Chapter 179: Chapter 157: Xu Yu
It was unexpected that the phone rang for a long time, but no one on the other end picked up. Song Yan couldn’t help but feel somewhat tense, knowing that given Yu Mi’s courage, she would never dare to go out alone.
After the call was eventually disconnected due to no response, Song Yan put down the phone with a bad premonition emerging in his heart, "No one answered the call, Yu Mi must be in trouble."
This sudden turn of events also took Yang Xiao by surprise, "It shouldn’t be, Yu Mi has no reason to leave the room. Besides, we had already warned her, she wouldn’t open the door rashly."
"Could it be that the ghost impersonated one of us and found Yu Mi?" Song Yan’s thoughts more and more unsettling, "Or... it could be the innkeeper..."
"Dinglingling——"
Before he could finish, the sudden ring of the phone startled them both. Seeing the caller ID, Song Yan’s brow furrowed even more—it was a call from room 405.
"I’ll answer it." Yang Xiao stepped forward, took a deep breath, and picked up the phone. He held his breath, saying nothing.
As if locked in a struggle, the other side was also eerily silent. Yang Xiao didn’t dare make a sound until——
"Mr... Mr. Song?"
A weak voice suddenly came through on the other end—the voice of Yu Mi.
"Pei Qiuyu, are you okay?" Yang Xiao remained alert, lowering his voice to probe.
"Mr. Chu, is that you?" Yu Mi’s voice sounded surprised but quickly caught on, "It’s me, I’m Yu Mi. Is Mr. Song with you?"
"Yu Mi, why didn’t you answer the phone just now?" Yang Xiao urgently wanted to clear this up, while also calculating the time.
"I saw it, but I didn’t dare to answer... I was worried it might be that thing calling, so I waited a bit to call you and confirm," Yu Mi explained, and then persisted, "Please let Mr. Song take the phone, thank you."
"Phew——" Yang Xiao sighed in relief, the alarm lifted, and couldn’t help but reevaluate the newcomer Yu Mi with newfound respect, surprised at how quickly she had grown.
Yang Xiao understood that her urgency for Song Yan to take the phone wasn’t entirely due to greater trust in him. She also wanted to test further; she still couldn’t fully trust herself.
Taking the receiver handed to him by Yang Xiao, Song Yan quickly soothed Yu Mi with a few words. His voice was warm and robust, filled with encouragement, "Good job, Yu Mi, you are growing fast, which is truly surprising. In this world, one cannot be too cautious."
"We called to confirm your safety and to tell you something. We’ve made contact with the school authorities and plan to collaborate to face tomorrow’s crisis. For now, only you, I, and Chu Xi know about this. Absolutely no one else, not even Director Ding, Lu Ji, or Pei Qiuyu, must know."
"Principal Wu and his group will be here in about half an hour. Your room’s location is more suitable, so we plan to meet there."
"Then come over first," Yu Mi said with a sense of surprise in her voice. She always felt uneasy being alone in the room.
"Here’s the thing, Chu Xi and I are dealing with some issues and can’t get away just now. We will come to find you later with Principal Wu. Of course, if we’re still tied up, then you should invite Principal Wu and his group into the room to rest, but be careful not to share too much. Also, if you don’t hear from Chu Xi and me within 10 minutes, give me a call," Song Yan explained everything calmly and kindly.
After a moment of waiting, there was no response from Yu Mi. Song Yan frowned slightly and called out softly, "Miss Yu, are you listening?"
Seconds later, Yu Mi’s voice came through, somewhat muffled for some reason, "Listening, I... I understand, Mr. Song."
Seeing his goal achieved, Song Yan didn’t bother to waste more time and hung up quickly. He needed to steady his nerves as the forthcoming contact with Principal Wu was critical.
Meanwhile, Yang Xiao found the DV camera they had brought back, and after several attempts realized it must be a contact issue, as it frequently went to a black screen. The empty shots it took were also strange, the colors off with a yellowish tint, like it had a nostalgic filter applied to it.
Casually placing the DV camera on the side of the tea table, Yang Xiao and Song Yan began to discuss the upcoming arrangements.
In the waiting time, another call came to Song Yan’s phone. Upon seeing the number, Yang Xiao and Song Yan instantly tensed up—it was Director Ding.
Their first reaction was that they had been exposed and Director Ding was calling to reprimand them, but after picking up, they breathed a sigh of relief. Director Ding was just reminding Yang Xiao to pay attention to tomorrow’s shoot and also told them that Ms. Shengnan and several investors had seen some of the footage and were very satisfied, fully affirming their acting skills.
Ms. Shengnan also made a request. In order to enrich the film content and create a more complex and three-dimensional portrayal of the female teacher, she decided to add a new scene that would mainly express the emotional conflict between female students. This would make the characters in the film even more vivid.
The roles were set for two people, with Nie Hexiang as the lead, and Pei Qiuyu acting alongside her. As for Yu Mi, her acting was too poor to be considered at the moment.
"Is this scene before or after mine?" Yang Xiao’s spirit perked up in an instant.
"Of course it’s after. This scene will be placed between the two scenes that were originally planned," Director Ding reminded her. "Chu Xi, Ms. Shengnan is most concerned about you. She said you have a special quality about you, similar to that of the male teacher from the past."
"Obsessive, deranged, frantic, and especially the expression of emotions you conceal in the shadows. Your eyes make people feel you’re someone with a story, incredibly captivating."
"Right, after this scene, Ms. Shengnan plans to invite you to her seaside vacation villa for a few days to personally mentor you in acting. Let me remind you, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. So many seek it but can’t find it; you better perform well," Director Ding whispered, his insinuation clear and implicit.
After hanging up the phone and seeing Yang Xiao’s disgusted expression, Song Yan, who had been feeling rather relaxed, couldn’t help but tease, "The Chu brothers are indeed outstanding. Without even meeting her, just the charm within the play has captured Ms. Shengnan, truly a role model for us."
After pondering for a moment, Yang Xiao also started to laugh, and the more he laughed, the happier he became. Feeling Yang Xiao’s gaze, Song Yan got a creepy feeling, "Chu brother, what are you laughing at?"
"Song brother, it seems Ms. Shengnan likes me quite a bit. What if I offered myself to her and asked her to let you warm up by acting with Nie Hexiang first? Do you think she would agree?" Yang Xiao’s smile suddenly became mischievous.
Song Yan was startled by his words, not sure whether Yang Xiao was joking or actually considering it, "Chu brother, you shouldn’t... Don’t joke like that. With the enemy right at our door, we brothers should unite against the common foe. Let’s focus on the important things. Principal Wu and the others will be here soon."
Yang Xiao laughed heartily, clapping Song Yan’s shoulder, "It’s just a joke; why so tense?"
But as much as it was a joke, Yang Xiao grew more curious about who this Ms. Shengnan was. If a little sacrifice could sway her, he didn’t mind. Moreover, he already had a plan in his mind.
Half an hour later, Yu Mi called. Principal Wu and his party had arrived. Song Yan made up an excuse and told Yu Mi to ask Principal Wu and others to come to Room 207, also instructing Yu Mi to rest early and not bother coming.
Although it sounded rather unkind to use Yu Mi to verify Principal Wu’s authenticity, Song Yan saw it as the most logical choice. After all, there’s no such thing as a free lunch; without him, Yu Mi would probably have died in that ambulance long ago.
The sound of footsteps in the corridor drew closer, and Song Yan dialed Principal Wu’s phone. He opened the door when he heard the phone ring outside. Standing at the door were Principal Wu, another male teacher, and Xu Yu, whom he had met once before.
Inviting the three of them into the room, and after they sat down, Yang Xiao got straight to the point, "Principal Wu, Teacher Xu Yu, we know Teacher Wang was wronged. Please, tell us the whole story."
"You are the ones she asked for help. Why would you choose to help us?" The male teacher was the first to speak, his eyes full of distrust.
"It doesn’t matter who we help. We just want to know the truth. Speaking of justice, we should have a conscience, not make mistakes knowingly and confuse right and wrong. On a personal note, we are the lead actors in this film. If it’s overturned in the future and found to be purely fabricating the truth, it would be a devastating blow to our personal reputations since we’re still young and have a future in film," Song Yan said, his righteous appearance making his words persuasive.
Seizing the moment, Yang Xiao pressed on, "Principal Wu, it seems this Ms. Shengnan also worked at your school. What kind of deep hatred does she have with Teacher Wang?"
Earlier, Yang Xiao had suspected that it might be that Ms. Shengnan once pursued Teacher Wang and, out of unrequited love, grew to hate her, a plot common in romance dramas.
However, hearing this, Principal Wu sighed, his face growing increasingly grim, "You’re mistaken. She wasn’t a teacher at our school. We didn’t even know her before this incident happened, and Teacher Wang... Teacher Wang didn’t know her either!"
"Didn’t know her?"
"Ah, it’s a long story. She was an intern reporter at a small newspaper. She’s the one who broke the story accusing Teacher Wang of harming female students," Principal Wu explained, gripping his hands on his knees tightly, clearly overwhelmed with emotion.
"But wasn’t there an eyewitness who saw Teacher Wang harming a female student in the dormitory on a rainy night?" Yang Xiao had thought the female teacher in the story was Ms. Shengnan.
"That never happened! It was all made up, a deliberate smear against Teacher Wang!" the male teacher exclaimed, agitated.
"Why would she concoct such a story out of thin air, framing a teacher who’d never met her, who was teaching in rural areas?" Yang Xiao queried, finding it illogical both emotionally and rationally.
It was only then that the silent Xu Yu slowly raised her head, her voice hoarse, "It was Xia Xiuyan, Nie Hexiang, and Sun Zhen. The three of them were the first to spread the rumor, claiming Teacher Wang bullied them, that he reached inside their clothes while they were alone in the dormitory."
