A Lingering Memory and a Sudden Scare

Jiang Chen’s attention was instantly captivated. He practically lunged at the screen, incredulous. ‘They can still steal the dragon?!’

“This is getting my blood pumping!” Zhou Yi exclaimed, completely engrossed in the fierce battle. He even forgot to eat the dry pot in his hands.

“They’ve got me laughing,” Jiang Chen chuckled. He watched the legendary player on screen shake their head in resignation, and found himself mirroring the smile.

The two continued to eat their dry pot, eyes glued to the screen. They gasped from the spice, yet neither could tear their gaze away.

Zhou Yi freed a hand to insert a straw into the other cup of milk tea. He then pushed it towards Jiang Chen. “Here,” he said, “your one-third sugar.”

Jiang Chen reached for the milk tea with one hand and took it. He bit onto the straw and took a long, deep gulp, the icy tea finally soothing the burning spice. “Such filial piety,” he quipped.

“Naturally,” Zhou Yi replied, raising an eyebrow with a smug grin. He casually pulled a tissue from the box and offered it. “Wipe your sweat.”

The match had entered its most intense, decisive phase.

In unison, both held their breaths. They clutched their dry pots, completely engrossed in the screen, neither daring to blink lest they miss a single brilliant play.

During a commercial break, Zhou Yi seized the chance to finish his last slice of beef, thoroughly coated in chili oil. The numbing spice hit him with a powerful kick, shooting straight to his head.

He hastily grabbed the iced milk tea on the table and took a massive gulp. The icy liquid slid down his esophagus, instantly bringing a stimulating sense of relief.

He let out a contented sigh. “Indeed,” he declared, “the soulmate to a spicy dry pot truly has to be iced milk tea.”

He discarded the empty cup, but still felt unsatisfied. With his straw, he poked at the few remaining tapioca pearls at the bottom.

Still not enough, he decided. With a sharp ‘rip,’ he tore open the sealed film, then used the straw like a tiny fork to spear the brown sugar pearls one by one.

Jiang Chen caught sight of his roommate’s childish antics and couldn’t help but shake his head, a smile playing on his lips. This peculiar way of eating was probably unique to Zhou Yi in the entire world.

‘No, that’s not right.’

As that thought flickered, the smile on his lips suddenly froze.

A hazy figure shimmered in his memory, persistently, one by one, spearing the pearls at the bottom of a cup, just like this.

Yet, he could never recall the person’s face.

However, whenever he vaguely remembered those lowered eyelashes, that “abused” milk tea, and that quiet, focused profile, a faint smile—one he himself hadn’t even noticed—would subtly grace his lips.

‘When did I, Jiang Chen, start to be haunted by dreams of a girl whose face I couldn’t even clearly recall?’

The feeling was too strange.

Lately, he had a persistent feeling that he had experienced certain events, that he had shared precious moments. But each time he tried to recall them, his mind felt as if it were covered by a thick layer of static, leaving behind only an impenetrable fog.

Even stranger, a sudden flutter often bloomed in his heart without reason. This abrupt acceleration of his heartbeat was an unfamiliar sensation he had never experienced before.

It was like a dream within a dream, where all the details evaporated the moment he woke, leaving only an intensely strong yet unplaceable sense of emptiness.

This elusive anxiety clung to him, often leaving him inexplicably restless.

Subconsciously, he turned his head to look at Zhou Yi beside him.

It was then, without warning, that the hazy outline from his dreams suddenly overlapped with his roommate right before him—the one with cheeks slightly puffed out, chewing on a straw.

“Hey, you…” he blurted out.

Zhou Yi, a pearl still in his mouth, turned back, looking bewildered. “What’s up?”

Gazing at his roommate’s neat short hair and utterly blank expression, Jiang Chen snapped back to reality. “N-nothing…”

“You’re acting weird,” Zhou Yi muttered, turning his head back to the screen. Suddenly, he gasped. “Holy crap, they’re triple champions! That ultimate ability was insane!”

The fierce battle on screen instantly yanked their attention back.

Just at this crucial moment, Zhou Yi’s face suddenly paled. He likely drank the milk tea too quickly, as a sharp, wrenching pain seized his lower abdomen.

The pain struck with savage intensity, as if someone were twisting his insides violently.

The straw slipped from his hand, and the pearl dropped directly onto his pants.

Zhou Yi opened his mouth, but the pain robbed him of his voice. His lips visibly drained of color, turning deathly pale, and fine beads of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

He managed a weak wave at Jiang Chen, then, clutching the edge of the table, he shakily rose to his feet.

“Hey! What’s wrong with you? Do you want me to take you to the infirmary?!” Jiang Chen, startled by the sudden turn of events, immediately stood up and grabbed his arm.

Zhou Yi couldn’t form a complete sentence. His lips trembled, and he could only weakly lift a hand to wave, forcing out a faint, “I… I’m fine…”

No sooner had he spoken than another violent spasm ripped through his lower abdomen. His legs buckled, and he nearly collapsed to the ground. Ultimately, he struggled, stumbled, and rushed into the bathroom.

His steps were erratic, his breathing ragged, and his vision swam.

The door slammed shut with a ‘bang’ as he locked it. Zhou Yi slumped against the cool tiled wall, cold sweat dripping down his neck from the agony.

The pain in his abdomen intensified, his intestines feeling as if they were churning. He endured it, then endured it again, until finally, he slowly slid down the wall to sit on the floor.

Time blurred in the haze of pain.

After an unknown period, he suddenly felt a strange, heavy sensation in his lower abdomen. This was followed by a warm liquid uncontrollably gushing from his body.

“Eh?”

He froze.

An ominous, bright red liquid flowed down his inner thigh, trailing across the white tiles to form a shocking, winding streak.

“What the… blood?!”

His mind went blank. A few seconds later, logic finally kicked back in, and a flurry of wild theories flashed through his head.

Various conjectures flashed through his mind: the fatal milk tea theory, the prolonged sitting and late-night theory, the spicy strip after-effect theory…

His mind was a chaotic mess.

‘Okay, calm down,’ he told himself. ‘Don’t scare yourself. Maybe it really was that packet of insanely spicy strips from yesterday…’

But the more he tried to reassure himself, the more panicked he became.

Medical horror stories and social news he’d read surfaced uncontrollably, piecing together all sorts of terrifying scenarios in his mind.

Trembling, he pulled out his phone and typed into the search bar:

“Male lower abdominal sharp pain bloody stool”

The search results quickly popped up: [Proctological conditions (e.g., hemorrhoids, anal fissures), acute gastrointestinal bleeding, urinary system stones, irritable bowel syndrome…]

“…Damn, each one is more terrifying than the last.”

Another wave of cold sweat trickled down his neck.

After nearly ten minutes of sitting, the pain finally began to subside, and the bleeding also stopped.

“Alright then…” He let out a long breath, half of his suspended dread finally easing. “It must be hemorrhoids… I almost thought I was done for.”

He looked down at the faint red stain, now washed away by the water, still feeling a lingering sense of dread.

“Damn it, I’m never eating spicy strips again, especially not those insanely hot ones.”

Suddenly, an urgent knocking sounded from outside the door.

“Hey, are you alright?” Jiang Chen’s voice came through the door, laced with clear concern.

“I’m fine, I’m fine, I’ll be out in a minute,” Zhou Yi hastily replied. He instinctively pressed the flush button. “Most likely, I drank the milk tea too fast just now, and my stomach got a bit cold.”

“Alright, I almost thought you’d fainted in there.” Jiang Chen’s footsteps lingered outside the door for a moment before gradually fading away.