The movie was a domestic comedy, and it was actually pretty entertaining. Even Jiang Yue, in a bad mood, laughed several times.
Han Jingjing was even more carefree, laughing nonstop through the whole movie.
After they left the theater, Han Jingjing still hadn't recovered. She kept saying she couldn't go on and wanted Jiang Yue to carry her.
After much cajoling, he finally got Han Jingjing to her apartment building. Suddenly, she leaned closer, blushing and looking a little embarrassed. "Jiang Yue, thanks for indulging me today. I know you didn't really want to see a movie, right?"
"No, the movie was pretty good."
"Do you remember what I told you?" Han Jingjing moved so close that her lips were almost against Jiang Yue's earlobe. Her warm, fragrant breath brushed his ear, making it buzz.
"What did you say?"
"I..." Han Jingjing started to explain, then abruptly stopped.
But next, she did something even bolder than anyone could have expected.
She suddenly wrapped her arms around Jiang Yue's neck, gave his lips a light kiss, then let go and ran off, her face bright red.
Jiang Yue was left standing there, stunned.
Han Jingjing jogged to the entrance of her building, then suddenly stopped and turned around. The little purse in her hand swung back and forth in front of her knees as if she were weighing something.
Then she came bouncing back.
"Brother Jiang Yue, I thought about it, and I can't take advantage of you for nothing. So I have a secret to tell you."
Han Jingjing, who usually never hesitated or looked back when she did things, actually spent quite a while looking around this time.
Only after making sure no one could suddenly appear did she whisper, "Jiang Yue, this physical exam is really important. It was ordered by the highest authorities. Strange mutations are happening all over the world. Some people think the human body will start changing too. So starting now, any day could turn out to be the end of the world..."
Han Jingjing didn't continue. Her bright, watery eyes gazed at Jiang Yue, filled with the innocence, shyness, and courage unique to her age.
The look in her eyes clearly said she wished she could take her heart in her hands and show it to Jiang Yue. That was the only way to make him understand all the things she couldn't bring herself to say out loud.
If tomorrow is the end of the world, I want to give him my first kiss after seventeen years...
Ding-dong, ding-dong.
Just then, Jiang Yue's phone rang.
He took it out and saw that it was Officer Han.
"Officer Han?" Jiang Yue gestured to Han Jingjing that he was going to answer the call, then walked a few steps away.
"Little Jiang, we pulled some strings and got the DNA comparison done as quickly as possible. All the key evidence at the scene—hair, bodily fluids, fingerprints, skin cells, and so on—matched Sun Bin perfectly. Your teacher really is a beast in human clothing!"
"And according to the surveillance footage, Sun Bin was definitely in your residential compound this morning. We have solid evidence placing him there."
Officer Han was clearly furious too. How could anyone stay unmoved by such a brutal and depraved crime?
Jiang Yue's mind went blank with a buzzing roar. He couldn't even remember how he ended the call.
Was Old Sun really the rapist and murderer?
Old Sun had been to New Moon Bay to visit Jiang Yue's family. Jiang Yue was sure of that. But how could he have raped and murdered a female student during the visit? Had it been a spur-of-the-moment decision, or had he planned it all along?
Jiang Yue's mind was full of questions.
The world had changed. That was now beyond doubt.
But the old scientific framework hadn't necessarily been overturned overnight.
The surveillance footage showed Old Sun at the scene, and they had found his hair, bodily fluids, fingerprints, and skin cells there.
That was all irrefutable evidence. There was no way to disprove it.
He got back to New Moon Bay a little after nine. Perhaps because of the vicious crime that morning, no one was out and about in the compound at this hour.
The security booth was quiet too. Usually, the guard liked to listen to old songs on a vintage music player around this time, but it seemed he had succumbed to the spring drowsiness. There wasn't a sound from the booth tonight.
The light spring rain had started up again.
Clack, clack!
Some of the paving stones on the compound's narrow paths had grown uneven with age. Every so often, a footstep made them clatter.
That only made the night seem quieter and lonelier.
Jiang Yue pulled his sweatshirt tighter around himself and drew up the hood, both to keep off the rain and to stay warm.
The chill of early spring wasn't supposed to compare to the depths of winter.
But tonight—
The wind was bone-chillingly cold. It was cold in a way that felt wrong.
Especially after he entered the compound, the temperature seemed to plunge by more than ten degrees in an instant.
It felt as if he had suddenly fallen into a vast ice cavern, making him shiver uncontrollably.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
The wind blew harder and harder, tossing the branches from side to side.
Leaves and grass rustled and whispered, as if someone were murmuring in the darkness, adding to the eerie sense of the unknown.
Somebody's window was being rattled by the wind, creaking in a way that sent chills down his spine.
Yow—yow!
Out of nowhere, a chilling wail came from the darkness beyond the streetlights, sounding just like a baby crying.
Even though he knew it was probably a cat in heat, he still broke out in a fine sweat.
Maybe it was just his imagination, but the three-minute walk home seemed especially long tonight.
The streetlights, already dim, seemed fainter than usual, like an old man on his last breath, his life liable to go out at any moment.
Suddenly, Jiang Yue stopped.
He had no eyes in the back of his head, and he hadn't heard a thing.
But his sixth sense suddenly warned him that something was approaching from behind.
Almost as soon as he stopped—
A hand appeared behind him. It was thin and bloodless-looking, and it patted his shoulder.
"Excuse me, how do I get to Building 8, Unit 2?"
Jiang Yue spun around. A deathly pale face was almost pressed against his.
"Excuse me, how do I get to Building 8, Unit 2?"
The person asking for directions was a student about Jiang Yue's age, wearing the uniform of Star City No. 3 High School. Perhaps she was a little shy; her eyes darted away, and she nervously kept tugging at the hem of her uniform.
Jiang Yue didn't answer. His gaze was cold as a knife as he stared at her face.
The seconds ticked by.
The rain grew heavier and heavier.
Rainwater fell all over Jiang Yue's head and face, then dripped down his cheeks.
"Excuse me, how do I get to Building 8, Unit 2?"
The schoolgirl's voice was icy and lifeless. She mechanically repeated the same question.
Suddenly, a golden light surged through Jiang Yue's mind, as though someone had pressed a button. A sacred halo that no one but Jiang Yue could see, yet that was undeniably real, rapidly spread out from his body.
It was as if countless golden Dharma figures appeared alongside the humming chants of Buddhist hymns, spreading outward with the halo.
Ah!
A look of utter terror shot through the schoolgirl's vacant eyes.
She let out a piercing scream that shattered the silence of the night.
Then the schoolgirl seemed to turn into a cloud of thick smoke, which was suddenly blown apart and quickly vanished into thin air.
The rain stopped.
The wind stopped.
The streetlights seemed to brighten a little too.
Jiang Yue was completely dry. It hadn't rained on him at all.
"Brother Jiang Yue?"
A delighted voice suddenly called from behind him. The sound of quick, cheerful footsteps followed.
"Xiao Yi?"
The person who had shown up was an old acquaintance. She was the girl next door in the same building. Just yesterday, he had run into her parents, Uncle Ye and Aunt Zhang, in the hallway, and they had mentioned her.
"It really is you, Brother Jiang Yue!" Xiao Yi exclaimed, grabbing his arm and bouncing excitedly.
She was a few years younger than Jiang Yue and in her second year of junior high. A girl her age was just beginning to have crushes.
Jiang Yue was good-looking and did well in school. He was the boyfriend Xiao Yi dreamed about.
"Xiao Yi, what are you doing out here so late?"
He had just been through such a terrifying ordeal. Even though he was sure Xiao Yi was a living person, he couldn't help feeling uneasy.
"I came downstairs to throw out the trash. On the way, I ran into a girl who said she couldn't find Building 8, Unit 2, so she asked me to show her the way. I don't know what happened, but as I walked with her, we somehow ended up here."
Xiao Yi was always a bit absent-minded, and her explanation was just as muddled.
But hearing it made Jiang Yue break out in a cold sweat. That little girl had just walked right up to the gates of hell.
"You didn't take her there, did you?"
"I did! We just hadn't reached Building 8 yet. Huh? Where'd that girl go?" Only then did Xiao Yi realize the girl had disappeared. She rose onto her tiptoes and looked around.
"Xiao Yi, I came from over there just now. Did you see me?"
"No. I was walking along, and suddenly I felt so cold, like the wind had picked up too. My vision blurred for a moment, and when I opened my eyes, I saw you, Brother Jiang Yue. Oh, right—did you see that girl? I wonder if she found Building 8."
Jiang Yue felt his scalp tingle.
A chill crept over his forehead, and three terrifying words surfaced in his mind.
Ghosts had led them in circles!
No wonder the walk home had felt so long tonight. No wonder he'd imagined it was raining.
No wonder he and Xiao Yi had been less than ten meters apart, yet neither of them could see or hear the other!
Xiao Yi had just walked right up to the gates of hell, yet she still looked worried about the missing girl. Jiang Yue didn't know what to say.
She wasn't just carefree; she was lucky too.
If he hadn't happened to enter the compound at the same time, if he'd arrived even a few minutes later, things could have ended in a far more horrifying way...
Wait...
Jiang Yue's expression suddenly changed as something came to mind!
Building 8, Unit 2?
Why did that place sound so familiar?
He'd definitely heard about it today!
He racked his brain, searching for the answer.
Soon, it came to him.
He'd spent quite a while listening to people talk in the small plaza about that murder earlier that day.
Someone had mentioned that the victim of the rape and murder was surnamed Su and lived in Building 8, Unit 2!
Another wave of icy dread swept over Jiang Yue!
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