Photos

An Ruxin gave a full-body shiver, and for a moment, everything else was forgotten. She instinctively rushed back to the door and banged on it hard, gripping the handle as she shouted, “Bai Miaoqing?! Bai Miaoqing! Are you okay?! What hap—”

Her voice cut off.

Her hand had gripped the doorknob out of instinct, but the knob… turned easily in her grasp.

The door creaked open a sliver.

…Why?

Just now, when that woman entered, she was sure—no, absolutely sure—she had heard the distinct sound of the lock clicking shut.

So the door should be locked. Right?

Was she imagining it?

The door now stood ajar, and An Ruxin’s hand was still on the knob—but suddenly, she found herself paralyzed, unable to summon the courage to enter.

Fortunately, she didn’t have to hesitate for long. A figure came staggering—no, practically tumbling—out of the apartment, crashing straight into her arms. An Ruxin jolted in shock, nearly shoving the person away in panic, but the other grabbed hold of her sleeve tightly, voice trembling.

“Help me! P-Please help me! Why is she here?! She shouldn’t be… I already—Ruxin? You’re still here…?”

It was Bai Miaoqing.

Relief surged through An Ruxin, but anxiety quickly followed.

That scream still echoed in her ears. It was good that Bai Miaoqing was unharmed—but what about that woman? Had she done something dangerous? Or worse, had something happened to her?

An Ruxin’s gaze darted through the door that had been flung open by Bai Miaoqing’s sudden escape. The room looked even more chaotic now, like a struggle had taken place—but there wasn’t a second person in sight.

She asked quickly, “I heard you scream, Miaoqing. Are you hurt? What happened? Where’s that woman?”

“You saw Chen Anran?!” Bai Miaoqing blurted out, her expression even more horrified.

Chen Anran? Was that the woman’s name?

An Ruxin asked, “You know her? Should I call the police? Or should we leave right now?”

“No, don’t call the police!” Bai Miaoqing’s voice spiked suddenly, sharp enough to stab An Ruxin’s ears. “I do know her…”

“I saw your photo with her…”

Bai Miaoqing shook her head frantically, her face twisted with panic. “N-No… You don’t understand… I do know her, but… but…”

She looked like she couldn’t breathe. “But… she’s already dead! She… she died when she was fifteen!”

An Ruxin’s mind went completely blank.

“…Are you joking?” Her voice cracked, unnatural.

“I’m not joking, I swear, I’m telling the truth!” Bai Miaoqing clutched An Ruxin tighter, gripping her like a lifeline—it actually hurt. “Chen Anran and I were classmates in middle school! She… she died after the entrance exams, she was only fifteen! How could she be here—I swear, I’m not lying! I’m not! You have to believe me!”

“I-I…” An Ruxin was at a loss for words, a cold chill creeping up her back.

Bai Miaoqing looked like she was about to cry. “You… you saw her, didn’t you? You didn’t hear anything like a window opening, right? Look! She just disappeared! It really was her! A ghost! Ruxin, I swear—I’m so scared… how could something like this happen… oh god…”

“Don’t be scared… You said she’s gone now, right?” An Ruxin swallowed, summoning what courage she had left. “I’ll go in with you and check again. It’s okay now, try to calm down!”

Bai Miaoqing gasped for breath, her weak legs slowly regaining strength. She was even tearing up as she nodded. “Okay… I’ll listen to you… thank god you’re here…”

A strange feeling of satisfaction welled up in An Ruxin. As she gently led the still-shaking Bai Miaoqing back inside, she also felt… a faint trace of dissatisfaction.

The Bai Miaoqing in her memories—the Bai Miaoqing she had once adored, who had lit up her entire high school experience—was confident, never backed down from a challenge, never showed fear, and was always full of spirit. But the Bai Miaoqing standing behind her now was timid, clinging to her like she might collapse at any moment…

Could time really change a person so much?

…But then again, this was a potentially supernatural incident. Being scared was perfectly reasonable, wasn’t it? An Ruxin tried to convince herself.

Besides, hadn’t she changed as well?

The An Ruxin of the past might have been ordinary, but at least she had dreams, unrealistic goals, and hope for the future… And now, after all these years, she was just another adult worn down by life.

So who was she to judge Bai Miaoqing’s changes?

Even so, she had always hoped—perhaps even fantasized—that somewhere in the world, Bai Miaoqing was still shining, wildly successful, living her best life. She imagined they’d one day meet again at a class reunion, and Bai Miaoqing would still be that radiant, brilliant, untouchable girl she once knew… Maybe that was the best outcome. The most reasonable one.

As someone who had once harbored a crush on her, was it wrong to want her to live a good life?

An Ruxin exhaled. Enough. Now wasn’t the time for these thoughts.

Right now, Bai Miaoqing needed her—and she wanted to be there for her.

“I’ll check the living room and kitchen. You handle the bedroom and bathroom,” An Ruxin said, leaving the more private rooms to Bai Miaoqing. “Just shout if anything happens.”

Bai Miaoqing nodded, trembling slightly as she entered the bedroom.

An Ruxin sighed again.

The air suddenly felt too quiet, unsettlingly so. To distract herself, she began moving around the living room and kitchen, checking for anywhere someone could be hiding. She even opened every window to see if someone could’ve jumped out—but the answer was clear: no way.

Finally, she returned to the living room. The bedroom door was open. It looked like Bai Miaoqing was packing up, probably too shaken to spend the night here.

An Ruxin pulled her long hair out from under her shirt collar, and her eyes wandered to the sofa.

Maybe it was the horror stories she’d read before, but on a sudden impulse, she glanced toward the bedroom to confirm Bai Miaoqing was safe, then crouched down and peered under the sofa.

It was filthy. Clearly never cleaned, thick with dust. Her nose tickled and she rubbed it instinctively—then noticed something in the shadows.

She reached in. Luckily, it wasn’t too far back. She pulled it out easily and examined it closely: a bundle of photos, held together by a rubber band.

What was this?

Curiosity got the better of her. An Ruxin gently removed the rubber band and flipped through the photos—only to be stunned by what she saw.

Bai Miaoqing in the park during an autumn outing. Bai Miaoqing backstage at the New Year’s performance. Bai Miaoqing on stage during a speech competition. Bai Miaoqing giving a speech under the national flag as the student representative. Bai Miaoqing at the sports meet. Bai Miaoqing receiving an award at the Outstanding Students ceremony. Bai Miaoqing winning first place in an essay competition…

This stack of photos was all taken during Bai Miaoqing’s high school years. Several of them, An Ruxin even remembered.

However, these photos were all tampered with—someone had scraped off the heads and then frantically crossed them out with a red marker. The blood-red strokes crisscrossed over the pictures, as though veins were growing out of the old photos, or perhaps hiding deep malice and hatred.

An Ruxin shuddered—who would do such a thing? Was it the bullying from the past? That couldn’t be… everyone in high school liked Bai Miaoqing. Then, could it have been that woman, Chen Anran? Is she really a ghost? Why would she do this? A threat? Hatred? But why? Bai Miaoqing and Chen Anran even had a group photo together, it was on the coffee table, surely to commemorate their friendship. They must have had a good relationship… why…?

At this thought, An Ruxin immediately began searching through the coffee table, hoping to carefully look at the group photo and see if she could find any clues.

…Gone?

It should have been here…

The group photo was gone.

At this moment, another thought involuntarily sprouted in An Ruxin’s mind.

Could it be that Bai Miaoqing herself had done this to the photos?

She was the person in the photos, so it would make sense that she had kept them herself. What’s more, the area under the sofa was so dirty, clearly it hadn’t been cleaned in a long time. If these photos were defaced to intimidate or threaten her, why would they be organized with a rubber band and left under the sofa, somewhere the person involved couldn’t even see them? If Bai Miaoqing had received these photos, why not just throw them away?

Could it be that Bai Miaoqing didn’t want to see these photos, so she tossed them into the corner? Because her current situation was so terrible that she couldn’t face her once-glowing self, and even hated the outstanding person she used to be…

If that were the case…

…that would be so bad.

An Ruxin thought: It can’t be like that. If it were, Bai Miaoqing would be too much… She was so beautiful and perfect back in high school, I liked her so much. She was the kind of person who could bring strength and hope… the best existence. That was Bai Miaoqing’s past! To do something like this just because her current situation was bad, to destroy her past self, the self I deeply loved and secretly admired… that would be so unreasonable, so maddening… it’s impossible. Because Bai Miaoqing has always been the girl I secretly liked, her essence won’t change, she won’t become so weak. So, this possibility doesn’t exist.

Don’t think about it.

This can’t be true.

“The girl I liked would never make such malicious scribbles,” An Ruxin told herself, as if repeating a promise of love.