Night Doll

Chapter 19

Song Xiaomo composed herself, wondering, "Wasn't I just in the kitchen? How did I end up in bed? Was it really just a nightmare? But how could a dream feel so real?"

Thinking of his son, he rushed to the kitchen. Strangely, there was really nothing there! The floor was spotless, so shiny you could almost see your shadow reflected in it. There was no trace of the female ghost or the human head! He searched around again and found his kitchen knife, only to discover that it hadn't been used for a long time and was covered with a thin layer of rust.

"What's wrong with me?" Song Xiaomo plopped down on the floor.

"Just now, I heard you scream and thought something had happened to you, so I knocked on your door, but you didn't open it, so I had to break it down..."

"Eun-hee, thank you, I feel much better now!"

"It's alright. It's probably because you haven't been sleeping well lately and your nerves are too tense. Just relax a bit and you'll be fine!" Park Eun-hee patted his shoulder.

"What will happen to me if things continue like this? Will I go insane?"

"Don't overthink it!" Park Eun-hee looked at him with some concern.

He sighed, recounted the dream he had just had, and then said, "I hope you, with your master's degree in psychology, can help me interpret this dream sometime. Thank you!"

"Hehe, these kinds of mysterious things are hard to decipher, but I'll do my best to help my friend!"

"By the way, what time is it now?" Song Xiaomo asked.

"It's past seven o'clock in the evening!"

"Oh dear, I slept all afternoon! I was just about to go find He Zhiying!"

"Then I won't bother you any longer. Take care..." Park Eun-hee said a few polite words and tactfully left.

Song Xiaomo quickly called He Zhiying to arrange a time and place, and then went to the bathroom to wash up.

Ten minutes later, everything was ready.

As he passed by the window, he unconsciously glanced at the balcony.

At just one glance, his whole body began to tremble violently...

He saw the ghost doll again! But this time it was definitely not a dream.

The white ghost doll lay on the edge of the balcony, exactly like the one in his dream. What was going on? He was trapped in a giant maze, unable to find his way out…

Almost simultaneously, the saying circulating on campus echoed in his ears again: "Anyone who receives a ghost doll will die!"

This statement is a vicious curse!

Could it be that the female ghost in his dream really came to deliver a ghost doll to him? He felt more that it was a funeral procession!

Song Xiaomo was on the verge of collapse. He never imagined that he would wake up from a nightmare and breathe a sigh of relief only to have the scene from his dream come true!

If that saying really comes true, then he doesn't have many days left.

He opened the door, went out onto the balcony, grabbed the ghost doll, and prepared to throw it downstairs.

Chapter 91: The Ghost Doll Returns (91)

"No, give it back to me!" a shout came from the side.

Song Xiaomo turned his head and saw that Li Zhengzhen from room 519 next door was glaring at him fiercely.

Is this yours?

"Of course it's mine. I accidentally threw it onto your balcony while I was playing."

"Who gave this to you?"

Lee Jung-jin frowned and thought for a moment, then said seriously, "It's Xiao You!"

"Here you go, catch!" Song Xiaomo quickly tossed the ghost doll over. Ever since the North Korean cold noodles incident, Song Xiaomo had treated Li Zhengzhen's things like a hot potato, avoiding them as much as possible.

Lee Jung-jin reached out and caught it, then went into his room.

"So... this thing wasn't for me!" Song Xiaomo breathed a sigh of relief, but then she thought again, if it wasn't for me, then it was for Li Zhengzhen. Could it be that Li Zhengzhen will be the next one to die?

A moment later, the sound of chopping meat came from Li Zhengzhen's kitchen again: clang clang clang clang...

A bolt of lightning tore through the oppressive darkness, and a sudden downpour blurred his vision.

Chapter 92: The Doll Murder Case (92)

(26)

When Song Xiaomo went out, the rain was getting heavier and heavier. The sky was particularly gloomy.

As he walked downstairs, he glanced up at the dormitory building across the street and was startled: the light in that room was on!

Who went in? Song Xiaomo wondered, standing downstairs. Was it Kim In-hyun who came back? That seemed unlikely.

He stared for a long time, turned around several times, and considered many possibilities, but couldn't figure it out.

The clock downstairs pointed to six in the afternoon. He remembered that it was time to meet He Zhiying, so he quickly opened his umbrella and headed towards the girls' dormitory, braving the wind and rain.

Upon reaching the girls' dormitory entrance, he stood behind a row of fences, waiting for He Zhiying to come down. At that moment, lightning flashed, and a chilling wind blew from the dormitory. The image of Xiao You, a girl who had fallen from the building more than twenty days earlier and impaled herself on the iron fence, flashed before his eyes. He felt a strange sense of terror rising within him, and reflexively took a step back.

Suddenly, a row of iron railings in front of him collapsed with a clang, landing right at Song Xiaomo's feet. He touched his chest, thankful for his instinctive reaction.

Just as Song Xiaomo was feeling uneasy, He Zhiying unexpectedly appeared from behind him. She was carrying a black umbrella, and her face was pale, as if she had suddenly fallen seriously ill.

"Zhiying, why do you look so pale? Are you sick?" He was startled.

"I'm fine!" He Zhiying smiled nonchalantly and said, "You don't look too well either!"

"Really? I'm perfectly fine now."

He Zhiying stared at him blankly for a long time, then suddenly threw away her umbrella, threw herself into his arms, and choked out, "Xiao Mo, I'm so scared, I'm afraid I'll never see you again!"

"What happened? Is that ghost haunting you again?" He put his arm around her thin shoulders, his heart pounding. He suddenly realized that their relationship was becoming increasingly complicated.

He Zhiying's shoulders trembled as she said in a voice filled with fear and panic, "I know you don't believe in ghosts, but... but I really... I really saw it! She... she often comes into my bathroom..."

“I…believe you!” he stammered.

"Xiao Mo, I'm so scared, I'm worried..." As she spoke, He Zhiying's tears flowed uncontrollably, soaking Song Xiao Mo's clothes.

He didn't know how to comfort her, so he could only hold her tightly. From her trembling body, he clearly and deeply felt her fear and helplessness.

"Okay, I'll take you back to your dorm!"

"No, she...she's hiding in my dorm room. I'm afraid...afraid she'll hurt you!" She shook her head desperately.

"It's alright, the two of us are fighting side by side, what are we afraid of?"

"You just don't believe me!" He Zhiying suddenly broke free from Song Xiaomo's embrace, glaring at him intently, and said, "Actually, I know you've never believed me. You only wanted to go to my dorm to verify things. Fine, I'll take you there now!"

Chapter 93: The Doll Murder Case (93)

“I…I didn’t disbelieve you! Look how hard it’s raining outside…” he explained weakly.

He Zhiying didn't say anything more and quickly walked into the dormitory building. He followed her in.

The door to the first-floor management office was tightly shut. Since the female administrator named Chi Huimei was beheaded, no new administrator had entered that room. Although the incident caused quite a stir in the entire girls' dormitory building, it was much easier for boys to enter the girls' dormitories, as they were no longer subjected to repeated questioning by the administrators.

Soon, the two arrived at He Zhiying's dormitory.

Song Xiaomo stood outside, paying particular attention to the door of the room next door. The window of that room was covered in a layer of dust, clearly indicating it hadn't been lived in for a long time. For some reason, seeing that door gave him a creepy feeling, as if something was watching him through it. He remembered He Zhiying telling him that there had once been a mourning hall in this room, and the deceased's name was Shen Meixuan. She was the owner of the ghost doll!

"What are you daydreaming about? Come on in!" He Zhiying tugged at him.

"Oh, okay!" He smiled and stepped into He Zhiying's room.

He Zhiying's room was very tidy, filled with colorful trinkets. Next to the window was a large bed, beside which sat a table and a wardrobe. On the table were some personal items and a laptop. Behind the glass window was a balcony. Through the grid-patterned glass, the view outside was blurry, but one could vaguely make out several potted plants along the balcony railing.

"Have a seat for a while, I'll go to the kitchen and make you something to eat," He Zhiying said with a smile.

"Don't bother, let's go out to eat later!"

"That won't do, you haven't tasted my cooking yet!" She raised an eyebrow and walked into the kitchen.

Song Xiaomo smiled and scanned the living room with keen eyes. He walked around a few times but found nothing; there was no sign of any ghosts here.

He walked towards the bathroom, stepping on the pale yellow floor tiles. The door was slightly ajar, and light shone through the crack. He didn't have the courage to look through the crack and opened the door directly. The bathroom was spotless, empty except for utensils and everyday items. In the large mirror, he saw a gaunt, pale, lifeless face—his own face.

Strange, there was no sign of a ghost in the bathroom.

Could it be that He Zhiying has some kind of mental problem?

Could it be that she has developed a mental disorder like Lee Jung-jin?

Song Xiaomo was a little confused. She quickly walked out of the bathroom and back to the living room.

At this moment, He Zhiying was still busy in the kitchen.

He searched every corner again, including under the bed and in the wardrobe, but still found nothing.

Could He Zhiying really be experiencing some kind of mental problem? He thought back to the terrifying scene from that evening. Although Park Eun-hee insisted it was a dream, he felt it couldn't be that simple. He had never experienced such a vivid dream before. He wondered if he was suffering from delusions. He also knew that if delusions progressed to a certain point, the final result would be schizophrenia.

Chapter 94: The Doll Murder Case (94)

He couldn't help but worry and plopped down on the sofa. Suddenly, he felt something in his hand, something that felt soft and fleshy.

In an instant, he sprang up from the sofa like a spring, his eyes wide. He finally regretted entering this dormitory. He suddenly wanted to shout, but no words came out even when he opened his mouth wide.

A human head was coldly staring at him from the sofa. No, it wasn't a head; it had no bones, no back of the head, just a face…

The features of that face were clearly visible, the blood vessels in its eyeballs had completely burst, its pupils were constricted, revealing large areas of white in its eyes, its mouth was wide open in shock, there was blood in its nostrils, and only half of its chin remained...

"Ghost!" He managed to squeeze out the word, and the hairs on the back of his head stood on end.

Suddenly, a voice sounded from behind him: "Xiao Mo, what's wrong?"

He turned around abruptly and saw He Zhiying coming out of the kitchen.

"The ghost...the ghost is on the sofa!" he stammered.

He Zhiying's expression changed instantly. She strolled over, glanced at the strange face, and sighed, "It's just a mask! Really..."

Hearing this, Song Xiaomo quickly went closer and found that it was indeed a mask. The mask was so realistic that it looked remarkably like Li Zhengzhen, especially those terrifying eyes. He thought to himself, if someone wore it out at night, it would probably scare quite a few people.

"Unbelievable, how could a girl play with such a scary thing?" He looked at He Zhiying in disbelief, as if she had suddenly become a stranger.

He Zhiying's eyes flickered uncertainly before she lowered her head and said, "Dinner's ready!"

"What delicious food did you make?" he asked.

He Zhiying's gaze turned mysterious, and she deliberately lowered her voice, saying, "You'll find out soon enough!"

A few minutes later, He Zhiying returned with a large bowl. She placed the bowl on the table in front of him and gently lifted the lid.

Immediately, a familiar smell wafted into my nostrils.

"North Korean cold noodles?" Song Xiaomo exclaimed in surprise.