Horror Movie Set: This extra is too good at playing the tricks.

Chapter 22 The Evening Breeze, Three Years Late

Lu Dan didn't speak, but simply extended his hand.

His hand hung in mid-air, his fingertips stained with dust and dried blood, yet he remained as steady as a silent bridge.

He looked at Zhang Kai, who had been a boisterous and hot-blooded young man shouting and yelling, but now he was like a punctured balloon, his energy and spirit completely depleted.

Zhang Kai carefully handed over the crumpled, frizzy thing in his hand.

The two jagged sheets of paper were joined together perfectly in Lu Dan's hands, and even the crease that ran across the paper was finally connected into a complete scar.

In the dim, yellowish light of the flashlight, the neat handwriting seemed to come alive, silently crying out in this cold, desolate place:

"I return my warmth to the spring chill, my name to the wind; do not seek me. If the evening breeze stirs your eyelashes, or a snowflake falls gently into your palm, then it is I, in a different way, gazing upon you in long, silent contemplation." — Su Ke

There was no "I love you," nor "live on."

This is a final letter that uses poetry to embellish a peaceful and prosperous future, and it is also the stub of a one-way train ticket.

When the girl named Su Ke wrote these words, she was already prepared to crush herself into this man-eating building.

Looking at these lines, Lu Dan felt that the writing style was too pretentious, too literary, and didn't fit the efficient and frightening logic that horror films strive for.

But it is precisely this unnecessary affectation that, like a thorn, pierces the soft spot of this absurd script.

"Isn't that silly?"

Zhang Kai slid down against the wall, burying his head in his knees, his voice muffled as if it came from underground.

"This isn't a love letter at all. She's lying to me, trying to make me think that if she turned into the wind or the clouds, she wouldn't come to this godforsaken place to look for her."

The air seemed to freeze, save for the sound of dripping water coming from somewhere.

"It wasn't like this before..." Zhang Kai looked up, his face, which always wore a passionate smile, was now covered in tears. The tears washed away the oil on his face, leaving pale marks.

"Back in the old Chengde Middle School, even the wind was warm. Li Mu, Su Ke, and I grew up together in the compound. We made a promise to go to the same university and the same city. Su Ke said she wanted to study literature, I wanted to study sports, and Li Mu, that smart kid, said he wanted to be a scientist..."

The boy's ramblings echoed in the deathly silent corridor, constructing a utopia that had long since crumbled.

"But then everything changed."

Zhang Kai's eyes became vacant, as if he had returned to that afternoon when the nightmare began. "That smile was like a plague. It started with the students in the next class, then the teachers, and finally even the cafeteria ladies who served food all had that same smile on their faces—the corners of their mouths turned up at a 45-degree angle, but their eyes were staring at you lifelessly."

"Li Mu was the first to be infected." Zhang Kai hugged his shoulders, his body trembling violently. "He said he felt like someone was watching him all the time, even in the toilet stall, there were eyes stuffed in the cracks of the walls."

"Later he discovered that as long as he laughed, the feeling of being watched would disappear, so he started laughing too, laughing exactly like those monsters."

"Then it was me." Zhang Kai gave a bitter laugh and reached up to tug at the corner of his mouth. "I started to feel lonely, like I was the only living person left in the whole world, and everything around me was fake, all fake people. This loneliness was worse than death. I wanted to laugh, because as long as I laughed, I could pretend that everyone was still together."

Lu Dan listened quietly, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the letter paper.

Is this the core of the script? It's not just about physical hunting, but also about spiritual assimilation.

The suffocating feeling of being forced to wear a mask is more despairing than ghosts.

"It was Su Ke who saved us." Zhang Kai's voice choked with emotion. "That evening during self-study, I was about to tear my lips apart when Su Ke grabbed me and Li Mu and dragged us out of the classroom."

"She led us to hide in the school's abandoned security room... It was dilapidated, cold, and damp, but at least there was no such disgusting laughter there."

Lu Dan recalled the dilapidated room where he woke up. It turned out that it was not only his starting point, but also the last refuge for these three children.

"We lived there in a cramped place for a long time. Gradually, Li Mu stopped feeling like anyone was watching him, and I stopped feeling lonely. We thought that as long as we hid, everything would be fine, but... we couldn't get out."

Zhang Kai slammed his fist into the ground, his knuckles bleeding. "No matter which way we go, we'll end up back where we started. We've run out of food and water. We started arguing. Li Mu said we couldn't just sit here and wait to die; we had to find the source."

"I don't know where he got the information, but he said he was going to Building B to find the Dean of Students. That old bastard was the beginning of everything."

"Li Mu left. It was raining heavily that day. He turned back and smiled at us in the rain."

"He said he would definitely save us. He didn't know that his smile was really ugly, but I really want to see it again now."

"He was gone for two months, and we haven't heard from him at all."

"Then there's Su Ke," Zhang Kai covered his face, tears welling up between his fingers, "She was worried about Li Mu, so she left this letter while I was asleep and left all by herself."

"That day I woke up and saw the letter on the table, and I wanted to chase after it like a madman. But I didn't dare... I was afraid of those smiling faces outside, I was afraid of being assimilated, I was afraid of dying."

"I stayed in that security room for three days, and only crawled out when I couldn't stand the hunger anymore."

"I'm a coward, old man."

Zhang Kai raised his head, his eyes filled with self-loathing.

"I wandered around here for three whole years, pretending to be a hot-blooded fool, fighting everywhere with that broken stick, pretending to be looking for them."

"But every time I get here, to the stairwell on the fourth floor, there's a wall blocking my way."

"The sign on the wall read 'Bad kids aren't allowed up here.' It was mocking me, mocking me for being a bad kid who was afraid to face the truth."

Lu Dan looked at Zhang Kai, who was in a state of collapse.

The school was abandoned for three years, and the boy wandered like a lost soul for three years in this endless cycle of hell, carrying heavy guilt and a farewell letter.

He's not some hot-blooded protagonist; he's just a survivor forgotten by time, a prisoner who has trapped himself in this one day.

Lu Dan took a deep breath, folded the complete love letter, and stuffed it into Zhang Kai's tattered school uniform pocket.

He patted Zhang Kai on the shoulder with such force that he almost knocked the kid over.

Then he pointed to the mahogany door with the bronze plaque that read "Department of Education" and gestured for Zhang Kai to enter.

The meaning behind this action is clear: I don't understand the evening breeze or snowflakes, but I can kick the door open for you. Since it's three years late, let's not keep that breeze waiting any longer.

Zhang Kai stared blankly at Lu Dan, then wiped his face with his dirty sleeve, grabbed the nailed table leg to support himself, and tried to stand up.

Although his legs were as weak as noodles, he still managed to stand up straight.

"Thanks, sir."

Zhang Kai's voice was hoarse, but no longer trembling.

Lu Dan walked to the mahogany door and placed his hand on the cold handle.

This time, there were no walls to stop us.

"Li Mu, Su Ke."

Zhang Kai murmured the two names.

"I've come to find you."

Lu Dan turned the handle, producing a dull "click" sound.

A gust of cold wind, carrying the smell of ink, whistled out from under the door, ruffling Zhang Kai's messy hair.