Midnight Movie Viewing (7):
With both hands gripping the wires, Ying Yan tried to replicate the scene that appeared after a call was successfully connected.
But after waiting for thirty minutes, there was only the “beep… beep…” sound. Nothing else happened.
This outcome was expected, yet it made Ying Yan frown and press her lips together, clearly displeased.
She realized that only when someone else called could she receive information from the outside world.
Having the initiative entirely in someone else’s hands was frustrating.
Still, now that she had become a ghost, Ying Yan’s emotions calmed quickly.
She put on her gloves, picked up the fruit knife, and went to the two lamps in the corner, intending to study them carefully.
The cold moon and lonely stars hung high in the sky, looking down upon the snow-covered mountains.
Later that night, the wind picked up, and the old-fashioned phone booth halfway up the mountain shivered under the burden like a maple leaf trembling in the autumn wind.
Yet it held on, providing shelter for the bear inside and the phone.
The next morning, Yu Li pressed down with her furry paws and finally managed to make a call. “Senior Sister, good morning.”
On the other end came a weak, tired voice: “Wait, I’ll switch the wire.”
Ying Yan had spent the entire night without making progress.
Even though her body didn’t feel fatigued, mentally she was deeply exhausted.
The eerie green light reflected off her pale face.
A red glow lit up, forming a clay statue that looked like it belonged in a temple.
Ying Yan herself didn’t notice this.
She took a few steps forward, pried apart the two intertwined wires, and connected one to another wire.
The other lamp suddenly lit up, casting a dim red glow.
At the same time, a stranger’s male voice sounded.
“Hello, who is this?”
Hearing a voice that was neither her senior sister’s nor her brother’s, Yu Li froze, forgetting the words she had on her lips.
Ying Yan, however, looked down at the suddenly lit red lamp and had a bold idea.
The man on the other end, not receiving a response, cursed in annoyance and hung up.
The red lamp went out.
Yu Li stared at the busy signal, her bear face showing a “frozen in shock” expression. “Senior Sister, what happened?”
On a whim, Ying Yan teased her, speaking in a standard broadcast tone: “The number you dialed is currently busy. Please try again later…”
Yu Li nearly cried. “Senior Sister, don’t scare me! Was that man next to you?”
The more scared people are, the sharper their senses.
At first, she just thought Ying Yan was somewhere she couldn’t easily leave.
But upon hearing the stranger’s voice, a previously dismissed idea surged strongly:
Senior Sister… could she have become the ghost from the movie that inhabits the phone?
Seeing that she had gone a little too far, causing Yu Li to notice, and knowing the next steps required Yu Li’s help, Ying Yan paused, choosing her words carefully:
“Of course not. The situation is a bit complicated. I might have become… the thing the movie title refers to.”
The breathing on the other end suddenly grew heavier.
Soon, a faint, wavering voice arrived, tinged with sobbing.
Yu Li relied on her admiration and respect for her senior sister to not run away. “Senior Sister… will you eat bears?”
Her once confident tone weakened instantly; Yu Bear had become Yu Coward!
Ying Yan felt both pity and amusement.
Her previous teams had all been battle-hardened; none had ever been this scared of ghosts.
But she never demanded much from novices and considered individual differences, so she softened her voice to reassure:
“Don’t worry. I don’t eat bears or humans. Only the shell has changed; the core is the same.”
She didn’t mention her earlier frustrations.
Hearing this, Yu Li relaxed. “Phew—scared me to death! That’s fine then.”
She could selectively ignore the facts and focus on the ultimate truth—the essence was still her senior sister.
Thinking that way made it easier to accept.
Soon, Yu Li, the “smart one,” noticed a key point: “Senior Sister, now that you’re handling all the horror in the movie, will our mission be easier this time?”
After all, the main villain was one of their own.
“Not necessarily,” Ying Yan said, switching topics before Yu Li could ask further. “Can you hang up the phone and call again? I want to see how many people this line can reach.”
Yu Li nodded, giving an OK sign with her left hand. Realizing Ying Yan couldn’t see her, she said, “No problem!”
She hung up and dialed again.
As the green lamp lit up, Ying Yan pulled apart the original two wires and connected one to a different wire.
The red lamp lit up again, and the call connected.
“Hello, I’m %￥#, may I ask who’s calling and what’s the matter?”
This time it was a stranger—a woman’s voice, gentle but tired, as if she had worked all day and was resting on the sofa when the call came.
When the other end didn’t respond, she repeated herself once, then hung up.
Ying Yan asked Yu Li, “Did you catch her name?”
Yu Li shook her head. “No, maybe the phone has a privacy function.”
They discussed and moved on to the next call—a male voice this time.
“Hey, who is this? Annoying! *%&#…” followed by a string of obscene words.
After the call ended, Ying Yan commented, “This person’s drunk.”
Yu Li agreed, “How many peanuts must he have eaten to get this drunk?”
The next ten or so calls were mixed—male, female, old, young—tones and voices varied, but the content was mostly “Introduce yourself + ask who’s calling.”
Not very useful; listening to it was tedious.
Yu Li started seriously dialing and hanging up, then gradually ate from her honeycomb while calling, waiting for the other end to hang up.
Later, with her furry paws holding her empty stomach, she said, “Senior Sister, hungry… need food.”
Ying Yan considered, then said, “One last call for today.”
Yu Li summoned her strength and dialed.
“Hello, this is the Mountain Pool Police Station emergency desk. How can I help you?”
Ying Yan instinctively looked at the wires in her hands. This call couldn’t be handled like the others.
Her tone steady: “Sorry, wrong number.”
A brief silence followed, as if the caller was surprised a misdial reached the police.
Finally, relying on professional composure, she said, “Okay, goodbye,” and politely hung up.
Yu Li immediately dropped the phone and went out to forage.
She was a foodie, used to eating well three meals a day, and not good at enduring hunger.
Ying Yan rubbed the smooth surface of the last wire with her fingers, removed one glove, and tied a firm bow on the wire.
She was confident she could remember its position, but couldn’t be sure the wire would stay put.
If it moved, finding it would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Today, Yu Li’s luck held steady.
Following Ying Yan’s instructions, she caught two or three skinny fish to fill her stomach.
Then, she began exploring the entire snowy mountain.
The strong wind from last night seemed to have blown away the clouds.
The heavy snow had stopped, and the pale sky looked distant. The rolling mountains stretched endlessly, unable to reach the horizon.
Learning from yesterday’s missteps, Yu Li occasionally dropped branches or stones along the way.
After a long trek, she had roughly traced the vast mountain range—like nibbling at a mooncake for ages and only finishing a corner, leaving her a little discouraged.
The only bright spot: she found a brown bear’s cave, stocked with plenty of winter food.
Winter supplies—secured!
Yu Li pocketed a few fruits and returned to the phone booth at sunset, skillfully dialing. “Senior Sister, look what I found!”
The reply came quickly: “Brown wild fruits.”
Yu Li felt disappointed. “Something’s off—Senior Sister, how did you know?”
Ying Yan said uncertainly, “I think I can see you.”
The wall in front of her appeared semi-transparent, revealing a two-meter-tall adult brown bear.
It curled up in the red phone booth, clutching a few shriveled wild fruits.
Its once formidable figure now appeared comically clumsy.
Was this change good or bad? What caused it? Ying Yan had no clue.
She had never encountered a situation where, over time, instead of solving the mystery, the questions snowballed.
Hearing this, Yu Li dropped the fruits she’d saved for a snack, anxiously asking, “Senior Sister, are you okay?”
Ying Yan pulled herself out of her tangled thoughts. “I’m fine.”
Honestly, she had never felt better.
It seemed some restrictions were gradually lifting; even her breathing felt smoother.
The green light glowed faintly, casting its light on her pale face and slowly spreading to her neck and shoulders.
Yet she seemed blind to it, focusing entirely on the sounds from outside.
“That’s good,” Yu Li breathed a sigh of relief. “Shall we keep calling?”
After most of the day’s transition, she felt awake again.
“Forget it. This morning’s last call is truly the last. Rest well tonight, and don’t forget to close the door.”
On the other end, a small cheer sounded. The clumsy brown bear hung up, leaned against the door, curled its legs, tilted its head, and soon started softly snoring.
The scene outside remained projected on the wall for at least half an hour before fading completely, leaving no trace.
In the silent darkness, vague shadows hung from the ceiling.
Ying Yan pondered for a long time, then, as if waking from a dream, marked a “正” character in the corner.
Reluctantly, she slowly lost track of time.
At that moment, the green and red lights lit simultaneously, accompanied by sobbing sounds, and a blurry image appeared on the wall.
Though they hadn’t spent much time together, Ying Yan clearly remembered that once Yu Li fell asleep, it was hard to wake her.
The noises outside weren’t likely her.
Then who could it be? In this remote wilderness, could anyone else be around?
Or… had some unexpected event occurred?