Looking at Tong Liu's caller ID on my phone, I got furious. Damn it, Tong Liu even wrote "martial arts film" in a marker. It really was a "martial arts film"—a whole box of pornographic films, and foreign ones with heavy themes.

I took a deep breath and answered the phone, "Hello."

"Changming, I won't be going back tonight. You'll have to sleep alone. The room is a bit messy, so please bear with it."

Bucket Six seemed to be eating, and the sound of him talking was like he was chewing something.

"Okay." I really wanted to yell at him, but then I thought better of it.

Tong Liu has his own hobbies, and I have no right to interfere. In the end, it was my own fault for being so nosy and having to go through other people's things.

Damn it, I was yelling so loudly just now, I don't know if the people outside heard me. But if I don't go out, people will just think it was Tong Liu watching. Thinking about this, I felt inexplicably better.

"Okay, you can rest now. If you get hungry, the kitchen... um... seems to be empty. Alright, figure it out yourself. I'm hanging up." Tong Liu said and hung up the phone.

I put down my phone, wanting to go outside and see if anyone was there, but then I thought better of it; this wasn't my dorm.

I put the discs away and returned them to Tong Liu under the bed. Suddenly, a prank came to mind. I plugged the stereo into the socket under the TV. If Tong Liu watches porn late at night, hehe.

Thinking about this, I laughed without a care in the world, and felt instantly much better.

Lying back in bed, playing on my phone, I suddenly thought of calling Old Li to ask him about the old processing plant, but it was already past nine o'clock, and I was afraid of disturbing his sleep, so I decided against it.

I was playing on my phone until after 10 p.m. when I suddenly felt sleepy. I closed my eyes and fell asleep with my phone in my hand.

I don't know what time it was in the night, but I heard a knock on the door. I groggily opened my eyes, turned on the light, and asked, "Who is it?"

It was quiet outside, and no one spoke. I checked the time; it was 3:30 a.m. Who would knock on the door so late? Could it be that the circuit was broken and they came down to ask Tong Liu for help with the repairs?

"What's the matter? Are you looking for Feng Liu to fix the circuits?" I called out again towards the door.

There was still no sound from outside the door. I thought maybe someone from the neighborhood had knocked on the wrong door. If they were looking for Tong Liu, they should have been very anxious to speak up.

I'm very sleepy now because I didn't sleep well last night, so I turned off the light and closed my eyes to go back to sleep.

Just as I was drifting off to sleep, in a drowsy state, there was another knock on the door.

I sat up in bed again, already a little annoyed. I said irritably toward the door, "Who is it? Get to the point, I'm going to sleep."

It was still quiet outside. I thought it was probably some naughty kid playing a prank, but knocking on the door so late at night and not letting people sleep was really a bit unethical.

This is Tong Liu's dorm room. My first thought was that Tong Liu had offended someone and was now being retaliated against. And I just happened to be sleeping here tonight, so it's like I got shot even though I was lying down.

Seeing that no one spoke outside the door, I was too lazy to get up and check. I turned off the light, lay down, and went back to sleep. If it was just a naughty kid, he should have gotten over his antics after a couple of pranks. I was just staying temporarily, so there was no need for me to go out and argue with him.

"I'm going to sleep if you're not going to talk. Oh, by the way, Feng Liu isn't back tonight. I just came here to stay."

I spoke a few more words towards the door, but when no one answered, I turned off the light, pulled up the covers, and went to sleep.

A moment later, the knocking sounded again, and a faint voice came from outside, "Are you Zuo Changming?"

"Yes, I am. Are you Tong Liu's friend? Are you also here to stay?" I sat up in bed and asked the door.

Silence fell again outside the door; not a sound could be heard.

I was wide awake. Since the person outside knew my name, he must be Tong Liu's friend. But why wasn't he saying anything? Was he here to collect a debt?

Or perhaps Tong Liu has a grudge against someone and is deliberately trying to mess with him?

I got out of bed, turned off the light, and said I was going to sleep.

Actually, I tiptoed to the door, intending to wait for the guy outside to knock, then immediately open the door and rush out to catch him red-handed.

The room was dark at the moment, with the only light source being a gap of about three centimeters at the bottom of the door. There was also a small hole at the door handle, about the size of a little finger, which was probably a screw hole, but the screw had fallen off at some point.

I held my breath, pressing my ear tightly against the wall by the door. It was quiet outside, not a sound. Just as I was about to remove my ear from the wall, I heard that familiar knocking sound again.

"Knock knock knock knock!"

I felt both nervous and excited, thinking that I would soon catch the prankster. My eyes slowly moved closer to the screw hole.

When my eyes were fixed on that screw hole, I saw a person standing outside the door, but I couldn't see his face. I could only see that he was wearing a gray suit, which was very dirty and old, and a white shirt underneath, which was also very dirty and old, with large patches of yellowing and blue. I couldn't see his pants from the bottom up, but I could see half of his neck from the top up. His skin was dark, and there was a black mark on his neck.

I looked away and cursed under my breath. Who did Tong Liu offend? He's so slovenly, he probably hasn't showered in at least a month. The grime on his neck could be rubbed off and made into four or five pills.

When I looked out the door again, the person was gone. I think he must have knocked on the door and hidden himself.

Since I couldn't see the person's face through the screw hole anyway, I decided to lie down on the ground and try to see if I could see the person's face through the large crack at the bottom of the door.

I did what I wanted to do. I moved quietly and slowly lay down on the ground, my head slowly leaning towards the crack under the door.

Just then, the knocking sounded again.

At that moment, my eyes were pressed against the crack under the door, but what I saw made me freeze for a moment, and then my face changed drastically. I screamed and quickly closed my eyes.

Just now, I saw a pair of shoes outside the door. They were very worn and old, and they were a pair of shoes that I recognized very well. They were the same pair that appeared at the door of the small room that day. No, they were the same pair that appeared in the small house by the wall.

I was so frightened that my face turned pale and my whole body trembled violently. I wondered how he could be here, or if I had seen things wrong, because I had only caught a fleeting glimpse before I closed my eyes.

To avoid scaring myself, I gritted my teeth and slowly opened my eyes. The doorway was empty; there was no sign of the old shoes.

I secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seems I've always been suspicious and paranoid; where did all these superstitious things come from?

Just as I was about to stand up, something suddenly appeared in my line of sight.