chapter 48

Chapter 48

The sky was overcast that day, heavy clouds pressing in, the air filled with chill and gloom.

Upon waking in the morning, Ning Qiuyan curled up under the covers, not wanting to get out of bed.

After lying there for another ten minutes or so, Ning Qiuyan finally gritted his teeth and crawled out from under the blanket to get dressed. The cold air against his back and arms instantly raised goosebumps.

His roommate was still asleep, so the curtains were drawn and the lights were off. Ning Qiuyan tiptoed to the bathroom to wash up. When he returned, his roommate had turned on a small lamp, but the dim light was still not as bright as the daylight seeping through the curtain gaps.

“Where are you going so early?”

His roommate asked drowsily.

The school dormitory was a double room, with a private bathroom and a small kitchenette. The two beds were placed side by side in the bedroom, along with wardrobes on either side of the window, making the personal spaces clearly divided.

His roommate was a classmate named Rong Qi, from a well-off family, a true music enthusiast with a mind full of wild ideas-probably not planning to make a living from it in the future.

The day they moved into the dorm, the two met. Ning Qiuyan greeted him and briefly introduced himself. Rong Qi had said in surprise, “That’s odd, there weren’t many people at the interview. How come I have no impression of you?”

“There were several rounds of interviews,” Ning Qiuyan replied. “I didn’t see you either, so we probably weren’t there on the same day.”

“Makes sense.” Rong Qi, tall and long-legged, sat down on a stool like a young master, “Looks like staying in the dorm isn’t a loss after all. I was going to live off-campus, worried I’d end up with some filthy weirdo. But you seem alright.”

Ning Qiuyan: “…”

Rong Qi asked, “You said you’re from Wutong?”

Ning Qiuyan nodded.

“Wutong is a coastal city, right? Lots of beautiful islands. I heard there’s one called Du Island that was even bought by a private owner. Can people still buy and sell islands in our country?”

Ning Qiuyan: “…I don’t know.”

Rong Qi: “So have you been to all those islands?”

In many tourist cities, locals haven’t visited as many places as the tourists. Ning Qiuyan replied, “Just one or two.”

Rong Qi said, “Then next time I go, you’ll be my tour guide, okay?”

Ning Qiuyan wasn’t much of a talker, but Rong Qi was the type who made friends easily-depending on the person. In class, he was considered rather domineering, and many thought he was arrogant and hard to get along with, but as a roommate, Ning Qiuyan found him alright.

Within a month, they’d become familiar, especially after pulling an all-nighter together to finish an assignment and coming up with an inspired arrangement. Now, they were not just roommates, but friends. Sometimes, when Su Jianzhou called, he’d tease that Ning Qiuyan had found a new like-minded friend and forgotten his old friend who’d switched careers halfway.

On weekends, Rong Qi never got up before noon, sometimes sleeping straight into the afternoon.

Hearing his question now, Ning Qiuyan replied, “Going to a senior’s studio. Did I wake you?”

Ning Qiuyan had recently bought a pickup and was collecting sounds. He’d consulted a senior in the department and planned to do some production work in his spare time-something Rong Qi knew about.

“No,” Rong Qi mumbled from under the covers, “The weather’s so cold, it’s like a magical attack. I haven’t really slept well.”

Sujing had no central heating.

This year, the temperature drop was severe, and the dorm’s old air conditioner barely worked for heating. The winter was tough for both of them, coming from regions with heating. Other dorms were in similar situations; Ning Qiuyan often saw students had bought their own heaters-oil radiators, little sun heaters, etc.-though those weren’t allowed, and getting caught meant disciplinary action.

After a moment’s thought, Ning Qiuyan walked over, picked up his own blanket, and laid it over Rong Qi’s, tucking in the corners. “Is that better?”

“Mm, much better.” Rong Qi wrapped himself tighter in the blankets and looked at him. “It’s so cold today, why don’t you just stay and sleep in too?”

Ning Qiuyan said, “It’s fine, I already made an appointment. They have heating over there.”

Rong Qi drifted back to sleep.

Ning Qiuyan turned off the light for him, went to the coat rack to put on a thick coat, and wrapped a scarf around his neck.

The building was old and had no elevator. Ning Qiuyan walked down from the fifth floor and found the whole building still quiet-most students didn’t want to get up and suffer in this weather.

The moment he stepped outside, the wind was even more biting.

Ning Qiuyan quickly pulled a knit hat from his coat pocket and put it on, only then did the stabbing cold in his forehead ease.

He hadn’t had a haircut since May, and after starting college, he didn’t like wearing hats much. Every time he took one off, static electricity would make his hair fly everywhere, and the seniors would always ruffle his hair-like petting a puppy.

Long hair was a bit of a hassle, too. Sometimes a senior would give him a rubber band, and he’d tie up the hair that got in his eyes, but most of the time, it was just messy.
The campus was unusually quiet on the weekend. Sujing’s winter was drizzly and damp, the ground still wet, and a few soaked dead leaves scattered along the roads.

Passing by a flower bed, Ning Qiuyan was nearly knocked over by a speeding bicycle. The road was too slippery for the rider to brake in time.

“Sorry, sorry!” The person’s bicycle toppled to the side, and he apologized repeatedly.

The wheels kept spinning, leaving a long mark on the road.

Still shaken, Ning Qiuyan helped him pick up the bicycle and said, “You’d better walk it.”

Later, when Ning Qiuyan recalled this scene, he realized that his entire day had been off since morning.

When he arrived at the studio, his senior stood him up.

“This cold snap is brutal. No one wants to go out, so we’re canceling this week. I asked Xiao Mo to post in the group last night-didn’t you see it?” The senior’s voice was still drowsy.

Ning Qiuyan replied, “No. I didn’t see the message.”

The senior seemed to scroll through the messages and apologized, “Sorry… I forgot to tell him. Are you at the door now? Why don’t you wait somewhere, I’ll come over and let you in…”

“No, it’s fine,” Ning Qiuyan said. “You guys rest. I happen to have other things to do.”

“Alright then. Sorry, Xiao Ning,” the senior said. “Tomorrow I’ll treat you to something good.”

After hanging up, Ning Qiuyan stood for a while in the small alley by the door.

In fact, he had nothing else to do, and nowhere else to go.

The studio was located in a small alley, with a convenience store at the entrance. Ning Qiuyan went in, bought a bottle of hot milk to warm his hands and for breakfast. He wandered aimlessly through the streets, waiting for the green light on a safety island at a three-way intersection. Staring at the iron railings, his gaze unconsciously drifted behind him.

All he saw were withered trees and a handful of pedestrians-none of the shadowy figures in black he vaguely remembered from before.

No one would follow him anymore.

He no longer needed to leave hot milk by the roadside.

Life was like the road ahead.

The green light turned on.

Among the masses, he walked toward a plain and stable future.

Ning Qiuyan recalled that his classmates had mentioned a new film was out. The plot was weak, but the art direction, editing, and soundtrack were all excellent. Since he was already out, he decided to go see it.

He took out his phone, bought a ticket at the nearest cinema, and walked there directly.

In the months since coming to study in Sujing, Ning Qiuyan hadn’t really gone out to explore. The campus was huge, with plenty of shops; aside from visiting his senior’s studio, he’d hardly left school.

Unknowingly, he passed through a bustling plaza and arrived beneath the Sujing Tower.

The tower stood in the center of the square, a striking red against the bleak scenery, just as dazzling as when it was lit up at night.

The last time he admired it was from a hotel room over fifty floors up, searching for its beauty with both his phone camera and his own eyes-together with someone else.

Legend had it that if a bird reached the tip of Sujing Tower and made a wish, it would surely come true.

But at nineteen, Ning Qiuyan no longer believed in legends so easily.

Even the movie didn’t go smoothly.

A technical fault interrupted the screening, but since the schedule was set, the cinema could only move the audience to an afternoon showing. To compensate for the wasted time, they refunded the tickets and gave out movie packages.

Many people left after getting their refunds, but Ning Qiuyan spent the morning in the bookstore below the cinema and watched the movie when it started.

It was a tragic romance. The boy next to him cried loudly, and Ning Qiuyan couldn’t properly enjoy the soundtrack-his eyelids kept twitching.

Sure enough, trouble awaited him back at school.

Ning Qiuyan was walking back to the dormitory when two fire trucks sped past him. Alarmed, he quickened his pace and soon saw thick smoke billowing.

The six-story red-brick dormitory was on fire, and the open space below was packed with students, most of them looking disheveled.

Rong Qi spotted Ning Qiuyan immediately and shouted his name, “Ning Qiuyan!”

He was wrapped in a quilt, naked underneath, not even wearing shoes-his feet were red from the cold.

Ning Qiuyan asked, “What happened?”

“No idea! The fire just started out of nowhere! I wanted to call you, but I was too busy escaping and didn’t bring my phone!” Rong Qi said. “The fire started on the fourth floor. I woke up choking on smoke, and the flames were already coming up!”

The fire was spreading upward, and their room was on the fifth floor.

Ning Qiuyan’s expression changed, and he started to run forward.

Rong Qi grabbed him, “What are you doing?!”

Without looking back, and not knowing where the strength came from, Ning Qiuyan shoved Rong Qi aside and dashed toward the dormitory building. “My guitar is still inside!”
Rong Qi was shocked, feeling that Ning Qiuyan’s obsession with his instrument bordered on madness. “Ning Qiuyan!” he hurriedly shouted to those around him, “Stop him-quick!”

The firefighters were busy putting out the fire and evacuating the crowd; chaos was everywhere.

In the blink of an eye, before anyone could stop Ning Qiuyan, he actually found a gap and slipped inside!

*

“Now for a news report. At 15:21 this afternoon, Dormitory Building 13 at Suojing Conservatory of Music caught fire unexpectedly. The blaze was fierce, and over a hundred resident students were urgently evacuated… The fire was extinguished after 45 minutes, but due to its intensity, five students were hospitalized for smoke inhalation, and six dorm rooms were destroyed. Preliminary analysis suggests the fire was caused by aging electrical circuits; the dormitory has stood for sixty-two years, with its last renovation ten years ago. Reportedly, Suojing Conservatory of Music charges exorbitant accommodation fees-twenty percent higher than the average for comparable universities. Students pay high fees yet do not receive adequate safety guarantees…”

The television was broadcasting footage of the fire.

A reporter was interviewing a student, with the crowd outside the dormitory and the fire scene in the background.

Rong Qi immediately stood up. “Damn… I’m on TV.”

On screen, Rong Qi was especially conspicuous, wrapped only in a blanket and sporting a messy bedhead. He was furious, wishing he could rush into the screen and drag his past self away.

“No one will recognize you,”

Ning Qiuyan said hoarsely from his hospital bed.

It was already evening. Rong Qi had bought new clothes and dressed neatly to visit Ning Qiuyan. Hearing this, he turned to Ning Qiuyan and said, “You’d better not talk. Just looking at you makes me mad. Was it really necessary to rush in like that? Risking your life for a guitar? You seem smart most of the time-how come you lose all sense at critical moments?”

Ning Qiuyan was one of the five students hospitalized for smoke inhalation.

After Rong Qi’s scolding, Ning Qiuyan obediently shut his mouth. He himself felt his impulsiveness had been a bit much-there truly was nothing more important than life.

The guitar was saved-when he went in, the flames had just reached the window, burning the curtains. The guitar was safely stored in its case under the bed; he grabbed it and ran, even encountering a few other fleeing students in the hallway.

After escaping with them, he was severely reprimanded by the dorm manager.

Now, the guitar case still stood by his bedside.

Ning Qiuyan’s lungs and throat had been damaged by smoke, requiring hospitalization for observation. He looked pale and sickly.

Rong Qi couldn’t bear to say more.

He knew how much Ning Qiuyan treasured that guitar-he wouldn’t even let Rong Qi borrow it for a moment. Rong Qi also knew its value; it was a rare instrument, probably with special significance to Ning Qiuyan.

All in all, it was a narrow escape.

Rong Qi brought Ning Qiuyan some porridge and other light food, stayed with him for a while, then left.

With the dormitory uninhabitable, Rong Qi booked a double room outside, considering Ning Qiuyan’s needs as well, saying he could move in directly after being discharged.

After Rong Qi left, Ning Qiuyan stared at his guitar for a while, then slowly took out his phone and began replying to messages.

He wasn’t good at making friends, but here, there were many people like him.

No need for false pleasantries-just discuss a topic together, play a few notes, and friendship might follow.

Everyone knew about the fire. When they heard Ning Qiuyan was hospitalized, the senior students at the studio felt guilty, thinking that if Ning Qiuyan had stayed at the studio, he wouldn’t have been affected. The group chat was full of concern.

Ning Qiuyan assured them he was safe, then watched as they debated who was to blame for the fire-was it the school’s fault or the students using illegal appliances? Soon, his eyelids grew heavy, and he drifted off to sleep.

At three in the morning, Ning Qiuyan suddenly woke from a dream, eyes wide open.

The nurse had turned off the ward lights; only the corridor light shone through the glass in the door.

A shadow appeared at the doorway, silent and still.

Looking closely, the shadow was inside the ward.

Startled, Ning Qiuyan was about to reach for the light when, in a flash, the figure was at his bedside, leaning over and pressing his neck, speaking in a strange voice as if squeezed from his windpipe: “Don’t move.”

The grip was impossibly strong, almost inhuman. Ning Qiuyan immediately heard his own throat making a strangled sound.

In the dim light, he saw the young and eerie face before him.

Deathly pale skin, almost completely red eyes, and a smile that could barely conceal its excitement.

“Shh, Little Blood Bag of Guan Heng,” the man said crazily. “Don’t be afraid. He’ll be here to save you soon.”