Having never really looked, Xia Bai didn’t know what Song Mingliang’s gaze was like on a normal day.
His intuition said it wasn’t like this.
Perhaps those eyes would be dark and gloomy, but they wouldn’t be tinged with lunacy like this, as if he was laughing silently, mouth opened wide enough to reveal all his teeth.
What struck Xia Bai as most abnormal about Song Mingliang was the hand on his calf. It was cold and clammy, not the temperature a normal person should have.
Xia Bai closed his eyes again, remaining motionless.
He didn’t know what time it was, but the dormitory was silent save for the sounds of breathing. The other two who hadn’t slept all of last night were now sound asleep.
The hand on his calf slid down a bit, and a chill surged as the thin summer blanket on Xia Bai was lifted.
There was a rustling noise, and Xia Bai felt Song Mingliang crawl into his quilt. Instead of crawling, it felt more like wriggling.
When he reached the middle, he stopped.
Xia Bai felt a cold patch on his waist where Song Mingliang extended his hand.
Xia Bai turned over and wrapped himself in his blanket, causing it to slide off Song Mingliang.
Lying on his side, Xia Bai lay still as a stone. He kept his eyes nearly closed and his breathing even. Song Mingliang, arching his back, was crouched right beside him. Perhaps he was even staring right at Xia Bai.
A cold, slightly musty breath brushed against the fine hairs on Xia Bai’s cheek.
After what felt like an eternity, Song Mingliang finally moved away.
Xia Bai still didn’t move, his peripheral vision fixed on the foot of the bed.
Five minutes later, a head slowly emerged.
Song Mingliang had a lot of hair. It was thick, black, and fluffy, slightly long. As his head popped up, it looked like a dark ball, but his eyes shone particularly brightly, peeking out from beneath the thick bangs, silently prying in the dead of night.
The person on the bed remained still. He faced the wall, seemingly oblivious to everything happening within the dorm.
Only then did the head sink back down.
It was only when Xia Bai felt Song Mingliang truly move away that he shifted from his side to his back. His eyes were still half-lidded, scanning the dormitory.
Song Mingliang went to the opposite bed.
He placed his hands on rails of Wen Dong’s bed, staring at Wen Dong’s head.
Xia Bai couldn’t see the floor, so he couldn’t be sure whether Song Mingliang was floating or standing on a chair. All he could see was a dark silhouette next to Wen Dong’s bed.
Xia Bai blinked. A moment later, he saw that Song Mingliang had switched to Meng Tianyou’s bed.
Perhaps in preparation for sudden movement, Meng Tianyou hadn’t taken off his shoes while sleeping. Both his feet hung over the edge.
Song Mingliang stood on the ladder, staring intently at Meng Tianyou’s shoes. He plastered his face to it, intently and excitedly looking within, as if his eyes could see through the large opening of the shoe and its loose laces into its interesting interior.
Maybe he got too close, because Meng Tianyou, even in his sleep, felt something and twitched his foot.
Only then did Song Mingliang retract his gaze and slowly climb onto Meng Tianyou’s bed. He leaned over him, inching forward, lifting a corner of the thin quilt, creating a small opening.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Dfcvlcu bnfg, tf qffgfv lcab atf bqfclcu.
Pc atf vjgxcfrr, atja vjgx rlitbefaaf rffwfv ab rtevvfg obg rbwf gfjrbc, jcv tf gfjmtfv lcab atf ujq.
“Jbeut mbeut!”
Ktf qfgrbc lc atf olgra yfv wluta’nf ofia j mtlii jcv yfujc ab mbeut.
Ktlr mbeutlcu vlvc’a kjxf atf riffq-vfqglnfv lcvlnlvejir, yea la vlv rabq atf rtjvbk bc atf obegat yfv.
That shadow turned its head to look at the person in the first bed. The dormitory was plunged in darkness. Only a pair of eyes were glowing in the dark like a cat’s, stark and eerie.
Song Mingliang didn’t continue. He silently returned to his bed.
For the remainder of the night, whenever Xia Bai slightly opened his eyes, he would be able to catch a glimpse of two glowing orbs peeking beneath the narrow gap between the blanket and the third bed.
The next morning, when Lin Xiang came to invite Xia Bai for breakfast, he looked at him in surprise. “Xia Bai, did you not sleep well last night?”
Knowing Xia Bai, there were two things he wouldn’t compromise: food and sleep. Nothing could interrupt them.
The dorm’s other occupants were present, so Song Mingliang took the seat behind Xia Bai.
Xia Bai coughed twice, noting, “I think I’ve caught a chill. Not only am I coughing, but I also feel my guts churning. Need to use the restroom.”
Lin Xiang noticed that the bathroom door was firmly shut. Meng Tianyou was likely inside.
He suggested, “There’s a restroom in the dining hall. Should I accompany you there?”
Xia Bai nodded, “Okay. I am in a rush.”
Lin Xiang signaled to the others, “We’re headed to the dining hall. See you all there.”
As the two reached the door, they ran into Hua Haoming. Lin Xiang informed him, “Bro, Xia Bai’s got an upset stomach. I was taking him to the restroom in the dining hall.”
Hua Haoming glanced at Xia Bai, “Why rush to the dining hall if you need the toilet? There might be a queue there. Our dorm is empty now; just use ours.”
Lin Xiang realized, “Oh, right!”
The pair took Xia Bai to room 304 on the same floor.
Upon entering, Hua Haoming immediately pressed, “Out with it, what happened?”
Lin Xiang, puzzled, uttered, “Huh?”
Not bothering to ask how Hua Haoming figured something was amiss, Xia Bai quickly filled them in on the previous night’s events.
Lin Xiang frowned, “Song Mingliang seems affected. But what exactly happened to him?”
The two couldn’t provide an answer, so Lin Xiang began to ponder aloud, “Yesterday, Wen Dong mentioned something about the medical college’s cadaver supply problem. He even said the school might be producing these cadavers. Song Mingliang claimed he was fine, but now he’s like this… I’ve got it! Could it be like this?”
Hua Haoming played along, “Be like what?”
Excitedly, Lin Xiang speculated, “There might be a contaminant in the morgue, something a professor researched at some point. This substance might gradually turn the living into sentient corpses, specimens for anatomy. Perhaps they would still retain their senses even while being dissected! So, while Song Mingliang thinks he’s okay, he’s actually been contaminated. Perhaps he’ll turn into one of those living dead soon!”
He was a truly creative guy.
Seeing neither agreed with his theory, Lin Xiang added, “Or maybe it’s not a contaminant, but an actual ghost. The cursed individuals become creatures that are neither alive nor dead.”
“That’s not it.” Hua Haoming interrupted his musings, “You were wrong from the start. You’ve forgotten Dai Liangyuan’s key point.”
Lin Xiang, puzzled, queried, “What?”
Xia Bai chimed in, “Many who entered the morgue went mad, torturing themselves to death.”
Lin Xiang paused, realization dawning, “Right, they went mad, torturing themselves to death.”
“But,” he continued, “Song Mingliang doesn’t seem like he wants to hurt himself; he seems to want to hurt others.”
Just the thought of Song Mingliang crawling over their beds in the dead of night sent chills down Lin Xiang’s spine.
Hua Haoming posited, “Perhaps last night was just the beginning, and it will only worsen.”
Xia Bai pondered, “Should we tell the others?”
Hua Haoming thought for a moment, “Not for now. We’ll see how things are before bedtime and make our decision then.”
“Good, okay, alright.” Lin Xiang added, “There’s another possibility: there really is a ghost in the morgue. After Song Mingliang entered, the ghost possessed him. It’s now influencing him from within, trying to take over his body. This might explain why some students went mad, ending their own lives.”
That theory seemed plausible.
Lin Xiang continued, “If that’s the case, the ghost is inside Song Mingliang now. If Xia Bai warns others and the ghost notices, it could be disastrous.”
As Lin Xiang was about to continue, Hua Haoming suddenly covered his mouth.
Xia Bai turned, and along with Lin Xiang, followed Hua Haoming’s gaze.
The medical college’s dorms were far more dilapidated than Heping Medical College’s. The door, as if shrunken from water damage, didn’t shut tightly, leaving a small gap underneath and a noticeable crevice.
And now, a shadow appeared beneath the door.
Someone was standing right outside.
As their gazes shifted to the door’s crack, they met an eye.
The eye, which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, was pressed tightly against the slit. It was long and dark, unblinkingly observing the room’s interior. Its gaze was dim and they could clearly sense emotional fluctuations within.
A chill raced from the soles of Lin Xiang’s feet to his heart, causing goosebumps to erupt on his skin.
The three stood still for several seconds before Hua Haoming approached the door. After a brief pause, he opened it.
Song Qiang’s hand, which was raised to knock, hung in mid-air. He saw the three of them holding thermoses and greeted them with a warm smile, “I heard that Xia Bai caught a chill and had diarrhea, so I got some hot water from the dorm supervisor.”
Beside him stood Song Mingliang, who kept his head slightly bowed, bangs covering his eyes – his default behavior whenever he was near Song Qiang.
Xia Bai thanked him and began sipping from the thermos.
Lin Xiang stood in front of Xia Bai, his gaze fixed on him without drifting towards Song Mingliang even slightly.
Unaware of any tension, Song Qiang asked, “Shall we head to the dining hall for breakfast?”
Hua Haoming nodded, “Let’s go. We’re almost late.”
The group of five began walking towards the dining hall.
On the way, Song Qiang said, “It was Song Mingliang who told me about Xia Bai’s stomachache. Even though he’s quiet, he really cares about his classmates. Oh, and he prepared the hot water too.”
“Isn’t that right, Song Mingliang? You care about Xia Bai, don’t you? Why are you silent now?”
Song Qiang gave Song Mingliang a tug, but when he continued to remain silent, Song Qiang slapped him out of frustration.
While they had heard Song Qiang hitting Song Mingliang’s head before, this was the first time the slap echoed so loudly, causing them to shudder.
Song Mingliang looked up at Song Qiang, his eyes shimmering strangely from behind his bangs.
“Why aren’t you speaking? What are you staring at me for?” Song Qiang furiously scolded.
Lin Xiang placed a hand on Xia Bai’s arm, quickening their pace, “Come on, if we don’t hurry, we’ll be late for class.”
A path that usually took three minutes was covered in less than two.
Lin Xiang chose a seat near the window, ensuring the Song father and son couldn’t get too close.
Yet, throughout their meal, they felt as if they were being watched. They weren’t sure whether it was really the case, or whether they were just imagining things.
The feeling persisted until class.
Just like the previous lesson, Song Mingliang sat diagonally behind them. Their spines tingled with the sensation of being watched, yet they never turned to look back.
Rather than looking at Song Mingliang, they could look at someone else.
Dai Liangyuan, who had prepared for the previous day’s lesson with Song Mingliang, sat in a seat by the window, just in front of them.
He wasn’t observing anyone like Song Mingliang. He sat quietly, head slightly lowered, reading his textbook. Absent-mindedly, he bit his finger, seeming quite normal.
Xia Bai diverted his gaze to the teacher at the front.
After about ten minutes, he sniffed and looked back at Dai Liangyuan.
Dai Liangyuan remained in the same position, his movements unchanged. However, Xia Bai noticed a thin trickle of blood seeping into his sleeve from the finger Dai was biting.
Upon closer inspection, his cheeks were moving slightly. Two minutes later, he released his finger. His hand was lowered back to his side.
Xia Bai could see that his finger was now missing a chunk.
The flesh above the nail was gone, revealing a section of stark white bone, quickly covered by fresh blood.
Sunlight streamed diagonally into the classroom.
In class, the teacher continued to read from the textbook. None of the students seemed aware of the odd behavior of their two classmates. Like the players, they listened to the lecture inattentively.
Xia Bai heard heavy breathing from his side. He saw Lin Xiang biting a section of his index finger, suppressing his panicked breaths.
The two exchanged glances, and like the others, kept their focus on the lecture, as if oblivious to everything around them.
The author has something to say:
Xia Bai, with great virtue, wrapped his quilt around himself: Apart from my husband, nobody who is still breathing is allowed to touch my waist.
I’d like to give Song Qiang a slap, see how he feels! 🙄
It appears the idiot managed to piss off the ghost so he might get more then a slap soon…
Thanks for the update 🤣❤️🤣❤️
I still have some hope for Song Qinliang. Jiayou!!
Thanks for the chapter!!! ♥️♥️♥️
Warning 2; this may make literally no sense. Forgive me if I wrote nonsense, I’m currently sick right now. < m w m >
I just had a terrible hypothesis. What if the reason why all these students, like Dai Liangyuan, harm themselves is because of an opposite reaction- the individual will behave strangely and somewhat contradictory in comparison to their usual behavior. It is because of this that student Dai is harming themselves just like the previous students mentioned in the school campus legend. The reason why Song Mingliang isn’t harming himself and instead is wanting to harm others is because he’s.. y’know, sui**dal. He already harms himself so the only want to contradict/reverse that is by making him harm others. They all maintain their main personality traits; for example Dai Liangyuan is nervous by nature- biting his skin off is his form of self-h*arm as it embodies his personality. Song Mingliang is still hiding his eyes- something that aligns with his personality- while still being quietly and only taking actions AFTER someone reacts, not harming anyone during the night despite having an opportunity (though this could be explained if there is the existence of death rules). Song maintains his shy and reclusive nature whereas Dai maintains his anxious and nervous nature.
(It’s) Funny how I can suddenly see all the grammatical mistakes I made, yet (I) couldn’t while writing.
So creepy
Thanks for the chapter
I am sure you already know the reason behind it, but u haven’t read the next chapters yet and this theory seems goodly plausible
*I haven’t read
why did he only look at the other two but crawl into his bed? is it because he had the scent of death on him?
also i beg! please stop lapping your son!!!!!!!!
pei! Song Qiang this sh!tty abusive father I hope he died in less than 5 chapters so I would stop having to taint my eyes with his abusive behaviours toward his “son” 🙄