Bathroom Horror

Fang Huai divides the people around him into two categories: those he cares about and those who are unimportant.

He leaned over and looked at the elderly woman in the wheelchair who was unable to take care of herself - this was irrelevant. He put the gift in the corner and looked into the old woman's cloudy and panicked eyes. He said in a calm tone: "Grandma, long time no see."

The old man stammered and uttered some unclear words that were not very pleasant to the ears. Fang Huai did not care. He sat on the stool in front of the old man and looked at the panicked elders around him before ending the situation in a decent manner.

Meeting his adoptive mother's complicated gaze, he just smiled. That was the grandmother who missed her grandson, but she was not missing Fang Huai.

While comforting her mother, He Lijun kept an eye on Fang Huai beside her. She felt mixed emotions. She was always eloquent, but at this moment she couldn't utter a word.

Fang Huai didn't notice his adoptive mother's gaze; the incident hadn't affected his mood. He was more concerned with the inexplicable premonition in his heart, which grew stronger as the New Year approached.

On the 30th, the strong premonition disappeared.

This made Fang Huai lose his mind. The fresh fish in his hand slipped to the ground, and the fallen fish scales splattered all over the floor. He Lijun, who heard the noise in the kitchen, rushed in immediately, "What happened?"

Fang Huai came to his senses and picked up the fish, shaking his head, "It's okay, the fish is too slippery."

The foster mother instructed, “Be careful with your hands.”

"I understand." Fang Huai lowered his head and continued to process the fish scales. His attitude was neither cold nor hot, which made He Lijun uncomfortable.

She wiped her hands and returned to the living room to continue pasting Spring Festival couplets with her husband. Seeing that she was in a bad mood, her husband asked tentatively, "What's wrong?"

He Lijun's expression immediately became unnatural, and she seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Thoughts swirled in his head, and he finally turned the topic to his youngest son: "He Nian, that kid, he didn't even bother to call back now. I wonder if he's left yet?"

She pasted the Spring Festival couplets on the door frame and continued, "This kid has been a worry since he was a child."

"Relax, this kid knows what's going on. He might call back soon."

Speak of the devil, and here he comes. Fang Henian really called back, but he called Fang Huai.

He said excitedly on the phone that they were about to leave and the company had given them a lot of gifts, and they would give each of them a big red envelope when they got home.

He also prepared a big red envelope for his grandmother, which was sure to make her very happy.

Fang Henian coaxed the two elders into a happy smile over the phone. Fang Huai held up the phone and listened quietly. After they finished talking, he told Fang Henian to drive carefully and pay attention to safety on the road.

After hanging up the phone, Fang Henian said tentatively to the back seat: "Boss, we're leaving now."

"Yeah." Kong Lingyu answered absentmindedly, his eyes always on the phone screen. The photo on it was still of that young and thin boy.

Kong Lingyu had a smile on his face, which even made people feel that he was out of tune. His smile was superficial, and his dark eyes were full of indifference.

"Call me senior from now on."

"Okay, senior." Fang Henian climbed up the pole and agreed immediately. One look at his heartless look and you could tell that this guy was spoiled, had no brains, and had never suffered any grievances.

He was indeed depressed for a long time after being stood up by his girlfriend, but when he knew that his boss was going back to Taipei and needed a driver, he immediately volunteered, trying to show his face in front of his boss, like a reckless young man.

At that time, Manager Tan saw that he was excited and a smile with an ambiguous meaning flashed in his eyes. The boss nodded and the matter was settled.

Kong Lingyu glanced at Fang Henian, then looked at the protagonist in the photo. There was always a hint of gloom between the boy's eyebrows. His pale fingertips gently stroked the boy's eyebrows, trying to smooth out his frown.

It will be soon, he will be able to see his Mai Mai soon.

At the dining table, his adoptive parents' faces were livid. Fang Huai stood outside the balcony, gazing at the empty downstairs. He called Fang Henian. The hot breath he exhaled formed a white mist in the cold air, and his voice was also tinged with a bit of coldness:

"Where are we?"

Fang Henian should have been home half an hour ago, but after the meal was ready, an hour passed and there was still no sign of Fang Henian and the others.

"Brother, there was a traffic jam on the road, so my friend and I found a restaurant and planned to eat outside."

After hearing the answer, Fang Huai glanced at the two elders waiting in the room and suppressed his anger: "You're not coming back for dinner?"

Fang Henian, sitting in a crowded restaurant, said nonchalantly, "I won't be back. Just eat."

Fang Huai swallowed the anger in his chest and was about to speak when his adoptive mother, who was standing behind him, snatched the phone away and said in a hurried tone:

"Son, come back and eat! I made your favorite sweet and sour fish. How can the food in the restaurant be as good as mine?"

Fang Huai didn't know when his adoptive mother appeared behind him. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, and Fang Huai immediately understood: the mother and son had something to say.

He turned and went into the house, returning to his seat and sitting down.

About five minutes later, He Lijun came in with a cell phone. The balcony door made a hollow sound after being smashed. She walked up to Fang Huai, returned the phone to him, and sat opposite him with a cold face.

"Eat," his adoptive mother ordered. Fang Huai put his phone away and made no other move. His adoptive father also sat in his seat, looking at his wife cautiously.

Seeing that neither of them was eating, He Lijun stood up and picked up a shrimp for Fang Huai. "Eat quickly. You must be hungry after a busy day."

"Thank you, Mom." Fang Huai picked up the bowl and started eating when he saw his adoptive father also started eating, but his chopsticks never touched the shrimp in the bowl because he was allergic to shrimp.

The first time he ate shrimp was when Li Xuan took him to eat it. Li Xuan ordered shrimp porridge for him, but his face became itchy and swollen after eating it.

After Li Xuan found out, he rushed him to the hospital and found out that he was allergic to shrimp. After returning home, Li Xuan guiltily told his family that he was allergic to shrimp. His grandmother comforted Li Xuan: "It's okay. Don't let Xiao Huai touch shrimp in the future."

Li Xuan told him seriously, "Don't touch shrimps anymore. If you get hurt, you might end up in another world."

What is the other world like? Although Fang Huai was curious, he still remembered Li Xuan's warning and never dared to eat shrimp again.

The second time his grandmother cooked porridge for his adoptive mother, he helped her peel shrimp. She served him a bowl and watched him finish it before leaving satisfied. He forgot what the porridge tasted like, but he only remembered following his grandmother into the dim room filled with the smell of blood.

Hot porridge and broken pieces of porcelain bowls mixed together, sharp insults and heavy slaps fell on him, and there was the sound of a baby crying beside him.

His face was covered with blood marks left by nails, his face was swollen, and his whole body was itchy and painful. At that time, Fang Huai actually felt fortunate and relieved, but then he was filled with fear.

The door was locked by the old man. He couldn't go out or cry. He could only curl up in the corner and helplessly call Li Xuan using the small mobile phone that Li Xuan gave him.

Li Xuan, who had always been sensible and obedient, climbed over the balcony and entered the house, only to see a glaring scene:

The thin old man was holding the young Fang Henian'an foster mother, his eyes wandering. The well-behaved child was curled up in the corner, covered in wounds and unconscious.

Li Xuan didn't care about anything else and rushed to the hospital with the child in his arms. On the way, he anxiously asked Fang Huai, "Why do you want to eat shrimp if you are allergic to it?"

Fang Huai buried himself in Li Xuan's arms and cried softly, "Because I want to go to another world to see you."

"I am also afraid that there will be another world without you."

Fang Huai always knew in his heart: Fang Henian’s grandmother was not his grandmother.

The old man's kindness does not belong to him, just like this home does not belong to him.

Fang Huai fiddled with the shrimp's tentacles, then quickly picked up the whole shrimp and threw it into the trash can. He Lijun paused in her eating, and Fang Sijie realized something was wrong. He whispered to his wife, "Xiao Huai is allergic to shrimp. Did you forget?"

He Lijun searched her memory for this message, but found nothing. She looked down at the trash can under the table, not knowing what she was thinking.

"I'm full, Mom and Dad, take your time eating."

Fang Huai stood up and left the table. He had only taken a few steps when his adoptive mother called him, "Wait a moment."

He Lijun took out a red envelope from her apron and handed it to Fang Huai from a distance: "Happy New Year."

"Forget it, you continue eating. I'm tired and want to rest first." He Lijun put the red envelope on the dining table and got up to go to the bedroom.

The adoptive father put down his bowl and chopsticks in bewilderment. He wanted to chase his wife, but he was concerned about his adopted son's feelings. He looked around awkwardly. Fang Huai took the initiative to walk to the table, picked up the red envelopes, and took out two thick red envelopes from his pocket and handed them to his adoptive father. "Happy New Year."

Fang Sijie took the red envelope and said, "Happy New Year."

Fang Huai noticed his discomfort and offered him a step, saying, "Dad, go see Mom. I'll wait for my brother."

"Hey, if he's not back by midnight, don't wait for him. Let him knock on the door. I'll go see your mom first."

After a busy day, Fang Huai was staring at his red envelope in the living room. He didn't know if it was a psychological effect, but he always felt that there was a shrimp smell on his body, and even his skin began to itch.

He checked carefully and found no signs of allergy, so he got up and took a shower, trying to wash away the discomfort.

He never expected that just as he entered the bathroom, a car drove into the community. Fang Henian glanced at the back seat and confirmed that his boss was really drunk. He wiped his face in pain.

He was regretting it so much now. If he had known that Kong Lingyu had such a low alcohol tolerance, he would not have recommended buckwheat wine to him.

Now that he was drunk and didn't know where to stay, he had no choice but to take him home. When he turned around, the man who was still asleep opened his eyes and a smile of unknown meaning appeared at the corner of his lips.

"Senior, senior? Are you still able to walk?" Fang Henian helped the man out of the car with a headache, but the man covered his mouth and retched as soon as he got out of the car. Fang Henian felt something was wrong and immediately locked the car door and ran upstairs with the man.

Fang Henan quickly opened the door and saw the light in the living room without thinking much. He pointed in the direction to Kong Lingyu and held on to the door frame, breathing heavily.

Kong Lingyu staggered in the direction he pointed. By the time Fang Henian realized that he had gone in the wrong direction to the bathroom and heard the sound of water in the bathroom, Kong Lingyu had already gone in.

"Senior!"

"Who are you?"

Voices of surprise rang out at the same time, followed by the crackling sound of bottles and cans falling to the ground and the sound of crisp slaps.

Fang Huai recovered from his panic, grabbed the hanging clothes, and pushed the man away.

The unsteady man took a few steps back and sat down on the ground. He also pulled down the shelf beside him, and all the mobile phones and toiletries on the shelf fell to the ground.

There was a slap mark on the man's left cheek. His straight shirt was soaked by hot water and stuck to his waist and abdomen. His eyes, covered by black hair, stared straight at Fang Huai.

His gaze was like a venomous snake, lingering on the small mole on Fang Huai's brow. The devil in his heart screamed wildly: I see him, I see him! He was trembling with excitement, breathing rapidly, like a madman out of control.

Fang Huai quickly put on his clothes, the anger on his face still not dissipating, but seeing that the man looked unwell, out of professionalism he stepped forward to check, "Are you okay?"

"It's okay." A hoarse male voice echoed in the steamy bathroom. He tilted his head and stared at Fang Huai's lips, swallowing unconsciously, his throat dry and hoarse. "I'm fine."

"Brother!" Fang Henian, who arrived late, almost fainted when he saw this scene. He quickly pulled the man on the ground up and said, "Senior, you've taken the wrong path."

Fang Huai looked at the two of them in surprise. Is this the man Fang Henian was talking about?

The man stood up, revealing extremely aggressive facial features, pale skin, scarlet lips, and slightly raised eyes staring straight at him. Fang Huai looked at the man's features and frowned. Fang Henian's friend looked very much like someone, like...

He seemed to have seen those eyes somewhere before, long and narrow, dark, like an abyss.

Before he could confirm, the man supported by Fang Henian came up to him and said silently: Mai Mai, I found you.

A low, hoarse voice sounded beside Fang Huai's ears, "I am Kong Lingyu."

Fang Huai's pupils suddenly shrank and he raised his head abruptly.

Kong Lingyu had a smug smile on his face. He staggered forward two steps, put his arms around Fang Huai's waist, and said in a voice that only they could hear, "I'm here to find you." After that, the man fell asleep.

"Brother?" The air fell silent. Fang Henian tried to rekindle the already limited brotherhood with tears in his eyes. Fang Huai turned to look at him stiffly, clearly still in shock. "Hurry up... pull him away."

"Oh, oh, oh." Fang Henian stepped forward and tried to pull Kong Lingyu away. What he didn't expect was that the drunk man was so strong. No matter how he tried to pull him apart, it was useless. The boss still held his brother tightly. Seeing his brother's face getting more and more gloomy, he felt a chill down his spine.

Fang Huai glanced at him, unable to hide the disdain in his eyes, but his gaze fell on Kong Lingyu's red and swollen face, and his heart was filled with mixed feelings and a bit of guilt.

He turned out to be Kong Lingyu, Kong Lingyu from Huaihua Welfare Home, the Kong Lingyu who had promised to come find him in his dream.

The adoptive parents also came out to check on the situation and asked anxiously, "What happened?"

Fang Huai didn't respond, but just gave Fang Henian a look that said "May the best of luck." Fang Henian cried out to the door, "Mom, it's nothing. I just accidentally pulled the shelf down. You guys should go to bed quickly."

"Really?" He Lijun asked suspiciously.

Fang Henian was anxious, and his speech speed increased a bit: "Really, you guys should go to bed soon, we will go to bed after we wash up."

"Go to bed now."

I could faintly hear two people say, "They're probably too tired, just leave them alone."

Fang Sijie put his arm around his wife's shoulders, signaling her not to worry too much, and replied, "It's getting late. Wash up and go to bed early."

"I know, Dad."

Hearing the footsteps of leaving, Fang Huai and Fang Henian both breathed a sigh of relief and were about to carry the person out.

The bathroom door was opened, and He Lijun's shocked scream almost blew the roof off. Her eyes moved between the two brothers, then looked at a strange young man hugging Fang Huai's waist, and then at the guilty expression of her youngest son, and suddenly her eyes went dark.

What's going on? His son brought a man back home, and now there are three of them...

"What are you doing?!" she asked in disbelief, her voice trembling.

She pointed at the sleeping man and managed to say, "Is this the surprise you were talking about?"

Fang Henian looked at Fang Huai for help, but Fang Huai turned his face away and didn't look at him. His attitude was very clear: he had to clean up his own mess.

Fang Henian immediately pulled up photos of the company's team-building event and quickly explained. He also showed his parents photos of his girlfriend. Seeing that his parents finally believed him, he breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "I was busy before and forgot to tell you."

"My girlfriend is so beautiful. I have lots of photos of her on my phone."

"Let her video chat with you guys tomorrow. My girlfriend has a really sweet voice, I guarantee you'll like it."

"Really? Then I want to get to know the girl better." The couple looked at the sweet-looking girl on the phone and smiled with satisfaction.

Fang Henian took He Lijun's hand and walked outside to show his parents photos and videos of his girlfriend. Before leaving, he smiled at Fang Huai and left the mess in the room to him.

Fang Huai looked down at the drunk holding him, then at his family who had already walked away, and sighed helplessly, "Alas."

He tentatively called the man's name, trying to wake him up, but it was no use. He had no choice but to half-drag and half-pull him to the guest room.

Fang Huai stood in front of the bed and looked at Kong Lingyu's face with mixed feelings.

In Fang Huai's memory, the childish facial features grew and became aggressive. In the middle of the conversation, Kong Lingyu opened his eyes with a drunken look, and looked at Fang Huai with burning eyes. There was a bit of heartache in those eyes that could see through people's hearts.

Kong Lingyu suddenly sat up and put his arms around Fang Huai's waist. The faint smell of alcohol and locust flower perfume on his body blended together, and the familiar smell startled Fang Huai.

Kong Lingyu pressed his face against Fang Huai's lean waist and sighed contentedly, "I came to find you."

"My Mai Mai."