Zhang Xueji: “But you spent the whole afternoon in Qinxue Building, don’t you have classes?”
Xie Qiaoqiao: “I don’t have any classes this afternoon.”
Zhang Xueji wasn’t surprised—the first question was just a setup. Now that Xie Qiaoqiao responded, he could keep asking.
Zhang Xueji: “What’s your major?”
Without even looking up, Xie Qiaoqiao replied, “English.”
English?
A completely unfamiliar major. Zhang Xueji was dazed for a few seconds, racking his brain for any memory related to it, but came up empty.
Zhang Xueji: “Not many people go to grad school for that major—”
Xie Qiaoqiao: “I’m a sophomore.”
Another answer right in Zhang Xueji’s blind spot. For a moment he was surprised and almost blurted out to ask her age; fortunately, just as he opened his mouth, his brain caught up with his throat and he swallowed back the impolite question in time.
But does our school even have an English Department? How come he’d never run into her before?
Not long after leaving the campus gate, Xie Qiaoqiao suddenly stopped and pointed at the Commercial Supermarket beside them. “I want to go in and buy a few things.”
Zhang Xueji put away his umbrella. “Together? I just happen to need to get a few things too.”
There was no reason to refuse, and besides, observing her shopping habits should count as part of his surveillance—Xie Qiaoqiao nodded and walked in with Zhang Xueji.
Passing through the revolving glass doors, the mall’s abundant air conditioning was invigorating. Xie Qiaoqiao pushed her Shopping Cart straight to the snack section, glancing distractedly at Zhang Xueji to observe his movements.
Zhang Xueji only said he needed to get a few things, but didn’t say what. He was pushing a Shopping Cart too, following behind Xie Qiaoqiao into the snack section.
Xie Qiaoqiao thought Zhang Xueji must be picky about snacks, because he looked over everything on both the top and bottom shelves, but didn’t put anything in his cart.
She added a note to her phone’s memo: Very picky about snacks.
After buying Yogurt and Nori Chips, Xie Qiaoqiao didn’t have anything else to get, so she pushed her Shopping Cart to the checkout.
Seeing she was leaving, Zhang Xueji casually grabbed two bags of Potato Chips from the nearby shelf and tossed them into his cart, pretending he was finished shopping too.
After paying and heading out, he immediately opened his umbrella, tilting it toward Xie Qiaoqiao just as before.
When she got home, Xie Qiaoqiao lay quietly on the sofa with her hands folded, waiting for the air conditioner’s cool air to spread.
Only when the whole living room was filled with the scent of air conditioning did she leave the sofa to open the Refrigerator.
Inside were some healthy vegetables and a bag of apples, probably put there yesterday by Hua Lingyue.
What should she make for dinner…
After thinking for a moment, Xie Qiaoqiao took out the Vacuum-Sealed Tuna, opened it, and put it in the Cooking Pot with rice to cook together, then mixed in Nori Chips.
It looked a lot like dog food—but in theory, this pot of food contained carbohydrates, protein, fat, dietary fiber… just a bit short on vitamins.
Xie Qiaoqiao stared blankly at the pot for a while, then got up to take a Bell Pepper from the Refrigerator, washed it, and ate it raw with the rice.
Great, now the vitamins were covered too.
The bell pepper was crunchy, the mixed rice was soft, and from the tightly closed balcony doors, a faint aroma of food drifted in.
Was it from upstairs or downstairs? The smell was like braised meat—so fragrant.
Xie Qiaoqiao chewed the last bite of bell pepper hard, then pulled out her phone and ordered a Cookbook from a shopping app.
Night fell silent, the Full Moon hung in the sky—it was the full moon tonight.
Zhang Xueji opened his eyes and saw the blindingly white White Porcelain Tile Wall.
It looked like the Water Maze often found in Waterpark attractions, with twisting paths so confusing it was impossible to tell directions.
The Swimming Pool sections were abnormally deep—there was clearly no one to his left or right, and no other living thing in sight, yet the water’s surface still rippled, the waves thick and rhythmic.
Colorful balloons floated on the surface, tumbling in the stifling, oppressive dampness, sometimes submerged by the water, only to float up again moments later.
Zhang Xueji didn’t find this place strange, nor was he curious about why he was here.
The bizarre space had a mind-twisting power, making anything that happened seem perfectly normal.
He only felt danger, so he ran desperately along the narrow ledge by the wall, dashing blindly into passage after passage.
Each undulating water tunnel looked identical, like a massive maze with no exit.
No matter how he ran, he couldn’t see a way out.
The water level kept rising, and a wave crashed over him, knocking him down!
Bubbles surged underwater, and a huge force dragged Zhang Xueji downward at high speed.
Although he could swim, under the water he quickly lost all ability to resist; in the chaotic waves, a giant Monster’s mouth clamped down hard on his waist.
In an instant, blood spurted out, spreading through the endless current, the scent of blood mingling with the water’s tang.
【Bang bang bang!】
【Bang bang bang!】
【Bang bang bang!】
A violent pounding on the door yanked Zhang Xueji out of his nightmare.
He sat up gasping, drenched in cold sweat, his pajamas sticking clammy to his skin.
He instinctively lifted his shirt to look at his waist and abdomen—clean, with no Injury from a bite.
But the spot bitten in his dream, those few muscles were still tense and twitching from the lingering pain.
…Was it a dream?
Can a dream feel that real? That dream reminded Zhang Xueji of the hallucination he saw at the school sink during the day, making him deeply uneasy.
At the same time, the pounding on the door continued.
So, the banging wasn’t a hallucination.
Zhang Xueji wiped his face with the hem of his pajamas, then got up to open the door—it was actually Xie Qiaoqiao.
When Zhang Xueji opened the door, Xie Qiaoqiao was still in the act of knocking, her fist unable to stop in time, landing a punch right on Zhang Xueji’s chest.
A dull pain spread through his chest, and Zhang Xueji nearly lost his balance.
He briefly forgot about the nightmare, shocked at how much Xie Qiaoqiao’s punch hurt!
Besides the pain, there was something else; probably because of the suspension bridge effect, Zhang Xueji’s heartbeat was still stuck in that nightmare, racing so fast he felt slightly short of breath.
It moved.
In that moment, seeing Xie Qiaoqiao, he almost couldn’t tell if that racing heartbeat and surging blood was from fright, or something else.
The Voice-Activated Light in the hallway had already been startled on, the warm yellow light casting an Angel Halo over Xie Qiaoqiao’s head.
With that halo like an angel above her, she looked expressionless, her dark eyes scanning Zhang Xueji up and down.
The young man’s sweat-dampened skin gleamed with a smooth, even luster under the warm light, like a piece of polished jade.
No scent of blood, no trace of Monster, but his Aura was still a mess.
Zhang Xueji hesitated, then spoke: “You… looking for me for something?”
He glanced at the Clock on the living room wall—already past three in the morning.
Xie Qiaoqiao replied, “You were talking in your sleep.”
Zhang Xueji: “…Huh?”
Xie Qiaoqiao: “You were talking in your sleep and woke me up, that’s all.”
Strangely enough, Zhang Xueji actually understood what she meant: since she was woken up by his sleep talking, she’d come to wake him up by banging on his door.
After confirming Zhang Xueji was alive, Xie Qiaoqiao turned to leave, not giving him another chance to speak.
The Neighbor’s door quickly closed, leaving only the hallway bathed in warm light, and Zhang Xueji standing dumbfounded at his own door.
He scratched the back of his head and muttered, “She hammered on my door just to tell me that?”
Hua Lingyue clocked in at work, her eyes puffy with sleep as she sat at her desk, unscrewed her thermos, and took a sip of Goji Berry Ginseng Slice.
The Tea Bag was sent by her Mother, saying it would replenish her energy and blood, but Hua Lingyue still felt sleepy after drinking it.
She muttered, “Going to work is like being an endlessly hungry Monster, sucking away all my energy… hmm?!”
She stopped mid-sentence, eyes wide as she stared at the black-haired, twin-tailed girl sitting at the computer next to her.
“Qiaoqiao?!”
In the midst of her busyness, Xie Qiaoqiao replied perfunctorily, “Mm.”
Hua Lingyue put on her guardian tone: “Why are you here? Don’t you have class?”
Xie Qiaoqiao answered calmly, “I took the morning off to check some materials.”
The Encrypted Archive of the Special Folklore Research Department contained records of all Folklore Events the department had encountered and dealt with since its founding.
Although Hua Lingyue said that since she started working, she’d never seen a Survivor from a Folklore Event.
But the Special Folklore Research Department had existed far longer than Hua Lingyue had been alive, so Xie Qiaoqiao found quite a few reference cases in the archive.
Ordinary people who could face Monsters and survive a Folklore Event were extremely rare, and most of those who did only survived four or five days before dying mysteriously.
Because the harm Monsters caused humans wasn’t just physical, but also affected their Aura.
People with weak Aura could see Ghosts, so they were more likely to become prey for Ghosts.
That was the cause of death for a small number of Survivors.
But for most Survivors, the reason they died was that their Aura hadn’t recovered from the Monster’s influence.
Before their injured Aura fully healed, they would repeatedly fall into hallucinations of being attacked by Monsters, and eventually be scared to death by their own illusions.
Xie Qiaoqiao looked away from the computer screen and asked Hua Lingyue, “Did the victim rescued from the Water Park Incident have any Injuries caused by Monsters? Internal injuries count too.”
“Waterpark? Since it was recent, I remember without checking the files—none!”
“That kid was really lucky. Aside from swallowing a bit of water, he didn’t have a single Injury. I guess the Monster didn’t get a chance to bite him before you killed it. Oh right, did you have breakfast?”
Xie Qiaoqiao: “Had Toast.”
Hua Lingyue scooted her chair closer and set two hot Eggs by her hand: “Eat these first, I’ll go see if there’s any Soy Milk in the break room.”