Seeing Crime Scenes in My Sleep

"Well, well, Du Xueqing. And here I thought you had some backbone. In the end, you still came crawling back like a dog."

"So what if you get good grades? You still look like a wreck."

Du Xueqing looked at the three girls and one boy before her. The leader of the group was the school belle, Jiang Shuran. To her left was Chen Jiayi, to her right was Su Mei, and the boy was an official’s son, Liang Huka.

Jiang Shuran looked at Du Xueqing with disdain and said to Liang Huka, "Liang Huka, you chased Du Xueqing for two years and she wouldn’t even give you the time of day. I don’t know where you get the nerve."

Liang Huka looked at Du Xueqing, his gaze dark as he let out a cold snort.

He was handsome, with countless girls chasing after him. He’d gone after Du Xueqing because her grades were excellent and she was pretty, but most importantly, she was different.

But he never expected that the only thing on Du Xueqing’s mind was studying.

Du Xueqing clenched her fists, biting her lower lip so hard it hurt. If she didn’t study hard, her parents would beat her when she got home. All she wanted was to focus on her studies, get into a good university, and escape this place.

But she never imagined that it was precisely because of her good grades that this playboy, Liang Huka, had targeted her.

Rumor was that Liang Huka, relying on his father’s position as an official, had always acted with impunity, getting involved with numerous female students.

Du Xueqing gritted her teeth in fear. The teachers wouldn’t intervene, and her parents didn’t believe a word she said. She had no idea what to do.

「A dozen or so minutes later...」

Chen Jiayi looked at Du Xueqing on the ground and sneered, "Shuran, look at what a mess she is."

Jiang Shuran snorted coldly. She glanced at Liang Huka, who was still staring intently at Du Xueqing, and felt a pang of jealousy. ’What’s so special about her, anyway?’

Jiang Shuran shot a look at Chen Jiayi and Su Mei.

The two approached Du Xueqing. Her eyes widened in terror, then she closed them in despair, but the expected pain never came.

"Shuran!" Chen Jiayi stared, shocked, at Jiang Shuran, who had grabbed the club.

Du Xueqing looked at Jiang Shuran. Her body had moved to grab the club, as if to help, but the expression on her face was one of pure astonishment and fear.

Jiang Li let out a sigh of relief. ’Good thing I made it in time.’

"Stay alive."

After forcing out those words, Jiang Li couldn’t hold on any longer and was violently pulled away.

Hearing these words, Du Xueqing’s mind immediately flashed to the Jiang Li from earlier that day.

CLATTER! Terrified, Jiang Shuran dropped the club. Her eyes widened in horror, and she stumbled back several steps.

’I just... I couldn’t control my own body! I just rushed up and snatched the club from Chen Jiayi!’

"AHHHH! There’s a ghost!"

Jiang Shuran screamed in terror, then turned and ran down the stairs.

Liang Huka and the others exchanged confused glances, shot a look at the half-dead Du Xueqing on the ground, and finally chased after Jiang Shuran.

"Cough, cough. Cough, cough, cough."

Leaning against the wall, Du Xueqing watched them flee in a panic. Then, she wrapped her arms around herself and started to cry. She pulled a soaked slip of paper from her pocket—the phone number Jiang Li had given her had dissolved.

Now her only lifeline was gone.

Du Xueqing dragged her battered body back to her dorm. Ever since she’d become a target, no one dared to room with her.

She went to the bathroom to clean up, looked up at the cracked mirror, and froze.

’That strange thing... it’s back!’

"You’re so useless. Why not just give your body to me? I will make those who bullied you pay the price they deserve."

"And your parents, I’ll make them regret what they’ve done, too."

Du Xueqing looked at the completely different version of herself inside the mirror. She wasn’t dull and weak like her; she looked cold-blooded and cunning.

Du Xueqing’s expression stiffened. The image of Jiang Li uncontrollably surfaced in her mind. ’She said she could help me.’

The moment the thought appeared, the self in the mirror sensed it and sneered.

"You believe that woman from today? How ridiculously naive. Your own parents don’t believe you, so what makes you think a stranger would?"

"Help you? Ridiculous. Do you really think she has what it takes to deal with the rich and powerful Jiang Shuran, or an official’s son like Liang Huka?"

Du Xueqing couldn’t help but waver. The constant bullying, the pressure from her family, their lack of trust—it all flashed through her mind, leaving her feeling suffocated and miserable.

She looked up at the self in the mirror. "Can you really make them pay?"

A grin spread across her reflection’s face. "That’s right, Du Xueqing. I am you, and you are me. You should trust me. Now, be a good girl and give your body to me. Let me become you."

Du Xueqing hesitated, asking uncertainly, "Then... what about me?"

Her reflection suddenly fell silent, its gaze turning dark and ominous, like it was looking at a mortal enemy.

Du Xueqing stepped back in fear. "No, I can’t."

...

Jiang Li jolted awake. She threw on her clothes, grabbed her phone and the car keys from the table, and prepared to head to No. 1 High School.

"Xiao Nian, I have to go out. Can you come with me?"

The moment Jiang Li spoke, the sound of rustling clothes came from the other room.

Jiang Li glanced at the time—three in the morning. ’I hope Xueqing is okay.’

She didn’t dare wait until morning. What if something really happened by then? After all, her dreams weren’t always in real-time.

Yu Huannian opened the door. "Let’s go."

Jiang Li left with Yu Huannian and made a call to the police station.

"This is Jiang Li. There’s a severe case of school bullying at No. 1 High School. The victim’s name is Du Xueqing. She’s being beaten, humiliated... it’s escalating to the point of attempted murder."

After Jiang Li finished, the person on the other end didn’t reply immediately.

"Hello, are you at the scene?"

Hearing this, Jiang Li hung up immediately. ’They don’t recognize my name. Explaining will just waste time.’

Jiang Li parked the car at the school gate and got out with Yu Huannian.

"Excuse me, sir," she said to the security guard. "My younger sister, Du Xueqing, has a fever. I’m here to take her to the hospital. Can we just sign in and go inside?"

"Sir, please hurry. My sister’s health is fragile, and I’m afraid the fever is making her delirious."

Hearing that a student was sick, the guard had them register and let them in.

Jiang Li found the girls’ dorm and explained the situation to the dorm mother, who then led her to Du Xueqing’s room.

"Ah, you must be Xueqing’s sister. That girl really neglects her health when she studies. You shouldn’t put so much pressure on her. She needs more care and attention from her family."

"I understand. Thank you, ma’am."

The dorm mother knocked on the door, but there was no response from inside.

"Oh no. Don’t tell me the fever’s made her pass out?"

The dorm mother tried the door with her key. "It’s locked from the inside."

"Ma’am, allow us." Jiang Li glanced at Yu Huannian.

Yu Huannian stepped forward and kicked the door open.

Jiang Li walked in and saw Du Xueqing collapsed on the bathroom floor.

Jiang Li grabbed a nearby bath towel, wrapped it around Du Xueqing, and carried her out.

"Oh my, something really did happen."

"Ma’am, thank you. We’re heading to the hospital now."

"Okay, okay. Be careful on your way."

Jiang Li drove, speeding toward the hospital.

Du Xueqing’s body was covered in a shocking mix of old and new injuries, large and small.

’She’s this badly hurt, and her family still doesn’t believe her?’