10 “Aria, you will be the next one.” The shadow’s voice was as firm as an oath. “Is that so?” I remained as calm as an old monk in deep meditation. I slowly opened my mouth and said, “I have one last question.” “What would you do if those people didn’t let you leave?” The shadow suddenly widened her eyes. She understood my words. A panicked expression flashed across her face. “You’re panicking, looks like I’ve guessed right again.” The shadow lunged towards me. Sage and Leo reacted incredibly fast, grabbing her from left and right, pinning her firmly against the wall. Jasmine even flashed in front of me, attempting to block the shadow from approaching me. The shadow was furious, struggling wildly. I took in her reaction fully, and couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief: “Shadow, let’s try again, shall we? Let’s see what happens if you don’t return to my body on time?” The night was long, the shadow and us were at a standoff until near dawn when she became hysterical. Her veins were bulging, her body seemed to have inexhaustible strength, ramming like a small bull. However, Sage and Leo held her down tightly. The disparity in strength was too great. The shadow’s struggles were in vain. The moon set in the west, the sun rose in the east. The first ray of dawn broke through the clouds, the shadow’s body seemed to be diluted, her color gradually fading until she disappeared bit by bit before our eyes. At the same time, the sunlight stretched my shadow long on the ground. I raised my hand, making various gestures, and the shadow followed, making the same movements. My shadow had returned. Leo collapsed sitting on the ground. “Phew-” He let out a long breath, “Finally dealt with it.” It sounded like he had just survived a calamity. He raised his face, looking expectantly at Jasmine, like a little dog trying to get a reward. Jasmine ignored him coldly. We were all very tired, regardless of appearances, we sat cross–legged on the ground. “Aria,” Sage sat beside me, poking at my shadow playfully, and asked softly, “She’s really gone this time, right?” My gaze also fell on the shadow: “Who knows?” There was never any knowledge point in textbooks telling me how to determine if one’s own shadow is normal or not. I could only use the clumsiest method to try and verify the answer. I set an alarm. Every hour, the alarm would ring once. When I woke up, I would wave my finger to see if there was my shadow on the wall. I checked every day, and the shadow was always there. Slowly, I accepted the fact that the shadow had returned to normal. Sage also stopped staying with me every day. She decided to resume her habit of going home on weekends. Her family had urged her many times. On the day she went home, she was very worried and repeatedly reminded me: “Call me if anything happens, okay?” She repeated this sentence three hundred times, until I found it annoying. In the middle of the night, she called again. … Read More “The shadow that wants to replace me Chapter 10” »
Category: The shadow that wants to replace me
9 We hurriedly took shelter inside Building 4. Sage said, “The plaster statues are used by the art students, they’re on the fifth floor!” We chased up to the fifth floor. I finally saw her–my shadow. We had the same hairstyle, the same clothes, even the pimples on our faces were in the same places. “Miss Shadow, having fun pretending to be me?” I asked with a stony face. The shadow smiled at me. She didn’t answer my question, but instead declared to me: “It’s too late, Aria, you can’t stop me.” “What am I stopping you from?” I asked. “Don’t try to trick me into talking,” the shadow seemed to see through me, smiling blatantly, “I know you have a lot of questions, I won’t answer any of them.” “You can keep guessing, the more you guess, the more mistakes you’ll make.” “Fine, then I’ll make a bold guess!” I stared at the shadow unrelentingly, not giving an inch, “I guess your goal is to replace me, to become the master of this body.” “Am I right?” I asked. The shadow just smiled without speaking. I didn’t care about her reaction and continued my speculation: “You’ve already secretly started implementing your plan to replace me.” “The first thing you did was to attract attention.” “You needed to get the attention of some people, to make them think you are Aria Day.” “Your first step has already succeeded.” “Its effect on me is that I’m gradually sinking into sleep, and once I fall asleep, it’s not easy to wake up…” “When you completely achieve your goal, I might really never wake up again.” “Because by then, I will be your shadow.” I stopped talking and looked at the shadow’s reaction. The smile had unknowingly disappeared from her face, replaced by a rather displeased expression. I continued: “Now, you’ve started implementing your second step. The plaster statue that just fell towards me was your handiwork.” “Although you threw the plaster statue at me, you can’t kill me, right?” “There have been many opportunities to kill me.” “You didn’t do it, instead going to great lengths to lure me to Building 4, then throw a plaster statue at me. It’s because the rules limit how you can harm me, isn’t it?” “What are the rules?” “Do you dare tell me?” By this point in my questioning, my tone had become somewhat aggressive. The shadow still didn’t make a sound, but the way she looked at me was no longer relaxed. I curled my lips into an extremely contemptuous smile, striking her facade with a mocking tone: “You don’t dare tell me because I’ve guessed everything right. It’s not so easy to replace the master, is it, Miss Shadow?” “Hah!” The shadow finally couldn’t stand my provocation and sneered, “In fact, it’s not as difficult as you think. Shadows replacing their masters happen every day in the human world, there are quite a few such people around you.” “It’s just that you haven’t noticed.” “What’s laughable is that you even actively seek reasons to excuse the shadows.” “Someone you haven’t seen for a while, when you meet again, they’ve undergone earth–shattering changes.” “You say, this is growth.” “Someone who’s been through a major illness, after recovery, their personality changes drastically.” “You say, they’ve had an epiphany.” “Someone who was always cheerful and talkative becomes wooden and introverted.” “You say, this is life.” “You’ve never suspected that they might have long been replaced by their own shadows, no longer the person you knew.” … Read More “The shadow that wants to replace me Chapter 9” »
8 It took more than ten minutes for Sage to lay out the whole story about the shadow. I supplemented details from the side, trying to increase the credibility of the story through a seamless narrative. However, Jasmine and Leo’s gazes at us still inevitably began to look like they were watching crazy people. Until I turned on my phone’s flashlight and waved my fingers around. They were shocked to discover that I really had no shadow. “Actually, the main reason I asked you to come all this way is to ask Leo if there’s anything particularly strange about the me you usually interact with?” I asked. Leo, who had been in shock, immediately came to his senses when he heard my question. He glanced guiltily at Jasmine, stiffened his neck and denied: “Let’s be clear, it’s not me interacting with you, it’s my buddies interacting with you. You have nothing to do with me, we’re completely innocent.” I also stressed with a headache: “Let me be clear too, she is she, and I am I, we are not the same person!” Leo wanted to argue more. Jasmine gave him a cool glance. He instantly became obedient and shut up. “Answer whatever Aria asks, don’t make unnecessary elaborations. We’re here to help, not to cause trouble,” Jasmine opened her mouth to scold. Leo lowered his head and eyes, seriously recalling. “She really likes to attract attention, plays around a lot.” “In the places we often hang out, almost everyone knows the name Aria Day.” “Let me put it this way, at school, you are Aria Day.” “Outside school, she is Aria Day” “In my view, she is Aria Day, you are not.” As Leo finished speaking, a thought suddenly struck me, and my face abruptly paled. Sage touched my arm, asking with concern: “Aria, are you okay?” I forced myself to calm down, shook my head, and asked Leo again: “Did she show any abnormal behavior?” “I just play around with her, why would I pay attention to so much?” Suddenly, as if remembering something, Leo’s expression stiffened. “Come to think of it, it is strange.” “She only participates in our night gatherings, but when morning comes, she has to leave no matter what.” “Once, a few guys grabbed her, not letting her go.” “She got angry, screaming hoarsely that it was dawn, she must go back.” “That frenzied, crazed look was quite memorable.” The topic exhausted, no more useful information could be squeezed out. It was already very late, and I planned to go to Building 4 for the appointment. Jasmine also wanted to come along. She wanted to know if what we said was true. She wanted to see the shadow that was said to look exactly like me. So, the four of us came to the bottom of Building 4 together. By now, it was deep into the night, and the vast campus was like a sleeping giant. At the bottom of Building 4, the bright street lamps attracted many small insects, but there was no one around. I suspiciously asked Sage: “Did she ask me to come to Building 4?” Before Sage could answer, my phone suddenly received a SnapChat message. I opened it and my pupils couldn’t help but constrict. I had received a message from myself, with just six short words: [Stand there and don’t move.] … Read More “The shadow that wants to replace me Chapter 8” »
7 “Aria, wake up, quick, wake up!” With a violent shaking, I woke from my dream. Opening my eyes, rationality returned, and the first thing I asked was: “Did she leave?” Sage wiped the sweat from her forehead and plopped down on my bed: “Aria, what’s your zodiac sign? You sleep so deeply, I couldn’t wake you up.” I interrupted her, telling her to cut the chatter and get to the point. Sage drawled: “Yes~~~ She left~~~ I saw her leave with my own eyes~~~” “By the way…” The voice suddenly stopped. This unexpected turn made my heart instantly clench. Sage paused for a while before continuing: “She asked me to pass on a message to you.” My heart sank: She asked Sage to pass on a message to me? I silently digested this information and asked: “What message?” Sage’s mouth twitched twice: “She said she’s waiting for you at the bottom of Building 4.” She wants to meet me? Before I could sort out my thoughts, Sage asked: “Aria, should we go meet her?” “No rush,” I said, “Let me confirm one thing first.” I turned on my phone’s flashlight, used my finger to block some of the light source, and looked at the wall. On the wall, there was no shadow of my finger. Sage watched this scene in surprise. She tentatively waved her own finger, and her shadow danced lively on the wall. “Sage, what do you think a shadow that has run out of its owner’s body wants to do?” Sage didn’t immediately answer this question. For a moment, we both fell into deep thought. “Sage, you’re right, when facing the unknown, the first thing we should do is try to understand it.” “Only through understanding can we find a way to deal with it.” “Look, at least one thing is certain now, she is my shadow!” “My shadow isn’t here right now… which means, whatever I do now, she won’t know, right?” I asked. Sage’s eyes lit up: “That’s right!” I asked Sage: “Do you have Leo Xander’s number?” Leo Xander was the campus heartthrob’s name, the shadow’s date. I asked this because I knew Sage and Leo belonged to the same social circle. Sure enough, Sage immediately boasted: “Not only do I have Leo’s number, I also have his girlfriend Jasmine Zhao’s number. His girlfriend is my cousin’s best friend.” “Leo has a girlfriend?” “Of course! Jasmine Zhao, a real heiress!” “Don’t be fooled by Leo’s playboy act, in front of Jasmine, he’s a true lapdog, afraid she might dump him!” “Jasmine just came back from abroad a few days ago, Leo must be sticking to her side trying to please her every day!” “Are these pieces of information reliable?” I asked. “Absolutely reliable.” Sage patted her chest confidently, “I might not know other things, but when it comes to gossip, there’s nothing I don’t know.” “I need Jasmine Zhao’s number.” I directly held out my hand. A minute later, I dialed Jasmine Zhao’s number. “Jasmine, hello, this is Aria, Sage’s good friend. I’m sorry for calling so late, but I need your help desperately.” At 11 PM, a low–key luxury car stopped at the school gate, and Jasmine Zhao got out of the car with Leo Xander. Sage and I had already prepared snacks and drinks at the reading pavilion. After Jasmine and Leo sat down at the reading pavilion, Sage cleared her throat: “Jasmine, what I’m about to say might sound unbelievable.” “But you must believe me, there’s nothing wrong with my mind.”
6 At 9 PM, it was time to sleep again. I forced myself not to fall asleep. But strangely, my eyelids felt too heavy to lift. I tried hard to keep my eyes open, but found that sleepiness was like a swamp, fiercely dragging at my consciousness, pulling it into the thick, sticky realm of dreams. I sensed a hint of unusual eeriness in this. I was just used to sleeping early. I shouldn’t be so drowsy that I felt I must close my eyes immediately. I don’t know how long I slept, but in a daze, I felt as if a stone was pressing on my lower body, making it difficult to move. I anxiously opened my eyes and saw a soul–stirring scene. On the pitch–black bed, another me was sitting on top of me, facing away. Her lower body was sunk into my body, fused with me as one. She was falling backwards towards me, her back naturally pressing towards me. Suddenly, her falling motion paused. She seemed to sense that I had woken up, her black long hair swaying slightly. In the dim light, she turned her head to look at me. I saw a face identical to mine. That face wore a nearly challenging smile. Then, like waves crashing into the sea, she fell into my body. The heavy feeling disappeared, my body lightened, and I could move my hands and feet again. However, I was covered in cold sweat, all traces of sleepiness gone. During class break, a cup of coffee was placed in front of me. I hazily looked up to see Sage’s face. She pulled out a chair and sat down beside me. “You…” she hesitated, her eyes full of worry. I forced a smile at her: “I’m fine.“” “What do you plan to do?” Sage asked me. I lay on my arms, unable to answer this question. “Let me help you,” Sage said. I thought I had heard wrong, propped up my head, and stared at her blankly. Sage smiled at me: “The counselor really called me to fill out the room change form today, I didn’t fill it out, I’m planning to move back and continue living with you.” “Aria, I don’t just see you as a roommate, but also as a friend.” it.” “When a friend is in trouble, how could I just run away? That wouldn’t be right, would it?” I looked at Sage for a long time. To be honest, it felt like there was a saw on my heart, sawing back and forth. I had to make a great effort to force myself to remain rational, and speak up to dissuade her: “Sage, if I were you, I would choose to stay out of “Your decision to help me now is a bit too sentimental.” “We don’t even know what exactly that other me is? We don’t know what she wants to do? We don’t know what kind of terrifying things we might face?” “Helping me might drag you into it too, it’s not wise.” “Yes, who doesn’t understand the reasoning?” Sage folded her arms, looking at me helplessly, “But, Aria, look at your dark circles, just one night and you look like you haven’t slept for half a year.” … Read More “The shadow that wants to replace me Chapter 6” »
5 One sentence immediately attracted the attention of all three of us. We looked at Lily in unison, waiting silently for her to continue. She organized her thoughts for a long time: “That day, Aria was washing her face in the dorm, she had applied facial cleanser and was bending down to rinse with water.” “I saw her shadow, in the mirror, looking down at her.” “I was crouching behind her tying my shoelaces, when the shadow noticed me seeing her, there was a moment of panic.” “That scene was very disjointed, Aria was bending down washing her face in front of the mirror, but her shadow was in the mirror, making eye contact with me.” “When she finished washing her face and raised her head, the shadow returned to normal.” “Aria smiled at me, and the shadow in the mirror also smiled at me, I was so scared I broke out in a cold sweat.” “I didn’t dare tell anyone about this, afraid of being thought of as crazy.” Lily’s words made my head buzz. “You’re saying there’s something wrong with my shadow?” I asked. “I don’t know!!” Lily shrieked, “I’m just telling you what I saw, as for what exactly is wrong with you, I don’t know!” Her reaction was a bit intense, her voice uncontrollably rising. I understood. Anyone encountering such a thing would find it hard to remain calm. We all fell silent. The four of us each lost in our own thoughts. A moment later, “I’m sorry for causing you all trouble. Thank you for being willing to tell me what happened, at least now I’m not completely in the dark.” “Your decision to move out was correct, if it were me, I would have made the same choice.” I forced a smile, waved at them, and as I turned to leave, Lily suddenly called out to me: “Aria! There’s one more thing…” I stopped in my tracks. She hesitated for a few seconds, as if mustering up courage, and continued: “Wendy doesn’t know how you got back to the dorm?” “I know.” “I saw with my own eyes, at four or five in the morning, you walked in from outside.” “The door was closed.” “You walked through the door.” I suddenly understood why Lily hesitated so long before each sentence she spoke? Because once some words are said, it’s really easy to make people doubt her mental state. No one wants to be thought of as crazy! Originally, I thought the difficulty I was facing was just a misunderstanding with my roommates, now I realized that the real difficulty I faced was how to believe an extremely absurd truth, and moreover, force myself to understand it, to think about it. I had to keep reminding myself that no one was crazy, including myself. I carefully examined myself in the mirror. The me in the mirror also stared straight at me. Looking for a long time, I suddenly found it hard to distinguish whether her gaze was the same as mine? Was she examining me, or was I examining her? Goosebumps rose all over my body, and I avoidingly shifted my gaze. The me in the mirror made the same movement, clearly presenting my moment of fear and embarrassment in front of me. Tonight, I was the only one left in the dorm. The me that Sage saw, the me that Wendy mentioned, the me that Lily feared, could it be my shadow? If what the three of them said was true, another me would appear every night. What did … Read More “The shadow that wants to replace me Chapter 5” »
Sage told me that night, she went after and saw me. “It wasn’t someone else, it wasn’t someone who looked like you, it was you.” “I called your name, and you answered crisply” < “I said, ‘Aria, you liar, saying you were sleeping in the dorm, do you take me for a fool!” “You apologized to me, saying you didn’t want people to find out about you and the campus heartthrob, and begged me to keep it a secret.” “We’re the closest, we’ve known each other for so long, I know your way of speaking, the little gestures you like to make, even what clothes you usually wear, all like the back of my hand.” “I was 100% certain it was you!” “But just as I was chatting happily with you, I received a call from you…” “You called me from the dorm.” “So, who was the you in front of me?” “I was terrified at that moment, didn’t dare say another word, and hurriedly made an excuse to leave.” Sage clenched her fists tightly, as if only through this action could she muster the courage to say these words. Her entire state was very poor, after just a few short sentences, her forehead was covered in cold sweat. I had many guesses. I originally thought that maybe it was just someone who looked extremely similar to me, and there was some misunderstanding between them… But seeing Sage’s reaction… I understood Sage, she wasn’t a person without courage. Her reaction was too real, making me unable to help but wonder, could there really be another me in this world? I forcibly suppressed the surging in my heart and stepped forward to grasp her fists, trying to help her escape from the terror of that moment. Her body trembled slightly, and she glanced at me. I gave her a comforting look. Her facial expression relaxed slightly, and she slowly exhaled. At this time, Wendy, who had been silent all along, also spoke up: “I also suspected something was wrong with my brain before. After Lily moved out, one night, probably close to when the dorm was about to close…” “I got up to use the bathroom, and when I came out, I saw you.” She stared straight at me, indicating that “you” referred to me. “You were fully dressed and about to go out.” “I was very surprised and asked where you were planning to go so late.” “You said you had a friend to meet, had to go out for a bit.” “I told you the dorm was about to close, and if you went out now, you might not be able to come back to sleep.” “You told me not to worry, said you had a way.” “After you left, I was actually quite worried, couldn’t fall asleep.” “The dorm closes at 11:30 PM, I was counting the time, thinking if you came back before 11:30 it would be fine, but you never came back, I thought you must be sleeping at a hotel, however, the next morning, you climbed out of bed again.” “I asked you where you went last night?” “You told me you never went out…” “You seemed to have no memory of our conversation at all.” “I felt something was off about you, secretly observed, and found that you would sneak out of the dorm almost every night, not waking anyone, and the next day, wake up on time from your bed.” “I was always very confused, how did you get back to the dorm? The dorm doors were clearly locked.” “That night, I heard snoring from your bed, curiously climbed up to look, and saw you sleeping.” “However, just a minute ago, I had clearly seen you leave the dorm with my own eyes.“” Wendy’s words made my hair stand on end. It was only then that I realized, the “me” they saw was actually sleeping in the same bed as me! She was so close to me, yet I knew nothing about it. I couldn’t help but feel a surge of panic, as if without my realizing it, another me had silently infiltrated every corner of my life. ... Read More “The shadow that wants to replace me Chapter 4” »
3 Sage’s home was close to the school. She went home every weekend. Once she left, I was the only one in the room. At 9 PM, as usual, I got ready to sleep. I don’t know how long I slept, but the persistent ringing of my phone woke me up. I fumbled for my phone in a daze, saw it was 11 PM, and the caller was Sage. Calling so late, could there be some emergency? I quickly answered the phone, “Hello? Sage, what’s up?” “You’re something else, Aria!” Sage’s excited voice came from the other end of the line, “Girl, I didn’t expect you to be having such a good time < behind my back!” I was completely confused, “What?” “Stop pretending!” Sage sent me a SnapChat photo. I opened it and my eyes widened, all traces of sleepiness gone. In the photo, the campus heartthrob and I were in an intimate embrace, in a pose that couldn’t be more suggestive. My head was spinning. I was lying in my dorm room right now, when did I hug the campus heartthrob? “When did you take this photo?” Coming to my senses, I immediately asked Sage. “Just now! Aria, stop pretending! I saw you!” “Sage, I’m in the dorm, the girl you saw isn’t me.” “How is that possible!” Sage firmly refuted, “It’s you! The looks, hairstyle, clothes, shoes, bag, all exactly the same.” I thought for a second, “I’m on the phone with you right now, what about that girl? Is she also on the phone?” Sage’s voice faltered. She belatedly realized, “Oh yeah~ She doesn’t seem to be on the phone! Wait, let me go over and see who she really is?” With that, the call ended. I anxiously waited for Sage to call back. After waiting for a long time with no response, I thought for a moment and decided to call her myself. The phone rang several times before it was answered. I opened my mouth to ask, “Sage, did you find out anything?” There was dead silence on the other end, and after a long while, I heard Sage stammer out a word: “You…” Her voice was trembling. After saying just one word, she abruptly hung up the phone. I could sense a flavor of fleeing in panic from it. I called back, but the call didn’t connect. I sent messages asking, but there was no reply. I couldn’t help but worry about Sage’s safety. “Sage, are you okay?” “When you see this message, please reply, no matter what.” However, no matter what messages I sent, I still couldn’t get in touch with Sage. That night, I was restless. Fortunately, the next day was Sunday, and I thought I could wait for Sage to return to school, but unexpectedly, I first received a call from the counselor. She was furious, “Aria, did you not take what I said to heart? Didn’t I just teach you last time that you need to carefully maintain dorm relationships?” I had a bad feeling rising in my heart. Sure enough, the counselor’s next sentence was, “Sage came to my office today, she also wants to apply for a room change! Weren’t you two getting along well? What’s going on now?” I rushed to the counselor’s office. The counselor lectured me endlessly. Taking advantage of her exhaustion when she went to the bathroom, I secretly used her computer to send a message to Sage, Wendy, and Lily on SnapChat, notifying them that they needed to fill out a form for room changes and asking them to come to the office immediately. After sending the messages, I deleted ... Read More “The shadow that wants to replace me Chapter 3” »
2 As Sage said, after Lily moved out, our room’s schedule became more harmonious. Basically, by 9 PM, when other rooms were still laughing and playing around, we had already cleaned up and were ready to turn off the lights and sleep. However, one day, Wendy suddenly asked me, “Aria, what time did you come back last night?” “Huh?” I was confused by her question, “Didn’t I come back right after dinner?” Wendy said, “I mean when you left the room later.” I was completely baffled, “Later? I didn’t. I went to sleep right after showering.” “You didn’t go out after 9?” Wendy’s voice became strange. I didn’t know why she was asking this, but I still answered, “No, I’ve always been a good sleeper, I don’t get up at night, I sleep straight through till morning.” “Are you sure?” Wendy’s face looked troubled. I sensed something was off and asked back, “What’s wrong?” She stared at me for a while, then quickly averted her gaze, saying, “Nothing.” She said it was nothing, but after asking me, she seemed distracted, stealing glances at me from time to time. Whenever I caught her gaze, she would immediately pretend to be busy. Her strange attitude made me uneasy. That night, I had trouble sleeping for once, had a nightmare, and woke up in a cold sweat. The room was pitch black. It wasn’t dawn yet. I didn’t know what time it was. Still thinking about the nightmare, my heart was racing. Suddenly, I felt someone at the foot of my bed. Glancing over, I saw Wendy standing on the ladder of my bed, half of her body inside my mosquito net. The expression on her face was strangely exaggerated, staring at me in terror. “Ah!!!” I screamed in fright, flipping over and bolting upright in bed. “Ahhh!!!” An even more terrified scream came from Wendy’s mouth. Followed by a loud crash. She fell off my bed onto the floor. Sage and I rushed Wendy to the hospital in the middle of the night. The doctor examined her and said, “It’s not serious, just a sprained leg, we’ll set it right and it’ll be fine.” However, Wendy insisted that the doctor give her a CT scan to thoroughly check her brain. I asked Wendy, “What were you doing sneaking up to my bed in the middle of the night?” She avoided the question, not answering directly. The day she returned from the hospital, Wendy secretly went to the counselor to apply for a room change. The counselor called Sage and me for a talk. “Aria,” she hinted meaningfully, “don’t focus so much on scholarships that you neglect getting along with other students. Dorm relationships also need to be carefully maintained.” “What do you mean?” Sage heard the implication in the counselor’s words and indignantly said, “Isn’t Aria considerate enough? Knowing Lily’s family condition wasn’t good, she gave up her financial aid to Lily and worked hard for scholarships herself. What did she do wrong?” “If anyone’s wrong, shouldn’t we ask Wendy?” “Why did she climb onto Aria’s bed in the middle of the night?” “What was she trying to do?” “Why doesn’t she even give an explanation? Just because she fell and hurt herself?” The counselor glared at Sage, as if too lazy to deal with her, and softened her tone to advise me, “Aria, when one person applies to change rooms, it might be that person’s issue, but when two people apply to change rooms, maybe we need to look for reasons within ourselves. Do you understand what I mean?” “Counselor,” I asked directly, “Are they changing rooms because of me?” … Read More “The shadow that wants to replace me Chapter 2” »
The Shadow That Wants to Replace Me I curiously asked my roommate, “Why are you changing rooms? Aren’t we all getting along well?” She let out a dry laugh, “Well… another room invited me…” As she said this, she kept her head down, her voice trembling, not daring to look at me. In contrast, when she talked to other roommates, her body language was noticeably more relaxed. My heart sank, “Did I do something wrong that made you uncomfortable living here?” “No! Not at all! How could that be!” My roommate frantically denied, “Don’t over think it, it has nothing to do with you, really!” 1 When Wendy Xavier, our room leader, learned that Lily Nova was moving out, she wanted to organize a farewell dinner for everyone. Lily kept waving her hands in refusal, “No need, no need, don’t be so polite, it’s not like we’ll never see each other again.” I felt uneasy and asked Lily, “Why are you changing rooms? Aren’t we all getting along well?” Hearing my voice, Lily’s body trembled imperceptibly. She let out a dry laugh, “Well… another room invited me…” She kept her head down, pretending to be busy, not looking up at me. In contrast, when she talked to others, her body language was noticeably more relaxed… My heart sank, “Lily, did I do something wrong that made you uncomfortable living here?” Lily suddenly raised her head, looking at me with near terror, shaking her head vigorously, “No, not at all, how could that be!” “Aria, don’t overthink it, it has nothing to do with you.” “Really!” Lily moved out hurriedly that day. Forget about the farewell dinner, she didn’t even want to talk to us much. “Don’t you think it’s strange?” I asked, “Why does Lily seem so afraid of me?” My roommate Sage snapped, “Don’t mind her, she’s so ungrateful, not even willing to have a farewell dinner with us, making it seem like we bullied her or something.” Wendy also looked annoyed, “It’s my fault for taking the initiative, she didn’t even say she wanted a farewell dinner, why did I have to bring it up, now everyone’s awkward.” “It’s not your fault,” Sage comforted her, “Lily’s the only one in our room with a different schedule from the three of us.” “We sleep at 9, she likes to stay up late.” “When we’re all asleep, she doesn’t feel comfortable turning on the lights.” “Other rooms all stay up late, so there’s no early sleep issue.” “It’s better that she moved out, everyone will be more at ease.”