Tao Bing'er shrank back and almost subconsciously called out, "Qin Yanping, is that you?"
She called out softly, so quietly that only she could hear it.
But she believed that if it was really Qin Yanping behind her, she would have heard her.
It wouldn't have mattered if there was nothing behind her, but the fear was that the thing behind her wasn't Qin Yanping.
Tao Bing'er recalled a familiar scene from horror movies: a hideous ghost head with a pair of sharp, pale fangs, long fingertips, and a tongue dripping with blood, lurking behind her, salivating.
Tao Bing'er was terrified by her own imagination. A chill ran through her entire body, not just her neck.
Something seemed to be pressing down heavily on her from behind, slowly seeping into her. She didn't dare look back and screamed.
The scream shattered the silence of girls' dormitory 441. Fang Yuan and the others were awakened by Tao Bing'er's sudden scream.
At that moment, the fluorescent lights came on, their dazzling radiance dispelling the thick darkness of the girls' dormitory.
Xu Zhaodi, who was sleeping by the door, flipped the switch. She looked at Tao Bing'er with sleepy eyes, bewildered.
Tao Bing'er finally dared to look back.
There was no one behind her, and nothing at all.
Was it a psychological effect? Had she been scaring herself?
Tao Bing'er breathed a long sigh of relief, her heart slightly relieved.
"How boring! Why are you up so late, playing tricks?" Su Ya demanded coldly, seeming to resent being disturbed.
In reality, no one knew whether she was truly asleep. Fang Yuan had observed that Su Ya, like her, suffered from insomnia, waking up at the slightest movement. The night Qin Yanping's sleepwalking woke her, she whispered to Fang Yuan, only to be interrupted by Su Ya's questioning.
Su Ya was indeed a difficult person to get along with.
Fang Yuan ignored her and softly asked Tao Bing'er, "Tao Bing'er, did you have a nightmare?"
"Would someone crawl out of bed because of a nightmare?" Su Ya sneered. She couldn't stand Tao Bing'er's paranoia.
This time, Tao Bing'er didn't bother to argue with Su Ya. Instead, she raised her middle finger to her lips with a look of panic. "Shh!"
The girls had never seen Tao Bing'er so nervous before, so they stopped talking. Soon, the bedroom fell silent.
"Did you hear that?" Tao Bing'er looked around, her eyes wandering, and she shivered occasionally.
On such a cold autumn night, she was only in her pajamas, shivering with cold, yet she didn't bother to put on more clothes.
What was wrong with her? What had made her so nervous that she didn't care about her body?
"What did you hear?" Fang Yuan frowned slightly.
"It's the song, 'Next Stop Queen,' Qin Yanping's favorite." Tao Bing'er frantically asked, "You didn't hear it, did you?"
Fang Yuan finally understood what she meant. "No, I heard it, but what does it matter? It's just a song, and a lot of people love it."
Tao Bing'er was practically crying this time. "Didn't you realize it was playing in our dorm?"
Fang Yuan's face paled. She finally realized the song was indeed playing from the computer in the dorm lobby.
There were two computers in girls' dormitory 441, both connected to broadband. One belonged to Cheng Li, who committed suicide by jumping from a building there a year ago, and the other belonged to Qin Yanping, who committed suicide by slitting her wrists a few days ago. Cheng Li's computer was older, and Fang Yuan hadn't used it much since she found it. Qin Yanping's computer was quite new, purchased after she moved to dorm 441. After she committed suicide, her family didn't take it home.
Qin Yanping must have copied the song "Next Stop Queen" onto her computer. But who would run to the dormitory lobby so late at night to open that computer and listen to that song?
Aside from the four girls, who else could open that computer and play that song?
Fang Yuan gathered herself and said, "Let's go check it out."
This time, even Su Ya didn't object. However, she didn't intend to accompany Fang Yuan. Instead, she rolled over and continued her sweet dream.
"I'll go with you," Xu Zhaodi yawned.
The two of them slowly dressed and walked out of the bedroom hand in hand.
The hall was pitch black, perhaps because the windows were all closed. It was pitch dark.
But in the darkness, a blue fluorescent light flickered—the light from the computer switch.
Xu Zhaodi fumbled around the wall for a long time before finding the switch. She pressed it firmly, and the fluorescent light's ballast buzzed a few times before finally lighting up.
No one was in the hall.
The computer was on.
The singing was indeed coming from the computer speakers.
Fang Yuan walked over and turned on the monitor. A dark blue interface popped up, revealing a single program running on the computer—a music player.
It was playing only one song: "Next Stop Queen," set to repeat.
When had the computer been turned on? When had the music started? None of the four girls living there knew.
Fang Yuan glanced at Xu Zhaodi, who also looked bewildered.
At least, the computer had been turned off before lights out and bedtime.
The dormitory door was still locked, from the inside—even if someone like the administrator, Sister Zhang, had the dormitory key, she couldn't get in.
Ever since she found the unidentified Wangzai steamed buns on Tao Bing'er's bed at noon, Fang Yuan had consciously locked the dormitory door.
"How's it going? Was I right?" Tao Bing'er shakily emerged, still clad in her pajamas.
The three of them stood blankly by the computer for over ten minutes, unable to make any sense of what was going on.
The wind was cold; even with all the windows closed, Fang Yuan could still feel a gentle draft of chill air in the dormitory.
"Never mind it! Turn off the computer and go back to sleep!"
Fang Yuan tried to turn off the computer, but failed after several attempts.
"Hey, this computer, there's something wrong..." Fang Yuan muttered.
The speaker hadn't meant it, but the listener took it to heart. Tao Bing'er's face grew paler, and her trembling became more rapid.
Fang Yuan realized she'd said the wrong thing and quickly corrected herself, "I think the computer's infected with a virus. These days, viruses are everywhere if you go online!"
She simply turned off the power switch.
"That should be all right now, right? Let's go back to bed." Fang Yuan feigned composure, but she was actually feeling a bit uneasy.
If the computer still works like this, that would be a disaster!
The three of them returned to the bedroom. Su Ya seemed soundly asleep, oblivious to them.
They each undressed and climbed into bed, tucking under the covers, no one wanting to talk.
Soon, Xu Zhaodi's snoring could be heard again.
Tao Bing'er, however, couldn't sleep.
In the impenetrable darkness, she stared blankly at the ceiling.
She couldn't see the ceiling clearly, even though it was only two meters away.
She didn't really expect to see anything; she just didn't want to close her eyes.
She was afraid that if she closed her eyes, she would see the bloody scene of Qin Yanping's suicide.
But darkness—so much darkness before her eyes that she could not perceive the light. It was almost the same effect as if she had closed her eyes.
So, in the darkness, Qin Yanping still appeared.
Blood was still dripping from her wrist.
She was smiling at Tao Bing'er.
Perhaps because she had bled so much, her smile was unsightly. The bloodless skin clinging to her skull twitched only briefly, but that was enough to make her smile.
Tao Bing'er was so frightened that her breath stopped.
She shook her head with all her might, trying to shake off the horrific scene before her.
It was like a face reflected in water, trembling slightly before receding, returning to the familiar Qin Yanping.
Tao Bing'er finally understood that she could not escape her.
Qin Yanping had come to find her specifically.
Qin Yanping was so angry she burst into tears, "Wow... Tao Bing'er, even you despise me..."
Tao Bing'er's lips trembled, "That's not what I meant... I don't despise you..."
Qin Yanping smiled, her pale face wrinkled like an old witch, and said, "I knew you wouldn't despise me. We're best friends!"
Tao Bing'er nodded frantically.
Qin Yanping slumped down and slid into her bed.
In the past, the two of them often slept together. Both of them were petite, fitting perfectly into the same bed.
Tao Bing'er's hand touched Qin Yanping's body.
Qin Yanping's body was exceptionally cold.
Tao Bing'er felt as if she could feel the chill running through her body, shivering with cold.
"What's wrong? Are you cold? Don't worry, I'll hold you while you sleep. That way, you won't be cold!"
Qin Yanping always loved sleeping with her in his arms.
She even called Tao Bing'er "husband."
It seemed as if the person hugging Tao Bing'er wasn't Qin Yanping, but a cold, giant python, suffocating her.
"No...don't..." Tao Bing'er struggled mightily.
Qin Yanping seemed to understand. "Oh, so you still despise me!"
This time, Tao Bing'er couldn't even utter a word of defense.
Qin Yanping seemed deeply saddened.
But her sadness didn't last long. Soon, she burst into laughter. "I was just too impatient! Anyway, it won't be long before you come to me!