"Shen Qing—Hey, dude, you didn't bring an umbrella?" His dormmate, who opened the door, saw that he was completely drenched and quickly took two steps back to let Shen Qing in. "Go take a shower quickly, don't catch a cold."

"Alright, thanks man." Shen Qing chuckled and placed the laptop bag on the ground. He unzipped it and took out two pieces of paper to dry the water on his hands before carefully removing the well-protected computer.

Fortunately, his bag is waterproof.

"Whose umbrella is this?" Placing the computer on the desk, Shen Qing only just noticed that there was also a white umbrella on her own table. It was an ancient-looking oil-paper umbrella, with a pale and translucent canopy that faintly revealed the jade-like white umbrella ribs.

"Don't you want to touch and see?"

There is a voice inside tempting.

- Let me touch and see.

The sound enticed Shen Qing to reach out involuntarily. The handle of the umbrella she held was icy cold and slippery, giving it a soft and delicate feel. It seemed as if a gentle push would make it melt away, yet it also felt smooth and polished, like holding a piece of jade in her hand, making her unable to resist the urge to continuously caress and fiddle with it.

The fair and translucent umbrella canopy seems to be nothing but a thin veil draped over the umbrella frame, yet it is smooth and glossy, neither resembling cloth nor plastic. It is more like a jade stone softened into fabric. The umbrella canopy has no patterns, its pure whiteness making one's heart tremble.

"Shen..."

"Shen Qing!"

The voice of his roommate pulled him out of his thoughts. Shen Qing responded and looked over, only to see the other person looking at him with a speechless expression.

"You're quite impressive too. You get enchanted even by a tattered umbrella. How about taking a look after you've finished showering?" With a roll of his eyes, the roommate reached out to snatch the oiled-paper umbrella from Shen Qing's hand.

As the other party's hand was about to touch the umbrella in his hand, Shen Qing subconsciously pulled back his hand, avoiding the other party's grasp. Then, acting as if he hadn't noticed the other person's movement, he smoothly placed the umbrella on the table.

He inexplicably did not want anyone else to touch this umbrella.

Whose umbrella is this?" he casually asked while picking up the shampoo and soap on the table.

"Not just yours, right?" Another roommate looked up from the game, looking at him inexplicably. "A friend gave it to you a few minutes ago. You should thank him properly tomorrow. He went through the trouble of delivering it to you in this heavy rain."

A few minutes ago...

The face of the man, whose face she couldn't recall, appeared in Shen Qing's mind. She felt all the hair on her body stand on end, as vivid memories of touching that white umbrella flooded back to her. Faint whispers of a song seemed to echo in her ears.

Shen Qing's fingertips began to tremble uncontrollably.

Umbrella--

Another umbrella!

Who is that man? Is this a prank or...

"Who sent it?" Shen Qing's veins popped on his forehead as he glared at the person on the bed with an unpleasant expression, gritting his teeth as he asked.

"Uh, isn't it that... uh, that who was it?" His roommate was startled by him and stammered back, but halfway through, he stopped again, becoming puzzled. "Uh, boss, what's that called again?"

Shen Qing pursed his lips and stood in place, listening to them talk for a long time without remembering who that person was. His mood was simply terrible, he glanced at the umbrella placed on the table and sneered inwardly.

If it wasn't them playing a prank together, then he must have encountered a supernatural incident.

And no matter which one it was, it was enough to make Shen Qing feel trapped in a state of low air pressure.

He felt extremely frustrated inside, but on the surface, he still smiled and changed the topic before heading into the bathroom, treating it as a way to brush off the conversation.

Shen Qing pondered for a while in the bathroom but couldn't figure out whether the people in their dormitory were just playing a prank on him. If that was the case, how did that man manage to make him feel familiar?

Shen Qing can guarantee that he has never seen the other party before today.

Shen Qing closed his eyes, recalling the face of that person. He had clearly observed it carefully when they were still together, but now, when trying to recollect, he couldn't remember what the man looked like at all. It was as if the man's face was shrouded in mist, vague and indistinct.

Shen Qing opened his eyes abruptly and turned off the faucet. Regardless of whether this situation was a prank on him or not, he decided to take a leave tomorrow to check the surveillance footage. If the man was from the school, there must be information in the archives room.

It's not that Shen Qing is making a big fuss out of nothing. It's just that this man gives him a rather eerie feeling - or, to be more accurate, it's the sensation brought by that umbrella that is too intense for Shen Qing. The chilling sensation that reaches deep into his heart makes it impossible for Shen Qing to even deceive himself that it's just an illusion.

He felt a chill running down his spine.

"You can't feel at ease without clarifying it."

"...This umbrella is so tattered, what's there to look at?"

"Who knows? Maybe Shen Qing thinks it's good-looking?"

Anyway, this umbrella is definitely not for use, so could it be that Shen Qing bought it for fun?"

When Shen Qing opened the bathroom door, he could hear his three roommates chatting casually. But as soon as they saw him come out, they wisely chose to close their mouths and went on doing their own things.

They all knew that rainy days would make Shenqing unusually irritable, especially since Shenqing had just thrown a fit earlier. Naturally, they would do their best to avoid provoking him now.

Shen Qing's heart was filled with anxiety as she looked at the delicate and transparent white umbrella placed on the table. No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't connect it to what her roommate had described as "in such a shabby condition".

But he had already made up his mind to check tomorrow, so he simply made a mental note of it, without showing any sign on his face. He climbed under the covers and closed his eyes.

Shen Qing rarely dreams, or rather, Shen Qing rarely remembers what dreams he has had. However, on this particular night, he had an exceptionally vivid dream.

In my dream, there is a large white snake.

It was trapped inside a temple that was so spacious that only a candlestick and a Buddha statue remained. However, it was too enormous, to the point where it balled up and couldn't fully spread out.

The body of the giant snake had a circumference as thick as ten adults holding hands in a circle. Its white scales shimmered with a cold and unyielding light under the bright yellow candlelight, appearing extremely beautiful and invincible.

The giant snake writhed on the ground, constantly thrashing its tail and convulsing. It resembled a fish thrown onto the shore, crashing into the sturdy temple, overturning statues and candlesticks. The candles fell to the ground, stubbornly burning a thin wisp of smoke before being mercilessly crushed by the snake's body.

It was in agony, emitting screams of pain that humans could not hear.

I translated the paragraph into English: "At some unknown moment, the violent roar of the White Snake subsided silently, eventually transforming into a man with a bloated belly. Only the laborious and rapid sound of his panting remained."

He groaned and convulsed in the darkness, his naked body curled up in pain, trembling on the ground. Sweat covered his entire body, mingling with the dirt. Bright blood flowed between his legs, making him look pitiful and filthy.

He was clearly supposed to be a tall and upright man.

He clearly...

Shen Qing's heart twitched, feeling as if a knife had been stabbed into his chest, causing excruciating pain. Even his eyes felt as if they were filled with sand. He wanted to rush forward, but he couldn't even feel his own presence. He was just a bystander, passively accepting everything before him.

Unable to refuse, unable to look away.

The scene changed, and amidst a sea of red, a person with an indistinguishable face reached out their hand.

And then, amidst a series of agonizing moans, the world plunged into darkness.

"I love you," a voice whispered softly in the ear, filled with a playful tone.

That voice seemed neither male nor female, and it's hard to determine whether it belonged to a child or an elderly person. It was impossible to discern any trace of a man's original voice.

- Get lost! Don't touch him!

Shen Qing roared angrily in his heart.

"However, farewell forever." The man chuckled heartily, his laughter piercing to the extreme.

Ah ah ah ah ah ah--

I'm going to kill you!

Shen Qing quickly opened his eyes in the nightmare, staring at everything in front of him for a long time before he could come back to his senses.

"What is that?"

What is that in the dream?

Shen Qing snapped back to his senses and cursed angrily in his heart before belatedly realizing that something was amiss before him.

Where is this?