take all violations of rules seriously, and I swear on my character that the accusation can’t be further from the truth!”

“Yes, that’s what we believe as well.” Yellow Butterfly said what the man would like to hear. “That’s why our editor-in-chief told us to visit the school for interviews and learn about the truth. Then we’ll do a story to clarify the matter for your esteemed institution. You should know how dangerous words can be. It takes only one person to start a rumor, yet tremendous effort to clarify it.”

“That’s right!” Dai Xiaojun was glad to hear that. “Thank the three of you for your hard work. At noon, I’ll arrange a proper meal to show our gratitude.”

“There’s no need for that. We’re only doing our job.” Yellow Butterfly then added, “While I don’t think there’s bullying at this school, however, there must be students who don’t quite fit in or don’t play by the rules, right?”

Dai Xiaojun frowned. “What do you mean, Miss Xiang?”

“You know, we need some meat to the story. Empty words won’t convince anyone.” Yellow Butterfly smiled. “If possible, I’d like to interview a few students and draft a humane story from the perspective of mental health for teenagers.”

“Then the story will serve as a response to the anonymous accusation and proof of the school’s devotion and care to the students—not only in academic performance, but also in mental health.”

“Rest assured,” Yellow Butterfly added, “You may accompany us while we do interviews.‘

Dai Xiaojun hesitated for a moment. The superintendent had told him to dismiss the journalists by buying them a meal and giving them some red envelopes, but they turned out to be more troublesome to deal with. He couldn’t just throw the journalists out, or they might do a smear campaign in retaliation. But what if they interviewed the students, and some of the troublemakers ran their mouths irresponsibly?

“Well, that…” Dai Xiaojun tugged at his lips with difficulty. “I’m afraid the decision is above my pay grade. Why don’t you wait here, and I’ll bring this matter to the superintendent?”

“Thank you, Mr. Dai.” Yellow Butterfly gave him a professional smile.

Dai Xiaojun rose and left the room.

…

It was quiet again.

“What now?” asked Dark Li.

“We wait.” Yellow Butterfly was getting impatient as well. She had thought Dai Xiaojun would be more gullible.

“Give them another half an hour. I’ll ask after the others,” Nine Frost said as he reached for the radio in his pocket. But then he stopped and turned to look out of the door with sharp eyes.

“Who is it?!”

Through the crack, they saw a figure quickly rushing away.

The three of them exchanged a glance before chasing after the figure. It was class time. The front hall of the teaching building was quiet and empty. Nine Frost turned to the side to see someone rushing up the stairway on the left, not far from them.

“Upstairs!”

They rushed to the stairs at once and went up. The figure ran straight to the fifth floor, not moving terribly fast.

The three of them gave chase to the fifth floor and then the rooftop.

Nine Frost opened the metal door to see a scared-looking highschool girl.

Her height was average, and her build on the short and thick side, dressed in long-sleeved shirt and pants. Her hair was tied into a big braid, her round face covered in acne. Her facial features were flat, her eyes small.

Objectively speaking, she was what people would call an ugly girl.

“Who are you?” Nine Frost demanded with both words and gaze.

“I’m, I’m sorry.” The girl staggered backward and apologized panickedly. “I, I didn’t hear anything…”

Nine Frost took a step forward. “Why were you hiding outside the door?”

“Stay away!” The girl was terrified, and she rushed to the railing and quickly climbed over to the other side. “If you take another step, I’ll, I’ll jump…”

Nine Frost immediately stopped. He couldn’t afford to make a wrong move.

Yellow Butterfly walked up to Nine Frost and gave him a look. “Allow me, Captain.”

Then with a smile, she said, “Don’t be scared, Xiang Xiaoqin.”

“How, how do you know my name?” Xiang Xiaoqin was surprised.

Yellow Butterfly pointed at her own chest. “It’s on your school badge.”

Xiang Xiaoqin looked down at her uniform before looking back up. “Don’t, don’t get any closer!”

“Okay, okay. I won’t.” Yellow Butterfly sounded gentle and patient. “I share a surname with you, Xiang Xiaoqin. I’m Xiang Hong. See, we were family hundreds of years ago.”

Xiang Xiaoqin didn’t say anything, but the caution on her face melted somewhat.

“Would you tell us why you were hiding behind the door, Xiang Xiaoqin?” Yellow Butterfly paused and made a bold guess. “Is there something you’d like our help with?”

“Are, are you journalists?” Xiang Xiaoqin’s voice cracked.

“Yes, we are journalists,” said Yellow Butterfly. “Have you run into trouble? You can tell us. We will seek justice for you.”

“Really?”

“Of course.” Yellow Butterfly looked genuine. “That’s why we’re here.”

“Please, please save him. They’re gonna kill him…”

Xiang Xiaoqin burst into tears and wailed.

1. Her codename is Xiang Die in the original. ☜

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