Late-night "fabric"
Ever since Granny Chen's obsession was resolved, the tailor shop has become the new theme of the "Abyss Secret Room," named "Button Wish." On the opening day, Lu Ye wore a new sweatshirt and helped Qi Chen reorganize the shop. He placed the puppets Granny Chen had left behind at the front desk, each with its eyes re-sewn with buttons, making them look more lively.
"Do you think anyone will come to play today?" Lu Ye sat at the front desk, playing with the bunny doll in his hand. "After all, this theme has such a strong storyline, it's definitely more popular than the last 'campus ghost story'."
Qi Chen sat next to him, holding an old account book, recording the amount of cloth left by Grandma Chen. He didn't even look up: "Not necessarily. This place is too remote, and not many people know about it."
"Then we can promote it!" Lu Ye said immediately, "I can draw some promotional pictures and post them on social media. It will definitely attract a lot of people to play!"
Qi Chen raised his head and glanced at him: "No need, anyone who wants to come will come naturally."
Lu Ye curled his lips, feeling a little dissatisfied. It would be a shame not to promote such a good theme. But he knew Qi Chen's temper and that it was difficult to change his mind, so he didn't insist and just continued to play with the puppet in his hand.
In the afternoon, no one showed up. Lu Ye was a bit bored, so he decided to go inside the secret room and look for any other things Grandma Chen had left behind. Qi Chen wanted to go with him, but then he got a call saying there was a wronged spirit wandering around a nearby park and he needed to deal with it. So he told Lu Ye to go ahead and he would come back after he was done.
"Be careful and don't touch anything inside, especially the fabric on the sewing machine." Qi Chen gave a special reminder before leaving.
"I know, I'm not a child!" Lu Ye waved his hand, watched Qi Chen leave, then turned and walked into the secret room.
The lights in the back room were voice-activated. When Lu Ye entered, they flickered on, illuminating the entire shop with a pale glow. The sewing machine was still in the middle, and on it lay Chen Zhe's finished dark blue suit. It was neatly folded, its gold buttons gleaming in the light. In the corner of the shop, neatly stacked fabrics, a riot of color, looked much cleaner than before.
Lu Ye walked over to the sewing machine, picked up the suit, and touched the buttons. He felt a little emotional—Grandma Chen had finally fulfilled her wish and finished sewing the suit. He put the suit back on the sewing machine and walked over to the pile of fabric to see if there was any other fabric left by Grandma Chen.
The fabric was piled high. Lu Ye stood on tiptoe and reached for the top piece. The fabric was red and looked bright, as if it were new, without any musty smell. Just as he was about to take it down, he felt something prick his finger, and the pain made him quickly pull his hand back.
"What is that?" Lu Ye looked down at his finger and found a small wound on the tip of his finger, which was bleeding. He looked up at the red cloth and found a thin needle on the edge of the cloth, with red thread wrapped around it. It was this needle that had pricked him just now.
"Who put the needle here?" Lu Ye was a little angry. He picked up the red cloth and tried to pull the needle out, but as soon as he touched the cloth, he felt a chill, like touching ice. He pulled his hand back, and the cloth fell to the ground. When he unfolded it, the pattern on it was revealed - a rose, embroidered very delicately, with dark stains on the petals, like blood.
Lu Ye's heartbeat suddenly quickened - this rose was exactly the same as the one on the attic curtain!
He squatted down and tried to pick up the cloth, but just as he touched the cloth, he heard a "click-click" sound behind him, like a sewing machine running.
Lu Ye turned around suddenly and saw that the head of the sewing machine was moving, and the needle was moving up and down on the fabric. Next to the pedal stood a blurry shadow wearing a blue cloth shirt. It was Grandma Chen!
"Grandma Chen?" Lu Ye's voice trembled. "Haven't you already gotten over your obsession? Why are you still here?"
Grandma Chen didn't say anything, just continued to pedal the sewing machine, the needle sewing a neat line on the fabric. Lu Ye slowly walked closer and found that what was placed on the sewing machine was not the dark blue suit, but a piece of red fabric embroidered with a rose, exactly the same as the one he had just dropped on the ground.
"You...what are you sewing?" Lu Ye's voice became more and more trembling. He looked at Grandma Chen's profile and found that her eyes were empty, without pupils, like two black holes.
Grandma Chen finally stopped sewing, turned around, and looked at Lu Ye, holding the piece of red fabric in her hand: "My rose...is not finished yet...Can you help me finish it?"
Lu Ye's body froze instantly. He wanted to run, but found his feet were nailed to the ground, unable to move. Granny Chen slowly approached, the red cloth in her hand getting closer and closer. He could smell the musty smell on the cloth, and a faint smell of blood.
"I... I don't know how to embroider..." Lu Ye's teeth were chattering, "You should find someone else..."
"You will..." Grandma Chen's voice was very soft, but it carried a strange power. "Look, the needle is here, the thread is here, just finish embroidering the petals..."
She handed Lu Ye a needle and a ball of red thread. The needle was stained with something dark, like blood. Lu Ye's hand reached out uncontrollably, wanting to take the needle and thread. At this moment, a crisp bell rang from the door - it was Qi Chen's soul-calming bell!
"Grandma Chen," Qi Chen's voice came from the doorway, with an unquestionable force, "She is not the person you are looking for. You should leave."
Granny Chen paused for a moment, then slowly turned around and looked at Qi Chen, a trace of confusion flashing in her eyes: "My rose...is not finished yet..."
"You've already finished embroidering the rose," Qi Chen walked in, holding the rabbit doll in his hand. A small rose was embroidered on the doll's belly. "Look, you finished it a long time ago, but you just forgot."
Granny Chen looked at the doll, the confusion in her eyes slowly vanished, and her figure gradually became transparent: "Yes... I'm done embroidering... I should go..."
After saying this, Grandma Chen disappeared completely. The sewing machine stopped, and the red fabric on the needle plate disappeared. Only the piece of red fabric that had fallen to the ground remained, lying there quietly.
Lu Ye slumped on the ground, gasping for breath, his forehead covered in cold sweat. Qi Chen walked over, squatted in front of him, and handed her a bottle of water: "Are you okay?"
"She... why is she still here?" Lu Ye took the water, took a sip, and recovered a little. "Didn't they say that once the obsession is resolved, one can go into reincarnation?"
"Although her obsession has been resolved, there's still some residual consciousness." Qi Chen picked up the piece of red cloth, folded it, and put it in the button box. "She loved embroidering roses when she was alive, so her residual consciousness has been repeating the movements of embroidering roses. You just happened to encounter it just now."
Lu Ye looked at Qi Chen, feeling a little scared. "Just now I thought I was finished. Her eyes were too scary. There were no pupils, just like two black holes."
Qi Chen didn't say anything, but just patted his shoulder gently, as if to comfort him. Lu Ye suddenly felt that with Qi Chen by his side, he didn't seem so scared anymore.
"By the way, what did you go to deal with just now?" Lu Ye changed the subject, trying to ease the tense atmosphere.
"Nothing," Qi Chen said calmly, "It's just the ghost of a child who got lost in the park. I helped him find his mother and let him reincarnate."
Lu Ye nodded and didn't ask any further questions. He knew Qi Chen encountered many similar situations every day, helping those obsessed souls to resolve their obsessions and allow them to reincarnate. Although this job was dangerous and difficult, Qi Chen never complained.
"Can you take me with you when you deal with these things in the future?" Lu Ye suddenly said, "I want to help you, and I also want to learn more about the stories of these wronged souls."
Qi Chen looked at him, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and then nodded: "Okay, but you have to promise me that when you encounter danger, you must listen to me and not run around."
"I understand!" Lu Ye agreed immediately, his heart beaming with joy - Qi Chen was finally willing to let him participate in these things, which meant that he trusted him more and more.
As the sky gradually darkened, Qi Chen turned off the lights in the secret room, locked the door, and walked home with Lu Ye. The streetlights in the old alley lit up, and the dim light sprinkled on the bluestone road, as if it had been coated with a layer of gold. Lu Ye walked beside Qi Chen, looking at his profile, and suddenly felt that such a day was not bad. Although there were occasional scary things, as long as Qi Chen was by his side, he was not afraid of anything.
When they reached the alley entrance, Lu Ye suddenly remembered something and asked, "Qi Chen, do you think Grandma Chen's residual consciousness is still in the tailor shop? What if a tourist goes in and gets scared by her?"
Qi Chen stopped, turned around, and looked at him with a hint of warmth in his eyes: "No, I have calmed her remaining consciousness with the Soul-Calming Bell. She won't come out again. Besides, I'm here in the future, and no tourists will be harmed."
Lu Ye nodded, and the stone in his heart finally fell to the ground. He looked at Qi Chen and suddenly felt that this cold and secluded man was actually a very gentle person, just not good at expressing himself.
"Qi Chen," Lu Ye's heartbeat was a little fast. He looked into Qi Chen's eyes, "I...I think I like you a little bit."
Qi Chen's body paused, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and then he slowly regained his composure: "I know."
Lu Ye was stunned - he thought Qi Chen would reject him or pretend not to hear, but he didn't expect him to say that.
"You...you know?" Lu Ye's voice trembled a little, "Then you..."
"Let's talk about it later," Qi Chen interrupted him, turned around and continued walking forward, "It's late, it's time to go home."
Lu Ye looked at Qi Chen's back, feeling a little disappointed, but more expectant. Qi Chen didn't reject him, which meant he still had a chance. He quickly caught up with Qi Chen, walking side by side, and secretly vowed in his heart that he must make Qi Chen fall in love with him.
The street lights in the old alley stretched their shadows very long, and the two shadows were tightly pressed together, as if they would never separate.
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