I slowly opened my eyes. Everything around me was completely empty. There was nothing at all.
Looking down at my hand, I could still feel the softness lingering on my fingertips. I was so scared I couldn’t speak.
Suddenly, Little Fatty said, “Were you up to something shady? I stayed up late last night, and your bed kept creaking. It was driving me crazy. Next time you’re taking care of business, at least be quiet about it.”
His words made my eyes fly wide open. Amid everyone’s complaints, I said shakily, “I went to bed at ten last night. I was the first one asleep…”
The dorm fell silent at once. In the dim yellow light, I saw fear gradually appear in everyone’s eyes.
4
The next morning, all four of us dragged ourselves to class with dark circles under our eyes. We’d planned to grab some steamed buns at the cafeteria and then go back to catch up on sleep, but I spotted her in a corner of the cafeteria.
Her hair was neatly tied back, and she wore a white dress. She looked as sweet and beautiful as she had in my dream.
She stood by the food counter, gazing at the dishes in the display and seeming unsure what to choose.
I hurried over and greeted her. “Hi, do you remember me?”
She looked a little confused and shook her head.
“That day, you were practicing your singing in the bamboo grove at the edge of campus. Then you ran off. Do you remember?”
“Oh! It’s you! I was wearing so much makeup that day—did I scare you? I got nervous and ran off. That was so rude of me.”
She lowered her head, flustered. Her cheeks turned red, making my heart beat faster.
“No, no, I’m the one who suddenly bothered you. By the way, I still don’t know your name.”
“Oh, just call me Dong Xin.”
Suddenly, I heard Dong Xin’s stomach growl. She immediately clutched her stomach, looking embarrassed.
I quickly understood and asked, “Are you hungry? Let me treat you to a meal.”
She hesitated a little, but then nodded. “I left my meal card behind when I went out today. Good thing I ran into you. What’s your name?”
“Just call me Brother Vu. Pick whatever you want—Brother Vu’s treating today!”
She picked a few dishes. I got two bowls of rice, and we carried everything to a table.
Just then, A Van and some of my friends suddenly showed up. A Van winked at me and said with a knowing look, “Brother Vu, you’ve got pretty good taste today.”
Afraid he’d interrupt my conversation with Dong Xin, I quickly shooed him away.
Over the meal, I learned that Dong Xin was a first-year student at the Academy of Fine Arts. Her older sister had studied there, so Dong Xin had always dreamed of getting in. In the end, she’d made it through her own hard work.
After the meal, I suddenly remembered Dong Xin’s embroidered shoes, so I took her to the entrance of my dorm.
Today, the dorm supervisor seemed to turn a blind eye. A Van had once tried to bring a female friend inside and been stopped.
The dorm was empty. After searching for a while, I guessed Little Fatty had put the embroidered shoes in his locker. Sure enough, when I opened it, the shoes were on the very bottom shelf.
I picked them up and suddenly felt a damp breath against the back of my neck, as if someone were breathing right beside me.
Fear kept me from turning around. All I could do was stare at the embroidered shoes, now smeared with dirt.
“Brother Vu’s interested in these shoes too?”
I didn’t breathe easy until I heard that familiar voice beside me.
It was Little Fatty, back again. I felt a little awkward, caught rummaging through someone else’s locker.
I quickly put the shoes back where they’d been and turned around, flustered. “Little Fatty, I just wanted to have a look at these shoes. I still don’t know who they belong to.”
It looked like I wouldn’t be able to return the shoes to Dong Xin today. Seeing that Little Fatty didn’t suspect what I’d said, I made up an excuse and left.
But the hallway was completely empty. There wasn’t a trace of Dong Xin. Had she had somewhere to go?
I went back to the dorm and asked Little Fatty, “Did you see a pretty girl in the hallway just now?”
Little Fatty looked up from his anime-character body pillow and shook his head in confusion. “Brother Vu, were you dreaming? What girl would be in a men’s dorm?”
Jeez, there was no point talking to a shut-in like him. I regretted not asking Dong Xin for her number, but then again, at least I knew she was a new student at the Academy of Fine Arts. There had to be some way to find her.
The next day, I went to the Academy of Fine Arts next door. Sure enough, the place was full of beautiful girls, but none of them was as beautiful as Dong Xin.
I went to a first-year classroom and asked a male student, “Hey, is there a girl named Dong Xin in this class?”
The student adjusted his glasses. He looked a little surprised, then replied, “Hang on, let me get her for you.”
He called toward the back of the classroom, and a girl with thick bangs looked up.
Suddenly, someone gently tapped my shoulder, accompanied by the familiar scent of almond blossoms. I turned around. It was Dong Xin.
She led me to a small garden at the Academy of Fine Arts and asked sweetly, “What brings you to our academy? Did you come to see me?”
Her fragrance distracted me, and my heart pounded.
I nodded, took out my phone, and said, “Yeah. I suddenly remembered I hadn’t asked for your number, so I came to find you.”
She recited a string of numbers, and I hurriedly wrote them down.
“By the way, Dong Xin, why did you leave so suddenly that day?”
“Oh, I got a message from my roommate. She’d forgotten her key, so I had to go back and bring it to her.”
“You live in a dorm too, Dong Xin? Which building?”
“I’m in Building 3, Room 403 of the women’s dorm.” She seemed a little hesitant, but answered anyway.
I was secretly delighted. The fact that she was willing to share personal information made me feel like she was starting to trust me.
After that, we walked around campus together.
That night, when I got back to the dorm, Little Fatty sneaked over and asked in a low voice, “Brother Vu, you took the shoes, didn’t you?”
I stared at him blankly and shook my head.
Little Fatty continued, “If it wasn’t you, it must’ve been A Van. Maybe he’s trying to play another mean prank. Anyway, Old Third definitely wouldn’t dare touch them.”
For some reason, I felt a chill. My gut told me A Van wasn’t the kind of person who’d pull a stupid stunt like that. But if it wasn’t him, then who was it?
That night, A Van came back dead drunk, collapsed onto his bed, and fell asleep immediately. I had a feeling something was going to happen, so I couldn’t sleep at all.
Old Third was playing video games, while Little Fatty was…was lying in bed watching anime.
A little while later, A Van woke up to use the bathroom. He staggered outside and didn’t come back for a long time. Reeking of alcohol, he complained, “There’s a mirror at the end of the hall. I nearly scared myself to death! Good thing I recognized my own handsome face.”
After saying that, he flopped back onto his bed and went right back to sleep.
5
In the darkness, lit only by the faint glow of Old Third’s phone screen, we looked at one another tensely. A strange atmosphere filled the dorm room.
Because we all knew perfectly well that there was no mirror at the end of that hall.
If what A Van saw at the end of the hall wasn’t himself, then who had it been?
That night, I slept fitfully. In a hazy half-sleep, I thought I heard a woman crying.
She pushed open the door and entered an empty hall, with several bronze statues by the entrance.
Her sobs mingled with the sound of footsteps on the wooden floor, and I could clearly hear the hem of her clothes dragging along the ground…
A piercing scream jolted me awake.
A Van had fallen to the floor. In his hand was the embroidered floral shoe.
Once he’d sobered up, A Van yelled angrily, “Little Fatty, wasn’t this shoe with you? What’s wrong with you?”
Little Fatty hurriedly shook his head. “It wasn’t me! It wasn’t me! Brother Vu, you know it disappeared yesterday! Brother Vu, could it have been you? You wanted to take it before, too!”
“No! It wasn’t me! I swear!” I quickly raised my hand to swear, but the moment I lifted it, I noticed a long lock of a woman’s hair wrapped around my wrist. Terrified, I fell back onto the bed.
Could there be someone else in this dorm besides the four of us?
At that moment, I felt as if countless furtive eyes were staring at me from the dark corners around us. My instincts told me it all seemed connected to a girl named Tưởng Hân Đồng. But why was she following us?
To find out, we began asking older students and teachers who might know the truth. Strangely, anyone who heard the name Tưởng Hân Đồng chose to change the subject or pretend they didn’t know, as if it were taboo.
Even so, we found pictures of Tưởng Hân Đồng in photographs from past school events.
Her long black hair fell down her back, and only part of her profile was visible. For some reason, I felt she was very familiar, as if I’d met her somewhere before.
This strange feeling made me have nightmare after nightmare. In my dreams, I always saw Tưởng Hân Đồng in a brilliant red wedding gown, stepping into the cultural hall again and again.
It seemed she was singing: “The one who should be loved isn’t loved; who stays, who leaves? The one who should stay doesn’t…”