Chapter Eighty-Three: Who Is That Person

"Something's not right, something's not right," Zhou Wei muttered as he lounged diagonally across his bed, flipping through a book he wasn't really reading. With every repetition of "not right," he shook his head.

"What's not right?" Dai Guangming looked up, setting aside his own book. It was the period after dinner on the second day; Long Bisheng had gone to the gym for extra practice, Hu Gandan, Li Jie, and Zhang Yi had gone to watch a video, Wu Bufan and Liu Lin were off playing games, leaving just the two of them in the dormitory.

Zhou Wei hopped down from his bed. "Guangming, you're the best at analyzing things. Give this a think: what Long said yesterday sounded fine, but I still feel something's off. Can a movie really last until eleven? He left before six, and the movie would be at most two hours. Did he really spend three hours eating at Li Fang's place?"

"That's not so strange," Dai Guangming replied with a smile. "They're old friends, probably spent some time chatting after dinner. We do the same—just talking and joking away a couple of hours. And then there's the time spent on the road."

"I still think it's off," Zhou Wei insisted after a long pause.

Dai Guangming smiled, returned to his book, but after a couple of pages, he said suddenly, "I think something's off too—but not because of the timing."

"Then what is it?" Zhou Wei leaned in, his gossip-loving nature on full display.

"It's just a guess," Dai Guangming said thoughtfully. "His explanation sounded reasonable and extremely smooth... but you know what Long is usually like. Yesterday, after we startled him, it was already odd enough that he could speak so fluently, let alone with no strange expression at all. It was as if he knew we'd ask and had rehearsed his answer. It really sounded like someone had coached him."

"Wow, that's creepy," Zhou Wei said. "So, Guangming, who do you think coached him?"

Dai Guangming gave him a look, as if he were an idiot. "Of course, the person who watched the movie with him."

"Jeez," Zhou Wei rubbed his head. "Usually, I'm pretty sharp, but I guess my head's foggy today so I didn't think of it... But then, who was the one with him?"

"Want to know?" Dai Guangming grinned.

"Of course I do!" Zhou Wei nodded so enthusiastically it was like a pecking chicken.

"Then go ask Long yourself. I wasn't with him, how would I know?" Dai Guangming shot him a glare.

Zhou Wei's eyes darted back and forth. "Maybe we should wait for the others to get back and discuss this. We have to get to the bottom of it... That guy! None of us have made a move on any girls, but he quietly does it first. Such disloyalty deserves contempt!"

Dai Guangming just smiled without answering. Zhou Wei couldn't sit still and stood up. "I'm going to call the others back! Long won't be back from the gym until nine or ten. I'll get them now!"

In less than twenty minutes, everyone else trickled back into the dorm, and the group immediately began their discussion. In the end, Hu Gandan let out a sigh: "Guangming, after all that, turns out you're the shameless one!"

********************************************

Another afternoon.

"I'm off to practice. Anyone coming?" After their nap, Long Bisheng slipped on his sportswear, took his football from the closet, and turned to ask the others.

"I'm out," Zhou Wei yawned. "We trained all morning. I’m beat."

"Me too," said Wu Bufan, "I still haven't finished reading 'The Twin Dragons of the Tang Dynasty.' Guangming, do you have the third volume?"

Dai Guangming waved the book he had. "No, this is the first one."

"I've got the third," Hu Gandan said. "I’ll give it to you when I’m done. Besides, you haven't finished the second yet."

"Neither of us are going," Zhang Yi said, grinning as he pointed at Li Jie. "Don’t know what’s gotten into him; he actually wants to challenge me to pool. I’m going to crush him for a dozen rounds—there’s nothing I love more than thrashing a newbie at the table."

"We’ll see who thrashes who," Li Jie grumbled.

"What about you, Liu Lin?" Long Bisheng asked, seeing everyone else busy.

"Me? I’ll be a spectator," Liu Lin said, pointing at himself with a smile.

...

Long Bisheng left the dorm alone, unaware that as soon as he walked out, the rest of his roommates sprang into action, abandoning whatever they were doing and rushing out, with Zhou Wei clutching a pair of binoculars.

After leaving the dorm, instead of heading outside, they ran up to the building's roof. Once at the top, they crouched behind the railing, sneaking peeks at the field below.

This was Dai Guangming’s idea—the school didn’t have any tall buildings, only two five-story dorms and a four-story teaching building, with no obstacles in between. From the roof, they could take in the entire campus at a glance.

Zhou Wei brought the binoculars because his eyes weren’t great; not only did he have night blindness, but he was also a bit nearsighted, so he usually wore contacts when playing football.

"Look, Long’s on the field!" Wu Bufan’s sharp eyes spotted him and pointed.

"Shh, keep it down," Zhou Wei cautioned, raising the binoculars to his eyes. Sure enough, he saw Long Bisheng walking across the field toward the training grounds.

"He doesn’t seem to be heading for the gym," Zhou Wei muttered. "Definitely suspicious."

The others stayed silent, watching Long Bisheng intently to see where he was headed. Down below, Long Bisheng walked across the field, then, as if sensing someone watching, suddenly turned and looked back.

On the rooftop, the seven would-be sleuths ducked out of sight in a panic. Only after a long while did they peek out again, just in time to see Long Bisheng disappearing down the path between the six training fields.

"Careful, we almost got spotted," Dai Guangming said, still nervous. The others nodded and became even sneakier, crouching lower so only half their heads peeked over, looking for all the world like a bunch of peeping toms.

The six training fields were split evenly on either side of the path, three on each side, but Long Bisheng didn’t enter any of them—he kept walking straight down.

It hadn’t rained recently, so the path was dry. Long Bisheng dribbled his ball as he went, unhurried.

"He’s not going to the training fields either," Li Jie whispered.

Hu Gandan nodded. "At the end of that path is the pine forest. What’s he doing there?"

Everyone was familiar with that patch of woods; they often went there to cool off in the summer. But now it was winter—if Long Bisheng was heading there to cool off, he must have lost his mind.

When Long Bisheng reached the pines, he didn’t stop but walked right in, the overlapping branches quickly blocking the group’s view. They exchanged glances and sighed helplessly.

"Zhou Wei, can you see anything in there with the binoculars?" Li Jie asked, unwilling to give up.

Zhou Wei shook his head, thoroughly dejected. "These aren’t x-ray specs. How could I see through the trees?"

"I’m an idiot, really," Dai Guangming said in anguish. "Why didn’t I think he’d go to the pines? We should’ve had Zhou Wei follow him... Too bad, there’s nowhere else to hide on campus, and even if Zhou Wei’s small, he can’t just disappear."

"Hey, stop with the short jokes or I’ll really lose it," Zhou Wei complained, tearing his eyes away from the binoculars.

By now, Long Bisheng had entered the pine woods, so the group stood up straight, no longer worried about being spotted, and began criticizing Dai Guangming for his failed plan.

"Quiet!"

Liu Lin, who had been watching the field, suddenly shouted, "Look! Someone else is heading into the pines!"

At that, everyone turned their attention to the woods. Liu Lin snatched the binoculars from Zhou Wei and pressed them to his eyes.

"Hey, give them back!" Zhou Wei protested, hopping in frustration, but no one paid him any mind. Wu Bufan and Hu Gandan held him back so he wouldn’t disturb Liu Lin, who, more than anyone, knew everyone on campus.

The others waited anxiously as Liu Lin remained glued to the binoculars, not moving or saying a word. Nearly a minute passed, until the shadowy figure vanished into the trees. Only then did Liu Lin lower the binoculars, a mysterious half-smile on his face as he let out a long breath.

"If you keep playing coy, I’ll make you a eunuch, the last one in China," Li Jie threatened.

"Did you see who it was?" Zhang Yi asked, agitated.

Liu Lin, with the same mysterious smile, took his time. "I saw clearly."

"Anyone have a knife? If not, I’ll get one and cut him," Li Jie declared, searching around.

"It was Ning Xi," Liu Lin said at last, drawing out the words.

Everyone was stunned.