I Am the Gloomy Male Lead's Dead First Love - Chapter 5

A small group of people swarmed out of the narrow doorway. Leading them was the physics teacher who had just punished Wen Yaozhi by making him stand in the hallway. The others were students from Wen Yaozhi’s class.

Their classroom was on the top floor, right next to the stairs, which allowed for a quicker escape. Even so, only these few had made it out. Once they confirmed the rooftop was safe, the tension in the group eased slightly.

Lin Dusheng stiffened when he saw Wen Yaozhi. “I told you to stand in the hall. Why are you here?”

“Where exactly did you expect me to be, Mr. Lin?” Wen Yaozhi asked tonelessly.

Lin Dusheng choked on his words. Given the current circumstances, he found it difficult to argue. He then noticed the other two people on the rooftop. Seeing they were not in school uniforms and were clearly not students, he cleared his throat to change the subject. “And you two are?”

“I am an intern from the school office,” Lu Xincheng said, pointing to Du Ye beside him. “This is the physical education teacher. He also started his internship this month.”

The school office.

Lin Dusheng keenly picked up on the keyword. It was almost impossible for an intern to enter the school office directly unless they had extremely powerful connections.

Lin Dusheng’s expression immediately softened. He looked Lu Xincheng up and down and offered a rare, polite smile and a nod. The PE teacher looked terrible, likely paralyzed by fear, but this well-connected intern seemed to have impressive mental fortitude.

“Teacher, the water still seems to be rising.” One of the female students with a ponytail remained relatively calm. She walked to the edge to observe the water level.

Another girl covered her mouth. “We have nowhere left to run. If the rooftop floods too…”

Hearing this, the other students panicked. They were only fifteen or sixteen-year-old middle schoolers who had never faced such a crisis. Several girls who had been holding back their tears finally broke down, and the rooftop was soon filled with the sound of wailing.

The noise made Lin Dusheng’s ears ring. He barked sharply, “What is the use of crying? Think of a solution!”

Lin Dusheng observed the rising water and judged that the rooftop would not last another ten minutes. They had fled in a hurry and carried no communication devices to contact the outside world. They were stranded. He looked out at the water.

They had to get into the water. They needed to find something that could float and carry people.

Lin Dusheng’s eyes lit up as he saw a classroom desk drifting toward them from a distance. As the water rose to within half a meter of the roof’s edge, Lin Dusheng reached out and snagged it. School desks were double-seated; when flipped over, they functioned as a natural small boat.

Now that they had a vessel, a new problem arose. When a sixth person tried to stand on the floating desk, there was no more room. The desk wobbled and let out a dangerous crack.

Everyone turned to look at the overweight boy who had just tried to board. Their gazes were filled with fear, suspicion, and resentment. The boy retracted his foot and stepped back onto the rooftop.

The only ones left on the roof were males, including Lu Xincheng and three others.

“We can fit one more person if they are light,” Lin Dusheng said, scanning the group. His eyes eventually settled on Lu Xincheng. “Mr. Lu, you are quite thin. Why don’t you come aboard?”

Lu Xincheng looked at Wen Yaozhi beside him. In the ninth grade, Wen Yaozhi was lean and had not yet hit his final growth spurt. He stood at about 1.7 meters and clearly weighed less than Lu Xincheng. Yet, Lin Dusheng had not prioritized the student.

Wen Yaozhi showed no sign of objection, turning his head as if lost in thought.

Lu Xincheng politely declined the offer with a smile. He gently pushed Wen Yaozhi’s back. “Student, you go.”

He felt Wen Yaozhi’s spine go rigid. The boy did not move; he clearly had no intention of boarding that foolish boat.

The young intern seemed like a total “sweet-and-clueless” type, failing to understand the boy’s silent refusal as he persisted in trying to push him toward the boat.

Lin Dusheng’s face had already begun to fall when Lu Xincheng rejected him. Seeing Lu Xincheng try to push Wen Yaozhi onto the boat instead, his expression turned dark.

“It is not necessary, Mr. Lu,” Wen Yaozhi finally said, breaking his silence.

Lu Xincheng looked at him in surprise. “But the rooftop will be submerged soon. If you stay here, you will die.”

His gaze was clear and sincere, causing a strange stir in Wen Yaozhi’s heart. These words acted like a switch, shifting everyone’s mindset. Those on the boat felt as though they had received a pardon from death, while those left on the roof felt abandoned.

Zhang Chao, the boy who had been forced off the boat, finally broke down. Realizing that no matter who got the last spot, it would not be him, he collapsed to his knees in front of Lu Xincheng. “Teacher, save me! I haven’t even had my sixteenth birthday yet. I am still young. I don’t want to die!”

He bumped his head against the ground toward Lu Xincheng and then toward Lin Dusheng. “Mr. Lin, let me on the boat, I beg you! I really cannot die!”

Lin Dusheng wore a mask of hypocritical regret. “Zhang Chao, if you get on the boat, two female students will have to get off. As a teacher, I have a responsibility to protect the majority.”

“Then you get off the boat and let me on, okay?” Zhang Chao stared intensely at Lin Dusheng, his eyes full of a desperate longing for life. Lin Dusheng was the only other male on the boat and was closest to him in weight. If Lin Dusheng was willing to switch…

Lin Dusheng’s expression shifted several times. Finally, he said coldly, “Listen to your teacher and stay here quietly. I will go find help and find a way to save you.”

As he spoke, Lin Dusheng began to untie the makeshift rope made of school uniforms.

“But it will be too late! There is no time!” Zhang Chao’s eyes were bloodshot. He lunged forward, seemingly trying to grab the boat.

Unfortunately, his body was too heavy. He traced a short arc through the air and, amid the screams of the girls, splashed heavily into the water. Without even a trace of a struggle, he was swallowed by the dark undercurrents and vanished.

The girls on the boat gasped. “Mr. Lin, Zhang Chao…” one whispered.

“We cannot save him,” Lin Dusheng replied without looking back, staring resolutely ahead. The small boat did not pause in the turbulent water and quickly drifted away.

On the storm-swept rooftop, Lu Xincheng stared at the defiant middle schooler. “Why didn’t you go? Do you want to die that badly?”

It was obvious that Wen Yaozhi felt no goodwill toward this school. At this stage in his life, due to various hardships, he did not even have the will to survive. This likely gave the evil spirits an opening.

Lu Xincheng silently observed the cold youth. The eyes beneath his black hair were as chilly as the night, but he was not truly indifferent to life. He had, after all, just saved a small black cat.

This disaster was likely not Wen Yaozhi’s original dream. If that were the case, they were facing the worst-case scenario: the evil entity chasing Du Ye had entered the dream world.

Wen Yaozhi did not answer Lu Xincheng’s question. Instead, he threw it back at him. “And you? Why didn’t you leave?”

Lu Xincheng pursed his lips. He certainly could not say, “I am only here for you, so I’m not going anywhere.”

“Protecting students is a teacher’s duty,” the gray-haired youth replied. His features were exquisite, and his smile was as bright and clear as the first ray of summer morning sun.

The corner of Wen Yaozhi’s mouth seemed to twitch slightly.

“Furthermore,” Lu Xincheng’s smile vanished, replaced by a serious expression, “I am afraid, what is happening here is not a simple natural disaster.”

A flash of surprise crossed Wen Yaozhi’s eyes.

“I can feel something out there,” Lu Xincheng said, his eyes sharpening as he gazed at the flood ravaging the campus.

As Wen Yaozhi watched Lu Xincheng’s back, he opened his mouth to speak but sensed something first. He turned his head and saw a bloated figure appear on the rooftop.

Wen Yaozhi froze.

Zhang Chao’s clothes were completely dry, with no sign of having been in the water. The boy looked startled to see people standing there, then turned to look back at the empty expanse of water.

“They already left?”

No one answered him. Zhang Chao did not notice the strange looks in the others’ eyes. Overwhelmed by grief, he collapsed to the ground. He began to cry hysterically, and amidst his sobbing, he started angrily pinching his own flesh. “It’s all your fault! If only you ate fewer burgers and drank less soda! If only you ran more!”

“If you weren’t so fat, you wouldn’t have been left behind!”

Lu Xincheng watched silently as the aura around the boy’s soul began to destabilize. Anger mixed with sorrow, and the fluctuating emotions caused the new ghost’s power to surge. If this continued, he might go berserk without even realizing it.

Lu Xincheng glanced at Wen Yaozhi. The boy was already reaching for the weapon he carried.

Zhang Chao, sensing no danger and lost in his own world, continued to pinch himself mercilessly, leaving his skin bruised and purple. His eyes grew increasingly fierce, and his movements became more violent. The aura around him surged—a clear sign of a vengeful spirit about to go berserk.

A berserk soul’s power would spike infinitely and cause it to attack indiscriminately, creating an extremely dangerous situation.

Just then, a hand landed on the boy’s stout shoulder. Zhang Chao stiffened. The gas surrounding him was suddenly extracted like silk threads, quickly spiraling into the ring on Lu Xincheng’s left hand.

Simultaneously, Zhang Chao was slapped across the face. It wasn’t heavy, but it was enough to daze him.

“Have you ever heard of victim-blaming?”

Zhang Chao held his face and looked at the person who had struck him.

“Do you know why I hit you?” the gray-haired youth asked, his gaze sharp. His features were refined, and when he wasn’t smiling, he possessed a cold, aloof aura. People often overlooked this because he was almost always smiling.

Zhang Chao stood dazed for a long time. He racked his brain before stammering, “Because… because I made it so you couldn’t get on the boat either, Teacher?”

Lu Xincheng glanced at Wen Yaozhi, who had stopped his movements.

Zhang Chao was quick to read the room. “…And Student Wen, because I am a burden to you both.”

Wen Yaozhi: …

Lu Xincheng sighed, looking somewhat helpless. “Just because I hit you, why does it have to be your fault?”

Zhang Chao was stunned. After a long silence, he asked slowly, “I’m not at fault?”

“Correct. Likewise, it wasn’t your fault that you couldn’t get on the boat.” Lu Xincheng stared at Zhang Chao, watching his reaction.

The boy quietly processed this. His emotions began to settle. Seeing that Wen Yaozhi no longer intended to attack, Lu Xincheng felt relieved. After a moment, Zhang Chao ran to Lu Xincheng’s side.

“Thank you, Mr. Lu. I understand now.”

Lu Xincheng looked down with a satisfied expression. “It is good that you understand.”

Beside him, Wen Yaozhi’s voice rang out. “Something is wrong. The water is rising again.”

Wen Yaozhi narrowed his eyes at the dark water. Vague shadows lurked beneath the surface—things ordinary people could not see. But Wen Yaozhi’s eyes were different; he could see them.

Wen Yaozhi looked at Zhang Chao. “Come here for a second.”

Zhang Chao pointed at himself, looking confused. Though they were classmates, they had never spoken in three years. He had always thought Wen Yaozhi was strange and unapproachable, and for some reason, he now felt a spark of fear toward him.

Lu Xincheng gave him an encouraging nod and a warm smile. Only then did Zhang Chao gather the courage to approach Wen Yaozhi, though he kept a safe distance of one meter.

“Do you see anything?”

Zhang Chao looked in the direction Wen Yaozhi was pointing. “There are people under the water  so many people!” Zhang Chao cried out in terror, stumbling back and falling to the ground.

At that moment, a small boat slowly drifted through the darkness toward them.

“Someone is coming,” Lu Xincheng said softly.

Wen Yaozhi squinted his eyes, staring at the churning, dark water.

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