Lin Yue choked on her words and remained silent for a long moment, her vacant eyes fixed intently on Lu Mian.
“So…” Lu Mian blinked and let her imagination run wild, “Did you buy this outfit to scare people?”
“Isn’t that a bit much? Isn’t that kind of joke going a bit too far? I think…”
Lu Mian didn’t get to finish her sentence; Lin Yue suddenly turned and walked away.
Lu Mian was left utterly baffled. What on earth was that about? Lin Yue had brought up the subject herself, yet the moment she spoke, the other person had already left.
Never mind, who cares? Cleaning up the hair was the priority.
Lu Mian slipped a plastic bag over her right hand and set about gathering the thick clumps of hair.
Washed by the water, the black hair was incredibly smooth, and felt cool to the touch.
Goodness, her hair is in such great condition—so silky!
If I sold it to a hair collector, how much would it fetch?
It’s a shame it’s ended up in the toilet; its only destination is the bin. Lu Mian felt a pang of regret as she pulled the hair out.
As she pulled, Lu Mian realised something was wrong. What on earth was going on?!
She couldn’t pull it out?
Lu Mian fetched another plastic bag, wrapped it around her right hand, and, using both hands, tugged at the hair with all her might.
She pulled the hair out, along with the filter screen.
The drains in the dormitory are rarely cleaned; over the years, a layer of sludge has built up. The long strands of hair acted as the perfect mop, sweeping the sludge out along with them.
Looking at the huge clump of hair and the sludge scattered across the floor, Lu Mian was dumbfounded. Did she really shed that much hair?
Lu Mian peered into the drain again; it was pitch black inside.
“Phew!” Lu Mian breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness it hadn’t fallen into the drain; otherwise, it would have been a nightmare to clear.
With her mind at ease, Lu Mian continued to tug at the strands of hair tangled with the filter.
Black hair intertwined with her pale hands; strand by strand, the hair spread silently, extending and gradually twining around her pale hands, as if a vine were taking root in the soil to draw nourishment.
There wasn’t actually that much hair; Lu Mian had it all cleared away in a few minutes.
After fitting the filter back in place, Lu Mian noticed the strands of hair still tangled around her hand. With a casual tug, she flung them into the dustpan.
How could they still be tangled around her hand when she’d already put the bag on? Was she being so careless? No, she’d have to be more careful from now on; if she wasn’t thorough, she feared the restaurant where she worked part-time might let her go.
She must be too tired lately; she needs to get to bed early!
Worried about her frail body, Lu Mian swept the hair into the bin bag as quickly as she could, then hurried off to bed.
By the time the black hair had crawled out of the bin bag and spread across the entire balcony, it was too late—her target had already vanished.
The long black hair began to sway violently, slowly materialising into a white figure. It was a contorted body, its limbs twisted backwards at strange angles. Its complexion was waxy and rough, blood trickling from the corners of its mouth. Its small eyes were dominated by black pupils, with only a sliver of white visible at the edges; hatred and malice were laid bare in that gaze.
Die! Die! Die!
Everyone should die!
…………
Under the silent night sky, Ningjiang University lay shrouded in darkness, like a quarantined wasteland.
Dormitory 504. Su Qing, who had been sleeping, rolled over and suddenly woke up, feeling the urge to urinate.
Su Qing pulled back the bed curtain and looked around the room. It was pitch black, with only the light from the corridor seeping through the door crack, barely allowing her to make out the layout of the room.
No one was staying up late tonight, Su Qing thought, feeling a little disappointed. If someone had been up, she would have dared to go to the toilet.
The story Lin Yue had told before bed had been too terrifying; she was scared.
Su Qing drew the bed curtains shut, lay back down, and glanced at her mobile phone—it was half past two in the morning.
She switched off her phone. She could hold it in for a few more hours before getting up; she should be fine.
The moment she lay down, Su Qing suddenly felt a chill beneath the duvet, as if an ice cube had been hidden there, creeping up from the soles of her feet.
Su Qing yanked the duvet off; it was completely empty.
She pulled the duvet back over herself and lay down, feeling a little anxious.
The moment she lay down, the icy sensation returned. This time, she could clearly feel a pair of hands gripping her feet.
Those hands moved slowly upwards, from the soles of her feet to her calves, then to her knees…
Su Qing threw back the duvet once more and switched on her mobile’s torch. The warm yellow light illuminated the entire bed, but there was nothing on the pale pink sheets.
‘I’m just scaring myself,’ Su Qing thought, patting her chest to quell the unease. She lay back down, but the moment she turned her head to place her mobile, a pair of pale, bloodstained and contorted hands appeared beside her head, mere centimetres from her eyes.
Su Qing flashed the torch on suddenly, but it seemed as though the scene from just a moment ago had been a figment of her imagination.
Was it really just a figment of her imagination? Those hands had been so clear.
Su Qing clutched her phone tightly, burrowing deep under the duvet, curling up into a foetal position, and nervously shining the torch around the room.
This was how Lu Mian was woken by the glare of the torch.
Lu Mian turned to glare at Su Qing’s bed with deep resentment. What on earth was she doing up in the middle of the night!
Turning her head, she realised Lin Yue was also staring at Su Qing’s bed.
Look! Look! She’s already woken up two of her roommates!
Lu Mian climbed out of bed; she was going to see what on earth was going on.
Lu Mian got out of bed and only then realised that Lin Yue’s entire face was obscured by her long black hair; she couldn’t make out her expression, but she was staring intently at the direction of Su Qing’s bed.
Just then, the torch on Su Qing’s bed went out, leaving the whole bed curtain shrouded in pitch black. Lu Mian whispered cautiously, “What’s going on?”
Lin Yue tilted her head slightly; in the blink of an eye, her face—still hidden beneath her long hair—was right up against Lu Mian’s, with only a few centimetres separating them.
Lu Mian’s attention was drawn to Lin Yue’s hair—
Jet-black and silky, just like in the shower.
She knew she couldn’t possibly have shed that much hair!
What a let-down! Shedding hair and not cleaning it up!
“Why didn’t you clear the hair from the shower last night after washing your hair?” Although she was deeply dissatisfied with her roommates’ lack of responsibility, Lu Mian lowered her voice, mindful that the others were still asleep.
Lin Yue merely tilted her head slightly, then turned to stare at Su Qing’s spot.
Lu Mian finally realised something was amiss. Why were Lin Yue’s movements so stiff?
Lu Mian silently took out her mobile and opened a search engine:
—What causes someone to wander around in the middle of the night without speaking?
Relevant entries popped up almost immediately:
[It could be sleepwalking. Sleepwalking, medically known as ‘somnambulism’, is a sleep disorder. Those affected usually have no memory of their nocturnal wanderings upon waking…]
Having read this far, Lu Mian closed the search engine and instead opened the camera app, snapping several photos of Lin Yue.
She knew full well that some people were stubborn to the core and would never believe they were ill; she had to keep evidence.
After taking the photos, Lu Mian went back to reading the scientific information.
[One must not wake a sleepwalker during an episode, as this may cause psychological distress such as tension and anxiety. Furthermore, being startled awake can lead to a rapid heart rate and elevated blood pressure, which in turn may trigger heart problems…]
She mustn’t wake her up. Lu Mian put her phone away and cast a sympathetic glance at Lin Yue. She’d let the hair business slide; she wouldn’t mention it. It wasn’t easy being ill.
Time for bed.
Su Qing had already switched off her torch and was likely asleep. Lu Mian decided not to disturb her just yet; Su Qing was timid, and knowing that Lin Yue was a sleepwalker would surely make her burst into tears in the middle of the night.
Believing herself to be quite considerate, Lu Mian cautiously tried to create some distance between herself and Lin Yue, but Lin Yue moved closer once more. Their faces drew near again, and her long black hair even brushed against Lu Mian’s cheek.
The icy sensation instantly reminded Lu Mian of puddles on the road during a winter rain—the cold, unsettling feeling of wet cotton shoes touching the water.
‘Oh dear,’ Lu Mian took the initiative, wrapping her arms around Lin Yue and, without hesitation, steering her towards her own bed. ‘What’s wrong with her? A sleepwalker actually likes to press her face against others—how rude.’
She turned Lin Yue to face her own bed; perhaps she’d crawl back on her own in a moment.
Convinced she had fulfilled her duty as a roommate, Lu Mian climbed back into her own bed with a clear conscience, tucked herself in, and drifted back to sleep.
Silence returned to the night, and the lurking creature emerged once more.
Lin Yue shifted her body, slowly turning her head 180 degrees to fix her gaze once again on Su Qing’s bed.
With her eyes closed, Su Qing felt that hand appear again. It stroked her face, from her eyes to her nose, and then to her mouth…