Chapter 21: The Four Corners Game

"Are you joining us?" the oldest boy tilted his head, studying me. His bright eyes seemed to gleam in the dark, and for some reason, the gesture reminded me of the black cat I'd encountered at the entrance earlier.

"Well, you're all playing anyway, right? Adding me won't change much. Worst case, I'll just stand aside and film while you play."

"Xue Fei, with him, we'll have exactly four people—enough to play the game we've been wanting to try," said a slightly younger boy as he squeezed up to me. "Hi, I'm Xiumu. That's my older brother, Xue Fei, and that tomboy with short hair is my classmate Shen Meng. The youngest, quiet girl is Yingzi."

Xiumu was small and skinny, the kind of kid a gust of wind could topple, yet he was the liveliest and bravest of the four.

"Actually, we've already tried a few games earlier—like the Spirit Pen and the Spirit Dish—but none of them worked."

"You're bold, playing those games in a place like this."

"Well, we only realized they were fake after playing," Xiumu shrugged casually. But I noticed the other three watching me with cold, wary eyes.

Feeling a little uneasy, I asked, "If you know it's all fake, why not just go home?"

"No, no, no! There's still one more game we haven't played. It's a four-player game, but we were short one person."

"Short one person? Aren't there four of you already?" Xiumu's words carried an eerie undertone that sent a chill down my spine.

"Yingzi doesn't play games. She's timid and never wants to join in."

My gaze drifted past the three boys to the shy, quiet Yingzi standing at the back, her head bowed. She seemed fragile and withdrawn.

"Fine, I'll play with you just this once. But remember—after this, you all need to head straight home. Sneaking out this late must have your families worried sick."

"Got it! Finally, we've got enough people," Xiumu said excitedly.

I couldn't share his enthusiasm. All I wanted was to ensure these kids left safely before thoroughly searching the school grounds.

"This game is called the Four Corners Game. Here's how it works."

"At midnight, in a rectangular, empty room, turn off all the lights. Each person stands in one of the room's four corners, facing the wall. Whatever you do, don't look back."

"When the game starts, the person in one corner moves to the next corner, lightly tapping the shoulder of the person standing there. Then they stay in that corner while the tapped person moves to the next corner and taps the third person's shoulder."

"Everyone keeps moving clockwise like this. However, if you walk to a corner that's empty, you have to cough lightly before skipping that corner and continuing to the next."

Listening to the rules, I didn't find the game particularly scary. "That's it? But according to what you said, one corner will always be empty, so the game can't actually end."

Xiumu pressed his face against the window, peering into the classroom. "That's not necessarily true."

"Friends who've played this before say that if no one coughs during the game, it means there's someone in every corner. But you'll still hear footsteps—the sound of someone walking. That's when a fifth person appears."

The way he explained it made me regret agreeing. "Why does this sound even creepier than summoning spirits?"

"What's there to be afraid of? It's probably just an urban legend," Xiumu said, slapping his forehead. "If it gets too scary, all four players can simultaneously say, 'Game over,' with their eyes closed to end it. But remember, all four must agree to quit. If even one person refuses, the game continues."

I glanced at my phone, and viewers in my livestream chat were egging me on, some even promising to tip generously.

"Fine, are we playing here in this classroom?"

"No, this room is too small," Xue Fei said. "There's a special classroom in this building. Let's go there."

"Special?" I squinted. "Judging by the room numbers, there should be fifteen classrooms in this building—five per grade, three grades total. But this building has four rooms per floor, across four floors, which means one classroom is unaccounted for."

We climbed to the top floor and stopped at the last room on the left.

Peering through the window, I saw a classroom devoid of desks and chairs. All that remained were the blackboard, the podium, and a rusty ceiling fan hanging overhead.

"They say this classroom was left empty because of a girl," Xiumu began ominously. "She came from a poor family. Her parents worked multiple jobs to afford her tuition, so she worked harder than anyone else. She'd stay late every night, studying with a flashlight after everyone else had left."

"A week passed. Then two weeks. But one night, a group of rich boys cornered her. After enduring unbearable humiliation, she jumped from the fourth floor to her death."

"Though her body perished, her spirit is said to return to this classroom at night, studying tirelessly."

"Enough, Xiumu!" Shen Meng shouted, her voice sharp with fear, cutting off Xiumu's tale.

"What, are you scared?" he teased.

"No way! I'm just worried about scaring Yingzi," Shen Meng retorted, her pout betraying her nerves.

Yingzi, who had been keeping her distance, remained silent, her head still bowed.

"Enough chatter. Let's begin," Xue Fei, the oldest, commanded. His voice silenced the group. "And you—this game requires total darkness. No lights allowed. Leave your camera outside for Yingzi to watch."

Nodding, I placed the camera on the windowsill and pretended to lock my phone screen, secretly leaving the camera app open so the livestream would continue.

"Alright, let's assign positions," Xiumu directed. "I'll go in first and take the bottom-left corner. Then the streamer goes second to the top-left corner. Xue Fei goes third to the top-right, and finally, Shen Meng takes the bottom-right corner. Once we're in position, Shen Meng will cough, and I'll start walking. Everyone moves clockwise. If you find an empty corner, cough and move on. Don't stop."

"Got it? Let's start."

Inside the pitch-black classroom, the darkness felt dense, like a pool of ink. Xiumu entered first, and after about ten seconds, I took a deep breath and followed, arms outstretched to navigate.

The darkness was oppressive. Visibility was less than half a meter, and I couldn't even see my own shoes. Slowly, I reached the wall. In this tiny corner, I felt a strange sense of psychological comfort.

Glancing back, the faint glow of my camera's signal light was the only visible light source, right by Yingzi, who stood with her head bowed.

Soon, Shen Meng's cough broke the silence.

The game had begun.

Footsteps grew louder behind me. Though I knew it was Xiumu, I couldn't suppress the tension building inside me.

"Tap." A light touch on my shoulder. Understanding the cue, I began moving clockwise to the next corner.

The journey was unnervingly long, the dark classroom feeling like an endless corridor. Finally, I discerned a human silhouette. It was too dark to be sure, but I guessed it was Xue Fei.

"Made it." Gently, I tapped the shadow's shoulder and settled into the corner, watching the figure slowly disappear into the darkness.

Waiting was torturous. In this room, time seemed to stretch, every second feeling infinite. I counted silently, listening to my heartbeat.

A soft cough broke the tension. The first signal. Shen Meng.

Not long after, another faint cough echoed—a lower tone this time. If my deductions were correct, it was Xue Fei.