After Men Nan finished speaking, neither Chen Ge nor Dr. Gao said a word for a long time.
Washing hair symbolizes washing away bad luck and filth. Dreaming of washing your hair usually means something good will happen, but the scene Men Nan described had absolutely nothing to do with anything good. By any measure, it was a nightmare.
"Do you remember what the person in the dream looked like, or what your surroundings were like?" Men Nan was very likely the special visitor indicated by the black phone. Every choice Chen Ge made now, every question he asked, would affect the final reward.
"It seemed to be the bathroom in my rental apartment. The placement of everything was familiar, but I'm not completely sure." Men Nan lowered his head, his voice growing even quieter. "I couldn't make out the face of the person standing next to me either, but I'm certain he's been getting closer and closer. I've been having the same dream for weeks. Every time I have it, the scene becomes a little clearer. And that man's face—I can see it more and more clearly."
"What does he look like?"
"Almost there! I should be able to see his face the next time I dream!" Men Nan pressed his head downward, and as he spoke, his eyeballs rolled upward, which looked rather unsettling.
The young man's account was vague and didn't provide much of value.
Chen Ge pressed on, unwilling to give up. "Can you be a bit more specific? For instance, while you were washing your hair, did the person do anything or say anything?"
"The dream's content is almost completely identical each time." Men Nan's hoarse voice trembled. "Three weeks ago, when I first had this dream, I didn't think it was particularly scary. In the dream, I don't know why, but I got up in the middle of the night and went into the bathroom. My mind in the dream had completely shut down—I could only act on instinct, or perhaps some other force was controlling me."
"The first dream was blurry and hazy. I stopped in front of the mirror, filled the sink with water, then dunked my head in."
"When I bent over, with my head hanging down, I could see someone standing at the doorway—upside down."
"At first he was very far away. It wasn't until I finished washing that I realized he seemed to have moved a little closer to me. Just a little."
"After that dream ended, I went on to have other dreams, so at first I didn't pay it any mind."
"But then something truly terrifying happened. The very next day, I had the exact same dream again!"
"The identical scene—I went to the bathroom, stood in front of the mirror, filled the sink with water, then bent over and dipped my head in."
"The moment my head touched the water's surface, I could see someone standing in the living room. When I finished washing and looked again, that person had moved a little closer."
"The same dream kept repeating. From the initial foggy, half-aware state, I eventually became fully conscious and watched everything unfold. My brain was functioning normally. My senses in the dream grew sharper and sharper. Most importantly, that man who came through the doorway—every time I dreamed, he was closer and closer to me!"
"I don't understand why this was happening. In the dream I was terrified out of my mind, but I couldn't wake up no matter what."
"As soon as I fell asleep, the dream continued. Two and a half weeks ago, the man in the dream had entered the living room. A week ago, he appeared at the bathroom door. And just four days ago, that man walked right up to me!"
"He was standing right beside me. The moment I bent over and dipped my head into the water, his body tilted along with mine, and that blurred face drew slowly closer."
Just hearing Men Nan describe it gave Chen Ge the creeps, let alone the fact that this young man had actually lived through all of it.
Having the same dream for three consecutive weeks, with a man whose face he couldn't make out constantly approaching—it was no wonder he'd ended up in his current state.
"The night before last, I had the dream again. That was the last time I had it." Men Nan tried to lift his head slightly. His eyes darted rapidly in their sockets. "That man's face was so close I could almost make it out. But right then, he reached up with both hands and grabbed me by the throat. Then I woke up, and I haven't dared to fall asleep since."
Men Nan's condition had deteriorated to a terrible point. The man in the dream had seized his throat with both hands—there was no telling what the dream might have evolved into had it continued.
The situation was even more urgent than Dr. Gao had described. No wonder he'd come looking for Chen Ge—purely out of desperation, hoping to get lucky.
"He keeps having the same dream over and over, always in the bathroom." Chen Ge thought for a moment, then asked. "Could there be something wrong with the apartment building itself? Let me float a possibility—don't be scared, it's just a theory."
"Go ahead."
"Could it be that someone once died in the room you're renting, and the body still hasn't been found? So it's sending you dreams, hoping you'll help it call the police and clear its name."
After Chen Ge said this, Men Nan's face turned green. He sucked air violently into his lungs. "There's a body hidden in my rental room? Impossible—absolutely impossible!"
His emotions surged. If Dr. Gao hadn't pressed a hand on his shoulder, he likely would have had another episode.
Dr. Gao, standing nearby, also wore an odd expression. "I went to his rental place and searched every corner inside and out. Nothing unusual. Besides, a week ago I brought Men Nan to stay at my own home, and he still had the same dream. The dreams didn't stop just because he wasn't in that apartment."
"When he first dreamed of that man, the man was standing at the doorway. So it's very likely the man came from outside. Our search can't be limited to just Men Nan's own room—we should expand it and search the entire apartment building." Chen Ge stated his opinion. Afraid of alarming Men Nan further, he kept the rest of his thoughts to himself: the ghost might have already latched onto him, and simply sleeping somewhere else wouldn't solve the problem.
"We're not police officers. We don't have the authority to search the entire apartment building. Even if we did, the justification would be pretty thin." Dr. Gao was no longer sure whether coming to Chen Ge had been the right call. "Why don't we try analyzing the dream instead? Men Nan has been washing his hair in the dream the whole time—maybe we can find a clue in what the act of washing hair itself symbolizes."
Dr. Gao tried to steer Chen Ge in that direction, and Chen Ge listened patiently to his analysis. Unfortunately, none of it could explain why Men Nan kept having the same dream over and over.
"I'm not sure either. How about we wait until tonight and go together to check out Men Nan's rental apartment? A hands-on investigation might turn up something new." Chen Ge quietly waited for the two of them to respond. His hand slipped into his pocket. Even now, the black phone still hadn't shown any reaction.