For a moment after Luo Wei spoke, the dorm room fell quiet.
"Students who wander at night tend to disappear."
Lin Yan Shuo looked at him calmly, his expression unchanged.
"…Disappear?" he repeated.
Luo Wei leaned against the window with his arms crossed, watching Yan Shuo like he was studying an interesting object.
"Scared already?" Luo Wei asked lazily.
Yan Shuo sat down on his bed and opened his suitcase.
"Not really."
Luo Wei raised an eyebrow.
"That's it? That's your reaction?"
Yan Shuo shrugged lightly while placing a few folded shirts into the drawer beside his bed.
"If students disappear, the school would be closed already."
Luo Wei stared at him for a few seconds, then let out a quiet scoff.
"You're either very brave… or very stupid."
Yan Shuo closed the drawer.
"Maybe neither."
The calmness in his voice was almost irritating.
Luo Wei clicked his tongue and walked back to his bed.
"Great. My new roommate is boring."
Yan Shuo didn't respond.
He simply continued unpacking his things, moving slowly and carefully.
For some reason, Luo Wei kept glancing at him from across the room.
Most new students would be nervous on their first night here.
Some even asked too many questions.
But Lin Yan Shuo seemed… different.
Too calm.
After a few minutes, Yan Shuo finally spoke.
"You've been here for a year?"
Luo Wei leaned back on his bed.
"Maybe."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one you're getting."
Yan Shuo didn't push further.
Instead, he looked around the room.
Two desks. Two beds. One large window facing the courtyard.
The school grounds outside were dark and quiet.
"Interesting place," Yan Shuo said.
Luo Wei laughed quietly.
"You'll change your mind soon."
Before Yan Shuo could reply—
A loud bang echoed somewhere down the corridor.
Both boys turned toward the door.
A second later, hurried footsteps ran through the hallway outside.
Someone was running.
Fast.
Yan Shuo tilted his head slightly.
"That's unusual."
Luo Wei looked annoyed.
"Students break curfew all the time."
Yan Shuo glanced at the clock on the wall.
11:52 PM.
"Does the school have a curfew?"
"Yes."
"You didn't mention that earlier."
"You didn't ask."
Yan Shuo hummed softly and stood up.
Just then—
A strange dragging sound echoed from the hallway.
Like something slowly scraping across the wooden floor.
Yan Shuo walked toward the door.
Behind him, Luo Wei spoke in a bored voice.
"If you open that door and get into trouble, don't blame me."
Yan Shuo paused at the handle.
"Why would I get into trouble?"
"Because people here don't mind their own business enough."
Yan Shuo opened the door anyway.
The corridor outside was dimly lit by a few weak ceiling lights.
The hallway stretched long and empty.
Yan Shuo stepped out slightly.
"No one's here."
He looked back at Luo Wei.
"You worry too much."
Luo Wei leaned against the doorframe, clearly unimpressed.
"Or you don't worry enough."
Yan Shuo turned his attention back to the hallway.
Something caught his eye.
On the wooden floor several meters away—
There were wet footprints.
Yan Shuo walked closer.
The prints were clear, like someone had walked through water.
But there was something strange about them.
There was only one set.
And they were leading toward the darker end of the corridor.
Yan Shuo crouched slightly to observe them.
"…interesting."
Behind him, Luo Wei sighed.
"See something interesting?"
"Yes."
Luo Wei walked over reluctantly.
When he looked at the floor, his expression changed slightly.
"Those weren't there earlier," Yan Shuo said calmly.
Luo Wei looked down the corridor.
The footprints continued forward—
Then suddenly stopped.
As if the person who made them had simply vanished.
Yan Shuo straightened.
"That's inconvenient."
Luo Wei looked at him like he had lost his mind.
"Inconvenient?"
"Yes," Yan Shuo said.
"I wanted to see where they led."
Luo Wei stared at him.
"You're unbelievable."
Just then—
A new wet footprint appeared on the floor.
Right in front of them.
Yan Shuo blinked once.
Another footprint appeared.
Then another.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Something invisible was walking toward them.
Yan Shuo watched quietly.
"…Fascinating."
Luo Wei grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him into the room.
The door slammed shut.
Yan Shuo stumbled slightly but didn't look panicked.
"You're rude," he said calmly.
Luo Wei locked the door and turned toward him.
"You're insane."
Yan Shuo dusted his shirt off.
"It didn't seem aggressive."
"You were about to let it walk right up to you."
"That would have been useful information."
Luo Wei stared at him in disbelief.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
Yan Shuo walked back to his bed and sat down.
"If it wanted to kill us, it had plenty of chances already."
Luo Wei narrowed his eyes.
"You talk like you know what that thing is."
Yan Shuo lay back on the bed and looked at the ceiling.
"I don't."
"Then why are you so calm?"
Yan Shuo thought for a moment.
Then he answered simply.
"Panicking wouldn't help."
Luo Wei stared at him for several seconds.
Then he turned away with a scoff.
"You're weird."
Yan Shuo closed his eyes.
"I've been told that before."
Outside in the hallway, the dragging sound slowly passed their door.
Both boys listened in silence.
After a while, the sound faded into the distance.
The dormitory became quiet again.
Luo Wei glanced at Yan Shuo.
The new student looked completely relaxed, as if nothing strange had happened at all.
"…What kind of person did they send here?" Luo Wei muttered quietly.
Yan Shuo didn't answer.
But the faintest hint of a smile appeared on his face.