NOVEL NEXT Chapter 20 - Curse.
Once it passed 9 a.m., no matter how cool the weather seemed, it would quickly become scorching hot. This summer was like that. Even though there had been a heavy rain last night, it didn’t cool things down much.
“Creek.”
Ye Jishu bit into the popsicle. It was freezing cold. His teeth almost felt like they were going to fall out. He loosened his bite and stuck out his tongue to relieve the cold, then turned his head to glance at Yan Mei beside him.
Although Yan Mei had told him to treat him, he didn’t buy anything at the ice cream cart. Instead, he just watched the vendor hand Ye Jishu an orange-flavored popsicle. Ye Jishu couldn’t help but look at Yan Mei’s smiling face with confusion.
“Not eating?” he asked.
“We’ll talk about it later,” Yan Mei replied, only looking at Ye Jishu’s lips.
“…” Ye Jishu.
For a moment, many thoughts flashed through his mind. Although he didn’t understand why, he figured it wasn’t because he thought Ye Jishu couldn’t afford it. If that were the case, wouldn’t that make him a poor boyfriend? He should do something to erase that impression, or else it felt like his image in Yan Mei’s mind might crumble.
Ye Jishu wanted to take out his phone and search how to handle such a situation, but before he could, Yan Mei had already pulled him away.
The specimen hall wasn’t crowded. Most tourists probably wanted to see the other exhibits first, not starting with the dry and boring specimen hall, Ye Jishu guessed.
[There are specimens everywhere. No need to specially come to an aquarium to see them.]
[But… Yan Mei seems really interested.]
From the moment they entered, Yan Mei’s gaze didn’t leave. His eyes glided over the exhibits inside the hall. Noticing this, Ye Jishu also turned his attention to the surroundings. As expected, it was a typical, mass-market setup. To preserve the specimens, the light was dim, and there were various glass cases. The corpses of dead animals were tightly enclosed, either in glass display cases with brown bases or hanging high on the walls. Their lifeless eyes were pale and glazed, staring rigidly at the tourists walking by.
This scene made Ye Jishu feel uncomfortable, and the high temperature added to that sensation. Though the display glass maintained an extremely low temperature, the room was boiling hot, as if it had been directly exposed to sunlight.
[No novelty.]
Ye Jishu shifted his gaze. His fingers, which had been holding the popsicle, had unknowingly become sticky. He looked down and saw the ice had already melted, the liquid dripping down the wooden stick and into his palm.
While he was thinking about what to do next, a voice suddenly interrupted.
“I found it.”
Ye Jishu looked up at Yan Mei. He was staring ahead, seemingly unaware of Ye Jishu’s movements. Ye Jishu followed his gaze and saw a half-open door with a narrow gap.
Yan Mei led him toward that direction. As they approached the door, Ye Jishu realized it was a temporary break room. It seemed that Yan Mei had done a lot of research beforehand; otherwise, with the current flow of people, someone would have already taken the space, and it wouldn’t have been available for them.
To his surprise, the break room had air conditioning. The small room was surrounded by transparent glass walls. Perhaps to fit the theme, black lines suddenly appeared in the reflections of the glass, chaotic and dangerous, filling the room with an eerie vibe. The light was still dim. The long, dark lines looked like the tendrils of some strange creature.
Being in this room gave Ye Jishu the illusion that he was trapped in the embrace of something odd and close.
He forced himself to look away and noticed the setup inside. Everything was fine, except the sofa was narrow. It was just enough to fit two people.
“Click.”
The door behind them closed, and Ye Jishu turned around to see Yan Mei releasing the doorknob.
“Not sitting down? You’ve been standing for a while. You must be tired,” Yan Mei said.
For some reason, Ye Jishu’s heart raced. It was fine when there were other people around, but once they were alone, the tension immediately returned.
[Yan Mei’s expression is strange.]
That smile that was always on his face, though still there, now seemed to have a shadow over it.
[Is his mood really that bad?]
Ye Jishu sat down on the sofa.
Yan Mei walked over and sat beside him. Their arms brushed against each other, and their legs pressed together. Ye Jishu’s phone, which was placed beside him, suddenly lit up. A new message had arrived.
Ye Jishu glanced at it. It was from the game’s official account, so he quickly turned his attention elsewhere.
Yan Mei was also looking at the screen.
“…I forgot to ask earlier. Do you like fish, Jishu? Not just on your computer, but also as your phone wallpaper.”
“Mm.”
“Why? It’s just fish. Something you can see anywhere.”
Faced with Yan Mei’s question, Ye Jishu instinctively tried to explain his actions. “It’s because it’s ordinary. That’s why I like it… It’s normal.”
“Ordinary, so you like it… because it’s normal?”
Yan Mei repeated the words, and for some reason, after a few repetitions, he fell silent.
Without Yan Mei bringing up another topic, the two of them fell into silence again.
It had always been like this. Even though they were doing their own things, the silence didn’t feel oppressive. But now, Ye Jishu suddenly wanted to do something else, at least to distract himself from the emptiness.
Thinking back…
He lowered his gaze to the popsicle in his hand. It had completely melted. The remaining ice shards on the wooden stick had blurred.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Yan Mei, silently watching him.
Actually, this date was kind of a failure, wasn’t it? Though Ye Jishu didn’t have other dating experiences, and didn’t know much about how other people date, he vaguely felt that this day had been filled with problems. It didn’t seem to be any better than the last time.
In fact, the last time was even a bit better. At least then, when he gave Yan Mei the little octopus keychain, the joy and cherish in Yan Mei’s expression didn’t seem fake.
He realized again that he was the perfect ex-boyfriend. It seemed like there was nothing in common between them, not even their interests, which were two parallel lines.
“…Jishu, your popsicle is melting.”
Ye Jishu stopped for a moment, coming back to himself. “Oh.”
“Your hands are getting dirty.”
“Mm… I’ll throw it away now.”
But before he could stand up to find a trash can, suddenly, Yan Mei grabbed his fingers, stopping him in his tracks.
His hand, along with his body, was unexpectedly pulled toward Yan Mei.
The next moment, he felt a moist sensation on his fingertips.
Ye Jishu widened his eyes.
Yan Mei’s thin lips touched his fingertips, and under his gaze, his tongue slid along the finger, cleaning the residue from the melted ice, covering every wet and sticky trace from the beginning to the base of his finger.
In his intense gaze, Yan Mei looked up and said, “I want to taste what it’s like.”
[My hand was licked.]
It was the first time someone treated him this way.
Despite still having a blank expression, his body betrayed his will, unconsciously shuddering.
So this is what he meant by “wait to eat later”…
His ears flushed with warmth, and his mind went blank as he began to think irrationally.
It should be over soon. Just hold on a little longer.
However, instead of letting go of his hand, the other person again used his teeth to lightly bite and caress the base of his ring finger.
It was a little painful.
Ye Jishu could no longer bear it and tried to pull his hand away.
But unexpectedly, he easily freed his hand with just one pull.
Yet, as he blinked in surprise, his chest was pressed tightly against the glass wall behind him with a “bang,” and he felt his body pinned down.
“I’ve been good. Jishu, can I get a reward?” Yan Mei said, “Even when things annoyed me, I didn’t act out in front of everyone.”
That face, so close now, was already enough to attract attention at a normal social distance. But now, at this proximity, it was hard to look away.
Though Ye Jishu didn’t know what the other person was asking for, his brain was already dizzy from the situation.
This wasn’t just a normal conversation; there seemed to be some kind of desire and closeness that made his spine shiver.
Yan Mei smiled.
“Jishu, do you like my face?”
His voice was low.
The warm breath brushed against Ye Jishu’s ear.
Yan Mei cupped his face, just looking at him.
“Is it just the face you like?”
Ye Jishu could still hold on for a while, but as they stared at each other longer, his cheeks gradually warmed up. When his natural discomfort showed and he turned his face away, instinctively clutching his shirt and shrinking back, the other person didn’t give him a chance and moved closer.
“Don’t avoid me.”
They were very close now. His earlobes, cheeks, and eyelids were all kissed by lips.
The room was cold.
But now, it feels strangely hot.
As time passed, Ye Jishu’s popsicle completely melted, and sticky sugar water from his fingers dripped onto their clothes.
Even with his obsessive cleanliness, Yan Mei took a long time before letting go.
Perhaps it was due to uneven breathing, or because of lack of oxygen, but the scenery before Ye Jishu’s eyes was swaying.
His chest rose and fell sharply.
In the enclosed resting room, the black shadows on the glass windows seemed to be excitedly floating around.
Yan Mei reached out and touched the small mole on Ye Jishu’s nose, his voice sounding in a good mood.
“Why aren’t you breathing?”
“…”
“Your face is completely red. So cute.”
“Jishu, is this your first kiss? It’s a little awkward, your tongue and lips are so small.”
Ye Jishu had kept a blank expression, fully out of the situation.
But when he heard that, an inexplicable sense of shame rushed to his heart. He raised his arm and covered his face with his elbow.
[Why did this happen out of nowhere? I wasn’t prepared at all.]
Even though there was a little preparation before in the movie club, he managed to push away, not kissing, this development was completely unexpected.
[If it’s going to happen, I should have been the one to take the initiative.]
Seeing his reaction, a vague laugh seemed to come from in front of him.
“No matter what you’re thinking or how you feel about me.”
“At least, I know for sure that I’ve become yours. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be so happy…”
Ye Jishu lost his voice.
Then the warmth pressing against him disappeared.
The restraint on his body vanished, and with a “creak,” Yan Mei stood up from the sofa and stood in front of him.
Though he didn’t look, Ye Jishu could feel the other person’s gaze still on him.
After a brief pause.
“It seems I’ve made it messier.”
“…”
“I’ll go get some paper. You wait here. Although there’s still a little matter to deal with, it won’t take long.”
“Click.”
It wasn’t until he heard the door open that Ye Jishu finally lowered his hand and looked at the spot where Yan Mei had disappeared.
Finally gone.
He let out a sigh.
So tense.
His heart was still pounding.
What did Yan Mei want?
If this continued, he would inevitably respond.
But that didn’t seem right.
Ye Jishu lowered his head and looked at his hand. He was still holding the popsicle stick, which was now completely empty.
His fingers were still sticky.
He stared at it for a few seconds, and suddenly, an indescribable feeling surged in his chest.
An unknown impulse surfaced.
Ye Jishu raised his hand and placed his ring finger, which had been bitten by Yan Mei, to his lips. Staring at the mark left behind, he gently bit it.
…
Lin Lin stood in the underwater tunnel.
Many tourists had stopped here, making it hard to see much.
Just a moment ago, Ye Jishu disappeared from sight.
Where did he go?
Also, that young man by his side, was that [Yan Mei]?
Actually, he should’ve approached him last night to inquire about the [Source of Infection 3301] in advance. But due to unforeseen circumstances, his plans were canceled, and he couldn’t talk to him—was it raining at the time? In the midst of the heavy rain, he seemed to have seen Yan Mei.
But aside from that, there was an intense attraction.
Was it because he reviewed the file that it left a deeper impression, making it unforgettable?
The face was definitely hard to ignore.
Not only that, but his popularity was also remarkable.
From the available information and the surrounding people’s evaluations, wherever Yan Mei went, people crowded around him, eager to talk to him. Only when he noticed Ye Jishu’s presence would he step away from those people to be alone.
So, even last midnight, during the stormy night, when they saw each other through the car window, he must have been looking for Ye Jishu.
They were in a relationship.
From the texts he sent Ye Jishu, his possessiveness was strong. Didn’t he already know this?
Watching Ye Jishu earlier, it was only natural that he’d be upset.
However, Lin Lin couldn’t control the scene that flashed back in his mind, sending a chill down his spine.
[Damn, can I stop thinking like this?]
Lin Lin cursed at himself.
His emotional instability had gotten too much lately.
Not being able to stabilize his “rationality” was the reason he couldn’t become a first-tier law enforcer.
If he wanted to advance soon, he had to calm down! He had to remain composed in situations like this! Otherwise, he’d never achieve his goal!
“Slap.”
He raised his hand and slapped himself hard.
Despite his body still shivering, he felt a little better now…
Who’s gone mad here?
He had completely been turned into an M by work.
Tourists nearby gasped as a huge shadow covered Lin Lin’s head. Some giant aquatic creature swam over the top of the underwater tunnel, blocking the lights from the sides. The fish were massive. As it passed, the long-enshrouded darkness returned, and Lin Lin’s phone buzzed again.
The screen glowed in a dim blue hue, showing a new message. He looked down to read it.
[Are you in the freshwater area? Come over.]
[Right away.]
[Something happened.]
There was a location attached.
“…?” Lin Lin didn’t hesitate and immediately turned, heading back toward the location the man had sent him. Within three minutes, he arrived at the spot, panting and supporting himself with his hands on his knees.
“What’s… what’s going on? What happened?!”
The man in sunglasses was facing away, dressed in a casual suit, staring ahead without responding. Lin Lin straightened up and looked around.
He quickly realized that this was the same place he had been earlier, where he had lost track of Ye Jishu. But now, the area was crowded with tourists. Some were even taking photos of what was ahead, while others clutched their companions, looking as though they might vomit.
“How disgusting!!”
“What is that…?”
“Why hasn’t the staff come yet?!”
“…”
The man in sunglasses suddenly spoke, his voice cold and final.
“The task is over.”
“Ah?” Lin Lin hadn’t fully processed it when he instinctively questioned.
At that moment, there was a renewed wave of dry-heaving from the crowd, some people collapsing, but it didn’t cause much of a stir. Lin Lin finally saw what was causing the chaos.
A sea of blood.
What he saw—
Chunks of flesh, mixed with bone fragments.
The blood had turned the surrounding water completely red.
At this moment, in the giant exhibition area, all the freshwater fish surged toward the body floating in the water, pecking at it. Despite the body still convulsing violently, it was surrounded tightly by the vibrant fish.
“Thud, thud!”
The limbs of the corpse struck the glass wall as the water pushed it forcefully, splattering pieces of meat onto the transparent barrier.
Lin Lin felt a surge of bile rise in his stomach as he stared at the blurry edges of the body.
Although the face was unrecognizable, the clothing was unmistakable.
His pupils dilated.
…
The Source of Infection 3301 had been eaten by the fish.
The person didn’t appear before Ye Jishu. For some unknown reason, they had ended up in the same spot, drowning in the water again!
The first time he had seen the person was when he watched them walk towards the artificial lake behind the school.
Lin Lin had tried to stop them.
But now, it seemed like the person couldn’t escape the same fate and repeated their previous actions.
“The Source of Infection 3301, is it dead?” Lin Lin mumbled.
The man in sunglasses replied, “Dead.”
With a Level 1 enforcer present, they wouldn’t make mistakes in identifying pollutants.
It was true… it was really dead.
Despite the fact that conventional methods wouldn’t typically kill it, it still ended up dead.
Lin Lin couldn’t believe what he was hearing, still frozen in place, staring at the bloodied scene through the massive glass wall.
“Did you see anything before I arrived?”
He heard the calm voice from the man beside him.
“No…”
Suddenly, the words halted mid-sentence.
Out of nowhere, an image flashed in Lin Lin’s mind.
A young man named Yan Mei is standing in front of the aquarium glass.
The deep blue of the sea light from behind him, the fish swirling around, casting a bright glow that made his stunning face hard to ignore.
In the interplay of light and dark, he stood close to Ye Jishu, and when Ye Jishu wasn’t looking, turned his face toward Lin Lin, staring at him expressionlessly.
Lin Lin froze, locked in place by the gaze.
Then the lips parted, saying a few words, barely audible:
[This is]
[Mine]
Four simple words. Yet they conveyed a chilling and forbidding meaning.
This was—
A bare-faced warning.
It was as if a cold bucket of water had been poured over Lin Lin’s head, his limbs turning cold and numb.
…
In the lounge, Ye Jishu waited alone for a while.
He was so bored.
So, he took out his phone again.
Earlier, it seemed like he had received a message from his game. Since there was nothing else to do, he decided to check what it was.
But after opening it, he realized it wasn’t the usual push notification.
The sender was his live streaming platform.
[Is this the streamer YJS? We have a collaboration proposal. We are planning a ‘star-making service’ and have contacted several suitable streamers, including you, to try a multiplayer game live stream.]
[If you accept, you will interact with other streamers, and the live earnings will be shared that day.]
[Also, if the response is good, we’ll consider more opportunities in the future…]
Ye Jishu stopped reading there.
It was too much text.
He wasn’t really in the mood to read it all.
Just as he was about to close the screen, the platform sent another message.
[With your current online popularity, the net income from the live stream that day will easily be over ten thousand.]
Ye Jishu hesitated for a moment.
His eyes lingered on the net income figure for a few seconds.
Yan Mei’s birthday was coming up.
Although he didn’t like accepting gifts out of the blue, if it was net income…
After a few seconds of hesitation, his finger tapped the keyboard and he replied:
[Can I disable the gift function and just do a live stream?]
The other party must have been waiting for a reply. Since Ye Jishu didn’t leave his phone, they responded instantly.
[Sure.]
[This has always been your style. You can continue with it.]
[…]
[Thank you, I’ll consider it.]
There was a sound from the door.
Ye Jishu closed his phone and looked toward the direction of the noise.
Yan Mei’s figure appeared in his view.
“Jishu, I’m back!”
It was a smooth and lighthearted voice.
The familiar smile on his face dispelled the earlier heavy atmosphere, making everything feel lighter.
Ye Jishu blinked.
[Did Yan Mei encounter something on the way?]
[I’m not sure what it was, but his mood seems to have normalized, which is a good sign.]
Now that he thought about it, their personalities were completely different.
Yan Mei’s emotions were very volatile.
It was as if a storm could arrive without warning, always on the brink of turning bad. Sometimes, it felt like a gentle breeze, but other times, it could send a chill down your spine.
But at the same time, his ability to snap out of his mood was also fast.
Even if left unattended, for some unknown reason, things could suddenly improve like this, just as they were now.
He looked even better when he smiled.
It reminded Ye Jishu of something shiny under the sun—this was the face he had once seen before they started dating.
“Jishu, what are you thinking about? You’re not even looking at me now that I’m back?”
Until Yan Mei walked over and took one of his hands, Ye Jishu finally snapped out of his thoughts, mumbling a soft “Hmm.”
Suddenly, he thought of what Yan Mei had said he would do before leaving.
“Did you solve the issue?” he asked.
Yan Mei was wiping his fingers, which had been stained with syrup, with a wet wipe. He looked down and carefully cleaned them with one hand.
“…It’s solved. No one will bother us anymore, so we can continue our date. We still have time.”
“…”
“After all, you like things that are ordinary and normal. To avoid making you dislike it, I had to do this.”
The topic had jumped too quickly.
Ye Jishu didn’t quite catch up.
“Are we still talking about fish?” he hesitated.
The last thing they had talked about was fish.
Or maybe Yan Mei was putting himself in the situation again.
After all, he had no resemblance to anything “ordinary.” Anyone would come to this conclusion.
But he wouldn’t dislike Yan Mei.
Even if, after getting close, he found that the other person’s real personality was different from his imagination, he had always been like this.
“I won’t dislike you.”
The atmosphere was still a bit awkward.
Ye Jishu suddenly remembered a phrase he had read online to make a statement more convincing, and he added a joking comment.
“Unless you do something you shouldn’t.”
Hearing this, Yan Mei suddenly stopped talking.
He paused for a few seconds with an odd expression before slowly saying, “Ah… I got you a gift, Jishu.”
Then, he raised his hand in Ye Jishu’s line of sight, showing a plastic transparent bag.
Inside the bag was water filled halfway.
A small red goldfish swam inside, its colors shimmering under the dim light, making it almost blinding.
“I saw someone selling these on the way back,” Yan Mei said. “I thought of you and immediately bought it.”
“Thank you.”
Ye Jishu took the bag with both hands.
It would be a lie to say he didn’t like it.
Especially since it was a gift from Yan Mei.
He couldn’t help but watch the small goldfish swim around.
After Ye Jishu held it steady, Yan Mei straightened up.
Despite the quick movement, Ye Jishu accidentally caught a glimpse of a faint stain below the collar of Yan Mei’s shirt.
It looked like… blood.
It had dried and congealed into a dark, small spot.
“…”
Ye Jishu stared at the small dot, trying to figure out what it was.
Noticing his gaze, Yan Mei casually reached out, rubbing the stain with his finger and smiling as he said, “Did I stain it? Sorry.”
However, as the clot was rubbed, it spread, making the stain even more visible on the fabric.
Yan Mei realized this as well.
He lowered his gaze and looked at his own hand, now dirty.
“I’ll help you clean your hands,” Ye Jishu immediately offered.
Since Yan Mei had done this for him earlier, he wanted to try using a wet wipe to care for him as well.
However—
“Seems like you still think I shouldn’t have gotten it dirty, huh…”
Ye Jishu: “…?”
In his line of sight, despite Yan Mei’s lips still curving into a smile, his eyes had already darkened.
“By the way, when I passed by the specimen hall earlier, I saw someone selling charms besides the goldfish in the bag… they said that if you buy one and give half to the person you like, it will guarantee the two of you will be together forever.”
“How ridiculous. How could something like that guarantee anything?”
“It’s just a wooden pendant. Not even a promise.”
“Even if they make a promise, I don’t believe in such things. Because in this world, only curses and resentments are the most lasting. Those casual verbal promises, aren’t they the type that can be broken anytime due to dislike or boredom?”
Ye Jishu: “Yan Mei, do you want a charm?”
In his words, the person in front of him suddenly stopped talking.
He just raised his head and stared at him.
“You rarely call my name,” he finally said.
Ye Jishu paused for a moment.
Did he interrupt Yan Mei’s earlier words, or had he misunderstood what Yan Mei meant?
“Or maybe you don’t want one? Then forget it…”
“I want it.”
Yan Mei immediately interrupted him.
Even though he still had a neutral expression, his tone dropped and he quickly added, “I want it. I must have it. I’ll buy it now.”
“…”
After saying this, Yan Mei turned his face away, probably not wanting Ye Jishu to see his expression directly.
But from Ye Jishu’s seated position, he could still clearly see the slightly raised corner of Yan Mei’s lips, and his eyes that, despite trying to hide it, were now even more dazzling than before.
“Even if the charm is useless, you’ll still be with me forever, right?” Without waiting for Ye Jishu to answer, he muttered to himself, “…It’s okay. Even if you forget today, I’ll remember.”
He turned his face back and stared intently at him.
Ye Jishu shivered.
Yan Mei merely smiled slightly.
“Because—this is the curse that you, Jishu, have placed on me.”
The weight in those words was heavy enough to send a chill down one’s spine.
…
Then, everything returned to normal.
When passing by the [Freshwater Ecological Zone], Ye Jishu overheard that there had been an incident there. The area had been temporarily closed off, and no one unrelated was allowed to enter. As for what exactly happened, the aquarium staff had not made any statements.
Yan Mei said lightly, “Maybe someone fell into the tank.”
“Oh, I see.”
Ye Jishu wasn’t too concerned about what happened, so he just responded and shifted his focus.
Aside from that, Yan Mei’s itinerary was arranged perfectly.
They were lucky they had visited that area earlier, or they wouldn’t have seen the beautiful fish schools.
As for the weather, it was exactly as Yan Mei had said.
In the evening, it rained again. Even the unusually high temperatures couldn’t stop the summer storms.
Raindrops hit the ground, creating small pits in the muddy surface.
Ye Jishu wanted to offer his jacket to Yan Mei, to at least save the image for today, but Yan Mei had already opened an umbrella. However, the umbrella was smaller than expected, and they had to huddle close to each other, carefully protecting the goldfish in the plastic bag from getting wet.
Their shoes splashed through the soft, wet mud, and the water droplets splattered on their pants.
Overall, despite the unpleasant morning, the afternoon was quite enjoyable.
[The second date… should be… acceptable, right?]
Ye Jishu thought uncertainly.
Then, they returned to the car.
In the quiet space, Yan Mei had already turned on the heater, quickly dispersing the chill from the rain.
Ye Jishu tied the plastic bag containing the goldfish, then placed it in the car’s front drawer that Yan Mei had specially opened for it.
There was a temperature difference between the inside and outside of the car, so it didn’t take long for the windows to fog up. As Yan Mei started the car, Ye Jishu turned his face away from the passenger seat and traced his finger through the fogged-up window, creating a mark. Through the gap in the fog, he suddenly glimpsed a familiar figure and froze for a moment.
[Lin Lin? Why is he here…?]
“Jishu, fasten your seatbelt,” a voice suddenly came from beside him.
Ye Jishu’s attention was immediately diverted, and Yan Mei had already bent over to fasten his seatbelt. By the time Ye Jishu turned back, the fog had filled the gap again, and Lin Lin’s figure was no longer visible.
On the way back to school, Ye Jishu fell asleep once again. When he woke up, the car had been turned off, and his seatbelt had been undone. His head rested on Yan Mei’s shoulder.
“Are you awake?” Yan Mei was gently stroking his hair.
“Awake,” Ye Jishu answered honestly.
He raised his head and glanced out the window. The fog on the car window had dissipated, and the rain seemed to have lightened. Only the faint sound of raindrops sliding down the glass remained. It was completely dark now. They had arrived under his dorm building, and there were no signs of other students coming or going. Only the entrance card swipe area still emitted a warm orange light.
“Are you going back to your dorm?” Yan Mei asked.
“Yeah, see you.” Ye Jishu put on his coat, grabbed the plastic bag with the goldfish, and opened the car door.
Yan Mei’s voice came from behind him.
“No matter what happens, if you feel uneasy or something’s off, you must tell me.”
“Okay.” Ye Jishu nodded, but before leaving, he suddenly remembered an important step mentioned online. He bent down to face Yan Mei.
“Thank you.”
Yan Mei’s expression wavered for a moment.
“…Why are you being so distant?”
“Because I had a really good time today.”
Yan Mei was silent.
Ye Jishu checked his expression again, confirming that there was no longer the same gloom as before. He said “goodbye” and then closed the car door.
He walked towards the mathematics department’s dormitory. Though he entered the first floor, he didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he silently waited for Yan Mei to start the car, watching until he disappeared from view, before finally shifting his gaze away.
The plastic bag in his pocket held the talisman. Looking down, the goldfish bag felt heavy in his hand. This was his last day of indulgence.
Trying not to care about the other person was indeed difficult. It took great effort to achieve…
After a while, Ye Jishu’s gaze shifted from his hand, but inadvertently, his eyes were drawn to the long-abandoned elevator in the dorm building.
[The elevator light is on.]
It had been out of order for a long time and there were rumors surrounding it, so no students had ever used it. Since Ye Jishu had moved into the dorm, he had never seen the elevator operate. But now…
Its floor display showed [3]. That was the same floor as Ye Jishu’s dorm, [311].
An eerie feeling crept over him. Only now did he notice how unnervingly quiet the surroundings had become.
He pulled out his phone. The screen displayed the time—11:30 PM. Although the dorm lights went off at 11, not all university students followed the no-talking-after-lights-out rule.
But now, everything was eerily silent, and even the usual summer cicada sounds had stopped. Only the faint rustling of rain could be heard, crawling like insects in his ears.
[No matter what, I should head back to my room.]
Ye Jishu continued up the stairs, moving toward the third floor. However, when he reached the corner, he suddenly heard a “ding—” sound.
He paused.
He turned back and looked toward the source of the sound.
It was the elevator. The number displayed had changed from [3] to [1]. The elevator had moved down.
“…” Ye Jishu moved his gaze away.
He walked past the corner, and the elevator disappeared from sight.
But when he reached the corner on the second floor, he heard another “ding—”.
This time, the number displayed changed from [1] to [2].
What was this?
It felt like the elevator was following him up the stairs.
Ye Jishu remained expressionless and continued toward the third floor. He stopped again, and sure enough, the elevator’s floor number changed from [2] to [1].
But here, he didn’t move any further.
Instead, he stared at the elevator door, waiting for it to open.
However, after a full half minute, the elevator door still didn’t open. He couldn’t see what was inside.
Seeing this, Ye Jishu sighed, his tense body finally relaxing.
[It must be broken, after all.]
He wasn’t as calm as he appeared on the surface.
Horror games, after all, were just games. Though he had played similar games as a streamer, he had never really considered encountering such things in real life.
Ye Jishu expressionlessly shifted his gaze away and walked toward dorm room [311].
[If I don’t rest well, I’ll get too anxious.]
[Tomorrow, there are only general courses, so maybe I’ll skip and get some sleep.]
When he reached the dorm door, he knocked as usual.
His socially anxious roommate usually panicked when this happened.
However, he waited in silence, but this time, he didn’t hear the usual sounds from inside the room.
Had his roommate gone to sleep early?
Ye Jishu took the room key out of his pocket and gently opened the door, pushing it as quietly as possible to avoid scraping the floor.
The dorm was eerily silent, as if it had been empty for a long time.
The heavy balcony curtains were drawn shut, and besides the humid, stuffy air, he couldn’t even hear the rain outside.
After closing the door, he was enveloped by darkness.
There was only one place glowing with a faint blue light.
It was his laptop. Its screen was still on, and the cooling pad beneath it hummed with noise from overuse due to its old age.
It was probably because he had seen Yan Mei in the morning and rushed to go downstairs, forgetting to turn it off.
Ye Jishu walked over. The webpage was still on the last page he had browsed— the school forum. However, a dialogue box had popped up at the bottom of the page and remained open.
It was the conversation he had with Wen Yuhe earlier.
The forum synchronized messages, so even if he logged in on his computer and phone, it wouldn’t log him out. This meant his roommate had likely seen the messages Wen Yuhe had sent.
Ye Jishu paused for a moment. His gaze shifted to his roommate’s bed.
The bed curtain, which was always tightly shut, was now open, revealing the dark, empty metal bed frame.
And on the empty bed, there was only a pool of black, viscous liquid, impossible to describe.
What is this…?
“Drip.”
Just as he was looking over, the sound of dripping water suddenly came from the dorm’s bathroom.
…
“Drip.”
The next moment, the lights in the bathroom, which had been off, suddenly flickered on.
The entire dorm was still shrouded in darkness, so this light seemed to draw attention to it in an unnerving way.
Ye Jishu looked toward the bathroom.
A few seconds later, his roommate’s voice came from inside.
“Jishu, Jishu.” The voice gently called out. “Could you… come here for a moment?”