Ants Eating the Mantis

During the second period in Class 4 — chemistry — teacher Wang Qin was nearing the end of the lesson, a demonstration on diluting concentrated sulfuric acid. Thirsty from talking, she reached to open her thermos and take a sip. What went into her mouth was concentrated sulfuric acid. Wang Qin's oral cavity was corroded instantly; the acid that splashed out ate into her face and neck with a hissing sound, releasing white vapor. The entire class of Class 4, Grade 4 witnessed the scene. In a moment, the teacher's screaming and the students' cries mixed together and shattered the quiet of the campus.

An ambulance arrived quickly and took Wang Qin away. Police followed. Detective Chief Wu Xian and his assistant Fei Qiang interviewed every student in Class 4 individually — but nothing came of it. Every student said they hadn't seen anyone approach the lectern to put anything in the teacher's cup. The police left once again with nothing.

Class 4 had gym fourth period. From the mathematics office window, Hui Nan watched the students in the sports ground below. She had seen Wang Qin's disfigured face with her own eyes that morning — an image she would never forget. And now she felt the students on that field were a hundred times more frightening than anything she'd seen on Wang Qin's face.

"They want to kill all of us." The teacher at the opposite desk — Suo Xin — said it suddenly.

"You think Wang Laoshi was really harmed by the students in Class 4?"

"Who else?"

"But the police questioned all of them and no one saw anything."

"They're all in it together."

"All of them?"

"Have you heard of ants eating a mantis?"

The praying mantis rules the insect world, yet ants can reduce one to nothing — by sheer numbers. A dense swarm descends and nothing can withstand it.

Hui Nan felt a cold crawl across her skin. She imagined the students on the field suddenly becoming a black seething mass of ants, swarming up and over her entirely.

She didn't believe the whole class was complicit. She decided to go into their midst and find out the truth for herself. She had already given up hoping the police would accomplish anything.

At lunchtime, Hui Nan tied her hair in a ponytail, changed into a tracksuit, and walked into the student canteen. She found a corner with a clear view, picked up a magazine, and began watching the students as they trickled in.

Teachers rarely ate in the student canteen, so the students here were more relaxed — several tables had boys and girls sitting together. As a subject teacher, this sort of thing was none of Hui Nan's business. But today a particular pair caught her eye: in one corner, a girl was crying while the boy across from her seemed to be saying something comforting. Both were students she recognized. The boy was Chang Di, from Class 4. The girl was Su Meng.

Hui Nan had heard Xiao Jin mention that Su Meng had once sat in Gu Qing's old seat — the one where a pair of hands had appeared and drawn a sketch of a graveyard. She knew Chang Di and Gu Qing had been a couple. What was his relationship with Su Meng?

In the first afternoon period, Class 4 had physics, but since the school hadn't yet found a replacement for Xiao Jin, the students were left to self-study. Hui Nan used the time to summon Su Meng to the mathematics office for questioning. Girls who cry easily tend to have more fragile interiors — a little pressure was usually enough to make them tell the truth.

In fact, Su Meng seemed not to want to hide things any longer. When she was brought to the mathematics office, she had already made up her mind. Before Hui Nan could ask a single question, Su Meng spoke directly: "I drew both pictures — the one of the graveyard and the one of Ma Dahua without a head."