The owner of the footsteps was none other than Li Yiqian, Su Jiner's roommate. Though they shared a dorm, Su Jiner always felt there was something off about her—she just couldn't pinpoint what. Li Yiqian kept to herself, rarely speaking, but when she did, it was always about ghosts, spirits, or other supernatural topics. Her stories often terrified Lin Yuan and Du Xiaonan, earning them frequent scoldings from the dorm supervisor.
"Why aren't you doing experiments in our lab building? Why come here instead?" Su Jiner asked with a smile.
"Oh, I came to ask Professor Zhang some questions."
"Then... did you notice anything unusual here? Like ketchup, for example?" Su Jiner probed cautiously. If there really had been a corpse here, Li Yiqian, who had been working in the lab, couldn't have missed it.
"No ketchup. But I did hear a scream earlier, followed by someone rushing downstairs. I'm guessing that was our esteemed Miss Xu?" Li Yiqian's smile carried a clear hint of mockery.
"I saw a dead body here! Of course I'd be scared!" Xu Lingling shot back defensively.
Li Yiqian's expression shifted slightly before she laughed. "Impossible. I've been here the whole time. How could I have missed a corpse? You must've imagined it."
Xu Lingling opened her mouth to retort, but Chu Feifan cut in, pulling her back. "Yeah, maybe she just saw wrong. No big deal. We'll get going now—you can get back to your experiments."
Throughout the exchange, Zuo Yi remained silent. Something about Li Yiqian unsettled him. He studied her carefully, but aside from the slight flicker in her expression at the mention of a corpse, she showed no other reaction.
As they turned to leave, Li Yiqian's voice called after them: "If you're this scared of dead bodies, how do you expect to become a doctor? Medical schools are full of cadavers in morgues. Seeing a corpse is nothing to freak out over. You even made me cut my hand because of your nonsense."
Only then did Su Jiner notice the band-aid wrapped around Li Yiqian's index finger.
Xu Lingling, thoroughly provoked, snapped back, "So what if you cut your finger? Doctors handle scalpels all the time—it's normal. Why make a fuss about it?"
"You—!"
Li Yiqian trembled with anger before storming off.
"Women. So intense," Zuo Yi muttered, crossing his arms.
"We need to check if Xu Mengguang is really missing," Su Jiner said uneasily, ignoring their argument.
"You think something's wrong?"
"I don't know. I just have a bad feeling." She forced a smile at Chu Feifan. "Never mind. Maybe I'm overthinking it."
Her smile made his heart skip. He wished she could always smile at him like that—carefree and bright. But her pale complexion worried him.
Xu Lingling, noticing Chu Feifan's attention on Su Jiner, huffed. "The reason I didn't call the police is because I don't think they could've handled this anyway."
"Why do you say that?" Zuo Yi frowned as everyone turned to her.
"Because this lab building is haunted. The whole school knows. That's why it was sealed off."
By now, they had stepped outside.
"Every medical school has ghost stories. But unless we see it ourselves, I'm not buying it," Zuo Yi said with a shrug.
"But what if it's true?" Xu Lingling insisted, her voice trembling as she glanced fearfully back at the building.
"Let me guess—some woman died here and now her vengeful spirit haunts the place?" Zuo Yi said dryly, tilting his head toward the sky.
"Actually, yes. And it's not just a rumor—people know the real story." She edged closer to Chu Feifan, as if proximity to him could ward off her fear.
Su Jiner rubbed her temples, irritated. She didn't care about any of this. None of it concerned her.
"I'm leaving. We've wasted enough time, and I don't want to be late on the first day of class. Lin Yuan will worry if she can't find me."
With a wave, she walked off, ignoring Chu Feifan calling after her.
Whatever story Xu Lingling had about a dead woman haunting the lab didn't matter. Su Jiner was here to study—nothing else.
Sure enough, Lin Yuan was waiting anxiously outside the classroom, scanning the hallway. Spotting Su Jiner, she hurried over.
"Where were you? I couldn't find you anywhere! I was so worried!"
"Sorry, something came up on the way."
"You're an adult—stop wandering off! I was counting on you to save us seats. Now all the front spots are taken, and we're stuck in the back." Lin Yuan pouted.
"Since when did I say I wanted to sit in front?"
Without waiting for a reply, Su Jiner walked into the classroom.
The moment she stepped inside, the room fell silent. Every head turned toward the girl in the doorway—her white coat, flowing black hair, and delicate, angelic features framed by a faint smile.
"So beautiful..." someone whispered, breaking the hush.
Lin Yuan smirked, though she feigned jealousy. "I may not be drop-dead gorgeous, but I can still turn heads. Next to you, though, I'm just the background foliage."
Su Jiner rolled her eyes. "Find us seats. Less talking."
They settled in a corner where they could still see the front clearly.
"By the way, what was that 'something' that came up earlier?" Lin Yuan asked.
"Nothing important. Just a false alarm." Su Jiner flipped open her textbook, signaling the conversation was over.
Lin Yuan sighed. When Su Jiner shut down like this, pushing further was pointless.
"Hey, did you hear? The school just reopened Room 414 in Building 4!" a student whispered nearby.
"No way! How come we didn't hear about it?"
"It's true! And they've already moved four girls in. I wonder if something's going to happen this year..."
"Stop spreading rumors. Nothing's happened in years. The school kept it under wraps for a reason—don't let anyone hear you."
Lin Yuan's ears perked up. Gossip, especially the mysterious kind, was her weakness. And Room 414? That was their dorm!
She tapped the girl in front of her. "Hey, what's the deal with Room 414?"
The girl glanced back, eyeing Lin Yuan and Su Jiner warily. "It's... kind of a secret. If the school finds out we're talking about it, we'll get in trouble."
"But you're freshmen, right? How do you even know about it?"
"Our roommate's a senior. She told us."
"Come on, spill! Here's a secret—" Lin Yuan leaned in. "We're the ones living in that room."
The two girls paled. "What?!"
Lin Yuan shrank back at their horrified expressions but nodded firmly.
"If they don't want to talk about it, don't push," Su Jiner murmured.
Just then, the classroom door swung open again. Chu Feifan, Zuo Yi, and the others walked in, triggering another wave of commotion—this time, squeals from the female students.
Chu Feifan spotted Su Jiner in the back, still absorbed in her book, not even glancing up at the noise. His smile faltered, but he headed straight for her.
The two girls who had been terrified moments ago now stared, starry-eyed, at the approaching boys.
"Hey, you guys in this class too?" Zuo Yi grinned, his eyes crinkling charmingly.
"Yep!" Lin Yuan replied, though her mind was still stuck on the Room 414 mystery.
Su Jiner offered a polite smile before returning to her book.
The boys took seats behind them. Chu Feifan's gaze lingered on Su Jiner, a hint of melancholy in his eyes.
Meanwhile, Lin Yuan was still hounding the girls for answers.
"Please, just tell me!"
The girl bit her lip. "Fine. But not now—after class. And keep it quiet. The school buried this years ago. My senior just told it to us as a ghost story."
Lin Yuan nodded eagerly.
(Translation ends here, but the story continues with the unfolding mystery of Room 414 and the eerie secrets of the medical school.)