The next morning, after washing up and mustering my spirits to go to school, Brother Feng knocked on my door, asking if I had seen Ye Zhengchen. I replied, “I haven’t seen him for over twenty days.” He mentioned that everyone was discussing Ye Zhengchen in the cafeteria last night, noting that even Little Lin from the medical department hadn’t seen him. Brother Feng had tried calling him, but his phone was off.
I suddenly recalled the occasional song from next door. The sky was gloomy with gray clouds. The corridor felt unstable beneath my feet. I quickly grabbed the railing to steady myself.
Without putting on my shoes, I rushed to Ye Zhengchen’s door, pressing the doorbell with all my might. “Senior! Are you there? Open the door.”
There was no response.
I banged on the door, shouting, “Ye Zhengchen, I know you’re in there, open the door!”
He still didn’t answer.
My blood turned to ice as my cold hand gripped the doorknob. “Don’t scare me, open the door, open it quickly…”
Brother Feng dragged me aside, viciously kicking the door and shouting, “Ye Zhengchen, open the door…”
Inside was dead silence.
I backed away in fear, feeling like I was falling from a ten-thousand-foot cliff.
“Wait, I’ll go downstairs to borrow a key,” Brother Feng said.
I nodded, unable to process his words.
Brother Feng ran downstairs, but I couldn’t wait. I needed to know what happened to him. Staggering back to my room, I grabbed a chair and ran to the balcony, climbing onto the two-meter-high partition.
I don’t know how I climbed up, only feeling a force pushing me from behind.
When I looked down, I felt dizzy.
Ye Zhengchen’s room had green curtains, hiding everything inside.
Gritting my teeth, I closed my eyes and jumped down.
I landed roughly but quickly pulled open the sliding door and rushed in.
The Ye Zhengchen I knew was always neatly dressed and wore the brightest smile.
I never imagined he would lie on the ground, pale as a corpse, in a messy room filled with beer cans and a pungent smell of alcohol.
This wasn’t the Ye Zhengchen I knew. He wouldn’t be this fragile!
I rushed over and hugged him. His body was still warm.
