MTLNOVEL Chapter 9: OUTSIDERS.
It was late at night when Hua Rong awoke, her throat dry and uncomfortable. The faint glow from the hallway cast long, shifting shadows on the walls, giving the room an eerie stillness. She sat up slowly, glancing at the other bed in the dorm. Xu Lingwei was fast asleep, his breathing steady and undisturbed.
Careful not to wake him, she got up and grabbed the water bottle beside her bed—only to find it empty. She sighed, moving with deliberate steps to avoid making noise as she slipped out of the room.
The hallway was unsettlingly quiet, the kind of silence that made even the softest footsteps sound deafening. After refilling her bottle, she hesitated before returning. Instead, her feet carried her toward the glass bridge—a suspended walkway with transparent walls connecting the three buildings.
The air felt cool against her skin as she stepped onto the bridge, her fingers grazing the glass railing. The dark sky stretched endlessly above her, speckled with faint stars. There was something oddly peaceful about the stillness of the night.
But then—movement.
Outside, a group of people in suits was walking toward the right-wing building. She frowned. Why would there be outsiders here? Isn't this place restricted to students?
She was so focused on observing them that she didn't notice someone approaching from behind.
"What are you looking at?"
A hand clamped over her mouth before she could scream.
Her entire body tensed. Shit.
Heart pounding, she turned sharply—only to find Xu Lingwei standing dangerously close, his face inches from hers. His grip was firm but not forceful, his maroon eyes staring straight into hers.
"Don't scream," he murmured.
Hua Rong scowled, jerking his hand away. "What the hell are you doing here?" she hissed, taking a step back to regain her space.
Xu Lingwei, dressed in a loose T-shirt and sweatpants, shifted his gaze away. "You didn't come back. I came to check on you." His voice was casual, as if following her was no big deal.
She crossed her arms.
But before she could respond, his eyes flickered to where she had been looking. He followed her gaze—toward the group of suited figures slipping into the building.
His expression darkened. "Want to follow them?"
Hua Rong glanced at him, then back at the building. Was that even a question?
Without another word, they moved silently across the bridge, their footsteps light against the polished floor.
To avoid suspicion, they split up—Xu Lingwei took the third floor while Hua Rong searched the second. The corridors were dimly lit, the silence making each creak of the floorboards feel unnaturally loud.
She checked every hallway and peeked into several rooms, but there was no sign of them. Where did they go?
With nothing else to check, she descended to the first floor.
And that's when she saw them.
Two men and a woman stood near an open suitcase. The soft glow of the emergency lights illuminated their figures, casting long, distorted shadows on the walls. Hua Rong pressed herself against the wall, watching them carefully.
Who are they? What's in that suitcase?
"You recognize them?"
Hua Rong bit down on a gasp. She really needed to get used to Xu Lingwei's habit of sneaking up on her.
"How the hell would I know?" she whispered back, her eyes never leaving the scene in front of her.
"I thought you might," he muttered.
She turned to glare at him. "Do I look like some omniscient being to you?"
Before he could respond, one of the men turned sharply in their direction.
"Who's there?"
Shit.
They barely had time to retreat before one of the men spotted them.
"Students?" he asked, his sharp gaze locking onto them. His voice was deep and controlled, but there was an unmistakable note of suspicion. "What are you two doing here?"
Hua Rong squared her shoulders, keeping her expression neutral. Stay calm.
"That's our question," she said smoothly, crossing her arms. "Who are you? We've never seen you around before."
"Yeah, who are you?" Xu Lingwei echoed, mimicking her stance.
She shot him a glare. Was he seriously imitating me right now?
The woman, who had been standing slightly apart, let out a soft chuckle.
"We don't need to explain who we are," she said, stepping forward. There was something unsettling about the way she carried herself—composed, confident, like someone used to control. "But just so you know, we're part of the authorities here on official business."
Hua Rong's gaze flickered to the open suitcase. Authorities? What kind of 'official business' requires a suitcase in the middle of the night?
"How do we know you're telling the truth?" she asked, her tone sharp.
The woman smirked. "I don't need to prove anything to you," she said smoothly. "But if I were to report that two students were sneaking around past curfew…" She let the words sink in before continuing, "You'd be the ones losing points."
Hua Rong clenched her jaw. Shit. She's right.
She exchanged a glance with Xu Lingwei, who merely shrugged, as if to say, Let's not push it.
"Fine," Hua Rong muttered, grabbing Xu Lingwei's wrist. "We're leaving.
One of the men approached the woman with a relieved expression. "Oh, thanks! You saved us."
The woman, however, didn't acknowledge him. Instead, she cast a sharp glare in Hua Rong and Xu Lingwei's direction as she turned away.
"It's always better to have more information when dealing with situations like these," she murmured, her gaze dropping briefly to the open suitcase before walking away.
...
It was lunchtime, and Hua Rong walked toward her table with her tray in hand when she noticed a commotion at a nearby table.
Zhou Yifan and two other boys had surrounded Xu Wenhan, their postures tense.
"Xu Wenhan, you can't keep up this attitude any longer," Zhou Yifan said, his voice firm.
"I don't care," Xu Wenhan replied nonchalantly, stabbing at his food with his chopsticks.
"You should care. Because of you, our class points are dropping. You have only 58 points—the lowest in the entire class," Zhou Yifan snapped.
Points? At that moment, Hua Rong suddenly remembered that she still hadn't recovered the points she lost. Hopefully, no one would notice…
"And let's not forget whose 6,000 points suddenly vanished," Zhou Yifan added, his gaze shifting slightly.
Hua Rong froze mid-step. Oh no. She quickened her pace toward her table, pretending not to hear.
"Hua Rong!" Zhou Yifan called out.
Why? Why now? She forced a smile and turned to look at him.
"Did your points increase?" he asked, his expression unreadable.
The answer was obvious.
"No! But they will," she said quickly, hurrying to her seat before he could ask more questions.
As soon as she sat down, Lin Zeyan slid into the seat across from her, setting his tray down.
"Come to the gym with me later," he said casually.
Hua Rong, still chewing on a mouthful of rice, tilted her head at him, clearly asking, Why?
"I have a match with someone," he explained, taking a sip of his drink. "And I need someone to tag along with me."
She swallowed her rice and raised a brow. "Why not ask someone else?"
Lin Zeyan leaned back in his chair. "I'm not that great at it. I don't want to embarrass myself in front of others."
Hua Rong smirked. "Oh? So you think I won't make fun of you?"
Lin Zeyan met her gaze, his lips twitching up slightly. "Will you?".