Tonight, the dormitory was unusually quiet.
Classes were back in full swing, and many students had taken to studying at night in classrooms, vying for the best seats. The poker card game was postponed until after nine.
Resisting the temptation to go over the scene he saw in the experiment over and over again, Hongxiao lay on his bed listening to Ya Nei and Tai Wei chatting idly.
"Everyone's gone. Should we head to the classroom too?" Ya Nei asked.
"Don't be silly. The best classrooms, like Building 3, are already full. The rest are just dark, old buildings. Like Building 1, would you dare go there?" Tai Wei was half-joking.
"Building One? I wouldn't dare at night. Just think about it - it's full of formaldehyde-soaked cadavers in the basement. Who could study above that?" Ya Nei referred to the anatomy specimens stored in the basement of the first academic building.
"Exactly. Let others go if they want. We can study just as well here in the dorm," Tai Wei said earnestly.
"Students in the Department of Clinical Medicine have it even scarier in anatomy class. We surround one cadaver and watch the teacher work. They each share a body among four and do the dissections themselves."
Hongxiao wasn't sure if Tai Wei was sharing curious tales from the enemy or venting his frustrations about not being able to join them.
"I even heard about a freshman in clinical medicine who fainted during his first dissection class and fell face-first into the opened chest of a cadaver," Ya Nei added, unsure of the story's origin.
Such nearly ghostly tales were rampant in medical schools, often embellished or completely fabricated.
"Hua Hongxiao! Phone call!" Suddenly, the dorm attendant's voice, booming like a foghorn, broke the silence.
Hongxiao sprang from his bed and hurried outside. He knew if he was late, the attendant would simply say "not here" and hang up.
"Must be your girlfriend!" Ya Nei and Tai Wei chuckled behind him.
The dorm attendant was walking from the male dormitory building one toward the gatehouse.
For everyone who lived in one of the four male dorm buildings, if there was an incoming call, it was the attendant's job to walk from the gatehouse to the foot of the building, and shout at the top of his lungs.
Hongxiao sprinted out of the building and overtook him halfway.
"What's the rush!" The attendant's tone was more teasing than reproachful.
Picking up the phone, he heard the cheerful voice of Yue Yujia.
"Hua Ge Ge, is that you?"
"It's me. Jia Jia. What's up?"
"I asked him! My brother pleaded guilty."
"Guilty?" Hongxiao thought the word too heavy.
"Yeah, I told him: 'Brother, Grandpa Hua passed so suddenly. I regret not visiting him more when he was alive. Did you see him before he passed?' He immediately blushed and said no. Then I knew something was up."
Yujia narrated with relish.
"I said, 'I saw you when you were taking out the trash! I was right behind you!'
He immediately looked guilty and said, 'Saw what? I didn't do anything!'
I said, 'Did you see who was talking to Grandpa Hua?'
He said, 'She was all wrapped up in black clothes, who could see clearly?'
I said, 'And then?'
He said, 'Then... Then I got curious about who she was, so I walked over to the fence to look, and she was gone.'"
"Your brother followed her?" Hongxiao was surprised.
"Yeah, weird, right? I kept pestering him until he spilled. He thought she was pretty, couldn't see clearly, and just wanted to get a better look. I think boys' thoughts are really strange."
Hongxiao didn't find it strange.
For a young man experiencing the first stirrings of love, encountering a girl who makes his heart flutter, yet being too shy to look her in the eye, simply being able to see her face clearly would be the greatest satisfaction.
"Oh, thanks, Jia Jia!"
"Hua Ge Ge, do you know that girl?" Yujia sounded slightly jealous.
"I don't know her. This is... related to our work." Hongxiao struggled to explain, his words a mess.
Fortunately, Yujia wasn't one for endless questions.
"Well, that's it then. I'm off to night study."
Yujia paused, then asked, "Can I still reach you at this number later?"
"Of course. I'll also call you to chat when I'm free."
After bidding each other goodbye and hanging up, Hongxiao suddenly remembered he had initially contacted Yujia under the pretense of discussing which comic books he should buy her, which neither had mentioned.
He felt a bit guilty about deceiving such a sweet girl.
But a second later, his thoughts returned to the mysterious girl.
Her beautiful eyes really did seem captivating, not just to himself but to Yujia's brother, Yue Pengfei, as well.
But how was she connected to my grandfather?
Hold on, hold on. Regardless, did this prove that I really had sensed Pengfei's consciousness from months ago? So the "Block Universe Theory" was correct?
The past hasn't vanished... Death isn't the end...
With his mind a jumble, Hongxiao returned to the dorm and fell asleep immediately, only vaguely hearing Tai Wei say, "This kid must have been dumped by his girlfriend".
The next day, Hongxiao attended classes absent-mindedly, rushing to Building 9 afterwards.
"Professor Zhu, I asked my neighbor. He really saw the scene I did a few months ago." He blurted out as soon as he entered.
"Really?" Professor's eyes lit up.
"Professor Zhu, if we do the experiment again, will we return to the same scene?"
Hongxiao didn't know what he was hoping for. To spy on the secrets of the mysterious girl? Or to see his grandfather one more time?
Professor Zhu nodded.
"I've discussed with a few people in the group. If we search around the frequency we used last time, the resonant wave might take you back to the same person's consciousness, at the same place and time."
"When can we do the experiment again?" Hongxiao rarely asked so eagerly.
He knew the experiment wasn't a one-man show; it required the whole team's time and effort. He was always sensitive about imposing on others.
But this time, he felt a secret was within reach and he longed to grasp it.
"Today, if you're ready."
Laboratory 2.
Professor Zhu gathered the lab members.
"Everyone, I have good news. Hua Hongxiao confirmed with his neighbor that the scene from our last experiment might really be from his neighbor's past experience."
A cheer erupted, which the professor quickly quieted with a gesture.
"As I said, we still need to verify this. But this could be a significant breakthrough for our lab!"
"Yeah!" Chen Wen led a triumphant cheer.
Faces beamed at Hongxiao, making him slightly embarrassed.
"Today, we continue. Hua Hongxiao, keep it up and let's see what we can discover!" Professor Zhu directed efficiently, then turned to Zou Jing, "You go set up the new equipment."
Hongxiao was surprised to find another bed and accompanying equipment had been brought in.
"We're setting up a second oscillation system," Professor Zhu explained.
"If two 'A's do the experiment simultaneously, will they access the same 'B's consciousness, or two different 'B's in the same scene?" Hongxiao now was confident enough to initiate a scientific question, feeling like the most senior 'A' in the lab.
"We don't know yet. All questions need to be answered through experiments."
Hongxiao lay on the bed.
As Jing was adjusting the new equipment, Ma Jun took over the task of measuring brain waves at the bedside.
Unlike Jing's dirty lab coat, hers was immaculately white, with a blue sweater visible underneath.
When she sat down, a breeze passed between the coat and sweater, and Hongxiao thought he caught a sweet scent, much nicer than cigarette smoke from Jing.
He secretly prayed that the new equipment wouldn't be ready too soon.
"Is it too tight? Does it hurt?" Jun gently placed the electrodes on Hongxiao's head.
"No," he said, eyes closed, as if savoring the moment.
The oscillator had just started when he felt his head spin.
Was it easier the second time around? He didn't remember reacting so quickly before.
Soon, his dizziness intensified. It seemed there was a white fog before his forehead. Though his eyes were closed, it felt vividly real.
Within the fog, there seemed to be a face.
He tried to see it clearly, but discerning each detail seemed to take tremendous effort.
Gradually, as the final piece of the puzzle fit together in his mind, the fog completely dispersed.
It was an old man's face.
A face he knew all too well.