Chocolate, the Returning Coin

I was especially sensitive to coins now, so I gave it another look.

To my surprise, it was the very coin I had dug out of Xiao Yu's mouth yesterday, the one Zhang Qiang had taken back to the dormitory.

Zhang Qiang had clearly said he was going to use it to buy soy milk this morning.

So why had that guy left the coin on my desk?

And that chocolate—hadn't Zhang Qiang eaten it? Why was it still here?

Had I remembered wrong?

No, that was absolutely impossible.

The only explanation was that Zhang Qiang had bought another bar today and put it back where it had been.

But I didn't believe Zhang Qiang would buy a replacement and return it to me after eating my food.

A bad feeling spread through my heart, and I became afraid that something terrible had happened.

Especially since the coin Xiao Yu had held in her mouth was resting on top of it.

With a grave expression, I picked up the chocolate bar, inexplicably growing tense.

Uneasily, I tore open the wrapper and took a small bite.

But the moment I bit down, half my body went cold.

Not only was the chocolate in my mouth not bitter at all, it did not even have the slightest sweetness or chocolate fragrance.

It was utterly tasteless, like chewing wax.

In that instant, my eyes flew wide open in terror, and I hurriedly spat out the flavorless chocolate.

With a panicked expression, I stared at Zhang Qiang's bed and the chocolate in my hand.

The whole dorm room suddenly seemed to have turned cold and sinister.

I had heard old people say before—

Anything eaten by filthy things would lose its taste.

Thinking of everything about Zhang Qiang's return last night, my entire body felt wrong...

Just then, the phone on the desk suddenly lit up.

It was a group message notification. One glance, and two words immediately caught my attention: "Obituary."

It was a death announcement, and the group where it had been posted was our class group chat.

The bad feeling made me pick up my phone in fear and trepidation.

The moment I opened the message, half my body went cold.

"Classmate Zhang Qiang of this class drowned and passed away at Emerald Willow Lake on campus at 18:00 on May 17, X020, at the age of 20..."

The obituary had been posted by our counselor.

Below it were all our classmates' replies: "Rest in peace."

After reading the obituary, every hair on my body stood on end.

When Zhang Qiang returned yesterday, it had been around six o'clock.

He had even said he heard someone calling him at Little White Bridge, which was right beside Emerald Willow Lake.

Most likely, that had been when he died.

The Zhang Qiang who had complained of being cold last night and leaned over his bed to breathe on me was a ghost...

At that instant, I understood everything.

He had died, but he had come back—and he had even given me that damned coin.

It was as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over me, chilling me from head to toe.

How could I possibly stay in this dorm room any longer?

In a panic, I turned and tried to run out of the dormitory.

But just as I reached the door, the last shred of reason made me stop.

I turned back to look at the coin.

I didn't think Zhang Qiang's death had been an accident.

When he came back, he had been carrying that coin.

Now, the coin had ended up on my desk, pressing down on the chocolate he had eaten yesterday.

Did that mean he had used one yuan to buy the chocolate from me?

If I just left without dealing with the coin,

something might happen to me too...

Thinking about how I had suddenly become sleepy and constantly felt dazed,

I felt that it might be related to this coin.

I didn't want to take that risk. I had to get rid of it.

Though terrified, I had not lost my ability to think independently.

I quickly ran back into the dormitory and picked up the coin again.

If I counted from the time Zhang Qiang had asked me for the chocolate,

then the coin had been in my possession for less than twenty-four hours.

So I had to get rid of it within twenty-four hours.

Then this matter should have nothing to do with me anymore...

Just like before, when Xiao Yu gave me coins and made me spend them within a day.

Based on my past experiences,

there were also rules to the way Xiao Yu had me spend the coins.

I had to find an independent vendor and conduct a one-on-one exchange of goods, handing over the money and taking the item at the same time before it counted as a completed transaction.

And I had to record a video and send it to her.

Supermarkets, vending machines, kiddie rides, and the like would not work.

Thinking about it now, these coins might have carried some kind of taboo.

But no matter what, I had to get rid of this coin. It could not remain in my hands for more than twenty-four hours.

The students passing by all looked at me strangely.

But I ignored them, because no one would believe what I had encountered or what I had seen.

The only person who could save me was myself.

By the time I reached the ground floor, I found that the sky had already turned dusky.

The entire school was bathed in the setting sun, tinged with a faint red...

Watching the students come and go, chatting and laughing, I felt unbearable torment in my heart.

There were only four minutes left until 18:00, the time Zhang Qiang had died yesterday. Time was desperately short.

So long as I spent this coin within these four minutes, everything should be fine, right?

Beside the dormitory building was the school's west gate, and outside it was a street full of food stalls, all independently run by individual vendors.

I had always spent the coins Xiao Yu returned on this street.

And none of those vendors had suffered any harm. On the contrary, their businesses had flourished.

I did not understand what was so strange about these "coins."

But I had to find an independent vendor now and buy something—anything. Even a bottle of water would do.

With that in mind, I clutched the coin and ran out through the west gate.

When I reached the street, I found people flowing everywhere around me.

Since it was mealtime, every shop was packed, with lines still stretching outside.

The only convenience store on either side of the road was closed for renovations.

What remained were drink shops and snack stalls with long queues, as well as small supermarkets that had only cashiers, none of which met the requirements for spending the coin.

Yet there was less than a minute left until 18:00.

What I bought no longer mattered. What mattered was using the coin in my hand immediately.

I swept my gaze across the street and spotted a small vendor nearby selling grilled squid, with no customers at all.

Clutching the coin, I hurried over.

There was still a couple ahead of me, dawdling over their payment.

I hurriedly grabbed a squid skewer instead.

"Squid Master, hurry up, I'm in a rush. Cook it lightly, and don't add any seasoning."

The vendor was a middle-aged uncle, somewhat fat, with only a few strands of greasy hair left on his head.

Hearing that, he froze for a moment. He even narrowed his eyes and looked me up and down.

But then he grinned.

"Don't worry. It'll be ready soon!"

With that, he took the squid and began cooking it on the griddle.

I wanted to pay first and complete the one-on-one transaction with him.

But he told me to wait.

Fortunately, he finished it in the final few seconds.

He handed me the cooked squid.

"Three yuan."

I had already prepared the money: two banknotes and one coin.

As long as the vendor took my money and I took the squid,

the transaction would be complete, and the coin would count as spent.

But to my utter surprise,

Squid Master did not immediately reach out to take it. Instead, he wiped his hands with a handkerchief beside him.

He looked at me with a half-smile and said,

"I don't take cash from you. Scan the code, okay?"