Fu Chengwei looked as though he really wanted to say something, but Ning Wei refused to be lured in.
In the end, Fu Chengwei relented. He whispered to Ning Wei, "I heard quiet crying and the sounds of hitting from the women's restroom next door. Based on my years of watching the news, there must be a silent bullying incident happening in the women's restroom!"
Ning Wei did not react, still engrossed in her book.
Fu Chengwei, looking exasperated, declared indignantly, "If only I could go into the women's restroom, I would definitely go and stop this atrocity!"
This statement was clearly directed at Ning Wei, but Ning Wei showed no inclination to rescue the bullied girl.
She handed Fu Chengwei the note she had found in the book, telling him, "I found this in the book."
This was a clue, albeit vague, serving more as a reminder.
After examining it, Fu Chengwei put the note in his pocket. "I'll bury this under the osmanthus tree so everyone can see it. Can you go and check the women's restroom now?"
Seeing his persistence and not wanting to be bothered further, Ning Wei reluctantly agreed to go to the women's restroom.
As soon as she walked in, a group of girls came out. Their expressions were smug, and an uncontrollable sense of triumph was etched on their faces.
They brushed past Ning Wei, and one of them gave her a particularly disdainful glance.
Ning Wei acted as if she hadn't noticed and walked directly into the restroom, opening all the stall doors. In the last stall, she found a girl sitting on the toilet, weeping with her face buried in her hands.
The girl was soaked, strands of hair clinging to her shoulders, and her hands were covered in red marks.
When she heard the door open, the girl initially thought it was those girls returning. She didn't dare to lift her head, her body trembling.
However, the expected slap and cold water never came. She looked up in confusion.
Ning Wei saw that the girl's cheeks were flushed, indicating she had endured quite a few blows.
Seeing a stranger, the girl instinctively tried to close the door, unwilling to expose her vulnerability to someone she didn't know.
But Ning Wei propped the door open with her foot, preventing her from closing it.
"Please, just let me be alone for a while," the girl pleaded tearfully.
"Is there anything I can do to help you?" Ning Wei asked.
The girl shook her head. "I just want to be alone."
Ning Wei lowered her gaze and eventually closed the door for her.
From beyond the door, Ning Wei told her, "If a group of people is bullying you, grab one of them and fight back with all your might. Scratch, bite, be as vicious as possible!"
Ning Wei left after speaking. She understood the girl's distress and knew that leaving her alone was what she needed most.
When Ning Wei emerged, Fu Chengwei rushed over, shoving another note into her hand. He asked nervously, "How was it inside?"
Ning Wei shook her head. "I said what I needed to say. You can't blame others for your own weakness."
Fu Chengwei was bewildered but relieved, knowing Ning Wei had gone inside.
Ning Wei opened the note. It read: "Why are you bullying me! Why!!!"
From this note and the girl she had seen earlier, Ning Wei deduced that these were left by victims of bullying.
Was this note left by the girl hiding in the restroom?
As evening study time neared its end, Ning Wei and Fu Chengwei quickly left the library and buried the two notes in the soil, along with their speculation: "There is serious bullying in this school!"
Back in the dormitory, all seven roommates had finished their evening ablutions. The lights were automatically switched off at the designated time, so they didn't need to do it themselves.
Ning Wei went to the bathroom to wash up, but to her surprise, she found a pair of bloody underwear and a cut-up bra in the trash can.
Upon closer inspection, both items vanished.
Ning Wei pondered for a moment, then finished her preparations and sat on her bed, pretending to read like the others.
However, she couldn't focus on a single word, her mind consumed by everything she had encountered that day.
It was all fragmented information, but it clearly indicated that this school had various problems.
For instance, being punished by the homeroom teacher to go to the cafeteria today—was it intentional or an accident?
A beautiful female teacher like her shouldn't have any connection with the uncle in the cafeteria.
Ning Wei was lost in thought until the lights went out, and she lay down.
The school's management was extremely strict, with class, break, and rest times precisely timed, making it seem like a school solely dedicated to student welfare.
Yet, beneath the surface, it was rotten. Good and bad students were clearly segregated, like an insurmountable divide, whether in classrooms or dormitories.
The next morning, the dormitory lights switched on punctually. Ning Wei was the quickest, the first to leave the room.
She planned to go to the osmanthus tree to retrieve the notes from last night, wanting to confirm with the bullied girl from yesterday if she had left the note.
A day had passed safely, with no passenger deaths, which was a very promising start.
However, upon reaching the classroom, everyone was engaged in a heated discussion.
At that moment, Song Zhi passed by the classroom door and exchanged a look with Ning Wei. They found a secluded corner on the stairs to talk.
"A girl committed suicide by hanging in the library last night. Fu Chengwei said you saw her yesterday." With time pressing, Song Zhi got straight to the point.
"I didn't see the body, so I can't be sure if it's the same person. I suspect there's serious bullying in this school. Last night, I saw bloody underwear and a cut-up bra in the dormitory, but they disappeared when I looked again. It must be the work of ghosts." Ning Wei was cautious and revealed all her suspicions.
Song Zhi was one of the more intelligent passengers, and Ning Wei was happy to share information with him.
"Did you see those items in the dormitory because you saw the person being bullied?" Song Zhi, somewhat shy, used euphemisms instead of directly mentioning underwear and bras.
"I have the same suspicion. Where is the body of the girl who hanged herself? I want to see it."
Song Zhi was once again startled by Ning Wei's audacity and gently reminded her, "A body hanging is extremely gruesome. I suggest you..."
Ning Wei frowned. "Class is about to start. You just need to tell me where the body is."
Song Zhi swallowed hard. "There's a small building in the woods where student bodies are kept. I just found out this morning. They claim that the academic pressure at this school is so high that many students protest with their deaths, so the school built a special building to store the bodies."
Ning Wei nodded. Learning that there were no guards or keys, she returned to the classroom just before the bell rang.
The first class was with that female teacher, who seemed particularly displeased with Ning Wei today, even making her answer questions in class.