Clown Game
Chapter 127 - 127 123 Unknown Task 7

Chapter 127: Chapter 123 Unknown Task 7 Chapter 127: Chapter 123 Unknown Task 7 In a teacher’s office at K City’s XX Middle School.

The “Director of Instruction” sat behind a desk, doing his best to hide the emotions within, yet his hands clenching and unclenching, and the too-frequent swallowing betrayed his inner panic.

It was no wonder, for a bomb had suddenly turned up at the school where he had spent over 30 years. If not for his fortuitous discovery, the consequences would have been unthinkable. At this thought, the old man in his fifties couldn’t help but envision scenes of an explosion, with walls in ruins and blood and flesh scattered all about. Startled by this image, he quickly shook his head, dispelling the horrific scenes from his mind.

…

…

“Knock, knock, knock~” There came a knock at the door, but it was merely a formality. The person outside didn’t wait for him to say “Come in” and just pushed the door open.

The “Director of Instruction” was taken aback by the person who entered, as the visitor was quite odd-looking, dressed in a purple suit and wearing a face mask, with a sickly, pallid complexion that was rather unsettling.

Hot on his heels came another individual, who immediately struck the “Director of Instruction” as “tall and burly” before the person closed the office door behind him.

Indeed, these were the two instigators of the entire farce, Chen Xiao and Bai Xiong.

After the police got involved in this “bomb situation,” the two brazenly produced highly authoritative credentials, strode into the school, and ironically became the two highest-ranking individuals there. Members of the bomb-disposal team had to salute them, referring to them as “Sir!” upon meeting them.

…

“You know what we do, right!” Chen Xiao widened his stance as he sat across the desk, speaking while staring intently at the other man.

The Director of Instruction felt uncomfortable under the scrutiny but nodded nonetheless. Although he had never experienced such a situation, some things were easy to anticipate, and the police had already informed him that, as the one who discovered the bomb first, he would certainly be subjected to questioning.

“I understand!” he said, swallowing.

Upon hearing his response, Chen Xiao inexplicably furrowed his brow, becoming somewhat more serious… After a few seconds, he continued to ask, “How did you discover the bomb.”

“Well…” the Director of Instruction took a breath: “I was at the south side of the teaching building…”

“Stop!”

He had barely begun speaking when he was interrupted.

“Start from an hour before you discovered the bomb, take it slow, and mention everything you saw or did in that time, no matter how insignificant, the more detail, the better!” Chen Xiao’s brow furrowed even more deeply, and he maintained his gaze fixedly on the man’s face while speaking, a rude behavior that made the Director of Instruction so uncomfortable that he started to avoid Chen Xiao’s eyes.

“Oh…” He looked at the table and rubbed his fingers: “Start talking from an hour before, well, at that time I was in the director’s office reading the newspaper…”

“Stop!”

Once again, mid-sentence, Chen Xiao interrupted him with a shout.

“Ah?” The Director of Instruction wore an expression of confusion and helplessness. After being a leader for over a decade, being interrupted repeatedly was displeasing to anyone. Thus, the “Ah?” contained a hint of irritation.

“How can you be so sure about what you were doing at that time?” Chen Xiao asked.

Indeed, anyone who had just been through such an event would have a somewhat confused memory. If the Director of Instruction had anticipated being asked how he discovered the bomb before Chen Xiao’s arrival and had consciously recalled the incident, that would be understandable. But to be asked suddenly to remember what happened an hour prior and to respond quickly was suspicious.

The Director of Instruction frowned, clearly unable to comprehend these implications, finding the questions bothersome. Nevertheless, he tried to collect his thoughts.

“Because I found the bomb during the break between the second and third period, which is between 11:05 and 11:20 AM. An hour before that would be just before the break following the second period, at that time I certainly would have been reading the newspaper; it’s been my habit for over ten years.”

As he spoke, Chen Xiao continued to observe him, and then realized that with the punctual reminders of school bells marking the start and end of classes, it was indeed easy to keep track of the time.

“Hmm… continue,” said Chen Xiao.

The Director of Instruction exhaled again: “During the second period’s break, I discussed the issue of smoking with two students, until the bell rang for the next class to start…”

He paused for a moment and, finding that Chen Xiao wasn’t about to interrupt, he went on.

“After that, I stayed in the office the whole time, during which I read a newspaper, watered the flowers once, and looked over two reflective essays about fighting and brawling. Then the bell rang for the third period’s break.”

He paused again, clearly trying to recollect specific details, and after a short while, he continued: “After the break, I stepped out of the office…”

“Why?” Chen Xiao interjected immediately.

And the Director of Studies seemed accustomed to being interrupted, so he didn’t show any emotion this time.

“I was tired of sitting and wanted to take a walk!” he said.

Chen Xiao nodded, signaling for him to continue.

“Afterward, in the hallway, I saw a love note being passed between students. The meeting place they had arranged was on the south side of the teaching building, so…”

“What did it say?” Chen Xiao immediately cut him off.

“Um…” the Director of Studies tried hard to recall: “It seemed to just say ‘at the south-side staircase’.”

“You didn’t pick it up?” asked Chen Xiao.

“No, because it was very dirty, with footprints and such,” he answered.

Chen Xiao hesitated a bit: “With just those few words, how could you be sure it was a note about early romance?”

“Because there were two hearts drawn on it, pierced by an arrow, uh… just like this…” he said, tracing out two heart shapes in the air and then a horizontal line to illustrate a ‘double-heart pierced by an arrow’ pattern.

Chen Xiao fell silent again, and this time it was slightly longer than before, around two seconds.

“And then what happened?” he asked again.

“Then I went over, and after that, I discovered the bomb!” exclaimed the Director of Studies all in one breath.

…Silence…

“On the way there, did you meet anyone, or see anything?” Chen Xiao asked.

“Definitely no one, because the doors on the south side are sealed off, so usually, very few people pass by, except for some students in early romance or those who smoke occasionally going there,” he said, pausing for a moment to think: “As for anything strange… I don’t think I noticed anything.”

“What about the couple? Didn’t see them either?” Chen Xiao asked further.

The Director of Studies nodded: “Didn’t see them, maybe they had left early, since for a date, passing a love note or love letter is enough, usually they don’t stay together long, it’s hard to catch them, and because the place is seldom used by anyone, there are no cameras installed. I’ve suggested many times; the less frequented the place is, the more it needs surveillance cameras. Early romance is a sinful affair, much like…”

When it came to catching students engaging in early romance, he seemed to perk up all of a sudden.

“Alright, alright, you don’t need to preach your ‘love is sinful’ theory,” Chen Xiao swiftly cut off the devout follower of the FFF group and waved his hand, signaling for him to leave.

…

…

The Director of Studies left the classroom.

Bai Xiong approached, looking somewhat puzzled: “It’s not him?”

Chen Xiao nodded: “No!”

Bai Xiong stood beside him, thinking for a while: “Coincidence?”

Chen Xiao didn’t answer, but remained pensive… after about a minute…

“It does seem like a coincidence. I hadn’t considered the ‘romantic’ factor.”

Bai Xiong also fell silent for a while… he had been standing by the door all along, but he had heard the conversation. Indeed, it looked like a coincidence, discovered by an old man on a mission to catch young lovers…

In that case… C-207 probably isn’t in this school, right?

…

“What do we do now?” Bai Xiong asked. Though he wasn’t dull-witted, handling situations like “bombs planted everywhere” was better suited for Chen Xiao.

Chen Xiao licked his somewhat dry lips.

“Let’s go have a meal first…”