Chapter 1 She's Here—

"You have a food delivery order, the rider has arrived." The cold, robotic female voice echoed through the store. After the sound, the crisp sound of wind chimes jingled at the door, and a figure wearing a light yellow vest appeared at the entrance.

The woman humming a song in the kitchen heard the door open. She awkwardly tied the takeout she was carrying, then smiled at the man standing in the doorway with a stern face: "Oh, Yue Yiyue, running around so late tonight?"

The boss was unusually enthusiastic tonight. Yue Yiyue felt a little uncomfortable and looked at the large No Smoking sign next to her. She forced a stiff smile and tried to greet people like she had seen her colleagues before: "Good evening, sister."

After a pause, he added, "The delivery fee is 100."

The slender woman in the kitchen, wearing a floral apron, glanced up at the shrine beside her, then turned to look at Yue Yiyue meaningfully.

Yue Yiyue felt a strange chill run down his spine at that glance, but it was only for a moment.

The owner tapped on the counter, humming an unknown song. With each movement, the sweater rustled against the apron, creating a sound that echoed in the small shop.

Yue Yiyue recalled a similar scene from a horror novel he had recently read: a late-night takeout order being intercepted by a security guard, ultimately leading to the person becoming a loiterer in the neighborhood…

The boss on the other side noticed Yue Yiyue's gaze, and her beautiful face flashed in front of Yue Yiyue: "By the way, you mentioned before that you always receive strange messages, and you also feel like there are eyes watching you, right?"

The woman rummaged through her clothes for a moment and then tossed out a small trinket wrapped in a black cloth.

Yue Yiyue awkwardly stretched out his hands and caught the somewhat heavy object that had fallen into his hands, looking at the woman in front of him with a blank expression.

Did she say that?

I think I mentioned that before?

After all, I've been receiving those strange text messages all this time, like "Don't leave me," "Don't hate her," and "She's trying her best."

Blocking me doesn't work either.

It's like an endless prank.

Perhaps it was because I was going through such a distressing experience that I couldn't help but mention it to her, since she had some kind of accident last year and her memory was always fragmented.

"Good stuff, go ahead." Seeing Yue Yiyue's momentary panic, the owner cheerfully pushed the takeout forward: "Don't be late, it'll be a hassle to pay for that!"

Yue Yiyue whispered a thank you, picked up the takeout, and walked outside.

I went outside, put the takeout in the insulated box, and stood there hesitating for a moment.

There was another loud clatter as the door opened, and with her movement, a bright red bill was placed on the counter.

The woman who was already sitting at the cashier smoking raised an eyebrow at Yue Yiyue. She slowly exhaled a smoke ring, her expression blurred by the smoke.

Yue Yiyue couldn't see her expression clearly; she just stood there, stunned. She thought, "A beautiful boss shouldn't be in a place like this; she should be at home..."

The lighter clicked, and the woman muttered something while fiddling with the object in her hand. Then she waved her hand and said, "It's fine, they're all pretty much the same."

Yue Yiyue didn't hear what was said next; she just bowed politely.

As she looked up, she suddenly felt warm breath on the back of her neck. She froze for a moment, carefully touched her neck, and added, "We'll talk more if it's not enough."

With another whooshing sound, the person in the yellow vest quickly mounted their bike.

As Yue Yiyue left, the restaurant lights flickered, gradually turning dim. The woman's half-closed eyes stared at the money on the table, then she carefully pinched the spot where Yue Yiyue had touched, feeling the lingering warmth on the paper. She pressed her tongue against her back teeth, as if suppressing some unspeakable emotion.

After a long pause, a soft murmur came from inside the room: "I told you she was very well-behaved, didn't I? You'll definitely try every means to get her, just like I did."

A faint red dot flashed in the darkness of the shrine.

A breeze picked up, and the wind chimes swayed in the wind, but the store was eerily quiet.

————

The motorcycle sped along the road. It was still a bit cold, and Yue Yiyue, who had just casually put on two sweaters, regretted it a little. He should have worn one more.

She rode her bike expressionlessly, mentally calculating that besides the hundred yuan she had just received, she still had 1,769.7 yuan left. She would buy herself a thicker coat on Taobao and check if there were any decent cotton-padded clothes for Aunt Zhang, who was hospitalized.

Next month, we'll also need to buy some school supplies for the younger girls. I'll ask the aunties at the orphanage then.

Yes, we also need to save some money for gas.

The night was deep, and a chilly wind whistled past the dim streetlights, blowing into Yue Yiyue's collar and raising goosebumps.

This deal was indeed very profitable, but the resident lived quite far away.

However, this is a well-known affluent area. During my break, I heard from other colleagues that if you deliver here quickly, you can get a small tip, sometimes tens, sometimes hundreds...

Yue Yiyue worked hard for a month to finally snag this order.

Thinking of this, Yue Yiyue tightened the accelerator.

The further they walked towards the edge of the city, the more open the space became on both sides. Even the trees in the distance, with their menacing shapes, seemed a little too frightening, making Yue Yiyue inappropriately think of the horror novel he had been reading.

I kept speeding through all sorts of intersections, but thankfully there was a black car in front of me going the same way, driving one after the other towards a certain place.

Upon arriving at his destination, Yue Yiyue took off his helmet, took out the takeout from the box, and checked the temperature of his hand against the bag. Whew, the insulated box he bought at a high price was not bad.

She glanced at the time and prayed that the security guard wouldn't be too harsh, since many security guards in wealthy neighborhoods are reluctant to let unauthorized people in.

Glancing at the situation inside the community, Yue Yiyue sensed that something was amiss.

It's too dark inside.

It was pitch black, with only tall trees and a small amount of moonlight filtering through the gaps.

The security guard in the guard booth at the entrance had his head down, seemingly dozing off.

This situation made Yue Yiyue feel uneasy. The scene seemed somewhat similar to her previous nightmares—where she, too, delivered food to a residential area and was picked up by a beautiful person...

Recalling that bloody dream, Yue Yiyue shook his head, trying to shake it off and stop thinking about it, focusing on the present moment.

It's just a food delivery. I'll just say hello to the security guard, and if they can't let me in, I'll call the customer.

Before he even got close, a black car next to him honked its horn. The security guard instinctively pressed the open button, and a loudspeaker announced, "Honorable resident yy-10y12, welcome home!"

Along with the sound, the door that allowed pedestrians to pass through also emitted a piercing creak.

The old gate, so out of place in this brand-new community, trembled and opened, quietly waiting for pedestrians to pass through.

"Thank you, you've worked hard." Yue Yiyue thanked him politely and hurried inside.

The light behind him flickered, and the person in the security booth stiffly stood up, mechanically repeating with a blank expression, "Welcome home..."

The delivery went more smoothly than she had expected. Yue Yiyue thought that after she got back and washed up, she could still read a novel for 20 minutes.

She had been looking forward to tonight's episode for a long time!

The cannon fodder with the same name as her is about to face trial!

The female protagonist, Gu Nanqiu, finally realized that this two-faced woman had almost killed her multiple times!

Congratulations!

Thinking of this, Yue Yiyue's steps became lighter.

However, the most important thing right now is delivering food. Yue Yiyue carefully looked at the building number in this community, afraid that he might go to the wrong place.

The entire neighborhood was dark, probably because the light bulbs were broken or there was a power outage. The streetlights on both sides were not lit, and when I looked up at the buildings, they were all pitch black, with only occasional faint red lights, like candles.

All of this looked familiar, as if Yue Yiyue had been here before.

Several figures wielding knives flashed through Yue Yiyue's mind, but before he could react, the sound of a heavy object falling from afar interrupted his thoughts.

The night was too dark for her to see clearly; perhaps the wind had blown something down.

After considering all the differences around him, Yue Yiyue took out his old phone, turned on the flashlight mode, and muttered, "Building Three, Building Three—"

"Little girl, Building 3 is over there." Suddenly, a friendly voice came from the bushes. Yue Yiyue turned around and saw an aunt sitting on the exercise equipment not far from her, stretching her legs.

Noticing what Yue Yiyue was carrying, she said, "Go quickly, don't keep people waiting."

After saying that, the woman turned her head and continued stretching her legs, muttering under her breath, "The security guards aren't on duty this late at night, how did this person get in?"

Yue Yiyue looked curiously through the door and saw a figure moving slowly.

That feeling of unease that came from standing at the door came back to her. If it were any other day, she would have turned around and left.

But today I remembered the 100 yuan delivery fee...

Thinking of Aunt Zhang, who is still in the hospital, and the expressions on my sisters' faces as they eagerly await the new book.

She gritted her teeth and walked towards the elevator.

Ding-dong—

The empty elevator doors opened, and a sweet male voice announced, "Welcome home, esteemed resident!"

After confirming that it was an upward elevator, Yue Yiyue stepped inside.

Pressing the button for the 18th floor illuminated the light, and the elevator slowly ascended, the machine making a creaking sound as if it were gnawing at something.

Yue Yiyue confirmed the floor he was going to once again, then looked up at the advertisements playing on a loop in the elevator, looking bored.

As Yue Yiyue glanced at the reflection in the elevator mirror, a hint of confusion flashed in his eyes. Was there anyone else in the elevator just now?

The silver elevator doors twitched for a moment, and Yue Yiyue could finally see the person behind him clearly. She was wearing a blue security guard uniform that didn't look unfamiliar...

But the head on it wasn't that of an ordinary person.

Instead, it was a large fish head with intestines stained with red blood, seemingly just peeled off from something, and some skin tissue still attached.

Blood slid down the fish's head onto the clothes, and finally dripped onto the floor.

The fish's dark eyes darted around its head, finally staring straight at Yue Yiyue. Its pale pink mouth, which changed shape with the contraction and opening of its gills, squeezed out a smile.

As if they were wary of something, they didn't take action directly in the elevator.

In an instant, she felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave, her mind went blank, and she stared intently at the elevator door, checking the reflection in the mirror to see if she was seeing things.

bite--

It felt like an eternity had passed, yet also like only a few seconds. Finally, the floor arrived, and a sweet female voice rang out. Yue Yiyue didn't hesitate and rushed out of the elevator.

They dared not look back at all.

The book says, "With three fires burning on your shoulders, you can't turn back."

You must not let the other person know that you can see it.

Pretend nothing happened.

The lights in the pavilion were on, and apart from that, there was only a slightly open door.

The owner of the door seemed to have been waiting for a long time. She leaned against the door against the light, her face obscured by a mask, but her eyes and brows alone revealed her to be an extremely beautiful woman.

The sound of elevator doors opening came from behind me again, and the sweet, robotic male voice announced once more.

Yue Yiyue swallowed hard, quickened his pace, and rushed to the woman's side. Ignoring her presence, he pushed her inside, saying, "Sorry I'm late, enjoy your meal—"

He closed the door behind him.

Outside, heavy footsteps lingered, accompanied by heavy breathing and the sharp, nauseating sound of fingernails scraping against the wall.

It's great that they didn't force their way in.

Yue Yiyue felt a surge of joy, as if she had escaped a disaster. Controlling the trembling in her fingers, she handed over the takeout box: "Excuse me, it seems like something is following me—"

"Yes, I know." Before he could finish speaking, Yue Yiyue's hand was grasped by the person in front of him. He could hear the rustling sound of a sweater brushing against something, which reminded him of the woman in the restaurant who was smoking under the no-smoking sign.

There was only a dim light in the entryway, which fell on the woman's face. Yue Yiyue looked up blankly, looking at the woman's inscrutable expression, as if he had seen her somewhere before.

But the strange feeling that filled her heart puzzled Yue Yiyue. Why was she happy?

It's like someone who has been wandering aimlessly in a dry desert for a long time, finally encountering a clear spring.

Her heart was pounding, leaping with joy. Before she could even process the situation, she heard the woman's murmur: "Welcome home—"

"Baby, welcome home."