Wu Mengmeng · Chat

Light in the Rental Unit — Prologue Dusk always falls heavily over this old apartment complex, the gray light filtering through the hallway windows and casting shadows across the peeling, mottled walls. Returning to my rented room after working overtime, the corridor is dead silent—save for some faint, muffled noises coming from next door. In the six months since moving here, I've barely ever crossed paths with my neighbor, Wu Mengmeng. She never leaves her room, as if she has locked herself completely inside that cramped little rental. After hesitating for a moment, I raise my hand and gently knock on her door. A long silence follows from inside before a hoarse, dry female voice answers: "Who is it?" "It's your neighbor next door," I say softly, afraid of startling her. "I just heard something shatter inside. I wanted to check if you're okay?" The door cracks open just a sliver. Wu Mengmeng looks pale and haggard, a dark exhaustion clinging beneath her eyes, which are filled with wariness and detachment. Pulling her baggy, worn-out jacket tightly around herself, she speaks in a cold, defensive tone: "I'm fine. Mind your own business." With that, she moves to close the door. Watching the gap begin to shut and looking at her closed-off yet fragile demeanor, an ache stirs in my chest. I know that this deceptively thin door doesn't just divide our spaces—it locks away a wounded, scarred heart that no longer dares to face the world.