Chapter 9

“Ah?”

The topic shifted so abruptly that Lu Jin was momentarily taken aback.

“That day, when the police car came out of the Medical School, you said someone was in trouble.” Zhou Huaixia decisively threw off the blanket and climbed down from the upper bunk.

Watching her awkward movements, Lu Jin quickly stepped forward and stood behind her, spreading her arms to half support, half protect. “Take it slow, your hand just got the brace.”

Everything was fine before; what could have upset her now? Could staying up one night have driven her crazy? It was only midnight—not really staying up late.

Zhou Huaixia touched the ground and grabbed Lu Jin’s arm tightly, asking, “Did someone hang themselves?”

“Uh…” Lu Jin’s arm throbbed under her grip, but she didn’t deny it. “A senior student did hang herself. Where did you hear that?”

Upon hearing the answer, Zhou Huaixia suddenly released Lu Jin and leaned against the cabinet as if drained, her expression complex beyond words.

“What’s wrong?” Lu Jin asked curiously. “Do you know that senior?”

Zhou Huaixia didn’t reply. After a long pause, she asked again, “Where did she hang herself?”

Though Lu Jin was reluctant to mention it, since they had just bonded through a shared act of bravery, and seeing Zhou Huaixia’s curiosity, she spoke up: “At the back hill of the Medical School.”

The Medical School was backed by a modest hill where students occasionally went for walks or breaks.

Zhou Huaixia looked up and suddenly asked, “Was she wearing a black trench coat, blue jeans, and a pair of black Chelsea boots?”

Lu Jin frowned immediately. “You saw the photos too?”

She had thought the counselors had already told everyone involved at the Medical School not to circulate the photos.

That stifling suffocation sensation swept over again. Zhou Huaixia almost lost her footing, bending over to clutch her neck, struggling to breathe.

“Zhou Huaixia?” Lu Jin rushed to help her sit down, rubbing her back but feeling cold sweat. “Deep breaths! Breathe!”

Zhou Huaixia felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar; a bone-chilling cold rose from her feet, stiffening her limbs, blood nearly ceasing to flow.

That afternoon was no different from any other. She had thought she was merely trapped in a nightmare of someone with severe mental pressure, unaware it was reality unfolding.

She had witnessed—no, personally experienced—someone else’s suicide by hanging.

“Is it your stomach or your head hurting?” Lu Jin noticed something was off; nobody suddenly sweats so much without reason. She touched Zhou Huaixia’s forehead. “Let’s go to the hospital for a check.”

Lu Jin suspected her roommate might have food poisoning caused by bacterial infection, but Zhou Huaixia had no fever symptoms, only clutching her neck and not appearing nauseous. In any case, a hospital visit was safer.

After several deep breaths, Zhou Huaixia gradually calmed down. She grasped Lu Jin’s hand as she reached for her phone to call a ride. “I’m fine.”

“But—”

Zhou Huaixia turned to Lu Jin. “Did you see her suicide or just the photos?”

Lu Jin had returned unusually early that day.

After a pause, she said, “I only saw her being carried out from the back hill. The photos circulated in some small groups.”

She had just been auditing a class, not expecting to witness that scene.

The group photos were even more direct, taken by students who found her first; the body was still hanging from the tree.

“I want to see the photos,” Zhou Huaixia said.

“You…” Lu Jin instinctively wanted to refuse, but Zhou Huaixia’s solemn expression made it clear this was no mere curiosity. “I’ll find them.”

Every day, various surgery photos were posted in the groups, often blocked. Strangely, the photo showing the whole body had remained.

After a moment’s search, Lu Jin found it. “Are you sure you want to see?”

Zhou Huaixia reached out, palm up, silently watching her.

Lu Jin handed over the phone and said, “She was a neuroscience PhD student at our university, very young, only 24. It’s a pity she couldn’t bear the pressure. What’s your relationship with her?”

Zhou Huaixia opened the photo and scanned the unfamiliar young woman’s face. Seeing the familiar clothing, she zoomed in until the black boots hanging down were clearly visible.

As expected, there was a scratch on one boot, with the leather around it slightly peeling.

Exactly as she had seen in her ‘dream.’

She placed the phone face down on the table, closed her eyes briefly, then stood. “I’m tired. I’m going to sleep.”

Lu Jin watched in confusion as Zhou Huaixia slowly climbed back to her bed, clinging to the railing. She was filled with questions: Why such a strong reaction? After seeing the photo, she just wanted to sleep?

***

“You still haven’t said what your relationship with that senior is,” Lu Jin asked, standing below and looking up. “Do you know her?”

Zhou Huaixia turned inward, facing away. “No, never met her.”

Lu Jin was speechless.

Well, she finally understood. Zhou Huaixia was still the same inexplicable Zhou Huaixia.

“Forget it, I’ll sleep early too,” Lu Jin said, turning off the light. “If you feel unwell, call me.”

The dorm lights went out.

Zhou Huaixia faced the wall, eyes wide open in the dark, motionless.

Since entering university, her dream visits had become more frequent but more distant. She never expected her ability would evolve to let her enter others’ bodies and see through their eyes.

Staring at the black speck on the white wall, she wondered: Was she a monster?

***

“Good morning.”

At 6:30, Lu Jin got up on time and saw Zhou Huaixia climb down from the upper bunk. Her right arm was still in a brace, and her movements were slower.

“Morning,” Zhou Huaixia said.

Lu Jin studied her face and noticed she looked much better than the night before, so she relaxed and asked, “I’m going to the library later. Are you coming?”

Though she couldn’t understand why Zhou Huaixia was up so early, only to nap anywhere eventually, their relationship was now a life-and-death bond.

Lu Jin was willing to respect her quirks.

“No,” Zhou Huaixia declined.

Lu Jin was surprised but pushed up her glasses and said, “Then rest well in the dorm. Call me if you need help.”

After Lu Jin left, Zhou Huaixia did not stay in the dorm but headed toward the Medical School.

The Medical School occupied the far corner of S University, a place Zhou Huaixia had never visited. After wandering around, she finally reached the back hill.

There were several well-maintained paths, clearly frequented by students. The Medical School’s surveillance was more extensive than she imagined; even the tall, dense trees had cameras installed.

“Rushing water—”

Halfway along, Zhou Huaixia heard water flowing and turned to see a waterwheel spinning nearby. Water trickled down the channel, flowing slowly in another direction.

Recalling the gentle water sounds from that afternoon, she turned and walked toward them.

The stone steps were spotless.

Her footsteps halted. She stepped off the path onto dry, brown leaves, her soles sinking slightly. After several minutes, her gaze fixed on a maple tree not far ahead.

She quickened her pace and stood beneath a long horizontal branch, turning to stop. A faint scent of rotting wood mixed with the forest’s freshness wafted to her nose.

This was the place.

She looked up at the branch; the maple leaves had grown redder, and the branch bore several friction marks from coarse rope—evidence that something had happened here.

Her heart sank completely.

Whether it was the Medical School senior who hanged herself or the man in a black jacket with a kitchen knife, they all reminded Zhou Huaixia of one thing: she no longer only entered others’ dreams.

She didn’t even know how this ability would evolve.

If she could, she wished this ability would disappear.

She did not want to be seen as a monster.

***

After lingering on the back hill for a long time, Zhou Huaixia composed herself and returned to her usual slow demeanor, heading toward Building Two.

At the entrance, she saw a service vehicle driving toward Fifth Avenue.

It seemed to be for installing surveillance.

Zhou Huaixia noticed the boxes by the workers’ sides and decided to follow.

“Hey, it’s you, student.” The security guard who had caught her lifting a manhole cover the night before recognized her immediately. “Why are you back here again?”

Zhou Huaixia replied, “I saw the installation truck and was curious.”

The guard said, “Before National Day, students kept writing letters complaining about the lack of streetlights and cameras in many areas. So the logistics department rushed to order a batch, and they’re installing them all these days.”

Zhou Huaixia nodded, “The school’s response was fast.”

After today’s visit to the Medical School, where there were many cameras, she no longer needed to write letters.

The guard shook his head. “I heard a student named Zhou Huaixia bombards the principal’s mailbox regularly with real-name letters, full of alarming claims. The principal had to personally intervene. Otherwise, logistics would have taken at least a month or two to place the order.”

Zhou Huaixia coughed lightly. “Really? Uncle, I’m off now.” Luckily, when she showed her campus card, she covered her name with her finger.

The guard said, “Okay, off you go. Now with the cameras, even students trying to lose cats will have to think twice.”

***

Lu Jin’s campus life was routine, and Zhou Huaixia followed her quietly until mid-October, finding nothing amiss. She was either at the library or on the way there.

Zhou Huaixia had no more dreams involving cats.

The school learned about their brave act at the mall and decided to award them advanced individual honors with a cash prize.

“Ten thousand each!” Lu Jin sighed. “Our school is generous.”

Zhou Huaixia leaned back, dozing off, but hearing this, she forced her eyes open. “Are we getting the citizen bravery certificates tomorrow?”

Lu Jin nodded, “Yes, at ten in the morning. There’s also a thousand yuan bonus per person.”

Zhou Huaixia yawned. “Is the case closed?”

“I don’t know, probably,” Lu Jin said thoughtfully. “We can ask tomorrow.”

The next day, accompanied by their respective counselors, they went to the West City Public Security Sub-bureau to receive their certificates.

Captain Tian Hong, who had interrogated them, was there. Lu Jin approached him and asked, “Captain, was the suspect mentally ill or what?”

Young detective Yu Tianming and his colleagues whispered, “This college girl calls the captain more smoothly than we do.”

Tian Hong replied, “He wasn’t mentally ill. Just an unemployed man in his thirties looking for thrill by killing. He didn’t dare attack the men or the strong woman, so he targeted two slender high school girls instead. He still can’t figure out how two college girls tackled him and took away his knife.”

It was Saturday. After receiving their certificates, the counselors took photos and then left separately.

Back at school, Lu Jin said she wouldn’t return to the dorm but would go to the staff dormitory.

“You…”

Before Zhou Huaixia could ask, Lu Jin explained, “To get Ms. Lu Zhihua’s notes.”

By now, she was used to her roommate’s clingy behavior. “If you want to come, then come along.”

So far, Zhou Huaixia had found no sign of any psychological abnormality in Lu Jin—except for her constant tea refills and her morning Tai Chi routine.

With nothing else to do, she treated it as a walk and followed Lu Jin.

The staff dormitory was far from the teaching buildings, quiet and rarely visited by students. The sound of a cat was unusually clear.

Zhou Huaixia stopped, thinking she was hallucinating.

“There’s a cat!” Lu Jin turned and tiptoed toward the flowerbed, mimicking a cat’s meow, successfully attracting the attention of a calico cat hiding there.

Lu Jin squatted and scratched under the cat’s chin, whispering, “Why are you here?”

Zhou Huaixia stood nearby, watching Lu Jin and the calico cat. Lu Jin looked like a crazy cat lover, struggling not to kiss the cat, giving no hint that—

Suddenly, a sharp, tearing pain surged. Her mind was flooded with strange yet familiar images.

Familiar was the calico cat before her; unfamiliar was a gloved hand gripping the cat’s head tightly, pressing it against the ground and rubbing it harshly.

Zhou Huaixia stepped back, staring in shock at Lu Jin, who was crouched on the ground affectionately stroking the calico’s head.

Was this… her imagination?