Chen Ge had seen many gift boxes, but never one that looked as if it had been drenched in fresh blood.
"Was this something Zhang Ya prepared to give to someone? Or did some blind fool send it to Zhang Ya?"
Such a filthy gift box resting on the clean, tidy sheets made it obvious that its owner treasured it deeply.
Standing in the most terrifying forbidden zone of the ghost school, surrounded by wailing, desperate monsters, Chen Ge actually felt no fear. Instead, a peculiar emotion stirred within him.
"In the past, when Zhang Ya gave me bloody love letters, candies made from souls, or dolls stitched from hair, I felt a bit... put off. But today, seeing this blood-red gift box on Zhang Ya's bed, I actually feel a pang of... sourness."
Malice swirled around him. Chen Ge stood alone at the deepest part of the forbidden zone. Outside, his companions were on high alert, their eyes locked on him, ready to rush in at the slightest abnormal movement. They could never have guessed what was actually going through his mind.
From their perspective, Chen Ge's previously calm expression suddenly grew grave. His brow furrowed slightly, as if something unexpected had occurred.
"Should I open it? It's not great to open someone else's gift without permission, but to me, Zhang Ya isn't really 'someone else.' She's still unconscious, so taking a quick look for her should be fine."
Chen Ge felt conflicted. The moment his hands touched the box, the ribbon on top slid off by itself.
"I didn't even do anything..." Chen Ge glanced back at his shadow, then slowly lifted the lid.
Nothing unusual happened in the dorm room. From inside the lid came the sound of a heartbeat. Chen Ge leaned in to look. Inside the gift box lay a blood-red ballet dress.
"This is the gift?"
Above the dress was a greeting card. Chen Ge picked it up. On it was written a simple sentence:
"Merry Christmas, our precious daughter. Your mom and I miss you very much. We prepared a new dress for you."
The gift must have been from Zhang Ya's parents. In this room filled with malice and despair, this small box was Zhang Ya's most precious possession.
Looking at the dress inside the box, Chen Ge seemed to see Zhang Ya's beating heart—a sliver of warmth wrapped beneath that cold exterior.
"This is Zhang Ya's most treasured thing, but why does looking at it make my heart ache?" Chen Ge gently set down the greeting card. His fingers brushed the ballet dress. It was stained with blood, the stains scattered irregularly—some deep, some shallow. The corners of the box also showed marks of being struck and crushed, giving it a crumpled look.
"Zhang Ya carefully placed the box on the clean bed. These crush marks couldn't have been made by her. In all likelihood, when Zhang Ya first saw it in the real world, the box already looked like this—dyed red with blood, covered in marks of collision and crushing." Chen Ge didn't know what had happened to the parents who delivered this gift, but the fact that it had become a secret buried deepest in Zhang Ya's heart spoke volumes.
Besides the ballet dress and the greeting card, there seemed to be something else in the box, tucked beneath the dress, but Chen Ge didn't carelessly rummage through it.
He placed the lid back on the box and looked at his shadow. "I'm sorry. I'm not good with words, and I don't really know what to say. I can't make you any promises. All I can tell you is that as long as I'm here, you won't be alone. From now on, I'll be with you."
Carefully cradling the box in his arms, Chen Ge had intended to hand it to Zhang Ya personally, but he noticed the bottom of the box was stuck to the sheets.
Looking closer, the bottom of the box was covered in long strands of a woman's hair. Those strands seemed almost alive, holding the box fast to the bed. Any object approaching it, other than Chen Ge, would be pierced by the black hair.
"I was careless—I didn't even notice it at first. Good thing she has no malice toward me." Chen Ge gave up trying to move it and returned the box to its original spot, deciding to let Zhang Ya decide for herself once she awakened.