“Clatter—clatter—”
Inside the bathroom, Hua Qian’an cupped a handful of water and splashed it onto her feverish face.
The cool water immediately cooled her skin.
Looking at the disheveled girl in the mirror, Hua Qian’an sighed.
This was so embarrassing.
She never thought she would actually shout out loud.
Fortunately, she told her roommate that she had a nightmare and wasn’t feeling well, so she needed to take a shower, and her roommate didn’t ask any questions.
For some reason, the others in the dorm seemed a bit guilty whenever they looked at her.
That petite and friendlier girl, He Yi, seemed like she wanted to say something but held back.
But Hua Qian’an was in a hurry at that moment and didn’t pay attention to what she wanted to say.
She grabbed her change of clothes and rushed into the bathroom.
Lifting the hem of her shirt, Hua Qian’an looked down.
Her smooth, fair abdomen came into view.
That dull ache she had felt for nearly half an hour was still faintly there.
But…
When Hua Qian’an’s fingertips touched the smooth skin of her abdomen, it trembled slightly under the touch due to its sensitivity from suddenly being exposed to air.
There didn’t seem to be anything abnormal.
Maybe…
It was all just a dream.
She took off her shirt and casually tossed it into the basin she had brought for dirty clothes.
Then came the pants, socks, bra, and underwear…
“…”
“Better just wash these straight away.”
Taking a deep breath, Hua Qian’an silently threw a messy pair of underwear into the basin.
This was really awful.
Was this because she was entering puberty?
Was this a wet dream? Or a nightmare?
Hua Qian’an couldn’t tell.
She scratched her loose hair, feeling completely clueless.
With a breath of relief, she was glad that her bed hadn’t gotten stained with anything inappropriate.
At this moment, she was thankful she hadn’t changed out of her clothes during her nap.
Those were all new clothes, worn for less than half a day.
The pants probably had a bit of a stain, so she’d have to wash them later, but the shirt could probably still be worn tomorrow.
Because of the condition of her pants, she could be sure the bedsheets were still intact.
Washing bedsheets was such a hassle.
Hua Qian’an wasn’t exactly a diligent person.
The semester had only just started, so her sheets and blanket had all been washed and brought from home in advance.
If anything unexpected happened, forcing her to spend extra effort washing or even changing the sheets…
She definitely wouldn’t be able to put on a good face.
She looked up at herself in the mirror.
Her expression looked like it was about to shatter.
She had only wanted to sleep for a little while, but it had been anything but peaceful.
She often had nightmares before, but it was rare for them to be this frequent and vivid.
Her shoulder-length black hair was a bit messy from just lying down, so Hua Qian’an shook her head left and right and casually smoothed it with her hand.
The bandages wrapped around her neck were still very conspicuous.
Hua Qian’an lightly placed her hand on them, then, as if trying to confirm something, she furrowed her brows and slowly unwrapped the bandages.
The sharp scent of Yunnan Baiyao started to spread through the air.
Staring at the bruised handprint on her neck in the mirror, even though it was the second time seeing it, she still felt a chill deep in her heart.
Hua Qian’an forced herself to calm down.
She placed her cool hand on the bruised spot on her neck, letting the cold dull the pain.
She had been wondering: if someone had really squeezed her neck that hard in reality…
Then why was she still alive?
Since there was a bruise from squeezing, there must have been an external force acting on her neck.
Why was she perfectly fine when some creature had such malicious intent to choke her?
This definitely didn’t look like some “prank.”
Hua Qian’an tilted her head slightly.
Her clear collarbone was visible beneath, and the perfect curve of her jaw.
In this position, she could see the bruise on her neck more clearly.
She roughly knew where it was deepest and where it was lighter…
Raising her hand, she mimicked the position on her own neck in the mirror.
If she wanted to strangle someone to death, how would she position her hand?
After staring at her suspended hand for a moment, Hua Qian’an changed the gesture.
Hesitantly, she moved her hand to her own neck, thinking about how the hand of someone trying to choke her would be positioned.
“No, that’s not right…”
The bruise on her neck… was off.
This result seemed to negate her original thought but confirmed a suspicion she’d had from the start.
When choking someone, the deepest pressure points should be the thumb and index finger…
So if the bruise came from that kind of grip…
Hua Qian’an positioned her own hand on her neck—
The marks aligned perfectly.
“Huh…”
It felt like touching a burning object, so she immediately pulled her hand away.
So, that handprint on her neck…
Was it made by herself?
“…”
She needed to sort out her thoughts.
“Whoosh—”
She plugged the hose into the water heater and turned on the shower.
Letting the spray pour directly over her.
Water slid down her skin and hit the floor, filling the space with the sound of rushing water.
After lathering herself all over with soap, she closed her eyes, bent down, and applied shampoo to her hair.
Did she have a habit of sleepwalking?
With her head bowed, letting the water rinse her scalp, Hua Qian’an silently stared at her bare feet, lost in thought.
After discovering who the real culprit of the bruise on her neck was, she felt much more at ease.
At least this proved that no one else was there except herself at the time.
Fear comes from the unknown.
Now that she had the answer, Hua Qian’an preferred to search for why she had done this.
Other than the possibility of sleepwalking, she couldn’t find another explanation.
Because she had dreamed of being strangled, her body had responded accordingly…
She might have lost consciousness in the dream, triggering a protective mechanism in her body.
It was actually quite difficult to choke herself to death.
Everything seemed to make sense.
Water dripped from the ends of her hair down to her ankles, falling onto her toes.
Hua Qian’an curled her toes and paused.
The air was thick with the scent of shampoo.
Her hand, resting on her head, still felt soapy.
But it was starting to get sore.
Since earlier, she’d been running her hands down her long hair, trying to wash out the shampoo.
Today, her hair was strangely difficult to rinse.
Hua Qian’an was losing patience.
Maybe she should try washing her hair in a different position.
She reached out and turned off the showerhead, then tried to brush her forehead hair back.
“…”
Still bent over, Hua Qian’an tilted her head slightly and looked down at the tips of her hair hanging near her ankles.
Water dripped from the ends onto her toes.
Her heart suddenly pounded loudly in her ears.
Was her hair really this long?
Hua Qian’an took a deep breath and slowly exhaled through her nose.
She closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, that previous scene seemed like a hallucination.
Water droplets clung to the strands of hair just below her knees, slowly falling.
“What’s wrong with me lately?”
“…Damn it.”
Hua Qian’an gathered her hair and swept it back over her head, then turned the shower back on, tilting her head up to rinse.
This time, the rinsing went smoothly.
Before long, she finished, changed into her pajamas, tidied her clothes, and carried the basin as she unlocked the door and stepped out.
Stepping out from the warm, humid space, cool air rushed through the gaps in her clothes.
She sat down at her desk and started drying her hair.
For some reason, she was the only one in the dorm right now.
Checking the time, it was almost midnight.
Come to think of it, it had been less than half an hour since she woke up and took a shower; she hadn’t realized it had gotten so late.
Usually, at this hour, her roommates would already be in bed.
But today, they were still chatting…
The dorm door was locked. Where could they be going at this hour?
After a few minutes, Hua Qian’an finished drying her hair and put away the hairdryer.
She took out the bandages and ointment given by the hospital from her backpack and began wrapping her neck.
Not having her roommates around really cut down on unnecessary trouble.
She had originally planned to cover it up and wrap the bandages in bed.
Now that was unnecessary.
As she finished wrapping her neck, a commotion sounded at the door.
Hua Qian’an looked up, eyebrows raised in surprise.
“Hehe, Xiao Qian, are you okay? We just went and stole a table from the dormitory management committee.”
He Yi was lifting one corner of the table.
Seeing Hua Qian’an sitting there, she smiled and waved.
Though petite, she was always full of energy.
Seeing her, Hua Qian’an cracked a small, awkward smile.
“I’m fine, just got scared by a nightmare…”
The three girls placed the table in the middle of the dorm.
Zhao Yingying glanced at Hua Qian’an’s state and suddenly sneered, “No way, Xiao Qian, you’re this timid?”
“Then aren’t you going to easily cry if you get scared later? That won’t do.”
Hmm?
Looking at the ponytailed girl acting all high and mighty, Hua Qian’an subconsciously frowned but quickly recovered her usual expression.
“Alright, alright, Yingying, don’t bully Xiao Qian.”
“Xiao Qian, you’re going to play this with us, right?”
Li Xiaozhen adjusted her glasses and seemed to be trying to mediate, but she was clearly on Zhao Yingying’s side, urging Hua Qian’an to join their game.
Hua Qian’an stood and walked over to the table, lowering her gaze to the items laid out.
A sheet of paper filled with dense writing, a pencil, and two white candles.
On the paper were numbers, dynasties, genders, common surnames… all densely packed on one large sheet.
Even Hua Qian’an could guess what this game was.
“…Pixian?”