It was already 11 PM.
Zhang Wei had a woman beside him, making it hard not to suspect a relationship between Lu Lianxue and Zhang Wei.
Zhang Wei was stunned for a moment, then grinned and said,
"Jealous?"
Zhang Wei then briefly explained that Lu Lianxue was a classmate and a fellow practitioner.
Upon hearing this, Qiu Xiaolin felt inexplicably relieved but quickly puffed out her cheeks.
"Who's jealous? I was just asking."
"You're just being stubborn," Zhang Wei chuckled.
"Whoever is stubborn is a dog. I'm not talking to you anymore. I'm going to sleep. You should sleep early too."
Qiu Xiaolin hung up the phone, not wanting Zhang Wei to stay up late.
"This girl," Zhang Wei shook his head with a smile.
Just then.
Zhang Chao, with a lewd expression, sidled over, rubbing his hands and saying,
"Zhang Wei, didn't you say you were single? How come a woman is calling you this late at night? Something's fishy. Tell me quickly, who was that? And 'Little Mochi,' you called her so affectionately."
"I am indeed single."
Zhang Wei pushed away Zhang Chao's encroaching face.
"'Little Mochi' is just a nickname."
"I don't believe you. With my years of experience in wooing girls, there's definitely something going on between you two. Otherwise, why would that girl call you so late at night? Tell me, what's your relationship? Confess and be forgiven, resist and be punished."
Zhang Chao didn't notice that Lu Lianxue blushed slightly as he said this.
She inexplicably recalled the incident with the Iron Coffin Zombie, when she had called Zhang Wei late at night.
Unable to resist Zhang Chao's pestering, Zhang Wei replied, "It's nothing, she's just my ex-girlfriend."
"Hiss! Ex-girlfriend? Good heavens, are you two rekindling your old flame? Let me guess, the next step should be sparks flying, then a meeting where you're consumed by desire, and finally, you both get into a room and start picking 'League of Legends' talents like Overgrowth, Grasp of the Undying, Lethal Tempo, Phase Rush..."
*Bang.*
Zhang Wei directly hit Zhang Chao on the head.
"Alright, alright, stop imagining things. You're getting too excited."
...
On the other side.
In Wenling City University, the city adjacent to Xiamen City.
At this moment.
It was 11:59 PM.
In Qiu Xiaolin's dormitory.
Just like Zhang Chao, Qiu Xiaolin's call with Zhang Wei had drawn teasing and gossip from her roommates, including Zhang Ya.
"What are you all talking about? Zhang Wei and I are innocent. He's just my ex-boyfriend."
Qiu Xiaolin retorted.
But a smile involuntarily appeared on her face, which she herself didn't notice.
"I think you're just saying one thing and meaning another, Xiao Lin. Look, your mouth is practically reaching your ears."
"Exactly, exactly. I think Xiao Lin just pretended to hear a knocking sound to deliberately call her ex-boyfriend. In reality, she just wanted to call him."
The two roommates said with a smile.
Before Qiu Xiaolin could respond, Zhang Ya spoke up.
"No, Xiao Lin and I really heard a knocking sound. Really. Xiao Lin and I specifically confirmed it yesterday, and there was indeed a knocking sound. I swear to heaven."
Seeing Zhang Ya's earnestness and her raising three fingers to swear.
The two roommates giggled.
Clearly, they didn't believe her.
One of them even said with a laugh, "Ya Ya, why have you become so superstitious? I think you and Xiao Lin were just hearing things. Besides, you said the knocking sound was very strange. How strange was it? Was it like this knocking sound now?"
"Yes, yes, it's this knocking sound."
Zhang Ya nodded vigorously upon hearing this.
However, as soon as she finished speaking, everyone in the dormitory, including the previous roommates, froze for a moment and instinctively looked towards the dormitory door.
*Thump... thump-thump... thump-thump... thump...*
At some point.
A knocking sound came from the door.
It sounded like fingers heavily tapping on the door panel, the sound dull yet powerful.
The sudden knocking startled the two roommates. The one who had been teasing them immediately got out of bed, about to put on her shoes to open the door. She muttered in confusion as she got up:
"Who's knocking at this hour? Coming, stop knocking."
The roommate didn't notice.
Zhang Ya and Qiu Xiaolin's expressions changed. The previous playful look was gone from their faces, replaced by mutual fear. There was no mistake! It was this knocking sound, the same one they had heard last night, the rhythm was identical.
Immediately.
Zhang Ya, without putting on her shoes, rushed out of bed and grabbed the roommate's arm, stopping her from opening the door.
Before the roommate could ask why, she quickly said,
"Xiao Qing, wait a moment."
Then she called out towards the door.
"Who's knocking outside?"
Zhang Ya called out, but there was no response from outside.
The knocking continued.
*Thump... thump-thump... thump-thump... thump...*
Hearing the identical knocking sound again, and coupled with Zhang Ya's call receiving no answer, even the two roommates, despite their boldness, felt something was wrong.
"Hey, stop knocking. Who's out there? Speak up quickly, or I won't open the door."
The roommate who was being held back shouted at the door.
However.
*Thump... thump-thump... thump-thump... thump...*
The knocking from outside continued, with no response.
At this moment.
The roommates started to panic. They were girls, and most were not as bold as boys. Moreover, it was late at night, almost midnight, which made them think of all sorts of possibilities.
As the knocking sound persisted, it just kept going, again and again.
*Thump... thump-thump... thump-thump... thump...*
And it was always the same knocking rhythm.
The roommate, flustered with anxiety, yelled at the door:
"You outside, can you stop playing spooky games? Who are you? Speak up quickly, or I won't open the door. Your knocking is useless!"
But the result was the same. The knocking continued, and there was no response.
Perhaps it was due to fear.
They suddenly felt the surroundings were eerily quiet, with only the knocking sound remaining.
"Maybe, maybe we should look up?"
The roommate pointed to the window next to the door.
The dormitory design at their school meant that there wasn't just a door, but also a window next to it. From the side of the window, one could see what was outside the door. However, due to the privacy of girls' dormitories, the dormitory windows were always covered by curtains to prevent outsiders from seeing in.
But this also meant.
They couldn't know what was happening outside unless they went to the window and pulled back a corner of the curtain to look.
Finally.
After a period of discussion.
With trepidation and fear in their hearts, they slowly approached the window together.
Then Zhang Ya swallowed and pulled back a corner of the curtain, looking out the window.
"Ah!!!!!"
The four girls screamed in terror at this moment.
Fear, trembling, panic, and other negative emotions swept over their bodies and minds. The four of them were so scared that they fell to the ground, screaming in terror and retreating.
As they retreated, the corner of the curtain, no longer supported by Zhang Ya's hand, fell back down.
At the moment it fell.
The four of them could still see in terror...
Through the window they were looking at, a bloody face, a pair of bloody eyes, were staring back at them through the parted curtain.
...