Chapter 3 : Yumeng

　　She saw me and smiled, saying, "Are you Xia Ning, right?"

　　I nodded.

　　"Your teacher asked me to bring your cell phone and some food. They're in the room, I couldn't find you earlier." She pointed to my ward with a smile.

　　"Oh, thank you!" I couldn't spare much time to talk to her because she was hinting that my teacher probably wouldn't come, which scared me.

　　I hurriedly walked into the room and saw my phone and a boxed meal in a plastic bag on the windowsill. The phone screen had been fixed.

　　I picked up the phone and dialed my teacher's number. Luckily, it rang just once and was answered on the other end. My teacher's voice came through, "Xia Ning, is that Xia Ning?"

　　I quickly replied, "Teacher, it's me!"

　　"What's wrong?"

　　"Teacher, um, are you coming later?" I said hesitantly.

　　"Why, are you scared to sleep alone even though you're all grown up?" My teacher's voice teased.

　　"Teacher, I..." I struggled to speak, I really was afraid to be alone.

　　My teacher's laughter came through the line. "Don't worry, I already found you a companion!"

　　My voice faltered as I asked, "Who...?"

　　"Yumeng!"

　　With a buzzing sound, my mind went blank, and I took a step back, almost losing my balance. The phone slipped from my hand and fell to the ground, making no sound.

　　Frantically, I picked up the phone and spoke anxiously into the receiver, "Teacher, teacher, no, it's not necessary, don't let her come..."

　　However, despite my lengthy plea, there was no response from the other end. I took the phone away from my ear and checked, only to discover that it had been turned off due to the fall!

　　Trembling, I pressed the power button on the phone with sweaty hands. A drop of sweat fell onto the screen. Finally, the phone displayed the startup screen and powered on. I dialed the number again, "I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is unavailable. Please try again later."

　　I made several more attempts, but the calls remained unanswered. Defeated, I sat on the floor, leaning against the edge of the bed. Tears unknowingly streamed down my face. I cried, unsure of what to do.

　　The thought of Yumeng, whether it was really her or not, coming later made me shudder in fear!

　　Tears soaked my pants as I hugged my knees, resting my forehead on them, squatting on the floor, crying helplessly.

　　Suddenly, I felt a pain in my head. "Hiss... Ah!" I gently touched the injury on my forehead. Just now, my arm accidentally brushed against the wound, causing a sharp pain.

　　At that moment, I remembered someone, a boy who had written me several love letters. Each letter contained his phone number, and they always appeared in different ways. His number was easy to remember, even though I didn't want to remember it, it was still in my head.

　　I didn't like him; he wasn't handsome, and his academic performance wasn't outstanding. But now, I couldn't worry about those things. Night was about to fall.

　　I dialed the number from my memory. After a couple of beeps, thankfully, the call was answered on the other end. "Hello, who are you ?"

　　Thank goodness, they finally answered. Holding the phone in my hands, as if holding onto a lifeline, I anxiously said, "Hello, is this Zhang Yang? I‘m’Xia Ning!"

　　"Xia Ning? Oh my god, it's really you! You actually called me, this is amazing!!!" Zhang Yang's voice on the other end sounded thrilled.

　　"Zhang Yang, listen to me. I'm in Room 203 at the City Second Hospital. Can you come and accompany me? I'm scared!" I struggled to hold back tears, placing my left hand on my chest, tightly clenched into a trembling fist. The thought of Yu Meng coming later made me extremely afraid.

　　"Xia, Xia, Xia Ning, did we... did we rush things too quickly?" His voice also trembled as he spoke.

　　I really wanted to explain, but right now I was in a desperate situation. Urgently, I urged, "Zhang Yang, please come quickly. I'm really scared all by myself!" As I said this, I choked up again.

　　"Don't cry, Xia Ning. It breaks my heart... Okay, I'm on my way!" With a beep, he hung up the phone.

　　I wiped away my tears and noticed the dim sky outside. I quickly grabbed my phone, rushed to the door, and locked it. I was afraid Yu Meng would arrive first!

　　Nervously looking around, I closed the curtains on the windows, turned on the lights, and found a mop in the bathroom, placing it within reach next to the bed.

　　Climbing onto the bed, I leaned against the headboard and covered myself with the blanket. I spotted my hair tie on the bedside table, quickly tying up my messy hair into a ponytail. Then, gripping the mop tightly, I fixed my gaze on the door, listening to the faint footsteps and murmurs coming from outside.

　　Time passed slowly, and the outside world gradually grew darker as night fell. The sounds outside also faded away. After sitting for such a long time, my back began to ache, but I dared not relax my vigilance, keeping a close eye on the door!

　　However, half an hour passed, and neither she nor he showed up.

　　Another half an hour passed, then one hour... two hours. It was already late at night outside, and the silence was terrifying!

　　Just when I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, thinking that nothing would happen, someone knocked on my door!

　　Knock, knock, knock!

　　I shivered, my hair standing on end!

　　Knock, knock, knock! Three more knocks!

　　I cautiously called out, "Who... Who is it?". If it were Zhang Yang, I didn't want to make a sound. What if he thought I wasn't in the room and left?

　　But the voice from outside almost made me gasp for breath!!!

　　"Xia Ning, it's me, Yu Meng. Open the door, please!" Her voice was still as gentle as ever, without a hint of change.

　　Knock, knock, knock! She knocked three more times. "Xia Ning, open the door. I can't get in!" Immediately after, she started turning the doorknob.

　　"You go away! I don't need you to accompany me!" I shouted loudly, gripping the mop in my hand, trembling as I stood up, pointing it towards the door.

　　"What's wrong with you, Xia Ning? Did I do something wrong?" Yu Meng's voice outside sounded soft and vulnerable. She has always been like this. Whenever you raise your voice at her, she thinks you're angry.

　　Hearing her voice, my heart softened, but I still didn't open the door. I spoke slowly, "I'm sorry, Yu Meng. We shouldn't have left you alone that night."

　　Thinking about the night Yu Meng was killed because we stayed inside for too long, my eyes blurred again. I painfully knelt on the bed, covering my face with my hands, crying loudly. I couldn't control myself at all.

　　"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Yu Meng! I'm sorry..." I cried out in agony, crying until my body trembled, crying until I had no strength left, crying until my head throbbed unbearably.

　　"Xia Ning... you didn't do anything wrong to me, really! So... please stop crying..." Yu Meng's weak voice came from outside, and then there was silence for a long time...

　　...

　　I don't know how long I cried, but I stopped. When I stood up, I felt dizzy and my vision blurred. Hearing no sound from outside the door relieved my heart a little.

　　I got off the bed and walked to the window sill. I remembered there might be some headache medicine there, so I wanted to see if there was any!

　　Pulling the curtains aside, to my surprise, I found two painkillers. I picked up the half-empty bottle of mineral water and took the pills!

　　My gaze swept across the window. It was completely dark outside, with only faint streetlights in the distance.

　　Wait, who is that? In the area where the streetlight couldn't reach, there was a figure standing there... The shape of that shadow was eerie. I could tell it was a silhouette, but its head was twisted! It looked as if it had been severed and forcibly reattached!!!

　　"Yu Meng!!!" My heart thumped, and I retreated to the edge of the bed. I covered my mouth with my hand, widened my eyes. I was afraid that if I made a sound, I would startle that shadow!

　　Trembling all over, I dared not move, staring fixedly at the slightly opened curtains, as if Yu Meng would appear outside my window, watching me.

　　I couldn't bear to think any further; I was afraid that if I continued like this, I would go insane!