Something's off.
Wen Shichun looked around.
He was standing on the side of a street, a white suitcase beside him.
His eyes tried to make out the scene further away, but beyond a few meters in any direction, everything was a blur.
Something felt very wrong.
But he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was.
The sound of an approaching vehicle came from around the street corner.
A few seconds later, a red taxi pulled up right in front of him.
The driver's side window was down, and the person inside turned their head.
In a stiff, cold monotone, they stated:
"You called for a car, right."
Wen Shichun looked at the driver's face. It had no features, just a blur. He had no idea how the sound was produced.
He should turn and leave immediately. Instead, his body did the opposite.
He picked up the white suitcase beside him and got into the back seat of this obviously peculiar taxi.
The car then started and sped off down a road with no discernible end.
But he could still sense it should be daytime outside.
The sensations in his body were very strange.
There were fragmented pieces in his mind, broken and intermittent, but he couldn't grasp them. He only vaguely knew this place wasn't right, and this body seemed to have its own set course of action, not under his control.
It wasn't until the taxi turned onto a deserted, narrow path that Wen Shichun's field of vision gradually widened. The visible range grew larger and larger, until the mansion looming at the end of the road came into view.
His heartbeat began to quicken. A mix of emotions swirled within him.
Joy, excitement, anticipation, and shyness.
I really want to see him!
Holding this feeling, he got out of the car with his suitcase and stood before the towering black iron gate. The taxi behind him started its engine again and left, the sound fading quickly into the distance.
Now he was alone, standing in front of this mansion.
He seemed somewhat nervous. After standing for a while in the cold wind outside, he began to feel the chill and finally took a few deep breaths, pulling the phone from his pocket.
A familiar black phone, as if he had seen it somewhere before.
When the screen lit up, he expertly opened a messaging app on the phone and sent a message to the only contact:
[I'm here. Where are you?]
After sending the message, he stood there anxiously, his other hand reflexively smoothing the dark bangs on his forehead.
He waited a little longer, and finally, the phone in his hand vibrated.
[Baby, I see you.]
Seeing this term of endearment, his cheeks seemed to flush in the cold wind—a distinct, burning warmth. He looked around, then finally raised his gaze toward the estate inside, trying to find the person who had sent the message.
The ground floor of the estate was lit, but all the curtains were drawn. He tilted his head further up, looking toward the second and third floors, but they were pitch-black—only the dark windows were visible.
The sky was gradually darkening.
This place felt cut off from the world.
He didn't know what lay behind those windows.
But it felt a little frightening.
His body trembled slightly, unsure if it was from the cold or something else.
The phone vibrated again—this time it lasted a while, as the person on the other end sent several messages in a row.
[Baby, you're so cute.]
[Baby, don't stand outside any longer.]
[Come in. The door isn't locked.]
[I've prepared dinner for you.]
...
Looking at these messages, his mood brightened again. Ignoring the strange signs, he pushed open the black door before him.
...
The hall was empty.
But it was very warm.
"Yin Chu, where are you?"
He finally spoke.
And it felt even stranger.
It didn't sound like his own voice.
An unfamiliar feeling.
Wen Shichun's heavy mind began to ache sharply.
It felt like a needle was piercing his nerves.
Again and again.
Yin Chu...
Who is Yin Chu?
The instructions on the phone continued:
[Baby, the dining room is on the left. Come here.]
After seeing this new message, he followed the instruction and obediently walked towards the dining room.
He left his suitcase by the entrance to the hall.
When he entered the dining room, it was exactly as the message said. Steam rose from the food on the table, as if the timing of the guest's arrival had been perfectly calculated. One could see the care taken by the person who prepared the dinner.
In the dining room, 'Lin Zhe's' cheeks flushed slightly red again.
His gaze searched around, but he still couldn't see his beloved.
In the end, he could only raise his phone.
[Yin Chu, where are you?]
The person on the other end replied quickly.
[Baby, eat your dinner first. Be good.]
Lin Zhe was indeed a little hungry.
He pulled out a chair and sat down.
It felt almost unbelievable to him. Just that morning, he had still been in his school dormitory, and now here he was.
So close to the lover he had been dating for a few months.
At the dining table, Lin Zhe ate very politely, as if worried about making a poor impression. Although Yin Chu didn't seem to be present now, he was a little curious and kept glancing toward the direction of the main hall.
When he finally finished the dinner in front of him and looked toward the hall again, Lin Zhe's gaze paused.
The luggage he had left by the door was gone.
Right at that moment, the phone on the table vibrated again.
[Baby, I’ve taken your luggage to your room.]
Seeing the message, Lin Zhe breathed a sigh of relief.
Some thoughts flashed through his mind and vanished:
‘He came to the hall, why didn’t I notice at all?’
‘There wasn’t a single sound.’
‘Why won’t Yin Chu come see me?’
…
But his inherently gentle nature and his trust in his lover made him overlook several obviously unusual details. Lin Zhe’s fingers tapped quickly on his phone screen.
[Thank you.]
[Where are you?]
Just a trace of doubt flickered in his eyes.
One minute later.
[Baby, I’m right here in this mansion.]
[I want to play a game with you.]
Lin Zhe looked at the message on his phone, and a burning sensation returned to his cheeks.
[What game?]
He looked up at the empty hall.
Though it was brightly lit.
He had never liked being alone in large, spacious rooms. Especially at night—it made him particularly afraid.
Lin Zhe nervously typed a few words:
[I want to see you.]
A few seconds later, the person on the other side replied:
[Baby, when you find me, you'll see me.]
[This is our game.]
…
Following the prompts on his phone, Lin Zhe made his way to the second floor. As he climbed, the wooden stairs creaked and groaned, the sound echoing through the mansion. He was scared, and his pace up the stairs was nearly twice as fast as usual.
The lights in the corridor on the second floor were already on.
"Yin Chu?"
Lin Zhe's tentative call still received no response.
He walked dejectedly toward the first bedroom on the left.
This was already his third day here.
He still hadn't found Yin Chu.
During the day, he would still glance into other rooms.
But at night, he didn't dare wander around at all.
He could only keep in touch through his phone.
And each time he opened a door, he both hoped to see the person he wanted to see behind it and feared there would be nothing inside—only an empty, terrifying silence.
If it weren't for the clear signs of another person living in the mansion, he might have started to suspect he was being toyed with.
No, of course he couldn't think that way.
Yin Chu was very good to him. Every day when he woke up, there was always a glass of warm milk by the bedside.
In the phone's messaging app, there was the other person's constant, attentive care.
He had also thought about just staying in one place, waiting for the other person to appear, but that would clearly violate the rules of their game.
Lin Zhe wasn’t particularly brave. If he hadn’t known that Yin Chu was somewhere in the mansion, he wouldn’t have dared to leave his room after dark.
