Fang Yuan was stunned. It turned out that Qin Yanping's family had already known about this.
"Actually, when Wanwan died, we suspected she was lying. How could a four-year-old child fall straight from the room? And it was such a heavy fall, she completely lost her balance. Pingping was so frightened at the time, we didn't dare to question her. Later, she started sleepwalking. We consulted a psychologist and described her sleepwalking episodes to him. He speculated that she had done something wrong to Wanwan and was resentful, causing her depression and sleepwalking. Over the years, we doted on her, cared for her, and never let her suffer even the slightest injustice, fearing that the psychological haze would accumulate and become obsessive. I thought time would change everything, that as time passed, she would grow up, mature, and become independent, and forget about that incident. I didn't expect her to become more and more depressed and even take it to extremes! All this is my fault! Raising a child without educating them is the fault of a father. I didn't educate her well and failed to fulfill my responsibilities as a father!"
At this point, Qin Yanping's father could no longer speak. The man in his forties burst into tears like a child. His mouth opened and closed, tears streaming uncontrollably. He sobbed with heartbreak and sorrow, his eyes glassy and shrouded in a sea of despair.
No one dared disturb him.
He wept silently for a long time, until the bearded man entered.
"Brother-in-law..." The bearded man, fierce and menacing to everyone else, changed his expression to a gentle one towards Qin Yanping's father. "Brother-in-law, stop crying. Have you found out?"
Qin Yanping's father wiped his tears and turned tremblingly. "Let's go!"
"Leave? Just leave like that?"
"Let's go!"
"How did Pingping die? How can I explain this to my sister if I don't find out?"
"Let's go!"
"Brother-in-law, have you found out?"
"Let's go!"
No matter what the bearded man asked, Qin Yanping's father's answer was a single word: Let's go!
As he answered, he staggered out of the room. In just a few days, he had aged considerably, his face a tangle of deep and shallow wrinkles, and even walking seemed labored.
The bearded man, worried about his brother-in-law, glared fiercely at Qin Yue and hurried to catch up with Qin Yanping's father. Seeing this, the rest of the family members silently followed behind them, like a group of lost ghosts.
The figures of Qin Yanping's family gradually disappeared. He Jianhui sneered at them, gently pushed open the door, and walked in.
As he entered, he noticed the heavy atmosphere in the room. He couldn't afford to joke around at this point, so he approached Qin Yue and shook her hand firmly in support.
Fang Yuan noticed that Qin Yue looked up at He Jianhui, and that look startled him.
The look in Qin Yue's eyes wasn't sadness, gratitude, or confusion, but something He Jianhui couldn't quite grasp.
There was something hazy, a hint of resentment, something strange that made He Jianhui uncomfortable. Qin Yue, why are you looking at me like that? He Jianhui wanted to take another look, but Qin Yue's gaze had already shifted. She looked at the four girls tenderly and said, "Fang Yuan, Su Ya, Tao Bing'er, Xu Zhaodi, the four of you should get some rest. I'll tell the guesthouse staff that no one will disturb you again. It's past nine now, and I'm almost back. If there's nothing else, go to bed early and stop overthinking."
With that, Qin Yue prepared to leave when she saw He Jianhui still standing there with a strange expression on his face, as if puzzled by something.
"What are you daydreaming about? Don't you want to leave?" Qin Yue snapped at him. "Everyone here is a girl. Even if you want to follow me, you need to know where to go. Are you going to follow me into the women's restroom?"
He Jianhui chuckled. He still hadn't figured out what Qin Yue's confused, resentful look meant. Had he done something wrong, or was he just being dazzled? He could only hide it with a smile.
"Okay, Professor Qin, I was wrong. I admit it. I apologize. Okay? If I don't serve as your punching bag, who will? This honorable role has to fall on me."
"Stop talking nonsense! Don't you consider the occasion?" Qin Yue shook off He Jianhui's hand, opened the door, and walked out.
"Wait a minute, Professor Qin!" Su Ya, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly called out to her. "I have something to ask you."
Qin Yue paused. "What is it? Tell me."
"When can I go back to my own dorm?"
Qin Yue was stunned. She hadn't expected Su Ya to actually want to return to that strange, 441 girls' dormitory, which everyone else avoided. For the four of them, she even planned to negotiate with the logistics department to have them move to other dorms.
Qin Yue asked Su Ya, "Isn't this place good?"
Su Ya's expression was impassive. She said calmly, "It's not bad at all. I just can't get used to it. I can't live here forever. I'll have to go back to the dorm eventually. I have a lot of stuff there."
"Aren't you afraid to go back to the dorm now?"
Su Ya replied casually, "Why should I be afraid? It's just someone who died. What's there to be afraid of? Besides, I have no grudge against her. Even if she turns into a ghost, she won't come looking for me."
Qin Yue had no choice but to ask the other girls, "What about you? You're not going back like her, are you?"
The three of them were silent, looking at each other, undecided.
After a long moment, Fang Yuan finally made up her mind and spoke slowly, "Teacher Qin, I want to move back too. This is just a guesthouse, after all. A few days here and there is fine, but staying here all the time is inconvenient. Besides, I'm neither a guest nor a patient. I'm here to study at Nanjiang Medical College. My stay here isn't going to be a matter of ten days or a half, but five years. Living here isn't a long-term solution."
Fang Yuan spoke slowly, evidently after careful consideration.
Xu Zhaodi also made her position clear. "Since Fang Yuan and Su Ya are both moving back, I have no choice but to go with them. Our old houses in the countryside have been used for decades, and most of them have had people die. There's nothing to be afraid of; we can still live here anyway."
Tao Bing'er was even more direct: "If you all go back, I'll go too. Even if we die, we'll die together."
Hearing the word "die," Qin Yue frowned, feeling even more uneasy.
"How about this? You stay here for a few days. I'll talk to the logistics department about getting you a new dorm."
Su Ya unexpectedly objected to this arrangement. "I don't think there's any need to move. Besides, I'm not used to moving around all the time."
Fang Yuan didn't want to move either. "Teacher Qin, don't worry. It'll be the same no matter where we move. It would just make us look conspicuous. Don't worry, we'll be fine."
In fact, there was something Fang Yuan didn't say. If there really was a mysterious force controlling a person's fate, then even if she moved to a different dorm, her destiny wouldn't change. As Wan Hai said, there's no escaping fate. If not, why should she care?
"What about you two? Don't want to move either?"
"Forget it. It's too much trouble. We don't want to be apart. Don't you agree, Tao Bing'er?" Xu Zhaodi turned to Tao Bing'er.
Tao Bing'er nodded.
Since the four of them were unanimous, Qin Yue didn't have much to say. "Then, how about this? You stay here for two days, then move back."
Two days later, the four girls returned to Dormitory 441, attending classes, eating, sleeping, and hanging out together as usual. The only difference was that Qin Yanping had been replaced by Su Ya.
Since Qin Yanping's death, Su Ya's temperament seemed to have softened a bit. She now joined the other girls, though she remained quiet.
Whenever the four of them appeared, they were met with a barrage of comments and stares. There were all sorts of things to say: some called them audacious, some said they were reckless, and some called them monsters. But regardless, their return had given the once-panic girls' dormitory a shot of calm.
At least, the four of them were still living in Dormitory 441, and they appeared normal. If any horrific incident were to occur in the future, it would be their turn.
With this ugly mentality, the girls in the medical school naturally kept a certain distance from the girls in the 441 girls' dormitory. Even if they met occasionally, they would hurried away, as if getting a little closer would bring about strange and inexplicable disasters.