This was a heartbreaking and sleepless night like many years ago. Xia Chun was walking on the way home, her heart was just like the autumn rain that had just fallen, just as chaotic, just as cold and bleak. She couldn't make up her mind, should she go back to that terrible residence to face everything, or just wander around like a lonely soul?
She missed Xiaowen and another person terribly… From the time she changed jobs and moved out to now, everything that had happened only proved two things: first, she was not as brave as she thought, and second, it turned out that the saying "misfortunes never come singly" was true.
She looked at the blue light radiating from the tall buildings in the distance, her mind wandering and lost in memories. She moved in here three days ago, and there was nothing special about it, except that the house was a little bigger than she had imagined and it was so old that it made her feel uncomfortable. But the white-haired landlady was quite warm and considerate, which made her feel at ease and relieved.
But she later happened to hear a man who lived upstairs say that the landlord's old lady was very strange, and that she seemed to have a very beautiful granddaughter, but then the granddaughter disappeared for some reason and could not be found no matter how hard they tried. The old lady neither looked for her nor reported the case, which seemed hard to understand.
She was also skeptical at first, but when she thought about the person who said this, a middle-aged man with mental and behavioral problems, she suspected that the man might just be using this excuse to chat with her, so he was not credible. So she decided to give it a try.
When she saw the landlord's face was kind and gentle, with white hair. But she was in good spirits. The old lady told her that if her granddaughter Jinglin had not been hospitalized for a long time, she would not be willing to rent out the house to pay the huge hospital bills. The love for her granddaughter was naturally revealed in her words, which made her think of her grandmother far away. Although she vaguely felt that it was not good to live in a patient's home. But fortunately, the rent was very cheap. The old lady emphasized that she would only rent to single young girls, partly for money and partly for mutual care.
Although she couldn't say she was overjoyed, she was still quite happy when she moved in. There were enough rooms, and she lived opposite the old man's house, next to Jinglin. The old man reminded her not to go to Jinglin's room. She thought this reminder was redundant, but she still agreed politely. She wanted to ask, what disease did Jinglin have? But she didn't say it when the words came to her lips. This was her character flaw. It seemed that she was subconsciously afraid of asking the other person's sore spot.
The terrible thing happened a few nights ago. She worked overtime that day and the job she just changed to was semi-physical labor. She was not used to it yet, so she was very tired and went to bed early.
After an unknown amount of time, there was a sound of someone walking quietly in the room. Half asleep and half awake, she felt that someone opened the door of Jinglin's room, and then that person walked around the room with very light footsteps. At first she thought it was an auditory hallucination, but the sound became more and more real. Until that person came straight to her bedroom, opened the door quietly and walked in. She sat up in shock. There was no one else in the room, but the bedroom door was really open.
She was so scared that she jumped under the bed. Her bare feet stepped on the cold floor tiles, which made her a little more sober. She forced herself to calm down and tried to think about whether she had closed the bedroom door before falling asleep, but she could not remember anything. She could not fall asleep that night.
The next morning, she went to knock on the door of the landlady next door and saw a note on which the old lady wrote in clear handwriting that she would be in the hospital for a while and asked her to take care of the house herself.
Her heart sank. She was the only one in the big room, which made her feel even more lonely. So she left her residence as if escaping, ate a quick breakfast outside, and then went to work. During the day, she deliberately found some atheist articles to read. She also bought a Bible and put it in her bag out of contradiction. Then she took a few deep breaths and went home with her chest held high.
At night, she turned on the TV and watched it for a long time. It was not until the second half of the night that she felt a little sleepy. She hugged the Bible and fell asleep slowly without taking off her clothes. What she feared came true. She didn't know if it was an illusion or reality. First, she heard a slight door opening from Jinglin's room, and then there were very small footsteps, slowly coming to her room, and then opening her bedroom door.
It may be that the bedroom door is too old, so the noise is loud, which wakes her up all of a sudden. She grabs the brick-thick Bible beside her. She jumps up and vaguely sees a shadow standing in front of the door, a white-haired old woman. Her hair almost stands up, and she turns to touch the switch at the head of the bed. With a snap, the whole room is bright, and she turns back in a hurry. The door is half open, and it is moved by the golden wind coming in from the window, as if the old woman is telling a story that only she can understand in her hoarse voice. But there is no one. However, she clearly smells a strange smell of chemical liquid coming from the house, and it seems to be coming from Jinglin's room.
She panicked even more, her heartbeat was so loud that she could hear it clearly. She bravely looked into the hall, but it was pitch black and she could not see anything. She asked loudly, "Who? Is there anyone?" Because of her anxiety, her voice became very sharp, and it sounded even more eerie in the empty house in the middle of the night, but no one answered. She was unwilling to give up, so she walked a few steps outside, thought for a while, and put down the Bible in her hand. She picked up a vase, walked out step by step, and slowly rubbed to the light switch in the hall. She took a breath and quickly turned on the switch. Then she held the vase to her chest and looked around. Thank God, there was nothing, except the curtains swaying back and forth and dancing left and right in the wind. After more careful reconnaissance, she finally determined that there were no people and mysterious forces around her. She walked to Jinglin's room, her door was closed tightly, and there was no smell. Maybe it was because the window was not closed. Could the smell come from outside? She suddenly had a desire, she put her hand on the handle of Jinglin's door, slowly exerting force…
Her mind was blank, and a very contradictory thought occupied her mind. Her premonition told her that after this door was opened, not only would she be breaking her promise to the landlady, but she had a premonition that an even more unbearable reality would emerge, and even… she didn't dare to think further.
She slowly turned the handle, and the door slowly opened a small gap. Her heart began to beat wildly again, so that the buttons on her chest moved.
Suddenly, there was a loud bang and a bright light appeared in front of her eyes. She screamed in shock. Then she realized that a rain was coming. The lightning pierced her eyes and took away her last bit of courage. She quickly let go of the door handle. She returned to the room, closed the bedroom door and window, and propped up the door with a heavy chair. Then she wasted every minute until dawn.
She was so frightened that she had forgotten how she got through that night. She might have been frightened and had a psychological trauma in the following days. Anyway, whenever she closed her eyes, she seemed to always see a white-haired old woman walking quietly to her bed, reaching out to touch something on her face.
After these things happened, she wanted to move out immediately. It was not because she couldn't bear to pay a quarter's rent, nor was it difficult to find a place to live in this city. It was Xiaowen's arrival that changed everything.
Xiaowen, who had short hair, was as tall as a boy, and she had courage and determination that boys did not have. After Xia Chun called her to help with the move, she stared at her for a long time as if she was a five or six-year-old kid who was lying. Then, without saying anything, she stopped her with a gesture. Xiaowen did not listen to her explanation and vivid description. She only said, "You are too tired. Today, I will stay with you."
Xiaowen was indeed her best friend, the best of the best. During the day, she took time to go to the hospital to get Xia Chun some tranquilizers and nutritional supplements. In the evening, she talked to her boyfriend on the phone and moved in.
I don't know if it was because of the medicine or Xiaowen's aura was too strong, but nothing happened for three days. Xia Chun's heart gradually calmed down.
Xiaowen took a key to the room yesterday and said she would stay with her for a few nights, which would be more convenient. But how could she do that? Xiaowen's boyfriend was about to go on a business trip, how could she interrupt their sweetness again and again? So she pretended to be relaxed and refused, saying that she was indeed too tired in the past few days, and she had nightmares when she was a child. She read some relevant knowledge and was sure that there was no problem and she could accept it.
Xiaowen asked nonsensically: "ARE YOU SURE?" She also said mischievously: "I'm SURE." In fact, she was still very nervous and not sure at all.
As she was recalling this, the blue light in the distance suddenly went out. She calmed herself down and took a deep breath. She was about to go upstairs after making up her mind. Suddenly, the phone rang. She was startled. She looked at the number and a warm current suddenly surged in her heart. A life-saving straw appeared. It was Xiaowen. She was thinking whether to accept Xiaowen's company against her will or to refuse it. But she heard Xiaowen's contralto voice saying, "I have good news for you. You can sleep well today. I'll tell you why later. Anyway, I swear to God, there will be no doors opening automatically or mysterious footsteps today."
Before she could ask, the other party hung up the phone mysteriously. She was so angry that she cursed secretly and walked upstairs nervously.
As expected, the landlady had not come back yet. The house was empty, but there were some more food and things in the house, it seemed that Xiaowen had been here. There were a few snacks that she used to like to eat, and Xiaowen, who was careless, still remembered them. She opened a bag of snacks with a touching mood, and then started reading a novel. Perhaps her self-comfort and hypnosis worked. This night was really peaceful. When the clock on the wall slowly pointed to 12 o'clock, she fell asleep with satisfaction and relaxation.
The next day after work, she couldn't wait to call Xiaowen to ask about what happened yesterday. Xiaowen said that she was out of town with her boyfriend and would tell her when she returned.
A month passed like this, and the days were surprisingly peaceful, and all the troubles were gone. But the landlady never came back, and she was the only one in the big empty house. She couldn't find anyone to pay the rent.
Her life pattern was also slowly changing, turning the strange feeling of this temporary "home" into a familiar habit and pattern. Sometimes she even had an illusion that she grew up here or had always lived here. Sometimes she even wondered if the landlord would never come back…
The landlord did not come back, but Xiaowen did. The two met on the street. She stammered, "It was Mu Xin." She was so familiar with this name. If it wasn't Mu Xin, she wouldn't have lived here. He was her boyfriend who had just broken up with her. She didn't tell anyone about their relationship. So Xiaowen only knew that she and Mu Xin broke up quickly and resolutely , but she never heard her say the reason. She was just like that.
Xiaowen was afraid that she would be angry, so she rushed to finish her sentence, "I told Mu Xin, and he came over to check on you and bought you some things. He said he found a mouse that had been trapped for a long time in the empty room under your bed, and he also helped you fix the bedroom door with a broken lock. That's all."
Xia Chun didn't say anything. She was either going to explode in silence or explode in silence. She was just that kind of person. She would never lose her temper normally, but she was very concerned about some unclear emotional and private matters, so sometimes she seemed unreasonable or made a fuss. Now her face was obviously not good. After a while, she finally left Xiaowen there and walked away. Xiaowen stuck out her tongue. After being together for several years, she knew her stubborn temper very well, so she let out a long sigh and didn't chase her to explain. She just watched her leave.
Xia Chun ran upstairs in a rage, turned on all the lights, and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked very unhappy. Of course, she was not angry with Xiaowen, but with herself and Mu Xin. The past flashed by slowly like a movie.
She stood there for about five minutes, then slowly calmed down, thinking of Xiaowen's kindness, and even Mu Xin's kindness. She turned on the TV, found some tools, and started cleaning, putting away the messy things and supplies. This was a way she had used to adjust her mood over the years, to find something to do so that her mind would not be idle and she would have time and energy to think about other things.
While busy, she accidentally found a glasses case by the window corner. This thing had actually been there for a long time, but she had not moved it, leaving the box next to the flower pot in the window corner. It looked so eye-catching.
Maybe to distract her attention, she took the glasses case today. It was obvious that the glasses belonged to a woman, a young girl. She never wore glasses, even though she was a little nearsighted. When they were in love, Mu Xin tried hard to make her wear glasses, saying that it would protect her eyesight, but she disagreed because she was afraid that her eyes would be deformed and affect her appearance.
For some reason, she was deeply attracted by the glasses. They were very well designed, and seemed to be made of a shell material. They were light and cool in the hand, and the color was neither heavy nor light. The shape of the design was also beautiful and reasonable. She couldn't help but put it on her face and looked in the mirror. The long-lost clear world, she in the mirror had short hair, a high nose, and proud thin lips. The glasses matched her delicate features very well, as if they were specially designed for her. She walked to the window and looked outside. At this time, the lights were dimming and a bright moon was in the sky. In the bustling world, she was the only lonely figure.
She didn't know why, but she suddenly wanted to dance, which used to be her strong point and one of her few hobbies. She danced in the bedroom until she fell asleep on the bed.
The TV was still on, playing a movie about the Nazis. A concentration camp commander was showing his human bone souvenirs to his subordinates. He said that only when a person was killed without any warning could snow-white human bone souvenirs be made, otherwise the color would be black.
The next day when she went to work, several male colleagues said to her, "Hey, you look beautiful with your makeup on today." She was startled and then noticed that she was still wearing those glasses. She smiled. She was so charming that she didn't look like herself at all.
In the evening, she declined her colleague's invitation to go out for a while. When she got home, she took off her glasses and carefully wiped them with alcohol. She put them back in the box, and the box was also put back in its original place. Maybe because she was a little excited, she had a dream after not dreaming for a long time. She dreamed that a very young and beautiful girl came to her bed, kissed her face, took out the glasses and put them on her face, and said to her, "If you like them, I'll give them to you." She slept in bed with her eyes closed, but she seemed to be able to see the girl's appearance in mid-air, with delicate features, white skin, and long black hair. Later, she woke up in shock, and kept thanking that it was just a nightmare.
Time flies so fast that people can’t even remember how many snows it has fallen this winter.
That day, Xiaowen received a call from Mu Xin. He said, "I heard from Xia Chun's colleagues that she hasn't been to work for a long time, and she didn't ask for leave or resign. I was very worried about her, so I called her but she didn't answer. Do you know what happened?"
Xiaowen was very surprised and called Xia Xia immediately, but no one answered. So she rushed to Xia Xia's residence. After knocking on the door for a long time, no one opened it. She was about to leave reluctantly when a young and beautiful woman opened the door, poked her head in and said to her, "Look for Xia Chun. She moved out a long time ago."
Xiaowen asked, "Where did she move to?"
The girl replied briefly: "I don't know"
She was unwilling to give up and asked again: "Where did the landlady go? Is she still in the hospital? Who are you?"
The girl finally said, "My grandma has passed away. My name is Jinglin." Then she gently closed the door. She had delicate facial features, fair skin, and long black hair. Her glasses were really nice. That was the last impression she left on Xiaowen…