Chapter Two: The White Dress

I took another close look at the bottle and noticed that the Coke was actually a custom edition. The usual plastic label with the logo had been replaced by a sticker, and I could faintly make out a sentence written on it: "For my dear boyfriend..."

Maybe because of how much time had passed, the part where the name should have been was already blurred beyond recognition.

I remembered that the manufacturer had indeed run a customization event like this before, but I had never actually seen one in person. Normally, a bottle like this should have been important to Yingying, or she wouldn't have carried it around.

But if it was really that important, why did she give it to me?

I figured she must have grabbed the wrong one by mistake. Either way, she shouldn't have given me an expired Coke. I didn't dare drink it anymore, deciding I'd ask her about it when I saw her again.

At around seven, Wang Jie, the woman I shared shifts with, arrived. She looked to be in her early forties, still quite charming, and very talkative.

We chatted for a bit, and when I mentioned that using the restroom was inconvenient for me, she pulled a key from the rack on the wall and told me there was a private restroom in the building that wasn't open to students. She said I could use that one.

When she grabbed the key, I took a quick glance at the rack. For some reason, a few hooks were empty, with no keys hanging from them.

I didn't think too much about it at the time and casually asked, "Wang Jie, where are the missing keys? Did students borrow them or something?"

I couldn't see her expression, but I could clearly feel her pause.

"Oh, those keys? If I remember right, the principal took them to use as storage. There aren't many students in this dormitory, and the rooms on the fifth floor are all empty. Just don't go up there if you don't have to."

I said I understood, but the tone of her voice made me feel a little uneasy.

And so, a week passed.

On Wednesday night, I saw that girl in the white dress again. She was standing outside the dorm entrance, silent as always, her eyes red, looking pitiful.

I was just about to lock the door when I saw her, and I froze for a second—because the time was exactly the same as before. 11:50 PM.

I didn't say anything, just opened the door and let her in. She didn't even bother to say thank you. She went straight upstairs without so much as a glance in my direction.

At that moment, I thought she was kind of rude.

The weird thing was, in the following month, I didn't see Yingying even once. I started wondering if something serious had happened at home. Otherwise, why would she be gone for so long?

But what I did notice was that every Wednesday at exactly 11:50 PM, the girl in the white dress would appear at the dormitory entrance—always at the same time, always standing silently outside.

At first, I didn't think too much of it. After all, there were no classes on Wednesday afternoons, and a lot of students went out to have fun. Some even spent the night outside.

But the way she came back so late and so punctually was strange. And another thing—I had never seen her wear anything else. Northeast China's autumn nights were freezing, yet she always wore the same white dress.

It was bizarre.

One night, I asked her, "Why don't you ever change your clothes? Aren't you cold?"

She lifted her head and looked at me but still didn't speak. She just stared.

Her reaction made me stubborn. I had been opening the door for her all this time, and she never even thanked me—now she wouldn't even say a single word?

So, I just stood there without opening the door.

I didn't expect her to be just as stubborn. She stood outside expressionless, staring straight at me through the glass. It was as if she'd rather not come in at all than say a word to me.

In the end, I was the one who gave in. I opened the door and let her in because it was only a minute away from midnight.

The next day, I went to see Principal Wang and asked if he knew anything about this girl.

I remember it very clearly—his expression turned odd. He hesitated before saying he didn't remember and told me not to worry about it. As long as she came back before midnight, it was fine.

So I didn't ask any further.

I kept working until the end of October. The first snow had already started falling, but Yingying was still nowhere to be seen.

I even started wondering if she had run off with my money—or maybe she wasn't even a student at this dormitory in the first place.

It wasn't until about two weeks before the holiday—again, a Wednesday night—that something strange happened.

It was already 11:30 PM when Wang Jie suddenly pushed open the dormitory entrance.

I was surprised and asked, "Wang Jie, what are you doing here so late?"

She smiled awkwardly. "Ugh, don't even mention it. I was in such a hurry when I left earlier that I forgot my phone."

I hadn't noticed until she mentioned it, but sure enough, her phone was still sitting on the desk.

I handed it to her and said, "It's so late already, why not just get it tomorrow?"

Wang Jie shook her head. "I can't. My kid needs to pay tuition tomorrow, and I have to transfer the money to the teacher."

Then she asked, "Hey, do you have any toilet paper? My stomach's acting up. I need to use the restroom."

I said yes and handed her the key, telling her I had left a roll in the restroom and that it should be enough.

Then I added, "Wang Jie, you better hurry. It's almost midnight. The principal said no one is allowed in or out after that—you know the rule."

She said she understood.

But after twenty minutes, she still hadn't come out.

I started wondering what was taking so long. It was almost midnight, and she was still in there?

So, I stepped out of the security room, intending to knock on the door and hurry her up.

And that's when I saw the girl in the white dress standing outside the entrance—right on time, just like always. Her expression was the same, like she was mourning a dead relative.

I was in a hurry, so I reached for the door to let her in.

But just as I was about to open it, I suddenly heard Wang Jie's voice behind me—"Don't open the door!"

Her shout startled me. I turned to see her standing right behind me, her face pale as a sheet, looking terrified.

I was confused and asked, "It's not even midnight yet. Why can't I open the door?"

She rushed over and grabbed my arm. "Xiao Gu, do you trust me? If you do, don't open that door. No matter what, don't let her in!"

Then she started dragging me back to the security room like a madwoman.

I was a grown man, yet I couldn't break free from her grip.

As she pulled me away, I glanced outside.

I don't know if it was just my imagination, but I swear I saw that girl smiling at me.

And when I looked again—she was gone.

Back in the security room, Wang Jie was still shaking.

Her reaction made me nervous. I asked, "What the hell is going on? Who is that girl? Why won't you let me open the door?"

She was nearly in tears. "Please, just drop it. Act like this never happened. If she ever comes back, never let her in again, okay?"

That night was just the beginning.

And I was sure—the strange things that followed were all connected to what happened that night.