Chapter 356

Chapter 356

Anyone else who saw a hearse might merely consider it unlucky.

I was different. I treated everything suspicious as a possible omen.

And between getting into the car and getting out, we had seen two hearses in succession.

I didn’t believe that was a coincidence.

A hearse represented death. At the very least, this was a bad omen.

What I didn’t understand was why Liang Yi’s disappearance would bring good or bad fortune upon us.

Song Xiaotian looked exasperated. “Stop acting like everything is supernatural. Tons of people saw those hearses on the road. They can’t all be facing a bad omen. Believing every little sign isn’t necessarily a good thing.”

I nodded and said no more.

Maybe it really was just a coincidence.

We entered the university. Walking through a campus again after so many years and watching the students come and go made me think of my younger self. I couldn’t help feeling nostalgic.

The happiest years of the first half of my life had been my college years.

I had done absolutely nothing back then. Every day, Meng Yifan and I went to internet cafes to play games, or else we ate, drank, and screwed around.

It hadn’t even been that many years, yet it felt like another lifetime.

We wandered around campus and eventually reached the confession wall.

One-third of it was covered in posts looking for friends, and two-thirds in romantic confessions. Only one corner had notices for lost property, along with information about the latest campus beauty contest.

Brother Liu had told us that both Liang Yi and An Yutong were known as campus beauties. Originally, the title was only honorary, a way for college students to appreciate beauty.

But everyone had different tastes. One person might think a girl was beautiful while someone else didn’t.

That was why many universities had started holding more formal campus beauty contests in recent years.

Students voted, and the girl with the most votes became the beauty everyone officially recognized.

“But what’s the point of this crap?” Song Xiaotian couldn’t understand it. “You go to college to study or have fun. Does being pretty get you into graduate school?”

I laughed. “Everyone’s vain. A campus beauty is basically a celebrity at her university. Everyone knows her. If your school held a contest for the most handsome guy and you won, wouldn’t you be happy?”

Song Xiaotian paused, probably imagining it.

Soon, a sleazy grin spread across his face.

The confession wall listed the campus website. I took out my phone and opened it.

The campus beauty poll was right on the home page.

Unsurprisingly, the top two candidates were Liang Yi and An Yutong.

What surprised us was that Liang Yi wasn’t merely ahead of An Yutong. She had more than eighty additional votes.

Voting would close in a few days. If An Yutong couldn’t close the gap by then, Liang Yi would become the undisputed campus beauty.

I found that strange.

Objectively speaking, Liang Yi was unquestionably gorgeous, but An Yutong was every bit her equal overall. When it came to poise, An Yutong was clearly superior.

If I had to vote objectively, I would definitely choose An Yutong.

I asked Song Xiaotian who he would vote for.

“Neither,” he declared solemnly. “I already have a girlfriend. Voting in something like this would make me look like a creep.”

I glanced at him. “I just think their vote totals are strange. I’m asking you to judge objectively who’s prettier, not which one you want to date. Why are you putting on an act?”
Song Xiaotian studied the two photographs on the voting page. “I’d vote for An Yutong. Objectively speaking, she really does carry herself more like a campus beauty.”

Then I asked Anning.

Her choice was different from ours. She voted for Liang Yi.

When I asked why, she couldn’t explain. She simply thought Liang Yi was prettier and looked more innocent than An Yutong.

Just then, two handsome male students in trendy clothes approached us. They looked like they came from well-off families.

Their eyes remained fixed on Anning, their expressions a mix of amazement and confusion.

“Hey, what department are you in?”

“How come you’re not in the campus beauty contest?”

“Why didn’t you enter?”

They had obviously been drawn in by Anning’s looks and mistaken her for a student.

Anning wasn’t stupid. She knew perfectly well that they were calling her beautiful.

She straightened her chest and politely replied, “Thank you, but I don’t attend this university.”

“Are you a teacher?” The two young men grew curious. “We have a teacher this pretty…?”

Anning couldn’t hide her smugness. “Thank you, but I’m not a teacher here either. I’m just passing through.”

“Huh?”

I took advantage of the opening. “Have you two voted?”

“Of course,” one of them said. “We voted for An Yutong. She’s in our class.”

I smiled. “Did you only choose her because she’s your classmate?”

He shook his head. “No. It’s a campus beauty contest, so obviously you vote for the prettiest girl with the best presence.”

The other student agreed. “Liang Yi is really pretty too, but she doesn’t have the same poise. An Yutong’s family is rich, so of course she’s more refined. Besides, Liang Yi’s a total bookworm. All she does is study, and she doesn’t even wear makeup. How can she compare with An Yutong? I think there must be something fishy about her votes.”

The two students had originally come over to flirt with Anning, but when she remained aloof, they stopped wasting their time and headed to the basketball court with their ball.

“Could An Yutong have killed Liang Yi because Liang Yi had more votes and she couldn’t stand losing?” Anning asked.

Song Xiaotian teased her. “Anning, just because you both have the surname An doesn’t mean you have to be prejudiced against her. It’s only a campus beauty contest. That’s a ridiculous reason to kill someone.”

Anning hastily protested. “It isn’t ridiculous. Women can be extremely jealous.”

“Are you talking about yourself?” Song Xiaotian asked.

Anning rolled her eyes and ignored him.

“It’s possible,” I said. “People have killed for every reason imaginable. But it doesn’t explain why Liang Yi went to see An Yutong. She was crushing her in the vote. If the two had never interacted, why would she go looking for An Yutong?”

More importantly, the hexagram I had cast showed that Liang Yi was still alive.

Anning and Song Xiaotian might not believe it, but I trusted myself completely. I wasn’t a particularly great diviner yet, but anything I successfully interpreted would not be wrong.

Even I couldn’t figure out where Liang Yi could have gone if she wasn’t dead.