INSIDER Chapter 93

Tang Shizhe and Gao Yong exchanged glances and laughed mischievously as they started a train of jokes, dragging Lu Chu along to listen.

Finally, with a reminder from Lu Chu, Gao Yong remembered that he hadn’t packed his luggage yet. He stopped fooling around with Tang Shizhe and turned to tidy up his belongings.

Earlier, before the sun had set, Lu Chu and Tang Shizhe had already carried the bedding for the four of them back to the dormitory.

While making his bed, Lu Chu said, “Once the sheets, pillowcases, and duvet covers are on, we can sleep.”

“Yes, sir!” Tang Shizhe saluted Lu Chu playfully. “I’ll get right on it!”

Lu Chu couldn’t help but smile wryly.

After tidying up, the three of them went to the cafeteria for dinner.

That night, even after the three had fallen asleep, Chen Hong still hadn’t returned to the dorm.

---

The next day, Tang Shizhe looked at Chen Hong’s still empty bed and exchanged a meaningful look with Gao Yong.

Although it was the first day of school, they didn’t have any classes and just needed to report to the advisor’s office.

Because of this, some bold students bought train tickets arriving in the evening and asked other students from different majors to sign in for them—after all, the advisor only saw them a few times a semester and couldn’t remember everyone’s faces. As long as the gender matched, it was fine.

When the professional group chat reminded them to sign in at the office in the afternoon, Chen Hong was still nowhere to be seen.

Tang Shizhe asked the other two, “Chen Hong hasn’t come back. Is he getting really serious with his girlfriend?”

Gao Yong sounded envious, “It’s possible… Should we sign in for him?”

“How?” Tang Shizhe countered, “This is right under the advisor’s nose. One person can only sign one name.”

Gao Yong thought for a moment, “Maybe one person signs in first, then goes back half an hour later?”

Tang Shizhe scoffed, “Do you think the advisor has dementia? Even if they can’t recognize you, they’ll know you’re the same person.”

Gao Yong laughed, “We can wear a disguise, or ask someone from another major to do it. Right, Lu Chu?”

Lu Chu replied, “I have no experience with this, so I’m not sure.”

As the three were discussing how to sign in for Chen Hong under the advisor’s watch, they heard the sound of keys turning in the lock at the door. Soon after, the door opened, and Chen Hong walked in, looking exhausted.

“You’re back! We were just discussing how to sign in for you,” Gao Yong said, seeking approval. However, when he saw Chen Hong’s face, his eyes widened in shock. “Damn, you look drained!”

Chen Hong’s face was pale with dark circles under his eyes, his lips dry and chapped, and he looked utterly exhausted.

Tang Shizhe was also stunned, “You really had a wild night?”

Chen Hong rubbed his eyes, his voice hoarse, “What are you thinking? I spent half the day on a train and then helped my girlfriend’s entire dorm move their luggage. I’m exhausted.”

“Where did you sleep last night?” Tang Shizhe asked, the most pressing question on his mind.

“Where else? At a hotel with my girlfriend,” Chen Hong yawned and climbed into bed. “I’m dead tired. I’m going to sleep.”

Tang Shizhe and Gao Yong exchanged a look, as if confirming their suspicions.

Before Chen Hong fell asleep, Gao Yong called out, “What about your sign-in?”

Chen Hong mumbled, “I did it on my way back…” His voice trailed off, and soon, the sound of snoring filled the room.

The other three exchanged glances and lowered their voices to a whisper.

Tang Shizhe: “Should we go sign in?”

Gao Yong: “Let’s go.”

Lu Chu: “Let’s go.”

The three left the dormitory, and as the last to exit, Lu Chu glanced back at Chen Hong’s bed.

A cold chill lingered.

---

After signing in at the advisor’s office, Tang Shizhe and Gao Yong decided to spend the day at an internet cafe, dragging Lu Chu along. They rented a private room, and while Lu Chu stared at the computer in a daze, the other two excitedly played games, almost smashing their keyboards in the process.

They even had instant noodles for dinner in the private room. When Lu Chu tried to leave, Tang Shizhe and Gao Yong forced him to stay, claiming he shouldn’t disturb Chen Hong’s sleep.

The dormitory locked its doors at ten, and since they lived on the fourth floor, climbing through the window wasn’t an option. So, at nine, Tang Shizhe and Gao Yong reluctantly called it a night.

Lu Chu breathed a sigh of relief, glad it was over.

Back at the dorm, Chen Hong was still asleep. When the three entered, he groggily got up to use the bathroom and then returned to bed, continuing to snore. His complexion had improved, and the chill in the room had lessened.

Lu Chu was now certain Chen Hong had encountered something supernatural, though what it was remained unclear.

After washing up, Lu Chu received a call from his mother.

He answered while walking to the balcony.

“Hello, Xiao Chu,” his mother greeted.

“Yes, Mom?”

“Are you about to sleep?”

“Not yet.”

“I need to ask you something,” his mother said seriously. “On New Year’s Eve, you said you sensed something strange at our doorstep. Have you experienced anything unusual since then?”

Lu Chu’s expression turned serious. “No. Why, Mom? Did something happen?”

Since sensing the eerie wind that night, aside from encountering the spirit attached to the bronze coin, he hadn’t experienced anything else out of the ordinary.

“Good, that’s good,” his mother sighed, relieved. “A girl from our village, about your age, who goes to a different university in your city, went missing. Her parents work out of town, and she lives with her uncle and aunt. Sometimes she stays at her grandma’s. Yesterday, the school called her uncle and aunt, asking why she hadn’t checked in yet. They said she was at her grandma’s, but her grandma said she was with her uncle and aunt.”

Her mother sighed again, “That’s when they realized she was missing.”

Lu Chu frowned, “Did they find her?”

“Yes,” his mother said. “After several snowfalls, a lot of snow had piled up in the village. They found her body in a snowdrift in the wasteland, north of the path by our house.”

Before Lu Chu could react, his mother continued, “They called the police, and the doctor said she froze to death in the snow. The time of death was—”

Lu Chu anticipated his mother’s next words.

“New Year’s Eve.”

Just as he thought.

His mother suspected that the eerie wind Lu Chu sensed that night was related to the girl’s death, prompting her urgent call.

“Mom, don’t worry, I haven’t encountered anything,” Lu Chu reassured her. After comforting his mother, she finally relaxed and ended the call after a few more words of concern.

Lu Chu returned to the room, where Tang Shizhe and Gao Yong were already in bed.

“Lu Chu,” Tang Shizhe called from his bed, “turn off the light when you get in bed.”

Lu Chu agreed, tidied up, and then turned off the light before climbing into bed.

Lying in bed, he pondered his mother’s story, wondering if the deceased girl had any connection to the “corpse-binding” case.

As he sorted through his thoughts, he touched the red mark on his chest.

The spirit named 7 was weak and needed rest. Since meeting Lu Chu that day, it hadn’t appeared again, as if in a deep sleep.

Lost in thought, Lu Chu eventually drifted off to sleep.

---

Late at night.

Without moonlight, the darkness in the room grew thicker.

In his sleep, Lu Chu furrowed his brow and let out a low groan, curling up protectively.

He was dreaming.

In the dream, he found himself in a bridal chamber. One wall was adorned with portraits of deities he didn’t recognize, with offerings of apples and other food on a red-brown wooden table in front of the portraits.

Lu Chu stood there, unable to move.

Suddenly, the sound of festive music filled his ears, and he felt his body swaying to the rhythm as he was carried into a bright red paper sedan chair. The sound of suona and drums mixed with the eerie tossing of white paper by the leader of the procession.

The sedan chair traveled for an unknown distance before stopping. Lu Chu felt himself being carried out and placed in a deep pit, wide enough for two people. Just when he thought he was about to be buried alive, another body was placed beside him.

It was the corpse of a woman.

Her hair was mostly gone, her skin dark and clinging to her bones, and she emitted a foul stench of decay.

Lu Chu saw her eyes, nearly falling out of their sockets, shift and slowly turn towards him.

A splash of cold water fell on him, piercingly cold, soaking through his body and the ground beneath him.

He realized he too was a decaying corpse.