Chapter 1 — The Girl Without a Shadow

My roommate secretly submitted a request to change dorms. I approached her, feeling a mix of confusion and mild hurt, and asked, "Why are you moving? Haven't we been getting along just fine?"

She offered a strained, awkward laugh. "Oh... the girls in another room invited me over."

As she spoke, she kept her head bowed, her voice trembling. She didn't dare look me in the eye. Yet, when she turned to converse with our other roommates, her posture was visibly relaxed, her movements fluid and unburdened. A sudden, cold realization settled in my chest. "Is it something I did? Have I made you feel uncomfortable in this room?"

"No! Not at all! How could you think that?" She denied it with a frantic intensity, waving her hands dismissively. "Don't overthink it, it truly has nothing to do with you!"

After news spread that Wang Nha Chi was leaving, our room leader, Lac Minh Tam, wanted to organize a farewell dinner. Wang Nha Chi declined repeatedly, waving her hands in a way that felt almost defensive. "No need, really, there's no need to go to such trouble. It’s not like we’ll never see each other again."

I felt a deep, gnawing unease. I confronted her again, trying to sound calm. "Why are you really moving? Haven't we been living together just fine?"

At the sound of my voice, a subtle, involuntary tremor rippled through Wang Nha Chi’s frame. She let out another dry, brittle laugh. "Oh... the other room invited me..."

She stared at the floor, feigning busyness, refusing to meet my gaze. Once again, as soon as she turned back to the others, her body language softened, her shoulders dropping. My heart sank. "Nha Chi, is there something I’ve done wrong? Is my presence making you uncomfortable?"

Wang Nha Chi whipped her head up, staring at me with what looked like pure terror. She shook her head violently. "No, no, how could it be that? On Tam, you’re thinking too much into this. It really has nothing to do with you. I promise!"

That very day, she packed her things in a flurry and left. Forget the farewell dinner; she barely spoke another word to any of us.

"Don't you find this strange?" I asked the others. "Why does Nha Chi act as if she's terrified of me?"

Our roommate, Ho Tuyet Huong, snapped angrily, "Forget her. She’s completely heartless. She wouldn't even share a final meal with us, acting as if we’d been bullying her."

Lac Minh Tam looked equally frustrated. "It’s my fault for suggesting it. She didn't even mention a dinner, and I had to go and propose it. Now everything is just awkward."

"Don't blame yourself," Ho Tuyet Huong consoled her. "Maybe it's just that our living habits were different from hers. We go to sleep at nine, and she likes to stay up late. When we’re asleep, she’s too shy to turn on the lights. Other rooms stay up late, so that wouldn't be an issue there. Her moving out is probably for the best; everyone will be more comfortable."

***

Just as Ho Tuyet Huong predicted, once Wang Nha Chi left, our dorm life fell into a harmonious rhythm. By nine o'clock, while other rooms were still boisterous with laughter, we were already tucked into bed, lights out. Then, one day, Lac Minh Tam asked me out of the blue, "On Tam, what time did you get back last night?"

"Huh?" I asked, confused. "I came back right after dinner, didn't I?"

Lac Minh Tam continued, "I mean after that—when you left the room."

I was completely baffled. "After that? I didn't leave. I showered and went to sleep."

"After nine, you didn't go out even once?"

Lac Minh Tam's voice had taken on an eerie quality. I didn't understand why she was pressing me, but I answered truthfully. "That's right. My sleep is always deep. I don't get up to use the restroom at night; I sleep straight through until dawn."

"Are you sure?"

Lac Minh Tam’s face turned deathly pale. I realized something was wrong. "Why are you asking me this?"

She stared at me for a long, uncomfortable moment before averting her eyes. "Nothing."

Despite her words, she was clearly haunted. She began sneaking glances at me, and every time I caught her, she would immediately pretend to be busy. Her bizarre behavior made my skin crawl. That night, for the first time in my life, I couldn't sleep. I fell into a feverish nightmare and woke up drenched in cold sweat. The room was pitch black. It wasn't dawn yet, and I had no idea what time it was. My heart hammered against my ribs, still echoing the fear from my dream. Suddenly, I felt a weight at the foot of my bed. I glanced over, and my breath hitched in horror: Lac Minh Tam was climbing up the ladder of my bed, her torso thrust into my mosquito net. Her expression was grotesquely distorted, her eyes wide with a panicked, vacant intensity as she stared at me.

"Aaaah!" I screamed, bolting upright.

"Aaaaaah!" An even more terrified shriek erupted from Lac Minh Tam. A heavy, sickening thud followed as she tumbled from my bed, crashing onto the hard floor. Ho Tuyet Huong and I rushed her to the hospital in the middle of the night. After the examination, the doctor shrugged, "It's nothing serious, just a sprained ankle. It’ll heal with rest."

But Lac Minh Tam insisted on a CT scan, terrified there was something wrong with her brain. I asked her, "What were you doing climbing onto my bed in the middle of the night?"

She darted her eyes left and right, refusing to answer. The very day we returned from the hospital, she secretly went to the advisor to request a room change. The advisor summoned Ho Tuyet Huong and me.

"On Tam," she said, her voice dripping with hidden meaning. "Don't let your obsession with scholarships cloud your ability to get along with others. Relationships in a dorm require effort."

"Ms. Tang, what exactly do you mean by that?"

Ho Tuyet Huong, sensing the bias, bristled with indignation. "Hasn't On Tam been good enough? She knows Wang Nha Chi’s family is poor, so she gave up her subsidy so Nha Chi could have it, choosing to work harder for her own scholarship. What did she do wrong? If anyone is at fault, it’s Lac Minh Tam! Why did she climb onto On Tam's bed in the middle of the night? What was she trying to do? And why won't she offer an explanation? Just because she fell?"

The advisor shot Ho Tuyet Huong a cold look, as if she were beneath notice, then softened her tone to address me. "On Tam, one person asking to move might be a coincidence. But when two people, one after another, demand to change rooms, perhaps we need to look inward. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Ms. Tang," I asked bluntly, "are they changing rooms because of me?"

"They haven't stated it explicitly," the advisor said after a long silence. "But whenever your name comes up, their reactions are always... identical. They are all unnerved by you."

"Fine. I understand. I will reflect on my behavior."

"Reflect on what?" As we left the office, Ho Tuyet Huong crossed her arms, her face livid. "Ms. Tang just knows how to pick on the people who are easy to talk to."

I didn't answer. I kept thinking about the word the advisor used: "unnerved." The string of events recently had left me with the same sinking feeling. I tried to talk to Lac Minh Tam and Wang Nha Chi, but they had both blocked me. My messages were met with those stinging red exclamation marks. I tried catching them in class, but they would always pivot to talk to someone else, deliberately ignoring my existence with a chilling coldness. After being rebuffed enough times, I finally stopped trying.

***

Ho Tuyet Huong lived near the campus and went home every weekend. Once she left, I was alone in the dorm. Nine o'clock came, and I went to sleep as usual. I don't know how long I had been out when my phone started ringing insistently, jolting me awake. I fumbled for the screen; it was 11:00 PM, and Ho Tuyet Huong was calling. A call this late? Maybe it was an emergency. I answered, "Hello? Huong, what's wrong?"

"Well, well, On Tam!" Ho Tuyet Huong's voice on the other end was electric with excitement. "You sly girl, I didn't know you were hiding this from me. How could you keep such a handsome boyfriend a secret?"

I was completely lost. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play coy!" Ho Tuyet Huong sent a WeChat photo. I opened it, and my eyes widened, sleep fleeing instantly. In the photo, the school's most popular heartthrob was holding me in an intimate embrace, in a pose that was as suggestive as it was impossible. My mind spun. I was lying in my dorm bed right now, wasn't I? When on earth could I have been out embracing the school heartthrob?

"When did you take this?" I asked, my voice trembling as I regained my composure.

"Just now! On Tam, stop pretending! I saw you with my own eyes!"

"Huong, I am in my dorm room. The girl you saw is not me."

"How is that possible!" Ho Tuyet Huong retorted firmly. "It’s you! Your features, your hair, your clothes, your bag—it’s identical."

I paused for a second. "I'm talking to you on the phone right now. What about the girl you’re looking at? Is she talking on the phone?"

Ho Tuyet Huong’s voice faltered. She seemed to be realizing it just then. "That's... right. She isn't on a phone. Wait, let me go take a closer look at who she is."

She hung up. I waited anxiously for her to call back, but time ticked by in silence. I grew worried and called her back myself. It rang several times before connecting. I asked, "Huong, did you find out anything?"

The other end was deathly silent. After a long time, I heard Ho Tuyet Huong stammer a single word: "You..."

Her voice was shaking violently. After that one word, the call went dead with a sharp click. I could hear the sheer panic in her voice, as if she were fleeing from something. I called again, but it wouldn't connect. I sent messages on WeChat, but there was no response. I began to fear for her safety. "Huong, are you okay? Please, if you see this, just reply with a word."

But no matter what I sent, I couldn't reach her. That night, I was gripped by an unshakeable dread. Luckily, the next day was Sunday, and I thought I might catch her when she returned to school. Instead, I received a call from the advisor. She sounded furious. "On Tam, you didn't take my words to heart at all, did you? Didn't I just tell you to put effort into maintaining your dorm relationships?"

A dark omen settled in my stomach. Sure enough, the advisor continued, "Ho Tuyet Huong came to my office today—she wants to change rooms, too! You two were supposed to be close. What on earth is going on?"

I rushed to the advisor's office. She launched into a long, tirade, berating me. While she was catching her breath to go to the restroom, I slipped onto her computer and used her logged-in WeChat to message Ho Tuyet Huong, Lac Minh Tam, and Wang Nha Chi, claiming that a formal form was needed for the room change and demanding they come to the office immediately. Once sent, I deleted the chat history and muted their accounts so the advisor wouldn't see my interference. I ran down to the first floor and waited, successfully intercepting all three of them as they arrived. I had tried to talk to them countless times, but they had always used others as shields, never giving me a chance. Now, I had all three of them cornered in one place.

"I just want to know what is going on," I demanded. "Why are you all running from me?"

Facing my interrogation, they each turned their faces away, refusing to utter a single word.