Frozen Blaze - 06: The Unseen Shadows

The large meeting room at the vocational high school was filled with a sense of unease as parents and students filed in, taking their seats around the long, rectangular table. The walls were lined with old, faded posters promoting academic excellence, but today, the atmosphere was anything but uplifting. Zane Shaw stood near the entrance, his sharp eyes observing the room as he waited for the meeting to begin.

The focus of today’s gathering was a student named Gao Wu, whose recent behavior had raised more than a few eyebrows. Zane had been called in to observe, his presence a clear signal that this was no ordinary parent-teacher conference. Something more sinister was at play.

As the school’s Vice Principal opened the meeting, Zane noticed the students seated around the table. Their behavior was strange—many of them avoided eye contact, their body language stiff and unnatural. Gao Wu, in particular, sat at the far end of the table, his expression blank and detached, as though the entire situation had nothing to do with him.

“Thank you all for coming,” the Vice Principal began, his voice strained with the weight of recent events. “We’ve noticed some unusual behaviors among the students, and it’s crucial that we address these concerns directly.”

Zane leaned against the wall, his arms crossed as he watched the proceedings. He could feel the tension in the room, thick enough to cut with a knife. The students, when questioned, provided varying excuses for their actions—some mentioned smoking breaks, others talked about using the restroom or meeting with teachers. Yet, it was Gao Wu’s complete lack of response that drew Zane’s attention. The boy remained unresponsive, his gaze fixed on the table, seemingly indifferent to the questions being posed.

The Vice Principal turned his attention to Gao Wu, his tone softening slightly. “Gao Wu, is there anything you’d like to share with us? Any explanation for where you were during the time we’re discussing?”

Gao Wu didn’t even blink. His silence was unnerving, a stark contrast to the nervous energy that filled the room. Zane could see the Vice Principal’s frustration growing, but the man remained composed, trying to coax some sort of response from the boy.

“Gao Wu,” the Vice Principal pressed, “we need your cooperation. This is very important.”

Still, there was nothing. Gao Wu’s indifference was almost chilling, and Zane couldn’t help but wonder what was going on in the boy’s mind. Was it fear? Guilt? Or something else entirely?

As the school staff continued their questioning, Zane moved to the back of the room, where the school’s surveillance footage was being reviewed. The footage had already been combed through multiple times, but Zane’s keen eye spotted something the others had missed—Gao Wu’s brief, fleeting glance at the security camera as he exited the restroom earlier that day. It was just a second, a tiny moment of acknowledgment, but it spoke volumes.

Zane replayed the footage, zooming in on the boy’s face. There it was again—the slightest hint of awareness. Gao Wu knew more than he was letting on, that much was clear.

The Vice Principal finally concluded the meeting, urging the students to cooperate with the investigation and to provide any honest information they could. Zane noticed that Gao Wu remained aloof, as if the entire ordeal was beneath him. The meeting had only served to deepen Zane’s suspicions, leaving many questions unanswered.

Just as the students and parents began to disperse, a female teacher entered the room, her face pale and drawn. She approached the Vice Principal and whispered something in his ear, her words causing his expression to harden.

“There’s something else,” the Vice Principal announced to those still present. “The wife of the deceased has arrived, and she’s… not handling the situation well.”

The room fell silent as the door opened wider, and a woman entered, her eyes red and swollen from crying. She was clearly distraught, her grief manifesting in loud, rhythmic sobs that echoed through the room. Her crying was almost theatrical, a performance of raw emotion that made everyone present feel uncomfortable.

Zane watched as the woman’s distress escalated, her sobs turning into wails as she collapsed onto the floor. Ke Cheng, a colleague of Zane’s who had been quietly observing from the sidelines, stepped forward to offer support.

“It’s okay,” Ke Cheng said softly, trying to comfort the woman. “We’re going to find out what happened.”

But the woman was inconsolable. Her grief was too deep, too overwhelming, and no amount of reassurance could reach her. Zane could see that this was more than just a moment of mourning—this was the outpouring of years of pain, of unresolved emotions that had finally burst to the surface.

The Vice Principal moved to assist, but even his attempts to calm her were met with little success. The room, once filled with the tension of suspicion, was now dominated by the woman’s sobs, her emotional breakdown serving as a grim reminder of the stakes involved.

As Zane and Ke Cheng watched, they both knew that this was no ordinary case. The woman’s emotional collapse was not just about the death itself—it was about the web of lies, secrets, and betrayals that had led to this moment. There was something much darker at play, something that had yet to fully reveal itself.

The Vice Principal, visibly shaken by the woman’s grief, addressed the remaining students and staff. “We need to identify the culprit behind this tragedy. The school’s reputation and the well-being of everyone here depend on it.”

Zane exchanged a glance with Ke Cheng. The Vice Principal’s words were clear, but the path forward was anything but. The atmosphere in the school had shifted—what had started as a strange parent meeting had now become a full-blown crisis, with emotions running high and suspicions growing deeper.

As the meeting came to an end, Zane’s mind was already racing, contemplating their next move. The urgency of the situation was palpable, and he knew that they had little time to piece together the clues before things spiraled even further out of control.

The Vice Principal lingered for a moment, clearly deep in thought. “We need to resolve this quickly,” he muttered to himself, though Zane caught the words.

“We will,” Zane replied, his voice steady but determined. “We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

As the students and staff filed out of the room, Zane remained behind, his gaze lingering on the spot where the woman had collapsed. The investigation was far from over, and the answers they sought were still shrouded in mystery. But one thing was certain—whatever shadows were lurking in this school, Zane Shaw was going to bring them to light.