The psychologist walked over to the window, raised the blinds, lit a candle, and turned off the lights in the room.
Tong Yang lay on a recliner, wrapped in a soft blanket, having sipped half a cup of warm water. She was already feeling drowsy.
“Are you sure about this?” the psychologist asked gently. “Once you enter deep sleep through hypnosis, you won’t be able to wake up on your own. While it won’t harm your body, I usually don’t recommend this method to patients.”
“It’s fine. I just want a good night’s sleep. Please wake me up tomorrow morning.” Tong Yang replied.
The psychologist nodded, placing the softly flickering candle beside her. He gently rested his hands on her temples, pressing lightly. “Close your eyes.”
Following his instructions, Tong Yang closed her eyes. Darkness enveloped her vision, and the tension in her muscles gradually eased under the soothing pressure of his hands.
If the time loop worked, she’d only return to ten minutes earlier. If it didn’t, she’d have just had a good sleep.
“Do you remember the first time you saw your mother clearly?”
“Try to recall it. It’s okay if you can’t.”
“There are many unforgettable moments in our memories—the good and the bad. You know they happened in the past, but can you still remember the details?”
“What was around you? Was anyone talking to you? Was there any light? Or maybe, take a deep breath and try to recall the scents from that time.”
“Try to picture the details, immerse yourself. What do you feel?”
…
The hypnosis took longer than Tong Yang had expected. In the dim, warm atmosphere, the psychologist’s soothing voice guided her into the depths of her memory, unraveling long-forgotten scenes, allowing her to relive them.
Tong Yang thought her most vivid memory would be the moment her parents died, but instead, her mind took her back to when her younger brother, Tong Le, was born.
His chubby cheeks, bright eyes, and tiny hands tightly clutching her fingers, eyes filled with wonder and curiosity, completely unaware of the terrible family he’d been born into.
Tong Yang’s consciousness sank deeper into the past, and without realizing it, she fell into a deep sleep.
There was no sense of time passing, no sounds, her body slipping into a void.
“Tong Yang, are you feeling unwell?”
In a daze, Tong Yang felt someone gently shaking her body. Slowly opening her eyes, a bright light flooded in, making her squint and frown. She lifted her head.
It was her homeroom teacher’s familiar, worried face.
“How did you fall asleep? If you’re not feeling well, head home early to rest, okay?”
Tong Yang, still in a daze, felt the cold touch of her arm against the desk, saw the wrinkled scratch paper filled with equations, and noticed the pen that had rolled to the edge of her desk. The sound of papers shuffling filled the air, and the curtains swayed gently in the breeze.
The scene was vivid and real—she was back in the classroom.
The sun hadn’t set yet, and the clock above the blackboard read 5:32.
Had she… succeeded?
Tong Yang’s expression was one of confusion. If deep sleep could trigger the time loop, she should’ve returned to ten minutes prior. Why was it still daytime?
“Tong Yang, there are only a few minutes left. If you’re not feeling well, go home early.” her teacher said.
“Go home?” Tong Yang murmured.
It was 5:32? That meant there were eight minutes until school ended.
Suddenly, Tong Yang’s head shot up, her gaze locking onto the countdown to the gaokao on the blackboard. There were four days left. Today was June 3, 5:32 p.m., just ten minutes before Sun Ye’s fall at 5:42!
The time loop hadn’t taken her back ten minutes before now—it had taken her back to ten minutes before the incident!
“Sorry, teacher! I need to go!” Tong Yang blurted, grabbing her bag and rushing out of the classroom.
Without waiting for a reply, she hurriedly left.
If Sun Ye’s death had been a genuine suicide, she wouldn’t feel any remorse. But it wasn’t. It was just as mysterious as the attack on her, and now that she had the chance to change the past and uncover the truth behind the culprit, there was no way she was going to let this go.
She raced through the corridors and quickly arrived at Class 3’s door, knocking urgently. “Sorry, I’m looking for Sun Ye.” she said to the teacher.
The teacher looked at her, surprised. “Sun Ye? He took a leave of absence for the fourth period.”
Tong Yang’s heart sank. She thanked the teacher and immediately headed for the rooftop.
She sprinted down the empty hallway, her footsteps echoing loudly. When she reached the top floor, she found the rooftop door. The lock had been broken for a while, and anyone with a key could easily open it.
Pulling out her key from her bag, she unlocked the door, but as she pushed it open, she felt resistance. Looking down, she realized someone had jammed the door from the inside with a chair leg.
“Sun Ye? Are you in there?” Tong Yang knocked hard on the door and tried peering through the gap. “Sun Ye! Can you hear me?”
No response.
Cursing under her breath, Tong Yang thought about the situation. Sun Ye hadn’t been in class, and with the incident set to happen at 5:42, he would have headed to the rooftop already. But now, with the door blocked from the inside, there were only two possibilities: either Sun Ye was inside, or the person who was going to kill him was.
“Sun Ye! Open the door!”
With only a few minutes left until school ended, Sun Ye must have already gone to the rooftop. But why had he blocked the door?
Still no response.
Tong Yang stepped back and then lunged forward, kicking the door hard. The impact created a loud noise, and the door began to loosen. The force sent a jolt of pain up her leg. As she prepared to kick again, a figure appeared behind the door, looking startled.
“Tong Yang? What are you doing here?”
Sun Ye, wearing his thick glasses, looked flustered, his face turning red as he nervously fidgeted with his clothes. His gaze kept shifting to the area behind him, making it obvious that someone else was on the rooftop.
“Open the door.” Tong Yang said, her expression darkening.
Sun Ye, clearly frightened, stepped forward and removed the chair leg that had been jamming the door. “What’s wrong?”
Tong Yang pushed the door open and without hesitation kicked Sun Ye aside, sending him stumbling to the ground, utterly confused.
She stormed into the center of the rooftop, following Sun Ye’s previous gaze. There, by the railing, stood a girl in a school uniform, her back facing them.
She leaned over the railing, her skin unusually pale. One leg was bent, her toes barely touching the ground. Her hair, reaching down to her mid-back, hung loosely over her shoulders. The stark contrast between her black hair, white uniform, and ghostly skin created a chilling, almost monochromatic image.
“Who are you?” Tong Yang asked, not getting too close.
From what Officer Li had said, no one but Sun Ye had gone up to the rooftop. This girl hadn’t entered through the hallway, so how else had she gotten here? What method could an ordinary person possibly use to reach the rooftop?
Sun Ye hurried to explain, “She’s a friend of Chu Shiyu! We were just talking…”
“Shut up.” Tong Yang snapped, cutting him off. “I don’t care what you’re talking about.”
“Would someone like Chu Shiyu’s friend waste her time on you?”
The girl let out a low chuckle, gently tapping her foot against the railing. The veins beneath her pale skin were faintly visible, and her voice was cold and eerie. “This classmate and I were just having a nice chat.”
“Tong Yang…”
“Shut up.”
Sun Ye tried to speak again but was silenced by Tong Yang’s harsh command.
The girl slowly turned her head. Her hair fell over her shoulders, and her face was covered in scars, with barely an inch of unblemished skin visible. Her eyes were squeezed into narrow slits by the scars, and a small tear near her lips revealed a glimpse of her teeth and gums. Her neck was wrapped in blood-soaked bandages.
As she faced them, she began scratching at her arms frantically, tearing into her skin until deep gashes appeared, her nails filled with dried blood.
“Why? Why?” she muttered, her voice growing increasingly frantic. “He was the only one who didn’t mind my looks. I was so close to killing him!”
“This is so annoying! So frustrating! Why won’t you all just die? Why don’t you just die?”
“Men are trash, all of them! They only care about pretty faces… They deserve to die! They should all just die!”
Tong Yang glanced at Sun Ye, who was now sitting on the ground in shock, and remarked, “You really upset her.”
“How about giving her a hug?”
Sun Ye’s face turned as pale as a sheet. “Why is she…”
Hearing Tong Yang’s words, the girl’s crazed movements suddenly stopped. Her narrow eyes lit up with a twisted sense of hope as she stretched out her bloodied hands toward Sun Ye.
“Hug?” she whispered.
Tong Yang kicked Sun Ye toward the girl. Facing that horrifying, distorted face up close, Sun Ye stared in terror, kneeling on the ground, unable to move.
“Hug her.”
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