How could there be a smell of blood?
The debilitating dizziness assaulted Fang Yuan once again, leaving her heart pounding and her head dizzy. In Fang Yuan's eyes, the girls' dormitory 441 spun and swayed violently as if struck by an earthquake.
Fang Yuan struggled to stand steady in the swirling dormitory. She leaned against the wall, clinging to the iron door with both hands to prevent herself from falling.
Fang Yuan didn't know why she felt this way. She only knew that the intense, suffocating unease was overwhelming her, almost enough to make her faint—if she hadn't concentrated so hard.
She didn't want to faint. She never considered herself a weak girl. Although fainting could temporarily relieve her pain.
She had heard of hemophobia, a condition that causes people to faint at the sight of blood. But she didn't have it, so how could she be like this? Besides, she hadn't seen blood yet, only a faint scent.
When did she become so terrified of blood?
Just a few days ago, she'd seen Li Rong, his face covered in blood, in the basement of the Red Mansion. Back then, she wasn't so allergic to blood. Was it because Tang Tianyu couldn't stand the word "blood"?
But that was Tang Tianyu; what did it have to do with her?
Could it be that, subconsciously, Fang Yuan was comparing her own fate to Tang Tianyu's? Did Tang Tianyu's fear inadvertently infect her?
Why did Tang Tianyu go so crazy at the mere mention of "blood"?
Fang Yuan couldn't figure it out, and didn't want to think about it. She stood blankly at the dormitory door, caught in a dilemma.
Go inside. What kind of horrific event had occurred in the dormitory? Her nervous system was on the verge of collapse. She feared she would become as insane as Xu Yan and Tang Tianyu.
At this moment, Fang Yuan felt like a camel carrying a heavy load in the desert, lonely and melancholy. She was at the limit of her physical strength, and even a feather could crush her!
If she didn't go in, she would worry about Qin Yanping.
These days, she had come to regard Qin Yanping and the others as her best friends, and the once frozen castle of her heart was slowly thawing under their warmth. It was Qin Yanping and her kind roommates who had helped her find that long-lost warmth. No matter what happened in Girls' Dorm 441, she considered it her home, because it was home to her friends whom she treated like family.
She should have taken good care of Qin Yanping, but she had left her alone in the dorm. If anything happened to her, could she feel at ease? Of course not! She was to blame!
The dizziness gradually subsided, and Fang Yuan managed to stand upright. She called into the bedroom, "Qin Yanping... are you in there?"
Fang Yuan's voice was trembling and intermittent. She called several times, but Qin Yanping didn't respond.
A terrifying thought suddenly popped up in Fang Yuan's mind: Qin Yanping is dead!
Fang Yuan was startled by the thought. How could she have such a thought? No, it wasn't her own, it was forced upon her by someone else.
A sudden wave of sadness washed over her. This time, she deeply felt the pain of having no one to confide in—the kind of pain that was inexplicable, yet so deeply suppressed and unexpressible.
Fang Yuan stood at the dormitory door, holding onto the iron gate and leaning against the wall, letting the tears silently stream down her cheeks, blurring her vision of the girls' dormitory 441.
Qin Yanping is dead!
Her premonition had never been so strong, so strong that she couldn't help but believe it.
Fang Yuan was immersed in deep sorrow, feeling empty, hollow, and without support. She was as fragile as a floating speck of dust, blown away by the wind and crushed into mud.
She stood there frozen for over ten minutes, completely unaware of Tao Bing'er and Xu Zhaodi's arrival.
As usual, Tao Bing'er was still jumping up and down like a joyful elf, gossiping with Xu Zhaodi. Seeing Fang Yuan standing there idiotically, she assumed she was lost in thought again. She quietly approached her and called out, making a face, but Fang Yuan was oblivious.
Tao Bing'er approached Fang Yuan and saw that her face was tear-stained and filled with sorrow.
"Fang Yuan, what happened? Why are you crying so bitterly?" Tao Bing'er glanced into the dormitory hall but saw nothing unusual.
Fang Yuan wiped her tears and spoke weakly and haltingly, "Qin Yanping... Ping..."
"What happened to Qin Yanping?"
Tao Bing'er had always been close to Qin Yanping, but hearing Fang Yuan's tone, her heart began to flutter. She abandoned Fang Yuan and quickly rushed into the bedroom.
Tao Bing'er rushed into the bedroom and fell silent.
Fang Yuan waited for more than ten seconds, but Tao Bing'er didn't come out.
Xu Zhaodi called out "Tao Bing'er" several times, but she didn't respond.
What exactly happened in the bedroom?
Xu Zhaodi asked Fang Yuan, but she shook her head. "Don't ask me, I don't know what happened. I just smelled a faint scent of blood."
Xu Zhaodi sniffed hard several times, her face changing; she, too, could smell the blood.
"Let's go in and take a look!"
Fang Yuan didn't wait for Xu Zhaodi to respond, but slowly took heavy steps.
Her legs felt heavy, as if they were filled with lead. But she bravely took each step and moved forward.
The closer they got to the bedroom, the stronger the smell of blood grew.
The short distance of a dozen meters seemed so long to Fang Yuan, as if it had exhausted all her strength, so much so that she briefly considered giving up.
At that moment, Xu Zhaodi's hand reached out just in time.
She saw Xu Zhaodi's resolute face and nodded at her, as if encouraging her.
Fang Yuan persevered, reaching the bedroom door and finally glimpsing the scene inside!
Blood!
Blood everywhere!
The bedroom was covered in blood!
The floor, the bed, the walls, the quilt—everywhere she looked was covered in blood!
Fang Yuan had never seen so much blood before.
All this blood came from one person—Qin Yanping!
Qin Yanping lay on her bed, smiling, her eyes open. A snow-white arm stretched out from under the quilt. The aorta at her wrist had been severed, and bright red blood flowed from there.
Her blood was almost gone, and now it was dripping drop by drop. One, two, three drops, landing on the clotted blood.
Qin Yanping, she actually slit her wrists and committed suicide!
Although Fang Yuan was mentally prepared, the bloody scene of Qin Yanping's suicide unfolded before her, still too much for her to bear.
Her body went limp, and she collapsed.
As she collapsed to the ground, she bumped into something soft—it was Tao Bing'er!
Tao Bing'er curled up in a ball, her eyes closed. Her eyeballs still trembled slightly beneath her lids, her eyelashes fluttered, and her whole body trembled.
So, she, too, had collapsed to the ground in fear. No wonder she'd been silent since she entered.
Although Fang Yuan collapsed to the ground, she hadn't fainted; she remained conscious. But she couldn't move, and it felt as if all her strength had vanished in that instant.
Xu Zhaodi wasn't much better. She stood at the bedroom door, mouth open, eyes wide open, sweat pouring down her body.
Perhaps it was because she was in better physical condition. Perhaps it was because she was incredibly courageous. Xu Zhaodi showed more resilience than Fang Yuan and Tao Bing'er, and recovered faster. At least, she could still let out a piercing scream, attracting students from other dormitories.
Quickly, news of Qin Yanping's suicide spread throughout the medical school.
The police investigated the scene, and the medical examiner concluded it was suicide.
Qin Yanping's family refused to believe it and were on their way. The girls in Dormitory 441 were also unconvinced and pestered the medical examiner for further questioning.
The medical examiner told them that Qin Yanping's cause of death was excessive blood loss from her wrist slitting. There were no other fatal wounds or signs of a struggle. A respiratory examination revealed no trace of anesthetic gases.
In other words, Qin Yanping had clearly committed suicide by slitting her wrists. If it had been homicide, she would have had ample time to call for help.
Of course, there were doubts. Generally speaking, the success rate of suicide by slitting wrists is very low for girls. Firstly, girls are not very skilled with knives. Few can skillfully and accurately sever a major artery due to their fear. Secondly, the pain and the duration of bleeding are incredibly long for the suicidal person, so they often give up and seek help.
However, Qin Yanping succeeded on her first attempt, even revealing a strange smile even after her death, just like the deceased Cheng Li and Xu Yan!