"What's going on? He fell asleep so quickly?" she muttered to herself, searching the bar but finding neither Qingmu nor the restroom.
Strange, how could a bar not have a toilet?
She knew she was in the wrong place, but she couldn't find the light switch in the bar, relying only on the faint light from the streetlights shining in through the window to find her way.
Forget it, I'm not looking anymore.
Hu Xing didn't want to search any further in the dark, so she decided to go upstairs to get her phone and call Qingmu.
Back upstairs, she saw what looked like another room on the other side of the corridor. Could that be the toilet? She thought to herself how silly she was; how could a studio not have a toilet?
She walked down the corridor to the end. Sure enough, there was a toilet there, the same kind as in the school dormitory, where you could wash up and shower.
The restroom was dark, but thankfully clean, and smelled of air freshener. Hu Xing finished, washed her hands, and then went back down the corridor.
She heard the sound of a card game, "Dou Dizhu," coming from the room and wondered what was going on. She opened the door, went in, and lay down on her bed. She remembered that her instructor had taught her lucid dreaming earlier that day. The instructor was new, somewhat handsome, but dressed strangely, often wearing bell-bottoms that looked like they were from the last century, with the hems ripped open.
Let me have another lucid dream and see how long I can hold it in.
However, the dormitory was so noisy that she couldn't sleep at all.
Two gaming enthusiasts were frantically clicking their mice in front of the computer, shouting excitedly. Several people playing Dou Dizhu (a card game) were also going wild, getting four twos one minute and a royal flush the next, their voices filled with excitement.
Hu Xing endured it for a long time, but finally couldn't take it anymore. She stood up and yelled, "Aren't you guys letting people get any sleep?"
The card player raised his hand in mid-air, turned to look at him, and the room fell silent. Then, he suddenly turned his head and slammed his cards on the table, shouting "Four twos!" and "Ace of Spades!"
Helpless, Hu Xing rushed out the door, walked through the long, dark corridor, rushed into the bathroom, and turned on the tap to splash cold water on her face.
When I came out of the bathroom, I found that all the motion-activated lights in the hallway were broken. Fortunately, the hallway wasn't long, and the sound of people playing cards in the rooms was loud, so I wouldn't get lost even in the dark.
Hu Xing followed the sound, leaning against the wall as she walked forward. As she walked, the sound of playing cards suddenly stopped, and the once noisy corridor became quiet, leaving only darkness.
Did she go too far? Hu Xing found it strange. She could walk such a short distance with her eyes closed without making a mistake. How could she have gone too far? She took a few steps back, but there was still no sound of anyone. However, she heard the sound of rushing water behind her.
She remembered that she seemed to have forgotten to turn off the tap after washing her face, but she clearly turned around, so the sound should have been in front of her. Why was it still behind her?
She turned around and walked back, intending to go back to the bathroom to turn off the tap. It was pitch black, and she could only feel her way along the wall, but no matter how she walked, she couldn't reach the end. The sound of the running tap remained behind her. A sense of fear welled up inside her, and her steps became hurried.
The sound of the flowing water grew louder and louder, like a waterfall.
Her hands, which were touching the wall, felt damp and sticky, as if something was flowing down the wall from the ceiling. She raised her hand and smelled it; it had a slightly earthy smell, and it seemed like there were insect-like things crawling in the sticky liquid.
Hu Xing hurriedly shook her hand, no longer daring to lean against the wall, and wandered aimlessly in the darkness like a headless fly. The viscous liquid around her piled up under her feet, feeling as if it had reached above her ankles. She stumbled forward and bumped into the wall, but fortunately, the viscous liquid made the wall soft, so the impact on her head didn't hurt much.
Her hand touched a doorknob, and her heart leaped with joy. She felt she had found a lifeline with the Tushu, so she pushed the door open and saw that the room was pitch black except for a computer screen.
She saw her roommates all lying in bed, except for one of the two gaming addicts who was still frantically clicking the mouse in front of the computer. She wanted to shout to them that the ceiling in the hallway outside seemed to be leaking and that they should run. But for some reason, she couldn't make a sound.
She tried to shake everyone awake, but as soon as she stepped into the room, she found herself in empty space. The dormitory had no floor; the bunk beds and computer desks were floating in mid-air. The ground beneath her feet was hollow, deep and unfathomable, with a chilling wind pulling her body downwards.
She tried to scream but couldn't. She frantically groped in the air, trying to grab onto something. Suddenly, her wish came true; a strong hand grabbed her wrist.
Her heart trembled the moment that hand touched hers. She used the man's strength to climb up, and then she saw her father's stern yet kind face.
"Dad..." she called out.
"How could you be so careless?" the father said. "You must take good care of yourself, and never give up on yourself!"
She nodded vigorously.
Her father sat opposite her and smiled at her.
The dormitory lights came on again. Her roommates were nowhere to be seen. She and her father sat on the edge of the bed, which seemed to float in mid-air, like a small boat swaying on a lake.
Her feet dangled over the outside of the boat, barefoot, her calves, like lotus roots, were immersed in the clear water, creating ripples.
"Dad..." Hu Xing proudly raised her little face, "I'm a qualified police officer now."
"I know." Her father nodded, pulling her into his arms. "You're excellent, keep it up!"
Hu Xing felt as sweet as if she had eaten honey.
The wind blowing across the lake tousled her father's hair. She tried to tidy it up with her hands, but she couldn't get it neat; the more she tried, the messier it became, until it looked like a chicken coop.
The guy with the messy hair smiled at her.
Hu Xing blinked her soft, watery eyes, a shy smile blooming on her face. She let out a soft moan as she crawled out of the messy-haired man's arms, sat on the edge of the bed, and looked at the moonlight outside the window, her heart pounding.
Suddenly, she saw a pale face pressed against the windowpane, peering inside with eyes filled with burning jealousy. The face looked familiar, like the bar owner, but upon closer inspection, it was indistinct, barely visible, and she couldn't make it out clearly.
She tried her best to look, but her eyes felt dry and painful, her head felt like it was going to explode, and she felt nauseous and irritated.
At that moment, a sliver of clarity finally flashed through her mind, and she realized she was dreaming. The emptiness beneath her feet seemed to be slowly drawing her in, and she knew she had to stay calm; if she fell, the dream would end.
She remembered that she had fallen just now, and someone had pulled her up. She looked to the side and saw Qingmu looking at her with a grin.
She finally realized it was a dream, but she knew the guy in the dream wasn't created by her own consciousness; he was an "intruder." Recalling the scene in his arms just now, so real, her heart pounded again, and her face burned.
"You're finally awake!" Qingmu's voice rang in her ears.
The abyss beneath their feet had vanished, and the room was neat and clean, with the walls and ceiling emitting a dazzling white light.