“Ah?”
The topic jumped too suddenly, and Lu Jin couldn’t react right away.
“That day, the police car came out of the medical school, and you said someone had an accident.”
Zhou Huaixia straightforwardly threw off the blanket and climbed down from the top bunk.
Lu Jin watched Zhou Huaixia’s awkward movements and quickly stepped forward, standing behind her, opening her arms to half-protect and half-support her.
“Slow down, your hand’s still in the brace.”
What was going on with her?
What could have triggered this?
Was she going crazy after staying up one night?
It was only twelve o’clock, that wasn’t really staying up late, was it?
Zhou Huaixia landed on the floor, reached out, and tightly grabbed Lu Jin’s arm, asking, “Did someone hang themselves?”
“Uh…” Lu Jin’s arm was painfully grabbed, but she didn’t deny it.
“Yes, a senior hung herself. Where did you see the news?”
After receiving an answer, Zhou Huaixia suddenly released Lu Jin and leaned weakly against the cabinet, her expression complicated.
“What’s wrong?” Lu Jin asked, confused, “Do you know that senior?”
Zhou Huaixia didn’t answer right away and after a long pause, she asked, “Where did she commit suicide?”
Although Lu Jin didn’t want to talk about it, they had once worked together as good Samaritans, which had just formed a revolutionary bond between them.
Seeing that Zhou Huaixia wanted to know, she still spoke.
“Behind the medical school, on the back hill.”
The medical school was backed by a low hill where students occasionally went to walk or relax.
Zhou Huaixia looked up and suddenly asked, “Was she wearing a black trench coat, blue jeans, and black Chelsea boots?”
Lu Jin immediately furrowed her brows.
“Did you see the photo too?”
She thought the counselor had already informed everyone who knew about the incident not to share the photos.
The suffocating feeling seemed to wash over her again.
Zhou Huaixia nearly lost her balance and bent over, clutching her neck, struggling to breathe.
“Zhou Huaixia?”
Lu Jin noticed something was wrong and quickly helped her sit down, rubbing her back, but felt cold sweat on her skin.
“Deep breaths! Breathe!”
Zhou Huaixia felt like she had fallen into an ice cave, a bone-chilling coldness rising from her feet, her limbs stiffening, and her blood almost stopping.
That day, it seemed like just an ordinary afternoon, but she thought she had accidentally stumbled into a nightmare of someone under extreme mental pressure, completely unaware that this was something actually happening in reality.
She had personally… no, she had experienced the hanging suicide of another person.
“Do you have stomach pain or a headache?”
Lu Jin felt something was off with Zhou Huaixia.
Who suddenly sweats so much?
She reached out and touched her forehead.
“We should go to the hospital for a checkup.”
She suspected her roommate might have food poisoning from a bacterial infection, but Zhou Huaixia didn’t have any symptoms of fever.
She was just clutching her neck and didn’t seem to be about to throw up.
Still, it would be safer to go to the hospital.
Zhou Huaixia took several deep breaths and gradually calmed down.
She grabbed Lu Jin’s hand, the one holding her phone, and tried to stop her from calling a car.
“I’m fine.”
“But…”
Zhou Huaixia turned her head to look at Lu Jin.
“Did you see her commit suicide, or do you just have her photo?”
That day, Lu Jin came back unusually early.
Lu Jin paused for a moment and said, “I only saw her being carried out from the back hill.
The photo came from several small groups.”
She had just gone to attend a class and didn’t expect to witness that scene.
The photo in the group was more direct, probably taken by students who discovered it first.
The body was still hanging on the tree.
“I want to see the photo.”
Zhou Huaixia said.
“You…” Lu Jin instinctively wanted to refuse, but Zhou Huaixia’s expression was serious, not just curious or gossiping.
“I’ll find it.”
There were various surgical photos posted in the group every day, often blocked.
In contrast, the complete photo of a human body had been saved and stored.
After searching for a while, Lu Jin found it.
“Are you sure you want to see it?”
Zhou Huaixia extended her hand, palm up, silently looking at her.
Lu Jin could only hand her the phone, asking, “She was a Ph.D. student in neuroscience at our school, very young, only 24.
It’s such a pity she couldn’t handle the pressure.
What was your relationship with her?”
Zhou Huaixia opened the photo, her eyes sweeping over the unfamiliar young woman’s face.
She recognized the familiar clothing on the woman and then zoomed in on the photo until she could clearly see the black boots hanging down.
Sure enough, there was a scratch on the boots, and the leather around it was slightly lifted.
It was identical to what she had seen in her “dream.”
Zhou Huaixia placed the phone on the table, closed her eyes for a moment, then stood up.
“I’m tired, I’m going to sleep first.”
Lu Jin was left confused, watching Zhou Huaixia slowly climb back onto her bed, still holding the handrail.
What was going on with her?
She suddenly reacted this strongly, and now she was going to sleep after seeing the photo?
“You still haven’t told me what your relationship is with that senior?”
Lu Jin asked, standing below and looking up to get to the bottom of it.
“Do you know her?”
Zhou Huaixia turned away, her back to the outside. “No, I don’t know her. I’ve never seen her before.”
Lu Jin: “……”
Well, now she was completely certain, Zhou Huaixia was still the same mysterious Zhou Huaixia.
“Forget it, I’ll go to sleep early.”
Lu Jin said as she turned off the light, still reminding her, “If you’re not feeling well, just call me.”
The lights in the dormitory were turned off.
Zhou Huaixia faced the wall, lying still in the dark, her eyes wide open.
When did it all start?
She knew that after entering college, the frequency of her entering dreams had increased, and the distances were getting farther.
But she didn’t expect this ability to change.
She could even enter other people’s bodies and see through their eyes, seeing what they saw.
Zhou Huaixia stared at the black dot on the white wall. Was she a monster?
……
“Good morning.”
At 6:30, Lu Jin woke up on time and saw Zhou Huaixia crawling down from the top bunk, her right arm in a brace, making her movements slower.
“Good morning.”
Lu Jin studied her face and found she looked much better than last night, so she was relieved.
She asked, “I’m going to the library later, are you going?”
Although she couldn’t understand why Zhou Huaixia woke up so early, she had long accepted her quirks. They were now close friends.
Lu Jin was willing to respect her oddities.
“No.” Zhou Huaixia refused.
This made Lu Jin pause, then she adjusted her glasses.
“Then you can rest well in the dorm, if you need anything, you can call me.”
After Lu Jin left, Zhou Huaixia didn’t stay in the dorm but headed towards the medical school.
The medical school was located in the farthest corner of S University, and Zhou Huaixia had never been there before.
She walked around a bit before finally reaching the back hill.
There were several small paths on the back hill, clearly used by students frequently.
The medical school’s surveillance cameras were more numerous than she had imagined, even the large trees along the hill were monitored.
“Whoosh”
Zhou Huaixia was halfway up the hill when she heard the sound of flowing water.
She turned around and saw a water wheel turning nearby, with water flowing down a channel toward another direction.
Remembering the sound of water she heard that afternoon, she turned toward the direction of the water flow.
The stone steps were too clean.
Zhou Huaixia paused, then stepped off the path and onto the dry, fallen leaves.
Her shoes sank slightly, and as she walked for a few minutes, her gaze suddenly fixed on a maple tree in the distance.
She quickened her pace and approached, standing under a horizontal branch.
She stopped and turned around, breathing in the faint smell of decaying wood mixed with the fresh air of the forest.
…It was here.
Zhou Huaixia looked up at the branches.
The maple leaves had turned even redder, and a few marks from ropes rubbing against the branches were still visible, indicating what had happened here.
Her heart sank completely.
Whether it was the senior from the medical school who hung herself or the man in a black jacket holding a kitchen knife, they were both reminding Zhou Huaixia of one thing she no longer just entered other people’s dreams.
She didn’t even know what this ability of hers would become in the future.
If she could, she would wish this ability would disappear.
Zhou Huaixia didn’t want to be seen as a monster.
……
After staying on the back hill for a long time, Zhou Huaixia collected her emotions, returning to her usual slow pace as she walked toward Building Two.
She saw a surveillance vehicle on Fifth Avenue heading towards the building.
It seemed like they were installing surveillance cameras.
She noticed a box in the worker’s hand and followed them.
“Hey, it’s you, classmate.”
The security guard who had caught her the night before by the manhole cover recognized her immediately.
“What are you doing here again?”
Zhou Huaixia: “I saw the installation truck and was curious, so I came to take a look.”
Security guard: “Before National Day, students had been writing letters to the school about the lack of street lights and surveillance cameras in many places.
So, the logistics department expedited an order, and they should all be installed in the next few days.”
Zhou Huaixia nodded: “The school responds quickly.”
After walking around the medical school, she saw that there were plenty of surveillance cameras, so there was no need for her to write letters anymore.
The security guard shook his head: “I heard there’s a student named Zhou Huaixia, she keeps bombarding the president’s mailbox with letters at set times.
The letters are so exaggerated that the president personally got involved.
Otherwise, it would have taken at least a month or two for the logistics department to place this order.”
Zhou Huaixia cleared her throat: “Is that so? Uncle, I’ll be going now.”
Thankfully, when she took out her ID card, she made sure her fingers covered her name.
Security guard: “Okay, go ahead. With cameras, students who want to dump cats will have to think twice now.”
……
Lu Jin’s school life was quite routine, just the same two places every day, and Zhou Huaixia followed her until mid-October without finding anything suspicious.
Every day, she was either heading to the library or on her way to the library.
Zhou Huaixia hadn’t entered any more dreams about cats.
However, the school had learned about their heroic act at the mall and decided to award them with advanced individual honors, plus a cash prize.
“One thousand each!” Lu Jin exclaimed, “Our school is generous.”
Zhou Huaixia dozed off in the chair but managed to force her eyes open when she heard this.
“Are we going to get our certificates of recognition tomorrow?”
Lu Jin nodded: “Yes, at 10 am. There’s also a cash bonus of one thousand for each of us.”
Zhou Huaixia yawned: “Has the case been concluded?”
“I don’t know, but it should be,” Lu Jin said thoughtfully.
“We can ask tomorrow.”
The next day, both of them, accompanied by their counselors, went to the police substation in the West District to collect their certificates.
Coincidentally, Officer Tian Hong, who had interviewed them, was there.
Lu Jin took the initiative to ask about the case.
“Captain, was the suspect mentally unstable?”
The young officer, Yu Tianming, and his colleagues whispered among themselves: “This girl calls him Captain more smoothly than we do.”
Captain Tian Hong: “He wasn’t mentally unstable.
He’s a thirty-something unemployed man looking for a thrill, trying to kill someone for excitement.”
Even though he had a knife, he didn’t dare attack men or stronger women, so his target ended up being two slim high school girls.
He still couldn’t understand how two college girls managed to knock him down and take the knife.
It was Saturday.
After receiving their certificates, the counselors took photos and then went their separate ways.
When they returned to the school, Lu Jin said she wasn’t going back to the dorm yet and was heading to the staff dorm.
“You…”
Before Zhou Huaixia could ask, Lu Jin explained first: “I’m going to get Mrs. Lu Zhihua’s notes.”
By now, she had become accustomed to her roommate’s clinginess: “If you want to go, you can come with me.”
Zhou Huaixia still hadn’t discovered anything abnormal about Lu Jin, except for her habit of filling her thermos and the daily Tai Chi routine every morning.
But since she had nothing else to do, she decided to walk with Lu Jin.
The staff dorm was far from the teaching building, and there weren’t many students around.
It was quieter, so the sound of the cat was unusually clear.
Zhou Huaixia paused, thinking she had imagined it.
“There’s a cat!” Lu Jin turned around, looking into the flower bed, sneaking over and even mimicking a cat’s meow to attract the attention of a tricolor cat hiding inside.
Lu Jin squatted down, reaching out to scratch the cat’s chin, her voice imitating a cat’s: “What are you doing here?”
Zhou Huaixia stood aside, staring at her and the tricolor cat in her hands.
Lu Jin looked like a crazy cat person, trying hard not to kiss the cat, completely unaware…
The ripping pain hit her suddenly, and unfamiliar yet familiar images flooded her mind.
The familiar part was the tricolor cat in front of her, the unfamiliar part was a pair of medical-gloved hands, desperately gripping the cat’s head, pressing it down into the ground, rubbing it against the dirt.
Zhou Huaixia took a step back, looking in shock at Lu Jin, who was crouched down, affectionately petting the tricolor cat.
Was this… her fantasy?