The days at home are always short. After the Lantern Festival, it was almost time to go back to school.
Perhaps because she was eating and sleeping well at home, Chu Yang had gained two jin. Her face was ruddy and plump, no longer pale and delicate.
Chu's Dad and Chu's Mom sent her to the train station. Chu Luo stayed home alone to watch the house. But before leaving, Chu Yang reminded him, "Remember to write a short essay every week."
Chu Luo: "Yeah, I know."
When Chu Yang returned to school, Jin Yang and the others hadn't arrived yet. Chu Yang cleaned up the dormitory first. While she was cleaning, there was a "dong dong" sound at the window. Chu Yang looked and saw a crow!
Chu Yang quickly let it in and said, "Little guy, how did you know I was back?"
The crow cawed twice, as if saying it just knew.
Chu Yang looked in her bag, "No breadcrumbs. Never mind, I'm hungry too. Let's go, I'll take you to get some food."
She put the crow in her pocket, "Don't move around."
As Chu Yang walked around campus, the weather was still very cold, but it was clearer today. Chu Yang went to the school cafeteria, bought a meal, then sat in the corner. She took the crow out and put it on the table, then took out a paper towel, spooned some rice with sauce on it, and placed it in front of the crow, "Eat up."
The girl and crow ate together.
This scene was inadvertently photographed by someone, titled "Girl and Crow", and posted directly on the school forum. In the photo, the girl's side profile was delicate, her fair complexion contrasting sharply with the crow's black form.
It immediately attracted much discussion. At the start of school, everyone was quite excited, thinking about what activities there would be.
"One minute, I want info on this girl!"
"Why have I never heard of such a pretty girl at our school?"
"Chu Yang, first year literature major, ranked first in her department last semester."
"I want to know what kind of bird that is?"
"Didn't the title say it's a crow?"
"A crow? Isn't that unlucky? Someone is keeping a crow? Heavens!"
"...What IQ is this? Not from our school right, to actually believe crows are unlucky that much? Crows are just a species of bird! And there are tons of crows on our campus, over by the bamboo grove. Just not seen often in winter."
"Hey, didn't the OP violate her right of portrait? Did you ask her?"
"Right!"
It had to be said, most A University students were normal. Jin Yang saw the post on the car ride over and immediately called Chu Yang. Chu Yang contacted the forum right away to have it deleted. They apologized to her then immediately deleted it.
Chu Yang did not make a big deal of it, but from then on, many people knew there was a "crow girl" in the literature department.
When Chu Yang heard the title "Crow Girl"... What the heck is this?
"Crow Girl" didn't really affect Chu Yang's life.
A few days after school started, Xu Zhao messaged her: "Yo boss! Help!"
Chu Yang: ?
Xu Zhao: I suspect there's a ghost in the women's dormitory public restroom!
Chu Yang: ...I'm not that kind of master.
Chu Yang was very helpless. Some followers on Weibo thought she was a gossip blogger, some thought she was a fortune teller, some thought she was the kind who could catch ghosts...
Xu Zhao: Wahhh, the girls in our dorm all say they often hear crying in the bathroom!
Chu Yang: Did you tell the dorm manager auntie?
Xu Zhao: I did. But she didn't find anything wrong. Everyone says there was a senior girl who blah blah blah, one of those often spread rumors, like committing suicide by jumping off the building in red shoes or something.
Chu Yang: Believe in science! You can call the police.
Xu Zhao: The school won't allow calling the police, they don't think there's anything. Boss, please do a reading for me. I've pooled 1,000 RMB, is that enough? We haven't slept well in so long. Everyone is really scared.
Chu Yang: That's enough, don't you live off campus?
Xu Zhao: Isn't it unsafe? So I moved back into the dorm this semester.
Chu Yang: Fine. Send the money first.
Xu Zhao: Sending 1,000 RMB.
After Xu Zhao transferred the money to Chu Yang, she immediately told the classmates crowded around her: "The money's been sent, just wait a bit."
Her roommate: "Will it really work? You're sure she's not a scammer?"
Xu Zhao swore: "Absolutely not! Trust me! Remember the creep last semester? If not for the boss, I might have... " Xu Zhao made a throat slitting gesture.
Roommate: "If we get scammed, we're reporting her."
"Right! Xu Zhao you know her, take us to see her."
Xu Zhao sighed: "You'll see soon enough."
On Chu Yang's end, as she moved the crystal ball, Jin Yang and the others were like discovering a new continent, since this was their first time openly watching Chu Yang use the crystal ball!
Seeing the crystal ball emit light, everyone was thrilled! The crystal ball suddenly filled with swirling mist, but Jin Yang and the others couldn't see anything. Chu Yang saw in it a girl hiding and crying in the girls' dorm bathroom.
In a flash, the girl was suddenly standing on the top level...
Chu Yang messaged Xu Zhao: Girl, mole by left eye, crying in bathroom, suicidal thoughts.
Xu Zhao: ??? Okay boss!
Xu Zhao hurriedly asked her roommates: "Do we have a girl with a mole by her left eye in our dorm?"
Roommate 1 thought about it: "Don't think so? Who do we know like that?"
Roommate 2: "I know, Wu Juan from the dance department!"
"It's her? What happened with her?"
Xu Zhao frowned, "Do you know anything about Wu Juan?"
Roommates nodded: "We know her. Seems like her roommates isolated her. She's quite capable right? Teachers seem to favor her a lot. Everyone says she got there through the back door, that she must have slept with the teacher and stuff, spread as fact even though just rumors. "
Xu Zhao: "Just jealous gossip right. Aren't people in the dance department quite... like that?"
Roommates shook their heads: "Don't know, we don't know them well."
Xu Zhao: "The boss said it's a girl crying in there." She didn't mention the suicidal thoughts.
Roommates: "Huh? Real or fake?"
"No way, Wu Juan usually looks quite arrogant, with a 'don't care about anyone' attitude, very proud. No one dares get close to her."
"Right, extremely aloof."
"Though lots of guys seem to like her, us girls don't really like her."
Xu Zhao suggested: "Let's go take a look tonight." Their room was closest to the bathroom, most affected.
Roommates kept shaking their heads: "No!"
Xu Zhao: "Look at you all, dark eye circles from lack of sleep these days. The boss said it's just a girl crying in there. We'll go take a look, get the girls from next door too."
"Fine. It's Wu Juan?"
Xu Zhao shrugged: "Don't know, just said a girl with a mole."
In the middle of the night, the sound came again. Xu Zhao looked at everyone.
Goosebumps rose on everyone, hesitant and scared. The girls from next door were also very frightened, all hiding behind Xu Zhao.
