Qin Yanping laughed wildly, her eyes gleaming with a malevolent gleam that made Tao Bing'er dare not look directly at her.
Qin Yanping's smile was nothing like that of a normal person, or even a "human" smile.
Tao Bing'er had never seen such a smile before, so crazy, so vicious, so outrageous, it made her hair stand on end and her heart race.
The problem was, Qin Yanping's words were even more terrifying than her smile. "It won't be long before I find her?" She's already dead! Was she saying she was dying too?!
How could this be possible?
An intense pressure gripped Tao Bing'er. The air in her throat grew thinner and thinner, as if she were suffocating and unable to breathe. Every part of her body gradually grew heavy, so heavy that she couldn't move at all.
She tried to stretch out her hands, but they wouldn't move. She tried to kick her legs, but they wouldn't. She tried to open her mouth to scream, but her lips wouldn't open.
Her body felt petrified, unable to move, only her fragile heart continued to beat with its own thumping rhythm. Even these beats grew longer and longer between beats, their amplitude growing weaker. She realized clearly that she was waiting to die.
Yes, waiting to die.
Just silently awaiting death's arrival.
She tried to resist, but she had no way to begin, like a vegetative state.
She refused to give in, gathering all her mental and willpower and screaming with all her might.
"Ah!—"
She finally cried out! But it wasn't as loud as she'd imagined, so low that only she could hear it.
The moment she cried out, her body began to move.
Her hands and feet touched something soft.
It was the quilt.
It turned out that she had just been dreaming—a nightmare.
Now, Tao Bing'er had woken, her whole body covered in sweat—cold sweat. Her forehead, palms, back, and soles were all wet with sweat.
She opened her eyes, only to be met with the same impenetrable darkness, endless and unending.
She couldn't discern objects in the darkness, just as she couldn't discern her own fate.
Then, she turned over and discovered a large gap in her quilt, a bulge in the empty space, as if—as if someone had just slept there.
Tao Bing'er froze, as if she had been suddenly struck by a whip. She remembered that when Qin Yanping and she had slept together, the quilt had been shaped just like this—Qin Yanping liked to arch her feet when she slept.
Could it be that she hadn't just been dreaming?
No, it was indeed a dream!
But...
But, how could she have a dream like that?
Could it be Qin Yanping's ghost, appearing in her dream?
The legend of ghosts appearing in dreams is widely circulated and deeply ingrained in people's minds. To say it's completely groundless and nonsense is unconvincing.
It's said that ghosts appearing in dreams are always accurate. The most classic example is the one in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," where the deceased Guan Yu and Zhang Fei appear in a dream to the living Liu Bei, telling him that their brothers will soon be reunited. Consequently, Liu Bei, knowing his time is numbered, entrusts his son to Zhuge Liang. Across the sea in Japan, the Warring States-era warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi, nearing death, dreamt that his former master, Oda Nobunaga, was pulling him toward him.
Could it be that he was really about to die?
The thought of this made Tao Bing'er shiver, a feeling that was both invisible and intangible, yet real, engulf her.
It was a feeling of fear, stemming from a deep, instinctive fear of death.
Tao Bing'er felt her body slowly sinking and melting, as if she were descending into the eighteen levels of hell, dissolving into a pool of blood.
She screamed again.
This time, the scream was far louder than the previous one, startling all the girls in Dormitory 441 awake.
When the lights came on, the girls saw Tao Bing'er huddled in the corner of her bed, trembling uncontrollably. Her face was pale, her lips blue, and cold sweat dripping down her cheeks, as if she had just been pulled from a freezing pool of water.
Why was she so cold?
Fang Yuan, throwing on her clothes, got out of bed, walked over to Tao Bing'er, and touched her forehead. She didn't have a fever.
"Tao Bing'er, are you okay? Did you have a nightmare?" Fang Yuan helped her wrap the quilt tightly around her.
Tao Bing'er nodded, wiping the sweat from her face with the corner of the quilt.
"It's okay, it's just a nightmare. Don't be afraid."
"But..." Tao Bing's voice trembled, and she trailed off.
Tao Bing'er was frightened by the nightmare.
Fang Yuan's mind raced, an idea dawned on her. She smiled and said, "Tao Bing'er, you're the same way. Haven't you heard that saying, 'Dreams are the opposite of reality?'"
"Dreams are the opposite of reality?" Tao Bing'er seemed to have heard that saying, too.
Xu Zhaodi also said, "Yes, that's what we say in our place. If you dream of losing money, you'll actually receive unexpected wealth. If you dream of a series of bad luck, the outcome will definitely be good luck and smooth sailing."
"But..."
"No buts. It's what they say. So, don't worry, don't dwell on it." Fang Yuan helped Tao Bing'er lie down.
Tao Bing'er, however, didn't want to sleep anymore. She took Fang Yuan's hand and said, "Fang Yuan, can you stay with me?"
"Okay."
Fang Yuan lay down beside Tao Bing'er.
Tao Bing'er was cold, and despite her best efforts to control it, she shivered constantly.
She hugged Tao Bing'er tightly, warming her with her body heat. This trick worked. Tao Bing'er curled up in her arms, her trembling gradually weakening and eventually disappearing.
Tao Bing'er's body was no longer cold, her temperature returning to normal.
Fang Yuan knew that Tao Bing'er's coldness wasn't just due to her body, but more importantly, her heart. She could warm her body, but not her heart.
Everyone is a fortress with strong walls, one that no one can truly enter.
No one can truly understand you except yourself. This is why a close friend is so precious, even if they are merely compatible with you in some way.
Fang Yuan couldn't penetrate Tao Bing'er's heart either.
She could only rely on her own feelings to understand and comfort her. She simply hoped that her friends could live happily every day, nothing more.
Tao Bing'er was silent for a long time before she asked quietly, "Fang Yuan, do you believe in fate?"
"Fate?"
"Yes, fate!"
"I don't know."
Fang Yuan truly wasn't sure whether she believed in it or not. From the perspective of modern science, everything is tangible and material, but modern science can't explain everything. For example, if mass is conserved throughout the universe, where does the vanishing matter go? Astronomers have proposed the "black hole" theory, arguing that black holes attract that matter, but this theory remains based on assumptions.
"I believe in it!" Tao Bing'er added, "So, I believe in the Pen Fairy, too!"
"Pen Fairy?"
"Yes, the Pen Fairy! I've played with it before, and it's quite effective. Have you played with it?"
Fang Yuan shook her head. Although Pen Fairy was popular among students, she had always kept a distance from it. When it comes to things you don't understand, the best approach is to stay away from them.
Tao Bing'er gritted her teeth. "I want to summon the Pen Fairy and ask it some questions."
"Summon the Pen Fairy at a time like this?" Fang Yuan glanced at Xu Zhaodi and Su Ya.
Under the fluorescent lights, the girls' dormitory 441 was as bright as day, making it impossible for the girls to sleep. She felt a little strange. In the past, Su Ya would have scolded her, but today, she remained silent, her eyes closed, pretending to sleep.
"How about you help me?" Tao Bing'er looked eager.
"I'll help you?"
"Of course, summoning the Pen Fairy requires two people."
"But I don't know how."
"It's okay. I'll teach you."
Fang Yuan was reluctant, but it was hard to refuse Tao Bing'er. She had heard that summoning the Pen Fairy was a very strange game. She had experienced enough strange things lately, and she didn't want to get involved in this.
"Then, when?"
"Now."
"Now?"
"Now!"
Fang Yuan glanced at Xu Zhaodi, hoping she could dissuade Tao Bing'er.
Xu Zhaodi urged her, "Tao Bing'er, I think we should wait until another day. It's so cold, and your health..."
"I'm fine. If you're a friend, please help me this time!" Tao Bing'er was adamant.
Fang Yuan had no choice but to comply with Tao Bing'er.
It seemed that Tao Bing'er, like her, had many questions. She was just suppressing them, slowly seeking answers, while Tao Bing'er was vainly trying to find answers through the illusion of the Pen Fairy.
She just hoped that this time, without any mishaps, her invocation of the Pen Fairy would yield a positive outcome.