Rainstorm

"What are you looking at? By the way, are you hungry?"

A single remark from the class monitor pulled Luo Di's thoughts back from the window. It was already 19:30 when he checked the time. Movies really did make time fly.

"Nothing. Give me a moment."

Less than fifteen minutes later, Luo Di brought out four freshly steamed buns from the kitchen, along with a large plate of shredded pork with pickled mustard greens and sour radish.

"Let's eat while we watch."

Perhaps some kind of keyword had been triggered, because the class monitor suddenly became so excited she nearly jumped off the couch.

"This is way too perfect! I'd never be allowed to do this at home. If I did anything besides eat during a meal, I'd get scolded to death."

She carefully copied Luo Di, stuffing the stir-fried dish and dried radish into a bun in proper proportions. When she took a bite, layers of rich flavor instantly blossomed in her mouth.

As she savored the delicious food, her eyes were also taking in the entertainment on the screen.

This was truly her first time experiencing something like this.

Something so ordinary for most people stimulated the class monitor's nerves, making her tear ducts active. She did not even realize liquid was seeping from her eyes.

"Luo Di... thank you."

One hand held a bun while the other curled a dumbbell. Luo Di remained focused on the movie, but this time, he gave a quiet response.

"Mm."

There was no need for a nighttime run, which naturally left them with plenty of extra time that evening.

The two of them ended up watching three whole movies in a row. They even discussed them along the way, with Luo Di explaining some of the details and settings, giving her a rundown on the origins and abilities of the killers, and so on.

The class monitor sat cross-legged and upright, just as if she were in class. The only thing missing was a notebook.

22:40

As the credits rolled, their movie marathon came to an end.

The class monitor stretched her body backward and yawned repeatedly.

"Happy times always pass so quickly.

"Luo Di, it's fine if you don't have an extra blanket. I won't be cold if I cover myself with my down jacket. Your heating is pretty strong—I even feel like taking off my socks."

However, Luo Di, who was squatting in front of the television to put away the discs, suddenly said:

"Come sleep in my room."

"Huh? Didn't you say I'd sleep on the couch?"

"I'll make you a bed on the floor in my room... Thinking about it, the residential complex is still under lockdown, and I have a faintly bad feeling."

Luo Di still remembered the silhouette he had glimpsed outside the window several hours ago. He had probably seen it wrong, but as long as there was even the slightest possibility, he was unwilling to take the risk.

"...Mm, okay."

It was the class monitor's first time entering the bedroom of a boy her age, let alone spending the night there, so she was somewhat nervous. But the thought of getting to explore Luo Di's mysterious bedroom also made her excited.

When she entered, there was none of the strange smell or clothes hanging everywhere that she had heard about during chats with her girlfriends. Like the rest of the apartment, it was tidy.

It was a very simple bedroom layout.

The vertically sliding blackout curtains ensured that no one could see what was happening inside.

A five-foot-wide storage bed stood beside a desk that was just large enough for one person.

However, compared to the minimalist style of the rest of the apartment, Luo Di's bedroom had quite a few more miscellaneous items.

Various posters related to B-movies were stuck to the walls.

Several exorcism novels were neatly stacked by the bed.

As for the discs, Luo Di had stored them in the desk drawers.

"Wow, did you draw this?"

The class monitor's unease was immediately defeated by curiosity. She quickly walked to the desk, where a mask Luo Di had drawn himself was posted up. Every line showed how much thought had gone into it, and beneath the books were many sheets of paper containing mask designs.

"Yes."

"It looks great! I think it has more character than the masks worn by those killers in tonight's movies."

"Once I get my school advancement bonus, I plan to have one of the masks from those sketches custom-made."

"You can make it now~ I'll pay for it. Consider it payment for today's meal and lodging."

"No... Let's talk about it after graduation."

Luo Di took bedding from atop the wardrobe and spread it on the floor.

"Luo Di, do you have any shorts? The kind you wear over your clothes when exercising. Could I borrow them for the night... I probably didn't notice while watching the movies, but my tights are kind of sweaty. They'd probably be really uncomfortable to sleep in.

"Also, I need a towel. If you really don't have one, I can just wipe myself with my clothes."

"You're taking a shower too?"

"Of course~ I worked out at home with you today, and the heat was on. I didn't notice how much I was sweating."

Luo Di directly tossed her a folded set of athletic shorts and an everyday T-shirt. "Wear the shorts. Use the shirt as a towel. I'll wash them together after you leave.

"As for a toothbrush and stuff, there probably aren't any spares at home. Just make do with your finger."

"Okay."

"Go take your shower."

As the sound of the shower came from the bathroom, Luo Di went to his desk and took out the notebook hidden deep in the drawer, carefully recording everything that had happened that day.

Although his daily routine had been completely disrupted, he did not feel his usual irritation. Instead, he had an unusually positive mood.

After finishing his diary,

Luo Di went to the balcony again to feed the Corner Parrot. He also checked the position of the air conditioner's outdoor unit and the locked window.

After confirming everything was in order, he returned to his room and carefully placed the Machete beneath the mattress, where he could reach for it at any time while sleeping.

When he looked up again, he happened to see the class monitor entering the room.

But she was not quite as he had expected. The class monitor wore oversized shorts and a T-shirt, while holding her neatly folded Turtleneck Sweater, skirt, and white tights in her hands.

"Didn't I tell you to use the shirt as a towel? Why are you wearing it?"

"Your T-shirt feels much more comfortable to wear. It was pretty hot wearing that sweater... and I rarely wear clothes like that anyway. I've actually felt uncomfortable all day."

"Then what did you wipe yourself with?"

"I'll buy you a roll of toilet paper tomorrow~"

"Go to sleep. The lockdown should be lifted by morning."

The door and windows were all locked.

The overhead light was switched off.

The bedside lamp, however, remained on, ensuring the room stayed within a fixed range of illumination.

Normally, the bedroom curtains would also be left open to ensure outside light could seep in. Even if the power went out, the room would still remain bright enough.

Tonight, because the class monitor was staying over, Luo Di had lowered the curtains.

About five minutes later, the class monitor's voice came from beneath the bed. "I can't fall asleep at all... Want to chat?"

But the only response she received was faint snoring.

"Tch~"

The class monitor's arm extended from beneath the covers and reached up along the bed, intending to touch Luo Di's arm, but she ultimately pulled it back.

She wrapped herself tightly in the bedding and slowly fell asleep to the white noise created by the torrential rain.

A ray of morning sunlight slipped through a gap at the edge of the curtains and landed directly on Luo Di's face.

Perhaps because yesterday had been so different, Luo Di seemed particularly exhausted. Drowsiness fiercely resisted the opening of his eyelids, leaving his vision blurry.

Through the haze,

Luo Di, sleeping on his side, unexpectedly glimpsed a raised shape beneath the bedding in front of him. Its outline was that of a slender human body lying on its side.

The sight instantly woke him up. His vision filled with black hair, and he could even see a patch of pure white shoulder. Yet scars marked what should have been a flawless shoulder.

For a moment,

Luo Di's thoughts slowed. He could not understand why the class monitor was sleeping beside him, completely naked.

Just as he reached out to touch her shoulder,

Buzz! The wristband vibrated.

He had received a text message. The sender was Wu Wen.

"Luo Di, the residential complex was unlocked last night. My family urgently wanted me home, and you looked like you were sleeping so soundly that I didn't wake you up. I'll come find you to hang out again in a few days ()."

Luo Di's entire body instantly tensed.

His other hand had already reached for the Machete beneath the mattress.

Of course, he did not immediately slash the person beside him. The message could have simply been a joke from the class monitor.

With one hand gripping the Machete and the other grabbing the shoulder of the person beside him, he tried to turn her over to confirm her identity.

With a gentle push from his arm, the person beside him slowly rotated, changing from lying on her side to lying flat on her back.

There were no facial features.

The entire face consisted only of a massive mouth in the center, shriveled and covered in scorch marks like a cave from hell.

It was packed with tongues of all sizes.

When Luo Di looked at the tongues, the little things immediately tensed and slapped against the walls of the mouth together.

Click!

The powerful sound of tongues snapping swept through his mind, shattering the scene around him.

Luo Di's eyes opened once more.

He truly woke up.

It was not morning. The bedside lamp was still on, and the wristband showed the time as 02:40.

"A dream...?"

Luo Di instinctively looked beside him. He was the only one on the bed, while the class monitor slept soundly on the floor bedding.

Perhaps because he had not gone for a nighttime run and had not fully worked the water out of his body, a fierce urge to urinate struck him.

Without disturbing the class monitor, Luo Di walked on tiptoe and quietly left the bedroom.

The torrential rain continued.

The nightmare had left his mind abnormally alert. After Luo Di finished using the bathroom and walked back toward the bedroom, his ears suddenly caught an incongruous sound.

It was the sound of rain splashing into the apartment.

He decisively went to the living room. The balcony window, which should have been shut, was slightly open.

The moment Luo Di realized something was wrong,

Click~ The power went out.

All the lights inside went dark at once. Fortunately, the streetlights outside remained on, preventing the apartment from falling into complete darkness.

Boom!

A bolt of thunder struck at just the right moment.

On the ceiling between Luo Di and the bedroom, a monster with an indistinguishable face was clinging overhead.

It was difficult to call it humanoid.

Because both its front and back had heads, along with black hair hanging down and swaying in the air...