Chapter 4

There was no reason.

My thoughts were tangled.

The killer was right beside us, and I couldn't leave.

Perhaps I would be next.

“Tôn Kiều... Lưu Thời Vũ... who did you offend?”

Wait.

Those names.

Why did saying them together feel so familiar?

Familiar how?

They didn't even rhyme.

I suddenly slapped the table, making Vạn Phong jump.

“Let's split up and call everyone. Get them into the hall.”

Once everyone had gathered, they looked at me in confusion.

I didn't waste words.

“I have a theory about the order of the killings. It may be wrong.

“This sounds unlucky, but one more death would confirm it.”

“What order?”

“Student numbers.”

“Student numbers?”

“Yes. I was class president. At morning exercise or evening study, I always took attendance in student-number order.”

Tôn Kiều was 093.

Lưu Thời Vũ was 094.

Their names had always followed each other.

That was why they rolled off my tongue so easily.

“That's it?” Hoàng Kiện asked contemptuously.

I couldn't blame him.

If the killer really followed the numbers, he was next.

I shrugged.

“It's only a theory.”

“No wonder novels are getting worse,” he swore. “What could a writer like you produce?”

For all his cursing, his trembling right hand betrayed his fear.

After Hoàng Kiện came me.

Then Cốc Cường, Vương Ngưng, Mạnh Phàm, Hướng Bắc, Hướng Nam, Trịnh Văn Văn.

Finally, Vạn Phong.

Vạn Phong looked at him pityingly.

“Better be careful.”

Then he seemed to remember something and sighed.

Right.

Unless you were the killer, sooner or later your turn would come.

Hoàng Kiện clenched his teeth.

“Fuck this! I don't believe it! Whichever one of you it is, come on!

“I'll be waiting in the cottage.”

He collected most of the food in the dining room, took a cleaver, and headed out.

“I'm staying there alone for the next few days. None of you come near me.

“Anyone who does gets cut. You've been warned.”

That night, his cottage caught fire.

The door was locked from inside.

An extra lock secured it from outside too.

He burned alive.

By the time we extinguished the flames, all that remained was a charred body leaning against the wall near the door.

Mạnh Phàm vomited immediately.

His death confirmed my theory.

The killer was following student numbers.

Next was me.

Everyone looked toward me, their expressions varied.

“Of all of us, you're the only one with a grudge against him, aren't you?”

Vạn Phong stepped away from Cốc Cường.

Cốc Cường stared.

“What do you mean?”

“I can't think of anyone else who hated him. Yes, he had a foul mouth. But enough to kill him? Only you.”

“What fucking rubbish!”

“You both applied for the same civil service post. You came first in the written exam. He came second.

“Then he pulled strings in the interview and got the job.

“That happened, didn't it?”

“So I had to murder him?”

“What else?”

Cốc Cường seized his collar as if he had gone mad.

“For four years at university, I bought your meals, fetched your water, did your homework, washed your clothes. Lived like a dog!

“And now you accuse me of murder?”

Vạn Phong knocked his hands away.

“Didn't I pay you? You chose to be a dog. Who can you blame?”

“Fuck you!”

“Blame being poor and still wanting to show off. Without following me, you wouldn't even have smelled the food in those restaurants.”

I wanted no part of their feud.

I needed to think about surviving a few more days.

“I'll... go back to my room.”

A few steps later, I turned.

“Don't be too nervous. I'm not going to be like Hoàng Kiện. Let me know if anything happens.”

His death was hardly undeserved.

His choice had been incredibly foolish.

The killer was hidden. We were exposed.

Shutting himself away alone was asking to die.

I would stay in the main building.

Rooms on both sides were occupied.

If the killer came, at least I could call for help.

Of course, if the student-number theory was right, I had to be extraordinarily careful with anyone who visited.

Near eleven that night, someone knocked.

“Who is it?”

“Hướng Nam.”

“What is it?”

“I'm scared.”

I rubbed my nose, then opened the door.

She sat at the foot of the bed, making disjointed conversation.

“You knew I liked you at university, didn't you?”

I nodded.

“I've been thinking. If I really die here, what would I regret?”

I had a fair idea where this was going and didn't answer.

“Dương Dương... could we sleep together once?”

Fuck.

What kind of request was that?

It actually made me forget my tension for a moment.

“Don't joke.”

“I'm not.”

In a flash, she was on my lap.

“Just once. Isn't this what men like?”

Was I tempted?

Of course.

She really was beautiful.

But my name was on a death list.

Who could think about that?

“Stop joking.”

She leaned down, revealing pale skin at her neckline, her scented breath brushing my face.

“What? Am I not pretty? You know what I do for a living.

“I don't mind. I won't cling to you.

“Just try it once. No charge.”

My face flushed.

Instinctively, I looked at her arm.

The mark was there.

It really was Hướng Nam.

“My sister's asthma has been bad lately. Otherwise, I'd bring her too.”

“Don't take risks like that. Something could go wrong.”

“I like risks. If we get out alive, I'll take you skydiving. Then wingsuit flying.”

“The ‘fly anywhere in the country’ kind?”

She didn't take offense.

She kept kissing my neck and began undoing my shirt buttons.

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone else.

“Get off.”

“No.”

“Stop it.”

“Don't answer. Pretend no one's here.”

I pushed her off, sprang up, and opened the door.

“I brought you some food...”

Vương Ngưng stood outside.

She looked at my flushed face, then at Hướng Nam on the bed, her pale legs exposed.

“Am I interrupting?”

“No! You've misunderstood. She was... just scared.”

“Scared? Enough to get into bed? Needed a cuddle?”

“Really, it isn't that.”

I kept scratching my head.

“Hướng Nam, go outside first.”

Reluctantly, she stood.

At the door, she muttered, “Still can't compete with an old flame.”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

Vương Ngưng's face was icy.

“Here's your food. I'll go.”

Watching them leave one after the other, I didn't know what to say.

My fear of the murders had eased a little.

My feelings in another direction were more tangled than ever.

I lay down again, tossing and turning.

Only near dawn did I drift off.

Noise woke me.

Vạn Phong hammered on the door like a madman.

“Dương Dương! Come out! Someone else is dead!”