Chapter 61: Why Are There So Many Acquaintances in This Match?

This sleep had been exceptionally peaceful.

Early in the morning, Duan Ming, He Nian, Zeng Yanliang, and Qiu Yu stretched and stepped out of their dormitory, just in time to see the door of the neighboring dormitory manager's rest room opening.

Ji Xian walked out with pale lips.

Behind him, the female ghost manager glanced at the group and closed the door with a coy expression.

Duan Ming let out a long sigh, walked over, and patted his shoulder.

"You might have to work hard these next few days. We have a heavy mission, and it's quite necessary to get on the good side of the dormitory manager."

The other three stepped forward one after another to shake his hand solemnly. Qiu Yu, in particular, gave him a bear hug and whispered in his ear.

"For the mission! For the rewards!"

"For the mission... For the rewards..."

Ji Xian muttered, his gaze growing firm.

He turned back, opened the door, and went inside.

Aside from the Seven Great Mysteries and the ghosts all over the campus, Fengxian High School was completely indistinguishable from a real high school. After a leisurely breakfast, they wandered back to the classroom.

They arrived just under the wire.

As the morning bell rang, Duan Ming sat down.

The strange thing was that Liang Zhichao, who had been slouching and slacking off all day yesterday, was now sitting bolt upright with proper posture.

Duan Ming kicked the chair in front of him.

"Hey! What's gotten into you today? Is the teacher for this class that fierce?"

Liang Zhichao maintained his posture as his voice drifted back.

"Well, she certainly is fierce."

"The teacher for this class hasn't been here long, and she is gorgeous. I can't afford to leave a bad impression on her."

A gorgeous teacher?

Duan Ming exchanged a glance with Zeng Yanliang not far away.

It must be her.

"Alright, sit properly now. Teacher Yu is coming."

Prompted by Liang Zhichao's warning, footsteps indeed began to echo from outside the door.

One second...

Two seconds...

Entering the door...

The moment the beautiful teacher appeared, Duan Ming felt his breath hitch for a second.

(⊙w⊙`)

Are... are you kidding me?!

Although she had changed into a stern professional suit and put on black-rimmed glasses, losing a bit of that angelic warmth in white, there was no way Duan Ming could forget this face.

Yu Fangfang!

Why are there so many acquaintances in this round?

Oh right, right before leaving Qingshan Hospital, he had heard Yu Fangfang mention wanting to return to her original profession as a teacher, but he hadn't expected to run into her again across a completely different instance.

Is this what they call fate?

Yu Fangfang, stepping into the classroom, naturally noticed Duan Ming in the back row. Her shock was by no means less than his, but relying on her impressive professional composure, she forcefully suppressed her emotions and walked up to the podium with an icy expression.

Right, it seems she had reverted to her iceberg goddess persona.

...

True to form, throughout the entire class, Yu Fangfang remained almost entirely expressionless and strict.

And sure enough, Liang Zhichao was sent out to the doorway to stand as punishment again.

When the bell rang for the end of class, Yu Fangfang quietly packed up her textbook and then pointed at Duan Ming. "You there in the suit and tie, come with me to the office."

He Nian panicked and cried out, "Report to Teacher Yu, Duan Ming didn't seem to do anything wrong just now, did he?"

Yu Fangfang shot him a fierce glare. "Are you teaching me how to do my job? No nonsense, suit boy, get out here right away!"

With that, she turned and walked out on her own.

He Nian was about to speak again when Duan Ming raised a hand to stop him.

"Relax, it's fine."

"But... No, I'm coming with you!"

"I'm going too!"

"Me too!"

"Aba aba aba～"

The five-member group all stood up, their expressions dead serious.

"Big Brother, me too!" Liang Zhichao poked his head in through the window and shouted.

Duan Ming pulled a face, feeling like his scalp was itching from anxiety.

Damn it, why are they all trying to join the fun!

"Sigh, fine, fine, fine, come along then."

The procession marched imposingly toward the office.

Knock knock knock～

"Come in!" The voice from inside sounded quite excited.

Before Duan Ming could even touch the doorknob, the door swung open first, revealing Yu Fangfang's pleasantly surprised face.

But her expression paused the next second.

"Huh? They are..."

Duan Ming slapped his forehead helplessly. "Sigh, it's fine, they're all our own people."

"Oh."

Yu Fangfang calmly closed the door, and then actually leaped forward, throwing herself onto Duan Ming and clinging to him.

"Ahhhhhhh!!! I'm so happy! I never expected to run into you here!"

"I've missed you so much, Duan Ming."

Everyone: "(°Д°)"

Duan Ming blushed slightly, gently patted the backside of the person in his arms, and whispered, "Get down, get down quickly, so many people are watching."

"What does it matter? Didn't you say they're all our own people?" Yu Fangfang pouted, looking adorable, completely lacking the stern demeanor of a teacher in the classroom.

"I said that, but they aren't *that* much of our own people."

"Gulp～"

Yu Fangfang hurriedly jumped down, standing aside with her head lowered and a flushed face.

An awkward atmosphere spread through the room.

It was He Nian who finally broke the silence.

"Uhm, Duan Ming, aren't you going to introduce us?"

"Huh? Oh, well, this is Yu Fangfang, I just met her in my last... ummmm... close personal friend."

The group collectively narrowed their eyes.

"Ah, never mind that!" Duan Ming waved his hands wildly to brush it off and immediately turned to Yu Fangfang.

"I never expected you to become a teacher at Fengxian High School. How much time has passed, and you've already found what you wanted to do? Congratulations."

Yu Fangfang replied, "It hasn't been that short, it's been almost a month. I searched for a long time before finding this place, and I'm lucky several teachers left Fengxian recently all at once, otherwise I might not have been able to get in with my seniority."

A... a month!

Yet only four days had apparently passed in the outside world.

Are the time rules of the Ghost Realm and the real world really that elusive?

At that moment, his gaze suddenly sharpened.

"Wait, you said several teachers left Fengxian all at once recently?"

"Mhmm～"

"When did that happen?"

Yu Fangfang pressed a finger to her chin and thought about it. "Emmm～ I've been here for a week, and the incident happened three days before I arrived, about ten days ago. Why do you ask?"

Duan Ming didn't answer.

Zeng Yanliang and Qiu Yu beside him wore equally pensive expressions.

Zeng Yanliang asked, "What do you think?"

Duan Ming shook his head. "No clues for now, but this is definitely not a normal phenomenon. If just one teacher left, it might be plausible, but for multiple to leave simultaneously, it's probably not as simple as resigning."

At this point, Qiu Yu suddenly turned to Yu Fangfang and asked, "Teacher Yu, the school should have the personnel files for these teachers. Can you access them? Teacher Yu, even you had to apply to join the school, so if these missing teachers resigned normally, it should be reflected in their files. And if they disappeared under abnormal circumstances, the information in the files might provide some clues."

Yu Fangfang answered, "I can't access the files directly, but another teacher who joined at the same time as me is in charge of those. We get along pretty well, so I can give it a try."

Duan Ming said, "Alright, then I'll leave this matter to you."

"What are you saying? Your business is my business, isn't it?" Yu Fangfang flashed a brilliant smile that left even Liang Zhichao dumbstruck.

"All right then, class is about to start, you guys go back first. Come find me tonight, okay～"

"Okay."

The group filed out one by one.

The moment they stepped outside, He Nian clamped a hand around Duan Ming's neck without any politeness.

"Damn it, confess! What on earth is your relationship with Teacher Yu?!"

Duan Ming struggled frantically. "Ow ow ow, go easy, I told you, she's my close personal friend."

"Ghosts would believe you."

Liang Zhichao nodded. "I actually believe it. Big Brother, please let go of him."

"Big Brother, Duan Big Brother, may I ask if Teacher Yu has any close girlfriends or anything like that? I'd like to get to know them too,嘿嘿."

"Yeah, there is one. And she's every bit as pretty as Yu Fangfang."

Liang Zhichao: "!!!"

"Then can I—"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because she's also my close personal friend."