Every hair on my body stood on end at that moment. I whipped my head around to look behind me.
A waiter was approaching to serve a dish. I heaved a heavy sigh of relief—it was just a waiter.
But why was he smiling so creepily? It gave me goosebumps.
"Hey, Xue Jingyao, what are you spacing out for? What do you think of my suggestion just now?" Su Weiwei said.
I was somewhat wary of what my mother had said, but my heart was also rebellious. These two conflicting emotions tangled together, leaving me feeling restless and confused.
I replied, "We'll see."
However, just as Su Weiwei had said, I noticed Song Lin's gaze kept falling on me, and he smiled at me.
It made me feel quite embarrassed.
After dinner, our group went to a KTV. Inside the private room, Song Lin sat right next to me.
He extended his hand toward me and said gently and politely, "I'd like to get to know my junior. I wonder if I have the honor?"
I was taken aback for a moment, then hurriedly reached out to shake his hand. "Hello, senior. My name is Xue Jingyao."
Facing such a handsome, gentle, and chivalrous Song Lin, my heart was pounding wildly, as if it were about to leap out of my chest.
Seeing that Song Lin and I had started talking, Su Weiwei tactfully moved farther away, no longer disturbing us.
During our conversation, I learned that Song Lin and I shared many common interests. Moreover, he seemed knowledgeable about everything, no matter the topic.
A sense of admiration for Song Lin welled up inside me, and my gaze seemed glued to him.
But I could always feel a pair of eyes watching me inside the private room, following me like a shadow, making me uncomfortable.
As it grew later and closer to the dormitory curfew, I prepared to head back.
It turned out Su Weiwei wasn't coming with me. Instead, she egged Song Lin on to walk me back. My face flushed red and hot, while Song Lin generously offered to see me home.
"Jingyao, let's go. I'll definitely get you back before the dorm closes," Song Lin said to me with a smile.
Looking at the refined and gentle Song Lin, I nodded shyly.
Just as Song Lin and I were leaving the private room, amid the singing, I overheard other classmates' voices.
"Hey, who's that person sitting in the corner? Who brought them?"
"Stop talking nonsense. Are you drunk and seeing things? There's no one in the corner. Don't try to skip out on drinking; keep going."
"But I clearly saw someone. Why aren't they there now…"
"I think you're the one seeing things!"
I didn't hear the rest because Song Lin and I had already stepped out.
Song Lin had driven over. I checked the time—we should be able to make it back before the dorm closed.
Sitting beside Song Lin, I grew even more nervous, and something strange happened.
The previously talkative Song Lin fell completely silent after getting in the car. The gentle smile was gone from his face, and the dim lighting in the car cast his expression in an ambiguous, shadowy gloom.
For a moment, I didn't dare speak. Had I accidentally said or done something earlier that turned Song Lin off?
The car pulled out, and Song Lin remained expressionless and silent. Yet, I could see from the rearview mirror that his eyes kept glancing toward me from time to time.
To be honest, I was a bit panicked inside. I turned my gaze out the car window, only to realize this wasn't the road back to school. At some point, the car had already driven onto a remote road, lined with trees on both sides with no buildings in sight.
My heart immediately sank—something was wrong, very wrong.
"Senior! This isn't the way back to school. Where have you taken us?" I turned to look at Song Lin, my expression tense.
Song Lin still didn't answer me, but instead pressed down on the accelerator, making the car go even faster.
Frightened, I gripped the handrail tightly. After about five minutes, Song Lin suddenly slammed on the brakes. Due to the inertia, I lurched forward, my head hitting the front seat and immediately swelling into a large bump.
I didn't know what was happening now, but my intuition told me I couldn't stay in the car any longer. The Song Lin beside me was radiating an eerie and dangerous aura.
Fortunately, the car door wasn't locked. After I got out of the car, I was stunned—surrounding me was a desolate wilderness, with the only light coming from the car's headlights.
Instantly, news stories about young women being murdered flashed through my mind. By now, I was filled with regret.
How could I have been so foolishly infatuated as to get into Song Lin's car!
What kind of normal senior would bring someone to such a remote, wild place?
At that moment, Song Lin also got out of the car. Leaning against the door, he smiled at me, though the smile didn't reach his eyes.
"Senior, what are you trying to do?" I stared at Song Lin warily, my eyes scanning the surroundings to see if I could find a path to escape.
Song Lin raised a finger to wipe his lips, then slowly walked toward me. His voice was still gentle, but now tinged with a chilling coldness.
"Eating you here means no one will find out."
Eat me?
Eat?
Was it the kind of "eat" I was imagining?
I took step after step backward, my voice trembling as I said, "I… I don't understand what you mean…"
Suddenly, Song Lin, who had been walking toward me, vanished into thin air. Before I could even feel afraid, the next second he appeared behind me and wrapped his arms around me!
As soon as he embraced me, my entire body went limp, losing all strength. The feeling was so eerie it made me want to cry.
He buried his face in my neck and took a deep breath, murmuring in a drunken tone, "So fragrant, definitely delicious."
I trembled with fear—he seemed like a complete pervert.
"If you eat me, aren't you afraid my friends will report you to the police? They know I went out with you."
Song Lin, still holding me, let out a soft chuckle. "I'll drink every drop of your blood, eat every piece of your flesh, and leave not even a bone behind. What can the police do even if they're called?"
I sensed something off about Song Lin's words. The "eat" he mentioned didn't seem to be the same as what I understood.
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my shoulder—Song Lin had already bitten down on it!
The pain cleared my mind. Had I encountered a cannibal?!
Xue Jingyao, oh Xue Jingyao, you're so unlucky! Others end up as a handful of ashes after death, but you'll turn into a pile of waste!
I let out a loud cry from the pain—Song Lin was literally gnawing on me alive!
But I didn't even have the strength to struggle. All I could do was helplessly smell the scent of blood filling the air.
The car headlights illuminated the empty road as brightly as daylight. My eyelids drooped weakly, but at that moment, I noticed that besides Song Lin's shadow, there were two other shadows at my feet!
One shadow was mine, but the other was exceptionally tall. Suddenly, this tall shadow moved, and a red figure swept past before my eyes.
At the same time, the person holding me abruptly let go. Song Lin was seized by that red figure and slammed heavily onto the ground.
A cold, sinister voice echoed through the silent night, "An overconfident dog. Does Benjun need to teach you how to write the word 'death'?"