Chapter 10
This was the second time.
Before she had fallen asleep, sudden fragmented images flashed in her mind. The last time, it was a man in a black jacket attempting to kill someone with a knife.
Zhou Huaixia fixed her gaze on Lu Jin. They had known each other for over a month, and she had never noticed any signs of psychological abnormality in her—if anything, Lu Jin was almost too idealistic. Yet at this moment, only Lu Jin was playing with the calico cat.
Who else was here besides her?
“What are you looking at?” Lu Jin was scratching the cat’s chin when she looked up and saw Zhou Huaixia frowning and glancing around with a wary expression.
Zhou Huaixia said coldly, “If you want to get the notebook, hurry up and go upstairs.”
Reluctantly, Lu Jin let go of the cat and stood up. “Okay, okay, why are you suddenly so cold? It’s kind of scary.”
In the staff dormitory, there were some books and notebooks that Lu Zhihua had used before. Lu Jin often took them out for reference, and this time was no exception. She carefully selected a few and slipped them into her bag.
Just as she came out of the study, she saw Zhou Huaixia circling back from the balcony.
“Finished looking?” By now, Lu Jin had gotten used to her leader-like inspection style. “I’ve packed everything. Let’s go back to the dorm.”
While going downstairs, Lu Jin accidentally glanced at Zhou Huaixia’s phone screen and was startled. “Why are you looking at this?”
Zhou Huaixia was browsing rental information. She hadn’t found Lu Jin annoying, so why was she planning to move out of the dorm?
“Shut up,” Zhou Huaixia said, not wanting to hear any more from Lu Jin, fearing it would cloud her judgment.
Adjusting her glasses, Lu Jin watched as she exited one page and tapped into another, her mouth incessantly moving. “Why are you looking at the faculty dorms?”
The two of them walked toward Dormitory Building 23, Zhou Huaixia still scrolling through rental photos.
S University’s staff dormitories were scattered in several locations, some off-campus. On campus, there were seven dormitory buildings for staff: two old apartments with six floors each and no elevators, and several others built at different times, some with over ten floors and equipped with elevators.
Zhou Huaixia was flipping through photos of the newer dorms, confirming that the bathroom renovations in these buildings differed from those in the dormitory assigned to Lu Jin’s mother.
If she could sense others’ overly intense fantasies, the scene just now near the staff dormitory building was definitely in Lu Jin’s mind.
Zhou Huaixia stopped. “Are you wearing medical gloves?”
Without hesitation, Lu Jin admitted, “Yes, do you want some?”
She slipped off one shoulder strap of her bag, took out a pair of white medical gloves from a small pouch, and handed them to her unpredictable roommate. “Here.”
Zhou Huaixia didn’t take them. “Put them on.”
“Eh?”
Zhou Huaixia stared at her hand and repeated, “Put them on.”
In her previous two dreams, she hadn’t paid much attention to the gloved hand. After all, hands look pretty much the same once gloves are on.
Lu Jin looked at Zhou Huaixia oddly. “What are you trying to do?”
She hoped it wasn’t some kind of master-and-servant role play. That would be way too advanced.
Unable to bear her roommate’s expressionless, unwavering stare, Lu Jin gave in and skillfully put on the gloves, then stretched out her fingers for her to see. “Done.”
Zhou Huaixia was speechless.
To be honest, she couldn’t tell the difference between Lu Jin’s hands and the ones she had “seen.”
Lu Jin kept asking, “So what do you want me to do?”
Zhou Huaixia: “Never mind, no need…”
Just as she was about to turn away, a sudden image flashed before her eyes: the calico cat she had just seen was violently tossed into the bathroom by a hand wearing medical gloves.
“Hiss—”
Zhou Huaixia raised her left hand to cover her stinging eyes, gasping sharply.
Lu Jin put her hands down. “What’s wrong? There’s no dust or sand around.”
Suppressing the discomfort in her eyes, Zhou Huaixia asked, “How familiar are you with Dormitories 2 and 3? Do you know which residents are in the medical field?”
She had seen it.
The man’s facial cleanser that flashed by the washbasin just now was not Lu Jin’s.
Zhou Huaixia couldn’t tell if this was someone else’s fantasy or if reality was unfolding before her, but she had to find out.
Lu Jin looked confused. “Dorms 2 and 3 are assigned to medical faculty, but some teachers don’t live there and rent their places to students. Why?”
Since meeting Zhou Huaixia, she had heard the phrase “Why?” countless times.
“Male, medical professional, living alone,” Zhou Huaixia asked Lu Jin, “Who are they and where do they live?”
The old apartments each had only one bathroom. The washbasin was empty, with no signs of others—just a cup holding a toothbrush and a men’s facial cleanser.
“How would I know…” Lu Jin was baffled but tried to recall carefully. “The only male teachers living alone are in 3-602 and 3-101. I’m not sure about the tenants, but I do know which rooms have been rented out.”
The old apartments had always been assigned to medical professors. Since Lu Jin grew up there, she knew most of their situations.
Zhou Huaixia grabbed Lu Jin’s arm. “Let’s go back.”
Lu Jin, still confused, followed her running toward the staff dormitories. “Can you at least tell me why we’re going back?”
Zhou Huaixia replied, “You need to help me confirm who else lives in Dorms 2 and 3.”
“What’s the point of confirming that?” Lu Jin started to comment, “By the way, Zhou Huaixia, you’re running really slow.”
Carrying a heavy bag, she suddenly quickened her pace and pulled her roommate into a wild sprint toward the dormitories. Her short, curly hair fluttered in the wind like an excited stray dog.
Zhou Huaixia stumbled but kept up.
They hadn’t gone far before reaching the staff dormitories. The moment Zhou Huaixia stopped, her vision darkened, and the air she breathed smelled faintly of rust.
“Entire first and sixth floors of Dorm 2 are rented to students. The fifth floor of Dorm 3 is also mostly student tenants,” Lu Jin said, adjusting her slipping glasses. “So, now can you tell me why we came back?”
Including the two single male teachers, there were eight households in total.
Zhou Huaixia headed toward Dorm 3 first. “I need to use the bathroom.”
“?”
She knocked on room 101.
Soon, the door opened. A man in his forties, a professor, appeared. Upon seeing Zhou Huaixia, he asked, “Student, is there something I can help with?”
“I have a stomachache and want to use the bathroom,” Zhou Huaixia said, stepping past him without waiting for a response, heading straight for the apartment’s bathroom.
Lu Jin stood outside, forcing a stiff smile. “Hello, Professor Yang.”
Was Zhou Huaixia crazy? Claiming stomachaches again and barging into someone else’s home without asking? Why not just go to her place?
Professor Yang didn’t seem to mind. “Xiao Lu, is she your classmate?”
Lu Jin wanted to say she didn’t know her but bravely took responsibility. “Roommate. She often has stomachaches.”
Zhou Huaixia glanced inside briefly then turned to leave before the two men could finish exchanging pleasantries.
Lu Jin asked, “Are you done?”
“Thank you, professor.” Zhou Huaixia thanked Professor Yang and ran upstairs.
“Wait for me!” Lu Jin said, saying goodbye to the professor before hurrying after her.
Zhou Huaixia panted as she knocked on room 501. After a moment, a young woman opened the door.
“Sorry, wrong room.”
Lu Jin stood at the staircase, watching Zhou Huaixia turn and knock on 502’s door. She approached the still-open door and whispered, “What exactly are you doing?”
Right now, Zhou Huaixia reminded her of the day she suddenly asked the medical school senior about a suicide by hanging—her eyes carried an indescribable complexity, completely different from her usual slow demeanor.
Knock, knock, knock!
“I need to confirm something,” Zhou Huaixia knocked again. No one answered. She turned to the woman across the hall. “Hello, is this a male or female dorm?”
The woman half-opened her door. “Males. Who are you looking for?”
“Is he here?”
“Should be. I heard the door close not long ago.”
Bang, bang, bang!
Zhou Huaixia pounded on the door, staring at it with growing unease.
Lu Jin stood beside her, wanting to stop her almost obsessive behavior but remained still.
After a full minute, someone finally cracked the door open slightly. The sound of a television came from within.
A young man, about twenty-five or twenty-six, wearing black-rimmed glasses, with unshaven stubble over his upper lip, stood inside. Through the crack, he looked impatiently at Zhou Huaixia. “Who are you?”
“Why is there a bloody smell?” Lu Jin suddenly asked from the side.
Without hesitation, Zhou Huaixia pushed open the door with all her strength and headed toward the bathroom.
The young man hadn’t expected her to shove the door open so forcefully. Taken off guard, he stumbled backward a few steps. By the time he reacted, Zhou Huaixia was already inside.
“What are you doing?!” The man’s eyebrows shot up in anger as he strode forward, reaching out to grab her.
“Hey, don’t!” Lu Jin rushed in, quickly pulling him back.
Distracted by Lu Jin’s intervention, Zhou Huaixia reached the bathroom door and slammed it open.
Bang!
The aluminum-framed glass door hit the wall hard.
Zhou Huaixia looked at the scene inside, stopped, and turned to the approaching young man with cold eyes. “It’s you.”