Chapter 2

The week before the semester started, we spent all our time in the apartment. During the day, we played video games, and at night, we played cards and drank—life was incredibly enjoyable. The nights here were very quiet. The window in my room provided a view of the night scene outside, which, compared to the desolation of the Zhuhai campus, had a bit more of the lively atmosphere of the city. Qin, as usual, would grind his teeth around 3 AM, but maybe I'd gotten used to it, because he only woke me up once in that entire week. I remember that night; when I woke up, I got up to use the bathroom, and I happened to see Fei Rong peeing. It's rare for Fei Rong to wake up at night, so I remarked, "It's not often you wake up at night."

"Ugh. There's a cat outside meowing nonstop—so annoying," Fei Rong muttered, slightly irritated. "A cat? In this building?" "Seems like it; it sounds like it's in the hallway outside." "This place is full of renters; I doubt anyone's keeping a cat," I said. Fei Rong didn't respond, just pressed the flush button. The loud flushing noise seemed much more intrusive at night than during the day. As I finished in the bathroom and was about to turn off the light, I noticed Yi Ge in the kitchen—probably woken up by the two flushes since his room was right next to the bathroom.

On the first day of school, we had an 8 AM class. All five of us, except for Fei Rong, got up. Even though Fei Rong was lazy, he wasn't one to skip class. But that day, no matter how much we called or pushed him, he just wouldn't get up—must've had a rough night. And since the first class of the semester usually involved roll call, even Yi Ge, who was notorious for skipping class, dutifully put on his shoes and left with us.

As we reached the bottom of the stairs on the first floor, I noticed something black and furry moving slightly in the corner. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was a black cat lazily lying there. When we walked past, it suddenly sprang up, alert, and glanced at us with its yellow eyes before jumping through the window into the landlord's house. I couldn't help but recall what Fei Rong had mentioned that night.

Neither the morning nor afternoon classes had roll call; the professors droned on until even they seemed to forget what they were talking about. Around 6 PM, Lao Jiang and I returned to the apartment. On the fourth floor, we noticed new tenants moving in—a tall, muscular guy was carrying a box into the unit. The hallway was cluttered with five or six more identical boxes and even a piano (how did he get that up here…?). Inside the apartment, I heard a girl's voice, probably asking the guy where to place things.

Today, even Fei Rong skipped his afternoon class. When we got back to the guest room, he was pacing around the living room, holding an IELTS vocabulary book. He always liked to walk around while memorizing things. Lao Jiang saw him and asked, "Fei Rong, what time did you finally wake up today?"

"Oh? Three-thirty," Fei Rong replied, coming back to his senses.

"Damn, that's not like you. Didn't sleep well last night?" Lao Jiang asked.

"Ugh, it's all because of that cat. I told Xiao Fan about it," Fei Rong grumbled.

"The cat belongs to Liang, the landlord," I added.

"But why was it meowing outside at night? You have no idea; it sounded terrifying," Fei Rong continued.

"More terrifying than the actresses in those romantic films you watch?" I joked, knowing full well that Fei Rong often watched adult films in his bed, though we never talked about it openly.

Fei Rong looked genuinely aggrieved and changed the subject, "I'm serious, man. It was really scary. You'll know when you hear it..."

That night, Yi Ge didn't come back until after 10 PM, having been out with his girlfriend, but he brought us some ice cream, which was really nice. Qin Ye was missing as usual, and later he texted us saying he was spending the night with his girlfriend at the school's guesthouse and wouldn't be coming back.

I went to bed around midnight. I'm not sure how long I'd been asleep when I suddenly woke up. I groggily thought Qin Ye was grinding his teeth again, but when I reached over to check his bed, I realized it was empty. I remembered that he wasn't coming back that night. Then, I heard a door opening outside the room, followed by the sound of the guest room door opening (the old-style iron lock on that door made a distinct "click!" sound when opened). Along with the door opening, I heard the low growl of some animal. I checked my phone and saw that it was just after 3 AM. Who could be going out so late? Curious, I walked out of the room. The living room was pitch black, and the low growling sound was coming from outside the door. I looked toward the door and saw a shadowy figure in the hallway. At first, I thought it was a thief, but as I got a clearer view, I realized it was Fei Rong.

In the dim light from a distant streetlamp, Fei Rong noticed me walking over. He urgently gestured for me to come closer and put a finger to his lips, signaling for silence. I walked over to him and looked at what he was pointing to. There, less than two meters away in the corridor, was a black cat. I recognized it as the landlord's cat. It was positioned on the stairs, its body tensed as if ready to attack, emitting a twisted, low growl. Occasionally, it let out a fierce "wow!" roar. The house cat in front of me seemed more like a wild feline from a nature documentary, a tiger or lion. I had never seen a house cat act like this before. Fei Rong was terrified, standing completely still. I stepped forward and leaned slightly to see what the cat was staring at. All I could see was the dark, pitch-black staircase leading up to the sixth floor—I couldn't even make out the iron gate. But the "black lion" at my feet continued to growl viciously at that spot. Even though it was the middle of summer, the cat's chilling roars sent shivers down my spine.

Suddenly, Fei Rong snapped. Before I could react, he lunged forward and kicked the black cat hard. My "No!" was only half-shouted when, accompanied by a heart-wrenching scream, the black cat was sent flying, slamming into the wall before tumbling down the stairs to the fourth floor. Then, there was nothing but silence. Without the cat's growling, the dimly lit corridor felt even more eerie. I glanced at the stairs to the sixth floor again, but still saw nothing. I turned back to Fei Rong, giving him a reproachful look. He seemed to regret what he had done. Maybe anyone who'd been kept awake by an animal for two consecutive nights would snap and do something inexplicable.

We didn't say anything and just turned back to our rooms. I checked my phone—it had only been 15 minutes.

That night, I drifted in and out of sleep, haunted by the cat's anguished cries. I thought I heard the front door open again and the cat's low growls mixed with other indistinct noises swirling in my mind. Amidst this cacophony, I eventually fell asleep.