The Ring of Solitude

Prologue - 003：Glimpses of Forbidden Desires

As the final bell rang, signaling the end of classes, a tide of students surged toward the exits, eager for the freedom that lay beyond the school gates. Only some who had after-school clubs, sports practice, or studying lingered behind.

"There's time before evening," Jacob mused to himself, "plenty of time to check around."

From the student areas to the teacher areas, anywhere you could enter, you searched them all. Occasionally teachers and students in the rooms would give you puzzled looks, but you just turned your head and left without any explanation.

Other than the principal yelling and shooing students off the track where there was apparently a large pit that had inexplicably appeared, forcing them to halt practices there for "safety reasons", the rest of the school seemed normal. From eavesdropping on some students, you gathered the athletic areas were now restricted. This meant Emma wouldn't be there.

After a series of searches within the school, Jacob gradually regained rationality, the unease in his heart extinguished by time: " No luck in the academic wing. They must be in the gym or on the fields. Practice is probably ending now. It's almost 7 PM and I've never stayed this late at school before. I usually either head to my part-time job or go home and surf the net. This eerily empty school is a first for me - quite an odd feeling. "

"Aiden is on the school's basketball team, I've gotta check there carefully," Jacob told himself.

In stark contrast to its usual lively atmosphere of bouncing balls and shouting players, the gym now exuded quiet emptiness. In the dim lighting, only the showers emitted light.

Jacob's heartbeat quickened: "This late, no way it's not them!"

Adrenaline surged as if facing a formidable foe, recklessly releasing chemicals in your body that prevented calm, your pounding heartbeat echoing in your chest, so strong it seemed the sweat droplets under your arms and palms might vibrate and burst off.

You knew this was a peculiar place, and the scene inside might not be what you wanted to witness.Still the natural impulses driving you towards the showers. Before reaching the entrance, waves of low, muffled moans reached your ears, each one intentionally subdued, as if trying to avoid unwanted attention.

However,her primal instinct overwhelmed her self-control.

The shower area was divided into private stalls, and it was pretty straightforward to tell which one was occupied, as the feminine moans intensified the closer you got.

"No need to guess, it's the third one. That voice sounds kind of mature, hmm, not like a young woman's. I gotta keep it down, god knows what might happen if I'm caught."

The first, second, and fourth stalls were wide open, which made the shut door of the third stall stick out even more. The stalls were designed to be private, without any cracks above or below that would allow someone to sneak a peek inside.

Curiosity burned like a raging engine, reaching a point where only forward motion was permitted, with no room for retreat.

"The only thing to do is press up against the wall and listen in. This voice sounds familiar but I can't quite nail it down—definitely not Emma, right? Maybe slipping into the fourth stall would be the smarter move?"

Your racing heartbeat pounded out a rhythmic thrill with each rapid pulse, as you inched towards the stall at an agonizingly slow pace to minimize noise. Once inside, just as you were about to press your ear against the shower wall, something caught your attention—a small, damp sticker, crinkled at the edges. It sported a blue basketball insignia, the unmistakable mark of the basketball team.