Коллекция Хироми

Глава 4

Shen Zihan said in a low voice, "The door is open." His voice wasn't loud, but to Yan Hao, it sounded hundreds of times more sinister and terrifying than when he spoke normally.

Indeed, it's unclear which careless teacher forgot to lock this "forbidden work area." There was clearly a half-finger-wide gap between the two wooden doors.

Instinctively, Yan Hao lowered his head, trying to peek through the crack to see what was inside.

One of the wooden doors, meanwhile, silently and slowly moved back an inch on its own.

Yan Hao nearly tripped and fell. His heart almost jumped out of his chest.

The stronger smell of formaldehyde and a chilly breeze rushed into Yan Hao's mind.

The three of them suddenly froze.

“Is it the wind?!” Ren Xuefei, who was standing a step behind him, said. At this moment, even she was pale and at a loss.

"Perhaps, perhaps we shouldn't go in. It's time for dinner," Ren Xuefei continued in a low voice.

Yan Hao calmed himself down, certain that the smile he forced onto his face must have looked incredibly awkward. "It's alright, the door's open. What's there to be afraid of in broad daylight? I'm making sure Da Sha treats me to twice-cooked pork today."

Shen Zihan chuckled dryly twice, then stared at Yan Hao as if he were a dead man.

Yan Hao gritted his teeth and pushed open the wooden door that had just opened automatically with his right hand.

He turned around and asked, "Aren't you coming in?"

The two of them shook their heads in unison.

Actually, you can get a general idea of the specimen preparation room from the outside.

The room was small, and all the windows were covered with floor-length blue curtains. The dim lighting made it feel like a dream.

In the central open space of the preparation room stood two electrically operated hydraulic dissection tables, which could be raised and lowered. They resembled operating room beds and also had four wheels underneath. Against the inner wall stood two glass instrument cabinets, filled with scalpels, retractors, oscillating electric craniotomy saws, intramedullary samplers, various sizes of scalpels, and surgical forceps. In addition, there were several large bins for waste disposal, each about half a person's height.

They could all see that the dissection table closest to the door was covered with a white sheet. The distinct undulating curves beneath the sheet revealed a corpse. The corpse's head was against the window, and its feet were pointing directly at the door.

The other dissection table, placed further inside, was empty.

Yan Hao walked in alone and stood in front of the dissection table covered with a sheet. He hesitated for a moment, then lifted the sheet from the foot of the table.

He pulled the sheet up to the corpse's knees.

This was the first time he had been so close to a human specimen. The feet looked no different from ordinary feet, except that they were a dark brown color, somewhat like cooked braised meat.

Yan Hao took a deep breath and shakily extended his right index finger. After hovering in the air for five seconds, his fingertip quickly touched the surface of the corpse's calf like a dragonfly skimming the water, and then hurriedly pulled down the white sheet.

The feeling of touching the corpse was indescribable for Yan Hao. Perhaps, under such intense tension, he couldn't even describe what he felt.

But, in the instant he pulled down the white sheet, he suddenly had a vague feeling that the corpse's eyes were staring at him through the sheet! Was it intuition, or perhaps a hallucination? Even so, it was enough to make his heart pound wildly—a layer of cold sweat had already seeped down his back.

As if possessed, he glanced at the nearest trash can.

A wisp of hair as long as a corpse, torn scalp, and most of a skullcap were clearly visible to him. Yan Hao almost fainted. This final, intense shock terrified him—he could no longer care about gentlemanly conduct, turned around, and dashed out of the specimen preparation room.

He didn't see Shen Zihan's thumbs-up. Nor did he see Ren Xuefei's almost embarrassed smile. Standing in the corridor, his chest heaved violently.

He could only think about those eyes. Could they be open eyes? Or were they bloodshot, almost grotesque eyes with their eyelids removed?

He never wanted to know the secrets hidden beneath the white sheet again!

Once outside the corridor and in the plaza outside the Basic Medical Sciences building, Shen Zihan began to regain his usual energy. He clamored to go out for a meal, offering to treat Yan Hao to something to calm his nerves.

Yan Hao had lost all appetite. He felt nauseous the whole way, but with Ren Xuefei there, he could only force himself to endure it.

Finally, Shen Zihan and Ren Xuefei went to the cafeteria for lunch. When Yan Hao returned to the dormitory, Guangzhi and Alien Boy were not there. He didn't turn on the dormitory lights, went straight to the bathroom, put his hand down his throat, and vomited violently.

A moment later, as he looked up to get some water to rinse his mouth, he faintly heard a soft sigh from outside. The sound was not loud, but it was very clear.

"Who?!" Every hair on Yan Hao's body practically stood on end.

No one answered.

Yan Hao looked at his face in the mirror and was so terrified that he no longer resembled himself.

He rubbed his face a couple of times with his hands. Only when it felt burning hot did he slowly shuffle out of the bathroom.

Yan Hao mustered his courage and peered into the dormitory from the balcony outside the bathroom. In the dim light, only the Christina poster on the dormitory door seemed to be grinning foolishly at him. Looking out, the first thing that caught his eye was the Basic Medical Sciences Department building standing in the deepening twilight. It looked somewhat desolate and forlorn. If the building had a spirit, it would probably be mocking him.

Yan Hao recalled the third ironclad rule Wang Yanyan had warned him about. He felt a pang of regret—he had only been at the school for a few days, yet he had already completely broken this rule. Moreover, he truly felt what it meant to feel eery and ghostly.

"Let's just give up... Sigh!" Yan Hao thought to himself secretly.

That evening, Shen Zihan returned to her dormitory and brought Yan Hao some good news: Ren Xuefei had a good impression of her, a fellow Sichuan native.

Yan Hao was lying in bed at that moment. He hadn't gone to self-study, nor had he eaten dinner, and he didn't seem to be in a good mood. Shen Zihan deliberately leaned closer and whispered in his ear with an ambiguous expression, "Miss Ren said this herself during dinner. She said you're quite manly, and you play soccer pretty well too. Haha! I think you have a chance. You weren't scared to death today, were you?! Haozi, you got what you deserved!"

Yan Hao snorted and turned his head to face the wall. None of his dorm mates knew he had a girlfriend, and that they were even going to university in the same city.

Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.

For the first time in his life, Yan Hao, who was asleep, began to have nightmares.

He saw the white sheet from the taxidermy room. The sheet floated towards him, and he saw two hands behind it—two withered, dark brown hands with long fingernails—waving. He tried to move, but couldn't. Suddenly, one hand grabbed him, its long, sharp nails digging into the back of Yan Hao's hand, and it cried out hoarsely, "It's me, it's me, it's me..."

Yan Hao struggled to break free, but his body was too weak. He woke up with a start during the violent struggle and saw that Liao Guangzhi was grabbing his hand and shaking it back and forth. Guangzhi blinked his small eyes and said, "What are you yelling for, Haozi! It's already 12:30, don't you want anyone to sleep?"

Yan Hao rubbed his sleepy eyes and asked Liao Guangzhi instead, "What did I shout?"

Liao Guangzhi moved his thick lips and said, "I just heard you saying 'Don't look for me, don't look for me.' Who's looking for you? Could it be a vixen? Maybe that bone you touched during the day belonged to a vixen."

Yan Hao shook his head, his gaze blank. He couldn't remember any of it, nor did he want to think about it anymore. He waved to Liao Guangzhi and said, "I was just dreaming, it's nothing."

It was another full moon night. Yan Hao, sitting on the edge of the bed, lit a cigarette. Looking at the moon outside the window, he let the smoke swirl around him, but his mood was extremely depressed.

Two deep fingernail marks remained on the back of his hand, stinging painfully. Those must have been left by Liao Guangzhi! He dared not think too much about it.

If Jiang Boyu had to use every word he could think of to describe his feelings for his ideal lover, it would be "graceful."

If Jiang Boyu had to attach such a somewhat old-fashioned term to someone, then he would definitely do something for that person for no reason at all.

However, if this person cannot understand Jiang Boyu's actions, then she certainly cannot understand why she would do certain things for no reason.

This person is He Jihong.

He Jihong had already done something for no apparent reason when she graduated from high school.

Before she filled out her college application after graduating from high school, her parents consulted her about her major. She chose medicine, specifically clinical medicine, which is known for its arduous and demanding nature.

This choice surprised her parents. In their minds, why should a girl become a doctor? Leaving aside the hardships of five years of study, even as a resident physician, she'd be working around the clock. And even after slowly working her way up to attending physician or chief physician, her income might not reach the level of the wealthy. Besides, how much youth does a girl have? Marriage, children, and the daily grind—all these things need to be considered. If she then desperately strives for professional titles and is busy with work, happiness might seem a distant dream.

Besides, He Jihong has the means and the means to avoid taking the risk of gambling with her youth.

Her father was a history professor at a normal university, and her mother was the head of the finance department of a large state-owned enterprise in the area. Whether you call it a family of scholars or a family with a privileged background, having such a family was fortunate for He Jihong.

He Jihong's parents felt that it was better for a girl to be a teacher, work in finance, or be a clerk than a doctor. He Jihong's father even said that she could choose any major at the Normal University.

He Jihong's parents' thinking is not without reason.

Their generation lived through dramatic social changes. They considered issues comprehensively, were cautious and prudent, and avoided taking risks. In fact, they rarely made any decisions without a high degree of certainty. They only had one daughter, He Jihong, and her happiness and future were related to their reputation, their old age, and even their lives.

But He Jihong's persistence, for the first time in her life, shocked her parents. She raised her long, thin eyebrows and said, "I really have to study. I'm interested in being a doctor. Really!" Her tone was resolute, leaving no room for negotiation.

In fact, she had already filled out her college application form and handed it to her homeroom teacher before she said those words. She was the top science student in the entire school in the college entrance examination.

All her aspirations were to study clinical medicine at medical schools or medical schools of comprehensive universities.

He Jihong couldn't explain why she was so fascinated by medicine. Neither her parents nor any of her close relatives had any connection to medicine.

Therefore, when faced with everyone's doubts and questions, He Jihong habitually used Ronald McDonald's advertising slogan: "I just like it."

I like it, what's it to you if I'm just an Earthling?

This attitude completely shattered He Jihong's father's preaching of "learning from history" and her mother's theory that "numbers explain everything." They believed in experience and evidence, and they did the same when choosing a major for their daughter. They had been losing sleep over this matter and arguing endlessly.

He Jihong's views are very clear, individualistic, and simple. She only advocates "love what you do, and do it."

"I will definitely publish a paper in the American journal *Science*, and I will definitely strive for the Nobel Prize." To her parents, He Jihong's earnest vows were nothing but wild talk, nonsense, and delusional fantasies.

Their beloved daughter's betrayal left them heartbroken, angry, and helpless, eventually shifting their focus to blaming each other for poor parenting. While the parents were embroiled in a bitter argument, and the family atmosphere turned icy cold, He Jihong packed her bags and left without saying goodbye, embarking on a trip to the Three Gorges and Zhangjiajie.

Three days before school started, she appeared before her parents, looking dark-skinned and thin, and said, "None of you need to take me to school. I'll go by myself. I'll earn my own living expenses!"

Objectively speaking, He Jihong wasn't pretty. At least by some of the standards of beauty that boys consider attractive, she was far from being outstanding. Her skin wasn't fair, and she was very thin. Her only redeeming quality was her legs—they were excessively long and slender.

But for Jiang Boyu, He Jihong's appearance was something he couldn't afford to miss! His view was: if the probability of meeting a beautiful girl in one's lifetime is fifty percent, then the probability of meeting a graceful girl is only one percent.

"Graceful" signifies a different taste and style, an extraordinary and unconventional demeanor, and even a touch of detachment from the world, a selfless and devoted spirit. Jiang Boyu believes that this word is perfectly apt and fitting for He Jihong.

For example, her eyes aren't very big, and she has single eyelids. Only her long, thin eyebrows gently and delicately rest above her curled eyelashes, giving her eyes a lot of charm and gentleness. This charm and gentleness are both innate and inherited from He Jihong's good genes and family background.

Who would have thought that this charm and gentleness was just an outward illusion!

It can only be said that He Jihong's outward appearance is too deceptive. Her inner stubbornness and persistence are beyond the imagination of most people.

Before registering at school, she insisted on returning the living expenses her parents had given her. She said she wanted to keep her word. To earn money, she took on three tutoring jobs during her freshman year and also worked as a cleaner in the school cafeteria for 8.5 yuan an hour.

To avoid falling behind in her studies, she doesn't return to her dorm until 11:30 every night. Before going to bed, she spends half an hour memorizing English vocabulary.

Her classmates all knew she was very busy, but she enjoyed it immensely. This girl, whom many assumed was from a poor family, carried a large IBM laptop to class every day, wearing only ordinary sportswear and jeans. She wasn't very talkative and gave off a strong sense of distance.

Her IBM laptop was bought with her father's savings as a reward for winning a gold medal in the Physics Olympiad in high school. Back in 1997, laptops were still rare, but He Jihong was already proficient in using a computer to dial up to the internet, study English, and complete her homework.

She didn't try to be different. Her life was simply a habit for her.

Jiang Boyu noticed her in the school cafeteria. He had been watching her for a long time.

Wearing the blue coat of a cafeteria worker, she moved between each food counter. Her job was to collect the plates left behind by students after they finished eating and wipe the messy tables clean.

She had shoulder-length black hair, but she simply tied it all back with a plastic hair clip, revealing her smooth forehead. Her gaze was calm, and her movements were efficient. But it was that temperament and demeanor that set her apart from everyone else.

In the bustling university cafeteria, He Jihong moved gracefully and freely across countless food counters. Amidst the clamor, her gaze remained calm and serene.

One event triggered Jiang Boyu's impulse to get to know her.

That day, after finishing his meal, a boy deliberately left a half-eaten steamed bun on the table that He Jihong had just cleared. He even waved his hand and said, "Take it away, it's disgusting!"

He Jihong stopped what she was doing and said, "Please take it with you, okay?" The boy looked at her with provocation and contempt and said, "You're just a worker, why are you so talkative? I told you to take it, so take it." He then muttered to himself, "You bitch!"

He Jihong must have heard everything. Before he could even finish speaking, a sharp "slap" landed on his left cheek. The crisp sound of the slap stunned everyone around. The boy suddenly stood there dumbfounded. He Jihong, who had slapped him with her right hand, picked up the half-eaten steamed bun he had thrown away with her left, took a big bite, and said, "Scumbag! You fucking say another word and see what happens!" The boy had probably never seen anything like it before, probably never seen a seemingly gentle girl use such foul language. Without uttering a sound, he squeezed through the crowd and slunk away, looking utterly humiliated.

Jiang Boyu was sitting not far from He Jihong at the time. In that moment, he thought that if the boy dared to fight back, he would definitely rush over. Later, he realized that this girl was just different from others in terms of her toughness.

Later, through secret inquiries, Jiang Boyu learned her name and found out that she was a student in the Department of Clinical Medicine, Class of '97, the secretary of the Youth League branch in her class, and a girl who was generally said to have excellent academic performance but a very eccentric temper.

Initially, Jiang Boyu found almost no opportunity to approach He Jihong. He was a freshman in the Anesthesiology Department, class of '98, and normally students from different departments would keep to themselves. Just the fact that He Jihong was a year ahead of him, making her his senior, gave her the right to look down on a kid like him.

If there is no opportunity, Jiang Boyu will certainly create one.

He learned that He Jihong was a person who loved exercise and sports, and had won the all-around championship at the school sports meet in high school. Because of this, she was selected for the school track and field team as soon as she started college. The coach said, "You have great explosive power, so practice hurdles and the 200 meters."