Chapter 12

On Friday night, Bai Zining was enjoying a wonderful moment of solitude in his dormitory.

He had just started a movie and had only watched the first five minutes of the opening when suddenly all the lights in the dorm went out. The entire dormitory plunged into pitch-black darkness, so dark that one couldn’t even see their own hand in front of their face. Bai Zining let out a scream and frantically turned on his phone’s flashlight. Only after there was a bit of light did he feel slightly more at ease.

Aside from his parents, no one knew that Bai Zining was afraid of the dark and afraid of being alone. Now, with both fears combined, he could feel his heart pounding rapidly, thumping like a drum.

On regular nights, having others in the dorm made things bearable for Bai Zining. On weekends, however, when no one was around, he would keep the lights on all night. Fortunately, the school had no restrictions on lights-out during the weekends, a rule that practically saved his life.

He opened the dorm group chat for Building 12 and saw a message from the dorm supervisor, posted three minutes earlier. It was a notification about the power outage. Due to maintenance work on the electrical system, the dormitories in this area would be without power, and electricity wouldn’t be restored until 6 a.m. the next morning.

Bai Zining let out a wail. Zhu Shizhou’s family lived locally, so he went home every two weeks. Ever since Zuo Xingwei started dating, he hadn’t stayed in the dorm on weekends. Meanwhile, Cai Yu’s cousins had come to town last week, so he wouldn’t be returning either.

If the notification had been sent out earlier, he would have definitely gone off-campus to book a hotel in advance. But now, what was he supposed to do?

He reached up to press the small nightlight above his head. It didn’t turn on. After pressing it a few more times, he confirmed that it was out of power.

The school had a curfew, and his phone only had 30% battery left, which definitely wouldn’t last until morning.

Asking him to squeeze into a neighboring dorm room was also out of the question. Bai Zining was someone who valued his pride too much to explain his situation to his classmates. Besides, he wasn’t comfortable sleeping in someone else’s bed.

Under the beam of his flashlight, the floating dust particles in the air were clearly visible, drifting slowly. Bai Zining closed his eyes, feeling like a soldier trapped in danger with no support or help.

Suddenly, a person flashed through his mind, briefly, but vividly. Without hesitation, Bai Zining switched to his alternate account and sent a message.

Hawthorn Porridge: 【Are you there, gege?】

Ferry: 【What’s wrong?】

Hawthorn Porridge: 【The power’s out in my dorm. I’m so scared. Can you chat with me for a while?】

Ferry: 【You’re afraid of the dark?】

After switching to his alternate account, Bai Zining unconsciously assumed a different persona. He didn’t feel embarrassed or concerned about losing face. Instead, he admitted directly:

【Mm-hmm, I’m really scared. When I was a kid, I went to a haunted house and got so frightened that it left a psychological shadow.】

Ferry: 【Where are your roommates?】

Hawthorn Porridge: 【They’re all out.】

Ferry: 【Do you want to call instead?】

This was the first time Zhu Shizhou had ever suggested a voice call. Normally, Bai Zining might have eagerly agreed, but tonight was a special situation. He wanted to say yes, but the circumstances simply didn’t allow it.

Hawthorn Porridge: 【Forget it, gege. My phone only has 28% battery left. I’m afraid it won’t last long. If the flashlight dies later, it’ll be even scarier.】

Chatting with Zhu Shizhou about other topics, Bai Zining’s thoughts gradually drifted elsewhere, temporarily pushing the fact that he was alone in a dark dormitory to the back of his mind.

After about half an hour, he glanced up at the battery indicator in the top-right corner. Only 8% remained.

In an instant, that terrifying feeling returned. He could clearly feel his teeth starting to chatter uncontrollably, and goosebumps rose all over his arms. The flashlight’s beam had grown incredibly weak, barely illuminating the space within the bed curtain. It would likely shut off automatically in just a few minutes due to the low battery.

In the dim light, shadows were magnified several times, becoming grotesque and menacing. It seemed as if tendrils had sprouted in the corners, and Bai Zining thought he saw something moving.

At that moment, he distinctly heard a sound coming from the dormitory door. Those horrifying images he’d accidentally seen before resurfaced in his mind. Even though he knew they couldn’t exist in reality, his thoughts spiraled out of control, imagining the worst.

He gripped his phone tightly in his hand, his whole body tense. With a soft click, the door opened.

Before Bai Zining could scream, a familiar voice came from the doorway, “Did the dorm lose power?”

In that instant, Bai Zining genuinely felt the urge to rush over and hug the other person.

It was Zhu Shizhou, he had returned to the dorm.

It was no exaggeration to say that Zhu Shizhou was like a savior, pulling Bai Zining’s trembling, plummeting heart back into place and securely returning it to his chest.

At that moment, the faint light of a flashlight shone through the bed curtain. “Bai Zining, are you in the dorm?” Zhu Shizhou called out.

Bai Zining didn’t respond immediately because he was on the verge of tears. A sense of post-crisis relief and joy enveloped him completely.

Zhu Shizhou asked again, and only then did Bai Zining clear his throat and softly reply, “Yeah, I’m here.”

Then he pulled open the bed curtain and looked down. Zhu Shizhou was standing not far from his bed. When Bai Zining poked his head out, Zhu Shizhou tilted the flashlight in another direction to avoid shining it directly into Bai Zining’s eyes.

Although Bai Zining didn’t know why Zhu Shizhou had returned to the dorm so late, he still tentatively asked, “Are you staying in the dorm tonight?”

“Yeah, I forgot my keys,” Zhu Shizhou replied.

Bai Zining felt a wave of relief wash over him. In his joy, he didn’t bother questioning why Zhu Shizhou had left campus at six in the evening but only discovered he’d forgotten his keys and returned to the dorm at midnight. He was simply ecstatic that he’d been saved tonight.

Zhu Shizhou seemed to be rummaging through a drawer. After about half a minute, he asked, “I have two power banks here. Do you need one?”

“Yes!” Bai Zining replied immediately. “Thank you.”

Zhu Shizhou handed him the power bank and then climbed directly into bed. Perhaps he forgot, but this time, Zhu Shizhou didn’t pull his bed curtain closed, and neither did Bai Zining.

Bai Zining’s phone had already shut down automatically due to a dead battery. After plugging it in and waiting five minutes for it to restart, he noticed a new message from Zhu Shizhou on his alternate account:

Ferry: 【After chatting so much, has it helped a little?】

Hawthorn Porridge: 【Much better, gege. Just now, my roommate came back, so there’s someone in the dorm now.】

After thinking for a moment, he added another message:

Hawthorn Porridge: 【But the most important thing is that you kept me company, gege. That’s why I’m not so scared.】

Just as the message was sent, he heard Zhu Shizhou call his name.

“Bai Zining.”

“What?” Bai Zining responded.

“Nothing. Are you asleep yet?”

“Not yet.”

And then there was silence.

Less than a minute later, Zhu Shizhou called again, “Bai Zining.”

“What is it?” Bai Zining asked.

“Did you fall asleep?”

Bai Zining didn’t reply. He was puzzled by how unusually talkative Zhu Shizhou was tonight. Normally, Zhu Shizhou couldn’t be bothered to say more than a few words to him. Could it be that he was also afraid of the dark?

Although Bai Zining found Zhu Shizhou a bit annoying, he had to admit that having someone talk to him on this dark night made him feel incredibly at ease.