Li Qiuzhi seemed unwilling to discuss it further, brushing it off with a casual remark, “Anyway, I’ve been dreaming about him for the past few years. I’ve become mentally exhausted. I tried dating a few guys later, but it felt like each one carried traces of him, so I decided to stay single.”
He shrugged and smiled, “They say staying single ensures safety, it’s not bad at all.”
Bai Lixin: “…”
As they chatted, they unknowingly arrived outside the surveillance room.
There were uniformed staff waiting outside, and the staff member who patrolled last night.
When leading them inside, the staff member looked at Li Qiuzhi with a somewhat probing gaze.
Inside, there was a large screen displaying footage of the corridor.
As they entered the room, the staff member didn’t bother with pleasantries and directly said, “Come, have a look. You screamed around 2 AM last night, and you claimed to be asleep at 10 PM. The video content from 10 PM to 2 AM is here.”
“This is the play button,” the staff member rubbed his eyes and pointed to the control panel. “This is fast forward, this is rewind. Take a look yourselves.”
After saying that, he got up and sat on the sofa next to him, lying on it comfortably and lazily.
The two exchanged glances, and Li Qiuzhi sat at the control desk.
The duration was four hours, with footage from two cameras capturing only the corridor.
Starting from 10 PM, there was no one in the corridor except the occasional security guards.
If it weren’t for the time in the upper right corner ticking away, Li Qiuzhi would have thought the footage was paused.
Without seeing anyone significant, Li Qiuzhi pressed the fast-forward button.
For more than an hour after that, there was no other sound in the monitoring room except the “click-click” sounds of button operations and breathing.
After reaching the end of the video, Li Qiuzhi turned to the staff member lounging on the sofa, “Is this all? Isn’t there footage outside the train? What if someone climbed in through the window?”
“Let me ask you first, was your window locked?” The staff member asked impatiently.
Li Qiuzhi choked for a moment and spoke hesitantly: “I don’t remember whether I closed it or not.”
The staff member continued, “You don’t remember? Let me remind you. Your window was closed. When we rushed into your room after you claimed someone broke in, I checked the window first. It can only be closed and opened from the inside; there’s no external operation. Also, your compartment door showed no signs of tampering.”
He got up from the sofa, narrowing his eyes with impatience, “Guest, even though you’re in the first-class carriage, I need to tell you that if you play such pranks again, I’ll report you and take you to the police station for disturbing public order.”
Li Qiuzhi’s face turned pale. He seemed to want to explain, but he didn’t know where to start
While the two were arguing, Bai Lixin took the mouse, dragged it to a time point, clicked it, and then pressed the slow down button.
When he reached a point, he quickly pressed pause and asked: “What is this?”
On the big screen, a large blurry black shadow appeared on the left side of the camera.
The staff member was nonchalant: “It’s nothing, it’s just a black shadow on the camera. Sometimes this happens when the train goes to a place with electromagnetic interference. It’s very common.”
“Okay, you’ve finished watching the surveillance. You may go back.” The staff member looked at Li Qiuzhi and said, “Guest, since this is your first time, we won’t pursue it. If there is a next time, we will prosecute you for disturbing public order and send you to the police station.”
“Go away. I haven’t rested all night because of your affairs. I want to sleep.”
Li Qiuzhi’s face turned pale. He said “oh”, and walked out of the monitoring room with Bai Lixin in despair.
Bai Lixin: “What’s wrong with you?”
Li Qiuzhi wiped his face, “This tie wouldn’t appear out of thin air. If the cameras captured a person, that would be fine, it would mean it’s human-made. But since it captured nothing, isn’t it even more eerie?”
After saying this, he shook his head, “You have to believe me, that tie isn’t mine. I haven’t worn a tie in years. Someone really placed it there, and it’s not my prank.”
Li Qiuzhi’s mental state seemed abnormal. Bai Lixin comforted him and escorted him back to his compartment.
When he sent the person back, Li Qiuzhi, who had calmed down like water after boiling, had already settled into silence. He didn’t say a word, just sat on the sofa and sighed.
Bai Lixin noticed the camera standing by the window. He walked over and found the camera’s power button showed a red light, indicating it was working. He asked, ”When was this camera turned on?”
Li Qiuzhi mechanically turned his head, his empty eyes gradually focusing, “Oh, I was chatting with you guys while adjusting the equipment yesterday, and I forgot to turn it off.”
Bai Lixin: “Does it mean this camera has been recording continuously? It faces the window; is there a possibility it captured something? How long can this camera record?”
Li Qiuzhi: “It can record for about 200 hours in total. You’re right, it should have captured it.”
Bai Lixin: “Then, open it and take a look?”
Li Qiuzhi abruptly stood up from the sofa, “I’ll do it.”
He skillfully took out the memory card from the camera and quickly connected it to the computer.
The screen went black for a moment in the media player, and soon, the footage appeared.
As the footage started playing, Li Qiuzhi took two steps backward.
Bai Lixin: “What’s wrong?”
Li Qiuzhi looked embarrassed, “I suddenly feel a bit hesitant to watch.”
Bai Lixin: “If you don’t want to watch, shall I do it for you?”
Li Qiuzhi hesitated for two seconds, gritted his teeth, and shook his head, “No, even though I’m scared, I still need to see it. I want to know how the tie got there.”
The camera had audio recording capabilities, and its lens was focused on the window throughout. Even if it didn’t capture what was outside the window, their conversation that time was clearly recorded in the footage.
Li Qiuzhi kept fast-forwarding; soon the scenery in the footage changed from daytime to dusk, then from beautiful dusk to pitch black. At night, the footage often featured soft footsteps, Li Qiuzhi humming, and the sound of him making a phone call.
Li Qiuzhi received a call at around 8 p.m.
Bai Lixin was planning to listen to what Li Qiuzhi said on the phone, but Li Qiuzhi’s face changed slightly and he quickly pulled forward, skipping a considerable portion of the conversation.
He only heard the last sporadic phrases.
“Is this really okay?”
“Alright, I trust you. Hopefully, it works. I’ll be at Cang Mountain in three days, see you then.”
“Hmm, I don’t want to, but being a bit selfish is the only way to live happily. I’ll break down if this continues.”
“Mm, thank you for understanding. Goodbye.”
Bai Lixin cast an inquisitive glance at Li Qiuzhi.
Rubbing his neck, Li Qiuzhi blinked at Bai Lixin, “That was my friend. Besides shooting travel content, I also planned to hang out with him, sort of a business trip vacation. I can’t let the client know I’m slacking off so I’ll delete this video later.”
Sounds of the door opening and someone heading to the bathroom came from the footage, followed by a long period of silence.
Bai Lixin: “What are you doing now? Taking a shower?”
Li Qiuzhi recollected, “Yeah. After the call, I went to shower. After that, I lay on bed and checked my phone.”
While he was saying this, the camera shook slightly left and right, and the angle tilted slightly, as if someone accidentally bumped it from behind, causing a minor shift.
However, this angle was very subtle, it was hard to notice without careful observation.
Bai Lixin calmly glanced at Li Qiuzhi.
Li Qiuzhi seemed unaware. He maintained a normal expression, showing no reaction.
Then, a extremely faint sound came from the footage.
The sound was so faint, almost like the sound of wind.
“Shua, Shua.”
“Shua, Shua.”
The first-class carriage had high-end flooring, and any sound on it would be quite distinct.
This sound was like that of fabric sliding across the floor.
The sound itself wasn’t scary, but if it came from an empty, spacious room where no one should be, it would suddenly give you goosebumps.
Sure enough, Li Qiuzhi’s face changed drastically.
The sound echoed in the room for several minutes before stopping. Then came a brief sound of the door opening, and Li Qiuzhi, humming a tune, walked out of the bathroom and got into bed like he said.
An hour later, the light in the footage suddenly dimmed, and everything turned pitch black. Only the moving shadows of trees and mountains outside the window were faintly visible. At around eleven, the “shua, shua” sound echoed again.
Shortly after, there was the sound of the quilt being lifted, followed by a soft sigh in their ears.
It was an extremely light sigh, but to Li Qiuzhi, it sounded like thunder in his ears, instantly draining the color from his entire body.
Li Qiuzhi abruptly stood up from the sofa. His pupils contracted, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably. He had a look of horror on his face.
After a long time, he squeezed out a few words from between his teeth, “It’s him, Zhao Ming.”
Bai Lixin: “…”
He didn’t follow up with questions but continued watching the surveillance footage until the room’s lights turned on, and Li Qiuzhi let out a scream.
The bustling footsteps outside approached, and the steward’s authoritative voice rang out.
Li Qiuzhi covered his face, staring at the double bed in front of him with a horrified expression, muttering under his breath, “He… slept in the same bed with me last night?”
His voice was low, and it wasn’t clear if he was talking to himself or telling Bai Lixin.
Bai Lixin poured a cup of hot water for Li Qiuzhi. After calming down for a moment, Li Qiuzhi grabbed Bai Lixin’s hand, “You, don’t leave, stay with me.”
In a desperate move, Li Qiuzhi held Bai Lixin’s hand in a panic. However, when he saw Bai Lixin’s face clearly, he was startled again, instantly releasing Bai Lixin’s hand and stepping back repeatedly.
There were a lot of equipment placed on the ground behind him. As a result, his foot caught on something, and he staggered to the ground. His eyes rolled back, and he actually fainted.
He genuinely fainted from fright.
Bai Lixin had no choice but to put him on the bed and continue watching the video on the computer.
Thinking that there was no need to consider Li Qiuzhi’s viewing speed, Bai Lixin directly pressed the fast-forward button, quickly going through what happened afterward.
The lights in the compartment were on.
Li Qiuzhi’s pacing echoed for a while, and then he began making a phone call. It was around two in the morning, the other person probably was asleep and didn’t answer Li Qiuzhi’s call initially. Li Qiuzhi got angry and cursed at the phone for several minutes.
Because he couldn’t see him, Bai Lixin could only rely on his voice to make up for the scene at that time. Later, probably because of Li Qiuzhi’s perseverance, the call was finally connected. The moment the call was connected, Li Qiuzhi shouted in an urgent voice: “He seems to be really obsessed with me!”
Because it wasn’t on speakerphone, Bai Lixin couldn’t hear the other side’s voice, only Li Qiuzhi’s voice.
“Sorry, please don’t be angry. I’m just too scared. After thinking it through, you’re the only one I could find, Master. Please, only you can help me. What should I do?”
“A tie appeared out of nowhere on my table. The only person in the world who would give me a tie is my ex-boyfriend.”
“Yes, I securely locked it in a box and haven’t opened it.”
“Okay, okay, I won’t open it.”
“You asked me to persevere, but I’m afraid I can’t hold on. I’m so scared. If he could give me a tie today, tomorrow he might just take me directly, and I’m afraid I won’t even know how I’ll die. Master, you have to save me.”
“The Diamond Sutra… Oh, oh, alright, I’ll recite the Diamond Sutra later.”
“Thank you, Master.”
The call ended, followed by the sound of things being moved around.
The sound of pages turning echoed, and Li Qiuzhi began reciting the Diamond Sutra.
He recited for a while, and the sound gradually grew smaller and slower.
After a few minutes, the recitation disappeared, and the room was filled with snoring.
There were no abnormalities afterward. Li Qiuzhi woke up in the morning, followed by the sound of clothes rustling as he got dressed, and then the sound of the compartment door opening.
Bro I really hate this guy 🙄🙄