Anatomy Class, Dissecting My Ex-Girlfriend

In anatomy class, the corpse turned out to be my ex-girlfriend...

I remember it was the final anatomy session of my junior year, and the classroom was thick with the pungent stench of formaldehyde.

The instructor asked me to lead the dissection, and as a medical student, I agreed without a moment's hesitation.

But when I pulled back the white sheet and clearly saw the body on the table, I was stunned into silence.

There lay my ex-girlfriend, resting quietly on the dissection table...

Her name was Bai Xiaoyu, and we had met at a bus stop.

It was raining that day, and seeing that I didn't have an umbrella, she held hers over me to keep me dry.

I thought she was beautiful and kind-hearted, so I asked for her WeChat.

We grew closer, went on many dates, and naturally, we ended up together.

When we first started dating, her health wasn't great; her complexion was pale, and her lips often lacked color.

However, she had a wonderful personality and was very gentle.

We never fought once, but we never had any overly intimate contact either.

It wasn't that I didn't want to; it was that she was very resistant to it.

Every time, she would say she wasn't ready and asked me to wait.

Seeing how cautious she was, I eventually let go of those thoughts.

But we only ever met at night, and it always had to be after ten o'clock.

I had asked her about this before.

She told me she worked during the day at a research institute.

The work was demanding, phones were forbidden during hours, and she had almost no vacation time.

Only at night did she have time to come out.

I had to admit, my ex-girlfriend was exceptional.

She was in her early twenties and already working at a research institute, while I was still in university.

I kept thinking that I should treat her well.

It isn't easy to find a girl who is both kind-hearted and so talented.

However, my ex-girlfriend did have some unique habits.

She was extremely against taking photos.

Every time I wanted to take a picture with her, she would flatly refuse and become unusually angry.

She was also very socially anxious. We didn't go shopping or watch movies on our dates; she would either drag me to the park or we would just walk the streets.

She also particularly hated cats and dogs, and for some reason, she was a magnet for them to bark at her.

Several times during our dates, stray or pet dogs passing by would bark wildly at her.

They would bark until they were hoarse, as if they were mortal enemies.

Once, in order to chase away those relentless barking strays, I even got bitten on the hand by one of them.

When Xiao Yu saw it, she was heartbroken.

Seeing how worried she was, I pulled her into a tight hug.

That was when I noticed her body was cold, and there was a faint, strange smell on her.

It smelled a bit like the odor in our school's morgue.

I didn't pay it much mind, though.

I just told her it was nothing and not to worry.

She wouldn't listen and insisted on taking me to the hospital.

When we finally arrived, the hospital was closed, unless we went to the Center for Disease Control.

I saw it was already past one in the morning, and she had to work the next day, so I told her to head back.

I would go to the hospital myself the next day; as long as I got the shot within 24 hours, it would be fine.

After I assured her repeatedly, Xiao Yu finally left.

But when I went out to get the vaccine the next day, I found a cart piled high with the carcasses of stray dogs by the roadside.

I heard from a nearby sanitation worker that someone had poisoned the dogs along several streets of Xuefu Road the night before.

What I saw was only a small portion of them.

After that incident, I never encountered another stray dog while on a date with Xiao Yu.

Even the few dogs at our school were poisoned to death.

However, it was also after that incident that Xiao Yu started asking me for money.

She didn't ask for much—just a dollar or two each time, not even enough for a cup of milk tea.

I didn't think much of it and offered to send it via WeChat.

But she didn't want that; she only wanted coins.

They had to be the kind minted in 2018. If the year was different or the amount was short, she wouldn't take them.

I asked her why she needed coins from that specific year, and why she was so particular.

She would just mumble and refuse to say.

I kept pressing her, and in the end, she only gave me three words: "To buy a life."

I wondered to myself, what kind of life could a few measly coins buy?

Even the goldfish sold at our school gate cost five or ten dollars each.

Seeing she really didn't want to talk about it, I stopped asking.

But after that, she started making some strange requests of me.

Every first and fifteenth of the lunar month, she insisted on meeting me.

And every time we met, she wouldn't allow me to wear anything red—no clothes, no shoes, not even underwear.

She would even check before we met, which was incredibly embarrassing.

Not only that, but Xiao Yu would return the coins I had given her previously.

She made me spend them within the day.

She said that once a coin had been blessed, it lost its luck and had to be spent.

The process had to be filmed for her to see.

I had heard long ago that people in research had strange quirks.

Clearly, my ex-girlfriend was no exception.

Our sweet relationship continued for over a year.

During that time, every time we met, I would give her one or two 2018 coins, and then take back one or two to spend.

Month after month, it was the same.

That was until a week ago.

We were on a date as usual, and after it ended, I took back a coin, intending to spend it.

But because my course schedule was quite tight the next day, I ended up putting it off...