The bespectacled woman saw that more than a dozen of us had finished drawing, so she went from table to table, one by one, and after looking at each person's picture, she told them what kind of psychological state they were in and how they should improve their psychology. When I heard those girls listening to the bespectacled woman's explanation, they all opened their mouths into O-shapes and covered their faces, saying "too accurate!" I was chilled to the bone. Sisters, what have you all become that you still pretend to be cute?

  The girl with glasses came to my desk, looking at the messy paper I had scribbled on. Half a day passed without her saying a word, she looked at the noose I drew on the tree and softly asked me: "Is this a swing?"

  I gazed at her, unsure of how to respond, and could only laugh and say: "It's a swing, but sometimes it's also used for hanging oneself."

  She was stunned, but still pointed to the house on the white paper and said softly to me: "This house is a place where people grow up, it can project your sense of security in your heart. This person is a projection of your self-image and integrity, you draw a person in the house, outside are all venomous snakes. It means that you feel afraid of the outside world, making you feel insecure. Afraid of being hurt."

  Damn, so accurate? I was indeed surprised. She pointed to the tree and said: "Trees symbolize emotions, projecting people's experiences of their environment. You must have been hurt in emotional aspects... If you ever think of something that can't be opened in the future, come to my office to talk about it. Don't put yourself in a narrow space."

  And what's more, you haven't told me yet. Isn't it frustrating to leave someone hanging like that? I was just about to ask her, but class ended and she didn't give me a chance before leaving. The big classroom quickly emptied out, leaving only me sitting on the stool staring blankly at this piece of paper.

  The "house tree person" game mentioned here, I only knew many years later, is a very famous psychological test. It tests a person's mental state through the images drawn from their subconscious mind, and its accuracy rate is quite high. Friends who are interested can try it out. It's really interesting. Unfortunately, at that time, I didn't dare to talk to that female teacher because of my pride, and as a result, she transferred away during my sophomore year.

  Blinking eyes, it's already the weekend. On Saturday night, I received a call from a high school classmate named Dong Shanshan. In high school, she was a relatively outgoing girl in the art room, and I had no idea she was also studying in Harbin. It's strange how she knew my new phone number? She told me that it's been almost half a year since we last saw each other, and asked me to visit her school over the weekend. I thought about it, and since I didn't have anything going on that day, I agreed to go.

  On Sunday morning, I took the bus to her school. She was studying at a school in Jiangbei, Harbin. As its name suggests, Jiangbei is located on the north bank of the Songhua River, a rather remote area, but there are many universities there, known as the University City of Harbin. It was already winter then, and the bus window had a thick layer of ice. I could vaguely see outside. Couples of university students were strolling hand in hand, and I couldn't help but curse them silently: these damn men and women.

  Now that I think about it, I really had a mentality of "sour grapes" back then. Half an hour later, I arrived and got off the bus. Looking around, damn, look at how big this university is! More than ten buildings, with everything you could want. It reminded me of my poor XX Art Base which only had two buildings. Sigh, it's all fate.

  I gave Dong Shanshan a call, telling her I had arrived and asking her to come downstairs to pick me up. Not long after, I saw a familiar figure walking towards the school gate. At first glance, it's hard to believe that high school and college are two different levels. This girl has become pretty. No, I should say she knows how to dress herself up now. She walked to the school gate, seemingly not noticing me, and even passed by my side without recognizing me. This girl is really nearsighted. She didn't notice me even when we were so close.

  Anyway, after seeing my old classmate, I'm still in a good mood, so I whistled at her and said to her as I used to in high school: "Hey~~ little girl, didn't you see the big brother? Give big brother a smile, yeah~~."

  She turned around and stared at me in surprise, as if she couldn't recognize me anymore. She walked up to me and said in surprise: "Cui Zuofei, how did you become like this? I didn't dare to recognize you."

  Indeed, my current appearance is quite different from before. My messy blue hair and somewhat shabby down jacket make me look like a thug. The long fingernail on my right pinky finger is also intimidating. I'm almost indistinguishable from those hoodlums who hang out in society. Compared to how I looked in high school, I'm now a completely different person. It's no wonder that people can't recognize me anymore.

  I could only smile wryly and say to her: "One look at you and I can tell you're a foreigner, right? This is the latest and trendiest outfit for 2006. Mix-and-match, get it?"

  She listened to me with the tone I used when we were still in high school, and laughed: "Alright, alright, did you run into some trouble? Come on, let's go eat first."

  After finishing, she didn't avoid suspicion and directly hooked her arm around mine, heading towards the small restaurant at her school. Passersby on the road cast strange glances at us. Probably they thought we were a couple, but I could tell that those weren't envious eyes. They were more like the kind of eyes you'd use to look at good vegetables being dug up by a pig.

  What's wrong with me? My hair is a bit messy because I haven't washed it for three days, and you're staring at me like that? And isn't it true that you guys haven't washed your pants for two weeks, and they're all dirty? Do you have to look at me like that? If Dong Shanshan wasn't holding my hand, I'd really want to go up and slap them.

  After ordering food at the restaurant, Dong Shanshan knew I loved drinking and ordered two more bottles of beer to drink with me. She held her chin and looked me up and down again, then smiled and asked: "How did you end up like this? It's pitiful for an old classmate like me to see."

  I downed the wine in one gulp, sighed and smiled wryly at her, saying "It's hard to put into words."

  I told her everything that had happened from the time I was in college to now, and at first she listened with relish, but as she kept listening, she couldn't laugh anymore.

  After finishing, I ordered two more bottles of beer. I found Dong Shanshan staring at me with a very special look in her eyes, as if her feminine comforting instincts were about to kick in. It made my hair stand on end. She sighed and said: "It's really hard for you. You two are both my good friends, but this matter is not anyone's fault. Isn't that just how feelings work?"

  I knew it was going to be like this, otherwise what else could I do? Go find Du Feiyu for revenge? Don't make a fuss. As I poured wine, I sighed and said: "This is all my own doing, no one else's fault, it's just fate."

  Just now, what did I just say? Is this fate? Could it really be fate? I suddenly thought of the words my ninth uncle once told me, that a cultivator's life is subject to the 'Five Flaws and Three Deficiencies'. Has it already come true for me? No, according to reason, an old man without a wife is called a widower, an old woman without a husband is called a widow, an old person without children is called childless, a young person without parents is called an orphan, and a person with a disability is called disabled. And the three deficiencies of 'wealth, life, and power' don't match my situation either?

  Here's the translation:

  When people encounter something dramatic that can't be explained by common sense, they often attribute it to ghosts, gods, or fate. But in my relatively clear destiny, I couldn't find a reasonable explanation for this, how could I not feel helpless?

  I'm actually quite grateful to Dong Shanshan, because this is the first time I've shared my worries with someone since I started university, and it really feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

  Whatever, let's just forget it. After lunch, Dong Shanshan took me to visit their campus. As we strolled around, I noticed a building in front of us that was under construction. It looked quite old and I guessed it was going to be demolished. Dong Shanshan told me that they were going to tear down the old school building and rebuild a swimming pool.

  It was originally a small matter, and I didn't take it to heart. However, just as I turned around to continue strolling, there was suddenly a loud "Ah!!" behind me. Dong Shanshan and I turned our heads to look back, only to see a construction worker fall from the seventh floor of that old building. At that moment, we were both stunned. Because we had witnessed the occurrence of a tragic event with our own eyes.

  Have you ever seen a dead person? Writing to this point, I want to ask everyone another question, and I have. To be honest, the first time I saw a dead person, I wasn't afraid at all, which was also during my high school years.

  Because it gets light very late in winter, when I was in the second year of high school, I rode my bike to school. On the way to school, I had to pass under an overpass. Clearly remembered, it was more than 5 o'clock in the morning, and I was in a hurry to go to the porridge shop next to the school to buy hot tofu milk for Du Feiyu.

  When passing by the overpass, I found that there was a black shadow on the bridge, which seemed to be a person, swinging back and forth. To say that I was also foolish at that time, how could someone be swinging on the overpass so early in the morning when it wasn't even light yet? I didn't take a closer look and went to school.

  It wasn't until after school when I got home for dinner that my dad told me that a woman had been found hanged to death on the overpass that morning.

  Damn it, I remembered that swing. I only felt scared afterwards. The back of my neck is blowing with a chill.

  The topic switched back to that time, when Dong Shanshan and I were staring blankly at the scene. Many students and workers had already gathered around, and it's a great honor to say that we have a glorious tradition of watching excitement. The worker was probably beyond saving, as he fell off while unloading glass. He lay on the ground with his flesh and blood mangled, and many female students took one look and ran away to vomit, including Dong Shanshan.

  I hastily went up to pat her back, which is not surprising, as most women's eyes can't bear such a bloody scene, especially after my partner and I had just eaten our fill and were rubbing our full bellies.

  After a while, she was fine and stood up to tell me: "What's going on? Two people died in half a month. Who will dare to walk this road at night from now on?"

  Two people died in half a month? I asked her what was going on, and she told me that this old building had been demolished half a month ago. On the same day, one person fell to death from the seventh floor, which made everyone in school nervous. These two days were just fine, but another person died, you say how eerie it is.

  I also felt a bit uneasy in my heart. Because when I first noticed the building, I had an inexplicable feeling, and Dong Shanshan was still muttering to herself, but I didn't listen, instead turning my head to look towards the seventh floor. I felt that the second window from the left on the seventh floor was a bit off, as if there was something, but I wasn't sure what it was. Maybe it's because I've studied "The Three Pure Ones" that my intuition told me this matter is absolutely not that simple.