Li Wei watched the video seventeen times.
Each time, the boy's smile hit differently.
Shock. Recognition. Fear.
By the seventeenth, something else settled in his chest.
He knew. Someone like him would find it. Someday.
The frozen frame showed the boy mid-smile.
Not performing. Not desperate.
Something else. Knowing. Almost mocking.
[Investigation required: Identify the boy]
[Video age: ~10 years. Location: Same school. Subject: Male student, ~15]
[Recommendation: Cross-reference yearbooks. Ask Xiao Ling. Consider Zhao Gang's offer.]
Zhao Gang. He'd said he could trade information.
Li Wei checked the clock. 6 AM. School in two hours.
Texted Xiao Ling: Need to meet. Found something. Important.
30 seconds later:Same corner. 7:15.
Xiao Ling was already waiting.
Li Wei showed her the video. Her face cycled: confusion → recognition → horror.
"You know him?" he asked.
"I don't," she whispered. "But I've seen that face before. First life… senior year… a memorial."
"For who?"
"A student. Died years before us. There was a plaque in the library. I never paid attention to the name… but the photo. It was him."
[Information confirmed: Video boy is deceased]
[Timeframe: 8–9 years ago]
[Cause of death: Unknown]
[Connection to Teacher Chen: Confirmed]
"What was his name?"
Xiao Ling shook her head. "Don't remember. Library still has the plaque."
They walked.
Library: quiet, dusty, empty except the librarian.
Plaque read:
In memory of Liu Yang
Beloved student, Class of 2016
[Name acquired: Liu Yang]
[Class of 2016 — would be 26–27 now]
[Next step: Yearbook, classmates, photos]
Xiao Ling led Li Wei to the back archives. 2016. Found the yearbook.
Liu Yang. Same eyes. Same smile. Not quite right.
"What happened to him?" Li Wei whispered.
Xiao Ling: "…memorials like that… usually sudden. Accident. Illness. Or worse."
[Hypothesis: Liu Yang had a system. Now gone.]
[Question: Will it happen to me?]
Bell rang. Classes passed in a fog. Quadratics and history blurred.
Liu Yang. Teacher Chen's words: I've been waiting for someone like you.
How many performers came before?
Lunch. Zhao Gang, back table.
"I need information," Li Wei said.
"Trade?" Zhao Gang raised an eyebrow.
"Protection," Li Wei said.
Zhao Gang: "From what? Wang Jie?"
"Not him. What's coming. Teacher Chen sent a video. Student from ten years ago. Dead."
Zhao Gang's hands curled slightly. "Liu Yang."
Li Wei: "You know him?"
"My cousin was in his year. Told me stories. Funny kid. Could make anyone laugh. Then… gone. Official story: suicide. But not him. Happy. Performing. Right until the end."
[Pattern detected: Performer dies → Teacher Chen benefits]
[Warning: You are a performer. Teacher Chen is watching.]
Zhao Gang pulled out a photo of his sister. Performing. Smiling.
"I don't want her to end up like Liu Yang. I need someone to watch her. Trade: info for protection."
Li Wei: Yes.
Zhao Gang: "Good. Everything I know — Liu Yang, Teacher Chen, other disappeared students. Tonight. My place. 8 PM. Alone."
[New objective: Meet Zhao Gang]
Final bell. AP ticking. Small performances. Ten more points.
[Applause Points: 115/125]
Xiao Ling pale. "Alone?"
Li Wei: "Could be trap. Could be help. I have to try. If not back by 10 PM, call police. Tell them everything."
7:55 PM. Zhao Gang's apartment. Narrow complex. Run-down.
Door buzzed. Third floor. Apartment 3B. Door cracked.
"Close it. Sit." Zhao Gang pushed a folder across the table. Thick. Heavy.
Photos. Clippings. School records. Handwritten notes.
Five students. Over twelve years. All performers. All gone. Teacher Chen.
Liu Yang: 2016 — Suicide (disputed)
Wei Min: 2018 — Ran away (never found)
Sun Jie: 2020 — Accident (witnesses disputed)
Zhou Kai: 2022 — Transfer (never transferred)
Lin Fang: 2024 — Hospitalized (never released)
[System alert: Teacher Chen pattern confirmed]
[You are next in line]
Li Wei's hands shook.
Zhao Gang showed another photo — his sister. Performing. Smiling.
[Zhao Gang's true motivation revealed — protect sister]
[You are fighting for everyone who comes after]
Li Wei: "I'll do it. I'll protect her."
Zhao Gang: "Good. Now go. You have work to do."
Li Wei walked home, dazed.
Five performers. Vanished. Teacher Chen, always watching.
[Applause Points: 125/125]
[Timing + Crowd Read available]
Unlock now? Y/N
Yes.
Warmth flooded him. Space sharpened. Audience sensed. Mood, readiness, threat detectable.
[Timing Level 1 acquired — sense perfect moment to speak]
[Crowd Read Level 1 acquired — sense audience composition and mood within 50m]
[Combined effect: +20% success]
[New ability: Threat assessment — detect existential/performance danger]
Multiple threats. Unknown sources. Watching.
Li Wei's phone buzzed. Unknown number.
Nice work tonight. Folder was a nice touch. —T.C.
[Teacher Chen status: Omniscient]
[Warning: He sees everything. Ten steps ahead.]
[Question: Why hasn't he stopped you? What is he waiting for?]
Li Wei looked up at the streetlight. Camera blinking. Watching.
For the first time, he didn't see a threat.
He saw an audience.
One audience.
The most important of all.
He smiled.
Same smile as Liu Yang.
Same as the video.
Same as the boy performing behind the lens.
The show isn't over. The curtain hasn't fallen. On me.