Qin Yue was still trying to reason, but Director Liu's tone changed, as if speaking from the heart, deeply understanding her. He said, "Teacher Qin, I understand this is your first time as a homeroom teacher, and you want to lead your class well and achieve results to impress the school leadership. As a young teacher, I understand your feelings. After all, I've been there, too. However, when we work, we must not only consider ourselves but also the overall situation and the interests of the whole. On behalf of the Logistics Department, I promise you, Teacher Qin, that I will do my best to assist you with logistics within my capacity." If you need anything at work, just ask us. We're all here for work, to build the reputation of Nanjiang Medical College, right?
Here, Director Liu paused, turned his gaze to Fang Yuan, and said kindly, "Student Fang Yuan, let me ask you, are you brave?"
Fang Yuan glanced at Qin Yue, hesitated, and said, "Teacher, I don't know how to answer, but I've lived alone in an old house since I was a child, so I'm not afraid of anything."
Director Liu continued, "Do you believe in ghosts, foxes, gods, and monsters?"
Fang Yuan shook her head.
Director Liu nodded. "That's right. We're materialists, after all. The purpose of studying medicine is to help the world and save people. How can we believe such nonsense? To be honest, a girl once committed suicide in dormitory 441, so it's been empty ever since. What's your opinion if you're assigned to live there?"
"No objection."
Director Liu smiled. "Teacher Qin, you're such a sensible child. I think this is the only way to arrange this matter. Don't overthink it. I'll have the janitor help you tidy up dormitory 441. Clean it, repaint it, and fix the plumbing, electricity, and bathroom fixtures. You'll be satisfied now, right?"
Qin Yue was helpless. Although she hated Director Liu's bureaucratic tone, she had to admit that he had a knack for ideological work. He used both soft and hard tactics, from big principles to small favors, and his arguments were so coherent that you couldn't argue with him.
"Then you should first ask two janitors to clean up Dormitory 441. It's been unoccupied for so long, it's bound to be very dirty. A girl like her wouldn't be able to handle it."
"That's right. I was saying that Teacher Qin is a sensible intellectual after all, and she'll certainly understand the difficulties we face in the Logistics Department. Asking two janitors is no problem. Wait a minute."
In front of Qin Yue, Director Liu summoned the two janitors and specifically instructed them to follow Teacher Qin Yue's instructions and clean up Dormitory 441, ensuring that the plumbing, electricity, and bathroom services are unobstructed, and repainting the entire dormitory.
As the group left the Logistics Department, Qin Yue said to Fang Yuan, "I have to go to the football field to wait for the students to register. You can follow them to Dormitory 441. Ask them to help you with anything you need. Come to the football field to find me if you need anything."
Fang Yuan responded and followed the two janitors to the freshman dormitory building. At that moment, seven or eight freshmen were standing downstairs in the fourth girls' dormitory, huddled together and muttering.
"You know what? The fourth girls' dormitory is incredibly spooky. I heard people often die there!"
"You're talking about Dormitory 441, right? I heard from the seniors that a girl once committed suicide by jumping from the building. That night, the girls she shared a room with went crazy, and the other girls are afraid to stay there anymore. They say they can hear the dead girl's spirits weeping at night..."
"I've inquired. The other girls in Dormitory 441 share the same fate. Some of them have plummeted in academic performance." The situation declined. Some became paranoid and delirious, some lost control of their emotions and experienced drastic changes in their temperament. Some even attempted suicide, though it was said that timely rescue prevented further loss of life. In short, none of the eight girls in dormitory 441 met a happy end. Some dropped out, some suffered heartbreaks, some were forced to repeat a grade, and none of them wanted to live there again.
"What should I do? I'm assigned to dormitory 451, right above 441!" A delicate girl was so frightened that she almost burst into tears.
"What are you calling me? I'm about to cry! I've been assigned to dorm 442, right across from dorm 441. I really don't know what to do."
At this moment, someone noticed Fang Yuan and two janitors approaching and asked curiously, "Alumni, what are you doing here with two janitors? You're not here to help you build a little villa, are you?"
One of the younger janitors laughed. "You little girls, raised in the city as only children, are spoiled and timid. You're nothing compared to this girl from the countryside. Let me tell you, she's been assigned to dorm 441!"
"..."
Time seemed to freeze, and the girls stood stunned, as if under a spell.
A few seconds later, a scream from one of the girls broke the suffocating silence.
After the scream, all the girls began to chatter and stir up discontent.
"No, this won't work! If this goes on, I'd rather drop out!" one girl shouted indignantly.
"Let's go talk to the school leaders and explain. It's obvious they don't care about our lives!"
A girl kindly advised Fang Yuan, "Hey, alumnus, you're too ignorant. Do you know what Dormitory 441 is? Have you heard of it? It's a haunted house. Last year, a girl committed suicide by jumping from the building, and the others who survived weren't much better off either. Some went crazy, some went stupid, and none of them had a good ending."
Fang Yuan smiled at the girl, "It's okay. Those are just rumors. Besides, every house has its share of deaths. In our rural area, generations of ancestors have lived in the same old house, so a few deaths are common."
"Hey, why are you so stupid? This is different from your old houses in the countryside. How can I explain it to you so you understand?"
"Okay, I appreciate your kindness. Look, I still need to go clean up the dorm with them. I'll be upstairs now. Thank you."
Amidst the terrified gazes, Fang Yuan calmly walked into the fourth girls' dormitory with two school workers and walked all the way to the door of Dormitory 441. Dormitory 441 appeared before Fang Yuan. At that moment, Fang Yuan had no idea that she would spend so many agonizing days in this dorm, that she would watch her newfound friends perish before her very eyes.
What surprised her was that not only was the iron door locked, but wooden boards were also nailed across the door and windows, sealing the room tightly shut like a sealed coffin. It felt as if—as if they were afraid something might escape.
At that moment, she had a strange illusion, as if she had been to Dormitory 441 before, had lived there before, and that this scene was merely a replay of the same experience in time. She was stunned by this terrifying thought.
She had experienced similar illusions before, but never as intensely as this one. Moreover, those illusions had been more of a passing familiarity than the nagging sense of foreboding she felt now.