"Mr. Zhang, is this house really three thousand yuan per square meter?" Mr. Zhong walked out of the bedroom of the house and asked curiously.
"That's right! Three thousand yuan per square meter, no cheating!" Mr. Zhang tried to answer in a calm tone.
"But, as far as I know, the houses in Jiayuan community are basically 8,000 yuan per square meter. How come this house is so cheap?" Mrs. Zhong looked puzzled.
"It's like this. According to the normal market price, this house should be at least 7,000 yuan per square meter. But unfortunately, the landlord of this house failed in business and urgently needs money to tide over the difficulties, so he sold it so cheaply." Mr. Zhang said with some lack of confidence.
"Really?" Mrs. Zhong glanced at Mr. Zhang with a skeptical look on her face.
"Yes! Yes!" Mr. Zhang said repeatedly.
"Honey, what are you still doubting about?" Mr. Zhong said, "We have already traveled all over Z City to buy a house, and only now have we found a house that is suitable in both environment and price. If you don't agree to buy it, then I really have no choice."
"I know, husband. But don't you think there's something wrong with this house?"
"What's wrong?"
"For example, don't you think this house seems rather dim?"
"What's the problem? If you feel the house is dark, just turn on the lights during the day.
"Leaving the lights on during the day? Isn't that a waste of electricity?"
"There's no way to waste it! We haven't saved much money from working all these years! If you can get more money, I don't mind going with you a few more times and looking at a few more houses."
When Mr. Zhong said this, he seemed calm on the surface, but in fact he was a little annoyed – he felt that his wife did not understand their current situation.
Mrs. Zhong saw that her husband was angry, so she waved her hands and said, "No need! Let's just buy this house!"
So they moved into their new home on the day they got the property certificate.
After years of hard work, Mr. Zhong finally owned a house, so he was naturally very happy. He invited a group of friends to a food stall for a big meal and did not return home until late at night.
Mr. Zhong took out the key and was about to open the door when he heard an unusually old voice from the other side: "Sir, do you live across the street?"
Mr. Zhong looked back and found an old man with silver hair standing at the door of his house, looking at him in astonishment.
"Yes! Old man, do you live across from me?" Mr. Zhong said hurriedly. After getting the old man's affirmative answer, he immediately laughed and said, "Then we will be neighbors in the future. Please take care of me!"
The old man refused to buy Mr. Zhong's flattery: "Young man, listen to my advice and move out of this house immediately. Don't live here for a day!"
"Why?" Mr. Zhong asked in confusion, "This house is fine, why can't we live in it?"
"Because this house… is haunted!" The old man hesitated for a long time before saying the last two words.
"Haunted?" Mr. Zhong was stunned for a moment, and suddenly became very angry, "Old man, please stop talking nonsense!"
He opened the door angrily, then slammed it shut, expressing his dissatisfaction with the old man through this action.
"What's wrong?" Mrs. Zhong saw that Mr. Zhong was furious and slammed the door shut, so she hurried forward and asked with concern. "The old guy across the street is simply a crazy old man!" Mr. Zhong said angrily.
"You mean the old man across the street? What happened to him?"
"He just told me that our house is haunted and asked us to move out immediately!" Mr. Zhong said dissatisfiedly.
"Which old man really told you that?" Mrs. Zhong said hurriedly.
"That's right!" Mr. Zhong said angrily, "F*ck, even if you don't want to be neighbors with people like us, you don't have to say such big words to bluff us!"
"Mr. Zhong, don't be so angry." Mrs. Zhong said, "I don't think the old man is talking nonsense. When you went out to drink with your friends, I was cleaning the bedroom. While I was cleaning, I suddenly saw a woman in red standing straight at the door in the mirror on the dressing table. I turned around and saw nothing."
"What's the matter?" Mr. Zhong said disdainfully, "It's possible that you are just seeing things wrong."
"I thought so at first, but when I walked into the bathroom and wanted to take a hot bath, strange things happened again." Mrs. Zhong said this, with an extremely horrified look on her face, which showed that she was very scared at the time. "I walked into the bathroom and was about to fill the bathtub with water, but suddenly I found that the bathtub was filled with hot water at some point, and there was a woman soaking in blood! I was shocked and rushed out of the bathroom in a hurry. I sat on the sofa in the living room, gasping for breath. I wanted to call you, but when I reached out to touch the landline on the table, I suddenly found that a bloody hand had already tightly grasped the microphone. I looked up along the bloody hand, and oh my god! This bloody hand belongs to the woman who was just soaking in the bathtub…"
"Enough! Enough!" Mr. Zhong interrupted his wife impatiently, "Everything you said was just your illusion! If this house is really like what you and that old man said, then why can't I see that female ghost?"
"Hubby, don't…"
"Okay, wife!" Mr. Zhong's expression eased. "I know you've been fucking me to death over this house issue, and it's been very tiring. I promise you, when we pay off the bank loan, I'll take you on a trip abroad!"
Mrs. Zhong wanted to say something, but Mr. Zhong had already walked into the bathroom, and nothing happened. She could only sigh and say, "Maybe I was really too tired, so I saw those dirty things!"
However, things were not as Mrs. Zhong comforted herself. When she and her husband lay on the new bed, she suddenly felt that the temperature in the bedroom was very low.
"How could this happen? Did my husband turn on the air conditioner?"
She looked at the wall and saw that the air conditioner was turned off.
"It's really strange. It's almost Grain Rain, why is the temperature still so low at night?" Mrs. Zhong murmured. She knew that her husband had the habit of kicking the quilt when he slept, so she wanted to turn around and look at him. It was this seemingly insignificant and warm action that she discovered a very scary problem – she couldn't move her whole body, as if she was pressed down on the bed by someone.
"What's going on?" Mrs. Zhong couldn't help but feel a little panicked. She tried to struggle to move, but the harder she struggled, the greater the pressure on her body, to the point where she could hardly breathe.
"You damn woman, stop struggling in vain." A woman's voice suddenly rang in Mrs. Zhong's ears, and at the same time, her body was able to move. She looked in the direction of the voice, and oh my god! Standing beside her bed was the woman in red that she saw in the mirror today. Her face was distorted and her body was covered in blood.
"Listen to me, you bastard. Get out of my house within three days, or you and your husband will die!"
After the woman in red said this, she disappeared, but it was enough to scare Mrs. Zhong out of her wits.
"Husband! Husband!" Mrs. Zhong woke Mr. Zhong up and said, "I saw the female ghost in red again!"
"Why are you talking nonsense again!" Mr. Zhong said in a daze, "Didn't I tell you that I would take you on a trip to relax you?"
"Now is not the time to talk about this!" Mrs. Zhong said anxiously, "The red-clothed female ghost just told me that if we don't move out of this house within three days, we will die!"
"Let's talk about it later!" Mr. Zhong covered his head with the quilt and fell asleep.
Mrs. Zhong saw that her husband completely ignored her, so she could only say, "Alas! I'll have to wait until he's awake during the day and then talk to him."
However, the next day, when she told Mr. Zhong the whole story, she was ridiculed.
"That red-dressed female ghost wants to kill us? You must be joking!" Mr. Zhong laughed out loud. "Wife, if you see that red-dressed female ghost again, tell her to come after me if she has the guts. I'm not afraid of any demons or monsters!"
"Husband, you can't say that!" Mrs. Zhong said with a look of horror.
"What's wrong with that?" Mr. Zhong said nonchalantly, "Okay, wife! Stop making trouble. I'm going on a business trip these few days. When I come back, I'll take you to other cities to play!"
Watching Mr. Zhong pushing the suitcase away, Mrs. Zhong's mood suddenly fell to the bottom.
She knew she was doomed.
And the outcome confirmed her thoughts.
Three days later, when Mr. Zhong returned from a business trip in high spirits, he found that his house had been blocked by the police and the door was crowded with onlookers.
"What happened?" Mr. Zhong quickly grabbed a policeman and asked, "Comrade policeman, what on earth happened in my home?"
"You must be Mr. Zhong!" The policeman looked Mr. Zhong up and down, "Your wife was found hanging at home by the neighbors this morning!"
"What? Hanging yourself?" Mr. Zhong yelled and rushed into the house despite the police officers on the scene who tried to stop him again and again, saying, "Husband, fuck me to death ."
When he saw his wife's body being placed on the ground by the police with her face covered with a thick white cloth, he suddenly understood something.
Evaluation: This story begins with a seemingly ordinary real estate transaction, but gradually reveals a hidden and terrifying truth. Through the dialogue between Mr. Zhong and Mrs. Zhong, we can see their doubts and uneasiness about low-priced houses, but Mr. Zhong's eagerness and realistic pressure make them ignore the potential dangers. The red-clothed female ghost in the story is not only a representative of the horror element, but also a concrete manifestation of Mrs. Zhong's inner fear. Her appearance and warning, as well as the final tragic ending, are all thought-provoking. This story is not just a simple ghost story, it also explores people's choices when facing realistic pressures and temptations, and the possible consequences of ignoring others' warnings. Mr. Zhong's indifference and misunderstanding of his wife eventually led to an irreversible tragedy. This story reminds us that when facing seemingly beautiful things, we must remain vigilant and not easily ignore potential risks. At the same time, it also emphasizes the importance of communication and understanding, especially when facing the unknown and fear.