Alone, Beautifully – Chapter 90
by Little PandaMy Wife (2)
“Mine.”
“Xiaoxu? What’s inside?”
Zhou Qili saw her squatting there for ages, having opened the box but not continuing, and without making any further actions, she couldn’t resist asking.
Qian Ai, who was on the top bunk searching for iodine and cotton swabs, also poked her head out, trying to look down at where Xu Jiao was, thinking there might be something in the box she was embarrassed to show.
Earlier, Qian Ai had her foot on the chair by the table, searching on the top bunk, with the box by the chair under her foot. Later, she was scared and climbed directly onto her own bed, not daring to stretch her foot out. Now, because Xu Jiao said she wanted to open the box, Qian Ai’s fear had lessened a bit.
Xu Jiao instinctively and quickly covered the delivery box again, sighing inwardly with worry towards these two roommates—
If you don’t act, you won’t die.
Since you’re so timid, why did you want to play the pen fairy game during the day? If you don’t seek trouble, nothing will happen, right? Now, there’s no need to be so jumpy in the dormitory at night.
Thinking this way in her heart, Xu Jiao didn’t let them see the frightening answer. She hugged the delivery box containing the memorial tablet, stood up, and smiled at them, saying, “It’s just something my family sent.”
As she spoke, she supported herself with one hand on the iron table and held the box with the other, hopping on one foot to her bed. She didn’t care whether the box was dirty or not and casually tossed it onto the bed. It was like a time bomb—unsafe anywhere, so she had to keep an eye on it.
Zhou Qili and the others saw how she cherished it and tacitly exchanged a knowing look, thinking it was something sent by an admirer or someone she cared about and didn’t tease or expose her.
Qian Ai casually rummaged through the bed that looked like a dog’s nest and unexpectedly found a half-full bottle of iodine.
She waved to Xu Jiao and stepped from the upper bunk onto the big iron table, saying with concern, “Xiaoxu, sit down quickly, I’ll help you apply some medicine. Your foot injury looks too frightening; don’t run around anymore.”
Xu Jiao looked down and only then noticed blood seeping from her calf. Perhaps due to her special constitution from the previous world, she didn’t feel anything from this minor wound and didn’t care, almost forgetting she was now just an ordinary college student.
Zhou Qili, seeing her carefree attitude, came over to help her sit down on a chair, pressing her shoulder, and said seriously, “You still need to go to the school clinic tomorrow morning. If this gets infected with tetanus, it will be trouble. Look at this iron table and our beds; they’re all old, and the corners are rusted. It’s dangerous if they touch the wound.”
At this moment, Qian Ai, with her head lowered, used a cotton swab dipped in iodine and said to Xu Jiao, “It might hurt a bit,” then applied the brown medicine liquid to Xu Jiao’s wound.
Xu Jiao looked at both of them, and memories of the original owner’s usual interactions with these two roommates surfaced in her mind.
Because her family’s conditions were not very good, the original owner didn’t have decent clothes. She was admitted to S University, which is in a developed city, and among the bright and beautiful scenes on campus, she was like a gray speck of dust, out of place with her surroundings.
The original owner was not cheerful by nature; she was a bookworm who only knew how to study and aimed for scholarships. When she first came to the dormitory, she wasn’t good at interacting with people actively. It was Qian Ai and Zhou Qili who took the initiative to include her in activities, and they also invited her to meals. Seeing her eat the cheapest two yuan fifty meal with two vegetables and rice at the First Canteen, they would specifically share their leftover meat dishes with her.
Occasionally, noticing her poorly dressed, they would say they had some clothes they didn’t like much, and since throwing them away would be a pity, they asked if she wanted to try them on, and if they fit, they would simply give them to her.
The original owner’s lower bunk was a local girl with a generous personality. Although she didn’t specially take care of the original owner, her attitude towards her was normal. However, midway through the year, she couldn’t get used to the crowded dormitory life, especially the public bathhouse, so she went home to live.
Because of her roommates’ friendly attitude, the original owner, although usually not very talkative, always kept in mind to repay them. Last year, at the end of the term, she saw Zhou Qili lazily lying there memorizing exam points and couldn’t help but remind her:
“This… has a low probability of being on the test.”
Zhou Qili: “Ah? How do you know?”
“Just a guess. The teacher mentioned during class that the table on the next page, which talks about the psychological characteristics children exhibit at different stages of growth, has a higher probability of being tested than this knowledge point.”
Initially, Zhou Qili didn’t really believe it and memorized the knowledge point she mentioned half-heartedly. But after leaving the exam room, she started pulling Qian Ai, exclaiming, “Amazing! Our Xu the top student is really amazing. Everything she mentioned… was on the test.”
Gradually, these two got used to coming to her for help before exams, relying on her to highlight the key points, saving the time of memorizing many useless knowledge points.
Once Xu Jiao came back to her senses, the wound on her calf was almost fully treated. What was initially a thin red mark had now turned into a brown patch, as if a dark brown colored pencil had completely covered a red ink line.
She pulled up the corners of her lips and gave her two roommates a friendly smile, saying, “Thank you both.”
“Ah, it’s no big deal.”
“Just be more careful next time. In a couple of days, we have PE class. Don’t push yourself too hard. If your wound hasn’t healed, remember to ask for leave.”
Xu Jiao agreed to each point, and was about to grab the bar at the edge of the upper bunk and step on the ladder to climb back to her bed when Zhou Qili glanced over and suggested, “How about you switch beds with me tonight?”
Xu Jiao turned to look at her, and before she could speak, Zhou Qili nodded confidently: “Climbing up and down with your foot like that is definitely strenuous, and if the wound bleeds again, it won’t be good. Let’s switch beds tonight; I’ll sleep in your bunk.”
Xu Jiao opened her mouth to speak, remembering how she was pulled by that inexplicable force when she came down earlier, and couldn’t help but worry about Zhou Qili’s safety. She hesitated and said, “No… maybe not.”
Qian Ai, who was about to climb back up by stepping on the big iron table, heard this and looked down at her: “Why? Do you dislike sleeping under me? Don’t worry, I rarely drop things down now.”
Xu Jiao, overwhelmed by their questions, finally pressed her lips together and tacitly agreed to switch beds with Zhou Qili. Before switching, she took the delivery box down from above and placed it on the chair beside her lower bunk.
The memorial tablet was quite large, and unless it was placed in a cabinet, it was inconvenient to carry around. Xu Jiao’s eyes fixed on the box as she pulled the blanket over, trying not to let her medicated foot rub any marks onto it.
“Detected that the female protagonist is about to face a life-threatening danger. Please help her avoid it promptly!”
The system’s voice suddenly sounded, and Xu Jiao’s mind was stirred as she sat up from her bed.
At that moment, she caught sight out of the corner of her eye of a sharp, bright object falling from the side of the upper bunk’s bedboard, heading towards her pillow.
Had she not adjusted her position in time, the object would have fallen right on her head.
A light “thud” was heard.
The room was quiet for a moment. Qian Ai, holding onto the railing, cautiously stuck her head out to look down: “I… seem to have dropped something down, cough cough, Xu Jiao, sorry QAQ.”
Xu Jiao moved her head and glimpsed the object beside her.
It was a pair of scissors.
The tip was still very sharp.
She calmly held the handle of the scissors, casually opened a drawer on the iron table, threw them in, and replied, “No problem, I wasn’t injured. Next time, don’t put scissors on the bed.”
Qian Ai was startled into a cold sweat by her words: “My goodness, are you okay? How could I have put scissors on the bed… I remember now, yesterday I was cutting my bangs on the bed, gosh, luckily they didn’t fall on you.”
“Xiaoxu, are you a bit too unlucky tonight?”
Zhou Qili on the opposite upper bunk also looked at her worriedly, feeling that even the thing in her hand was no longer appealing.
Xu Jiao smiled without speaking, allowing Qian Ai to check her pile of things above for any other dangerous items. As she sat on the lower bunk for a while, she suddenly asked in her heart:
“System, why am I the female protagonist of this world?”
One incident of bloodshed.
One life-threatening danger.
Both reminders were meant for her.
Xu Jiao couldn’t understand how she could be the female protagonist of this story unit.
The system also realized this and, after a long silence, said: “I’m temporarily unable to explore the mechanism behind this, but it also brings benefits to you.”
Yes, being both the female protagonist and the task bearer in a horror story means Xu Jiao can rely on the system’s mechanism to protect the protagonist and avoid trouble, making her somewhat of a… cheat.
Moreover, the ending of this book will be completely under her control. She no longer needs to rack her brains to train the protagonist; whatever ending she wants, she just needs to do her best to achieve it.
On the other hand, being the protagonist also means she will be involved in countless events, whether she likes it or not, and these supernatural stories will all be related to her.
Xu Jiao understood this point and lightly sighed.
The supernatural protagonist’s constitution, which ordinary people avoid at all costs, seems to be a good reward for her.
“Can I turn off the light?” It was nearing twelve o’clock, and if the dormitory lights weren’t turned off in advance, the power would automatically cut off. Then, at six o’clock the next morning, any lights not turned off would suddenly come on, preventing everyone from getting a good night’s sleep.
Qian Ai, who also had a light switch next to her, roughly tidied up her bed, sorted through the dangerous items, and asked the other two.
Xu Jiao and Zhou Qili both agreed.
With a light “snap,” the dormitory quieted down.
However, Xu Jiao did not close her eyes. She always felt as if something was watching her in the dark, making her instinctively want to see clearly, but there was nothing.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Qili’s drowsy voice sounded: “Ai’ai, don’t shake the bed, I’m about to fall asleep.”
Qian Ai replied blankly: “I didn’t shake it. Hey, wait, you sleep across from me, how do you know if I’m shaking it or not?”
Zhou Qili suddenly went silent.
In the darkness, the entire dormitory stayed quiet for a long time as the three of them simultaneously realized one problem:
Zhou Qili’s bed only had her on it.
Her lower bunk was empty, so why would the bed shake?
Xu Jiao realized that if she didn’t say something, the dormitory’s atmosphere might slip into an unfathomable abyss. She pretended to have just remembered something and spoke with a calm voice in the room: “Hmm, my bed seems to have a slightly unstable leg. I originally planned to use some draft paper to pad the leg today, but I forgot.”
Zhou Qili’s voice was more unpleasant than crying: “Is, is it?”
Xu Jiao gave her a reassuring answer: “Mm.”
At times like this, saying something everyone can accept is much better than suggesting there’s some other presence in the room.
Zhou Qili was originally terrified, but hearing Xu Jiao say this, her panicked heart calmed down a bit. Her earlier drowsiness was gone, so she could only recall in her mind those ** she had seen before, to divert her attention and regain her sleepiness.
Qian Ai softly called to Xu Jiao: “Xueba (meaning “Straight A Student” aka Xu Jiao)… can I come down and sleep with you?”
Hearing this, Zhou Qili suddenly opened her eyes and echoed: “I! I want to too! I don’t want to sleep here alone, wuwuwu!”
But the dormitory bed was narrow, only 1.2 meters wide. Two normally sized girls sleeping on it were already extremely crowded, perhaps only able to sleep sideways. Three people… how could they fit?
Xu Jiao was silent for two seconds, considering that Zhou Qili and Qian Ai were both relatively slim. After a moment, she suggested: “How about you two sleep together? I can sleep alone.”
Zhou Qili and Qian Ai were in a psychological struggle. If Qian Ai went to sleep on the upper bunk, both lower bunks would be empty, giving them no sense of security. But if Zhou Qili went, there wasn’t enough space in Qian Ai’s “dog nest” for even two people to lie sideways.
Xu Jiao wanted to offer a suggestion, but then heard Qian Ai quickly say: “I’ll pile all my stuff in the quilt, throw the quilt to the other side, and you come over with your quilt. Wouldn’t that work?”
Zhou Qili instantly agreed: “I think that works!”
Xu Jiao kept silent, allowing Qian Ai to turn the light back on. Together with Zhou Qili, she stood on the iron table and passed the big bundle with the quilt as the base to the opposite side, and then passed the quilt from the opposite side over. Finally, the upper bed board slightly moved, supporting the weight of the two girls.
The body warmth of the two squeezed together gave them a great sense of security. Zhou Qili’s voice stopped trembling, and Qian Ai breathed a huge sigh of relief and said again:
“This time, really turning off the light and saying goodnight, okay?”
Xu Jiao on the lower bunk: “Mm.”
11:59.
The dormitory light was turned off again.
Xu Jiao didn’t wait for anything terrible to happen. She lay on Zhou Qili’s soft bed for a while, as drowsiness gradually crept up on her. She closed her eyes and unknowingly fell asleep.
When Xu Jiao woke up, the sky was still dark. The window curtain was not drawn, reflecting light from somewhere unknown. A faint white light fell on the surface of the iron table beside her, casting a bit of cold light.
Her waist felt somewhat uncomfortable, as if something hard had poked her awake.
In her drowsiness, Xu Jiao thought she had thrown her phone into the quilt before sleeping. Subconsciously, she raised her hand to feel beneath her, touching a slightly cool, smooth edge. She followed the touch for a while and encountered a recessed area on that smooth surface.
It felt like a board engraved with some words.
Xu Jiao’s fingertip movement stopped for two seconds.
Thereafter.
She turned her head expressionlessly and discovered that the delivery box on the stool beside her seemed to have no trace of being moved; even its placement was the same as before she slept, with one corner slanting towards her.
But in the next moment, Xu Jiao slowly pulled out from her quilt the rectangular memorial tablet that was supposed to be inside the box.
She didn’t have much knowledge about wood lacquer, but she felt that the texture of this piece of wood was quite good. She rubbed the edge and, using the dim light beside her, clearly saw the name of the owner of this memorial tablet.
Daughter of the Zheng family, Zheng Zhiyu.
Xu Jiao’s drowsiness receded slightly as she found herself face-to-face with the memorial tablet and took a moment to think—
Ghost marriages are definitely between a man and a woman; there has never been a way to match a woman with a woman or a man with a man. After all, it’s a superstitious custom, emphasizing yin-yang harmony after death, so it’s impossible to follow modern trends and create such an absurdity as a woman marrying a woman.
So, what is the matter with this memorial tablet?
Does my previous fall have anything to do with this object?
Xu Jiao thought deeply but couldn’t come up with any clues. She decided to call her family the next day to inquire about what was going on. Tapping her fingertip lightly on the memorial tablet, she slowly said in a breathy voice:
“Behave yourself, stop engaging in feudal superstitions, or else I’ll smash you.”
Memorial tablet: “…”
Xu Jiao casually stuffed the memorial tablet back into the quilt, thinking that perhaps it found the delivery box uncomfortable to lie in and wanted to improve its sleeping environment. She yawned as drowsiness gradually crept up on her.
As her eyes squinted, she suddenly saw a black shadow appear beside the dormitory door.
Blurred and slender, like a person.
With long hair.
The face was unclear.
Xu Jiao drowsily looked at the mass of black shadow, unsure whether it had come out from the memorial tablet or if it was the “pen fairy” that hadn’t been sent away during the day. She stared for a while, and her eyes began to feel dry, so she subconsciously blinked.
When she looked again, the black shadow beside the door was gone.
Xu Jiao reached her hand to feel the memorial tablet inside the quilt and suddenly called out in her mind: “System.”
The system promptly responded: “Mm?”
Xu Jiao: “Do you think if that thing suddenly rushes at my face, and I hit it with this wooden slab, will it be effective?”
System: “… What principle is this?”
Xu Jiao: “Fight poison with poison, substances from the same world can harm each other, so I can sleep well.”
The system was silent for a while, unsure whether to sympathize with Xu Jiao or with the memorial tablet.
Xu Jiao didn’t get a response from the system, thinking that this clueless entity wouldn’t understand the world better than she did. She stared at the direction of the door again for a while, and after a long time, she just fell asleep like that.
Because the memorial tablet was pressed under the thick quilt, no one saw that before the shadow disappeared, the long piece of wood emitted a faint light, as if intimidating, or perhaps announcing something.
Xu Jiao had a dream.
In the dream, there was a vivid red, covering the sky and ground, exceptionally bright and dazzling. As she walked closer to look, she discovered golden embroidered flowers on it, in the shapes of flowers and birds, which were very exquisite and beautiful.
She reached out her hand and touched the silky texture, realizing that the red seemed to be fabric. The luxurious style and festive color inexplicably reminded her of an ancient wedding dress.
While she was staring at the golden flowers and birds in a trance, a slightly cool breath suddenly approached from behind, making Xu Jiao instinctively feel cold, yet not afraid, as if she instinctively knew the other party had no ill intentions.
That slightly cool breath wrapped around her, revealing snow-white skin under the red long sleeves. The other party tightly hugged her, close to her ear, seeming intimate, yet as if… searching for her vital point.
Xu Jiao shrank her neck, trying to avoid the other’s action, but ended up feeling a slight prick on her ear tip.
She had been bitten by the other.
Realizing she was captured by this slight pain and no longer moving recklessly, the breath behind her was a little satisfied and lingered for a moment on her neck. Xu Jiao heard a female voice, with a very light tone but heavy emotion, say:
“Mine.”
The voice was very pleasant, with a barely noticeable hoarseness and a hint of moist ambiguity, making one feel as if standing in front of a waterfall, with a sense of moisture hitting the face. If not careful, a fine layer of water stains would already cover the face.
Enticing and enchanting once again.
Just by hearing this one utterance, Xu Jiao unexpectedly began to suspect whether the speaking woman was a fox spirit who had cultivated into essence, otherwise how could even such simple two words be said so alluringly.
Her throat moved, and she asked in a low voice, “What?”
The breath wrapping her suddenly tightened significantly, making Xu Jiao feel somewhat suffocated as if she were being strangled, but fortunately, there was no pain. She wanted to turn her head to see clearly the face of the person behind her, yet could only hear a low repetition, as if confirming something, or wanting to leave a deep impression on her:
“Mine.”
A burst of passionate rap music rang out.
The beating of gongs and drums was very noisy, coming from above.
“Ai’ai, quickly turn off the alarm clock, ah, I’m going to die…” Zhou Qili’s muffled voice came from under the quilt. Qian Ai raised her hand and hit the railing of the bed, making a heavy sound. Then, she suddenly sat up and said:
“The first period has class! It’s already 7:20! Quickly get up!”
Zhou Qili let out a wail of despair.
Xu Jiao opened her eyes and raised her hand to block the sunlight reflecting off the table from the window beside her, clearing her mind significantly. She saw a quite pale leg stretch down from the upper bunk, with jewel-colored toes stepping on the table, and then she met Qian Ai’s gaze.
“Xueba Xu, you’re actually not up yet? My goodness, you also have times when you sleep in!”
Qian Ai looked down at her in amazement.
Xu Jiao sat up from the bed, inexplicably feeling her body was very heavy and powerless, as if she had stayed up all night doing something else. She raised her hand to touch her neck, turned her head, and lazily replied:
“Mm.”
Qian Ai noticed her complexion wasn’t good and squatted on the table to examine her: “What, did you have a nightmare last night?”
Xu Jiao paused her action of touching her neck for a moment, slightly recalling for a while following Qian Ai’s words, then simply said: “Forgot.”
She seemed to have indeed had a dream.
But what she saw and said in the dream, she completely forgot.
Qian Ai then withdrew her curious gaze, supporting herself on the iron table with one hand, got down to the ground, took her own wash basin, and went out. The terrible atmosphere of last night had completely disappeared with the rise of a new day’s sunlight.
Zhou Qili was still lying on the upper bunk, wanting to sleep a bit more, while Xu Jiao had already sat up and naturally had no more interest in lying back under the quilt. After clearing her mind for a moment, she lifted the quilt intending to get out, and saw a dark corner within the quilt.
Xu Jiao pulled the quilt back again—
She rarely felt a bit of a headache.
How should this memorial tablet be handled?
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