Chapter 9 The Knock on the Door

  Lin Yuan and Du Xiaonan covered their mouths and secretly laughed, while Xu Lingling was so angry that her eyes were wide with rage.

  "Hmph! You don't know, do you? Five years ago, on this very table, the corpse of a girl named Xiao Qing was placed right here." Xu Lingling said with a huff, raising her voice even louder and attracting the attention of people nearby.

  When he heard her words, Lin Yuan, who was working hard to shovel rice into his mouth, suddenly spat out all the rice and coughed violently.

  "What are you talking about? We're all eating!" Du Xiaonan said angrily, her eyes wide with indignation.

  "Don't believe you can go ask! Otherwise, so many people have nowhere to sit, leaving such a big place not sitting? You think it's specially left for you?" After finishing, she deliberately glanced at Su Jin'er.

  "That was also five years ago, the table may have been replaced early, and even if it was placed here, what's the big deal?" Su Jin'er said with a smile, "If you mind, you can sit somewhere else."

  She wasn't particularly disliked by her originally, but now seeing her being so arrogant and looking down on others is also a bit unbearable.

  Xu Lingling looked at Chu Feifan who was eating seriously, and sat down opposite him with a huff, saying: "Feifan is here, I'm not afraid!"

  Su Jiner smiled silently, what did the things five years ago have to do with her? She was just an ordinary student who came here to study, even if something really happened five years ago, it would not be related to herself, why bother to get involved in these things!

  This afternoon is anatomy, I don't know if we will go to the lab or not. This course is Lin Yuan's favorite course, so now Lin Yuan is excitedly jumping around in the dormitory!

  "Please, don't turn around anymore, okay? You're making me dizzy!" Jin'er said with a frown.

  "You said that in our dissection class we can see the internal organs of a human! Just thinking about it makes me so excited! Best would be if I could hold a scalpel and make two cuts."

  "What's always on your mind? I think you're more suited to being a doctor, I suggest you become a forensic doctor instead." Su Jiner said with a headache.

  "I was originally going to be a forensic doctor anyway! How about it? Jin'er, do you want to come with me?" Lin Yuan said, bending down and leaning in close to Su Jin'er.

  "No!"

  "By the way, Jin'er, don't you think it's strange?" Lin Yuan sat down beside Su Jin'er, his face solemn.

  "What's strange?" Su Jiner turned the page of the book over, her fingertips were slender and long, and her fingernails were also very beautiful.

  "It's been five years since Xiao Qing died! Have you forgotten? When Ouyang Chunxiao told us about it back then, she said it was a secret and specifically warned us not to spread it around. But now I feel like everyone in school knows about it, except for us, who seem to be the only ones who don't know."

  Su Jiner lowered her head, her jet-black long hair covering her face, making it impossible to see her expression. After a while, she lifted her head and looked at Lin Yuan, saying: "Xiao Yuan, actually, from the start of military training, I've had a bad feeling, always thinking that something was off, but didn't know what the problem was. I've had a bad premonition all along, like something was going to happen."

  "How did you get this feeling, were you influenced by the stories they told us?" Upon hearing her say that, Lin Yuan also started to worry.

  "Actually, when I was little, I often went to the countryside and listened to old people telling me those seemingly true or false ghost stories. At that time, because of my young age, I always believed that there were ghosts in this world. Although I was very scared, I still liked listening to those ancient stories. Do you remember the playmate Qiangzi I told you about from when I was a kid?"

  "Oh, I remember! What's up?"

  Qiangzi's grandmother once told me that when Qiangzi was a child, he had been scared by ghosts.

  "What? Are you saying there really are ghosts in this world?"

  Su Jiner shook her head and said: "I don't know, I remember that at that time Qiangzi was only one year old, his grandmother was holding him, when they passed by a cemetery, he suddenly cried out loud, and the sound of crying wasn't very normal, it sounded like someone was choking him. Later, let the shaman take a look, said that he had encountered a ghost, being choked by the ghost, being able to keep his life was already very lucky."

  "Do you believe it?"

  Su Jiner shook her head and said, "I don't know, at first I was very convinced, but as I grew older, I gradually stopped believing in those supernatural things. So I think the thing that happened five years ago was man-made, this matter has nothing to do with us, so let's not get involved, okay?"

  After listening to her words, Lin Yuan finally understood that whether it was five years ago or not had nothing to do with them, and Su Jin'er was worried that because of her own curiosity, she would also bring them into it.

  "Alright, let's just study hard then."

  Su Jiner wasn't a coward and she also liked reasoning and wanted to solve the case, but she wasn't a police officer. Moreover, there was a strong feeling telling her that this matter didn't seem as simple as it appeared on the surface.

  The afternoon class passed quietly, and Lin Yuan was no longer like before, hearing strange things and wanting to investigate. She quietly watched the teacher explain the structure of the human body, although they didn't actually dissect it. She still looked excitedly at the corpses on the beds, long dead. Does a person really become nothing after death? Or is it like some people say, that the spirit remains in this world, unwilling to leave and becoming what people call ghosts? No one can answer this question.

  After class, Lin Yuan became excited again: "The smell of formalin is really heavy! But the corpse was preserved quite well, I secretly touched his skin! It's still very elastic!"

  "Can't take you anymore, did you wear gloves when touching?"

  "Psst... I'll let you in on a secret: I deliberately took off my gloves to touch it."

  "I knew it!"

  "I almost threw up, I really don't like dissection class." Du Xiaonan said with a pale face, she seemed to still be reeling from the experiment earlier, her small face was especially pale.

  At this time, Li Yi Qian squeezed over from the side, she smiled and said: "How is everyone? Has anyone been scared?"

  "It wasn't scary, just a bit nauseating," said Du Xiaonan.

  "How can it be disgusting? It's not much different from when I was alive!" Li Yiqian said with a smile.

  "Everyone's feelings are different." Su Jiner said with a smile.

  Li Yi Qian shrugged and didn't continue the topic, saying: "Right, I still need to go find Teacher Zhang, so I'll leave first!"

  After finishing speaking, she waved her hand at them and left.

  It was already late autumn at this time, the weather had also changed from long to short, and the sky was a dull gray. The three of them went to the cafeteria together after dinner and then returned to their dormitory.

  It's 8 o'clock in the evening, and it has already completely darkened outside. Su Jin'er is still leaning against the headboard, intently watching Holmes, with occasional sounds of pages turning. Li Yi-qian hasn't returned yet. Lin Yuan and Du Xiao-nan are lying on their own beds, looking at their phones. Outside, it seems to have started blowing wind, which blows against the window, making a "slapping" sound.

  "Yi Qian hasn't come back yet? It's already past eight o'clock!" Du Xiaonan suddenly raised her head and said.

  "Maybe she's still busy!" Su Jin'er's words had just fallen when the sound of knocking on the door came from the entrance.

  "Speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao arrives!" Lin Yuan jumped down from the upper bunk and ran to the door to open it.

  However, she stood at the door with no intention of letting outsiders in, her back looking somewhat unnaturally stiff.

  "Xiao Yuan, why didn't you let her in?" Su Jiner asked strangely after a while without hearing any footsteps.

  But the house was quiet and there was no one answering, only Du Xiaonan's faint voice pressing the phone keys.

  "Xiao Yuan—" Jin'er stood up and walked towards the door.

  "There's no one outside the door." Lin Yuan finally spoke up, but her voice was trembling.

  Through Lin Yuan's shoulder, Su Jiner saw that the corridor was empty and not even the voice-controlled lights were on. It seemed like she really didn't hear any footsteps going upstairs just now!

  "Maybe it's just the wind!" she comforted herself by saying.

  "But shouldn't the wind be blowing without rhythm!" At this time, Du Xiaonan also got down from bed.

  At this time, however, footsteps were heard coming from the stairs. The sound was stealthy and cautious, as if someone was trying not to be discovered.

  "Who is this?"

  Although Su Jin'er said she didn't believe in ghosts and gods, on such a quiet and deserted night, anyone would be scared by what happened!

  Although she was very afraid in her heart, she still took a step forward and said: "Let me see!"

  The slow footsteps reached the fourth floor, and the three of them stood stiffly with their backs to the door, waiting for the owner of the footsteps to appear.

  That person first stepped out with one foot, the injured foot was wearing white sports shoes, as if probing something, but after stepping out, he hesitated and didn't step out with the other foot. Su Jiner and the three of them held their breath in tension.

  Finally, the owner of the foot appeared, and after seeing her face, the three slowly let out a breath.

  "Hey! Li Yi-qian, are you trying to scare us to death? What's the point of knocking on the door and then leaving, only to come back up with those footsteps?" Lin Yuan said, exasperated.

  Li Yi-qian looked at them in confusion and said: "I just came up now! And the three of you blocked the door so tightly, how could I knock on the door?!"

  Several people came into the room one after another and sat on their own beds. Then Lin Yuan said, "Why did you stick out one foot first and then not move? You scared us to death by staying there for so long before coming out!"

  "I was originally going to come in! But suddenly saw words on the wall, so I stopped to take a look! Who knew you guys just happened to see my feet at the door!"

  "Seriously! We heard someone knocking on the door and thought you were back, so we came to take a look. But when we opened the door, there was no one outside. Are you playing a prank on us?" Lin Yuan also chimed in.

  "I already said, I just got back."

  "Did you see anyone passing by when you were going upstairs?" Du Xiaonan asked with wide eyes.

  "No! I'm all alone!"

  Seeing three people fall silent one after another, Li Yiqian asked in doubt: "Did you really hear someone knocking on the door just now?"