Chapter 44: Enrollment

“Who is it?” The student beside him blinked and asked, “You look pale, senior. Is it a scam?”

A scam… a scam that called me ‘Daddy’!

Zhang Linhua felt a surge of anger at the memory, sneering, “Just an idiot, don’t bother with him. Are there any beds left in the dorms?”

“No.” The student thought for a moment. “There are some spots near the old ancestral hall, but that place…”

“That’ll do.” Zhang Linhua exhaled sharply. “We have to follow the arrangements, no point being picky.”

The student hesitated, glanced around, and lowered his voice, “Senior… it’s not very clean over there…”

“All the students moved out, even the dorm manager doesn’t like staying there. I heard the guy you’re talking about knows you—maybe…”

“Knows me? Met him once and that counts as knowing him? Might as well say I know the whole world.” Zhang Linhua glared. “Where’s all this superstitious nonsense coming from? The old ancestral hall’s sealed, and the girls’ dorm isn’t far—nothing ever happens. Stop being paranoid, hurry up and sort it out!”

“Alright.” The student said nothing more and walked away.

After paying the necessary fees at the finance office, Qin Ye emerged. It was already half past four in the afternoon. As soon as he stepped outside, a text message arrived.

It was from Zhang Linhua, giving him the number for Dorm 409 in Building Five—their shared room.

“Let’s go!” Wang Chenghao could hardly wait; he’d bought his bedding and essentials on arrival and now dragged Qin Ye toward the dorm.

It was after school, and the sports field was teeming with energetic college students, the shouts from basketball games echoing. The nearby convenience store bustled with people. The campus scenery was indeed lovely—shaded roads wound around, and ahead stretched a vast lake. The last blooms of summer lotus swayed on the water, and a stone arch bridge spanned across.

Under the green willows by the lake, couples huddled together, their laughter as light as orioles in flight. On elegant benches, a few solitary students sat with earphones in, savoring the quiet passage of time.

Qin Ye gazed at them with a hint of envy, smiling as he looked away.

“No wonder everyone fights to get into college… It’s heaven compared to our high school.” Wang Chenghao couldn’t keep his eyes on the ground, exclaiming, “So much energy! Our school was just exams, exams, nothing else!”

“Yeah… energy…” Qin Ye brushed aside his wind-tousled bangs. “That’s exactly why I love university.”

After asking several students and passing by rows of brand-new dormitories, they finally arrived at their own after more than thirty minutes.

Both were at a loss.

This was the outskirts of the city.

The dorm building stood on the edge of campus, backed by endless mountains. Who knows how many years it had been there—the wall paint was peeling, giving it a mottled look. Its only redeeming feature was the dense climbing ivy covering all four floors in lush green.

Not truly dilapidated—more like it had a distinct character—but compared to the gleaming new dorms, the difference was stark.

“It’s half an hour by bike to the cafeteria, library, and classrooms.” Qin Ye glanced at the sea of shared bikes below. “Really doesn’t do us any favors… Is calling someone ‘Daddy’ such a mortal sin?”

He shook his head, ignoring Zhang Linhua’s pettiness, and headed for the dorm.

“Freshmen?” The gatekeeper, an old man, was munching on sunflower seeds and watching a drama on his computer. Qin Ye glanced at the screen—he was watching ‘Dolphin Bay Lovers’—

Already dozens of episodes in.

Old men reliving their youthful madness, perhaps that’s what this is.

It wasn’t the start of the semester, so no one helped carry their things. Hauling all their luggage here had them sweating and exhausted. They wiped their brows and nodded, while the old man eyed them for a long moment, then lowered his voice, “Got hazed, huh?”

Before they could reply, his voice dropped even further, “Young fellows, don’t blame me for not warning you. If you can move out, do it quick. This place… isn’t very clean.”

Wang Chenghao’s back went rigid, and he swallowed hard. Qin Ye chuckled, “What’s going on, sir? No one told us.”

“Of course they wouldn’t. Student council assigned your room, right? Who’d mention this? It’s the school’s reputation.” The old man glanced around nervously, took a deep breath and said solemnly, “I’m on the night shift now, but tomorrow I’ll switch places. Can’t stay here.”

As if recalling something, he let out a long sigh and took a swig from his thermos. “Starting a few months ago, every night… you can hear the sound of gongs and drums!”

He trembled, “I’ve never dared open the door at night, you know… Every night at midnight, someone beats the gongs and drums and marches upstairs, then you hear messy footsteps coming down. But… the doors are locked at midnight! I’ve never heard anyone open them.”

“It’s like… after midnight, someone… just stands right at the door, staring, until dawn!”

He shakily pulled out a cigarette and took a deep drag. “At dawn, unless the rooster crows, I won’t open the door. But every day… I find four pairs of wet footprints! I’ve reported it, but no one cares! Because nothing’s ever happened!”

“It’s not just me who hears it… the whole building does! No one opens the door, but someone comes in. Someone leaves, footprints remain, but no doors open! For months, this place used to be full of students, now only those who can’t move out are left! Take my advice, young fellows—move out if you can! This place… really isn’t clean!”

By the end, his teeth were chattering, the cigarette quivering between his lips.

Qin Ye nodded. “Thank you, sir. If we get the chance, we’ll move right away.”

“Hey, I’m not joking! This isn’t a ghost story! You’ll see tonight! And whatever you do, don’t open the door!” As they headed upstairs, the old man shouted after them.

“Qin… Bro…” Wang Chenghao edged closer, “Do you think there’s really something wrong with this place?”

The building was old, with dim yellow lights and mottled walls. Even in daylight, it felt gloomy.

“There is.” Qin Ye replied lazily. “If this happened every night, the students would’ve gone mad. Yet some people still live here. So… what kind of people do you think stay?”

Wang Chenghao’s face turned pale. “Dead… people?”

Qin Ye leaned in, whispering in his ear, “No… living corpses.”

In the silent corridor, Wang Chenghao stared at Qin Ye like a block of wood, finally gulping loudly.

His mind had gone blank from fright.

“Pfft… hahaha!” Suddenly, laughter echoed from upstairs. A student poked his head through the stairwell, laughing heartily. “You got me… haha! Bro, were you scared by the old man too? Hahaha! He tells this story every time there’s a new student. He scared me so badly back then I didn’t dare use the bathroom!”

“Quack quack!” Downstairs, Old Liu cackled like a duck and slapped the table. “I can’t… haven’t scared anyone in ages, really can’t take it…”

Damn it!

Wang Chenghao’s face was red as a monkey’s backside. University dorms had pranks like this? City folks sure knew how to play.

It was… unbearably embarrassing.

“You knew.” He looked at Qin Ye, who was laughing and leaning against the wall, with a wounded tone: “Man… that’s just mean!”

“Enough!” Qin Ye wiped away tears of laughter and patted his shoulder. “No monsters here. It’s almost six. After the six o’clock broadcast, we can’t go out. We haven’t eaten yet.”

But as soon as they entered the dorm, both fell silent.

It was a six-person dorm.

Aside from them, three others were already present; one bed piled high with luggage. Yet… the curtains were tightly drawn, made of some unknown material so that sunlight barely filtered through, leaving the room nearly pitch black.

On the beds, three people lay in a row, covered with white quilts, identical in posture, utterly still.

Gulp… Wang Chenghao swallowed hard again, involuntarily recalling Qin Ye’s “living corpses.”

A few slivers of sunlight revealed floating specks of dust in the air. What should have been warmth and light only made the darkness of the dorm more stark, as if… a silent, icy morgue.

“Third… is that you?” At that moment, a voice groaned from one bed, “Did you finally go get food?”

“Don’t nag… I’m still lying here… Damn… I’m so hungry I can’t move…”

Another weak voice came from another bed, barely audible, “Talk less… talking makes you hungry… Who opened the door? Can you close it? It’s freezing…”

Wang Chenghao had never seen such bizarre dorm mates and was dumbstruck. Qin Ye ignored it all and flicked the light on. Instantly, three anguished cries of starvation echoed through the room.

“On the night of the full moon, my vital energy is disrupted! I’m about to reveal my true form!” “Who’s the new guy? Show mercy… I’ve been writing my thesis all day, haven’t slept, just let me die in peace!” “Please, father, spare me, I’ll erect a longevity tablet for you tomorrow, just turn off the lights!”

Wang Chenghao’s dreams of college life and friendly roommates dropped to absolute zero.

“Instant noodles—Uni-President or Master Kong, which do you want?” Qin Ye asked calmly.

“Braised beef!” “Pickled sauerkraut! Dear father, gratitude from my ancestors!” “Shrimp and fish balls… Even as a ghost I’ll remember you!”

“Ah… seems I forgot to bring them.” Qin Ye fanned himself with a stack of joss paper. “Ten billion from Heaven and Earth Bank—want some?”

“If you can’t cross the Bridge of Helplessness, why not just head down now? Why stay here and get in the way?”

Wang Chenghao’s awkward smile froze instantly.

He turned mechanically, tears in his eyes, staring blankly at Qin Ye.

This wasn’t fair… bullying the honest guy…

“What are you looking at?” Qin Ye pointed at the bed. “Earthbound spirits, really, not kidding. Just burn some joss paper and it’s all good.”

Bro… dear bro… do you have some misunderstanding about the word ‘clean’…