513. Night Stay
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The night grew deeper.
A group of students sat in a circle surrounded by tents, playing a game of Eagle Catching Chicks illuminated by a streetlight ten meters away.
Zheng Qian was the eagle, and Lin Kexin was the hen, while the rest of the gang was in a ruckus.
Lin Nan sat cross-legged in front of the tent, hugging her knees and resting her chin on them, looking quite disdainful of this kindergarten-level game.
Mainly because she barely knew any of these classmates, so joining in felt awkward.
The electronic mosquito repeller seemed to be doing a lousy job, and Lin Nan, bothered by the mosquitoes, decided to whip out some magic. She formed a barely visible water membrane around her body to fend off the pesky biters.
This magic had been unlocked way back at Chen Yao’s house when he was worried about his parents going out during the pandemic, but since then, it had hardly seen the light of day.
Her gaze drifted toward Chen Yao, who was huddled with a few classmates, engrossed in a game with lots of shouting and commotion.
The other students were chatting, playing cards with the aid of the light, and some had bought a bunch of snacks to share with their friends.
Comparing herself to them, she felt especially lonely at that moment… and then she suddenly noticed a heavy snoring sound coming from her side.
Looking around suspiciously, her gaze finally landed on a distant tent.
She wasn’t the only one who had picked up on the snoring; several students paused what they were doing and turned to gaze at that tent in unison.
That snoring sound was oddly familiar.
And that tent looked familiar too.
Lin Nan furrowed her brows, trying to recall. Just as she was about to connect the dots, Zheng Qian stormed off from the Eagle Catching Chicks game, his face dark as a thundercloud.
He strode towards that tent with an anxious look, yanked the flap, and revealed a large, plump figure inside, snoring like a chainsaw—it sounded like it was about to blow a fuse!
Lin Nan’s realization hit her like a ton of bricks; no wonder the snoring sounded familiar—it was Tu Junhui’s! She hadn’t heard those legendary snores for a whole six months and almost forgot about them!
Honestly, it was even more powerful than six months ago.
But Zheng Qian’s expression had darkened even more.
This two-person tent shouldn’t have felt cramped with two people lying down, but Tu Junhui was sprawled across the middle in a starfish position, creating a symphony of earth-shaking snores.
Zheng Qian finally understood why no one wanted to share a tent with Tu Junhui, which forced this poor guy to bunk with him.
What a dreamer!
He felt like slapping himself.
Tu Junhui’s snores were notorious among the male students; back in the dorm, his snores could penetrate walls and reach the ears of neighboring dorm mates. Word spread like wildfire—forget the male classmates, even the entire floor of students knew about his snoring prowess.
But Zheng Qian, not being one of them, had no clue.
After a moment of silence, he looked toward a nearby shop.
“Zheng Qian, why not rent another tent?” A kind-hearted girl noticed his gaze and made the suggestion.
Someone threw him a lifeline, and Zheng Qian felt relieved, silently praising the girl for being sensible and nodding in agreement, only to hear another female voice chiming in.
“But isn’t that a little special treatment? This is a group activity after all.”
That line received some support from various students.
“That does make sense.”
“Zheng Qian, just s*ck it up!”
Who was stirring the pot?
Fuming, Zheng Qian scanned the area, his eyes landing on the lonely figure of Lin Nan in the corner. She looked sweetly clueless, her eyes wide, completely oblivious to the commotion.
Well, she wasn’t the one behind this.
After ruling out the correct answer, Zheng Qian could only imagine the instigator to be some overly spirited student with class pride.
Most likely, Lin Kexin?
But the voice didn’t match.
“Zheng Qian, you look terrible. Everything okay?” Chen Yao approached with a fake concern, handing over a pair of earplugs. “Use these when you sleep—they work wonders.”
Xiong Da from the side nodded seriously, “I roomed with him and wear earplugs every night; they do help.”
“…”
He took the earplugs, pondering in silence for too long.
Was Chen Yao throwing him under the bus?
“I’ll be fine, keep playing.” He stuffed the earplugs into his pocket, forced a smile, and said, “Everyone just ignore Tu Junhui’s snoring.”
Listening to Tu Junhui while lounging on the grass seemed to add a certain ambiance.
Lin Nan almost burst out laughing.
The camping area regained its liveliness as Lin Nan flopped onto the grass, gazing at the twinkling stars overhead.
In this scenic area, the stars were much more prominent, but they still couldn’t compare to the endless skies she adored as a child.
Aside from Lin Nan’s group, some other campers had gathered on the lawn to check out the scene, drawn in by the fun.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t light a bonfire here; otherwise, a group sitting around would have been even more lively. Instead, people were flickering their phone flashlights around, creating a makeshift bar atmosphere.
While lounging in front of the tent, hands behind her head, staring up at the stars, Lin Nan was suddenly interrupted by someone.
“Hey there, alone?”
Turning around, she found a stranger beside her, wearing a gentle smile.
Lin Nan instinctively sat up, shifting to distance herself from him, and cautiously pointed to the group, replying, “No, I’m with them.”
“University student?”
“Uh-huh.” Lin Nan nodded coolly.
The unknown camper didn’t push further, just sat there looking at the lively students, sighing softly, “It’s nice.”
With that, he lay back, crossing his legs.
Lin Nan frowned, puzzled by his intentions.
If he was trying to pick her up, he’d only made small talk and then went quiet. If he was a thief, he had shown no suspicious behavior.
Was he just killing time, looking for someone to stargaze with?
“Did you know? Someone died in this scenic area.” Out of the blue, the stranger spoke.
Lin Nan blinked in confusion.
“Maybe there are ghosts at night.”
“Ha-ha.”
That kind of line, meant to scare kids, was definitely not frightening Lin Nan. Even though she usually had a timid heart, tales of the supernatural still sent chills down her spine.
Just then, the playful chaos of Eagle Catching Chicks subsided, and someone proposed taking turns telling ghost stories.
This was probably just another classic group activity, something Lin Nan had anticipated.
But really, who would purposely try to scare people during camping?
Nervously, Lin Nan stole a glance at the strange visitor beside her.
For some reason, she felt this guy was a bit… off.
The students launched into their usual repertoire of ghost stories.
First up was Lin Kexin, who, after having a drink, had really let loose. Just moments ago she was playing the ‘hen’, and now she was quite the ghost story aficionado.
“This is a creepy tale from our school’s forum; supposedly, someone spotted a female ghost behind the school…”
