Chapter 6

Thinking back now, Huo Qing was absolutely right-if you dream of a strange number, never contact it. Who knows if what’s on the other end is a person or a ghost?

All day, I felt uneasy.

“That thing… Wu Ranjun… he won’t really come to our dorm tonight, will he?”

Ren Anran unconsciously lowered her voice, as if afraid someone might overhear.

I could tell she was just as spooked.

At this point, it was impossible to tell if Zheng Qianfei’s boyfriend was a person or a ghost…

None of us dared to play that recording again-the more we listened, the more terrified we became.

And that dream last night… the more I thought about it, the more horrifying it seemed!

Ren Anran and I were like startled birds, jumping at every gust of wind that blew in from the balcony.

Surprisingly, Huo Qing actually came back to the dorm in the afternoon and handed each of us a Talisman.

“Take it,” she said offhandedly.

I took the Talisman Paper and examined it. It was a common Yellow Talisman, with symbols drawn in cinnabar-like pigment. Because it was folded into a triangle, I couldn’t make out the pattern.

Of course, even if I could, I wouldn’t understand it.

I asked, “What does this Talisman do?”

Huo Qing replied, “It wards off ghosts, dispels evil, and keeps you safe.”

Who knows if that’s true, honestly?

Whether it worked or not, at that moment, it gave me immense psychological comfort-like seeing a ray of hope in utter despair.

I clutched the Talisman tightly in my palm, nearly moved to tears. “Thank you, Huo Qing. I knew it-you’re all talk, but you have a soft heart. You’d never just leave us to fend for ourselves.”

Huo Qing rolled her eyes, annoyed. “You realize you’re basically calling me a pushover, right?”

For the first time, I thought Huo Qing was actually pretty nice-not nearly as hard to get along with as she seemed.

Huo Qing had prepared three Talismans: one for me, one for Ren Anran, and one for Zheng Qianfei.

But Zheng Qianfei still hadn’t come back to the dorm.

As night fell, Ren Anran and I grew frantic, pacing in circles. “She’s not in trouble, is she?”

“Feifei, where are you?”

“Why aren’t you back yet?”

“Are you okay? We’re all really worried about you.”

We kept calling, sending WeChat messages, video chatting-so anxious we were about to call the police.

At eight in the evening, Zheng Qianfei finally replied in the group chat: [I’m not coming back to the dorm tonight.]

Ren Anran: [???]

[If you’re not coming back, where are you staying?]

Zheng Qianfei: [Hotel.]

Ren Anran blinked in disbelief, then grabbed her phone and jumped up, screaming like mad: “Wu Ranjun is her problem! She’s got money, so she just goes to a hotel, washes her hands of it, and leaves us in the dorm! If that dirty thing really comes for her tonight, she’s run off-what about us?”

I hadn’t expected Zheng Qianfei’s way of handling things would be to escape alone, not considering anyone else at all… It was honestly surprising.

Ren Anran was furious and cursed in the group chat: [Zheng Qianfei, you’re so selfish!]

Zheng Qianfei played dead, not replying to a single message.

Ren Anran was deeply disappointed. “I really misjudged her. I never thought she’d be this kind of person!”

Huo Qing lounged against the bunk ladder, spinning her phone in her hand, her smile suddenly turning eerie.

She sent a message: [Zheng Qianfei, have you considered this? That thing is looking for you, not us. It might not come to the dorm-it might go to the hotel!]

As soon as she sent it, Zheng Qianfei replied instantly: [What do you mean?]

Huo Qing: [Which hotel are you at?]

After that, there was no reply-her message vanished into thin air.

Huo Qing put away her phone, exhaled, and shrugged. “She brought this on herself.”

My eyelid twitched violently, a sense of foreboding rising in my chest. “Zheng Qianfei isn’t really going to get into trouble, is she?”

“Hard to say,” Huo Qing glanced out at the night, her eyes cold as autumn water. “The good news is, at least tonight you two can sleep soundly. You don’t have to worry about anything dirty coming for you.”

Ren Anran and I exchanged glances.

We both understood what Huo Qing meant-Wu Ranjun wouldn’t come to the dorm. He’d go to the hotel, to find Zheng Qianfei.