My online dating circle has millions of followers, why would she put a collar on me?

Kyoto Women's University, Dormitory Building No. 12.

The campus was shrouded in thick darkness in the early morning, with only a few windows still lit.

A sliver of light shone through the crack in the door of dormitory 403.

It wasn't the dim, warm light of a table lamp, but the stark, glaring blue-white light of a computer screen.

"Quickly! Kill him! Kill him! The Southern Barbarians are invading! The Southern Barbarians are invading!"

Jiang Miaomiao's voice sounded particularly jarring in the silence of the early morning, like a dull knife repeatedly scraping against glass.

She sat on the bed, the blanket piled around her waist, her laptop resting on her lap, the screen displaying the battle interface of "Three Kingdoms Kill".

Her hair was a mess, and her face still bore the tear stains from crying that afternoon.

But at this moment, those eyes were frighteningly bright, their pupils reflecting the colorful skill icons on the screen.

The earphone was tilted to one side, with only the left earpiece on and the right earpiece exposed.

It makes it convenient for her to listen to game sound effects and also makes it convenient for her to keep an eye on what's happening outside the dormitory.

"Flawless! Absolutely flawless!"

She had a lollipop in her mouth and was calling out indistinctly.

Fingers flew across the touchpad, clicking, dragging, and releasing skills in one smooth motion.

"Damn! They're cheating!"

She slammed her hand on the bed, the bed frame made a dull thud, and the whole bed shook.

"Jiang Miaomiao—"

A muffled voice, tinged with suppressed anger, came from the lower bunk.

Jiang Miaomiao paused for a moment, then looked down at the lower bunk.

Lin Xiaoting turned over, pulling the blanket over her head, leaving only a small section of messy hair showing.

"Could you please keep your voice down? What time is it?"

Lin Xiaoting's voice came from under the blanket, muffled, but each word seemed to be squeezed out from between her teeth.

"Almost done, almost done."

Jiang Miaomiao gave a perfunctory reply, her eyes already glued back to the screen.

Lin Xiaoting did not say anything more.

But Wang Siyu, who was on the bed opposite Jiang Miaomiao, spoke up.

"Miaomiao, it's really past midnight."

Wang Siyu's voice was softer than Lin Xiaoting's, but that softness carried a clear sense of fatigue and helplessness. "I have class at eight o'clock tomorrow morning, could you—"

"Right now, right now, the last round!"

Jiang Miaomiao didn't even look up, and tapped the touchpad again with her finger.

On the screen, her general unleashed a skill, and the animation effects exploded in the darkness, creating a blinding burst of light.

"You also said last time that it would be the last time."

Lin Xiaoting threw off the covers and sat up abruptly.

The dormitory lights were off, except for Jiang Miaomiao's computer screen. Lin Xiaoting's face looked particularly haggard in that pale light, and the dark circles under her eyes looked as if she had been punched.

"This really is the last game."

Jiang Miaomiao still didn't look at her, her voice carrying a hint of impatience.

"Hey, you guys go to sleep first, I'll wear headphones, okay?"

As she spoke, she put the other earphone into her ear as well.

Lin Xiaoting watched her retreating figure, her lips moved several times as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she said nothing and lay back down heavily.

The bed board made another muffled thud.

Jiang Miaomiao frowned, but did not turn around.

Her attention was completely drawn to the battle on the screen.

"This one's in the bag."

She muttered to herself, a slight smile playing on her lips.

The opposing lord has only one drop of health left, and she still has a "Kill" card in her hand.

As long as this "Kill" card is played, we've won this round.

Her finger hovered above the touchpad, ready to tap—

"Knock knock knock".

knocking.

Jiang Miaomiao's fingers paused for a moment.

She didn't open the door immediately, but instead glanced at the phone on the bedside table.

12:17 a.m.

Who would knock on the door at this hour?

Dormitory supervisor?

"Knock knock knock".

Three more sounds, clearer and more rhythmic than before.

The other three people in the dormitory were alerted.

Lin Xiaoting sat up in bed again, Wang Siyu leaned half her body out to look towards the door, and Zhou Yue, who was on the upper bunk near the door, also lifted the blanket.

"Who is it?" Lin Xiaoting asked.

No one answered from outside the door.

"Knock knock knock".

This time, the knocking was louder, with an undeniable rhythm.

Lin Xiaoting rolled out of bed, slipped on her slippers, and walked to the door.

She didn't open the door immediately, but instead peeked through the peephole first.

The corridor lights had been turned on at some point, and in the dim light, she saw two faces.

One photo was of the dormitory supervisor, whose face bore a serious expression she had never seen before. Her lips were pursed into a line, and the wrinkles between her brows were much deeper than during the day.

Another face—

Lin Xiaoting stumbled back a step, her back hitting the door frame with a dull thud.

"What's wrong?" Wang Siyu asked.

Lin Xiaoting didn't answer, she just stared blankly at the door, her lips slightly parted, her face turning deathly pale in an instant.

"Lin Xiaoting? Who is that?" Zhou Yue also sat up.

Lin Xiaoting finally found her voice, and uttered a few words dryly and hoarsely: "Police...police."

The dormitory fell silent instantly.

It wasn't just ordinary quiet; it was a deathly stillness, as if gripped by fear, where even breathing had to be carefully held.

On Jiang Miaomiao's computer screen, the word "kill" remained unclicked.

Her fingers hovered above the touchpad, and she remained motionless, as if someone had pressed the pause button.

She heard Lin Xiaoting say those two words.

police.

At that moment, it felt like something had exploded in her mind.

All her thoughts, all her emotions, all the self-blame and fear she had been churning over for the past few hours, all shattered into pieces in that instant.

Then it was quickly and in a distorted way put back together.

She thought of her brother.

I thought about how my brother looked when he was taken away.

Thinking about her own affairs—

There are still unresolved issues regarding the transfer records, chat screenshots, and the people involved.

She thought she could put it off until tomorrow, until the day after tomorrow, until the day she could pay back all the money.

But now, the police have arrived.

Lin Xiaoting placed her hand on the doorknob and glanced back at Jiang Miaomiao.

Her eyes were complex, filled with fear, confusion, and disbelief that something like this could happen in our dorm.

"Open the door." The dormitory supervisor's voice came from outside the door, much sterner than usual. "Open the door now."

Lin Xiaoting took a deep breath and pulled the doorknob.

The door opened.

The corridor lights streamed in, casting long shadows of people at the doorway.

The dormitory supervisor stood at the front, wearing a maroon cotton pajama top with a gray down vest over it, her hair casually clipped back with hair clips.

The expression on his face was one that Jiang Miaomiao had never seen before; it was the kind of seriousness that only appeared when something serious had happened.

Two women were standing behind her.

They were all wearing police uniforms.

The one in the lead was younger, probably around twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, with short hair, regular features, and a heroic air about him.

Her police uniform was neatly worn, with the collar buttoned up tightly, and the police siren on her chest reflecting a cold metallic luster under the corridor lights.

The man behind her was older, in his early thirties, with a round face and somewhat dark skin; he looked like someone who was often out and about.

She held a black folder in her hand, with a stack of papers tucked inside; the edges of the pages gleamed slightly under the light.

"Excuse me, does Jiang Miaomiao live in this dormitory?"