I tightly shut my eyes, gritted my teeth, and prepared myself for death.
Several seconds passed, but I didn’t crash onto the ground, shattered beyond recognition. Instead, I landed in a soft pair of arms.
The howling wind in my ears vanished, and I could clearly hear my own heart thumping wildly.
“It’s alright.”
A faint voice sounded above my head—somewhat low but magnetic, incredibly pleasant to the ear.
I opened my eyes, and the first thing that came into view was a face with exquisite features.
A man had caught me steadily as I fell from the fifth floor.
He was a stranger, with pitch-black pupils and strikingly defined facial features. Even though the light was dim, it did nothing to diminish his tall stature and handsomeness. His refinement surpassed that of a woman; he could only be described as ‘beautiful.’
For a moment, I was stunned, unable to snap out of the situation at hand.
The man set me down, slightly lifted his chin, and gazed coldly toward the girls’ dormitory building.
Following his gaze, I could tell he was staring at my dorm room.
“You are…”
“Chang Sheng,” the man replied calmly. “My name.”
He didn’t look at me, his eyes fixed on the dormitory window.
That window should have been open, but at some point, it had been tightly shut.
The woman who had pushed me down was nowhere to be seen. The window was pitch-black, and I couldn’t tell what the man was looking at.
“You saved me?”
He turned his head, looking down at me with a condescending gaze, his dark eyes exuding indifference. “Obviously.”
“Thank…”
“Don’t rush to thank me,” he interrupted, scrutinizing me seriously before curling his lips into a sharp smile. “Do you know Gucheng District?”
“Yes.”
“In Zuixian Lou in Gucheng District, there’s a Supernatural Mystery Club. Be there tomorrow morning at nine o’clock sharp.”
“What for?”
“To meet someone named October.”
“…”
Even though the man had saved me, his sudden demand left me utterly bewildered.
“If you want to live, do as I say,” his tone brooked no argument.
“But I have class tomorrow morning.”
“Which is more important, class or your life?”
“…”
“You only have one chance. Don’t be late.”
“Um, I don’t really understand what you’re saying. Could you please explain it more clearly?”
The person standing before me was my savior. He struck me as somewhat arrogant, even haughty, but as someone he had just saved, he seemed like a god to me.
No ordinary person could have caught someone falling from the fifth floor, especially when the ground was already so close.
He definitely wasn’t ordinary.
“You’ll understand once you go.”
“Will you be there?”
He didn’t answer my question, his gaze drifting once again toward my dormitory window.
I felt like he knew what I had just experienced, which was why he kept glancing at that tightly shut window.
“Will you be at that Supernatural Mystery Club tomorrow? Will I see you again?” I asked.
After I spoke, there was no response from the man.
I turned to look beside me, but the person who had been standing there just seconds ago had vanished without a trace.
I couldn’t believe it as I scanned my surroundings. Under the pale moonlight, the area was empty—not even a ghostly shadow could be seen.
The man had disappeared just like that, leaving no trace behind, as if he had never been there at all.
For a moment, I deeply suspected I might be dreaming, so I pinched my arm hard—it hurt…
Early the next morning, tortured by the wake-up bell, I reluctantly got out of bed.
While washing up, Tang Shishi drowsily leaned over, squeezing toothpaste onto her toothbrush as she mumbled, “How did you get out last night?”
“…”
If Tang Shishi hadn’t brought it up, I probably wouldn’t have mentioned it.
Last night, it was Tang Shishi who opened the door for me.
“Late at night, I had to help you open the door, but that’s not the main issue. The key point is that our dorm door locks from the inside at night.” At this, she glanced up at me and added, “I was too tired last night to think much about it, but after waking up today, I just can’t figure out how you got out.”
“Why overthink it?”
“How did you manage to lock yourself outside the dorm?”
“I… might have been sleepwalking.”
“Even if you were sleepwalking, you couldn’t have locked yourself outside, could you? Our dorm door either locks from the outside with a key or latches from the inside. I really can’t wrap my head around how you ended up locked out.”
“Don’t ask me, I don’t know either. I already said I was sleepwalking.” I didn’t want to continue this topic with Tang Shishi, nor did I plan to let her know what actually happened last night.
Tang Shishi is a good person, just a bit of a gossip. Whatever reaches her ears, big or small, spreads throughout the entire dorm building within three days.
What I encountered last night was clearly a supernatural incident.
If Tang Shishi found out about something like this and spread it around, it would likely cause panic among the students.
“You actually sleepwalk?” Jian Ran walked into the bathroom, staring at me wide-eyed with disbelief.
I shot her a glare and said irritably, “What’s so strange about that?”
“Strange isn’t the word, but when you think about it, sharing a room with someone who sleepwalks is pretty scary.”
“Good, I hope it scares you to death.”
“You…” Jian Ran glared at me, clenching her fist and waving it in my direction.
She wouldn’t actually hit me—it was just a habitual gesture.
Jian Ran was rough around the edges, with short hair and always dressed in casual clothes, a tomboy through and through, lacking any feminine charm, but she was fiercely loyal.
“The more I think about last night, the weirder it seems. What were you doing out so late, and how did you end up locking yourself out…” Tang Shishi was about to bring up last night’s events again. Before she could finish, I snatched the toothbrush from her hand and shoved it into her mouth, urging, “Hurry up and brush your teeth, or we’ll be late for class.”
Without waiting for her reaction, I dashed out of the bathroom.
Jiang Meixin was still asleep—it seemed she didn’t have morning classes.
After changing clothes, I hurriedly left the dorm and headed toward the classroom building.
Along the way, Chang Sheng’s image kept flashing in my mind, and his words lingered in my ears.
“In Zuixian Lou in Gucheng District, there’s a Supernatural Mystery Club. Go there tomorrow morning at nine sharp to meet someone named October. If you want to stay alive, do as I say.”
When he said this, Chang Sheng’s expression was deadly serious.
He saved my life, so I believe he means me no harm. Besides, if it weren’t for Chang Sheng last night, I might have already gone to the Underworld to report to the King of Hell.