Mysterious Cases of Female College Students

Chapter 6

Hearing Mu Xiang say that was possible, Zhuo Jiasi couldn't help but squeeze the marble in her pocket. Feeling its unusual coldness, she said, puzzled, "Then she must be scaring us with marbles on the rooftop every night. But why would she do that?"

Mu Xiang couldn't figure out the reason either, so she pouted and said, "She's such a weirdo. I can't guess what she's trying to do..."

Just then, the doctor opened the door and let them in. Unexpectedly, the doctor said that Zuo Feifei didn't have sleepwalking at all. Both women were stunned and asked almost simultaneously, "Then why does she behave so strangely at night?"

The doctor couldn't find the cause either. After thinking for a long time, he said, "There are only two other possibilities: one is that she's hallucinating due to overexertion, and the other is that someone is giving her hallucinogenic drugs. But I don't think that kind of thing would happen at school, right?"

Hallucinogenic drugs? Zhuo Jiasi immediately recalled Xia Youcai's cause of death; the reason she committed suicide was also due to a large amount of hallucinogenic drugs. She suddenly felt as if someone was standing in the shadows, constantly watching everyone connected to her with bright eyes. But who would give Zuo Feifei hallucinogenic drugs? She then asked Zuo Feifei very seriously, "Did you eat or drink anything before you went to sleep?"

Zuo Feifei scratched her head and thought for a long time, then said doubtfully, "I have a habit of drinking a glass of plain water before going to bed every day. Could it be that I put hallucinogenic drugs in the thermos?"

Mu Xiang said thoughtfully, "Hmm, that's possible. But I can't figure it out, who would give you hallucinogenic drugs?"

Just as Zhuo Jiasi was about to say something, Zuo Feifei suddenly stood up as if she had remembered something, but said nothing. She stared blankly at Zhuo Jiasi and Mu Xiang for a moment, then ran out of the hospital without looking back. Was she hiding some secret? Zhuo Jiasi and Mu Xiang looked at each other, completely bewildered, and could only follow her out of the hospital.

After leaving the hospital, Zuo Feifei was gone, and the two could only return to school in silence. Mu Xiang seemed convinced that Wu Qiuyang was the murderer, saying decisively, "Jia Si, the rest of us were basically in class, so we didn't have much time to commit the crime. I think Wu Qiuyang is the most suspicious. She never goes to class and is always out during the day and at night, giving her ample time to commit the crime."

Zhuo Jiasi was also skeptical but not certain, so she sighed and said, "Let's wait until we have evidence before we say anything. After all, it's not good to wrong someone."

"Ugh, this school is really something," Mu Xiang muttered. "They should just expel students like this right away."

Zhuo Jiasi opened her mouth, but remembering Wu Qiuyang's gloomy expression that day, she said nothing more. For some reason, she always felt a strange sense of sympathy for the eccentric Wu Qiuyang. Tao Hua should be enjoying the warmth of family right now, but Wu Qiuyang was using sleep to escape her pain.

Just as she was thinking this, Li Sixia appeared before her again. He seemed completely unfamiliar with Zhuo Jiasi and said politely, "Excuse me, could we talk alone?"

Zhuo Jiasi was stunned for a moment before nodding. Then she waved goodbye to Mu Xiang and left with Li Sixia.

twenty two

The two walked for a long time on campus without exchanging a single word. Looking at Li Sixia's slender figure, Zhuo Jiasi felt a pang of heartache and forgot all the questions she wanted to ask. After a while, Li Sixia finally stopped in front of a stone bench, wiped the seat clean with a tissue, and said politely, "Zhuo Jiasi, please sit down."

Section 34: Chapter Four - Xiao Chuhan's Curse (2)

Li Sixia seemed a bit strange, and Zhuo Jiasi sat down nervously. After a while, he slowly said, "Zhuo Jiasi, you live in dormitory 514, right? I'd like... to ask you to help me find some things."

"Things?" Zhuo Jiasi asked in confusion, "What things? How did your things end up in our dorm...?"

Li Sixia's expression became very unnatural, and her voice lowered several inches: "Actually... it's Su Mu's stuff. He used to live in that dormitory, and I looked for it several times but couldn't find it. Later, it was converted into a girls' dormitory. Now that Xia Youcai is dead, Su Mu's things should be returned, right? So, I was hoping you could help me."

What is it that we've been searching for for so long? Zhuo Jiasi was too embarrassed to ask directly, so she simply asked, "What is it?"

"Some letters." Li Sixia looked up and said, "Su Mu and Xia Youcai were a very romantic couple, and they wrote many love letters to each other. So I wanted to find them and place them at their graves. That way, they can leave in peace."

Zhuo Jiasi didn't know why he was doing this, but her first thought was that Li Sixia wanted to atone for his sins. Could the rumors be true? Did Li Sixia steal Su Mu's work and girlfriend, so he was now so sincerely trying to atone? But she didn't dare to ask him directly, afraid of ruining her relationship with Li Sixia, and also afraid that Li Sixia was really that despicable. So, she could only nod woodenly and say, "Okay, I'll try my best to help you find it."

Li Sixia remained polite, bowing respectfully and saying "thank you" before disappearing into the autumn wind. Zhuo Jiasi hugged her shoulders tightly, suddenly feeling strongly that winter might come exceptionally early this year.

Back in the dorm, Zhuo Jiasi found only Wu Qiuyang still asleep. She examined the picture of the girl committing suicide in the bathtub again, but still found no clues. She then started searching for Li Sixia's letter. It was nowhere to be found around her bed or in her drawers. She didn't dare touch anyone else's things, so she decided to touch Mu Xiang's. She opened Mu Xiang's closet and discovered that this seemingly clean girl had piled her things up so messily, so she simply threw all her things onto the bed.

Strangely, beneath the disheveled clothes lay an old wooden box. It was quite pretty, though, with beautiful floating clouds painted on its dark brown lid. Just as Zhuo Jiasi was about to take it out to look at it, she heard Mu Xiang angrily say, "Jiasi, why are you going through my things?"

Zhuo Jiasi was startled; she had never seen Mu Xiang so angry before. Her face turned bright red, and she said embarrassedly, "I... I just saw that your closet was too messy, so I wanted to help you tidy it up."

Mu Xiang's face turned grim. She silently shoved the clothes haphazardly back into the closet and said coldly, "I don't need your help. And from now on... don't touch my things."

This was a scent of wood that Zhuo Jiasi had never encountered before. She had no choice but to stop searching and picked up a book to read listlessly on the bed. But after a while, the scent of wood seemed to have calmed down, regaining its usual gentleness, and asked with a smile, "Jiasi, what were you looking for just now?"

Seeing that Mu Xiang's expression had returned to calm, Zhuo Jiasi breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Li Sixia said that Su Mu left something in the dormitory before, so he wanted me to help him find it."

Mu Xiang frowned and said, "They've been dead for so long, what are we still looking for? That's strange, what is it?"

"It's some letters, isn't it?" Zhuo Jiasi blurted out. "He said they were love letters from Su Mu and Xia Youcai, so he wanted to burn them for them so they could leave in peace."

Section 35: Chapter Four - Xiao Chuhan's Curse (3)

Hearing this, Mu Xiang suddenly said irritably, "He's just pretending to be kind! If he really cared about Su Mu and Xia Youcai, why did he treat them like that in the first place?"

Zhuo Jiasi didn't care about anything else and hurriedly said, "Muxiang, he's not that kind of person!"

Mu Xiang stared at her blankly for a long time before finally saying, slowly and deliberately, "Zhuo Jiasi, have you fallen for Li Sixia?"

Zhuo Jiasi's face turned bright red, and she lowered her head, muttering, "What nonsense! Muxiang, don't talk nonsense!"

Mu Xiang didn't speak, but let out a heavy sigh. She turned around and went about her business, the weekend becoming somewhat heavy and awkward.

twenty three

Zhuo Jiasi had been engrossed in the novel's scenes for the entire afternoon, and her eyes were almost killing her. She woke up Mu Xiang, who was sleeping, and said with a smile, "Mu Xiang, let's go eat together." Mu Xiang nodded and ran to the bathroom to wash up.

Zhuo Jiasi finished combing her hair and saw Wu Qiuyang still sleeping in the mirror. She probably hadn't eaten all day. Just as she thought this, Tao Hua's loud, duck-like voice came from the hallway again. Her singing was rough, almost like a duck's quack, a world apart from Wu Qiuyang's ethereal voice. Zhuo Jiasi couldn't help but think to herself, "God is truly fair in creation!"

Tao Hua was beaming with joy. She brought over a huge pile of snacks and spread them out on the table, saying proudly, "Come out and eat some snacks! My dad insisted on buying me so much stuff; I can't possibly finish it all. Ah, it's so nice to be a legitimate daughter!"

This was clearly meant for Wu Qiuyang, but she didn't react at all, seemingly still fast asleep. Zhuo Jiasi looked at her sympathetically, then playfully grabbed a bag of potato chips, stuffed them into her mouth, and said, "Thank you, Miss Tao Hua. Consider this a snack for Muxiang and me before our meal."

After Mu Xiang finished tidying up, she went out and joked around with Tao Hua for a while before the two of them went out to eat. It was the "Orchid Garden" restaurant they went to on their first day at school, but neither of them expected that so many things would happen in just a few days.

After ordering several delicious side dishes, Mu Xiang ate while saying, "Jia Si, I was in a bad mood earlier, I'm really sorry." She spoke casually, but Zhuo Jia Si felt relieved. The anxiety that had been hanging over her finally subsided. However, Mu Xiang also faced the situation seriously, saying, "Jia Si, I think it's better for you to maintain a good relationship with Li Sixia for now, because he's our only lead in finding the mastermind behind 'Su Mu'."

The thought that someone was lurking behind the scenes plotting against her naturally made Zhuo Jiasi uneasy. However, seeing Mu Xiang's tireless care and protection, her previous fear subsided. She believed that the truth would eventually come to light, and the person hiding behind the scenes would finally reveal their true colors.

After finishing their meal, the two headed back to their dormitory. Mu Xiang suggested, "Why don't we go back and ask Tao Hua and Fei Fei to help look for those letters too? But... I think the search at Wu Qiu Yang's place is having some difficulty."

Zhuo Jiasi shook her head helplessly and said, "Yes, she's a big problem. Let's wait and see, and we'll just have to adapt to the situation."

As soon as they reached the fifth-floor corridor, they heard a cacophony of arguing. It seemed to be Tao Hua and Zuo Feifei. Zhuo Jiasi and Mu Xiang, unaware of what was happening, were about to rush in to mediate. But then they heard Tao Hua shout, "Zuo Feifei, I'll say it again, I didn't give you the hallucinogenic drugs! Don't think that just because you have evidence that I killed Xiao Chuhan, you can demand I do anything! But don't forget, you were the mastermind behind that whole thing!"

Section 36: Chapter Four - Xiao Chuhan's Curse (4)

Xiao Chuhan was killed by Tao Hua. How did this happen? The two involuntarily stopped and stood at the door, eavesdropping. Zuo Feifei seemed very aggrieved, almost crying, saying, "Please, Tao Hua, don't mention Xiao Chuhan, okay?"

Tao Hua said dismissively, "What's wrong? If you hadn't liked that scoundrel Lu Shiliu, would I have gone to Xiao Chuhan and spouted nonsense? In the end, you didn't win Lu Shiliu's heart, and she couldn't bear the pain of heartbreak and chose to commit suicide. Let me tell you, it's all your fault!"

It turns out that Tao Hua and Zuo Feifei broke up Xiao Chuhan and Lu Shiliu. Everyone knows that it would be incredibly difficult for Xiao Chuhan, who is extremely unattractive, to find a boy who truly loves her. But for some reason, Lu Shiliu, who was initially an excellent student, relentlessly pursued her, his affection for her so intense it was as if he wanted to be a piece of her flesh. However, for some unknown reason, Lu Shiliu later inexplicably stopped paying attention to Xiao Chuhan, and no matter how much she pleaded, he wouldn't change his mind.

Zhuo Jiasi still remembers Xiao Chuhan from that period. Her despondency and sadness made her even uglier. She wasn't particularly annoying before, as she was always smiling and kind; people just often mocked her. But when she had Lu Shiliu, she could always laugh it off. And what about when she lost Lu Shiliu? She was depressed all day long, unwilling to talk to anyone, as if she had fallen into a bottomless pit of pain.

Before Zhuo Jiasi could react, Mu Xiang stormed through the door, shouting, "So it was you who killed Xiao Chuhan! She was our friend for three years! You're despicable!"

Zuo Feifei lowered her head in fear and unease, but Tao Hua still retorted defiantly, "Blame Zuo Feifei! She pretends to be incredibly kind to me all the time, but she just wants me to keep this a secret. She's full of hypocrisy!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Zuo Feifei covered her ears, screamed, and ran out of the dormitory crying.

"Feifei, Feifei..." Zhuo Jiasi called out anxiously, scolding, "Can't you talk things out? Look how late it is, where are you trying to drive Feifei?"

Tao Hua completely ignored her, continuing to eat her snacks nonchalantly, saying, "Let her go wherever she wants, what's it to me?"

Mu Xiang was also furious about the truth, and with a stiff expression, she refused to speak, pretending nothing had happened as she read her novel. Left with no other option, Zhuo Jiasi went out alone to search for Zuo Feifei.

twenty four

They chased her all the way to the dormitory building, but Zuo Feifei had completely disappeared from sight. Just as Aunt Luo was about to close the dormitory door, Zhuo Jiasi ran over, panting, and asked, "Aunt Luo, did you see where Feifei ran off to?"

"Is that Zuo Feifei?" Aunt Luo asked. "I just asked her too, but she didn't answer and ran towards the teaching building. What happened?"

Zhuo Jiasi certainly couldn't tell the truth, so she could only say perfunctorily, "Aunt Luo, you should go to sleep later. She and Tao Hua had a fight just now, I'll go and chase her back first. Remember to open the door for us later!" After saying that, she ran into the darkness without looking back, ignoring Aunt Luo's shouts behind her.

In such a large campus, where could Zuo Feifei have gone? Zhuo Jiasi was sweating profusely with anxiety, and the dim light made her vision blurry. She must have gone to her classroom, right? Thinking of this, Zhuo Jiasi quickened her pace and ran towards the art building, searching for Zuo Feifei's whereabouts floor by floor.

There was no one in the classrooms on several floors. Zhuo Jiasi wiped away her sweat, leaned against the wall, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Section 37: Chapter 4 Xiao Chuhan's Curse (5)

Just then, a shadow suddenly flashed past in the stairwell.

It seemed to be heading towards the rooftop, and without thinking twice, she followed and ran up to the rooftop.

Unexpectedly, it was Li Sixia standing in the center of the rooftop. He wasn't doing anything, just closing his eyes and gazing up at the sky, the sparse moonlight casting a dreamy glow on his face. Zhuo Jiasi looked at that gentle face, lost in a beautiful image, until finally, as if remembering something, she couldn't help but softly call out, "Li Sixia..."

"It's you?" Li Sixia asked, puzzled. "What are you doing in the art building so late?"

"I..." For a moment, Zhuo Jiasi didn't know how to answer, so she changed the subject and asked, "Then what are you doing here?"

Li Sixia pulled her gaze away from the sky, tossed aside the mineral water bottle in her hand, and slowly walked over, saying, "I was painting in the main studio just now, and I got too tired, so I came up here to get some fresh air. What about you?"

As Zhuo Jiasi was searching for an answer in her mind, she heard a piercing scream coming from downstairs. It was Zuo Feifei! Li Sixia frowned and said worriedly, "It seems to be coming from the large art studio I was in. You should go back to the dormitory quickly; I'll go down and see what happened!"

Zhuo Jia wanted to tell Li Sixia to wait for her to go together, but Li Sixia quickly ran downstairs. She was left all alone on the rooftop. A gust of wind blew, making a crisp sound as the mineral water bottle rang. Suddenly, she felt a terrifying force surrounding her. So she quickly left the rooftop and ran frantically towards the large art studio, but the sound of the mineral water bottle kept echoing. No matter how far she ran, she could still hear it.

The classroom lights were out, and the entire art building was pitch black. Zhuo Jiasi took out her phone to light her way and finally found the large studio. But the door was locked tight. She knocked gently and asked, "Feifei, is that you in there?" There was no answer, only intermittent sobbing.

It must be Zuo Feifei. Zhuo Jiasi carefully comforted her, "Feifei, don't be sad. Come back to the dormitory with me first, we can talk about it tomorrow." Still no one answered, but the sobbing became even more drawn out.

Zhuo Jiasi had no choice but to continue trying to persuade her: "Feifei, you can't really blame Xiao Chuhan's death entirely. After all, she committed suicide, didn't she? That was her own final choice! Please open the door, okay?"

The crying continued for a while. But then, in the darkness, she heard the sound of a lock turning; the door to the large studio seemed to be opening. Zhuo Jiasi gently pushed it open, and it was indeed open, though the inside was pitch black. She pressed her phone again, and in the dim light, she saw Zuo Feifei curled up under a canvas, crying. But what was terrifying was that the painting was of a girl committing suicide in a bathtub; the red paint seemed to have been applied too much and hadn't completely dried, as if it were restlessly flowing throughout the painting. The back of Zuo Feifei's clothes was stained red, and she cried as she looked up, calling out, "Jiasi…"

Just as Zhuo Jiasi was about to run over to help Zuo Feifei back, she heard a "beep" sound. Zuo Feifei was startled and immediately burrowed into her arms. Zhuo Jiasi quickly patted her back and said, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. It's just my phone running out of battery."

Zuo Feifei hugged her even tighter.

Zhuo Jiasi helped Zuo Feifei, and the two tried to return to their dormitory, but they couldn't open the door to the large art studio. They paced anxiously, wondering if they were going to have to sleep in the cold studio all night. They heard footsteps outside the door. Zhuo Jiasi remembered Li Sixia and called out loudly, "Li Sixia, is that you?"

Section 38: Chapter Four - Xiao Chuhan's Curse (6)

They called out for a long time, but the footsteps continued, yet no one responded. Zuo Feifei, always timid, nervously grabbed Zhuo Jiasi's hand and said, "What's going on? Jiasi, I'm so scared!"

"Feifei, don't be afraid," Zhuo Jiasi comforted her. "Stand here for now. I'll go open the curtains; maybe there will be some light then, and we'll figure out how to get out."

Zuo Feifei seemed to be trembling all over, and finally hesitated before letting go of her hands. Zhuo Jiasi carefully groped towards the window, but just as she touched the curtains, she heard Zuo Feifei shout, "Xiao Chuhan, go away! Go away! Jiasi, come save me, come save me!"

Xiao Chuhan? Zhuo Jiasi's palms were sweaty with nervousness. She tried her best to hide her fear by raising her voice: "Xiao Chuhan, is that you? Please let Zuo Feifei go. She didn't mean to treat you like that."

No one answered her, only Zuo Feifei's painful cries. Zhuo Jiasi scrambled and crawled, searching for Zuo Feifei, finally grabbing onto a piece of clothing. It seemed to be the clothing of the person who attacked Zuo Feifei. He kicked Zhuo Jiasi away and continued to hold onto Zuo Feifei tightly, breathing heavily.

Zuo Feifei's cries for help grew weaker and weaker, but Zhuo Jiasi's abdomen was throbbing with pain from the kicks, and she had no strength left to get up. Just when the two were about to despair, the sound of a lock being opened came from outside the door. The person seemed startled, shoved Zuo Feifei aside, and ran off somewhere. Zuo Feifei landed on top of Zhuo Jiasi and collapsed unconscious.

The person who opened the door was Li Sixia. He shone a flashlight at the two of them and asked in confusion, "What... what's going on with you two?"

Zhuo Jiasi was too weak to say anything more. She struggled to lift her head and said, "Quick... quick, take Feifei to the hospital..." Before she could finish speaking, she also fainted.

25

When Zhuo Jiasi woke up again, it was already noon. Her head was throbbing with pain, and Mu Xiang's figure flickered in her vision. Mu Xiang anxiously grabbed Zhuo Jiasi's hand and asked worriedly, "Jiasi, you're awake. Does it still hurt? Is anything bothering you?"

Zhuo Jiasi finally calmed down and remembered what had happened the night before. She asked warily, "Muxiang, where's Feifei? Where is she? How is she?"

"It's nothing, don't worry," Mu Xiang comforted her. "Her neck was choked quite badly, but she's not in any life-threatening danger; she's just a little emotionally unstable for now."

Zhuo Jiasi breathed a sigh of relief, then hugged Mu Xiang and sobbed, "Mu Xiang, yesterday...last night was so scary. That person really wanted to kill Zuo Feifei!"

Mu Xiang patted her shoulder, not daring to ask about what happened last night, but gently comforting her, "It's okay, it's okay. Jia Si, it's all over now, don't think about it anymore, it was just a nightmare."

After a long while, Zhuo Jiasi finally fell asleep in a state of panic, her eyes tightly closed, seemingly engaged in a painful internal struggle. Just then, the doctor came to inform her that Zuo Feifei had woken up. Mu Xiang sighed, touched Zhuo Jiasi's furrowed brow, and stood up to say to Tao Hua, who had been standing silently by the door, "Tao Hua, let's go see Zuo Feifei again."

Tao Hua completely lost her former arrogance, her face full of regret, and she followed Mu Xiang to Zuo Feifei's ward with her head down.

Zuo Feifei's mental state remained unstable; her eyes held a desolate, abandoned look, and her lips trembled as she mumbled incoherently. Mu Xiang and Tao Hua dared not speak, but simply sat quietly beside her, each internally questioning and struggling with their own thoughts.