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The Strange Rules of the School

Xu Si stood at the entrance of her new school, gazing at the somewhat weathered gate. A mixture of anticipation and nervousness welled within her. Sunlight fell across her, outlining her slender figure. She drew a deep breath, then stepped onto the campus.

Just inside the gate, a conspicuous noticeboard caught her attention. In large, striking letters, it read:

“Welcome to our school. For your safety and the safety of others, as well as for the sake of a normal learning and living environment, you must observe the following rules.”

1. School hours are from eight in the morning until five in the afternoon. Do not remain on campus outside these hours. In special circumstances, you must report to the Academic Affairs Office.

2. The old library is currently under renovation. Entry is strictly forbidden. If you hear any sound coming from inside, do not respond. Leave immediately.

3. The black cat on campus is the school mascot. Do not drive it away or harm it. If the black cat meows three times in succession in front of you, follow its guidance. It will lead you somewhere safe.

4. The food in the school cafeteria is safe. However, if you find black grains of rice in your tray, do not eat them. Hand the tray to a member of staff, and they will take care of it.

5. The teachers’ offices are on the third floor of the teaching building. If a teacher asks you to come to the office alone after class, make absolutely certain that the teacher is wearing a white shirt. Otherwise, refuse to go.

6. During physical education class every Tuesday, if the PE teacher is wearing a red tracksuit, the class will be changed to free activity. Do not leave the sports field during that time.

Xu Si frowned, bewildered. She had never seen school rules so strange before. Still, there was a stubborn streak in her nature. She decided to wait and see what happened.

When Xu Si arrived at the classroom, her classmates were chatting animatedly. She found her seat and sat down. Her deskmate was a girl named Lin Yue, who greeted her warmly. Xu Si smiled and returned the greeting.

The first class was Chinese. The teacher wore a white shirt and lectured on the assigned text. Everything seemed perfectly normal. During the break, however, Xu Si overheard several students whispering about the old library.

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“I heard the old library is haunted. Strange noises come from it at night,” one student whispered.

“Yeah. I also heard that someone once sneaked inside and never came back out,” another added.

Listening to them, Xu Si felt a flicker of fear, but her curiosity was stirred as well.

At noon, Xu Si and Lin Yue went to the cafeteria together. While getting her food, Xu Si paid special attention to her tray. Only after confirming that there were no black grains of rice did she begin to eat with relief.

The afternoon classes ended without incident, and the students gradually left the school. Xu Si stayed behind a little longer to organize her schoolbag. By the time she left the classroom and reached the sports field, the sky had suddenly darkened. The clear blue heavens had somehow become shrouded in clouds.

Xu Si quickened her pace, eager to leave the school. Just then, she heard a faint meowing.

She turned and saw a black cat standing not far away, staring at her. It meowed three times in succession.

Xu Si remembered the school rules. After a brief hesitation, she decided to follow the cat.

The black cat led her around to the back of the teaching building and stopped before an abandoned warehouse. Its door stood half open, revealing pitch-black darkness within and releasing the stale scent of age.

Xu Si hesitated, wondering whether she should go inside. Suddenly, the black cat turned and ran away.

She felt somewhat frightened, but since she had already come this far, she decided to take a look. With great care, she pushed open the warehouse door.

The warehouse was filled with broken desks, chairs, and assorted debris. Dust hung thickly in the air. Xu Si searched the place from one end to the other but found nothing unusual.

Just as she was about to leave, a deep laugh suddenly rang out, seeming to come from every direction at once.

Xu Si’s face turned deathly pale with fright, and she spun around and ran. But when she reached the door, it suddenly slammed shut. No matter how hard she tried, she could not open it.

She pounded desperately on the door and cried for help, but the only answer was that eerie laughter.

Just as despair began to overtake her, Xu Si remembered the rule stating that the black cat would lead her to safety. Perhaps this place contained some clue.

Forcing down her fear, she searched the warehouse once more. At last, she discovered a hidden compartment in one corner.

Inside was a note. It read:

“Use your courage to shatter the darkness and find the exit.”

Xu Si did not understand what the words meant, but she knew she had to remain calm.

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She drew a deep breath and began searching the warehouse carefully for an exit. Finally, she discovered a concealed handle set into one wall.

She pulled it with all her strength. Slowly, the wall opened, revealing a passageway.

Xu Si ran through the passage and emerged onto the school sports field. By then, the sky had cleared, and sunlight bathed the ground. Everything appeared so peaceful.

She let out a breath of relief and hurried away from the school.

After returning home, Xu Si lay on her bed and thought over everything that had happened that day. Her mind was filled with questions.

She decided to visit the library the next day and look through some books, hoping to find clues about the school’s strange rules.

The following morning, Xu Si arrived at school early. After her first class, she went straight to the library. On one of the old shelves, she found a book about the history of the school.

According to the book, the school had once been the site of a bizarre disappearance.

Many years earlier, a student had conducted research in the old library, studying mysterious books in an attempt to uncover the secrets of supernatural phenomena. During one of his experiments, however, he accidentally summoned an evil entity.

That entity devoured his soul and went on to create a series of terrifying incidents throughout the school.

In order to seal the evil presence away, the school established a set of rules intended to restrict its movements.

As for the black cat, it was said to be the spirit guardian of the school. It could sense danger and guide students away from disaster.

After reading the records, Xu Si understood the gravity of the situation. She resolved to follow the school rules even more carefully, while also hoping to find a way to solve the problem once and for all.

Day after day, Xu Si lived cautiously within the school. Although she occasionally encountered strange events, she always managed to avert disaster by relying on the rules.

Then, one day, everything changed.

During Tuesday’s physical education class, the PE teacher appeared in a red tracksuit and announced that the lesson had been changed to free activity.

Xu Si and her classmates were playing on the sports field when a streak of black lightning suddenly tore across the sky. Immediately afterward, a violent tremor came from the direction of the old library.

The students were thrown into a panic by the sudden upheaval. Xu Si realized that the evil entity must have stirred once again.

Remembering that the black cat would appear whenever danger struck, she began searching everywhere for its shadow.

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