You say this is a love game?

As time goes by, I feel that Mai Yajima doesn't seem to care at all. If she doesn't apologize, can we just let it go?

But every time this thought comes up, I feel that the idea of ​​escape is just like that of a coward.

It would be better to apologize to Yajima Mai openly. At worst, I'll just be humiliated...

Ah, everything is so annoying!

Just like the guy running on the playground now.

Is there any mistake?

You're running on the playground on a rainy day? Are you doing some heartbreak-running, run-in-the-rain kind of shit?

Rika Nishimura slammed the table, but soon frowned.

What's up with that guy running on the playground?

Why does it feel like running is so tiring?

Is there anything else on your back?

From a distance, the drizzle covered the sky and the earth, making her vision blurry and unable to see clearly.

However, she seemed to hear some strange noises.

Thump, thump, thump...

It sounded like something heavy was running, making a dull sound as it stepped on the ground.

Suddenly, Ota Akemi stood up and asked in surprise, "Hey, did you hear the sound of a piano?"

The sound of a piano?

Rika Nishimura was stunned for a moment, and after being reminded by Akemi Ota, she suddenly realized that there was a faint, beautiful piano sound echoing in her ears.

It was as if a famous master was gently stroking the piano keys, playing in ecstasy.

"This song is..."

Rika Nishimura frowned fiercely.

She received elite education since childhood and had a talent for piano, so after a brief pause, she immediately remembered this famous song.

"Für Alice".

Chapter 75 The walking statue of Ninomiya.

"Für Alice".

The piano piece composed for Beethoven was originally named "To Therese", but when the piece was published, the newspaper mistakenly wrote "To Therese" as "To Alice", so Alice replaced Therese and became a name resounding in the piano world, while the victim Therese was forgotten by the world.

The cheerful and gorgeous sound of the piano floated from afar, like the bright and joyful tone of a girl. The girl laughed like silver bells, which was particularly soft and moving.

There is no doubt that this is a master performing "Für Elise".

But then came another terrifying thought.

It was a rainy day and after school, so they were staying in the classroom in the teaching building. How could someone possibly play this famous piano piece for them?

"hiss……"

Ota Akemi immediately shrank her shoulders and looked outside the classroom in astonishment.

The four of them looked at each other, then moved closer together tacitly.

"Where does the piano sound come from?"

"The music room is the only one with a piano, right? But the music room isn't in our building..."

The girls talked to each other in a panic, and finally Nishimura Rika stood up.

"I'm going to go outside and see who's playing tricks on me."

It's true that I was just startled.

But now she realized it, she thought that someone might be secretly playing a recording or video on a mobile phone... Although the source of the sound was a bit strange, Rika Nishimura subconsciously looked for a scientific explanation, so she bravely went to the corridor.

——No one.

The corridor was empty, without a single person in sight.

Yokoi Tsubaki and others followed out hesitantly.

When things developed to this point, everyone became a little hesitant.

This rainy weather gives people a very depressing feeling.

Today's piano sound is even more rapidly moving towards a supernatural style.

Reminds me of some horror stories.

They were just a group of young girls, not very courageous. Even the notice of punishment could scare them, let alone this situation that was like a haunted house?

"Why don't you go?"

"Curiosity killed the cat, everyone!"

"Rika, don't be so stubborn right now. Let's just be a little timid... Think about it, in all the horror movies we've seen before, which one didn't involve the protagonists themselves? In a situation like this, the right thing to do is just run away!"

Admittedly, it could be a prank, or it could be a misunderstanding caused by a student practicing a song in the music classroom.

But they no longer had the intention of discerning the truth. Even the most courageous Rika Nishimura was frightened to the point of turning pale, and the others were even more terrified. If it weren't for their deep friendship, they would have abandoned their friends and run away long ago.

Without a doubt, it was passed unanimously.

The girls returned to the classroom, picked up their umbrellas, packed their schoolbags, and headed towards the stairs.

But they overlooked one thing.

Sometimes, they can't do whatever they want.

When they reached the stairs, everything was normal, but when they got down to the first floor, things were different.

"What, what's going on?"

Yokoi Tsubaki screamed, her voice trembling with tears: "My feet are moving by themselves!"

She wasn't the only one suffering.

The four people present seemed to have their own thoughts in their legs. They took mechanical steps and walked towards the teaching building opposite.

They walked into the courtyard, all drenched by the rain.

Raindrops mixed with their tears flowed down their cheeks, and the pleasant piano sound was getting closer and closer.

Finally, they crossed the atrium and walked straight to the door of a classroom on the fourth floor of the opposite teaching building.

【Music Classroom】

The classroom doorplate indicates the purpose of this classroom.

Rika Nishimura stood in front of the classroom like a puppet, watching the classroom door in front of her slowly open.

No one touched the door, it was as if the wind blew it open.

However, the last person to leave the classroom will lock the classroom!

Music classrooms like this one, which house expensive musical instruments, are usually kept locked and are only used when a class has music lessons.

The girls subconsciously wanted to close their eyes, but it seemed as if someone was holding their eyelids open, preventing them from closing their eyes.

The window of the music classroom was half open, and the drizzle came in like a bunch of blades.

The piano keys rose and fell on their own, as if a pair of transparent hands were striking them - Beethoven's "Für Elise" flowed out from the piano case. Nishimura Rika had never heard such a cheerful and beautiful performance. The pleasant piano sound was like a stream flowing in the valley, soft and long, and like a spring breeze blowing through the bamboo forest, delicate and gentle, almost making people intoxicated and forget the hustle and bustle of the world.

The piano was playing quietly.

There are water marks all over the piano keys.

It was like water seeping down from the ceiling, or like someone's tears.

Rika Nishimura's throat tightened and she wanted to scream, but all she could hear was the chattering sound of her teeth.

The most timid Ono Eri saw the music on the music stand moving without wind. The yellowed pages were clearly blank, but the keys were still sinking precisely. Until one moment, a series of chaotic tremolos suddenly burst out from the high pitch, like nails scratching on a blackboard.

So, at the end of this piano piece, the sound of the piano became hoarse and obscure, like a bird with its throat strangled, making an extremely sharp and ugly cry when it was dying.

Ono Eri felt a soreness on the tip of her nose and couldn't help crying out loud, but the sudden and violent sound of the piano drowned out all her sobs.

Until the end of the song.

Everyone collapsed to the ground as if their bones had been pulled out.

They all let out ear-piercing screams and crawled out of the music classroom.

Not caring about the rain or her elegance and decency, Rika Nishimura ran wildly in the rain and almost stepped on empty air several times.

As she was running across the playground, she suddenly heard a dull noise.

Thump, thump, thump...

She turned around and saw a bronze statue of Ninomiya running around the playground in the rain.

It seemed that he noticed the girls scattered here.

Ninomiya turned around and slowly ran towards them.

……

……

Thursday.

Wow…

Fine raindrops fluttered gently in the breeze, covering the whole world with a thin layer of mist. The outlines of trees and buildings in the distance became blurred and soft, giving people a sense of tranquility.

As soon as the get out of class was over, this atmosphere was immediately broken.

The class that Makoto Mizutani was in was particularly lively, mainly because four girls in the class asked for leave at the same time, which caused quite a bit of controversy in the class.

He didn't care much at first.

Isn’t it just asking for leave?

His heroic feat of running for three consecutive days is an unbreakable record in the class.

Soon, Shinji Kubo, who was sitting at the table in front of him, turned around. He didn't pay attention to the four people's leave, but directly told Mizutani Makoto about the hot posts on the school forum in a vivid manner.

"Campus Ghost Story."

When these words came out of Kubo Shinji's mouth, Mizutani Makoto couldn't help but feel refreshed.

"Wait a minute, what are you talking about?"

"Campus ghost stories, haven't you heard of them? Seven incredible things that happened on campus."

Of course I have heard of it, and my job is to whip them hard with a whip.

At Kubo Shinji's reminder, Mizutani Makoto took out his cell phone and opened the campus forum where a heated discussion was taking place.

Just yesterday, someone saw the "walking statue of Ninomiya" in the rain.

"Ninomiya statue?"

Mizutani Makoto was extremely surprised.

One of the seven campus ghost stories - the walking statue of Ninomiya.

The Ninomiya statue is actually a bronze statue of Ninomiya Sontoku.

Ninomiya Sontoku was a renowned thinker active during the Edo period and renowned for his diligence and love of learning. During the Taisho era, statues of him were found in schools throughout Japan, where school authorities used him as a role model to encourage children to study hard.

The statue is not a bust, as is common in later times. Instead, it is usually depicted as a young boy, holding a book in his hands and carrying a large amount of firewood behind him. This is intended to replicate the inspiring story of Ninomiya Sontoku, who, when he was young and impoverished, continued to study even while carrying firewood.

The "walking statue of Ninomiya" means that late at night, the statue of Ninomiya Sontoku, which is commonly seen in Japanese schools, will walk around the school with firewood on his back and books in his hands.

The rumors about him usually involve him running on the playground or going to the library to borrow books.

Even among the high-risk campus ghost stories, the ghost stories about the Ninomiya Sontoku statue can definitely be described as "harmless".

There are even many stories of it helping students find their homework books... After all, Ninomiya Sontoku's "repaying kindness" and his image are both quite decent. Even if a campus ghost story with a supernatural flavor is made up about him, most people will believe that it is a "good ghost story" that is willing to help students.

But do good ghost stories really exist?

Makoto Mizutani has a lot to say about this matter.