Both of Lin Mao’s parents have high nose bridges, double eyelids, and good facial features, but he has not inherited any of his parents’ merits. When he was a child, one of his parents joked that he was picked up from a vegetable field or a ditch, and he believed it, and was sad for a long time.

Because he is the worst in the whole family.

Gradually growing up, Lin Mao knew that he was still a bit like his father, but the good genes hadn’t been passed on to him. There were many people with similar situations, and he was not the only one who was so tragic.

Lin Mao’s eyebrows are thick and short and very bushy as well. He has single eyelids, and his eyes are small, with a thin line. There is a bit of craftiness between the eyebrows and eyes. At first glance, it will make people feel like putting their guards up.

But in the several paintings on the ground, the man’s face has shaved eyebrows, double eyelids, the shape of the eyes is long, the arc of the end of the eyes goes down, there is a mole in the eyebrow on the right, and the eyebrows are heroic. Appears honest and kind.

The studio was surrounded by a weird atmosphere. When Huang Dan and Shen Liang saw the painting they drew last night, their faces changed.

When sketching a human head, all of a person’s characteristics are displayed in the eyebrows and eyes. If this area is changed, they will be two completely different people.

That’s not Lin Mao’s face.

Huang Dan made a swallowing movement, the taste of soy milk still in his mouth, he knelt down and took his drawing board, touched the altered face with his fingers, and felt the touch on it with his fingertips.

It is the line of the pencil row, and it must be stained with a lot of pencil dust.

Huang Dan tried to imagine the situation when that person was painting, but found that he couldn’t do it, as if he was blocked by something.

In fact, he wants to complete the task, and it would be better if this kind of thing continues to happen.

Only in this way can he find more clues and get closer to the target hiding in the dark.

These days, after Xia Wei became a model for the last time and her face disappeared, the studio was calm. Huang Dan was painting as usual, but he was very anxious in his heart. He couldn’t wait for strange things to happen, but he didn’t expect it to happen this morning.

The target is Lin Mao.

This result was expected by Huang Dan.

Xia Wei, Lin Mao, and Shen Liang are classmates. All are from a poor county. One died because she killed herself. Before she died, she had no face when she was a model. One has been a model twice, once without a face, and once with a face not his own, and is still alive.

According to the order, Shen Liang is the fourth behind Lin Mao. Huang Dan wants to see if his face will still be there by then.

This kind of strange thing happened very targeted, without any cover up, it was a kind of unscrupulous declaration, the other party was saying “I can do whatever I want, no one can stop it”.

Huang Dan circled Shen Liang and Lin Mao, but this was temporary, until the mystery was finally solved, it was hard to say the answer.

Bang——

A drawing board was kicked out and turned over heavily. Lin Mao looked like he had eaten shit, and his eyes were about to pop out. He roared angrily, “Fuck, who the hell will told me, how did this happened?”

No one spoke.

Lin Mao seemed to be stepped on his tail by someone. He lost his mind and started to go crazy in the studio, kicking and stomping on the drawing boards on the floor.

Teacher Liu walked out of the studio to call Teacher Zhang. After finishing the call, he didn’t go back and went into the small workshop next to the studio.

Huang Dan raised his hand and knocked on the door to enter, “Teacher, who is in the painting?”

Teacher Liu sat deep inside the wooden chair, glanced at him through the messy paintings, “I don’t know.”

Huang Dan’s eyes opened slightly, and he quickly covered his expression, “Could it be the person in the studio? There is still a difference between the sketch of a human head and a real person, and they won’t be exactly the same.”

Teacher Liu said no, and his tone was firm, “If that person was in the studio, the teacher can tell.”

Huang Dan said, “That’s weird. The other party wiped off the face we drew a few times ago, but this time they didn’t wipe it off, but changed it to another face. Why did they do that?”

Teacher Liu rubbed the center of his eyebrows, and sighed, “Teacher is also very puzzled.”

He seemed to be falling into the memory of a certain period of time, and soon came out of it.

Huang Dan caught it, “Teacher, was the door of the studio locked last night?”

Teacher Liu said it was locked, “I locked it myself and checked it before I left. There must be no problem.”

Huang Dan stared at the man on the chair with inquiring eyes. He was a college teacher in his thirties. He was considered young. He was dressed in a different style. The weather turned cold, and he was still wearing a long gown and cloth shoes.

Today’s era is different from the past, pursuing fashionable and fresh things. It is impossible to buy handmade old cloth shoes. Only the older generation can do it. Huang Dan traveled to the countryside for the first time. This is the kind of cloth shoes he wore. The soles are not easy to hold. You need to use a large needle to poke them one by one. There are specific steps for making the uppers. You also need to paste newspapers and paste several layers.

Huang Dan thought that Teacher Liu has a skilled relative in his family, and he loves him very much.

Teacher Liu changed his sitting position, “Is there anything else?”

Huang Dan came back to his senses, and the inquiry in his eyes did not retract, “Teacher, do you want to call the police?”

Teacher Liu said no, “Teacher Zhang will come over later, let’s discuss it and see if we can free up the studio and put a bed in and take turns on duty, or just change the lock on the studio.”

Huang Dan understands, if the police are called and the matter spreads, it will not be good for the studio’s reputation, and it may not be able to open next year, and the two teachers will lose a considerable amount of income.

Teacher Liu sighed, “Okay, go and appease Lin Mao.”

Huang Dan walked out of the workshop in response. He didn’t go back to the studio immediately, but stood in the small yard, scanning everything around him. There were paints on the wall that nobody knew who got them, colorful ones, and dirty buckets piled up in the corner. The split paintbrushes and other items were left by the previous batch of students, and there were also a few dirty drawing boards.

Speaking of which, there are a batch of old drawing boards, paint boxes, palettes and other painting utensils in the studio. If the poor family can save a sum of money, they wouldn’t care how old or dirty things are, as long as they can make do with it.

Huang Dan stood in place, he looked at everything, studied everything, even if it was a small wild flower or a dead leaf in the corner, he still found nothing. He felt that he was always a headless fly, wandering around.

After hesitating for a while, Huang Dan asked in his heart, “Mr. Lu, I want to know whose face is that, can I exchange points for this information?”

System gave a reply after a ding, “No.”

Huang Dan asked again, “Then can you tell me, is there anything that can be exchanged for points?”

System, “Nothing else can be done if it involves the success or failure of the mission.”

Huang Dan pursed his lips, that face was most likely the key clue for his mission, and he had to find a way to find out the owner of the face.

At this moment, Lin Mao’s cursing came from the studio, which sounded harsh.

Huang Dan walked in quickly and saw that Lin Mao was losing it. He didn’t want others to see that his face had changed into someone else’s, so he tore off all the paintings and stood on them with two feet and trampled over the face. It was dirty and black, and no one knew where he found a matchbox, cut it open and threw it into the painting.

Among the paintings surrounded by flames was Huang Dan’s painting. His eyelids twitched, and a trace of remorse flashed in his eyes. When he left the studio just now, he should have taken the drawing board with him.

Huang Dan lowered his eyelids, remembering that face in his mind, he must find a chance to draw it as soon as possible.

Even if it can’t be fully replicated, something is probably better than nothing.

Lin Mao looked at the painting burnt to ashes, he laughed, got angry again, cursed and spoke harshly, and greeted all eight generations and the ancestors of the person behind the scenes.

Shen Liang’s painting was also burned. He neither dissuaded nor got angry. He sat on the wooden stool without saying a word, with his back to a group of still lifes, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Lin Mao rubbed his face fiercely, “How come everyone is fine, and fucking hell with it as soon as it come to me, fuck, who is playing LaoZi behind the back?”

Huang Dan approached, “Lin Mao, calm down.”

Lin Mao pushed him away vigorously, “How can I calm down? It’s nice to say, but this matter didn’t happen to you!”

Like Chen Shi, Lin Mao also did farm work since he was a child. He had calluses on his hands and was stronger than his peers. At that moment, he used all his strength, with anger that he had nowhere to vent.

Unprepared, Huang Dan was pushed backward by Lin Mao, and his back hit the corner of the easel. He hissed in pain and bent down.

Lin Mao was panting heavily, and panic appeared on his face. His temperament was cowardly and selfish, and it occupied a large position, so he subconsciously evaded responsibility, “It’s you who can’t stand firm, and it has nothing to do with me.”

Huang Dan’s painful lips trembled and he was speechless.

The easel fell to the ground and made a bang sound, which startled Shen Liang who was immersed in his thoughts. He raised his eyelids and looked at the crying boy squatting on the ground, and found that the clothes on his back were red and bleeding.

It seems that he saw it, but Shen Liang didn’t take any action, his expression was indifferent, and there was also an imperceptible gloating.

A meddling idiot, Shen Liang sneered in his heart.

When Zhou Jiaojiao came in, she saw the chaos in the studio. She stuffed the unfinished buns in her father’s hands, ran over and squatted down, and wanted to touch the youngster but dared not touch him. There was blood on his clothes and he was injured.

“Shuran, Shuran, how are you? Do you want to go to the hospital?”

Huang Dan also knew that his back was hurt, he was in so much pain now that his temples were twitching, “I’m fine.”

Zhou Jiaojiao said nervously, “But you lost a lot of blood.”

Huang Dan cried and said it was okay, the pain would be worse if he went to the hospital, it was like this in his impression, and the pain would last for a long time, so it’s better to bear it.

Zhou Jiaojiao’s eyes turned red, she turned her head and asked loudly, “Lin Mao, Shen Liang, did you guys hit Shuran?”

Lin Mao glared at Zhou Jiaojiao like a big rooster with its neck pinched.

Shen Liang still had the same posture, a “don’t look for me” repulsive look.

Zhou Jiaojiao bit her lip, her eyes shifted from Lin Mao to Shen Liang, and then back to Lin Mao, “Lin Mao, how Shuran treats you ordinarily. You don’t know at all that he is injured, you didn’t even look at it?”

Lin Mao’s tone was very aggressive, “None of your business.”

Zhou Jiaojiao was angry, she was about to lose her temper, but the person in front of her had already stood up and left.

Huang Dan cried as he walked out of the small courtyard, found a bench in the woods not far behind and sat down, with his back facing the intersection, weeping silently.

Zhou Jiaojiao was about to chase him, but she didn’t pay attention, and almost fell onto a group of still objects, but Father Zhou helped her up in time, “How old are you?, why are you still so clumsy when you do things?”

“No, Dad, Shuran was crying a lot, and his back was bleeding. I’m going to see him.”

Zhou Jiaojiao was worried, and tried to run outside as she spoke.

Father Zhou dragged his daughter back, “Don’t go, let him calm down.”

Zhou Jiaojiao didn’t understand, “Why? Now Shuran is alone, he will feel better if I go.”

Father said, “Student Zhang didn’t want people to see him cry, that’s why he went out, so don’t go to look for him at this time.”

Zhou Jiaojiao was suspicious, “Really?”

Father Zhou nodded, “Yes.”

Zhou Jiaojiao curled her lips, “Every time I cry, I hope that there will be someone by my side to talk with me.”

Father Zhou’s eyes darkened, and he stroked his daughter’s hair.

Zhou Jiaojiao searched in her pocket, but couldn’t find the candy. She remembered that the coat she was wearing was not the one she wore yesterday, and the candy was inside that coat.

“I don’t know if Shuran is any better……”

Muttering something, Zhou Jiaojiao turned her head to look, only to find that the drawing boards on the ground before she left last night were all thrown aside and turned upside down in a mess. She showed a surprised expression, “Who did it?”

Lin Mao turned his head guiltily, pretending not to hear, and secretly winking at Shen Liang.

Shen Liang crossed his arms and didn’t intend to respond.

Seeing that the two of them ignored her, Zhou Jiaojiao scratched her head angrily, and bent down to find her drawing board.

The drawing boards are all the same, and almost everyone in the studio will mark them. Zhou Jiaojiao is no exception. There is a pattern of a rabbit head in the lower left corner of her drawing board. It is a big one. She copied it herself, so it is easy to find.

Zhou Jiaojiao turned the drawing board over, and found that the painting on it was gone, and there were some ashes beside it, with a few pieces of unburned shredded paper sandwiched inside.

She also turned over the other drawing boards, and all the paintings were gone.

This one looks exactly man-made.

Father Zhou gave the steamed stuffed bun to his daughter, “Eat breakfast first, and we’ll talk about it later when the teacher comes.”

Zhou Jiaojiao said that she couldn’t eat any more, and she put her drawing board on the easel, then picked up Huang Dan’s board, “Really, there are so many things in the early morning, I regret coming here to draw.”

Father Zhou frowned, “Jiaojiao, you should focus on your studies now, don’t think about anything else, the exam is coming up in a few months, you have to hurry up and learn more from the teacher……”

Zhou Jiaojiao interrupted impatiently, “I know, I know.”

Seeing that neither Zhou Jiaojiao nor her father noticed that the teacher had arrived, Lin Mao heaved a sigh of relief.

Zhou Jiaojiao had been secretly keeping an eye on Lin Mao and Shen Liang, and when Lin Mao’s change appeared, she caught him, “Lin Mao, Is the sketch on the drawing board your fault?”

Lin Mao couldn’t hear the last word, he blurted out, “Fuck you!”

Zhou Jiao was trembling all over, if her father hadn’t stopped her, she would have rushed up and slapped Lin Mao, “Your mouth is so smelly, you went to the toilet this morning to eat shit!”

Lin Mao wanted to fight back, but Father Zhou spoke in front of him, with anger in his voice, “Student Lin, is this what your parents taught you?”

Pushing down the easel next to him, Lin Mao ran out with a dark face.

The atmosphere in the studio was awkward and stiff.

A sentence finally came out of Shen Liang’s mouth, “Shushu, Lin Mao didn’t mean it.”

Zhou’s father’s face was very ugly, “It’s alright, student Shen, don’t speak well of that kid, I know his character very well.”

Shen Liang frowned, “Really sorry.”

Father Zhou said, “It has nothing to do with you, you don’t need to apologize, student Shen, shushu will give you a suggestion, don’t get too close to that classmate of yours, it won’t do you any good.”

Shen Liang smiled gently, “Lin Mao will never do that again.”

Zhou Jiaojiao said coldly, “A person like him won’t have a future.”

Shen Liang glanced at her.

Zhou Jiaojiao also looked over, and said coldly, “What?”

Shen Liang didn’t say anything, he just took his drawing board from the ground, sat on the seat and spread the drawing paper, he didn’t pay attention when pressing the pins, and pricked his finger.

That prick actually didn’t hurt very much, but Shen Liang’s nerve endings trembled, he stared at the drop of blood on his finger, and put it in his mouth for a while to suck it.

Others came to the studio one after another. Last night, several people who participated in the sketching came to make a fuss about why the painting disappeared, who did it, and why the person was so wicked.

The lower graders joined in the fun, chattering about installing a camera, calling the police, and not going back and hiding in the studio at night to catch people on the spot, all talking nonsense.

It was quieter when the two teachers came.

Huang Dan cried for a long time in the woods, and returned to the residence with tears all the way to change his shirt. He asked Mr. Lu bought medicine, it didn’t hurt much, and the wound would heal soon.

The medicine was good, but expensive, and it cost him 5,000 points.

Huang Dan asked Mr. Lu to check the inventory in the fly cabinet for himself. The chrysanthemum spirit was less than 100, and there were a lot of other products such as anti-cracking. The biggest trouble was that the points were running out.

The last time that competition held was when he traveled to the shared house, and the last time he was in the small shop, not to mention the competition, there was no feedback activity mentioned by Mr. System.

Huang Dan washed off the tear stains on the face at the wash basin, wringing out a towel and covering the red and swollen eyes, “Mr. Lu, if there is an activity to give away the chrysanthemum spirit, please let me know, or you can sign up for me directly.”

System, “Chrysanthemum spirit?”

Huang Dan said, “That’s right, that’s it.”

System, “The side effects of that product are serious. After a long time of use, the body will develop a strong dependence on it. In severe cases, hallucinations will occur during use. Use with caution.”

Huang Dan said, “My physique is quite special, and my pain nerves are different from ordinary people. Without it, I would be killed by the person I like.”

System, “You can not do it.”

Huang Dan shook his head, “No, the person I like likes to do it.”

System, “Why bother to wrong yourself to fulfill others.”

Huang Dan said, “I haven’t finished speaking. Although I’m dying of pain, I like it to death.”

System, “So?”

Huang Dan said, “So I really need chrysanthemum spirits, the more the better, please help me pay attention to related activities or competitions.”

System, “That’s not within Lu’s scope of work.”

Huang Dan，“……”

He said seriously, “I will work hard to complete the task and strive for the best interests of Mr. Lu.”

System, “Lu always does a fair job. If it is a large-scale event or competition for all hosts, host Huang will know.”

Huang Dan, “Thank you.”

Collecting his thoughts, Huang Dan wanted to pour a glass of water to drink, but the water bottle was empty, so he picked the teapot and poured out half a glass and drank it in one gulp.

The stove was very hard to get started. Every time, Huang Dan and Lin Mao took a piece of coal with tongs and went to the second floor to find someone to change it. If there was no coal, they went to the first floor. If they still couldn’t get red-hot coal, they went to the alley to look for it. They couldn’t light it by themselves.

The water couldn’t be boiled right now, so Huang Dan decided to go to the small shop at the entrance of the alley to buy a bottle of mineral water. He opened the door and went out, and met Qi Fang who was leaning against the railing of the iron stairs.

Qi Fang twitched his nose, “You smell like blood.”

Huang Dan paused as he closed the door with his backhand. This person has such a keen sense of smell. That time when Xia Wei died in the room, the fishy smell was so strong that it was disgusting. The other party’s room was next to her, why didn’t he notice it?

He covered up his emotions, “I was hurt a little.”

Qi Fang took two steps forward, and asked with concern, “Are you okay? I see your eyes are red, have you been crying?”

Huang Dan said it was okay, “It’s all right.”

The two went downstairs together, walked around from the second floor to the first floor, opened the small iron door and went out.

Qi Fang put on a wild and rough appearance, bared his teeth, that smile gave a very sunny feeling to his appearance, “Zhang Shuran, do you have any misunderstanding about me?”

Huang Dan said, “There is no misunderstanding, I just simply don’t like you.”

Qi Fang，“……”

His face twitched, “Can I ask why? Could it be because of my long beard? It’s length unsuitable for your belief?”

“If this is the reason, the beard can be shaved off, although I will be very sad, after all, I have kept it for almost a year, and I have feelings.”

Huang Dan said, “It has nothing to do with your beard, I don’t like fortune-telling.”

Qi Fang laughed loudly when he heard the words, “I was just joking, I don’t know how to tell fortunes, really, I don’t know anything about that, it’s all made up.”

Huang Dan glanced at him, “You didn’t say that last time, you were dishonest.”

Looking at the boy’s back as he walked away, Qi Fang stroked his beard and grinned, “Dishonest? It’s a little bit.”

The next moment Qi Fang muttered, “Who isn’t……”

Huang Dan went back to the studio, everyone was painting. If it wasn’t for Lin Mao’s absence, he would have had the illusion that nothing had happened in the morning.

Zhou Jiaojiao leaned closer, “Is it better? The back part is very troublesome. My dad just accidentally fell once and injured his spine. Now he still feels very uncomfortable.”

“I am okay.”

When Huang Dan saw his drawing board on the easel, he knew it was done by Zhou Jiaojiao, so he said thank you.

Zhou Jiaojiao said, “Why are you being so polite to me? By the way, Shuran, have you seen the injury on your back? Is the wound big or not? I have a Band-Aid here, as well as that iodophor.”

She spoke quickly, and said with concern, “If you need it, I can ask my dad to go back and get it for you right now.”

Huang Dan said it had been dealt with.

Zhou Jiaojiao felt relieved, “Lin Mao injured you, and he also ruined the painting. I really don’t know what’s in his mind.”

Huang Dan said, “The teacher is here.”

Zhou Jiaojiao looked up at the door and saw that he was indeed here. She quickly returned to her seat, pretended to pick up a pencil, and continued to draw beer bottles.

It was not Teacher Liu, but Teacher Zhang. He walked around the studio twice and gave some pointers to the students.

Father Zhou warmly greeted Teacher Zhang.

Teacher Zhang was going to another student, but he turned around and went to Zhou Jiaojiao, and changed the perspective of the wine bottle for her, “Are you copying?”

Zhou Jiaojiao nodded seriously, “When I’m not sketching, I copy it in my room.”

Father Zhou didn’t help to set up the table, but even demolished it, “Jiaojiao, when did it happen? Why didn’t your dad, I see that?”

Zhou Jiaojiao wanted to vomit blood, she smiled and said, “Dad, you are old and have a bad memory.”

Father Zhou was too lazy to tell her off, so he chatted with Teacher Zhang.

Not long after Teacher Zhang left, Huang Dan went outside to go to the bathroom, and Shen Liang followed him, “Shuran, Lin Mao is in a bad mood, he didn’t mean it.”

Huang Dan stopped, he was a little surprised, he didn’t expect Shen Liang to apologize for Lin Mao.

Shen Liang patted him on the shoulder, “I don’t know where Lin Mao went. In the evening he returns, you also don’t mention to him about the morning matters, lest he go crazy again.”

Huang Dan spoke suddenly, tentatively, “Are you worried about yourself?”

Shen Liang asked instead, “Why should I worry about myself?”

Huang Dan said, “Xia Wei, Lin Mao, and you. You three are classmates and from the same place, and their faces are either gone or replaced. You are afraid that such weird things will happen to you too.”

The smile on Shen Liang’s face gradually disappeared, “Zhang Shuran, mind your own business.”

Huang Dan didn’t say anything, just looked at him.

Shen Liang felt uncomfortable being looked at, feeling as if his skin had been peeled off, exposing flesh and internal organs, “I now understand why Zhou Jiaojiao worshiped me at first, but now she’s on your side.”

Huang Dan asked with his eyes.

Shen Liang laughed hehehe, “Because you are fake like me.”

Huang Dan，“……”

Shen Liang smiled and said, “Yes, it’s this expression, keep it up, and enjoy the feeling of being held up by girls as idols.”

Huang Dan ignored his ambiguity, “If you need help, you can find me.”

Shen Liang slammed his fist on the cotton, which made him more angry, feeling like a clown, “Don’t put gold on your face, it won’t stick.”

Huang Dan didn’t care, he hoped that this person could bring him clues, the more the better.

“Anyway, it’s better to be careful.”

“There’s nothing to be careful about. Soldiers come to block the water and earth.”

Shen Liang said calmly, “Besides, who in this world will not die. You, me and other people in the studio will die. Instead of worrying about how to die, we should worry about how to live.”

Approval appeared in Huang Dan’s eyes, “You are right.”

Shen Liang was stunned, “I really don’t understand you.”

Huang Dan said, “Me too.”

Shen Liang shook his head, if it was someone else, he would have already quarreled with him right now, he suddenly felt bored, and left without saying another word.

In the afternoon, a few people came and fiddled with the courtyard door of the studio.

When everyone saw that the door lock had been changed, they all felt relieved, and within a few months, the single-entrance exam would start, and no one wanted anything bad to happen to them.

Lin Mao didn’t come back all night.

Huang Dan guessed that Lin Mao stayed in the Internet cafe all night, but he still didn’t see the person the next day. He was worried that something might happen to him, so he went to the Internet cafe near the Agricultural University to look for him, and found him in a third cabin of an Internet cafe.

Lin Mao didn’t sleep, his eyes were bloodshot, and when he saw Huang Dan, his mentality was numb, “Why are you here?”

Huang Dan said, “Come to find you.”

Lin Mao plucked at his messy hair, “Looking for me? Do you want to settle the score? Come on, let’s settle it.”

He sat on the chair carelessly, “What do you want to do? Push me too? There is no easel here, and the corner of the table is similar. Hurry up, don’t dawdle, get out after pushing, and don’t disturb me playing games.”

The network manager came over and told Lin Mao that he had no money, and asked him to top up the money.

Lin Mao’s face darkened.

Looking at him like that, Huang Dan knew that he didn’t even have a coin in his pocket.

Lin Mao was really penniless. He kicked a chair, walked out of the Internet cafe without making a sound, and squatted down on the side of the road.

Huang Dan walked away, and when he came back, he had a piece of bread and a bottle of water in his hand, and he handed them all over, “Eat something to fill your stomach first.”

Lin Mao probably wanted to make a fuss, but his stomach growled uncontrollably. He lowered his head and took the two things away.

Huang Dan heard Lin Mao’s voice, vaguely saying sorry.

After Lin Mao ate the bread, he was no longer half dead. He was still squatting on the ground, “Shuran, do you have anything to say?”

Huang Dan said, “Xia Wei killed herself.”

Lin Mao picked up a stone and played with it in his hand, “Yes, she killed herself, not others, but she is still dead, isn’t she?”

Huang Dan said, “The door lock of the studio has been changed, the sketches from last night are all fine.”

Lin Mao pouted, “Of course they’re fine.”

Huang Dan said, “I asked the teacher, and he said he didn’t know whose face was that. Do you know?”

“The teacher doesn’t know, how could I know?”

The corners of Lin Mao’s eyes were down, and Huang Dan couldn’t see what was in his eyes.

After a while, Lin Mao stood up from the ground, “Go back, I’ll take a look at your back, I’m so sorry.”

Huang Dan said it didn’t matter.

In the next few days, Lin Mao was a little nervous. He either followed Huang Dan or Shen Liang, and he would never stay alone.

Extremely insecure and uneasy at the same time, these two emotions spread across Lin Mao’s face, everyone in the studio could see it, no one was joking, they would not make trouble for themselves.

Zhou Jiaojiao said it a few times, and seeing that Lin Mao reacted very strongly, like a lunatic, she didn’t mention it again.

After more than half a month, nothing serious happened in the studio. Lin Mao found that he hadn’t encountered any strange things. Except that his painting was worse, there was no difference in other things. He resumed his usual lively life.

With Lin Mao around, Huang Dan and Shen Liang never had a violent conflict.

The balance is not broken.

The 15th of next month is the annual exam. It will be held in the city, and students from all the studios would come. This exam fulfill two purposes, one was to simulate next year’s exam to let the students get acquainted with the environment, and the other was to see the painting level of each studio.

Huang Dan, Lin Mao, and Shen Liang ate together at the same table. They cooked three dishes, and they said that each person had one dish, and each of them ate their own food.

Some people eat very fast, Lin Mao and Shen Liang are both that kind of people.

Huang Dan was a different kind of person. He chewed slowly when he ate. He originally had a plate of food for himself, but before he could eat much, Lin Mao stuck in his chopsticks.

Shen Liang didn’t do that, he hated Huang Dan’s fried dishes.

Lin Mao ate the last few slices of shiitake mushrooms on the plate, and then ate some green vegetables, “When the time comes, invite people from school, have a meal together, and go to the Internet cafe to play legends all night, it will definitely be enjoyable.”

Shen Liang said to play what all night, “It’s so boring to play with them, If you don’t get it right, maybe a fight can start in the Internet cafe.”

Huang Dan took a bite of the rice, poured the soup into a bowl and mixed it. On the day of the exam, he would see Chen Shi, and maybe he would be in the same exam room.

Xia Wei said that Chen Shi was good at sharpening pencils, like a work of art, he had never seen it before, and hoped to see it.

Shen Liang regarded Chen Shi as a strong enemy, and when he saw him, he couldn’t hide his jealousy.

Not only Xia Wei, Lin Mao also said that Chen Shi was very good at painting, Huang Dan was very curious about how good he was, and how much worse he was compared to the other party.

Huang Dan noticed two gazes, he raised his head, and saw that Lin Mao and Shen Liang had stopped communicating at some point, and they both looked at him with strange eyes, “What’s the matter?”

Lin Mao seemed to have discovered a new continent, “Shuran, you are smiling.”

Huang Dan said, “I’m happy.”

Lin Mao tutted, “I didn’t say, but, Shuran, you used to like to laugh. I farted in bed, and you could laugh for a whole day, but you haven’t laughed once in the recent period. I have approached Shen Liang more than once, thinking that you were replaced by someone.”

“Now you’re not only smiling, but you’re smiling so disgustingly, like a little wife who misses her husband.”

He seemed to be amused by his own words, shaking his shoulders and laughing, “Come on tell us, what’s the matter to be happy this much.”

Huang Dan said, “The city exam is coming soon.”

“……”

Lin Mao couldn’t believe it, “No way, people still like exams these days?”

Shen Liang said, “It seems that Shuran has a lot of confidence in this exam.”

Huang Dan said, “Not sure.”

This is the truth. When the housekeeper asked this question during the college entrance examination, Huang Dan answered with those three words.

However, he did very well, and Huang Dan’s score was higher than expected. When he was interviewed by the TV station, the host asked again, he still had those three words, and it was reported that he was modest.

In fact, Huang Dan is really not sure.

Shen Liang thought he was lying, so he chuckled twice, “I’m not sure about it either, let’s see how it plays on the spot.”

Lin Mao rubbed the goose bumps on his arms, “You two are the two best painters in the studio. Do you have to be so hypocritical in front of me? I almost spit out the two bowls of rice I just ate.”

Shen Liang wiped his mouth with tissue paper, opened the door and left without saying a word.

Lin Mao was puzzled, “What happened to him?”

Huang Dan continued to eat, “I don’t know.”

The day of the exam is getting closer and closer. Although it is not linked to the results of the college entrance examination, it should not be underestimated.

Huang Dan was going to the studio, he looked at the person on the bed, “Are you going this afternoon?”

Lin Mao couldn’t talk anymore, he was very sleepy, and his eyelids were glued together, “I’ll sleep for a while, and when I’ve got enough sleep, I’ll go to the Internet cafe to surf the Internet. I’ll go to the studio tomorrow.”

Huang Dan said, “There is no rice at home, and there is no food.”

Lin Mao’s voice was indistinct, “Then when you come back from the studio, go to the vegetable market to buy some.”

Huang Dan took two bills of twenty and put them in his pocket. He closed the door and found that he didn’t bring the key, so he knocked on the door and said to the inside, “Lin Mao, can you see if the stove is turned off?”

Lin Mao’s voice came from inside, “Off.”

Huang Dan still didn’t leave, “You open the window, otherwise the air inside will be bad.”

After he had reached the second floor, he went up again and asked Lin Mao to open the door for him.

Lin Mao was very impatient and didn’t go out from under the covers, “Damn it, what else do you want? Can’t you tell me all at once?”

Huang Dan said, “There is a stove in the room, if the room is not ventilated, it will……”

Lin Mao interrupted him, “I’ll be poisoned, right? You’ve said it eight hundred times, and I know it. You should go to the studio quickly, and stop talking nonsense.”

Huang Dan went downstairs.

He ran into Shen Liang downstairs and greeted him casually.

Shen Liang was about to go upstairs and passed by Huang Dan.

Huang Dan turned his head, “Aren’t you going to the studio?”

Shen Liang didn’t look back, he was already walking towards the stairs, “No.”

Huang Dan caught up with him, “Lin Mao didn’t go either.”

Shen Liang turned his head, “I’m going to copy the gouache in my room in the afternoon, not just sleep in.”

Huang Dan said, “That’s not what I meant. I want you to visit Lin Mao later. Sleeping for a long time is not good for his health.”

Shen Liang looked over like he was insane, “I don’t have that much time to spare.”

Huang Dan’s brows twitched, knowing that the other party had listened, he didn’t say more.

After going up to the third floor, Shen Liang stopped at the door of the room facing the stairs, he reached out and knocked on the door, “Lin Mao.”

There was a snoring sound from inside, he twitched his mouth, and ignored it lazily.

After an unknown amount of time, Lin Mao’s consciousness became drowsy. He heard a voice, very close, as if someone was lying on his pillow, put his mouth to his ear, and shouted “get up” and “get up” over and over again.

The voice was very anxious, even revealing a trace of concern, who wanted to wake him up?

Lin Mao slowly opened his eyes, and his consciousness became a little clearer. He found that he had difficulty breathing, his whole body was limp, and he couldn’t use any strength in his hands and feet. He was so uncomfortable that he was about to die.

What’s with the smell in the room? Isn’t the stove off? I’ve obviously checked it.

People have feelings when they are about to die, and Lin Mao feels that way now. He knows that he inhaled a large amount of carbon monoxide, and was poisoned unconsciously while falling asleep.

So uncomfortable.

If it wasn’t for the voice that woke him up, he might never have woken up.

Although Lin Mao’s brain became dull, he also knew that the voice saved him. His back just left the bed sheet two inches before he fell back again. It’s over, I can’t die here, I have to get out right away.

Yes, go out, as long as I go out, I’ll be fine.

Get out, I must get out!

Lin Mao struggled to get up, he took a few unsteady steps and then fell to the ground.

When Lin Mao reached the door, he stood up holding the door a little bit, opened the door, the outside air rushed into his nostrils, he felt better, and couldn’t help crying bitterly.

It’s okay, I won’t die, I won’t die.

At this moment, Huang Dan came back from the vegetable market, carrying bags in his left and right hands. He climbed to the second floor and saw Lin Mao lying on the railing, “What’s wrong with you?”

Lin Mao coughed uncomfortably, his weight was on the railing, he breathed with his mouth wide open, and said weakly, “Damn, I was poisoned by carbon monoxide, I almost died inside, if you didn’t call me……”

As soon as his voice stopped, he said blankly, “No, didn’t you just come back? Then who called me over and over again in my ear, telling me to get up quickly?”

“Let me tell you, if it wasn’t that voice that woke me up today. I was really going to be poisoned to death.”

Lin Mao’s face was full of rejoicing, and he whispered to himself, “Who was it…… who was calling me……”

Seeing that Lin Mao survived the catastrophe, Huang Dan couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief. Anyway, he didn’t die, and things could turn around.

But who was calling Lin Mao?

Could it be that Lin Mao had hallucinations?

Huang Dan quickly climbed up. When he looked up at Lin Mao again, the bag in his hand suddenly fell to the ground, and a strong uneasiness hit him.

Lin Mao’s eyes were wide open, and his one hand was pointing directly under his arm. He seemed to have seen something that shocked him. He tried hard to see that thing clearly, and gradually leaned out of the railing.

“Thud——”

Huang Dan rushed over, and didn’t even catch a piece of Lin Mao’s clothes or even a hair. He heard a sound from downstairs, which was the sound of Lin Mao falling down.

Someone shouted downstairs, and there was a lot of noise.

Lin Mao is dead.

Huang Dan stuck his head out of the railing, he looked at Lin Mao lying in the pool of blood, and Lin Mao was also looking at him.

At this moment, what Lin Mao said came to Huang Dan’s mind. He rushed into the room, almost gasping for breath from the pungent smell.

There was no one in the room.

The teapot on the stove had been burned dry, the stove was not turned off tightly, there was a small gap, and the window was also closed.

Without looking closely, Huang Dan backed away, then he looked down again. Lin Mao was still looking at him, his eyes staring straight.

Huang Dan’s breath was disordered, was that voice trying to save Lin Mao or harm him?