Chapter 206: After Rehearsal, Li Yin Returns to the Dressing Room, Takes Off the Golden Wig in Front of the Mirror, and Starts Removing…

Chapter 206: After the rehearsal ended, Li Yin returned to the dressing room, removed her golden wig in front of the mirror, and began to take off her makeup.

The dressing room seemed to have been neglected for a long time, with a layer of misty dust covering the mirror's surface. Li Yin gazed at her reflection, lost in thought—

This face, stripped of its mesmerizing stage glamour, revealed the slightly weary dark circles under her eyes; the exaggerated contours of her makeup softened, revealing gentle and elegant features; the dazzling golden wig, no longer held by hairpins, slowly slid from her head, exposing her coiled black hair—

This was clearly her true self.

Yet as Li Yin stared at the blurred reflection, she suddenly felt an unfamiliarity with the person in the mirror.

It was as if, with each bit of makeup removed, something indescribable was being extracted from her inner world, leaving behind a vast emptiness that left Li Yin feeling utterly at a loss.

She should, she should…

What should she do to reclaim what had slipped away inside her?

After finishing her makeup removal, Li Yin sat there in a daze for a long while before suddenly picking up the wig beside her and putting it back on.

…Yes, this is how she should be.

Like a missing puzzle piece falling into place, her soul felt complete again, and Li Yin let out a contented sigh.

At that moment, she felt like the heroine of a play, the noble young lady Matilda who elopes with her lover at midnight, the moth that vanishes alone into the depths of a dark forest.

She was almost about to forget her name "Li Yin," muttering it unconsciously: "Matilda…"

Curls of hair fell around her cheeks, and the golden-haired girl in the mirror smiled brightly, as if responding to the call.

An hour later, Li Yin finally tidied herself up, changed into her regular clothes, and walked out of the dressing room.

Under the dim lighting of the backstage corridor, her complexion appeared even paler and more haggard, as if she had not yet recovered from a serious illness. Her steps were heavy, her shoulders slightly slumped, as though an invisible weight was pressing down on them, making it hard for her to stand straight.

She had barely taken a few steps when a familiar figure blocked her path.

Li Yin looked up in surprise, meeting Yi Fengchu’s polite smile: “Do you have time for a chat?”

Though his eyes were calm and smiling, Li Yin instinctively averted her gaze, avoiding eye contact with Yi Fengchu.

When those pitch-black eyes focused intently on a point, they always gave the impression of a massive beast staring down its prey, a subtle pressure enveloping her.

Yi Fengchu spoke with certainty: “About the recent events you’ve encountered—things that ordinary people can’t understand.”

Hearing this, Li Yin’s expression changed, a glimmer of clarity appearing in her eyes.

In fact, she had also realized that the events happening to her recently, and even her own state, were far from normal.

She just couldn’t break free on her own, like someone whose feet were already mired in quicksand, only able to witness her own descent, sometimes clear-headed, sometimes dazed.

Li Yin took a deep breath and nodded solemnly: “Alright... let’s go to the audience seats and sit down to talk.”

...

Li Yin, Yi Fengchu, and Meng Siyou sat down in the audience seats.

With the heavy makeup removed, others could see that the spirited lead actress on stage was actually haggard, with dark circles under her eyes, looking very unwell.

Li Yin clutched her hands tightly, her gaze drifting off into space, as she began to recount her recent experiences.

For convenience, Li Yin lived in the school dormitory.

The dormitories at A University were originally designed as standard four-person rooms with bunk beds and desks below, but coincidentally, two of Li Yin's roommates had moved out, leaving the room spacious for just two residents.

The first anomaly occurred in the public bath on the ground floor of the dormitory building.

It was afternoon, and the bathroom was spacious and quiet, so much so that a pin drop could be heard.

Li Yin didn't want to compete for a spot in the evening, so she carried her toiletries early, passing through one silent, empty shower stall after another, and habitually ducked into a corner.

Standing under the showerhead, the white mist quickly rose and enveloped her, blurring her vision and dulling all her senses, isolating her from the outside world.

With her hair wet, Li Yin bent down, lifting her hair to the front and applying shampoo.

She had long, thick, black hair, and when the wet strands clung together and hung down, they formed a dark curtain before her eyes, obscuring everything in front of her.

Occasionally, droplets mixed with foam would splash onto her eyelids, causing her to squint uncomfortably.

As she focused on lathering her hair, a movement caught her eye through the gaps in her hair. She glimpsed what seemed to be a shadow outside the plastic curtain of the stall.

—It was the silhouette of a person, resembling a woman with long hair.

Was it a classmate who had also come to shower early?

Through the mist and the semi-transparent plastic curtain, the figure appeared hazy and indistinct.

Li Yin could only see the dark, shadowy outline, barely making out that the person had long hair like hers, and was tilting their head, letting the thick hair fall, perhaps washing it as well.

Before she could get a better look, her hair fell back down, plunging her vision into darkness once more.

The motion of washing her hair paused, and Li Yin instinctively felt a chill.

Standing under the shower, her vision and hearing were both blurred by the hot water, her body still naked and completely defenseless, a time that inherently lacked a sense of security.

The appearance of the strange figure was like an unstable factor, a potential explosion at any moment, causing Li Yin's goosebumps to rise.

While trying to convince herself not to overthink, Li Yin quickened her pace in washing her hair, wanting to distance herself from the unsettling presence as soon as possible.

For a moment, the bathroom was unusually quiet, with only the sound of water droplets splashing on the ground and Li Yin's increasingly unstable breathing.

After a few minutes, Li Yin suddenly realized a problem:

Wait... Why hadn't she heard anyone approaching?

Like a floodgate opening, more questions flooded Li Yin's mind, making it impossible for her to stop her wild thoughts—

When did that person enter? How long had they been standing there? Had they already been silently watching her before she noticed their presence?

What would that person do next? Would they press up against the curtain and spy on her every move?

—Why not take another look?

The more Li Yin thought, the more frightened she became, and this idea suddenly popped into her head.

Why not take another look to see if that suspicious figure was still there?

Thus, Li Yin unconsciously held her breath slightly, pushed her long hair aside with both hands, and opened her eyes wide, which were stinging from the steam and shampoo, peering cautiously through the gaps in her hair toward the shower curtain.

That figure was still visible, cast on the plastic curtain.

This time, the figure moved closer, allowing Li Yin to see its posture more clearly—legs straight, back bent, shoulders oddly drooping, and hair presumably scattered around the face, still obscuring the features.

The figure seemed to be...

staring at her.

In an instant, Li Yin felt her hairs stand on end, and a scream escaped her lips, echoing through the damp, empty bathroom.

“What’s with all the screaming?”

Not far away, the sound of bottles and jars hitting the ground followed, and then came the complaint from an unfamiliar girl: “You scared me so much I dropped everything… Can’t you have some consideration and not shout in public places?”

Hearing another voice, Li Yin, without even bothering to wipe the water off her body, rushed out of the stall without a moment's delay.

She clung to the girl’s arm as if it were a lifeline, startling the stranger so much that her anger instantly dissipated.

Li Yin was terrified, her voice trembling as she repeatedly emphasized that she had just seen a dark figure standing outside the stall.

“And that ‘person’ was getting closer to me! It definitely wasn’t right!”

She almost shrieked these words, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably, wet hair sticking to her skin, making her look like a ghost emerging from a horror story.

The girl she clung to shuddered, taken aback by Li Yin’s appearance. After a moment of silence, she spoke weakly:

“But I didn’t see anyone in that corridor just now.”

When Li Yin’s friends learned about this incident, they comforted her, suggesting it might have been due to recent stress and a mistake in perception, urging her to get some rest.

Li Yin hoped it was just an illusion, but soon after, another strange event occurred.

The incident occurred two days later.

That day, after Li Yin finished her dinner and took a brief walk, she returned to the dormitory as the sky grew dark.

Opening the dormitory door, she found the room dimly lit, with not a single light on.

She turned on the light and was surprised to find that her roommate was actually in the dorm.

A curtain was installed in front of her roommate’s desk, which was now drawn. Through the gap, Li Yin could see her familiar figure sitting at the desk, facing a computer screen, seemingly watching a video.

"Li Yin, you’re back?"

Her roommate’s voice came through the curtain, the familiar playful tone easing Li Yin’s tension.

She couldn’t quite explain why, just a moment ago, she had felt a secret unease and fear in this ordinary scene, as if some primal instinct was sounding an alarm—she hadn’t thought much about it then, only letting out a quiet sigh of relief and ignoring the warning.

Confirming that the person behind the curtain was indeed her roommate, Li Yin felt reassured and casually asked, "Why didn’t you turn on the lights if you were in the dorm?"

"Ha ha ha ha..."

Her roommate didn’t answer but instead faced the computer screen, shaking her head from side to side, emitting a series of joyful laughs.

She must be watching a funny variety show.

Not getting a response, Li Yin didn’t mind, tidied up her things, and then changed into her pajamas before climbing up to the top bunk.

After the incident in the bathroom, as long as someone was around, making a bit of noise, a human presence that kept her from being alone in silence, Li Yin felt exceptionally content.

Accompanied by her roommate’s laughter, Li Yin curled up in her bed, playing with her phone. Before long, her eyelids grew heavy, and her consciousness began to blur.

But in her drowsy state, she suddenly heard her roommate mechanically repeat, "Lee Yin, you’re back?"

Then came another familiar laugh.

...Why was her roommate repeating that sentence? Was it just an auditory hallucination in her half-awake state?

A chill ran up her spine, and Lee Yin jolted awake, her heart pounding fiercely.

She didn’t dare to make a sound, only curling up under the covers, straining her ears to listen for any movement from below the bed.

"Ha ha ha ha..."

Her roommate was still laughing.

Lee Yin couldn’t help but recall—

Before she turned on the light, had there been a glow from her roommate’s computer screen through the gaps in the desk curtain?

If her roommate was really watching a variety show, why hadn’t there been even a sliver of light in the dim room?

And if the computer screen was completely dark, what was her roommate doing, sitting in the darkness behind the curtain without turning on the light?

Or was this even the same roommate Lee Yin knew?

The more she thought about it, the more goosebumps rose on her skin. Despite lying in the soft, warm bed, she felt a chill all over, her limbs icy cold.

"Hee hee hee hee..."

Unconsciously, her roommate’s laughter grew sharper and more piercing, enveloping Lee Yin like a suffocating blanket. The voice seemed to be getting closer, repeating the same phrase over and over:

"Li Yin, you’re back?"

"Hehehehehe… Li Yin, you’re back?"

"Li Yin…"

In the end, the "roommate" seemed to be pressed right up against Li Yin’s quilt, calling out to her through the fabric. In her daze, she almost felt a cold breath on her ear.

Li Yin couldn’t help but imagine what the "roommate" looked like—was that figure now hovering above her, shaking its head wildly from side to side, mouth wide open in a maniacal laugh?

…Stop calling me.

Stop calling me!

Li Yin buried her head under the pillow, not daring to look out, fearing that she would meet the pale, grinning face of a ghost, just like in a horror story.

In the grip of intense fear, her taut nerves quickly grew weary.

Listening to her heart pounding like a drum, waves of drowsiness washed over her.

Time dragged on, and she couldn’t tell if she had actually fallen asleep or not.

When Li Yin finally came to, the dorm room was quiet, the "roommate’s" laughter gone, the curtains empty, as if everything before had been a nightmare.

She checked the time on her phone; it was already past eleven-thirty, and her real roommate hadn’t returned yet.

She was still shaken.

Spending the night alone was too frightening for Li Yin; but now, with the sound of someone nearby, she felt uneasy, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

At that moment, the dormitory door was knocked on, and her roommate asked apologetically from outside, "Li Yin, are you asleep? Sorry, I forgot my key."

When people are afraid, they instinctively crave the company of others, a primal urge ingrained in the genes of social animals.

Even though Li Yin had just been frightened by her fake roommate, hearing that her roommate was back brought a sense of relief and joy to her heart, and she hurriedly got out of bed to open the door.

"Thank goodness you're back!"

Li Yin exclaimed with delight, her hand gripping the round doorknob, turning it halfway. Her tone was half resentful, half fearful: "You have no idea, I think I encountered a ghost again just now..."

At that moment, her phone vibrated twice in her palm.

Li Yin's grip on the doorknob loosened, and she instinctively looked down at her phone.

In the deep darkness of the night, the light from the phone screen was almost blinding. There was no need to read carefully; the message that popped up stabbed into Li Yin's eyes like a knife, making her face turn deathly pale.

The new message read—

"Roommate": I won't be coming back tonight, no need to leave the door open.