Jiang Ye returned home. Based on the angles from which Jin Feize’s candid photos had been taken, he inferred the positions of the pinhole cameras and removed every one of them. Li Miaomiao watched from the side, dumbfounded.
“Who installed cameras in your house?”
Jiang Ye did not answer.
For now, Jiang Ye did not plan to tell Li Miaomiao about her father’s corpse. If she saw her own father butchered into pieces by Jin Feize, she might collapse. Better to wait until the body was cremated and hand her the ashes directly.
“It couldn’t be your girlfriend, could it?” Li Miaomiao had no idea where this sudden flash of cleverness came from, but she guessed correctly at once.
“None of your business.” Jiang Ye threw the cameras into the trash.
“No, Brother, your girlfriend’s kind of awful, isn’t she? She cheated on you and she’s monitoring you? What’s she even trying to do?” Li Miaomiao asked.
“Go to sleep.”
Jiang Ye kicked her into the bedroom.
Shen Duo assigned two more people to Jiang Ye. This time, he did not send bodyguards, but subordinates from the institute at the Special Biology Research Institute. One was called Xiao Liu, and the other was called Xiao He. They had both been at the institute for more than two years and were more reliable than hired bodyguards.
One followed Jiang Ye, and the other followed Li Miaomiao to and from school.
A week passed like this, and the headless corpses never appeared again.
That day, when Li Miaomiao got out of school at noon, Xiao Liu and Xiao He came to say goodbye to Jiang Ye and Li Miaomiao.
Xiao Liu said, “There probably won’t be any more trouble. Teacher Shen is short on manpower, so we have to leave. If anything happens, call Captain Zhang Yang from the Public Security Bureau. He’ll help.”
Jiang Ye’s brows furrowed slightly. “I can’t contact you directly?”
Xiao Liu explained, “We’re going out on a mission. Even if you contact us, we won’t be able to rush back. It’s more appropriate to look for Captain Zhang.”
After spending more than a week together, Li Miaomiao was somewhat reluctant to part with them.
“Where are you going? How could you not even be able to answer the phone?”
Xiao Liu smiled and said, “Little sister, study hard. We’ve already handled the school boarding procedures for you. Starting today, you’ll live at school. Don’t squeeze into one place with your brother anymore. Your brother sleeps on the floor every day. How uncomfortable is that?”
Jiang Ye said to Xiao Liu, “Since you’re leaving, give me a hug.”
Xiao Liu was a little flattered.
Jiang Ye was distant with people and did not talk much. Even though they had spent several days under the same roof, it still felt as if he were separated from them by a hundred thousand miles. He had not expected this young man to look cold on the surface but have such a warm heart.
Xiao Liu hugged him and patted his back hard. “Hang in there. Look forward. We’ll come see you again later.”
Xiao Liu and Xiao He both left.
Li Miaomiao watched the rear of their car disappear into the distance and muttered, “Where exactly are they going?”
“To look for our mom,” Jiang Ye said abruptly. “Teacher Shen should already have gone over.”
“Huh?” Li Miaomiao froze.
Jiang Ye took out his phone and held it to his ear. Xiao Liu and Xiao He’s conversation from inside the police car came through the receiver.
“Brother Liu, how are we getting there?”
“We’ll buy tickets for the flight three hours from now to the provincial capital of Western Yunnan Province. Then we’ll take the train to Gasa, and enter the mountains from Gasa.”
“Is that place dangerous?” Xiao He’s voice sounded a little shaky.
“Don’t worry. Teacher Shen is there. It’ll be fine. In that kind of place, you can’t be afraid. The more afraid you are, the more terrifying it becomes.”
Xiao He relaxed a lot.
After that, they began talking about eating, drinking, and other pointless things. There was no valuable information anymore.
During that hug just now, Jiang Ye had placed a listening device under Xiao Liu’s collar. He had bought it on Taobao. The quality was decent, and the sound was very clear.
“Brother,” Li Miaomiao asked tentatively, “do you want to go look for our mom too?”
Jiang Ye lowered his head and looked at the map. He was silent for quite a while before shaking his head.
“Leave everything to the police.”
Li Miaomiao grabbed his sleeve and said, “If you go, remember to take me with you. If you dare run off by yourself, I’ll announce to the whole world that your girlfriend cheated on you, but you still can’t bear to break up with her, and you do boosting jobs every day to earn money to buy her milk tea.”
Jiang Ye: “…”
Jiang Ye returned home alone and continued listening in on Xiao Liu and Xiao He.
His phone vibrated. It was a message from Jin Feize.
Candy-Loving Witch: Little Ye, I want a hawthorn berry drink. Can you buy it for me?
Argos: No. Don’t call me Little Ye.
Jin Feize did not send another message.
A long while later, Jiang Ye heard panting from next door.
The old apartment had poor soundproofing. Jiang Ye did not know what Jin Feize was doing, but that ambiguous panting could be heard clearly even from his side.
Wait.
Jiang Ye suddenly froze and realized that bastard Jin Feize was playing the audio from Jiang Ye’s video out loud through speakers.
Jiang Ye’s face turned icy, as if a layer of frost had covered it.
Candy-Loving Witch: I want a hawthorn berry drink.
Jiang Ye closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and replied.
Argos: I’ll go buy it.
Candy-Loving Witch: I want one every day.
Argos: …I’ll buy one for you every day.
Candy-Loving Witch: Can I call you Little Ye?
Argos: …You can.
Candy-Loving Witch: Little Ye treats me the best.
In the afternoon, Jiang Ye’s guitar lesson ended.
Speaking of which, Jiang Ye had gone to learn guitar because the Witch had said she wanted to hear him play. Now he no longer wanted to learn, but more than half the course hours remained, and the guitar teacher refused to refund him. He could only force himself to continue attending.
Carrying his guitar on his back, he went alone to the bus stop to take the bus back to the apartment.
Outside the bus, figures streamed past, retreating with a rustle, their blurred faces interweaving.
He lowered his head and glanced at WeChat. His mother’s chat window was still as dead and silent as ever. The message was still stopped at: My boy, call me back as soon as you see this.
Jiang Ye found a seat and sat down. Drowsiness came over him, and he began to doze.
When the bus reached the next stop, a woman in a red dress stood at the platform. Her back was turned to the bus, and all he could see was the pitch-black back of her head.
All the passengers boarded.
Only she did not get on.
The driver did not wait for her. He shut the doors and drove away from the stop.
Two minutes later, the bus pulled into another stop.
Jiang Ye looked up casually, then discovered to his horror that the woman in the red dress was still standing on the platform.
She still did not get on.
The driver shut the doors and drove away.
All Jiang Ye’s sleepiness vanished.
A chill rose from his toes all the way into his chest.
He stared hard out the window. When the bus pulled into the station for the third time, that woman was still on the platform.
The other passengers at the platform all got on. The driver was about to start the bus.
Jiang Ye stood up, walked over to the driver, and said, “There’s still someone over there who hasn’t gotten on.”
“Where?” The driver looked outside. “No, there isn’t.”
“There’s a woman there. You don’t see her?”
“Where is there a woman?” the driver said impatiently. “Go on, go on. Don’t interfere with my driving.”
Jiang Ye returned to his original seat.
He was getting off at the next stop. Wouldn’t he run right into that female ghost?
He took out his phone and called Xiao Liu, but the phone was off. He had probably already boarded the plane.
Jiang Ye called Captain Zhang again. The call would not go through.
Seeing the terminal station getting closer and closer, Jiang Ye walked to the driver again and said, “Sorry, sir. I missed my stop. Can you let me off here?”
“No.” The driver shook his head. “Get off at the next stop, then take another bus back.”
“Please make an exception. There are no cameras on this road.”
“No, no, no. We have rules. This isn’t allowed!” The driver would not listen at all and refused no matter what.
Up ahead, someone on the roadside waved to stop the bus.
Jiang Ye was still thinking of a way to make the driver stop when the driver suddenly stopped the bus.
The person who had waved down the bus got on and said with a smile, “Thank you, sir.”
Jiang Ye looked carefully.
It was actually Jin Feize.
“Oh, don’t do that again next time,” the driver complained. “If my supervisor finds out, I’ll get fined. If you weren’t such a good-looking young man, I wouldn’t have stopped.”
Jiang Ye: “…”
Why hadn’t the driver stopped for him earlier?
Did good-looking people have privileges?
Jin Feize thanked him again, then looked at Jiang Ye.
“What a coincidence. How are your guitar lessons going?”
Jiang Ye was about to get off, but Jin Feize grabbed him. “Where are you going?”
With this delay, the bus started moving again.
Jiang Ye frowned.
Seeing his displeased expression, Jin Feize smiled, sat beside him, and lowered his head to play with his phone.
Jiang Ye did not want to sit with him. He stood up and switched to a seat with someone beside it.
Jin Feize did not mind. The corners of his lips curved slightly, and he showed no sign of anger.
When the bus reached the terminal station, Jiang Ye turned his head to look outside the window. The platform was empty. The woman in red was gone.
“What are you looking for?”
Jin Feize’s voice suddenly sounded beside him.
Jiang Ye looked up. Jin Feize stood in front of him, his smile gentle.
Jiang Ye turned his head aside and said, “A ghost.”
“Hm?” Jin Feize asked. “Did you run into headless corpses again?”
Jiang Ye shook his head, frowning without speaking.
He returned to the apartment, and Jin Feize followed behind him, neither too close nor too far.
After they entered the apartment’s narrow corridor, Jiang Ye saw that, for some inexplicable reason, many offering lamps had appeared there. They were placed on both sides of the stairs, illuminating the stairwell in a red glow.
When they reached the fifth floor, Jiang Ye saw a sandalwood offering table set up outside No. 501. On it were a woman’s memorial portrait and an incense burner. Funeral wreaths stood on both sides.
He went upstairs.
Jin Feize stopped in the fifth-floor hallway, drew several sticks of incense from the table, and offered them to the woman.
Jin Feize said, “She was the tenant in 501. She had depression and died by jumping off a building. Today is the seventh day after her death. On the seventh day, the soul returns home. Her family set up lamps for her to guide her back.”
He handed Jiang Ye three sticks of incense.
“Do you want to pay your respects?”
Jiang Ye ignored him and went straight upstairs, back home.
He was about to change clothes. When he walked to the window to draw the curtains, he suddenly saw a woman in red standing by the roadside downstairs.
Her back was still turned to the road. Her graceful figure and pitch-black back of the head added an eerie quality to the night.
The evening wind blew through the window screen, and the back of Jiang Ye’s neck went cold.
Today was the seventh day after the auntie from 501’s death. Could that female ghost be the auntie?
He drew the curtains, turned on the computer, and searched for the suicide case from seven days ago.
The first search result was news about a patient with depression from First People’s Hospital committing suicide. It said a woman had jumped from a building and landed face-first. Her face had been smashed beyond recognition, too horrific to look at.
Was that why she refused to show her face?
Jiang Ye called Captain Zhang. This time, the call finally connected.
“I’m being followed. That person is downstairs right now.”
Zhang Yang replied, “Understood. I’ll send people over immediately. Stay at home. Don’t go anywhere.”
Jiang Ye went to shower.
After he came out, he received a message from Zhang Yang. Zhang Yang said they had not found the person following him, but plainclothes officers had already been stationed downstairs to watch the area. People had also been sent to watch Li Miaomiao, so Jiang Ye did not need to worry.
Jiang Ye stared at the message for a long while, always feeling that these people were not very reliable.
The driver could not see the female ghost. Only he could. Perhaps ordinary people could not deal with this female ghost.
He opened Meituan delivery and bought several protective talismans, asking the delivery rider to stick them outside his door.
He pulled the curtain open a crack and looked downstairs.
Jin Feize was throwing out the trash downstairs.
The female ghost was gone.
Jiang Ye frowned.
He could not sleep, so he prepared to stay up all night playing games. He usually did not turn on the lights, but today, he made an exception. The room was brightly lit, and he turned the computer sound up to maximum. It gave him a little more sense of security.
He played several rounds of games and completely pushed the female ghost to the back of his mind. He did not notice the hour hand moving bit by bit until, with a click, it pointed to twelve.
In an instant, every light in the room went out.
The living room sank into darkness. Only the computer screen glowed with a cold, ghostly light.
From the speakers came a woman’s broken sobs.
Jiang Ye quickly shut off the computer.
He sat for a moment, took a deep breath, stood up, and lifted a corner of the curtain.
The street was empty. Night lay heavy over it. That woman was not there.
Where had she gone?
In the next moment, he knew the answer.
The sound of high heels came from the hallway.
Tap, tap, tap.
Tap, tap, tap.
Closer and closer.
Finally, it stopped outside his door.
He looked through the peephole.
Outside stood a deep-red woman’s back.
“You’re at the wrong door,” Jiang Ye said through the door. “Your home is on the fifth floor.”
The woman continued standing outside.
Jiang Ye backed away several steps and called Zhang Yang.
Just as he opened the number pad, he heard a creak.
His own door had inexplicably opened a crack as wide as a finger. The eerie red glow of the offering lamps flowed in like rouge.
He clearly had not opened the door.
The crack in the door widened more and more. The creak stretched long. It did not sound like a door opening. It sounded like a saw dragging across his heart.
He remembered daytime. When Jin Feize had gotten on the bus, the woman had disappeared from the platform.
When Jin Feize went downstairs to take out the trash, the woman had not been there either.
Could evil ghosts be afraid of perverts?
Honestly, he did not want to get close to Jin Feize, and he wanted even less to be in the same room with him.
The door had already opened halfway. The woman’s crimson figure was faintly visible.
Compared with a pervert, an evil ghost seemed harder to deal with.
A pervert coveted his chastity.
An evil ghost coveted his life.
He made a prompt decision, rushed onto the balcony, climbed over the railing, stepped along the edge, and jumped onto Jin Feize’s balcony. He opened the glass door, lifted the curtain, and stepped into Jin Feize’s bedroom.
Jin Feize stood with his back to him beside the bed, half naked, his pants halfway off.
Moonlight shone across Jin Feize’s pale body, like water poured over jade, gleaming as if it might drip. His bones and flesh were perfectly balanced, his figure straight and elegant as a pine. The lines of his muscles seemed carved out one stroke at a time by a craftsman.
It made one sigh that when the goddess shaped humans, she had been especially biased. He was the favored child painstakingly molded by hand, while everyone else was a defective product splashed into being by mud struck with a cane.
The night was silent.
Jin Feize looked back.
Their eyes met. Time seemed to stop in that instant.
“A ghost entered my house,” Jiang Ye explained without changing expression.
“I guessed as much,” Jin Feize said politely. “May I ask you to turn around? I’m going to the bathroom to shower.”
Jiang Ye did not move. His gaze was cold and indifferent, as though what he saw was not Jin Feize’s naked body, but the rippling moonlight he was used to seeing every night.
With both hands in his pockets, he said, “You’ve seen me, but you won’t allow me to see you.”
Jin Feize showed a troubled expression. “Sorry. I’m not prepared yet. If you really want to look, it’s fine if you don’t turn around.”
“No,” Jiang Ye said in a cool voice. “I don’t want to look.”
He slowly turned around. His expression was as usual, calm and without ripples.
But if someone looked carefully, they would find that the rims of his ears had already gone burning red.
Fortunately, the night was dark and the evening wind cold, cooling his pounding heart.
“Are you sleeping here tonight?” Jin Feize asked.
“Sorry to disturb you. I’ll stay for a while, then leave.”
Behind him came the faint rustle of clothes being taken off.
Jiang Ye’s ears were so red they almost dripped blood.
Jin Feize gently tried to keep him. “If you feel safer here, you can stay as long as you want. I don’t mind sleeping with you either.”
“I’m not staying,” Jiang Ye refused.
“You really won’t stay?” Jin Feize’s voice was gentle. Listening to it was like gauze made of mermaid silk brushing past the ear. His invitation was like a siren song from the sea, confusing the mind and making it impossible to refuse.
He said gracefully, “Don’t worry. I won’t offend you. You sleep in the bed, and I’ll sleep in the living room.”
Jiang Ye was silent.
Standing at the border between the bedroom and the balcony, he could faintly hear a woman’s sobs coming from his home.
That female ghost still had not left.
Jiang Ye compromised. “I’ll sleep in the living room.”
With his eyes closed, he felt his way toward the door. Unfamiliar with the layout of Jin Feize’s bedroom, he bumped his shin against the bedpost. The pain made his brows furrow slightly.
Enduring the pain, he shifted position and continued forward, both hands stretched out to find the way.
As he searched, he touched a cold chest.
He froze for an instant, then withdrew his hand as if he had been electrocuted.
If he had guessed correctly, Jin Feize should be completely naked now.
Jiang Ye felt as though his ears were so hot they were about to fall off.
Jin Feize caught his hand and, without allowing refusal, held it and led him toward the door.
Jiang Ye touched the doorframe and was about to head for the living room when Jin Feize suddenly said, “Wait.”
With his eyes closed, he stood at the doorway and waited for a while.
Two quilts were placed into his arms.
Immediately after that, he heard Jin Feize close the door.
“All right. You can open your eyes now,” Jin Feize said through the door.
Jiang Ye opened his eyes.
Before him was a dark-brown door panel.
He stood there for several seconds, then bent down and spread the quilts on the floor. He did not forget to go look through the peephole.
The hallway was empty. His own door was half open, and inside it was a black hollow, impossible to make out clearly.
He did not know whether the female ghost had left or was sitting inside his home.
Jiang Ye returned to the living room and lay flat to sleep. While he was at it, he opened Meituan delivery and gave the shop that sold the protective talismans a bad review.
Late at night, all was still.
He heard the splashing sound of water from Jin Feize’s room.
Jiang Ye lay in the darkness, his thoughts like tiny butterflies, fluttering farther and farther away bit by bit.
Why had the female ghost come after him?
He clearly did not know her.
How was Mom? Had Shen Duo found her?
Tomorrow afternoon’s guitar lesson. He did not want to go…
Jin Feize’s ass…
Was pretty white.