Wen Xiang Yuan was certain that someone had been standing there just a moment ago.
Even if she had been mistaken and the person wasn't Gu Xiang Kai, it definitely wasn't empty.
She took two steps back, realizing she had likely encountered a supernatural occurrence.
On the second day of the mission, these anomalies were no longer confined to the hours of sleep.
But was the person she just saw really Gu Xiang Kai?
Wen Xiang Yuan had assumed Zhao Yao's secret might be related to Granny Zhao or Zhou An, as those were the two people she interacted with most.
But what role did Li Wang, played by Gu Xiang Kai, have in all this?
She hadn't even met Gu Xiang Kai until now.
"Child, come back!"
Granny Zhao's raspy voice rang out. Wen Xiang Yuan didn't delay any longer and turned to head back inside.
After only two steps, that feeling of being watched returned.
She tilted her head slightly, her pupils dilating. Behind the tree she had just left, the figure of that person appeared once more.
This time, the distance was even closer. Wen Xiang Yuan was certain it was Gu Xiang Kai.
No, it would be more accurate to say it was Li Wang.
Gu Xiang Kai wouldn't stay silent just to scare her.
Was it that the current Gu Xiang Kai was unconscious and being controlled by the mission to come here, or...
Was that Li Wang not human at all?
"Why aren't you back yet?"
As Wen Xiang Yuan lingered, Granny Zhao came out to find her.
She pulled Zhao Yao along, grumbling incessantly. "Are you mad at me? I know you like that girl, Li Hui; you're usually the one who helps her with her medicine when she visits."
"But what she asked for was too much. It's a matter that would ruin us both."
"We can't agree to it, and you shouldn't have any more contact with her from now on."
Wen Xiang Yuan's mind raced. Li Hui frequently came to Granny Zhao for medicine? They were actually quite well-acquainted.
What exactly did Li Hui ask for that made Granny Zhao, who was normally on good terms with her, avoid her like the plague?
Seeing that Zhao Yao remained silent, Granny Zhao sighed.
"Sigh, we can only stay in the factory because the director and the other workers look after us. We're two people with no one else to rely on. You must remember not to get involved in other people's business."
"Everyone has their own fate and karma; that's their concern."
"We shouldn't touch it."
Granny Zhao repeated her nagging, her rough hand holding Wen Xiang Yuan's, feeling like coarse sand.
"Granny..."
Wen Xiang Yuan intended to ask about Li Hui, but Granny Zhao's face instantly darkened.
"Don't ever mention Li Hui's business again."
Wen Xiang Yuan swallowed her words. After a moment of thought, she changed her approach. "Then if she comes for medicine again, should I still give it to her?"
Granny Zhao froze. Her clouded eyes shifted as if she were lost in thought.
"Sigh..."
She let out a long sigh, though its meaning was unclear.
"Give her the medicine, but don't have any more contact with her than necessary."
"We're all just pitiful people."
Wen Xiang Yuan didn't ask further; Granny Zhao wouldn't say any more.
When she went to close the door, she intentionally looked behind the tree again. The figure was now standing in front of the tree, head lowered.
In the night, it looked eerie and terrifying.
That person was definitely Gu Xiang Kai.
Wen Xiang Yuan closed the door.
...
The chirping of cicadas at night dispersed the silence that had fallen over the dormitory area as everyone went to sleep.
Nan Yue stayed up a bit later than usual today, but she didn't hear that invisible movement again.
It was as if everything from the previous night had been nothing but a dream.
She had always been the type to deal with whatever life threw at her during missions, so she rolled over and fell asleep.
In a daze, she felt like someone was watching her.
Nan Yue woke up slightly. This sensation was the result of countless training sessions as a scavenger; it couldn't be wrong.
She used the motion of turning over to crack her eyes open slightly.
The room was empty and quiet.
Xiang Guang hadn't returned, and there were no uninvited guests.
Yet, the feeling of being watched persisted.
Nan Yue had felt this kind of gaze earlier in the evening from Zhao Dayong.
But unlike the simple, observant gaze Zhao Dayong had given her, she could feel that the current gaze was far more malicious.
It carried negative emotions that were difficult to ignore.
If noticing Zhao Dayong's gaze was due to her professional instincts as a scavenger, then this gaze was something even an ordinary person would notice.
The malice was too obvious.
But where was the gaze coming from?
Nan Yue sat up and clicked on the light. The warm, dim glow dispersed the darkness but failed to drive away the gaze.
The 'person' didn't seem afraid that Nan Yue had woken up or that she was looking for them.
Nan Yue first checked the outer room. Outside the window, everything was still. The buildings opposite were dark, and the hallway lights were sound-activated, only lighting up if someone went to the restroom.
It was around two in the morning, and the dormitory buildings were shrouded in darkness.
Only her room was lit.
The rooms on either side were quiet, and no one was outside.
The only possibility was the inner room.
The room was small with few items, leaving nowhere to hide. She stepped onto the bed to look out the window.
Was someone climbing up to the second floor to peer in through the window?
Outside were only small trees, too thin to support a person's weight. They were sparse enough that she could tell no one was hiding there.
Nan Yue frowned. She lowered her hand from the window frame, but as she went to turn around, she froze.
She seemed to have...
Overlooked something.
The wardrobe.
The wardrobe behind her was facing the foot of her bed, and its narrow mirror perfectly reflected her movements.
Creak.
The wardrobe door, which had been tightly shut, suddenly made a faint sound, as if someone were opening it.
Nan Yue slowly turned her head and saw that the right door of the yellow wooden wardrobe had opened a crack. It was pitch black inside, revealing nothing.
However, the malicious gaze coming from that crack was much more intense than what Nan Yue had felt before.
Someone was hiding in the wardrobe!
Nan Yue was certain the gaze originated from there.
She grabbed the flashlight from the headboard, shook it, and aimed a beam of light at the crack.
But the dark gap seemed to swallow the light; the beam vanished upon hitting it, and she couldn't see what was inside.
There was no choice but to take a look.
Nan Yue wasn't afraid of ghosts, and she knew she hadn't broken any rules.
However, this mission was special; they needed to stay in character.
As Li Hui, a gentle and delicate woman, she should still be quite alarmed by such a situation.
It wouldn't hurt to keep up appearances.
Nan Yue stepped forward and yanked the wardrobe door open.
The wardrobe was empty. No one was hiding inside, peering out from the shadows.
But there was something there that hadn't been there before.
An extra piece of clothing.
A man's shirt—likely Xiang Guang's. Nan Yue had seen it when she was tidying the wardrobe earlier, but she had folded it and placed it at the very bottom.
Now, the shirt was hanging up, swaying slightly on its hanger.
Rate on N.U.
