Chapter 176: The Enigmatic Teacher Ma and a Familiar Resonance

Mo Qingyan was asked if she would inform Teacher Ma. She said she would, but I didn’t believe Teacher Ma would restrain himself. From her words, it could be inferred that Teacher Ma was also connected to the Department of Supernatural Occurrences.

Our school only had one teacher named Ma, and he had transferred in two years prior, arriving at Jianlong Middle School around the same time as me. He was a Chinese language teacher, but he had never taught me, so I was completely unfamiliar with him.

Naturally, since he hadn’t taught me, he also hadn’t taught the three classmates who were once in my class. They all pondered for a moment, then almost simultaneously shook their heads.

“We don’t know him well; at most, we’ve only seen him.”

“I’ve seen him when I went to the office, though. How should I put it? He felt arrogant and boorish, not at all like a teacher. And, well, his gaze felt rather lecherous when he looked at me,” Qu Yinqiu commented.

“That sounds about right. I heard his reputation among other students isn’t great, but strangely, he somehow became the homeroom teacher for Class B. Apparently, the students in his class really like him, especially the girls,” Meng Fei added.

‘He doesn’t seem like a teacher, has a terrible reputation among other students, but is extremely popular within his own class, and even the reason for him becoming a homeroom teacher is unclear.’

Even if I hadn’t been forewarned by Mo Qingyan that he was problematic, I would still find this Teacher Ma highly suspicious. Even if I didn’t reveal his issues to Yi Zhiqiu, I felt it was only a matter of time before I’d learn about them from others.

“Oh, right, I also heard that some other students saw first-year girls following him outside school after dismissal,” Bo Yan interjected.

“Huh? Are you saying he took girls out of school? Even if it was after dismissal, surely the school prohibits that?” I asked, feeling bewildered. Even if a gatekeeper saw it, they would surely report it to the school.

“I’m not entirely sure, because I only heard it from other classmates. They supposedly saw them on a street a certain distance from the school. Perhaps it was just a home visit,” Bo Yan speculated.

They didn’t have much more information. It seemed I would have to investigate Teacher Ma myself.

As we were discussing Teacher Ma, a sudden thought struck me. I turned my head to see a girl walking towards us. Qu Yinqiu happily waved and called out, “Qianyue, finished your piano lesson?”

Lin Qianyue, who used to be in Class C with us, was a charming girl gifted in many talents. She was popular among both boys and girls. I had just seen her name on the file Mo Qingyan had, and she was very close with Qu Yinqiu, having grown up together as best friends.

The reason I turned, however, was because the two Gu worms on me suddenly became restless. I also felt a similar resonance within Lin Qianyue.

“Ah, Yinqiu, Meng Fei, and Bo Yan, I haven’t practiced yet. I’m just about to head to the piano room,” Lin Qianyue said, stopping and smiling at them.

“Then we won’t keep you. Good luck! I’m really looking forward to your performance during tomorrow’s grade-wide music class,” Qu Yinqiu said.

“Oh, right.” I paused, then remembered the event. Our school dedicates three days each month to grade-wide activities, where all students gather for an art class, a music class, and a physical education class, all held during the afternoon activity period.

These are called ‘grade activity classes’. It’s said that this is mainly to foster relationships among students across the grade and to optimize educational resources. For instance, PE classes might involve inter-class ball games, art classes might feature appreciation of art students’ works, and music classes would take place in the music room, allowing music students to perform for the entire grade.

Lin Qianyue was the most outstanding piano student in the second year, rumored to have studied piano since childhood. I had heard her play before, both at class parties and during grade-wide music classes.

Of course, many students performed during the grade-wide music classes. There were violinists, flutists, pipa players, and even suona players. Sometimes, students from the wind instrument club would form a band to show off their skills, and naturally, the music teacher was the main performer.

Tomorrow was the grade-wide music class, and it was Lin Qianyue’s turn to perform again. However, the resonant information emanating from her filled me with a sense of unease.

“Yes, I’ve been preparing for a long time. Xia Yubing will also come to watch my performance tomorrow, won’t she? I’m really looking forward to it,” Lin Qianyue suddenly turned to me and asked.

“Eh? Qianyue, you know the campus belle too?” Qu Yinqiu asked, somewhat surprised. She and Lin Qianyue were like sisters, and she had never heard of her having any interaction with the campus belle.

“Uh, I’ve only heard Qianyue’s performance; it’s very good,” I said with a dry chuckle, my unease growing.

“That’s right, we haven’t spoken before. It’s truly my honor to have my name remembered by the campus belle,” Lin Qianyue said with a smile. She then leaned close to my ear and whispered, “Sister Mo is looking for you.”

“Eh?!” I stared at her in shock. There was no mistaking it; that tone was definitely Bai Yue’s. The resonance just now came from her Gu worm, and my Golden Bee Gu and Iron Thread Gu felt subtly suppressed.

That she could achieve this meant the Gu worm on Lin Qianyue was of a higher caliber than my two Gu worms. It was possible then—a sixth-grade Gu worm. Bai Yue only possessed one of those: her life-bound Gu worm, the Soul-Snatching Bee.

‘Bai Yue used a Gu worm to control Lin Qianyue. What exactly does she intend to do? Or rather, what does Mo Qingyan want Bai Yue to do?’

“I understand. I look forward to your performance.” That was all I could say. But ‘I understand’ meant I knew Mo Qingyan was looking for me; the others hadn’t heard her whisper.

“Alright, then I’m off to practice piano. Goodbye, everyone,” Lin Qianyue said, turning and walking away.

“Strange, I feel like something’s not quite right with Qianyue. Did she used to talk like that?” Qu Yinqiu wondered, resting her chin on her hand.

“Isn’t that just how she is? Perhaps she’s a little nervous for tomorrow’s performance?” Meng Fei suggested.

“Speaking of which, I think I heard music students say that sometimes piano sounds would come from the music room. They’d think someone was practicing, but when they opened the music room, they’d find no one there,” Bo Yan recalled a rumor.

“That’s just a rumor, isn’t it? It’s probably just a piano recording left on, or an automatic playing piano. New pianos all have that function,” Meng Fei replied.

“Um, I have some other things to attend to. You all chat slowly; I’ll be going now. Goodbye.” I excused myself, and after exchanging goodbyes, we parted ways.

I headed towards the Department of Supernatural Occurrences. To my great surprise, the main consultant stationed there today was Xiao Qing, with Bai Shi assisting her.

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