Chapter 10: The Shadow in the Mirror

I was so scared that I quickly covered my head with the blanket, not daring to breathe. I had heard people say that mirrors are for reflecting people during the day, but at night, they reflect ghosts. Could it be that there really is a ghost looking into that mirror, and I happened to see it? That would be so unfortunate. But why would a ghost choose to look in a mirror here, of all places? Is it because I keep saying to the mirror, "I'm handsome again," and it overheard me? Does it also want to see if it looks handsome? That would be so unfortunate.

Reaching the end of this level, I stopped again. No, I can't go down either, and there is nowhere to go. The entire apartment building has no one else except for the building manager. I can't just run to the manager, can I? With no other options, I could only walk back and forth slowly. However, in this dark corridor, the sound of my slippers was frightening enough. Staying here for too long is not a solution either, so I gritted my teeth and walked back to the dormitory door.

After some thought, I decided to go in. I opened the door, trembling in my calves, afraid that if I took a big step, I might hurt myself. In fact, I was even more afraid that there might be something on the balcony.

Soon, the lights in the dormitory building were turned off, and I began to sleep as well. I am not sure if it was because I drank too much water or for some other reason, but I had not been asleep for long before I felt the need to go to the restroom. Fortunately this time, I had a flashlight, so there was nothing to be afraid of.

Breakfast was nothing complicated; I bought a few soup dumplings and had a bowl of porridge, which was sufficient, as I wasn't really hungry anyway

The guy across from me has a large mirror hanging on the door of his wardrobe. It is quite convenient for all of us in the dormitory to stand there and check ourselves out. The mirror is positioned directly below my bed, so I can see it easily by just tilting my head while lying down.

I dared not think any further and hurriedly climbed onto the bed. However, my bed was right next to the window, and lying there, the window was directly behind my head. I kept telling myself not to think about that hanging man; he was on the fourth floor, and there was no way he could climb in through the window. Yet, the more I tried not to think about it, the more I felt he would definitely come in through the window. Lying there with the window right behind my head, I was extremely frightened. I decided to change my sleeping position, throwing my pillow to the other side, finally distancing my head from the window. However, I didn't know where the wind was coming from at that moment, and the curtains began to flutter. Unable to resist, I leaned over to see what was happening.

I turned on the flashlight, climbed down from the bed, and hurried to the bathroom. This time, there was no strange sound of the door closing. I quickly returned to the dormitory, intending to get back into bed and continue sleeping. However, as I walked to the bedside, I glanced at the mirror across from me, and suddenly, goosebumps covered my body. In the faint light reflected by the flashlight, it seemed there was a face in the mirror! Of course, it couldn't be my face; I had only glanced sideways and wasn't standing in front of the mirror. How could my face possibly appear? I nearly scared myself to death. The face was large and very pale, but I couldn't tell whether it was male or female. I was overwhelmed with goosebumps again. In the faint light reflected by the flashlight, it seemed there was a face in the mirror! Of course, it couldn't be my face; I had only glanced sideways and wasn't standing in front of the mirror. How could my face possibly appear? I nearly scared myself to death. The face was large and very pale, but I couldn't tell whether it was male or female. I didn't dare to look again, and almost jumped onto the bed. However, curiosity compelled me to take another glance, and my heart nearly shattered. It seemed the eyes of that face were looking at me, and we locked eyes for a moment!

In the afternoon, I lay in bed reading a novel and made a few phone calls to some classmates, but none of them came. We talked about some amusing things at home, and that was about it. Today, I was cautious and specifically charged the flashlight in the morning to avoid being without light at night. After listening to some songs, I noticed it was getting late, so I casually ate something and took a basin to the washroom. This time, I needed to check the situation in the washroom and the toilet. While it was still not too dark, I looked around, and everything seemed normal. It might really just be the wind causing the disturbances. Today, I was cautious and specifically charged the flashlight in the morning to avoid being without light at night. After listening to some songs, I noticed it was getting late, so I casually ate something and took a basin to the washroom. This time, I needed to check the situation in the washroom and the toilet. While it was still not too dark, I looked around, and everything seemed normal. It might really just be the wind causing the disturbances.

After returning to the dormitory, I played on the computer for a while, then took my basketball to the court. There were not many people there, and after playing for a bit, I found it uninteresting, so I came back. After lunch, I went to the supermarket and bought a large amount of food to avoid having to go out for dinner later.

Just as I was wondering, I looked down and, to my surprise, there was a piece of clothing on the ground—a white hooded sweatshirt. In that moment, I realized what had happened. The white figure I had seen hanging yesterday must have been this sweatshirt, dangling like a ghost. It probably got blown down by the wind afterward. But where did this sweatshirt come from? I clearly didn't see any clothes hanging outside when I arrived.

And the books, or perhaps it is that unfortunate child downstairs? I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine, and the more I thought about it, the more frightened I became. I regretted coming here so early; usually, the apartment is bustling with people, especially the boys' dormitory, which is filled with positive energy. No malevolent spirits would dare to cause trouble there. But now, there are probably no more than five people in the entire dormitory building, which cannot suppress the malevolent forces in this place

Fear is an extremely exhausting emotion; over time, it can lead to a profound sense of fatigue. Before long, I found myself dozing off in a daze, and when I awoke, the sky was already bright.

I walked to the bedside, the curtains were still, and the white figure hanging outside the window was faintly visible. I was covered in goosebumps; just thinking about the terrifying appearance of a person who had hanged themselves sent chills down my spine. I climbed onto the bed and quickly covered myself with the blanket, thinking to myself that I would definitely not stay here again tomorrow. Damn it, that ghost who hanged himself downstairs is dead but still comes to scare people.

However, where did that ghost come from, and why did it specifically come to our dormitory? I have heard that the dormitory was originally built over a graveyard, and later the school purchased the land to construct this student apartment. Could it be that this is a former inhabitant of this place?

I pushed the door several times, but it did not budge at all, and the doorknob wouldn't turn either. At that moment, I panicked, cold sweat running down my back. In my confusion, I looked up at the door number and realized, oh no, I had made a mistake. I had actually gone to the wrong dormitory and had been pushing against the door of the neighboring dormitory for half the time. No wonder it was locked!

At this moment, I got out of bed, pulled open the curtains, and saw that there was nothing on the clothes drying rack on the balcony outside. I thought, could it be that something was really hanging there yesterday and has now gone? If so, could it be a bat, hanging there to sleep at night and flying away during the day?

Upon leaving the dormitory, I realized that I did not know where to go. I certainly could not run to the first floor and tell the building manager, "Auntie, I am scared!" That would be too embarrassing. I paced back and forth in the corridor, unsure whether to go left or right. At that moment, a line from a song came to mind: "To the left, to the right..." Damn, I really encountered this. The corridor was quite dark, and in the end, I decided to go right, because the inexplicable sound of the toilet door opening in the washroom on the left made me a bit uneasy.

At that moment, the curtain suddenly fluttered, revealing a small section of the glass behind it. The dim light from the street lamp outside the apartment filtered in, making it hard to see clearly. I took a deep breath and boldly pulled the curtain open a bit. Just as my hand stopped moving, I regretted it; I almost fell off the bed. Through the glass, I saw a white figure outside!

Never mind, in any case, it’s definitely not a ghost. It seems I scared myself yesterday; it must have been some wind or something playing tricks in the bathroom. I realize I do have a bit of a timid nature. However, this means I don’t have to move out after all. My mood has improved significantly. After washing my face and tidying up, I put on my clothes and prepared to go out for a meal. Before leaving, I looked in the mirror and thought, yes, I’ve become handsome again

But that is not the main point; the main point is that this shadow was actually hanging from the clothes drying rod! The two arms were drooping, and the head was elongated. My heart skipped a beat, and I almost fainted. I quickly pulled the curtains shut, too scared to look again, and I didn't dare to stay in the dormitory any longer. I ran out wearing only my underwear.

I cursed myself for being foolish as I took two steps to my dormitory door and pushed it open. Since there was no light, after closing the door, I could see nothing at all. I could only feel my way to the bottom of my bed, intending to climb up and continue sleeping. Just as I was about to lift my foot, the curtains in the dormitory suddenly fluttered. I was taken aback; I had clearly shut the window tightly, so it was impossible for any wind to come in. How could the curtains move on their own?

The movie ended quickly, and it was really late. There was nothing much to do, so I took my phone flashlight and climbed into bed, waiting for the lights to go out and sleep.

Amitabha, I will never say that again. However, that ghost is really too ugly, with such a big face that the frame can barely contain it. On the other hand, the skin is quite nice, rather fair. Thinking of this, I scolded myself; how could I still be thinking about such things at this moment, truly a fool.

After I finished washing up, I returned and opened my computer, finding a movie to watch. It was a comedy, and I laughed while watching it. This dormitory building has five floors, and my laughter occasionally echoed through the halls.