# 43
**Chapter 43: Here We Go Again**
Second High School.
The dismissal bell rang out leisurely as groups of high school students streamed out the gates, chatting and laughing on their way home.
“Ugh, so much homework again today. I’ll be stuck working past eleven…”
“Tell me about it! That idiot teacher assigned twelve reading-comprehension passages—does he even want us to live?”
“Huh? Can’t you just wing those?”
“How do you wing them?”
“Three long, one short—pick the short. Three short, one long—pick the long. Mixed lengths—go with C. On the fence—choose D.”
“…Hold up, I’m writing that down!”
“…”
Suddenly one student glanced back and called to Li Yifei, who was trailing behind:
“Li Yifei, why so slow? Hurry up!”
Li Yifei snapped out of it. “Oh—coming, coming.”
He quickened his pace, still glancing around nervously, distracted.
“What’s wrong? You looking for something?” Wang Liang asked, puzzled.
Li Yifei hesitated, then sighed. “After what happened last time, walking home gives me the creeps… No evening self-study today, it’s still light out, but I still feel… freaked!”
Wang Liang rolled his eyes. “You ran into one murderer—big deal. You look tough, but you’re such a coward.”
“It’s not just… forget it, you wouldn’t get it.” Li Yifei shook his head.
Then, as if remembering something, he stopped dead.
“Now what?”
“I left my homework in my desk drawer.” Li Yifei massaged his temples.
“With a brain like yours, no wonder… Good thing the gate’s still open. Go grab it; we’ll head on.”
Wang Liang slung his bag higher, waved, and left with the others.
Li Yifei sighed, turned around, and walked back.
By the time he reached the gate, twenty minutes had passed; almost everyone was gone, the campus empty.
“Glad they haven’t locked up,” he muttered, jogging inside.
In the dusk, the school felt quieter, almost deserted.
A few students doing cleaning duty hurried out, glancing at the time and sprinting for the gate, brushing past Li Yifei as he went the wrong way.
They were eager to get home, to hot dinners waiting.
The farther Li Yifei walked, the fewer people he saw, the darker it grew.
Tall trees on both sides rustled in the wind; the last rays of the setting sun slipped through the leaves, dimmer by the second…
He rushed to the sophomore building, took the stairs two at a time to the fourth floor, and reached his classroom.
The corridor was empty, bathed only in twilight—just Li Yifei.
Even the cleaners had left; the door was locked.
No problem for him, though. He slid the window open, dropped his bag, hopped onto the sill, and vaulted inside.
“Workbook, workbook, workbook… got it!” He rummaged in his desk, pulled out a notebook, eyes lighting up.
He stuffed it into his bag, returned to the window, ready to climb back out—
Two figures appeared at the far end of the corridor.
Out the corner of his eye he spotted them and froze, ducking beneath the tiled windowsill.
“Just my luck—perfect timing for the discipline director,” he cursed silently.
One was Liu Xiaoyan, the class rep for Chinese; the other was the sophomore discipline director himself.
Sneaking into the classroom after hours would look suspicious; if the director caught him, he’d be in deep trouble.
So he pressed himself against the wall, waiting for them to leave.
Chatting, they approached his hiding spot. Soon he could hear every word.
“…so your class really needs to step up in Chinese. Pick the best essay writer for the city competition.”
“I understand, Director. We have several good writers, like…”
The director stopped, resting his hands on the railing. Liu Xiaoyan halted beside him, still talking.
Right outside the classroom door!
Li Yifei saw their reflection in the glass, rolled his eyes, and sat down to wait.
“Good. Bring them to my office tomorrow; I’ll talk with them.” The director nodded, turning to leave.
“Director!” Liu Xiaoyan called suddenly.
He looked back, puzzled. “Something else, Liu Xiaoyan?”
In the twilight, a faint blush colored her cheeks; she twisted bashfully.
“Director, actually, I… I’ve always wanted to tell you…”
Li Yifei’s eyes bulged, jaw dropping, shock flooding his face.
What the hell!
I just came back for homework—what am I seeing?!
Liu Xiaoyan has a thing for the director?!
But he’s almost fifty—and balding!
Her taste is that extreme?
The director’s brows knit tighter.
“I’ve always wanted to…
to…
EAT YOU!”
As the last three words spilled out, Liu Xiaoyan’s mouth tore open to a horrific width, as if ripped by invisible hands, revealing rows of jagged, barbed teeth!
Her pupils vanished, leaving only milky whites, cheeks dimpled with an eerie wine-red glow in the dusk…
The director’s eyes widened; he opened his mouth to scream—
In an instant Liu Xiaoyan’s entire head split apart at the jaw! Countless needle-teeth gleamed coldly!
The maw was huge—big enough to swallow a grown man whole.
And it did—snapping shut around the director in a single gulp. Flesh writhed and twisted inside, nauseating.
Li Yifei clapped both hands over his own mouth, trembling, every muscle locked in terror.
After long, wet chewing, the monstrous mouth opened again—
and spat out the director whole.
Aside from a coating of slime, not a hair was missing.
He lay motionless. Liu Xiaoyan’s fleshy head folded back into shape, and within seconds she was an ordinary high-school girl again.
She stared at the body.
A few heartbeats later the director’s eyes snapped open. He rose in a jerky, unnatural motion.
They looked at each other—
and smiled in perfect unison.
With synchronized steps they walked away, disappearing down the corridor.
Only when he was sure they were gone did Li Yifei unclamp his mouth, slumping to the floor, gasping for air.
Two words echoed in his mind:
“Here we go again?!!!”