Fang Chen didn’t turn around; his hands trembled slightly, and his back was covered in cold sweat. Even every breath of his carried a chilling sensation.
That gaze, like a tangible entity, climbed slowly along his spine. He was kneeling on the floor with almost half of his body feeling numb. He experienced both warmth and chill simultaneously, causing a throbbing sensation in his head due to the temperature alternation. That pair of eyes gazed at him, wandering along with the wind as it brushed across his face. Fang Chen had a hallucination that the moment he turned around, he would see that person’s face snuggling close beside him.
“Fang Chen?”
A voice echoed from behind.
The person wasn’t leaning by his ear but rather behind him, even maintaining some distance between them.
This didn’t calm Fang Chen down; instead, he shuddered more. He was too familiar with this voice which kept repeatedly calling him in his dreams, leading him to a dead end. Yet, he still turned around, discerning the person’s face in the dim moonlight behind him.
—A human wouldn’t look like this.
The person was rotting. Fang Chen saw the muscles on their face twitching strangely. A portion of the shirt was rolled up, revealing patches of crimson red flesh on the mottled, purplish, discoloured wrist, as if blood were on the verge of seeping out at any moment.
The red blood clots were magnified exponentially, flooding Fang Chen’s field of vision, and then he heard again—
“Fang Chen.”
Someone was calling him.
He woke up.
A subtle glow filtered through the beige curtains. The bedroom door stood wide open as Fang Chen huddled in bed for a moment. The dream had grown fuzzy, and he couldn’t remember some details anymore. He briefly shut his eyes before lifting the blanket.
He had another nightmare.
Recently, he found himself dreaming about peculiar and strange things. In those dreams, there was fear and anxiety, and upon waking, there was also a moment of palpitations. Nevertheless, he swiftly recovered, reassuring himself that the dream contents weren’t that big of a deal. Sometimes, he even forgot them after a while.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
The living room window was closed, so Fang Chen went to open it. The wind rustled in, blowing away the anxiety and restlessness in his heart. He went to the bathroom to freshen up, and as he picked up the toothbrush, he paused for a moment. He couldn’t remember closing the window last night. Fang Chen held the toothbrush in his mouth and glanced into the living room; he probably closed it again to avoid catching a cold last night.
After getting ready to go out, Fang Chen gripped the doorknob and halted. Last night’s dream left him feeling a bit uneasy, although the memory of it was now a blur. But still… He turned to look at the full-length mirror in the entryway. The reflection revealed a figure with a pair of lively, bright eyes and a subtle tinge of green beneath them. He had a gentle and soft facial contour, and his lower eyelids became plumper whenever his eyes curved, giving off a youthful vigour appearance.
Fang Chen tapped the mirror with his fingertips, turned around, and twisted the doorknob. Outside the door, there was nothing but clean white ceramic tiles. The elevator was operating normally as well.
He took a step out and heard voices in the corridor.
“How would I know?” It was a woman’s voice.
Fang Chen closed the door. After a moment of hesitation, he decided not to take the elevator. He stepped into the corridor and looked up to see a couple standing at the turn of the stairs.
Fang Chen recognized the woman, named Xie Ying, who lived above him. She possessed a striking beauty, her long, permed, and dyed hair cascading over her shoulders. A consistent hint of colour adorned her eyelids and nails. As she crossed her arms, Fang Chen observed the vivid red shade on her nails—a bright red that felt familiar yet elusive in his memory.
The man standing across from the woman seemed entirely unfamiliar to Fang Chen. He couldn’t see his full face, only a side profile. The man was exceptionally handsome, featuring a tall nose bridge and a demeanour that emanated coldness.
The two people noticed Fang Chen coming out and stopped, looking at him.
“Going out?” Xie Ying asked with a smile. She was undeniably attractive, and whether she wore heavy makeup or not, one could still see her natural beauty.
The man remained silent, quietly watching Fang Chen at the foot of the stairs. This allowed Fang Chen to get a clear view of his appearance, and he felt that these two people were pretty well-matched—a capable and beautiful couple. They were probably having a lovers’ spat.
As Fang Chen and the man locked eyes, an odd and inexplicable feeling crept over Fang Chen. Feeling uneasy, he nodded in a hurried greeting and proceeded down the stairs.
On the first floor, Fang Chen encountered Fan Yingying once again. This time, he briskly walked by, offering a somewhat perfunctory greeting, and left the girl behind as she watched him from a distance.
A group of elderly individuals had gathered downstairs, fanning themselves and engaging in idle gossiping. Seeing Fang Chen, Mrs. Wu, who was among them, cleared her throat loudly. “Not even greeting after seeing your auntie?”
Fang Chen felt his lips parched, licked them, and forced a faint smile. Although he didn’t actually know what he was afraid of… “Good morning, Auntie Wu.”
Mrs. Wu appeared finally satisfied. It seemed like she had set her sights on Fang Chen. She continued, “Look at you, being all restless. If you have time after returning tonight, come downstairs and chat with us for a bit.”
“Okay.”
Fang Chen just nonchalantly agreed, but little did he know that he would be caught by Mrs. Wu upon his return in the evening. A group of people surrounded him, making it hard for him to escape. This time, even Mr. Wu was among them.
Gossip was inevitable where there were many people. Elderly people loved to lament about the uncertainties of life. The conversation meandered, and Mrs. Wu suddenly lowered her voice and spoke in a secretive manner, “Humans, sometimes, are really too wicked.”
Everyone chimed in, asking, “What do you mean?”
“Some time ago, wasn’t I at the market selling vegetables with my old man?” As Mrs. Wu was speaking, she was suddenly tugged by Mr. Wu. “Hey, what are you doing?” She rolled her eyes at Mr. Wu, then turned her head and continued excitedly, “Guess what I saw on the shortcut through the mountain path?”
“What did you see?”
“A car accident!”
Someone said, “Isn’t that common?”
“How is that common? It was early in the morning, and that road was deserted. There were only two cars, and I think one of them was probably drink-driving. It swayed so precariously that it directly knocked the other car down!”
“Knocked it down? What happened afterwards?”
“Nothing happened to the car that knocked the other one down—it just turned and fled! I mean, how unscrupulous!” Mrs. Wu widened her eyes, wearing an expression of disbelief. Her old man sat beside her, shaking his head and sighing.
“What happened after that? The culprit just ran away like that?”
Mrs. Wu smacked her leg. “Precisely! I could tell that the one who got hit still had a chance of being saved…”
“Has the police been notified?” Fang Chen suddenly interjected.
“This… I don’t know.” Mrs. Wu probably didn’t expect Fang Chen to join in. Her eyes looked around, and after a moment of contemplation, she added, “Someone must have called the police; I think I saw someone making a call.”
Someone else asked, “Was the person rescued? Did they catch the one who caused the accident?”
Mrs. Wu couldn’t provide an answer. “How would I know…”
“Enough! Let’s talk about something else.” Mr. Wu finally snapped, unable to restrain himself any longer. “Every day, it’s the same pointless stories.” Mrs. Wu retaliated with a punch, retorting, “If you don’t want to listen, go elsewhere. You only know how to gamble every day. Do you think our home is a gambling den? Look at the money your daughter sent back this month!”
The surrounding crowd continued discussing, but the focus had shifted from the fate of the person who got hit to expressing disdain for the hit-and-run driver. Mrs. Wu occasionally nodded in agreement, steering the conversation towards similar incidents.
Fang Chen grew restless, and Mrs. Wu noticed his reluctance to stay. Waving her hand, she remarked, “Alright, you go back and have a meal too. I know you young people don’t want to hang out with us old folks.”
Fang Chen took the elevator back home.
The couple downstairs started again. It seemed they could engage in their activities at any time, whether it was day or night. The woman’s panting and moaning made his scalp numb. Eventually, he closed the window tightly and turned on the air conditioner. He didn’t particularly like using the air conditioner; the artificially produced cold air seemed to penetrate his bones, creating a chilling sensation from within.
Lying on the sofa and checking his phone for a while, Fang Chen felt drowsy again. In a half-dream state, he heard someone calling him. This time, he could distinctly feel it was a dream. In the dream, his hands were held by someone. The broad and warm touch provided him with comfort, dispelling numerous chills. He even heard himself speak.
“…It’s okay, things will get better.”
Who was he talking to? What was going to get better?
“Then, let’s just get together. We’ll make do and get through life together.”
He saw a younger version of himself, with a cup of ice cream beside him. A pair of hands gently caressed his soft hair, and his eyes sparkled with a bright smile, seemingly very happy. “I really really really don’t mind you at all!”
Fang Chen couldn’t recall ever laughing like that, nor could he see whom he was conversing with. Everything was illusory, like being enclosed in a transparent cage, surrounded by milky lilies falling in a delicate and dense cascade. Some fell on Fang Chen’s shoulders and quickly withered, while more fell on the floor, forming a white path. Glimpses of things through the petals were fragmented and incomplete, much like fleeting images that vanished in an instant. He couldn’t express his emotions, nor could he perceive beyond.
This dream was warm and comforting, yet strange.
Fang Chen woke up with a chill, opening his eyes to the dim sky outside. Upon getting up, he felt cold in his hands and feet, coupled with a soreness in his neck. He searched the sofa for the remote control and turned off the air conditioner. He gazed blankly at the floor for a moment before the rumbling of his stomach brought him back to reality, reminding him that he had yet to have dinner.
While standing in the living room, he caught a faint sound. Initially dismissing it as a mere illusion, it wasn’t until he approached the entryway that the noise became more pronounced—a delicate tapping, akin to someone lightly rapping with their fingernails.
With no inkling of what awaited, he took a step forward, but was abruptly jolted by the intensifying knock—a clamor of impatience and strength, hammering at the door with relentless force. Startled, Fang Chen instinctively stepped back, his mind flashing to yesterday’s dream as a chill settled over his entire being.
What time is it now? The question suddenly popped into his mind. He stiffly turned his head and looked at the wall clock in the living room—2:00 AM.
So shit start around 2:00 I thought the standard time for creepy things is 3:00😀
His sleep schedule is nonsense, how person who works 5/2 from the morning how he can sleep in evening and after it wake up at 2 a.m….
Thank you for your translation 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
I’m reading this at 1:20AM in the middle of a deserted park 😭 Lmao this makes me so paranoid
This makes me grow restless…
Thank you for the chapter!