Fourth Campus

Chapter 9

PART 8.

Sitting in the interrogation room, I felt extremely uncomfortable, mainly because I couldn't stand the suspicion this policeman named Chen Yiming had about me. But just like many things you can't tolerate but have to endure, I had no choice but to accept his interrogation.

Chen Yiming took a notebook, sat down at the interrogation table, pulled a pen from his police uniform pocket, and began his questioning:

"Lin Yuan, we invited you here for no other reason than to ask you about the specifics of what happened that day."

I glanced at him, turned my head to the ceiling, and said coldly, "Understand the situation? Does understanding the situation require a warrant for arrest?"

Chen Yiming chuckled. "Hehe, there's no need for that, but when I went to see you last time, you weren't very cooperative, so I had to resort to this method."

I kept staring at the ceiling, tilting my chair back. "You suspect I did something inappropriate to those two girls, right? That's why one of them stabbed me with scissors."

Chen Yiming laughed and said, "Of course, only the three of you know exactly what happened back then. But Lingmin has gone mad, so you obviously won't get anything out of her. Hu Xiaoli is still unconscious, so she can't speak either. So, the only question we can ask is you, but you won't tell us. Therefore, logically, we can only deduce it this way."

I replied dismissively, "You're just being clever."

Chen Yiming said, "Alright, even if we were being presumptuous, please tell us the answer, okay?"

I crossed my arms, rocked the chair, and stared at the ceiling. "No comment."

Chen Yiming wasn't angered by my behavior. I had expected him to fly into a rage, but he wasn't. He stood up, gathering his notebook and pen, and said to me, "Okay, think it over again. Call me when you've decided."

"Don't even think about it. I'm not going to tell you anyway. It wouldn't make a difference; you wouldn't understand. Once the statute of limitations for detention expires, you'll have to let me go back. Without evidence, you can't detain me."

Chen Yiming smiled and said, "Then you can sit here for a while and think it over some more." He then turned and walked out.

And so, I finally survived the period of detention. During this time, I remained silent, gritting my teeth and answering all their questions. Back at school, I quickly heard many rumors about me. The next morning, I was summoned to the Youth League Committee office. The secretary of the Youth League Committee very tactfully suggested that I temporarily suspend my duties and take a good rest. I felt this was practically a case of "releasing a general with a cup of wine."

That's why my hostility towards this policeman surnamed Chen deepened. A sudden thought popped into my head: why not drag him down with me and let him experience the terror I had felt? This thought startled even me. It seems that people truly have both light and dark sides; everyone is a dual incarnation of angel and devil.

PART 9.

It was another rainy night, with torrential rain pouring down. Lightning flashed intermittently across the silent night sky, followed by deafening thunder.

I tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. Everything had happened so suddenly. On one hand, I was tormented by fear, wondering when that terrifying shadow from that night would haunt me again. On the other hand, I had to endure immense pressure from life. Since that night, everything had changed so suddenly, and now I was seen as a villain by everyone.

I felt isolated and helpless. Although I had friends who trusted me, Maeda Reiko who helped me, and Meng Na who cared about me, I had to unravel those mysteries as soon as possible. Just as Lin Duyu said, entering that "forbidden area" of the campus might be the best way to find the answers quickly, but Maeda Reiko and her séance kept stopping me.

I turned over and looked at my roommates who were already fast asleep. I couldn't help but want to wake them up and take advantage of the deep rainy night to go to that "forbidden place" again to find out what was going on. However, I couldn't bear to involve them.

I sat up in bed and looked out the window. In the distance, dim streetlights illuminated the winding paths of the campus, and the torrential rain had created deep puddles on the ground.

Another flash of lightning streaked across the sky, followed by a clap of thunder. When the thunder subsided, the ancient bell on the "clock tower" once again rang out with a deep, resonant tone.

"One, two, three, four... ten, eleven, twelve." I silently counted along with the clock. Midnight.

The Woman in White (6) from "The Fourth Campus"

The dull tolling of the bell seemed to be calling me. I stood up quietly, picked up the raincoat from the door, gently turned the doorknob and went out, then quietly closed the door behind me.

My heart is being summoned, summoned by that forbidden area of the campus filled with terrifying legends and mystery.

I walked quietly down the corridor, quietly descended the stairs, and quietly arrived at the dormitory building's main entrance, taking each step very carefully, afraid of being discovered by others.

I reached out and pulled at the iron gate of the dormitory building, but it was already locked by the school janitor on duty. I looked around, trying to find a way out, but all the windows in the first-floor corridor had iron bars on them. So I went back to the second floor, and just like on the first floor, the windows in the second-floor corridor were also surrounded by iron bars. The windows on the fourth floor and above didn't have iron bars, but they were too high up.

I wandered around on the second floor, trying to find a way out. So, I slowly walked into the second-floor restroom. In my memory, the iron bars on the windows of this restroom seemed to be missing a few bars.

I walked very quietly, afraid that the sound of my footsteps would activate the motion-activated light. Another flash of lightning streaked across the sky, and in the light, I saw that, sure enough, three bars of the iron bars outside the window had broken. I went to the window and carefully estimated its length and width; it was just enough for one person to slip out. So I climbed onto the windowsill, preparing to climb out through the broken bars.

The dormitory building is surrounded by a retaining wall more than two meters high. The retaining wall is about two meters away from the window, and the window is about one meter away from the retaining wall. I have to jump over the deep ditch between the retaining wall and the window to reach the path leading to the "clock tower".

Just then, another bolt of lightning streaked across the night sky. In the pale white light, I seemed to see a figure flash by in the deep ditch between the fortress and the dormitory building.

I was stunned for a moment.

It's midnight, thunder and lightning are raging, and rain is pouring down. Is anyone outside? Impossible. I think maybe I'm just seeing things, or perhaps I've been too stressed lately and it's causing my imagination.

So I continued, slowly squeezing out through the broken gap in the iron bars outside the window.

Just as I crawled through the iron fence, another flash of lightning streaked across the night sky, and the figure I had vaguely seen earlier reappeared. This time, the lightning lasted longer, and I could clearly make out that it was a woman's figure, wearing a white dress, with long hair draped over her back. In an instant, she turned the corner of the building.

Those long hairs suddenly reminded me of what I'd witnessed in the office building corridor. In a panic, I slipped and fell heavily into the deep ditch between the retaining wall and the dormitory building. A sharp, piercing pain shot through me; a steel bar had pierced my armpit and gone straight through to my shoulder. The excruciating pain made me faint.

I opened my eyes in a panic, finding myself still lying in bed. The sun was shining brightly outside the window, and birdsong filled the air. My first instinct was to look at my shoulder. There were no marks; it had all been a dream. However, my shoulder did seem a little sore.

I sat up in bed and realized that the sheets were soaked with sweat. I let out a long sigh of relief.

"What's wrong?" Xu Zhifei, who had just finished washing up, asked when he saw that I looked unwell.

"No, it's nothing."

Did you have a nightmare?

I nodded.

"It's okay, you've been too stressed lately." Xu Zhifei walked over and patted my shoulder. "It's Saturday today, I've invited my class to play basketball, are you coming?"

"I'm a little tired, you go ahead."

"Alright, get some rest and don't think too much. No matter what happens, you'll have us good brothers supporting you."

"Thanks."

"Alright, I'm leaving now. You can get some more sleep." With that, he took the basketball and went out.

I got out of bed and walked to the window, looking at the distant "clock tower" and recalling last night's dream. I was relieved it was just a dream, but I still felt uneasy. It seemed that Ikeda Nami, who had been dead for two years, had haunted me ever since she appeared before me that night. I looked at the "clock tower" across from my dormitory window again, and it felt as if a pair of eyes were watching my every move. This feeling made me extremely uncomfortable.

With a "whoosh," I pulled down the curtains, then hid behind them and gently lifted a corner with my hand, staring intently at the windows of the reading room inside the "clock tower." Just then, I saw a figure move behind the window, followed by two hands grabbing the window frame, and then a head with long hair covering its face appeared behind the window.

Nami Ikeda!

In that instant, my heart raced, my breathing quickened, and I instinctively crouched down, too afraid to stand up. The terrifying figure seemed to be able to see through the curtains. I slowly crawled to the table where the phone was, picked it up, and shakily dialed Maeda Reiko's dormitory number.

"Hello." Maeda Reiko's voice came from the other end of the phone.

Hearing her voice, I calmed down a little. "Reiko Maeda?"

"Yes, it's me, Lin Yuan?"

"Yes, I...I saw her again."

"who?"

"Nogawa... Ikeda Nami! She... she's spying on me, can you come? Hurry."

Reiko Maeda was clearly surprised as well. "Okay, I'll be right there. Wait for me downstairs at the dormitory."

"No...no."

"Why?"

I looked up at the dormitory window. "She'll see me. I think she can see me."

"Okay, stay inside and don't move. I'll call Lin Musen up."

"Okay, hurry up."

"Okay, right away." Reiko Maeda hung up the phone.

I began the agonizing wait.

The sunlight was blocked by the curtains I had drawn, and the dormitory room was already dim. I hid under the table, afraid to move, glancing up at the window every now and then, and checking my watch every now and then.

One minute... two minutes...

This damn time seems to be moving so slowly. I checked my watch several times, and only ten minutes had passed. I felt like I was suffocating.

The Woman in White (7) from "The Fourth Campus"

"Knock, knock, knock," came a series of urgent knocks on the door, followed by Lin Musen's voice: "Lin Yuan, open the door quickly."

Thank goodness, the rescuers have finally arrived. I crawled out from under the table, rushed to the door, and turned the knob.

"Are you alright?" Lin Musen asked.

"fine."

"Reiko said you saw Nami Ikeda?"

"Yes, right there in the reading room. She's standing by the window watching me."

Lin Yuan frowned, walked to the window, and lifted a corner of the curtain to look at the "clock tower." I remained standing by the door, watching him as the expression on his face gradually turned terrified.

With a "whoosh," Lin Musen pulled down the curtains, turned around, rushed to the door, grabbed my hand, and said two words: "Let's go."

I followed Lin Musen down to the dormitory building, where Maeda Reiko was waiting for us outside.

"How was it?" Maeda Reiko asked.

"In the reading room, hurry up!" Lin Musen replied as he ran towards the "clock tower".

Reiko Maeda chased after her.

We rushed into the "clock tower" and headed straight for the reading room on the top floor.

Because it was the weekend, the reading room door was locked tight, leaving us outside. Lin Musen frantically pushed at the door, trying to break in, but Maeda Reiko grabbed him.

"She's inside." Lin Musen broke free from Maeda Reiko and prepared to bang on the door again.

"Calm down. If the door is damaged, the college will hold you accountable, and that's no joke," said Reiko Maeda.

"What should we do then?"

Reiko Maeda turned to me and asked, "Hayashihara, does anyone in the student council have a key to the reading room?"

I thought for a moment and said, "It seems that only Wang Siyue from our student association department has the key."

Reiko Maeda perked up, "That makes things easier. You can ask her to open the door."

"Okay." I turned around and went downstairs to find a public phone.

Fortunately, Wang Siyue was in her dormitory. She quickly arrived and opened the door to the reading room. Lin Musen and Maeda Reiko immediately rushed in and searched everywhere.

"What's wrong? What are you looking for?" Wang Siyue asked, puzzled.

"It's nothing, this has nothing to do with you. Don't ask any more questions, and don't tell anyone else, okay?" I told her.

Wang Siyue thought for a moment, then nodded, "Okay, then I won't ask any more questions." So we waited outside the door.

About ten minutes later, Maeda Reiko and Hayashi Mori came out and shook their heads at me in unison.

I turned to Wang Siyue and said, "Okay, lock the door and go back now, thanks."

After seeing Wang Siyue off, I immediately asked Maeda Reiko and Lin Musen, "Didn't find her?"

"Yes," said Reiko Maeda.