Unstable soul

The hand holding the mouse rested on the hot water bottle on the desktop, while the hand resting on the keyboard was in a miserable state, its knuckles red from the cold.

During the first month of the lunar calendar, only a handful of viewers entered the live stream room. Wen Dai chatted with a few fans, but her phone, which she had left next to the computer, lit up unexpectedly.

Out of the corner of her eye, Wen Dai glanced at the sudden light in the darkness, then reached for her phone, greeting her fans in the live stream as she said, "Hmm? Wait a minute, I need to check a message."

The messages kept popping up, giving Wen Dai almost no time to think.

Hello, I apologize for bothering you, I am Li Chengjian.

Are you free right now?

My granddaughter suddenly had a seizure. Would it be convenient for you to come over?

If it's convenient, you can send me your address, and I'll have a driver pick you up.

Are you already resting? I'm so sorry to bother you.

Judging from the message content and the interval between each message, Wen Dai guessed that it was voice input. Sensing the urgency in the words, she sent the address without hesitation, and immediately received a transfer from Li Chengjian.

Staring at the "5000" on the bright orange transfer slip, Wen Dai's mind went blank. Birds of a feather flock together, really...

The live stream chat was flooded with comments.

[Coca-Cola tastes best: Seeing the teacher's expression, I'd guess they've got a job for me.]

【kk: +1】

On the other end, Li Chengjian sent a message asking the driver to come over. Wen Dai replied with an "okay" and switched to the chat page. She turned to the camera and smiled, glancing at the comments in the live stream. "You guessed it, I have to go offline now. I have an urgent order to handle. Bye-bye, see you next time." She closed the live stream with the mouse and shut down her computer.

With her thumb swiping across the screen, Wen Dai, eager to share the profits with Chen Sizhe, made a call without any hesitation, completely disregarding the fact that it was 11 p.m.

Holding the phone to her ear, she propped herself up from the chair with her legs still busy, walked to the door, and slammed her hand on the light switch. In the instant the bright white light dispelled the darkness, the call was connected.

The voice coming from the receiver was deep and hoarse: "What's up?" The tone was somewhat languid.

"Are you sleeping? Wake up! A ticket has arrived. I'll send you the address in a bit, just drive over. This time, the person who placed the order sent their driver to pick me up from my house, so they seem to be in a hurry. We'll discuss the details when we get there." After informing Chen Sizhe, Wen Dai hung up the phone before he could even reply.

[I have a partner coming with me. Send me your address too, and he'll drive there directly.]

As if guarding her messages, Li Chengjian noticed "typing is in progress" at the top of the chat page as soon as Wen Dai sent her message. After forwarding the message to Chen Sizhe, she quickly changed into her outdoor clothes, picked up the bag containing her props, unzipped it to check it briefly, then slung the bag over her shoulder, turned off the light that had just been on, and headed straight for the door.

The chilly night wind, mixed with snowflakes, occasionally brushed against my face, stinging and feeling like I was being hit. The streetlights seemed to be on strike during the New Year period, and the whole street was silent in their dim light.

Wen Dai, who was squatting at the entrance of the community, turned her head and glanced at the old and dilapidated house behind her. Only a few houses had their lights on, and in the white light of one of them, a black figure was standing.

Standing under the streetlight, Wen Dai's down jacket hood, which she had been wearing on her head, was blown off, and the hair that was wrapped around her neck was blown about by the wind. She pulled her gaze away from the dark figure and subconsciously touched her neck, feeling a chill rise from her bones.

Silently pulling her hat back on, Wen Dai turned her head and continued to gaze at the silent road, temporarily suppressing the strange feeling that had risen in her heart.

Fortunately, the driver sent by Li Chengjian didn't let Wen Dai stand in the cold wind for too long. After getting in the car and fastening her seatbelt, her face, which had been instinctively turned towards the window, once again met the view of the old, dilapidated residential building on the street. Suddenly, her vision improved, and she could vaguely make out the figure's face—most strikingly, her protruding eyes, with drooping eyelids folding over her eyeballs, enhancing the bulging sensation.

Wen Dai blinked, then turned her head back, silently thinking: Mind your own business.

The car drove from Feng'an District to Changhai District, where the deserted and desolate streets transformed into a world of towering buildings and bright lights. Strangely, the apartment complex where this single person lived happened to be the same one where Wen Dai had lived as a child, except that Li Chengjian's apartment was in the East District.

The car was parked in the villa's parking lot. Wen Dai got out of the car and followed the driver to the villa's main gate. The doorbell was opened as soon as it was rung, and what came into Wen Dai's eyes was a woman with red eyes.

The woman appeared to be around thirty years old. Her eyes, covered in a pale red hue, looked terrifying under the bright white indoor lights. Her slender body, wrapped in a wool sweater, reached out towards Wen Dai, grabbing her arms before Wen Dai could react.

Wen Dai staggered a few steps as she was dragged inside, and heard a woman sobbing in her ear: "Please, go upstairs and check on my daughter... She's really, really in so much pain, she looks like she's in so much pain."

Without changing her shoes or putting on shoe covers, Wen Dai felt a little embarrassed as she walked on the paving stones. She pointed to her shoes and asked, "Um... should I put on some shoe covers?"

A graceful and elegant woman descended the stairs, her body wrapped in a woolen shawl. Her hands were crossed in front of her, and her hurried movements in slippers did not disturb the side-swept bangs on her forehead. The old mine jade on her wrist stood out against her light-colored clothing.

“This is my daughter-in-law. My granddaughter has been sick for a few months, and it has affected her as well. She was too emotional and may have upset you. I apologize on her behalf. You don’t need to change your shoes or put on shoe covers. Just come in like this. Don’t worry about these formalities. My granddaughter is in her room upstairs right now. Oh dear, even two men can’t hold her down.”

The woman's hand rested on the other woman's arm. She frowned slightly, her brows furrowed, and a hint of sorrow lingered between her brows. Her listlessness was palpable, and it seemed as if speaking required considerable effort.

The woman being helped raised her hand, the back of her hand against her lips, sobbing incessantly, tears streaming down her face.

The woman patted her back and comforted her, "Alright, alright, Xiaonan, stop crying. We've already found someone to come and check on you, haven't we? Don't worry, Qingyu's problem will definitely be resolved. Don't scare the master."

"I... my name is Liu Nan. I'll take you upstairs to see what's going on." Taking a deep breath, her arms tense, Liu Nan's nails digging into her palms, she took several deep breaths, swallowed hard, and finally managed to calm herself down before finally giving her belated self-introduction.

The doorbell rang again shortly after it was closed. Liu Nan looked surprised. Wen Dai glanced at the door, a thought struck her, and explained, "It must be my partner who's here."

She went over and opened the door, and there stood Chen Sizhe. The man's outfit seemed to be trying too hard to look young; he wore a hoodie under his jacket, and dark crocodile-print trousers were draped over his sneakers. The whole outfit, combined with his long, slightly messy, tousled hair, gave off an unreliable, youthful vibe.

The driver who opened the gate for him was still standing next to him. The driver smiled politely at Wen Dai and said, "I happened to run into him when I went out. He told me that he and you were business partners, so I opened the gate for him. If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now. Goodbye."

"Oh, thanks, goodbye." Nodding subconsciously to express her gratitude and say goodbye, Wen Dai stepped aside to make way for Chen Sizhe.

Stepping from the cold, windy world into the warm, brightly lit villa, Chen Sizhe closed the door behind him. Only after he entered did Wen Dai notice the faint blush spreading across his face.

Meeting those fox-like eyes with drooping eyelids that exuded even more disdain, Wen Dai's lips parted slightly, and after a pause, she tilted her head and said, "You don't have a fever, do you?"

Her response was a cold snort from Chen Sizhe. The light red blush spreading from around his eyes to the center of his face added a touch of allure, and his lips, now even more vibrant, were pulled apart. "You have good eyesight," he said, his voice even hoarser than when they were on the phone.

"Ah... I'm sorry, I was just thinking about our business partnership. I'm very cooperative, and I mainly called you because I wanted to give you half of the fortune-telling fee. If I had known you had a fever, I definitely wouldn't have bothered you." Wen Dai quickly whispered her apologetic words, then grabbed Chen Sizhe's arm and pulled him over to Liu Nan and the woman.

Holding her hand out to Chen Sizhe, Wen Dai introduced him simply, saying, "This is my partner, Chen Sizhe. Let's go upstairs now."

Nods replaced conversation, and the elevator was abandoned. Liu Nan and the woman walked hurriedly ahead, leading the way. They skipped the stairs two or three steps at a time. Wen Dai, following behind, grabbed Chen Sizhe's arm out of humanitarian concern. Without turning her head, she dragged Chen Sizhe's arm forward, saying, "If you can't take it anymore, just tell me. Find a place to sit and rest. I can handle it myself. You're really heavy."

Too lazy to muster the energy to argue with her, Chen Sizhe lifted his eyelids, his hand resting on his arm, which appeared even whiter against the black jacket, his slender fingers locking onto his arm; he slowly blinked, then looked away, letting the forward force drag him uphill.

Once they reached the second floor, the cries became clearer. The villa was indeed well-insulated. When Wen Dai followed Liu Nan and the woman to the room where Li Chengjian and the others were, she could clearly hear their conversation.

"Little Yu, Little Yu, don't be afraid, Grandpa is here; Little Yu, Grandpa and Dad are here, Little Yu, don't be afraid anymore."

“Xiaoyu, it’s Daddy! Don’t you remember Daddy, Xiaoyu? Look where we are! This is Grandpa’s house! Didn’t you love Grandpa’s room the most? Xiaoyu, look, your favorite teddy bear is over here too, Xiaoyu…”

He kept repeating himself like a mantra.

The little girl lying on the bed was about the same size as the large teddy bear on her bedside table. She looked thin and small, but there was an adult male on each side of her body. The older man had a lot of gray hair. He leaned forward and pressed his body against the little girl's shoulders and arms. The other man was the same. His head was almost touching the bed, and tears were streaming down his face.

The little girl's two unrestrained legs kicked and thrashed incessantly on the bed. Her mouth was wide open, emitting sharp cries. Her thin body arched upwards, her high waist hanging in the air. One leg changed from kicking to constantly rubbing its heel back and forth on the bed, while the other leg twitched incessantly, causing half of her body to twitch as well.

Wen Dai loosened her grip on Chen Sizhe's arm, her brows furrowed, and she took two steps forward to the bedside, bending down to reach out her hand.

Wen Dai placed her fingers on the upper eyelids of the girl whose head was congested from shouting. Looking at her wide eyes, she gently pried open her eyelids to examine the overall condition of the whites of her eyes.

A few more wrinkles appeared on her forehead. Wen Dai lifted her gaze from the little girl's bluish-black face and turned to look at the slightly older man on the other side. "What's her name?"

Li Chengjian, whose elbow was pressed against the little girl's shoulder and arm, raised his head. His bloodshot eyes lowered slightly, his gaze fixed on the little girl's incessantly screaming face. "Her name is Li Qingyu, Qingyu as in weather. Ever since she had a car accident at the end of October last year, her personality has changed drastically. At first, she just didn't like to talk, and we thought she was just frightened by the accident, so we didn't pay much attention. We didn't expect her to become more and more withdrawn over time. She didn't want to go to school, and she couldn't even stand having the curtains drawn to let in light; she wouldn't let any light in."

“During the day, she hides in the closet. At night, the lights must never be turned on. If the lights are on, she will cry and scream like this, then make some strange movements and have convulsions; sometimes she even vomits continuously, lying down and vomiting until her stomach acid comes out.” Li Chengjian frowned, his face showing exhaustion, and his voice was full of helplessness.

A thin shadow fell over Li Qingyu. Chen Sizhe had somehow moved to the other side of the bed and was now standing beside Li Qingyu's father. He lowered his eyelids, and his hoarse, listless voice rose to speak: "Her soul is unstable. She shouldn't have been seriously injured in that car accident. She probably didn't stay in the hospital for too long, right? At most a month and a half. The examination at the time should have only found a broken arm and a few soft tissue contusions. The accident site is probably an accident-prone area, where many ghosts of those who died violently linger and have haunted her."

Wen Dai looked up at the man opposite her in surprise, only to see that he still looked sleepy and drowsy.

How can someone be more efficient when they are sick than when they are healthy?

Liu Nan had initially turned her face away, unable to bear watching Li Qingyu struggle and scream. However, as soon as Chen Sizhe finished speaking, she suddenly turned her face back, took two quick steps forward, clenched her fists in front of her chest, widened her bloodshot eyes, and her voice became shrill with anxiety: "Unstable soul? What does this mean? What caused this?"

The woman who had followed her patted Liu Nan's arm with a soft "Hey!" Liu Nan, who had been agitated, calmed down and said, "My daughter wasn't seriously injured in that car accident. Her symptoms were all correct, and the timing was accurate—a month and a half. So... is there any way to stabilize her soul?" Her fists were still clenched, and she raised her chin, looking at Chen Sizhe with hopeful eyes.