It was just a movie — nothing to worry about. Bai Jie reassured himself.
He forced himself not to dwell on the strange circumstances of A Xiao's disappearance or Zheng Yueling's suspiciousness.
He told Chen Zhang about Zheng Yueling's invitation.
Chen Zhang just said, with weighty solemnity, "Jie-ge, I hate to say it, but some women are like an '82 vintage Longjing tea — you just can't handle them."
"I won't say more. Just one piece of advice: stay safe."
Stay safe... safe from what, exactly?
For a moment, Bai Jie wasn't sure which meaning Chen Zhang intended.
...
Friday arrived in the blink of an eye.
Bai Jie and Zheng Yueling walked out of the project group's office together and headed straight off campus.
Neither of them noticed a tall, lean figure following them from a distance.
If Bai Jie had turned around, he would have discovered it was none other than his roommate, Chen Zhang.
Bai Jie and Zheng Yueling first had dinner at a mall, then walked into the movie theater.
Bai Jie had booked tickets for Spider-Man 3. After they took their seats, before the movie even started, Zheng Yueling suddenly rested her jade-like hand on Bai Jie's arm.
"Little Jiejie, why are you so quiet today?" Zheng Yueling gazed at Bai Jie with blatant curiosity.
"Ah, am I?"
Bai Jie froze for a beat, then forced a grin. "Probably because I was too excited about going out with Senior last night — didn't sleep well."
"Hmph, you sure know how to sweet-talk." Zheng Yueling slapped him playfully. "Is it because of what happened to A Xiao?"
Bai Jie's heart instantly tightened.
The theater lights suddenly dimmed, and he found it hard to breathe. The darkness felt like it was about to swallow him whole.
Fortunately, the screen lit up just in time with ads, easing the tension somewhat.
Bai Jie turned his head slightly to size up Zheng Yueling. He had to admit — she was one of the top beauties in their department.
Even in the dim light, her delicate, refined features were striking.
Her eyes were long and round, the outer corners tilting slightly upward. Her brows were long and straight, her nose tall and elegant, her lips full, the corners exquisitely shaped as if carved.
But the one thing Bai Jie couldn't make out was the true intent behind this beautiful senior's gaze.
"Yeah, after all, A Xiao is one of my best friends." Bai Jie said quietly.
Zheng Yueling squeezed the back of his hand. "Don't worry, A Xiao is tough. Maybe he'll show up out of nowhere one day. Let's just enjoy tonight first."
She then turned her attention to the screen.
Bai Jie couldn't help but glance deeply at Zheng Yueling.
A Xiao had been with her before he disappeared, and she must have known he liked her.
Now she was asking him out. What did she really mean by it?
Over two hours later, the movie ended. Bai Jie had been absentminded the entire time — not even three generations of Spider-Men sharing the screen stirred the slightest ripple in his heart.
Walking out of the theater, Zheng Yueling stretched, her lovely curves unfolding before Bai Jie's eyes. "Little Spider-Man was so handsome and adorable," she sighed contentedly. "Totally worth the years of waiting."
Bai Jie didn't blink, his mind elsewhere. "Holland is absolutely top-tier, but I still prefer Tobey's original."
Zheng Yueling giggled. "I'm not just talking about the actors. I like real spiders too. I even keep several at home."
"Is that so?" Bai Jie feigned mild surprise with a lukewarm response.
"Not just spiders — I also have centipedes, geckos, scorpions, pet snakes..." Zheng Yueling counted on her fingers.
"Senior, are you sure you're not raising Gu insects?" Bai Jie's mouth twitched.
"I keep ones with low or no toxicity. They're just exotic pets. What do you know?"
At this, Zheng Yueling's almond eyes swirled playfully. In a teasing tone, she added, "If you don't believe me, come take a look. My place is pretty big, Little Jiejie..."
Before Bai Jie could react, Zheng Yueling had already threaded one slender arm through the crook of his and locked it tight.
"..." Bai Jie hurriedly tilted his head away, hiding his shifting expression.
What was she hinting at? That he could go to her place for a cup of that '82 Longjing?
He suddenly thought of what the Class Monitor had said in the group two days ago, and of the missing A Xiao.
...
Walking back to the dorm alone, Bai Jie was lost in thought.
He had, of course, not entered Zheng Yueling's apartment. He'd merely walked her to her door and, despite her every hint and tease, refused to budge.
In his mind echoed her parting words: "My spiders are huge and beautiful, fuzzy too — they feel nice, and they can even do handstands. Want to go touch them?"
Not a trace of lust stirred in Bai Jie's heart — only an inexplicable, bone-deep chill.
He quickly remembered something and pulled a key from his pocket. It was the key to the security door of Zheng Yueling's rented place.
The key was neither given by Zheng Yueling nor stolen. She'd left it in the office while they worked on the project together.
Bai Jie had meant to return it but kept forgetting.
Suddenly, a bold idea sprouted in his mind.
Bai Jie pulled out his phone and made a voice call.
"Boss Zhang, I need your help with something. Come downstairs. Let's talk in private."
...
The next day, Saturday, around noon.
Bai Jie arrived at the Beicheng Huayuan Residential Complex — where Zheng Yueling rented her place.
Following the route from his memory the night before, he found her apartment with ease.
Standing before the door, he raised the silver key, held his breath, and slid it into the keyhole.
Click. The door opened.
What greeted him was an apartment as dark and hollow as ink. Bai Jie swallowed hard, even feeling the urge to step back.
But he took a deep breath, tensed his entire body, and walked in anyway.
The apartment carried the scent of a girl's cosmetics, yet beneath it lurked a faint, strange odor.
It took some effort to pull open the curtains and let the light in.
"This is..."
Bai Jie gasped under his breath.
The living room was filled with an array of exotic pets, all locked inside glass tanks and clear plastic boxes of varying sizes — square, rectangular.
Spiders, centipedes, toads, lizards, snakes, scorpions... the works. Everything you could think of.
If Bai Jie didn't know how trendy exotic pet-keeping had gotten among young people, he might truly have believed Senior Zheng was raising Gu insects.
Senior Zheng hadn't lied to him — and the place really WAS big.
It was a two-bedroom apartment, about ninety square meters. Bai Jie moved through it, observing and searching.
"How does one person afford a place this big? Is her family loaded?"
Aside from all manner of venomous and exotic creatures, Bai Jie also discovered a full livestream setup in the bedroom.
"Could she be trying to make it as an influencer? Wonder if it's the wholesome kind — a talent streamer, or an exotic pet streamer," Bai Jie muttered.
Beyond those things, the living room and bedroom were perfectly normal. The wardrobe overflowed with clothes of all styles, and the vanity was crowded with bottles and jars jostling for attention.
"Hmm... judging by the clothes, she's the respectable kind of streamer."
Bai Jie had not broken into Zheng Yueling's place to indulge some perverted obsession — he was searching for clues about A Xiao.
The night before, he'd asked Chen Zhang for a favor: to invite Senior Zheng out today and keep an eye on her.
If Senior Zheng was heading back, Chen Zhang would message him.
According to plan, Chen Zhang should right now be at the library asking Senior Zheng about coursework, and later would treat her to a meal.
But nearly twenty minutes had passed, and Bai Jie had still found nothing.
"I figured, after the CID investigated her, she might slip up somewhere."
Bai Jie couldn't help recalling the look on A Xiao's parents' faces when they arrived at Xingchuan University after the disappearance — a mask of worry and despair.
His gut told him something was wrong with Senior Zheng.
The Class Monitor's uncle had warned her to stay away from Zheng Yueling — that in itself said something.
Maybe the CID just didn't have crucial evidence yet, so they couldn't do anything about Zheng Yueling.
"Could it be... she really has nothing to do with A Xiao's disappearance?" Bai Jie thought.
Just as Bai Jie was about to leave, he suddenly heard a strange sound — faint, like a living creature moaning.
"Who's there?" Bai Jie called softly.
A few seconds later, the sound came again. Bai Jie followed it and ended up standing before the walk-in closet in the master bedroom.
He opened the wardrobe, pushed aside the dazzling array of clothes, and felt along the back wall until he finally found a removable panel, beneath which lay a keyhole.
Bai Jie rummaged through the bedroom drawers and, sure enough, found a special key.
Another crisp click rang out.
The key was the right one!
The hidden door slowly swung open. Bai Jie discovered that behind the wardrobe was a separate, dim, sealed room. Strange, foul odors assaulted him, and he had to cover his nose with one hand while using his phone's flashlight with the other.
The moaning was unmistakable now.
Creeping closer, Bai Jie's heartbeat spiked violently.
"A Xiao, is that you?" Bai Jie called toward the source of the sound.
When the flashlight illuminated a narrow bed in the room — eerily reminiscent of an operating table — Bai Jie's pupils contracted sharply, as if struck by a blinding light.
Bound and restrained on that bed was a person. Without a doubt, it was A Xiao.
A Xiao now wore only a thin undershirt and shorts. His whole body was gaunt and withered, his complexion ashen and gray, barely clinging to life.
It was hard to connect this with the pale, clean-cut, spirited young man he'd once been.
"Damn it!"
Bai Jie cursed and rushed over, slapping A Xiao's face as he frantically undid the restraints one by one.
"How are you? What did she do to you?"
Suppressing the panic and fury surging inside him, Bai Jie freed A Xiao and demanded answers.
A Xiao's voice was feeble, his gaze unfocused. "Help... help me. She... she's... a devil..."
A devil?
Bai Jie swept his eyes around the room. He didn't see any of the terrifying implements he'd imagined — no torture devices, no scalpels, no jars of formalin with floating severed limbs.
Despite his countless doubts, the top priority was getting A Xiao out of here, fast.
Buzz —
At that very moment, Bai Jie's phone suddenly vibrated.