Ye Xi huddled on the piano bench.

The phone in my hand, with its pink sticker, now felt like a block of ice radiating coldness.

The text on the screen is not dense; in fact, it could be described as sparse.

But every word pierced her sensitive nerves.

The novel is still ongoing.

Midnight.

This is a convenience store located on the outskirts of the city, with the address 444.

The red neon sign kept making a buzzing sound due to poor contact.

In the stillness of the night, it sounded like the gasping of some dying creature.

Xia Dongqing sat behind the cashier, holding a bucket of freshly made pickled cabbage noodles.

The steam rose, but it couldn't dispel the coldness in his bones.

He was a night shift worker here, and also one of the loneliest people in the city: penniless, friendless, and preparing for graduate school entrance exams.

But he wasn't able to get this job because of luck.

It's not because the store can't find staff.

The previous night shift clerk went insane; the one before that died.

Ye Xi subconsciously wrapped her school uniform jacket tighter around herself.

The music room's temperature control system clearly showed 26 degrees Celsius, but she felt a cool breeze blowing into the back of her neck.

The words continued to flow downwards.

"Ding-dong—"

The automatic door has opened.

Xia Dongqing looked up and saw a little boy dressed in cartoon clothes standing at the door.

He was about seven or eight years old, holding a ball in his hands.

The boy kept his head down, his face ashen, as if coated with putty, devoid of any color.

"Little friend, why are you alone so late?"

Xia Dongqing asked instinctively.

The boy didn't speak, but simply raised his hand and pointed outside the door.

Following the direction of his finger, Xia Dongqing saw a woman standing under a street lamp.

That woman...her neck was bent at an unsettling ninety-degree angle.

Her head slumped over her shoulders, and she stared intently at him through the glass door.

Xia Dongqing's hand trembled, and instant noodle soup splashed onto the back of his hand.

He suddenly lowered his head, staring intently at the bucket of noodles, and began to mutter to himself:

I can't see it, I can't see it, I can't see it...

Ye Xi held her breath.

Is this what "ferrying" means?

There was no thrilling journey for love across the wilderness, no romantic redemption.

This place offers only the most blatant horror and the most oppressive reality.

That Xia Dongqing, he doesn't seem like a protagonist, but rather like prey that could be devoured at any moment.

"Brother, you can see me, right?"

The little boy's voice suddenly rang out from in front of the cashier, very close.

Xia Dongqing remained stiff, still eating his noodles with his head down, even though the noodles were clumped together and his stomach was churning.

Because he knows the rules:

Once you respond to them, they will cling to you.

These eyes, these damned yin-yang eyes, are the greatest curse of his life.

Seeing this, Ye Xi couldn't help but move her phone further away, then couldn't resist bringing it closer again.

This writing style is so captivating.

The dream architect abandoned all flowery language and used an almost descriptive style to depict a cold and damp world.

In this world, ghosts are not props that exist to scare people.

They are more like "residents" living in the cracks, carrying the obsessions of their lives and the confusion of their deaths.

On the screen, the plot continues to unfold.

Just as the little boy was about to climb onto the cashier's counter, a black Jeep pulled up in front of the door.

The car door opened, and a man got out.

He was wearing a black trench coat and had an oddly shaped silver ornament around his neck.

The man looked to be in his thirties and was quite handsome.

But there's a hint of wickedness to his handsomeness, like a reckless rogue, or a cunning and unfathomable hunter.

The man pushed the door open and came in, without even glancing at the little boy.

He walked straight to the freezer, grabbed a bottle of beer, and a pack of cigarettes.

Finally, I slapped a 100-yuan bill on the counter.

【"Keep the change, please."

The man tore open the beer can, tilted his head back, and took a swig.

He looked at the little boy who was about to attack Xia Dongqing with a playful expression.

"Kid, this isn't a place for you."

The little boy gave a sinister smile, screamed, and rushed out the door.

Ye Xi let out a long breath, feeling her heart finally settle back into her stomach.