Profiler

CHAPTER 20

After accompanying Deng Linyue back to her dorm, Fang Mu suddenly felt the need to take a walk alone.

Once he reached the outdoor stadium, he began strolling around the track. For a long time his mind was totally empty. Only when the cold made him start to shiver did he finally come back to reality.

I kissed a girl today?

The details of the kiss were blurry, the feel of her lips, their twining tongues. It was not the unforgettable experience he imagined his first kiss would be. When he had struggled out of the vortex of his memory and seen Deng Linyue pressed sweetly against his chest, his first thought had been, My God, what have I done?

When he had dropped Deng Linyue off at the women's dormitory moments ago, she had looked at him as if she didn't want him to leave, but Fang Mu knew he couldn't stay another second.

Why did I do this?

Was it because of loneliness? Or something else?

When did I get so weak?

At last he was too tired to walk any farther. Leaning against the flagpole at the north end of the stadium, he exhaustedly closed his eyes.

The ice-cold flagpole quickly sent a chill through his body, the sensation like a snake wriggling inside him. Although terribly uncomfortable, he still didn't want to move. He lit a cigarette, inhaled deeply, and then slowly exhaled while looking up at the starlit sky.

The cigarette smoke mixed with his vaporous breath. It obscured the stars, and also obscured the people watching down on him from above.

By the time Fang Mu got back to the dorm it was almost curfew. Du Yu was playing Counter-Strike. When he heard Fang Mu come in he quickly turned around and said, "You're back?"

Afraid he would ask for details, Fang Mu just nodded, and then grabbed his washbasin and headed for the bathroom.

The bathroom light was broken again. In the darkness, Fang Mu filled the basin with cold water and dunked his head. He shivered, but his mind felt clear and light.

Suddenly, something furry brushed quickly past the back of his leg. He was so startled that he swallowed a mouthful of water. He immediately looked up, wiped the water off his face and looked around. A small black and yellow cat was watching him from the bathroom doorway.

Fang Mu knew it was Tom, Meng Fanzhe's cat.

Feeling both curious and amused, Fang Mu cupped his hands full of water and pretended he was about to splash the pet. But for some reason, the cat wasn't scared at all. He just tilted his head and kept looking at Fang Mu.

Fang Mu opened his hands, and as he did a thin stream of water spilled out.

Fast as lightning, Tom leapt away. Instead the water spilled on the foot of someone who had just entered the bathroom.

"Oh no, I'm sorry," said Fang Mu quickly. Looking up, he saw it was Meng Fanzhe. "Oh, it's you. My bad."

Meng Fanzhe smiled to show he didn't care.

Tom had fled the bathroom, but he didn't go far. He sat in the corridor and watched them through the doorway.

As Meng Fanzhe looked at Tom, his eyes filled with affection. "He's really cute, isn't he?" he mumbled to himself dreamily.

"He sure is," said Fang Mu. Suddenly his humor returned, and he added, "Jerry."

Meng Fanzhe turned and looked at him. "Jerry?" He laughed and then looked down, as if thinking something over. "Jerry…Jerry…"

Without another word, Meng Fanzhe abruptly turned and walked out the doorway. Seeing this, Tom raised his tail and silently followed his owner.

Feeling a little embarrassed at having made fun of the guy, Fang Mu grabbed his bar of scented soap and looked off toward where Meng Fanzhe had disappeared.

When Meng Fanzhe had looked at Tom, love hadn't been the only thing in his eyes.

There had also been a trace of pity.

When Fang Mu returned to his room, Du Yu was still at his computer, tirelessly waging war. "Hey, so how was it?" he asked without turning his head.

"How was what?"

"Your romantic date."

"What's there to say? We just ate dinner." Suddenly feeling a little guilty, Fang Mu quickly tore off his clothes and burrowed under the bed covers. He closed his eyes and pretended to go to sleep.

After a while he heard Du Yu finally turn off his computer and climb into bed. A few minutes later he was snoring away.

Fang Mu wasn't able to sleep at all. With his eyes tightly shut, he did his best to eliminate two words from his mind.

Liu Jianjun.

He didn't dare think of the name.

At 6:30 the next morning, Fang Mu was awakened by a beeping from his phone. Hazily opening his eyes, he saw that it was a text message.

"Let's get breakfast together."

The number was unfamiliar. He thought for a second and then checked his phone's call record. It was Deng Linyue's cell number.

His sleepiness disappeared at once. Sitting on his bed, he mulled it over in his head. At last he decided not to go.

A half-hour later Du Yu woke up. Pretending to have just awakened himself, Fang Mu accompanied him to the bathroom and washed up, and then the two of them left for the dining hall.

The moment they walked out of the front door of their building, they saw Deng Linyue waiting outside, her face red from the cold. She had her hands in her pockets, and was hopping up and down to stay warm.

Seeing Fang Mu, she didn't complain; just smiled and said, "You finally came down."

Du Yu's surprise was obvious, but seeing the bright flush on Fang Mu's face, he tactfully said, "I'll catch up with you later."

Once Du Yu had walked away, Deng Linyue said quietly, "How come you're so late? Didn't you get my text?" She looked closer at his eyes. "Or didn't you hear it?"

"Oh, I…didn't hear it."

"Did you get to sleep too late?" She blushed slightly. "Or maybe you didn't sleep at all!" She giggled.

He avoided her eyes. "Let's…just go get something to eat."

As if he had something to hide, Fang Mu took Deng Linyue to a table in the far corner of the cafeteria. His precautions were hardly necessary, however, as lots of people familiar with them kept casting astonished glances in their direction — especially members of the basketball team. They craned their necks to get a better look at the pair tucked away at the corner table.

While Fang Mu was on pins and needles as the team members began whispering among themselves, Deng Linyue didn't seem to care at all. Whenever she noticed anyone looking at them curiously, she just stared right back until the other person turned away.

After what seemed like forever, Fang Mu and Deng Linyue finally finished eating breakfast. He then bid her a brief goodbye and hurried toward the door. But before he had even gotten outside, he heard Deng Linyue's voice calling for him to wait.

She walked quickly over to him, her face slightly red from the hurry, giving him a scowl. "Fang Mu, are you embarrassed to be with me?" Her tone was even more hostile than her eyes.

"…No."

"Then why are you treating me this way?"

"…I…"

"Do you feel like you're betraying Liu Jianjun?" Her voice grew softer now. "I already told you, Liu Jianjun and I were never a couple. Just because he was pursuing me and then got injured doesn't mean I can't love the person I choose."

He could say nothing.

She waited a moment, and then seeing he wasn't going to say anything, she sighed and continued more softly. "If you don't like me, please tell me directly." She paused. "If you think that because we kissed you're now responsible for me, then you need to forget that. We're all adults, so there's no reason to believe anything so ridiculous." She glanced at her watch. "Don't you have class?"

"Yeah."

"Then you'd better hurry. You don't want to be late."

He hesitated for a moment. Realizing that just turning and leaving would be a bit cruel, he said, "You don't need to worry about us. I'll give you a call a little later today."

She looked a little happier at this, the smile coming back to her eyes. She asked quietly, "Can we see each other tonight?"

"If I'm not busy, then yeah, I think so."

"Okay." She smiled. "Now get going, and look after yourself."

A few moments later, Fang Mu was panting as he ran up to the second floor. Zou Tuanjie was standing in the hallway near a classroom, cell phone in hand. Seeing Fang Mu, he abruptly asked, "Have you seen Meng Fanzhe?"

Fang Mu shook his head. "No, why?"

"The guy's already missed a ton of classes, including a bunch where the professor took attendance." Zou Tuanjie glanced back into the classroom. "Just now the professor let slip that if Meng Fanzhe misses another class, the professor won't let him defend his thesis when it's time to graduate."

"Are you calling him?"

"I just did," said Zou Tuanjie, waving the phone helplessly. "He didn't pick up."

Fang Mu looked at his watch. Class was about to begin. With no time to say anything else to Zou Tuanjie, he immediately turned and sprinted to his classroom down the hallway. As he ran, he wondered what was going on. Meng Fanzhe was no longer afraid of roll call, so why wasn't he going to class?

It was night in the private study room.

Fang Mu absentmindedly flipped through the book in front of him. Deng Linyue sat quietly beside him, translating an article from English. She was very quick, stopping only now and then to check the dictionary or softly read a sentence aloud.

Fang Mu knew he wasn't absorbing a thing. Looking up, he glanced aimlessly around the room. He abruptly turned toward the entrance to the room, watching it. No one was there.

Humph, he thought, guess that guy really did keep his word.

That afternoon Tai Wei had stopped by. At first he just made fun of Fang Mu, laughing about how he'd been "lucky in love," and that the "beautiful girl had fallen for her heroic savior." Fang Mu knew he was talking about Deng Linyue, and he wasn't surprised that this guy knew all about their recent activity. In fact, he wouldn't have been surprised if Tai Wei had been sitting one table over from them at the restaurant that night.

When Tai Wei was finished joking around, his expression turned serious, and he said that because Fang Mu and Deng Linyue were probably both being targeted by the killer, if they were going to be together, then the police would have to keep a close watch on him. The idea annoyed Fang Mu, and he told Tai Wei that if he went through with that, their relationship would take a nosedive. At first Tai Wei tried to explain why this was necessary and then attempted to play on Fang Mu's emotions. Still Fang Mu wouldn't agree, so Tai Wei had no choice but to give up. Still, he insisted that no matter how Fang Mu felt about it, the police were going to increase their protection of him, albeit according to the prerequisite of "not influencing Fang Mu and Deng Linyue's personal lives." Noticing that when Tai Wei said "personal lives" with a bit of good-natured innuendo, Fang Mu couldn't help but laugh and lighten up a little.

As Fang Mu climbed to his feet in the study room, Deng Linyue inquisitively looked up at him. When he motioned to the pack of cigarettes in his hand she just nodded, a sliver of disapproval in her eyes.

Standing in the hallway a moment later, Fang Mu lit a cigarette and looked around. Suddenly someone popped their head out of the stairwell at the end of the hall and then disappeared. Even though it had only been for a split second, Fang Mu immediately recognized the man as one of the officers under Tai Wei.

Jeez, now he's getting other people to follow me.

Shaking his head, Fang Mu leaned against the wall and smoked in silence. After a while, he looked back down at the entrance to the stairwell. It was black as a cave. Although there wasn't a sound coming from it, he was sure the cop was still there. After a moment of thinking, an idea occurred to him. He looked at his watch; it was 7:26 p.m. Tenth period was about to end.

One of the classrooms nearby was lit up. He could faintly hear the sounds of a lecture underway inside.

Making up his mind, he went back into the study room and walked quickly over to Deng Linyue.

"Get your things," he said quietly.

She gave him a puzzled look.

"The police are following us," he said, smiling mysteriously. "Let's play a little joke on them."

Deng Linyue nodded excitedly. She hurriedly threw her things into her book bag, pulled on her jacket and then in a voice both nervous and eager, whispered to him, "What should we do?"

Fang Mu told her she should first sit back down, put her phone on vibration and keep cool. She nodded and did as he said.

A few minutes later, the bell rang to signal the end of class. Fang Mu silently counted to ten and then took Deng Linyue's arm. "Let's go."

The two of them walked quickly out of the study. The instant they were through the door, he glanced down to the end of the hall. Sure enough, the cop was standing outside the stairwell.

Fang Mu led Deng Linyue toward the class that had just let out. It had been held in a large classroom capable of seating nearly a hundred students. At that moment a huge crowd of them were swarming out the door and filling the hallway.

Fang Mu and Deng Linyue slipped into the throng. Just as they were passing by the classroom, they quickly walked inside.

As he led Deng Linyue to the back of the room, Fang Mu dialed her number on his cell phone.

When they reached the back of the room, Fang Mu cracked open the rear door and carefully glanced out into the hall where he could see the exiting students. As expected, the cop was caught up in the crowd of students, craning his neck and looking all around.

Deng Linyue nudged Fang Mu and held up her vibrating cell phone. "What should I do?" she whispered.

"Answer it and then don't hang up." He turned and saw that the crowd and policeman were heading toward the rear door of the building.

He looked back at Deng Linyue. "Go. Together we're too big of a target, so we need to split up. You head that way." He pointed in the direction opposite where the policeman was going. "Go to the first floor and then wait for my instructions."

"Okay." Shaking from excitement, she gripped her phone in one hand and headed down the hall.

Fang Mu then turned and walked quickly toward the policeman, who was constantly scanning the area ahead, completely unaware that his target was actually behind him. Carefully concealing himself behind a group of students, Fang Mu made sure to stay roughly 15 feet behind the cop at all times.

As he walked, the man took out his cell phone and made a call.

Fang Mu carefully drew closer and did his best to listen in.

"…I don't see them…" the cop said, unaware of Fang Mu. "What floor are you on…the sixth? I'll head to the back door… Exactly, you take the front… Fast as you can."

Just as he had thought. Fang Mu smiled, slowed down and then put the phone to his ear. "Where are you now?"

"First floor. You?" Deng Linyue was panting, but she still sounded nervous and excited over the phone.

"Get to the front door as fast as you can. You need to be out of the building before the police get here."

"Okay, and after that?"

Fang Mu thought for a moment and then said, "Head to the old bunker; we'll rendezvous there. Don't hang up."

By the time Fang Mu had followed the policeman down to the first floor, very few students were going in and out of the back door. The cop ran to the doorway, looked all around, and then headed back inside and sprinted to the reception office. He asked the woman on duty several questions, but she just shook her head in confusion. The cop then hustled back to the door and stood beside the entrance, staring closely at every student who passed.

Fang Mu hid in a corner, thought for a moment, and then whispered into the phone, "I'm going to hang up for now. I'll call you soon."

"Okay, be careful." Deng Linyue giggled.

Fang Mu dialed another number. A few seconds later, a frosty female voice sounded over the receiver: "Welcome to the JiangbinCityUniversity telephone directory. Please dial the extension you wish to call now. For the operator, press zero."

Fang Mu pressed zero. A few seconds later, another woman's voice said:

"Hello, who would you like to reach?"

"What's the extension for the reception room at the rear of the EducationBuilding?"

"Two-five-eight-three."

Fang Mu dialed again. "Hi, is this the reception room? I'm from the special investigation team. I believe one of our officers is by your office… Yes, that's the one… Can you please give him the phone?" He watched as the woman on duty ran out of the reception room and waved at the policeman.

"Officer, there's a call for you," she said.

The policeman looked confused, but he still hurried after the woman.

Laughing to himself, Fang Mu hung up the phone and ran toward the door. After ducking under the reception room window, he slipped out of the building.

The old bunker was located in the northeast corner of JiangbinCityUniversity. It had been accidental discovered by construction workers while they were expanding the campus. Experts were later hired to investigate the site, and they determined that it was a former Kuomintang underground prison. The place was divided into two floors made entirely from concrete. There were eight large prison cells on the top floor as well as an above ground entrance. On the bottom floor there were two huge cement pools. According to the experts, it had been used as a water dungeon.

Because it was a historical site, the school did not disturb it, and after the matter was discussed with city authorities, it was decided that the bunker would be left in its original state. Since neither side could agree who should be responsible for repairing the site, the matter was left unresolved. Now the bunker was mainly used to store old desks and chairs.

Panting, Fang Mu sprinted to the bunker. When he reached it he didn't see Deng Linyue anywhere. His heart fell, and he quickly dialed her number.

She picked up almost immediately. She was also breathing hard, and he could hear wind blowing in the background from her side of the phone.

"You got away?" she said.

"Yeah. Where are you?"

"I'm almost at the bunker. Are you already there?"

"Yeah," he said. "Why'd it take you so long to get here?"

She laughed. "Oh, I kept feeling like someone was following me, so I went through the supermarket and then the dining hall, and then I made two loops around the dormitories. I had to lose my tail! …Okay, I see you now. I'm hanging up."

Fang Mu thought the image of Deng Linyue "losing her tail" was prettily amusing. As he put away his phone, he saw her skipping toward him.

In an instant she hopped right in front of him. Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes shined amid the evening darkness.

"How exciting!" she said. "Just like an action movie."

Although she looked thrilled, Fang Mu actually felt a little nervous. He looked around. No one was around. Not far behind them stood the top of the old bunker. The structure was dark and quiet. It looked like some enormous, crouching beast that was ready to pounce at a moment's notice.

A cold breeze blew past. He couldn't help but shiver.

"Let's go. This place is too isolated."

"What? Are you scared?" She winked mischievously.

"You're not?"

"Nope, not as long as you're with me." Her voice was firm and yet warm.

He didn't say anything. His enthusiasm for risk-taking had passed and now he didn't know what to do with her.

Suddenly his phone rang. Answering it, he heard Tai Wei's worried voice sound in his ear.

"Fang Mu, where are you?"

Fang Mu's mouth fell open in surprise. "At school."

"What's your location? Is Deng Linyue with you?"

"Yeah, she is. Don't worry, we're both safe."

"Okay, but where exactly? I'll have someone come get you."

"Don't bother. I'll call you soon." Afraid that Tai Wei would yell at him, Fang Mu quickly hung up.

"Come on, we should head back," he said, taking Deng Linyue's arm. "Otherwise Tai Wei is really gonna let me have it."

As Fang Mu walked Deng Linyue back to her dorm, she seemed to emerge from her previous state of nervous excitement. She didn't say a word the whole way.

When they reached the dorm, she stopped and looked down, as if she was waiting for him to say something.

He stood there silently for a while, feeling the awkwardness. At last he managed to say, "You…should really head up to your dorm."

She sighed quietly, lifted her head and stared at him for several seconds. Finally, she said softly, "You're not going to give me a kiss before you go?"

He immediately flushed bright red. "Right here…? It's a little crowded, isn't it?"

At first she didn't reply; just gazed off into the distance. After a long time she spoke in a hushed manner. "Fang Mu, there's something I've been wanting to ask you."

"Yeah?"

"That night we…when we kissed, you were so emotional. Crying, in fact. Can you tell me why?"

When he didn't respond, she asked, "Was there someone you…once loved and were never able to forget?"

He turned his back to her, not wanting her to see his eyes fill with tears.

"Can you tell me?" she asked gently.

After a long moment, his trembling voice finally answered. She leaned closer to hear.

"There was once a girl I really loved," he admitted, "but I never told her how I felt…and then before I could, she died…"

She made a muted gasp, shaking her head. "My God. How did she die? Was she sick?"

"No." He closed his eyes and made an effort to summon all his fortitude. "She was murdered. The killer was one of my roommates."

"What? But…why?" She couldn't suppress her astonishment.

Fang Mu could no longer reply. He couldn't even stand upright. Crouching down, he buried his face in his hands, his shoulders twitching violently as the memories caught up with him again. He felt a small hand press tightly against back, and then Deng Linyue's arms wrapped around his shoulders. Her face closed in to his and he felt her hot tears fall on his neck.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked you. I know there's pain in your heart. I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

Deng Linyue held him close, as if she was trying her best to ease his shaking, and in that moment, her comfort eased into him.

She closed her eyes, absorbing his pain. He needs my protection, too, she thought, as I need his.

Fang Mu held his phone away from his temple as he slowly climbed the stairs. Tai Wei was shouting angrily on the other end of the line. Fang Mu didn't have to hold it close to his ear to hear what the cop was saying.

"…I'm telling you right now, you pull this again and I won't be so forgiving!" came Tai Wei's irate tone.

At this point Fang Mu already deeply regretted his rash behavior from before, so he understood how Tai Wei felt. If either he or Deng Linyue had been nabbed by the killer after they split up and left the EducationBuilding, the consequences would be too awful to contemplate.

And so Fang Mu endured the tongue-lashing and repeatedly promised that it would never happen again. Once Fang Mu had said everything he could, Tai Wei abruptly hung up.

Du Yu wasn't around when Fang Mu got back to his dorm, but there was a note on his desk. It was from Du Yu, saying that he and Zhang Yao were going to an all-night movie theater and he wouldn't be back until tomorrow.

Fang Mu secretly thanked his lucky stars. If Du Yu were around to see his red eyes, he would definitely ask what was wrong. After getting yelled at by Tai Wei, Fang Mu had no desire to get tangled up in yet another person's endless questions.

Fang Mu took off his jacket and grabbed his toiletries from under his bed. He grabbed his washbasin and left the room.

While brushing his teeth in the bathroom, he heard loud cursing from the other end of the hallway. Moments later, a stainless steel food bowl and several books came flying out of one of the rooms.

With his toothbrush still in his mouth, Fang Mu walked out of the bathroom. He could see someone standing in the hallway outside of the room, swearing at whoever was inside; however, the person inside was saying nothing — just throwing one thing after another into the hallway. Clothes, books, basketball shoes, bedding — a huge pile had soon formed outside the room.

Fang Mu knew it was Meng Fanzhe's dorm room and that the guy cursing in the hallway was Wang Changbin, Meng Fanzhe's roommate. Which meant that the person throwing all the stuff out of the room had to be Meng Fanzhe.

What was going on? Fang Mu wondered. Meng Fanzhe was normally a decent, well-behaved guy. What had made him flip out like this?

If it went on much longer, Fang Mu was pretty sure it would come to blows.

He ducked back into the bathroom and after quickly spitting out his toothpaste, grabbed his toiletries and hurried over to Meng Fanzhe's dorm room.

A bunch of people were already there, watching what was going on. Wang Changbin was no longer swearing, now just standing there with his hands on his hips, angrily watching Meng Fanzhe throw item after item out of the room. At this point he looked more helpless than enraged.

Just as Fang Mu walked to the front of the crowd, Meng Fanzhe threw what seemed to be Wang Changbin's final possession out of the room and then slammed the door in Fang Mu's face.

Looking at all the stuff on the floor, Fang Mu asked Wang Changbin:

"What's going on? How did this happen?"

"That SOB is crazy!" said Wang Changbin gloomily.

Zou Tuanjie and several other guys crowded around and helped Wang Changbin pick up his stuff

"Why don't you crash in my room for the night?" Fang Mu offered to Wang Changbin. "Du Yu's not coming back until tomorrow."

"No need," said Wang Changbin, firmly refusing. He pointed at Zou Tuanjie. "I'm staying in his room, Liu Jianjun's not around either."

Fang Mu nodded and then turned back to the door. When he tried to open it, he found it was locked.

He knocked lightly. There was no response.

He tried again, a little louder this time. "Meng Fanzhe," he said, "it's me. Why don't you open the door?"

Something shattered against the door and then fell to the ground. It sounded like a glass cup.

Fang Mu jumped back in surprise.

Now other people were getting angry. Zou Tuanjie held Fang Mu back. "Just leave him alone. He's out of control."

Unable to do anything else, Fang Mu crouched down and helped Wang Changbin organize his things.

After everyone had helped Wang Changbin move into Zou Tuanjie's room and put his stuff away, Wang Changbin took out a pack of cigarettes and handed them out. While they all smoked, someone asked him what exactly had happened.

"Man, don't even ask," he said."You know that cat Meng Fanzhe's been raising? Normally he treats it like it was his own son. But the thing is just so goddamn annoying. Not only has it shit on my bed who knows how many times, once it even pissed on one of my textbooks. The smell was so bad that when I brought the book to class the next day, everyone around me was covering their noses."

Several people laughed. Interrupting them, Zou Tuanjie said, "You guys normally get along pretty well. Why didn't you say something to him?"

"We do normally get along well, and if that's all that had happened I actually wouldn't be this mad," said Wang Changbin, pulling at his hair impatiently, "but you guys don't understand. For some reason this guy has recently changed a hell of a lot. Every day he's either sitting in the room staring into space or off missing somewhere, and he never goes to class. I've tried talking to him several times, but he just ignores me. Then late one night I woke up to go to the bathroom, and when I opened my eyes he was sitting straight up in his chair mumbling something to himself. At first I was puzzled. If he was memorizing something why didn't he turn on the light? But then when I listened closer I heard what he was saying. Can any of you guess what it was?"

Wang Changbin paused for effect and looked around the room. Seeing that everyone was staring at him with bated breath, he looked satisfied and said, "He was saying his own name! Meng Fanzhe, Meng Fanzhe, Meng Fanzhe — the same words over and over again. This scared me wide awake, and although I wondered whether he was maybe talking in his sleep, I was too scared to say anything."

"Then what happened?" someone asked.

"After he said his name a while longer, he suddenly began pulling his hair and smashing his head against the wall so hard that he cried out. By then I was scared stiff, and I didn't move an inch until he fell asleep. I stayed like that until dawn." There was a slight quiver in Wang Changbin's voice as he spoke. It was obvious that the events of that night were still frightening for him. "Living with this guy is too much. Like today, for instance. I told him how the teacher had read his name again and again and when he wasn't there had gotten really angry. Then without even saying a word, the psycho just started throwing all my stuff out into the hallway. I yelled at him, but it was like he didn't even hear."

This story unsettled everyone. When it was over, they all said a few vaguely reassuring words and then went their separate ways.

After returning to his dorm room, Fang Mu turned off his computer, lay on his bed and shut his eyes. But he was unable to sleep.

Meng Fanzhe had been chanting his name in the middle of the night like he was reciting a spell. Thinking about this, Fang Mu knew it had to be somehow related to his fear of roll call. But that fear had already disappeared — not only had Meng Fanzhe said as much, but Fang Mu had also seen him say "Here" with his own eyes. And yet his recent behavior was extremely abnormal, so what exactly was going on?

As Fang Mu understood him, Meng Fanzhe had a weak personality, and Fang Mu doubted that he could have overcome his roll call phobia all by himself. He must have undergone psychotherapy with a professional. So given the sudden change in Meng Fanzhe's behavior, Fang Mu had to wonder: Had something gone wrong with the therapy?

Fang Mu turned the matter over and over in his head but didn't get anywhere. At last he decided to find an opportunity to talk to Meng Fanzhe the next day.

That night the nightmares arrived on schedule.

The burning dorm. The dead classmates. Wu Han's distorted face before him.

Actually, you and I are the same.

When Fang Mu struggled awake, his first reaction was to grab for the knife under his pillow. As his breathing slowly calmed, he realized that his clothes were soaked with perspiration.

Sweat was dripping down his head and sticking uncomfortably to the back of his neck. With difficulty, he climbed to his feet, grabbed his towel and a bar of soap, and headed to the bathroom to wash his face.

Only one light was on in the hall, its beam very dim. Still, Fang Mu immediately noticed several dark red stains on the floor.

Crouching down, he wiped his finger across one of the stains. Its surface had already dried, but some of it still came off on his finger He rubbed his fingers together. It still felt a little wet. He brought his finger to his nose and sniffed. The smell was sickly sweet.

It was blood.

The hair on the back of his neck immediately stood up.

He looked around in a panic. The hallway was empty. There was no one in sight, only tightly shut doors.

He looked back down. Several more spots of blood had dripped onto the floor. They seemed to lead into the bathroom.

Fang Mu slowly stood up and tiptoed toward the bathroom.

Was someone hurt?

Or maybe it was merely a nosebleed?

As the pitch-black entrance to the bathroom drew closer and closer, Fang Mu's heartbeat sped up, until it seemed as if the sound was echoing off the walls of the hallway. He couldn't help but feel that if someone was in the bathroom, they would hear it beating.

At last he reached the entrance.

He looked inside.

The bathroom was as dark as a cave and smelled strongly of blood. Someone was standing by the sink tearing something apart. All Fang Mu could see was the movement of the person's head and shoulders. A wet, squishing noise was coming from his mouth. He seemed to be chewing.

Fang Mu quietly reached for the light switch and turned it on.

In an instant, the fluorescent light buzzed to life and the bathroom was bright as day. Having grown accustomed to the darkness, Fang Mu's vision blurred and he felt dizzy. He quickly grabbed for the door frame to keep from falling over.

The person at the sink was also startled, and he abruptly spun around.

It was Meng Fanzhe.

In the intense fluorescent light, the rims of Meng Fanzhe's eyes looked green and his eyeballs pure black. Their whites were nowhere to be seen.

The area around his lips was bright red and thick, red liquid dribbled from the corners of his mouth. Looking closer, Fang Mu could see that several black and yellow hairs were stuck to his lips.

He was so shocked that for several seconds he and Meng Fanzhe just stared at one another, neither of them saying a word.

At last, in a faltering voice, Fang Mu asked, "Meng Fanzhe, what are you doing?"

For an instant, he was certain he saw a murderous look pass through Meng Fanzhe's eyes, but then it disappeared and they were filled with only helplessness and despair.

"I…" He suddenly smiled, but almost at once the smile vanished, his gaze fell, the corners of his mouth drooped, and with a voice that sounded like he was on the verge of tears, he said, "I don't know…"

Fang Mu noticed that Meng Fanzhe was holding something in his hand. He focused closer on it. It was the furry, blood-soaked leg of an animal. From the looks of things, it appeared to belong to a cat.

He looked past Meng Fanzhe. The sink behind him was a horrible sight. Bloody flesh, internal organs, fur, and skin lay everywhere. Some of it still seemed to be steaming.

Walking past Meng Fanzhe, Fang Mu cautiously drew closer.

It was just as he thought. The animal whose parts were scattered in and around the sink was none other than Meng Fanzhe's cat — Tom.

Fang Mu looked around. He didn't see a knife or any other sharp object.

Meng Fanzhe had torn Tom apart by hand while the cat was still alive.

Fang Mu turned around and looked at Meng Fanzhe. He hadn't moved an inch and was still staring at the entrance, as if none of the carnage had anything to do with him at all.

Fang Mu tugged on his sleeve and then pulled the cat leg from his hand and threw it in the sink.

As if in a daze, Meng Fanzhe did nothing to stop him; in fact he made no resistance at all.

Fang Mu stood in front of Meng Fanzhe and looked into his eyes. "Fanzhe," he said slowly, "can you hear me?"

After a long time, Meng Fanzhe's eyeballs slowly rotated toward Fang Mu, and he nodded slightly.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

The corners of Meng Fanzhe's mouth moved. Then, as if he had suffered a stroke, half of his body slowly turned and he pointed at the cat in the sink.

"Tom… They all hate him…so I can't…rely on him…any longer…"

Looking into Meng Fanzhe's dull eyes, Fang Mu did his best to understand what he had just said.

"What do you mean, 'rely on him'?" He shook Meng Fanzhe's shoulders. "Come on, speak!"

Fang Mu's actions caused Meng Fanzhe's body to sway violently, and he seemed to become much more lucid.

"I don't know, I don't know!" he cried, roughly wiping his mouth. When he saw that his hand was covered in blood and cat hair, he grew so frightened that he immediately tried to rub his face clean, but all he did was smear himself with blood.

"What exactly is going on?" asked Fang Mu in a low voice. He caught Meng Fanzhe's hand and held it tightly.

Only then did Meng Fanzhe seem to realize that it was Fang Mu standing before him. "Is that you, Fang Mu?" His body went limp at once. Tears streamed from his eyes and mucus dripped from his nose. "Help me, help me, please. I don't know what I've done; it's like I was dreaming…"

Fang Mu put his hands under Meng Fanzhe's armpits for support and did his best to hold him up.

"I will, I will help you. Now tell me, what is going on?"

Meng Fanzhe's gaze went to the sink. At once his senses seemed to return. Shaking with fear, he pointed at Tom's remains. "I didn't do it, I didn't do it…it wasn't intentional…"

He leapt at Fang Mu and grabbed at his collar, his eyes full of fear and desperation. "Don't tell anyone," he entreated. "Please don't tell anyone. I'm not crazy… I didn't mean to do it. I didn't mean to. I'm not crazy…"

He pushed Fang Mu away, shot toward the sink and picked up the bloody flesh and fur. He looked all around, his mouth still moving nonstop. "Gotta take care of this now. Can't let anyone else see…gotta take care of this now, now, now!" He spun around in place, looking wildly for somewhere to put his cat's remains.

Fang Mu was so disturbed by all this that for a moment he had no idea what to do. At last he picked up the big plastic trash can from the doorway — normally used for throwing out leftover food — and signaled for Meng Fanzhe to put the remains in there.

Meng Fanzhe forced Tom's skeleton into the dirty water at the bottom of the trash can. He then ran into one of the stalls, grabbed the wastepaper bucket and dumped its contents in on top. Next he hurried to the sink, turned on the tap, and let the water wash away the bloodstains. When it wasn't rinsing fast enough, he used his bare hands to scrub the sink clean.

After the last cat hair disappeared down the drain, Meng Fanzhe grabbed a mop from behind the door and vigorously scrubbed the blood from the bathroom floor.

At a loss, Fang Mu could only watch as Meng Fanzhe rushed to clean every inch of the bathroom. A million thoughts were going through his mind at once.

At last Meng Fanzhe stopped and leaned exhaustedly against the wall, panting heavily.

Cautiously, Fang Mu asked, "What happened? Can you tell me?"

Meng Fanzhe shook his head weakly. "I don't know. But recently I've been feeling so strange. I'm constantly forgetting what I've been doing, and there are all these things in my room that I don't remember having brought there."

Fang Mu thought for a moment. "Do you want to go see a doctor?"

Meng Fanzhe shook his head repeatedly. "No, no, no, that's not necessary." Then as if thinking aloud, he said, "I will get better, yes, I will definitely get better. I don't need to rely on anyone else…"

He muttered this over and over again, as if he had no faith in himself.

Fang Mu watched him silently. He had no idea what he should say.

Suddenly Meng Fanzhe stood up straight. Forcing a smile, he looked at Fang Mu and said, "I…I'm gonna go back to my room. Will you…" he dropped his eyes, "keep this a secret for me?"

"All right. However, I still recommend that you see a doctor."

"Okay, I understand. If I think it's necessary, I'll go. See you later." Then he walked unsteadily out of the bathroom and back down the hall toward his room.

The bathroom was quiet once more. The only sounds were the gurgle of water rushing through the pipes and the hum of the fluorescent light overhead. For a long time Fang Mu just stood there, barely moving a muscle. He looked at the spotless sink, and then at the trash can. What the hell was going on with Meng Fanzhe tonight? His behavior made no sense at all, was just utterly strange.

Even stranger than that first day in class.