Not everyone has the courage to stand before a monster, let alone chase after one—such behavior must be akin to suicide.
The old gardener studied Xia Miao for a long moment before abruptly abandoning his intention to kill her. If he really did kill her, that fool would surely come after him with a vengeance. After all, Xia Miao carried Lu Yan’s scent all over her, like a mark declaring to all supernatural beings that she was his possession.
The old gardener grinned. "You want to see Lu Yan? Fine, I’ll take you to him."
Xia Miao followed the old gardener through a dark forest, stepping into a chilling, eerie cold, until she beheld a sight she had never seen before.
Here lay a sea of flowers and a tranquil lake, the atmosphere hushed. A black building loomed in the night, its open doorway resembling the gaping maw of an abyss, waiting for prey to stumble in.
For the first time, a living human had set foot here.
A headless woman, crouched among the flowers while rummaging through garbage, straightened up as if "watching" the human walking straight into the lion’s den.
The conjoined twin brothers, who had been chatting about what to eat tomorrow, suddenly fell silent in perfect unison. They crouched low, lifting their heads, their pitch-black eyes fixed on the girl’s retreating figure.
The old gardener led Xia Miao to the front of the dormitory building and chuckled. "Lu Yan lives in a room on the second floor. Go inside and find him."
Xia Miao dismissed her earlier thought that this place would make a nice, cool retreat from the summer heat. Without hesitation, she stepped forward and crossed the threshold.
The building’s layout wasn’t much different from an ordinary student dormitory—spacious lobby, dim corridors devoid of light, everything shrouded in darkness.
At the very end stood a tightly shut white door. In this deep, oppressive darkness, the presence of such an abruptly white door felt like something straight out of a horror movie.
Xia Miao walked over and knocked.
No response came from inside.
She knocked harder.
Soon, an irritated voice snapped back, "I already told you not to bother me! Get lost!"
"Lu Yan, it’s me."
A loud thud came from the other side of the door, as if someone had tumbled off a bed, followed by frantic footsteps. Someone pressed against the door from within.
"Miao… Miao? Why are you here?"
"You never came to see me, so I came to see you!" Xia Miao pressed her own body against the door. "Lu Yan, open up. I want to see you."
Lu Yan stammered, "I—I’m sick. It’s contagious. I can’t see you."
"I’m not afraid of catching it."
"But I am!" Lu Yan’s voice trembled with panic. "Miao Miao, your body is so weak—if you get sick, you’ll suffer. Don’t come near me. Go back!"
Xia Miao stubbornly insisted, "I just want to see you!"
"No!" Lu Yan was equally obstinate. "I won’t open the door!"
Xia Miao tried pushing the door several times, but it wouldn’t budge. Her patience wore thin, and she snapped, "Fine! If you don’t want to see me, I’ll leave!"
The person inside the room slumped against the door, listening as her footsteps faded into silence. His body slid down the doorframe, collapsing to the floor in defeat.
In the pitch-black room, devoid of light, the boy’s figure was wrapped entirely in a white bedsheet, hidden away from the world. Only his unnaturally pale, lifeless eyes were faintly visible, their gaze dull and hollow.
The old gardener lounged in a chair, watching as Xia Miao stormed out of the building. He wasn’t surprised—until she suddenly stopped and veered off in another direction.
"Hey, you’re Lu Yan’s coworkers, right? I need your help." Even when asking for assistance, Young Miss Xia maintained her haughty demeanor. She pulled a box of chocolates from her pocket—originally meant for Lu Yan—and dangled it before them. "This is just part of your reward. I’ll give you more later!"
The conjoined twins exchanged glances.
The headless woman crouched on the ground, staring blankly at Xia Miao like a confused animal.
Here was a mere human, standing arrogantly before monsters, issuing commands.
"Listen up—I always repay my debts. You can ask my deskmate if you don’t believe I’m a good person." Xia Miao lifted her chin, her eyes sharp and domineering. "Help me, and I’ll get you anything—five-star meals, a diamond-studded head, whatever you want!"
The twins and the headless woman suddenly perked up.
In the dark room, the stench of decay spread, thickening the air with damp, suffocating weight.
The figure curled up in the corner, wrapped tightly in the sheet, bony fingers clutching the fabric. His body trembled occasionally, accompanied by the sound of sniffling.
He wanted so badly to see Miao Miao. He always claimed to hate her hugs and touches, but secretly, he adored them. Twisted by his own contradictions, he could only watch her like a creep from outside her window.
A piercing gaze suddenly locked onto him. The huddled figure stiffened, sensing it, and lifted his head in shock.
Outside the window, a girl’s face was pressed against the glass, her pretty features slightly distorted. Her dark, gleaming eyes stared unblinkingly into the room—like some voyeuristic stalker.
"Lu Yan!" She slapped her palms against the window like a burglar about to break in. "Open the door—no, open the window!"
Her body wobbled precariously, as if she might fall at any moment.
Panicked, Lu Yan forgot everything else and lunged forward, shoving the window open to grab her hand. "Are you insane!?"
Xia Miao grinned triumphantly. "If I didn’t go crazy, would you have rushed to see me?"
Lu Yan’s room was on the second floor—no way could she have climbed up on her own.
Beneath the window, the conjoined twins stood firm, the headless woman perched on their shoulders, and Xia Miao balanced unsteadily atop hers.
Lu Yan had never seen anything like it. He gaped.
Xia Miao stretched out her hand. "Hurry up! I’m about to fall!"
Instinctively, Lu Yan pulled her inside. The window slammed shut behind her, leaving the twins and the headless woman outside, feeling distinctly used and discarded.
"Lu Yan!" The moment her feet touched the ground, Xia Miao leaped into his arms.
Lu Yan’s hands instinctively wrapped around her—until he caught sight of his own skeletal fingers peeking through the sheet. He hastily withdrew them, hiding them again.
Xia Miao ran her hands over his frame and looked up at him. "You’ve gotten so thin."
"No, I haven’t! It’s just—just thermal expansion and contraction!" Lu Yan seized the excuse. "Yeah, that’s it! The weather’s gotten colder lately, right?"
Xia Miao stared at him blankly.
Then, before he could react, she yanked the curtains down with both hands—revealing the emaciated boy in all his skeletal glory.
He was slender in figure, half of his body only just beginning to regrow flesh—raw and exposed, without skin, a crimson mass where veins and sinews seemed starkly visible. The other half remained skeletal, merely draped in a thin membrane of tissue.
His face was still wrapped in bandages, though they hung loosely, the gaps between them revealing glimpses of newly formed flesh beneath.
It was an indescribable sight, a grotesque fusion of the absurd and the horrifying, assaulting reason and defying comprehension.
Lu Yan trembled, his voice strained. "Don't look at me!"
He scrambled to retrieve the bloodstained bedsheet to cover himself again, but Xia Miao’s foot pinned it to the ground. Afraid of making her stumble, he didn’t dare yank it forcefully, retreating step by step into the corner instead, curling up as if to vanish from sight.
Yet Xia Miao advanced relentlessly, encroaching on his dwindling space, leaving him nowhere to hide.
Lu Yan hugged his knees, his plea barely a whisper. "Don’t come closer… don’t look at me… please…"
But the girl’s hands—firm yet gentle—cupped his face and lifted it.
"See? I told you not to skip meals. You’ve gotten so thin you’re barely recognizable!"
