Lin Qiu Shi kept walking forward as the light grew brighter and brighter, almost too harsh for his eyes. Fortunately, the path under his feet was smooth enough that he did not have too much difficulty walking.
Just as Lin Qiu Shi was wondering how much farther he would have to walk, he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness in his mind. He reflexively closed his eyes and reached out to steady himself against the wall, only to find his hand touching cold concrete. The icy sensation made Lin Qiu Shi open his eyes to see his surroundings clearly.
An ordinary hallway, ordinary residents, soft white light shining down from small lamp shades on the ceiling. Everything around him was so familiar — he had somehow returned to the hallway outside his apartment.
For a moment, Lin Qiu Shi felt confused and disoriented, unsure of what to do next. After thinking for a bit, he took out his phone from his pocket.
July 17th, Friday, 8 pm. He had returned to the exact moment when he had left this world.
Lin Qiu Shi remembered very clearly that on the night of the 17th, he had plans to get late-night snacks with his friend and was just about to head out when he opened his door and saw a scene that defied description.
Where the apartments of ordinary residents had been, there were now twelve black iron doors lining the hallway. At the time, the sight had frightened Lin Qiu Shi badly. He stood frozen in the hallway for a long time, even wondering if he was hallucinating. But the icy cold touch of the iron doors told him this was no hallucination. Lin Qiu Shi looked around and realized all other exits from the hallway, including the door to his own apartment, had vanished.
The pitch-black hallway stretched endlessly into the distance, and the silence seemed to gnaw at his soul like insects.
Lin Qiu Shi started trying to pull open the iron doors, but they were sealed tightly without the slightest gap. He went from door to door, until he pulled open the last one.
The instant he pulled open that door, Lin Qiu Shi felt as if some force powerfully yanked his entire body, then he tumbled into the doorway. The next moment, he found himself in that terrifying remote village.
And now, Lin Qiu Shi had come back, returned once more to the hallway outside his apartment. He stood still for a long time, even wondering if everything that had happened was just a strange dream. A thought suddenly occurred to him, and he reached up to touch his earlobe and his pocket... Sure enough, a small earring and a slip of white paper were there.
At that moment, Lin Qiu Shi finally realized clearly that this was not a dream — he had truly experienced a story more terrifying than any nightmare.
Just then, his cell phone rang. Lin Qiu Shi picked up to see it was his friend Wu Qi calling.
"Hey, Lin Qiu Shi, what are you doing?" His friend's name was Wu Qi, a colleague of Lin Qiu Shi's. "Why haven't you come downstairs yet?"
Lin Qiu Shi was lost in thought for a moment before he remembered that Wu Qi was waiting for him downstairs so they could go eat together. He checked their chat history and saw that only an hour had passed in real time — he had only spent 15 minutes in that village.
"Lin Qiu Shi?" Wu Qi sounded puzzled. "Why aren't you saying anything?"
"Oh, nothing." Lin Qiu Shi said. "Something held me up for a bit, I'll head down now."
Wu Qi said "okay" and hung up.
Lin Qiu Shi hurried downstairs. It was the height of summer in July, and though it was already 8 pm, the blazing sun had not yet set. Its fiery glow tinted the horizon a beautiful red. Pedestrians strolled leisurely along the street, fanning themselves. Everything was bursting with vitality.
Lin Qiu Shi's tense body gradually began to relax. Wu Qi was waiting at the entrance to the apartment complex. Seeing Lin Qiu Shi arrive, he waved and said, "You're really slow today. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were putting on makeup!"
Lin Qiu Shi smiled but did not respond.
The two chatted while walking to a barbecue restaurant near the complex.
Wu Qi complained that there were too many mosquitoes in Lin Qiu Shi's complex. After standing half an hour, he had been bitten terribly. He showed Lin Qiu Shi his calves.
Lin Qiu Shi glanced at them. "Too hairy to see anything."
Wu Qi exclaimed, "Damn, first you complain I'm too hairy, if it wasn't for this bit of hair supporting me, how could I have waited for you so long?"
Lin Qiu Shi: "Fine, fine, thanks for your efforts. Dinner's on me tonight."
Wu Qi: "Good, good!"
The barbecue restaurant was bustling with customers. They ordered skewers and a case of beer, then started eating and chatting.
Wu Qi asked Lin Qiu Shi, "Are you really planning to quit and go back home?"
Lin Qiu Shi: "Huh?"
Wu Qi looked puzzled: "What's up with you today, you're totally out of it? Didn't you ask me out tonight just to talk about this?"
Lin Qiu Shi took a swig of icy beer and mumbled, "It's nothing, just had a nightmare this afternoon and can't shake it." His mind was still preoccupied with what had happened behind those doors. He had an ominous feeling that this matter was not over yet.
"Oh," Wu Qi said. "You have seemed off lately. Have you gone to the hospital to get checked out?"
Lin Qiu Shi said, "I did, haven't gotten the test results back yet."
Wu Qi sighed. "Our line of work does tend to lead to incidents. Do you know about what happened with Director Zhao resigning a few months ago? Sounds like he almost died suddenly."
Lin Qiu Shi murmured in agreement, "Mm..."
As the two were talking, a sudden loud crash came from nearby, as if there had been a car accident. This barbecue place was right on the street, with a big road just outside. Hearing the noise, some customers stood up to take a look out the window. Wu Qi's seat was next to the window. He took a glance outside and exclaimed, "There's been an accident!"
Lin Qiu Shi got up to follow the crowd gathering at the entrance to see what had caused the commotion.
A private car had smashed into a tree. It must have been traveling at an incredible speed for the entire front of the car to be smashed to bits.
It looked unlikely the driver would survive.
Someone had already called emergency services. Police and an ambulance arrived quickly.
That shameless Wu Qi continued happily eating barbecue pork heart as he watched the spectacle, savoring it as he spoke: "That guy must have been speeding. For the car to end up in that state, he must have been going at least 100 km/h."
Lin Qiu Shi disagreed: "This is downtown, how could he reach that speed." Moreover, it was the Friday evening rush hour, the roads filled with cars. It was unlikely such speeds were possible.
"Who knows," Wu Qi said. "Stop looking, let's go back. The fish you ordered has arrived."
Lin Qiu Shi nodded. But as he turned to go back inside, he took one last glance at the accident scene. The victim being moved from the mangled driver's seat made him do a double take — the outfit looked vaguely familiar.
He wracked his brains trying to remember where he had seen it before. Finally it came to him — when they had first arrived at the village before changing into winter gear, someone in their group seemed to be wearing this very outfit. Lin Qiu Shi remembered his name...it was Zhang Zi Shuang.
A sudden chill swept through Lin Qiu Shi's body. Not daring to look any further, he went back inside, no longer having any appetite.
Wu Qi said, "What's up with you today, wandering in your thoughts all night?"
Lin Qiu Shi shook his head.
Wu Qi: "And when did you get your ear pierced?" He reached out to touch it but Lin Qiu Shi jerked away reflexively. "Whoa, you've changed. You used to let me touch them before."
Lin Qiu Shi: "Damn, what did I ever let you touch?"
Wu Qi: "Don't you remember that night..."
Knowing Wu Qi was about to start spouting nonsense again, Lin Qiu Shi quickly cut him off. He explained he had just gotten the new earring and it was still sore, worried that dirty hands might cause an infection.
Wu Qi relented, but still seemed bothered. He asked why Lin Qiu Shi suddenly decided to get an earring — was it because he planned to start dating?
Lin Qiu Shi retorted: "Surrounded by all you men, who am I supposed to date, you?"
Wu Qi replied coyly, "Don't be so direct right off the bat. Let me think about it."
Lin Qiu Shi heartlessly said: "Piss off."
The two continued joking around. Seeing the sky darkening, Lin Qiu Shi, still unsettled after just returning from that place, felt anxious at the sight of impending nightfall. Remembering the note's warning, he said he was not feeling well and wanted to head back early.
Wu Qi did not try to stop him, only reminding Lin Qiu Shi to rest well and saying his complexion really did not look good lately.
The two parted ways at the complex entrance. Lin Qiu Shi hurried home.
Taking out his keys and opening the door, he heaved a sigh of relief upon entering. He turned on the living room lights and saw his cat Chestnut obediently sitting in the foyer, meowing at him.
"Chestnut!" Lin Qiu Shi rushed over to hug it, but Chestnut twisted away disdainfully, round butt swaying as it sauntered off.
"Chestnut...let Daddy hug you..."
Chestnut: "Meow~" It nimbly leapt onto the cat tree Lin Qiu Shi had made for it, looking down at its owner from on high.
Lin Qiu Shi sighed again. No hugs allowed.
Chestnut was a two-year-old male lion cat. Though he looked rather majestic, he was extremely docile and affectionate, often cooing and wheedling for pampering. He was Lin Qiu Shi's beloved baby.
But for some reason lately, Chestnut had started acting standoffish, not only refusing hugs but even hissing and swiping when Lin Qiu Shi tried to approach. If he insisted on grabbing the cat for a hug, he'd surely end up clawed.
Lin Qiu Shi truly could not figure out why. At least today Chestnut's attitude seemed a little better — he hadn't brandished his claws. With another sigh, Lin Qiu Shi gazed at His Highness on the cat tree, deciding to take a shower first before trying to make amends.