"Teacher Xia, Wang Zhichen is inside."
A tall male student stood at the doorway.
"Thank you for your efforts. Open the door and let's go in."
Beep~ Beep~
The security door opened.
Shen Jingqi saw a thin boy with a buzz cut, ssy hair, and eyes filled with fear.
His whole body was curled up, clutching his head, shouting loudly.
An information bar flickered above his head:
[Senior in Biology, Inferiority Complex for 4 Years].
"Classmate Wang Zhichen, I am Teacher Xia Kang."
Xia Kang said to Wang Zhichen.
"Teacher Xia."
Wang Zhichen cald down slightly, but his whole body was still trembling.
"This is Dr. Shen, he is also your senior and is very skilled in diagnostics, especially adept at ntal health issues. Would you be willing to talk to Dr. Shen? Those things you fear are nothing in his eyes."
Xia Kang spoke patiently to Wang Zhichen.
To make sure he could hear clearly, Xia Kang even bent his knees a bit.
Shen Jingqi could clearly see him enduring the pain.
Wang Zhichen hesitantly scrutinized Shen Jingqi's face, nodded, then shook his head:
"It's too terrifying, save ."
Shen Jingqi looked at Wang Zhichen, speaking slowly:
"Classmate Wang, don't be afraid."
The deep voice had an inexplicable calming effect, and Wang Zhichen suddenly quieted down.
Shen Jingqi dragged a chair from the side.
"Teacher Xia, please sit for a while."
Xia Kang gratefully glanced at Shen Jingqi.
Ever since he took the lead into various situations, he had been enduring discomfort in his legs, but no one ever noticed his pain or offered him a chair.
Wang Zhichen also sat at the bedside.
"I think perhaps you've encountered soone or sothing frightening; would you be willing to tell ?"
Wang Zhichen nodded.
"At first, she appeared very gentle and was very kind to , making unexpectedly favored. I noticed so journals around and talked with her about so biology topics because my thesis was starting, and I hadn't found a good topic yet. That person seed to know a lot and illuminated my jumbled thoughts with just a few words, making everything clear. In that mont, I felt like I could master a cutting-edge field and was filled with joy. I thought about my classmates; they are all deranged. I struggled to co out of my small town and got here, but always felt oppressed. This ti, I wanted to make them look at with new eyes. I wanted them to show respect and astonishnt; I was eagerly reading those printed journals wanting to jot everything down. But when I looked at the cover date, I was shocked."
"The journal was dated June 2004. I suddenly felt a strong unease. I looked at her. She was still smiling, looking at the journal in her hand. I suddenly felt a sense of superiority. Such a beautiful girl willing to be with greatly satisfied my self-esteem and vanity. I could overlook the journal's date; it didn't matter. What mattered more was the communication between her and . I looked at her profile, my heart full of happiness. I wished ti would stop, and we could exist in that room forever."
"Just like that, I stared at her, forgetting everything. I forgot the eting I was supposed to attend, forgot I shouldn't have co here. This building contains a locked-off area of the biology departnt. At the start of the sester, during orientation, our advisor ntioned it. But at the ti, I didn't realize it. I kept looking at her, feeling more and more delighted. She seed engrossed, and I didn't speak; the whole room seed frozen. Suddenly, she vanished before my eyes."
"She disappeared without a sound. I thought it was an illusion, but I was sure it actually happened. The surroundings turned decayed and silent, as if there was no sign of life. I even vaguely slled a hint of rot. I tried to push the door open, but it was locked tight. I struggled to push it, but the door didn't budge an inch. I fell to the ground and glanced at the journals on the walls and shelves. The latest dates only went up to 2004, with many even older. The journals had turned yellow with age. I lay next to them feeling the musty sll."
"In my confusion, not knowing what I touched, suddenly, so voices started resounding in my mind. One of them said: 'ntal linkage, Mu Zili, ntal linkage, Mu Zili, ntal linkage, Mu Zili.' In a daze, I saw so images that completely differed from what I learned in textbooks. They were life forms born from thin air, not ford through evolution like those in Petri dishes. Those lives could co into being all at once. All my biology knowledge was overturned, yet I felt thrilled. But in my excitent, I realized I was locked in the room and couldn't get out. My entire being was enveloped by these voices; I felt my ears were about to explode. Helpless, I reached out for help in the class group chat. My relationship with my classmates was average at best; when it mattered, I didn't have a single phone number. I didn't want to seek help; I wanted to be a discoverer, to earn their envious gazes. Yet now, I was worse off than before, appearing to them as a helpless, small, fragile, and humble person. I waited a long ti before the door finally opened. But my mind had already been tortured by those voices and images, no longer under my control."
"After coming out, from ti to ti, I still see that girl's figure, and the voice keeps whispering in my ears. But no one else can see or hear it. Only when I'm in the boys' dormitory do that figure and voice disappear. Whenever I go out to classes, passing by the biology building, I see that girl's image appearing in that room, along with those notes whispering in my ears. I could no longer bear the tornt. One ti, while in a class at the biology building, I saw that girl again. She smiled at and walked over. I got up and ran, all the way to the rooftop of the biology building. She followed and said, 'It's clearing up; let's go out to play on the slide.' I was frightened senseless, slipped, and was about to fall. She remained nearby, my brain, my ears overwheld. Later on, a teacher from the psychological center ca, and she vanished again out of thin air, allowing to feel a bit better."
This was the psychological journey of a diligent student from a small town.
"Teacher Xia, is there any kind of taboo regarding that biology professor's room?"
Shen Jingqi asked Xia Kang.
"Actually, there is no taboo. It's just that after the biology professor left, the room was locked. Because the biology departnt is well-resourced and has enough offices, the room was left unused."
"What was the na of that biology professor?"
"Li Yuanshin."
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