Face Easter 4 Scars and Bonds

In June, the cicadas in Shanghai buzzed like never-ending electric saws, slicing through the stagnant summer heat. In the classroom of Grade 12, Class 1 at Fuxing High School, the ceiling fan spun in vain, stirring the warm, stifling air but failing to dispel the icy dread lodged in Liu Ming's chest.

He sat by the window, where the thick plane tree leaves outside cast restless, flickering shadows on his desk. The physics teacher was explaining complex electromagnetic induction at the podium, and the sound of chalk scraping against the blackboard pierced the air, sharp and jarring—but Liu Ming couldn't hear a word of it. His eyes were fixed on the open workbook in front of him. The formulas and symbols writhed and twisted, morphing into Bai Ye's festering face from last night, the crawling black lines, and that ominous black tooth in Chen Zhi's study.

Inside his desk drawer still lay the lunchbox that Chen Meng's mother had given him that morning—chive and egg dumplings, thin-skinned and plump, delicately pleated at the edges. His favorite. Last year, when his parents had to return to their northern hometown to care for his gravely ill grandmother, they left him alone in Shanghai to continue his studies. Since then, the Chen family had become his only refuge in this city.

He looked down at the inner side of his arm, hidden beneath his sleeve. The dark red parasitic rune still faintly burned, like a brand scorched into his flesh—a mark of shame. The lingering weakness and cold malice left behind by Bai Ye's failed possession gnawed at his nerves like maggots on bone. With every heartbeat came a jolt of fear, as though some invisible thing were watching him.

"Liu Ming?" A low voice came from beside him, tinged with concern.

Liu Ming snapped out of it and met Chen Meng's worried gaze. She sat next to him, her ponytail neat and crisp, but her bright eyes were now weighed down by the same heaviness he felt. She gently tapped his workbook with a finger, signaling that the teacher was looking their way.

Liu Ming forced himself to lower his head and pick up his pen. The tip scraped out a meaningless, trembling line across the paper. He could feel Chen Meng's gaze lingering on his profile—heavy, silent, filled with both questioning and quiet support.

Finally, the lunch bell rang—a merciful release. The classroom instantly exploded into the noise of students packing up and chatting. Liu Ming slumped back into his chair, drained, eyes closed, trying to dispel the terrifying images haunting his mind.

"Want to get some air?" Chen Meng's voice was soft, with a gentle insistence that left no room for refusal. She had already packed her things and stood beside his desk, waiting for him. She casually slipped the empty lunchbox into her bag. "My mom said she's making shepherd's purse wontons tonight. Come over after school."

Liu Ming nodded and silently followed her out of the classroom.

The sunlight outside was blinding white. The schoolyard buzzed with voices and laughter, the chaos of youth—but it felt distant, as if seen through frosted glass, unrelated to them. Avoiding the crowds, they instinctively walked toward the quiet little garden behind the school building. Beneath the wisteria trellis, thick vines and leaves shielded them from the harsh sun, casting cool shadows. The scent of grass and damp soil hung in the air, momentarily easing the chill in Liu Ming's heart.

They sat on the bench under the trellis. Silence settled between them for a while, broken only by the faint thud of basketballs and the droning of cicadas in the distance.

"Your hands..." Liu Ming's voice was hoarse, his gaze drawn to Chen Meng's hands resting casually on her knees. They had once been delicate and pale, but now bore several faint, uneven pink scars across the knuckles and backs—like petals roughly crumpled and bruised. The marks left by sulfuric acid burns, a permanent reminder of Bai Ye's malice.

Chen Meng instinctively moved to hide her hands in her sleeves, then paused. Instead, she turned her palms upward into the sunlight. The scars stood out more clearly under the bright light, like a painful totem etched into her very life.

"It's been a year," Chen Meng said quietly, her voice as calm as a stone sinking into a deep lake, sending ripples through Liu Ming's heart. "Feels like it was just yesterday.""I remember... my dad rushed back from a conference that day. When he saw the two of us wrapped in bandages in the ER, he almost grabbed the doctor by the collar."

A sharp pain tightened in Liu Ming's chest. That sweltering afternoon, the scent of disinfectant and chalk dust in the air, the moment that changed all their lives—it all came flooding back with frightening clarity

(Flashback — One year ago)

One year ago, in the Grade 11, Class 1 classroom.

The bell signaling the end of the mock exam had just rung. The room was filled with the chatter and relaxation that always came after a test. Chen Meng went to her desk drawer out of habit to grab her water bottle—but the moment her fingers touched a patch of cold, slimy liquid, she froze.

"Ah!"A short, sharp cry barely escaped her lips before an unbearable, searing pain exploded from her fingertips—as if dozens of red-hot needles had been driven into her flesh at once. The agony spread like wildfire through her nerves!

She yanked her hand back, staring in disbelief. Her skin was whitening, wrinkling, then turning yellow and charred right before her eyes! A sharp, acrid stench of corrosion rushed up her nose.

"Sulfuric acid! It's sulfuric acid!"Someone's panicked scream cut through the air.

The classroom erupted into chaos. Screams, chairs clattering, desks shuffling—pure pandemonium. Chen Meng trembled from head to toe, her face pale as a sheet. Terror seized her chest, stealing her breath as she watched, powerless, while the horrible corrosion spread across her hand like a living thing.

Just when despair was about to consume her, a figure burst through the crowd like a cannonball.

It was Liu Ming!

There wasn't a trace of hesitation on his face—only a mad, desperate determination. He didn't even pause to think. Grabbing Chen Meng's burning wrist, he yanked her away from the desk. The sudden momentum made her crash into his chest. With his free hand, he reached lightning-fast for his own desk—where a bottle of cold water sat, freshly filled that morning.

"Hold on!"Liu Ming's voice was hoarse with panic. Without hesitation, he poured the entire bottle over Chen Meng's injured hand.

"Shhhhhh—"The water hissed as it hit the acid-eaten skin, the sound sharp enough to make every hair stand on end. While it helped flush off some of the corrosive liquid, it also brought an intense stinging and second-wave burning pain. Chen Meng's vision darkened from the agony. Her body convulsed violently, tears and cold sweat pouring down her face.

"Not enough! The sink—quick!"Liu Ming shouted, ignoring her cries of pain. Half-dragging, half-carrying her, he shoved through the stunned classmates and bolted out of the room like a man possessed.

Their footsteps pounded down the hallway, mingled with Chen Meng's choked sobs. He burst into the restroom and slammed the faucet open. Cold water rushed out in torrents. He shoved her hand under the stream and held it there, not caring that the spray soaked half of his uniform. Again and again, he rinsed, his eyes locked on the mangled mess that was once her hand. His lips were pressed into a bloodless line. Veins bulged on his forehead. He was drenched in sweat.

"Stay with me! Chen Meng! Look at me! Stay with me!"He shouted her name again and again, his voice trembling but filled with unwavering strength—like a rope trying to pull her back from the edge of agony.

The wail of the ambulance grew louder and louder.

In the whirlwind of pain and confusion, Chen Meng's blurred vision focused only on Liu Ming's face—etched with fear, desperation, but rock-solid resolve. And the cold, strong grip of his hand, holding hers tight.

What happened after that?Bai Ye vanished in the chaos, never to be seen again. The school silenced everything, calling it an "accident."Chen Meng spent a long time in the hospital, the scars on her hand becoming permanent.And Liu Ming—the boy who used to be quiet, timid, almost cowardly—had, in that moment, unleashed a courage and protectiveness so fierce it tore through the darkness like a beam of light.It left a lasting mark in Chen Meng's heart—and it changed him too.

(End of flashback)

Beneath the wisteria trellis, Liu Ming's fingers subconsciously brushed against the side of his neck—where Bai Ye's nails had left thin, stinging scabs the night before. Across from him, Chen Meng gently ran her fingertips over the scars on the back of her hand.

"After that day," her voice carried the faintest quiver, shattering the heavy silence of memory, "everything changed. Bai Ye disappeared—like she vanished off the face of the earth. The school kept it quiet, said it was an accident. Rumors spread... some sympathetic, some curious, and some downright cruel."She looked up at him, her eyes glistening but steady, burning with quiet resilience."But you stayed. Through all of it."

"You were there when I needed to change my bandages at the hospital. You copied all the notes I missed. When my hand hurt too much to do lab work, you quietly finished it for me..."Her voice grew softer. "You've changed, Liu Ming."

Liu Ming's throat tightened. He wanted to say something—but every word felt empty compared to the pain and bond they had shared.

He remembered the way she had trembled when the nurse unwrapped her bandages but clenched her teeth and refused to cry.He remembered the flash of despair in her eyes when she saw the scars—and the stubborn strength that followed.He remembered them studying together late into the night, the only sound the quiet scratch of pens on paper.He remembered the crooked handwriting on the first note she ever passed him with her still-unsteady fingers—the simple, awkward words that had burned like fire into his heart.

"We thought… we really thought we were free from her," Liu Ming said hoarsely, voice thick with exhaustion and disbelief. "We heard she was institutionalized. We thought that was the end—a period."

He closed his eyes in pain."But it wasn't. It was just a pause. The nightmare... it's back. And worse."

Chen Meng reached out—not to touch her own scars, but to place her hand gently, firmly over his trembling one. Her skin was rough where the burns had healed, but warm. Real. Powerful.

"The nightmare is back," she said quietly, but with unshakable resolve, "but we're not the same people we were a year ago."

She tightened her grip, as if pouring all her courage into him.

"Bai Ye wants to possess you? Wants to keep playing with our lives? She can dream on."

Her eyes were sharp as blades, cutting straight through the lingering fear in Liu Ming's gaze."This time, we're not her puppets. We're not victims. We have my parents. We have each other.""She wants a host? Fine. Let's show her what the host—and his guardian—can really do."

Sunlight filtered through the wisteria leaves, scattering patches of light across their intertwined hands. The scars on Chen Meng's hand glowed starkly in the light—like medals from a war.

Liu Ming felt the warmth of her palm travel through his skin, deep into his bones, pushing back the cold that had haunted him since the night before.

He turned his hand over, grasped hers more tightly. Their fingers laced together, ten knuckles aligned. Her scars pressed against his skin—not just reminders of pain, but the strongest bond that now tied their fates together.

Liu Ming didn't say a word. He just pulled her into his arms with all the strength he had left.

Chen Meng didn't resist. She leaned into him without hesitation, burying her face in the crook of his neck. Her breath was warm against his skin, melting away the last traces of Bai Ye's icy presence.

They held each other tightly, as if trying to merge their hearts and bones, drawing warmth and strength from one another in the face of the coming storm.

The wisteria flowers swayed gently in the breeze, casting flickering shadows over their embrace. The noise from the distant schoolyard seemed to come from another world.

Here, beneath this quiet little trellis divided by sun and shadow, there were only two scarred but unbroken hearts—facing the deepening darkness together.They were no longer just classmates.No longer just friends.But the only shield and sword each other had left, standing against fate and the malicious entity that had returned.

Bai Ye's shadow was rising again.

But this time—they would not fall apart.