After spending the whole Sunday in the library reading thesis papers, Ye Yingzhi was already back in the dormitory by the time Chi Yan came back from his dinner.
He would still feel ashamed and embarrassed whenever he looked at Ye Yingzhi. He also didnât dare let the other party notice his strange behavior. He bowed his head and said, âYou c- came back earlier today.â Then he hid at his desk and turned his back to him without making a sound.
In the morning, he thought it wouldnât take a long time, that it would be okay soon, he just needed to endure for a little while more. However, it turned out that it took a very long time before it was fine. He spent the whole day reviewing classical economics and hypnotizing himself by saying, âI really did fall asleep and I donât know anythingâ but he could still remember that feeling as long as he gave the slightest thought about it.
After showering, Chi Yan laid down and looked at his phone. Although the details of yesterdayâs tragedy had been blocked, there were still many rumors coming out. He subconsciously skipped all the contacts that he didnât want to seeâ
Last nightâs event had left a psychological shadow on him. He couldnât tell whether it was true or false, whether it was a dream or an illusion.
Chi Yan randomly clicked on a group of news on his mobile phone and was stunned.
This was a group chat for collective buying of masks and fruits delivery that his undergraduate roommate from last year had pulled him into. Most of the people inside were students from nearby universities, but he didnât know any more than three of them. After buying the masks, he forgot to exit the group, and since then the group had been in a muted state, and he always neglected it subconsciously. Unexpectedly, he opened it at this timing.
The group sent a picture of a smiling girl. Someone below said, âThis is the victim from yesterday. She was quite beautiful. I donât know why she met this sort of incident.â
It was the eyes that stared, the chest with a hole, and the mouth that smiled at himself emptily that quickly floated in Chi Yanâs mind.
His hands were trembling, and he threw his phone onto the bed at once, but he still stared at the girl who was smiling on the screen. After a few moments, he turned to his roommate who was still sitting at the desk below: âYe YingzhiâŚâ
Ye Yingzhi turned around and looked up at him. âWhatâs wrong?â
Ye Yingzhi who was always calm brought him great assurance. He tried hard to pick up his phone like it was some kind of insect or beast, and pointed it to Ye Yingzhi: ââŚThis is what I saw last night.â
He really felt fear rooting deep inside his bones and a chill in his heart.
Marx had once said that it was social existence that would determine the consciousness. Nevertheless, he had never seen the victim before. If he hadnât seen the victim himself, how could he have imagined the victimâs appearance last night?
It wasnât a dream nor was it an illusion.
He really saw a ghost.
He looked nervously at Ye Yingzhi, his eyes were black with undisguised fear, his lips trembled a little and was white with fear.
Ye Yingzhi took a look at his cell phone and then looked at Chi Yanâs appearance right now. He shut down the group chat page and climbed onto Chi Yanâs bed. He sat on the outer edge and laid down next to him. âOkay, donât think about anything, and Iâm here. You need to sleep now and get a good rest.â
Ye Yingzhiâs figure was tall and strong, with him outside, it was like he had completely covered the person inside.
At that time, Chi Yan seemed to have found a sense of security. He laid obediently in a stupor, the embarrassment from the morning and the fear he had were long since thrown out to the sky.
Ye Yingzhi raised the quilt and wrapped Chi Yan in it. After thinking about it, he also got in, not caring that he had not changed his clothes.
Chi Yan faced the wall, while Ye Yingzhi faced him. With his hands on his shoulders, he quietly repeated, âSleep.â
Chi Yan nodded, not knowing if the other party could see his action. After a while, he calmed down a little and whispered again, âThank you.â
In the morning, Ye Yingzhi had already said that there were no ghosts in the world, so it could be seen that he did not believe in them. Facing himself that could not produce any concrete evidence and could only babble nonsense, he did not scoff at him. Instead, he patiently accompanied himself to relax. Therefore, in his mind, he became even more convinced that the other party was a good person that was cold on the outside but warm on the inside.
The next day was Monday. Chi Yan had his morning major class. The class would start at 9:50 a.m. and end at 11:25 a.m. Whereas Ye Yingzhi did not have any classes for the entire day.
Chi Yan was sleeping inside and his alarm clock woke up the both of them. He saw Ye Yingzhiâs wrinkled shirt before he realized that the other party had been there with him all night long. He was somewhat moved.
He stood under the bed and tried to invite Ye Yingzhi, âThat⌠Ye Yingzhi, do you have any plans for noon?
When he received a no for an answer, he immediately asked, âShall I treat you to a meal?â
Ye Yingzhi looked at him and said, âYou are making the food yourself?â
âOf course not,â Chi Yan quickly waved his hands. âWeâre eating outside⌠I can only cook instant noodles.â Besides, there wasnât any place for the students to cook at school.
Ye Yingzhi accepted the invitation without hesitation. He wasnât acting cold and aloof at all.
Todayâs morning class was also a compulsory course for finance students, and the class was held in a large classroom to accommodate the size of class attendants. As soon as Chi Yan sat next to his classmate Yang Qing, another person sat next to him.
Yang Qing quietly elbowed him and Chi Yan turned his head to look back. The person on his other side was actually Gu Xixi.
Gu Xixi gave him a smile after seeing him, âBrother Chi Yan, morning, Iâm here to crash the class.â
Chi Yan also nodded inexorably: âMorning.â
Yang Qing was making eyes at him from the side. Chi Yan pretended to concentrate on the textbooks and did not see them.
During the break, Yang Qing went to the bathroom with him. When he came out, Yang Qing patted him on the shoulder in the corridor. âChi Yan, you arenât a blockhead, are you? The little girl in the English Department clearly likes you. What coming for the class, she is clearly coming for you. You havenât seen the way she looks at you. According to my experience, she absolutely likes you. It is not faked.â
Chi Yan turned his head aside and smiled. âIâll introduce her to you if you like her.â
Yang Qing took a step back. âDonât donât donât. I am just talking nonsense, what if my girlfriend heard this.â Then he stopped talking as if to prove his innocence.
After class, Gu Xixi turned around again with a pair of bright eyes and a pretty smile. âBrother Chi Yan, letâs have lunch together at noon.â
Chi Yan thought for a moment and said, âI have an appointment with someone at noon. Why donât you come with me?â He turned his head and asked Yang Qing with his eyes. It didnât matter if he invited Ye Yingzhi and brought two more classmates. It was a bit hurtful to refuse the person directly. He deliberately dragged Yang Qing in so that Gu Xixi would not misunderstand.
Yang Qing was his undergraduate course classmate, they were also were acquainted with each other. Hearing that he was treating, he happily agreed. Gu Xixi also nodded gently, and with a slight smile, she casually asked, âWhom did Brother Chi Yan have an appointment with?â
âNo one, just my roommate, Ye Yingzhi. He⌠helped me a little.â Although it had been a day, he could not help blushing at the thought of the accident after his help.
Gu Xixi smile froze for a moment but she quickly adjusted her expression, looking like she had just remembered something. âBrother Chi Yan, unfortunately. I just remembered that Iâve promised to help Jian Yin with some activities⌠I canât go with you, Iâll treat you next time?â
Chi Yan did not notice anything unusual. He nodded and said okay, but inwardly, he was relieved.
He really didnât know how to get along with Gu Xixi properly.
When he and Yang Qing arrived at the agreed restaurant, Ye Yingzhi arrived. Ye Yingzhi sat on the seat by the window, his shirt sleeves were rolled up slightly and he looked out of the window with boredom. But as soon as he saw the other party entering, he waved at him with a smile.
This was the first time Yang Qing met this roommate, he always felt that he was different from what he had imagined. In fact, the appearance and temperament were consistent with the rumors. What was inconsistent was that there were four bottles of wine; one bottle of white wine, one bottle of red wine, and two cans of beer in front of himâ He had never heard of someone ordering a row of all kinds of wine even before the person who was treating had arrived.
Chi Yan introduced them to each other, and after the dishes were served, Ye Yingzhi began to persuade them to drink.
Yang Qing felt that something was even more wrong because the other partyâs attentions were obviously directed to Chi Yan only. As if he was the host, he asked Yang Qing to help himself gracefully. Then he began to pour liquor for Chi Yan enthusiastically. Several kinds of liquot were mixed together and it was obvious that they were randomly poured, but he said that he was mixing them with his own unique recipe, so Chi Yan must give them a try.
Yang Qing couldnât help saying, âMixing them like this⌠Itâs not good.â Who would mix alcohol like this? Obviously, this was a joke.
Ye Yingzhi looked at him with a faint smile and said nothing.
Yang Qing inwardly thought, âCould it be that this Young Master Ye was going to exploit their friendship?â As he was familiar with Chi Yan, he was going to make him suffer; however, he wasnât close to himself, so should he let this be?
He looked anxiously at Chi Yan but found that although the other party was facing some difficulties in drinking those mixed liquor, his roommate was still quite obedient. Did Chi Yan offend his roommate, or was it because his roommate was holding onto something important of his?
He couldnât ask on the spot, so he tried to gently persuade him but to no avail. He simply stopped talking and ate with his eye power, pretending that he didnât exist.
Soon, Chi Yan was so drunk he couldnât even show any troubled expression on his face. He was dizzy and he drank whatever Ye Yingzhi passed him.
But after all, Yang Qing still had some sense of righteousness and he could not help saying, âThat⌠Ye Yingzhi, what should we do with Chi Yan now that he is so drunk?â
Ye Yingzhi slightly curved his mouth: âItâs all right. Iâve nothing to do in the afternoon. I can take him back to my dormitory.â
After all, they were roommates living together. Yang Qing nodded and did not speak. He saw the other party holding Chi Yanâs shoulder as he passed a shrimp ball to his mouth very naturally. âEat something, otherwise you will feel terrible.â
You know he would feel terrible but you still made him drank so much? Yang Qing scolded in his heart, but he always felt that the scene was not right at the moment, but he couldnât pinpoint what was wrong for a moment.
Chi Yan was also full from drinking. As Yang Qing was not familiar with Ye Yingzhi, it was embarrassing to watch him feed Chi Yan like that. He stood up and nodded. âThat, Classmate Ye, I had something to do in the afternoon and have to leave first. Next time letâs get together again.â
Ye Yingzhi watched him leave with a faint smile. After the figure disappeared, he lowered his eyes and quietly looked at the person who was drunk and confused in his arms. With a slight smile, he gently pressed his lips down. ââŚHow silly. Arenât you afraid of me? Why are you so obedientâŚâ
Yang Qing thought about how he and Chi Yan had known each other since they were undergraduates. Today, Chi Yan was supposed to treat his roommate, but he was so drunk that he probably couldnât settle the bill. When he came out and intended to settle the bill, the cashier however smiled and explained to him, âSir, the gentleman that arrived first had already paid the bill in advance.â
Yang Qing thought that Chi Yanâs roommate was actually very generous, but when he returned to school, he still felt that something was wrong. He was somewhat worried and sent him a message specially to ask if he was fine. He just didnât know when the other party would wake up and reply his message.
ââââââ
When Chi Yan woke up, it was all dark and there was only one lamp in the room.
He looked at his cell phone, it was 11:30. He could not help whispering about how he had slept ten hours straight, he probably would not be able to sleep at night. This time, however, he didnât feel his throat burning like how it would after waking from a long sleep. His lips were also moist.
Did somebody feed him water?
Who fed him? Ye Yingzhi? How did he feed him? Or was he too thirsty that he asked for water in his sleep, Ye Yingzhi brought it to him and he drank it unconsciously, but he had just forgotten about it? The last option was the most likely one.
Picking up his mobile phone, Chi Yan first responded to several messages, telling Yang Qing that he was fine but he had just woken up after drinking too much. He then opened up the classâs group chat that had multiple notifications.
He thought there was an announcement in the class. He scrolled it up a little and a few lines of words came into his eyesâ
â⌠Another person was killed, two arms were cut off, there were no other wounds. The preliminary judgment of the cause of death is a sudden myocardial contractionâŚâ
The next student answered:
âMyocardial contraction? Sudden death? Isnât that being frightened to death?