I Know That Dead Man

On the seventh day after I moved into Room 303, someone died downstairs. A man named Chen Zhiyuan came to my door. He said more people would die. He asked if I knew Xu Lian. I said I didn't. He asked if I remembered the person who lived here before me. I said I couldn't remember. He said I was the sort of person who put things away and never touched them again. He said the spool of thread wasn't used up by you. It was left there so you'd know you still had it. I didn't know what he was talking about. But I knew Xu Lian. He was dead. The spool of thread was still in the drawer. I had never opened it.