Ich bin von Natur aus schön und unübertroffen

Kapitel 1

Room Number 143 (Published Edition)

"That day, after everyone finished telling ghost stories, washed up, and went to bed as usual, my brother couldn't fall asleep. He's a very timid person and hates listening to ghost stories, but he had no choice but to listen to them in the dormitory, and he couldn't fall asleep after listening to them."

"Then in the middle of the night, he suddenly heard what sounded like people talking outside. He didn't dare to move, but the person in the bunk above him woke up. My brother asked him what he was doing, and the person said he heard someone calling him outside and he was going to go check it out."

“My brother didn’t dare to say anything. It was 3:15 in the morning, he remembers it very clearly. He checked his watch. Who would come out to call for help at that time? My brother told the person in the bunk above him not to go, but that person laughed at my brother for being a coward and went out, and then…”

"..."

"..."

At this point, the storyteller stopped talking, while the listeners, who were extremely excited, urged him on as soon as he stopped.

"And then what? Don't keep us in suspense!"

"Then..." In the pitch-black room, the person who had spoken at the beginning suddenly hesitated. His usually frivolous face suddenly became unusually serious, and the only beam of light from the flashlight shone on his face from below, making it look rather eerie.

After a long pause, the man suddenly spoke, "And then..."

"Dormitory 143, turn off the lights now! If you don't, you'll have to clean the toilets tomorrow!"

Suddenly, the dormitory supervisor's angry roar broke the terrifying silence. After a few shouts, everyone turned off the lights and pretended to be asleep. Only after the supervisor left did someone curiously ask, "Hey! What happened to the ending of your story?"

"The ending? Haha, the ending is that the guy next door had diarrhea in the middle of the night, and my brother, who was in the bunk above him, was borrowing some antidiarrheal medicine from him, haha!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a chorus of sighs erupted.

"What...?"

"A promising start but a disappointing finish!"

"Go to sleep, go to sleep."

The dissatisfied companions vented their frustrations and went to sleep, but one boy couldn't fall asleep.

He was also an extremely timid person, just like that man's brother. Although it had ended that way, he felt unexpectedly anxious and couldn't fall asleep no matter what. He was just about to quietly get up to get a glass of water when he looked up and was so frightened that he almost screamed!

"Why...why are you sitting here instead of sleeping?" The boy complained in a low voice as he looked at the boy sitting motionless on the upper bunk, hugging his blanket.

Upon hearing the boy's voice, the man seemed to awaken from a dream, shook his head, and smiled.

It was a dry laugh, sounding like a whisper in the quiet room, a laugh that made one feel quite nervous.

"That story... I... I can't sleep."

"...Wasn't that the story you were going to tell?!" It kept me up too! The boy didn't say the last part aloud, because saying it would make him seem cowardly.

"Huh? Hmm, it's what I wanted to say." The man murmured, hearing the boy's complaining tone.

Today is the first day of registration for new students. Everyone is meeting for the first time. The story was originally intended to help everyone get to know each other better. The person meant well... Thinking of this, the boy didn't know what to say.

Instead, the boy comforted his bunkmate. "It's just a story, and... haha, the ending is ridiculous, there's nothing to be afraid of." The boy muttered, but his bunkmate fell silent.

After a long pause, the boy on the upper bunk suddenly spoke up: "Actually... this story... is true. The reason I wanted to tell this story is because my brother's dorm room was 143, just like here, and... the school was the same too."

Looking at the boy under the bed who was staring at him with a surprised expression, the boy nodded slightly.

“That’s right, this is where the story took place, here five years ago. And… the ending I just mentioned isn’t true. I’m scared, back then…”

The room was dark, and the pale moonlight shone through the leaves outside the window onto the boy's face, casting dappled shadows that made it difficult for the boy to see his expression.

In the darkness, the boy heard himself swallow hard. Instinctively, he knew what the boy was about to say wouldn't be good news. He wanted to know the truth, but instinctively he also refused to know the facts.

In the silence, the boy on the upper bunk slowly spoke: "Then... after that person went out, he never came back. Never again, it was like he vanished. My brother was the last person to see him."

"I was terrified of goths, but no one believed me when I told them. Eventually, the person was declared missing by the police and was confirmed dead a few years later."

"My brother said he secretly investigated later and found that people would disappear from this school every few years. The police couldn't find anything, and in the end they would just say that the students couldn't handle the pressure of getting into a good university and ran away, but..."

“My brother usually doesn’t talk to us about his school. He only told us once when he was drunk. He looked really weird, and... after he finished talking, he disappeared.”

"I didn't really believe it at first, but I suddenly got scared when I got here today. It's too much of a coincidence, same school, same dorm..." The man chuckled dryly.

The room, now quiet again, was eerily still for a moment.

"...Um...I was just saying. Maybe my brother is overthinking it. Don't worry about it. Let's go to sleep. Classes start officially tomorrow, so don't be late." The boy then pulled down the blanket and said to the teenager before lying down.

After a long pause, seeing the boy's actions, he finally broke free. Stiffly moving, the boy gave a dry laugh and prepared to get into bed.

He didn't want to drink water anymore; he just wanted to go to bed, sleep, and wake up in the morning.

Lying back in bed, the boy still couldn't fall asleep. The old-fashioned alarm clock he had brought from home, which he had used for six years, ticked away, the faint glow on its indicator showing the current time: 3:13 AM.

suddenly……

3:15!

This moment inexplicably entered the boy's mind.

"...It was 3:15 a.m., my brother remembers it very clearly, he checked his watch..."

The words from the bunk above me suddenly flashed into my mind, and I was filled with a sudden sense of terror!

A creaking sound came from the upper bunk; someone was turning over. The boy knew that he... couldn't sleep either.

"Um... it's almost 3:15." For some reason, the boy suddenly said in a low voice, knowing that the person above would answer him.

"……Um."

"Let's go to sleep after this time."

"Um."

"..."

As their hearts pounded, the minute hand finally pointed to the "15".

The boy breathed a sigh of relief. "Um... it's time, let's go to sleep." After a long while, there was no reply.

Just as he was about to close his eyes, thinking the other person had finally fallen asleep, the bed began to shake! No, it wasn't the bed that was shaking, but the person on the bed! Confused, the boy sat up again and looked at the bed, only to be startled once more by his upper bunk!

In the dark room, the person on the upper bunk had a very strange expression! The expression was extremely stiff, the eyes were wide open, and the body was trembling uncontrollably. The trembling was so severe that the boy could almost hear the other person's jaw clenching!

"Hey! What's wrong with you? Don't scare me!" Looking at the boy, the boy was a little frightened and could only call out softly for a moment, but dared not approach him.

The pale face slowly turned around, and the pale moonlight clearly reflected the boy's expression in the boy's eyes, as well as the fear in them!

"I...I heard it..."

"Huh?" The boy didn't react for a moment.

"I...I heard someone calling me outside!" As soon as the words were spoken, another person appeared, their face turning pale!

"No, no way?" The boy trembled, wanting to laugh, but he couldn't.

"Yes, someone is calling my name, didn't you hear it? The voice is a little soft, but it's definitely calling me. Listen carefully! Listen carefully!" By the end, the boy's voice was very anxious, almost urging the boy to listen.

Trembling, he listened intently, over and over again, and then, under the expectant gaze of the boy on the upper bunk, he stammered, "N-nobody's here..."

Did you listen carefully?

"Um."

"...Ah! I heard it again! I heard it again!" His eyes were vacant and blank for a moment, but then his expression turned ferocious!

The boy covered his head and ears tightly, burying his face in the blanket. The bed creaked and groaned, but his other roommates seemed not to hear and remained asleep.

The boy glanced at his upper bunk, then at the door, and fear crept into his eyes. Staring at the door, a strange feeling suddenly rose within him.

"I can't take it anymore! I'm going to check it out! Someone might be up to something!"

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, the boy suddenly let go of his hands, raised his head, and then nimbly stepped down the stairs from the upper bunk. As he passed the boy, the boy saw the boy's eyes—eyes filled with fear.

The boy thought he should perhaps go with him to see it. There was a pleading look in the boy's eyes, but he didn't dare, so he pretended not to understand...

Gritting his teeth, the boy watched as the other boy walked towards the door without looking back, opened it, leaned out, and then... walked out... his figure disappearing from sight. The crisp sound of slippers scraping the floor echoed in the hallway, growing fainter and fainter until it vanished completely.

The boy disappeared and never returned. That door, only that half-open door, remained forever in the boy's heart.

Chapter One: A New Beginning

There is no spring in City B. Winter is followed by summer. The weather changes drastically. These past few days have been filled with continuous torrential rain. The umbrella I just bought yesterday was blown away as soon as I went out.

Seeing the umbrella frame now bare, Duan Lin paused for a moment, then pulled his coat tighter and rushed into the rain. Luckily, there was a 7-Eleven downstairs. He hurriedly went in, bought a bento box, and then wrapped himself in his coat and rushed back into the rain. When he got home, the bento box was still warm, but Duan Lin felt ice-cold from head to toe.

"Yours." Looking at the man on the lower bunk who was elegantly reclining and reading a book, Duan Lin ignored the rain dripping from his body and handed the bento box to the man first.

"...Thank you." The man took the bento box, put it down but didn't open it, continuing to read his book. Looking at the man's handsome profile, Duan Lin pursed his lips, then grabbed his towel and began drying his wet hair. While drying his hair with his left hand, he began preparing his bath supplies with his right.

The man's name was Mu Zi, his age, occupation, and identity were unknown. The only thing that was clear was his gender... no... maybe... Looking at Mu Zi's delicate face, Duan Lin's eyes drifted upwards... maybe he was a woman... Of course, this thought vanished as soon as it surfaced. A woman who was 184 centimeters tall... that's a bit too terrifying.

As if aware of his own thoughts, Duan Lin saw the man who was reading suddenly raise his head and look at him with dangerous eyes.

After staring at himself intently for a while, the man suddenly spoke, "Are you going to take a shower?"

"Um."

"Don't go yet, there are people there."

"ah?"

"The bathroom is occupied right now, you should wait until he comes out before you talk to him."

“…Okay.” Duan Lin did not resist; he had become accustomed to obeying Mu Zi’s words.

For example, always lock the door when you enter, and always lock the door when you leave. It's best not to take the elevator with other people... and so on.

This enigmatic man was his roommate. Though aloof, he was relatively reliable; though mysterious, he hadn't harmed him yet, and had even saved him... though not intentionally...

Actually, it's not just my roommate; the place I live in is also very strange, for example, the rules my roommate set for me from the beginning.

At first, Duan Lin wasn't used to the lock. Besides the main door, each room had its own lock, so why bother locking it again? It was a hassle to open and lock the doors every time. However, after experiencing some things, Duan Lin forced himself to get used to it. Perhaps in a big city, it's harder to be honest and not pick up lost items?

And then there are... the tenants here.

Having lived here for so long, Duan Lin had never seen anyone else living in the same apartment. This was certainly related to his long hours working long hours, but never encountering anyone was still rather strange. Every day he could only hear scattered sounds from the other side of the wall: hushed voices, the sound of flushing toilets, the hum of a loudspeaker…

The neighbors next door seemed to like listening to old songs. Every day, Duan Lin would wake up to those pop songs from who-knows-how-decades ago. Gradually, Duan Lin began to feel out of touch with the times.

At some point, Duan Lin found himself unconsciously avoiding opportunities to meet other tenants.

If he needed to use the toilet, he would knock on the door. If someone responded, he would return to his room and wait until the sound of the toilet flushing had stopped, footsteps had passed, and the door had closed softly before Duan Lin went out.

I don’t know if others have the same idea, but anyway… Duan Lin has not encountered any other tenants so far.

However, Duan Lin simply accepted this strange phenomenon without saying a word.