Things started getting strange from the day he woke up and found that his phone had no signal.
Lin Zhe grew a little anxious. He walked through the mansion, even going up to the third floor to try, but his phone still showed no signal.
The Wi-Fi icon had also disappeared.
How was he supposed to contact Yin Chu without a signal?
It was then, upon returning to his room, that he noticed the computer on the opposite side of the bed had lit up.
On the screen, the messaging software was already open.
It was on the login page.
Lin Zhe suddenly felt a wave of relief.
After entering his account information, the familiar contact avatar immediately popped up, accompanied by the ding-ding-ding sound of a new message arriving.
[Baby, don’t panic. The computer is connected via ethernet.]
Seeing this message, Lin Zhe did feel somewhat reassured. His ten-day holiday was about to end in just two days; he had to return to school.
He hadn’t expected Yin Chu to keep hiding from him all this time. He had planned to discuss this with him today, but his phone had suddenly stopped working.
Lin Zhe hadn’t been sleeping well the past couple of days.
Every time he woke up in the middle of the night, he felt as though someone was watching him from within his room.
But whenever he turned on the light, there was nothing there.
This frightened him deeply.
However, no matter how late it was, whenever he sent a message to Yin Chu, he would always get a reply. The other person never grew tired of comforting him until he fell asleep again.
Lin Zhe stared at the computer screen before him.
His fingers tapped on the keyboard:
[Yin Chu, please come out and see me. I have to go back to school.]
Several minutes passed after sending the message.
The reply came back after a long pause:
[Baby, I've been watching you all along.]
For some reason, a wave of goosebumps prickled Lin Zhe’s skin as he read it. Then he realized the bedroom window had blown open. A gust of cold wind swept in, chilling the room even more.
…
Something was off.
Wen Shichun’s head felt heavy.
He opened his eyes again. It felt like several days had passed.
Or perhaps nothing was amiss after all.
He was sitting in front of his computer. Outside, the sky had turned completely dark. His fingers were still tapping on the keyboard.
[Yin Chu, I had another nightmare.]
[I feel terrible.]
[I dreamed someone died in this house.]
[Yin Chu, I'm a little scared.]
[Can you come out and keep me company?]
…
Wen Shichun stared at the messages in the chat box.
Wrong.
This was wrong.
Shouldn't he have returned to school by now?
Why was he still in this house?
…
He blinked, and the lights in the room had gone out, leaving only a dim nightlight. Wen Shichun lay on his side in bed, his head feeling heavier than before.
It was excruciating.
He wanted to get up, but in that instant, he heard a noise behind him.
'Lin Zhe' finally sat up from the bed. His chest heaved violently, his gaze fixed in terror on the spot beside him. There was still a visible indentation there, slowly smoothing itself out.
As if something had just been lying there.
Lin Zhe suddenly let out a sharp scream, like a string that had snapped—
Wen Shichun was jolted awake by his scream. When he opened his eyes again, everything before him was pitch black.
Soon, he realized he was inside a cramped, suffocating space.
He was curled up, his body trembling uncontrollably.
His left hand was clamped tightly over his own lips, not daring to make a single sound.
He stayed like that for who knows how long.
Suddenly, he heard the faint sound of metal scraping.
It was exceptionally clear in the silent space.
Like a doorknob turning.
Then, a sliver of light appeared, piercing into Wen Shichun's eyes, making him tremble even more violently.
He finally knew where he was.
He was curled up under that wooden bed.
His line of sight was very low.
He could see the room's door being slowly pushed open.
But there was no shadow of a person in the light.
His other hand pressed down on the back of the one covering his lips.
Not daring to make a single sound.
But his heartbeat was too fierce.
Wen Shichun felt as if the only sound left in his ears was the thumping of his own heart, beating back and forth.
His head grew heavier and heavier.
It felt as if his nerves had been stretched to their limit.
Again, he stayed like that for who knows how long, until the room's door closed by itself again.
The bedroom returned to silence and darkness.
One second, two seconds, three seconds.
After holding out like this for a few minutes, a faint, sobbing sound rose from beneath the bed in the darkness.
The person hiding under the bed had finally broken down into tears.
*"I'm so scared! Someone save me!"
A clear, desperate cry for help echoed in Wen Shichun's mind.
He tried to say something, but no sound would come out.
"Save me! Save me!"
"Help me!"
...
Fear seeped into Wen Shichun's entire body. His hands were still clamped tightly over his lips, afraid to let too much of the sobbing escape.
Yet, his own head felt like it was about to split open.
Despite exerting all his strength, he still couldn't move, his lips unable to make a single sound.
The repeated cries of 'save me' kept reverberating in his mind.
Wen Shichun's entire body tensed.
"Don't be afraid."
"Lin Zhe."
"I'm here."
It seemed he could finally speak now.
His body felt as if it were separating.
The once heavy frame was beginning to feel lighter.
But Lin Zhe still couldn't hear him.
But.
In the darkness.
Another hoarse voice sounded near the edge of the bed where they were huddled.
"Found you, baby."
Wen Shichun could see nothing, but he could sense a face pressed against the floor, peering under the bed at Lin Zhe.
"No!"
Lin Zhe's scream erupted from beneath the bed—this time it was real, audible, and not just echoing in Wen Shichun's mind.
Lin Zhe had probably never imagined that the terrifying entity was still lingering in the bedroom.
It had closed the door.
Not to leave.
But to quietly crouch in the darkness.
Savoring the sight of the one hiding under the bed, weeping in despair.
A soft chuckle broke the silence of the dark.
Lin Zhe's ankle was seized by a large, icy hand.
He began to thrash wildly, desperate to escape.
His once neat nails clawed frantically at the underside of the bed, leaving deep scratches in the wood.
His fingertips began to bleed, but Lin Zhe paid no mind, clinging to anything that might keep him anchored under the bed.
But the struggle did not last long.
When both his ankles were firmly caught, the next second, Lin Zhe was violently dragged out of his hiding place.
