Forty-six: Night Stroll Through the Campus

After dinner, night had already fallen. On our first evening at the school, Lin Jie suggested we take a nocturnal tour of the campus, which would also help us become familiar with the surroundings. The proposal was immediately and unanimously accepted, so the six of us set out, marching through Student Street, passing the security booth, skirting the auditorium's outer wall, and heading straight toward the teaching buildings.

Perhaps in an effort to save electricity, the school had only lit a few token street lamps along the way, leaving the entire road unusually dim. Our destination was the newly completed teaching building, which, I’d heard, had only finished its interior renovations last month. Since it wasn’t yet open for evening self-study, the whole building was shrouded in darkness, not a glimmer of light to be seen—like a legendary haunted house.

Standing before the entrance, gazing into the gloomy corridor within, Chen Li hesitated, unsurely turning back to ask, “Are we really going inside?”

“Of course we are. We’re already at the door, how could we not?” Lin Jie declared, pushing Chen Li forward, and the rest of us followed close behind.

Walking down the pitch-black, empty hallway, only our footsteps echoed around us. Though none of us truly believed in ghosts, fear of the dark is a natural instinct, and so, despite ourselves, a chill crept through our hearts. Zhang Tao, ever eager to stir things up, began recounting supernatural tales that had been passed down about the school, making the atmosphere even eerier.

Nervously clenching his fists, Chen Li said nothing, burying his head and marching ahead as if eager to escape this damned haunted place as soon as possible.

Unknowingly, Chen Li had distanced himself significantly from us. Seeing the opportunity, an idea for a prank flashed through our minds. We exchanged glances, then, as if prearranged, stopped and ducked to either side of the hallway, each finding a spot to hide.

Chen Li kept walking for quite a while before he noticed the sudden absence of voices behind him. He turned hurriedly, but no matter how he searched, he could not find a trace of us. Panic seized him at once.

He’d been tense before, but at least he had five companions for moral support. Now, with all of us vanished, he was truly stranded, helpless to call for aid. We watched from the shadows as Chen Li, flustered, paced back and forth at the end of the corridor, his anxious gestures betraying his desperation, almost on the verge of tears.

Seeing him in such a state, we couldn’t help but cover our mouths to stifle our laughter. Zhang Tao was so amused that tears streamed down his face, but lest Chen Li discover us, we had to suppress every sound, which was agony.

Just as Chen Li was about to break down, we all emerged from our hiding places, calling out in unison, “Chen Li, we’re over here!”

Upon seeing us, Chen Li was like a drowning man grabbing a life raft, rushing over in haste.

Zhao Gang grinned as he patted Chen Li’s shoulder, “Hey, Chen Li, why were you walking so fast? We were looking for you forever.” We didn’t want him to know we’d been deliberately pranking him, so we quickly made up an excuse.

Chen Li was still shaken, unable to utter a word for quite some time.

We proceeded deeper into the teaching building, and this time, Chen Li had learned his lesson, sticking firmly in the middle of the group, afraid of losing us again. Thanks to the little episode, the earlier tension had dissipated, and in less than half an hour, we had explored the entire building.

Stepping out of the gloomy halls, the oppressive feeling vanished instantly. In sharp contrast, we now realized how bright those few street lamps along the road truly were!

We strolled slowly along the lakeside path. Suddenly, Chen Li asked, in all seriousness, “Why do you think the school has this lake?”

“Because lovers need it,” Zhang Tao replied dismissively.

“But the water smells so awful, why—” Chen Li was clearly not satisfied, pressing for an answer.

“This…” For Chen Li, we were at a loss. Perhaps the bookworm had read himself into a stupor. Where had he gotten all these questions? It was maddening.

Since no one responded after a long pause, Chen Li lost interest and simply trailed behind, walking quietly on his own.

Our campus was divided into three zones: the new area, the comprehensive teaching area, and the old area. The new campus was to the north, the old one to the south, and the comprehensive teaching area sat between them. Outside the school, a winding mountain road hugged the hills and encircled the campus. Shuttle buses ran every ten minutes, closely connecting the new and old campuses.

Passing through the comprehensive teaching area, we soon arrived at the old campus.

The old area, with more than ten years’ history, naturally had trees much more lush and dense than the saplings in the new campus, forming a stark contrast along the roads.

Arriving at the old campus, I felt for the first time that familiar university atmosphere. Seniors had mentioned on the forum that the school officially forbade students from dating, but for every policy, there’s a workaround. Students had their own solutions: If the school doesn’t allow a boy and a girl to walk together, then two couples—two boys and two girls—walk together. How could the security guards catch them then?

Even so, often enough, someone was caught. The disciplinary notices posted outside the dorm security booth, stating, “Student XXX and Student XXX have been warned by the Student Affairs Department for improper conduct. Let this serve as a caution to all,” spoke to our helplessness.

Because the security guards wielded too much power, many students simply chose to bribe them to avoid unnecessary trouble. In this vicious cycle, students’ grievances went unvented, bottled up for four years, so when graduation came, the security booth became the prime target for their outpouring of emotion and attacks.

Year after year, disturbances broke out, and the school could do nothing. When June came, the administration was always on high alert.

Having finished our tour of the old campus, it was nearly ten o’clock. With a class meeting to attend in the morning, we finally decided to head back. At the student street in the old area, we caught the last bus to the new campus. After about five minutes winding along the mountain road, the bus stopped steadily at the entrance to the boys’ dormitory on Student Street.

And thus, our nighttime campus adventure came to a perfect end.

(Chapter revision completed on August 27, 2010)