Chapter 12: The Blond Man But in the light and shadow, he had no...shadow...
Zhui Lian didn't remember how he fell asleep.
Perhaps it was fainting after being too frightened, or perhaps it was sinking after being exhausted.
Her last memory was of her being held in the man's arms, closely connected to him.
He touched her face and asked her over and over again, who is he in her eyes?
When she couldn't answer, he advanced.
Then ask again.
Over and over again.
"Who am I...Who am I...Who am I in your eyes?"
"Answer me... answer me... answer me... answer me... why don't you answer me..."
"Love me... love me... love me... you can't love me only when I look like him... you can't do this... you can't do this..."
The white porcelain of the bathtub passed by my eyes, and then the water.
Warm water, cold water, sticky water, water that wraps up all thoughts.
There was a subtle sound coming from the gaps between the tiles.
But she was unconscious.
I can't open my eyes to see more clearly.
*
When I opened my eyes again, the pale golden afternoon sunlight had already spread across the bed.
The only sound in the bedroom was the floating sound of dust. Zhui Lian propped herself up and sat up, looking around blankly.
The bed sheet beside me was flat and the pattern was still the same as before I went to sleep last night, without any change.
Her pajamas were neat, the same ones she wore when she went to sleep last night.
The body is also refreshed and clean, without even a trace of stickiness.
Everything was so quiet that it seemed as if no one had been there.
Is it a nightmare?
Were those entangled whispers, the cold touch, and... that plate of smashed sweet and sour pork ribs, all just nightmares? Or was the other "him" inside him... having another attack?
Like clumps of wet cotton squeezing in, Zhui Lian's brain felt heavy and confused.
The phone was lying casually on the bedside table. She picked it up and unlocked it.
There are several unread messages on WeChat from Yu Peizhi.
Yu Peizhi (06:15): Baby, you were sleeping so soundly that I didn’t wake you up.
Yu Peizhi (06:20): Breakfast is heating up in the rice cooker, remember to eat it, don’t starve yourself.
Yu Peizhi (08:45): It’s time to go to the field research site. I miss you.
Scrolling further, it seemed like the other party had completely forgotten what happened last night. Half an hour ago, he was still sending new messages naturally.
Yu Peizhi (12:21): [Image: Screenshots of two e-tickets]
Yu Peizhi (12:22): I have booked a flight back to S City half a month in advance. I will speed up the progress of the drawing and try to finish it as soon as possible.
Go back early?
He became that gentle husband again.
Zhui Lian held his finger above the screen for a long time without moving.
split.
The whole world is falling apart.
Memories are fragmenting, reality is fragmenting, and the screenshot of the plane ticket in front of me is fragmenting—
What was revealed was her husband's face.
Two faces... no... three faces... spun rapidly before her eyes, alternating, merging... then separating, reuniting... separating again, reuniting...
What to do? Call the police?
That her husband might be a monster? Or... following this screenshot of the plane ticket, grasping at the straw that is home?
All that was left before her eyes were bizarre fragments colliding, flying from her eyes into her fingertips and seeping into the dial page.
But at this moment, "Ding-ling-ling——"
The incoming phone ringtone suddenly rang first.
The name "Li Can" popped up on the screen.
Finally, Zhui Lian took a deep breath and answered the phone: "Hello? Xiao Li?"
"Sister Lianlian! You finally answered the phone!" Li Can's voice sounded a little worried. "Are you okay? I called several times but no one answered."
But only then did she notice that there were several missed calls from Li Can on her phone, which were bright red and eye-catching.
"Sorry, Xiao Li, there was something wrong with my alarm clock, so I slept late." Zhui Lian made up an excuse.
"It's okay, it's okay." Li Can said hurriedly.
He then asked, "So, are we still going to the abandoned warehouse at 4 pm?"
*
The abandoned warehouse was not far from Zhui Lian's building. Before she went out, she took a flashlight and a knife for self-defense, and sent a message to Yu Peizhi, asking where he was.
The other party sent his location and a photo of the reed marsh. The reed marsh in winter was covered with a thin layer of snow.
The withered reed flowers are silent under the gray-blue sky, lonely and thin, yet vast and boundless.
Zhui Lian gave him some advice, telling him to focus on painting and not to rush home.
The huge iron door of the abandoned warehouse was rusty and half open with a dark gap.
When Zhui Lian came, Li Can had already arrived and was making the final adjustments to the phone holder and fill light.
"Sister Lianlian, you're here!"
Seeing Zhui Lian coming, he immediately came over and asked, "Why do you look a little unwell? Are you okay?"
Zhui Lian shook his head and forced a smile: "It's okay, maybe I didn't sleep well last night."
Li Can was still a little worried and suggested, "How about we do it another day?"
Zhui Lian shook his head again: "No need, you've already debugged it. It's too troublesome to do it again. Let's do it today."
"Okay, shall I start?"
Seeing Zhui Lian nod, Li Can took a deep breath and pressed the live broadcast button.
The slightly dim warehouse behind them immediately popped up in the live broadcast room on the mobile phone screen.
"Hello everyone! This is Xiao Li's Exploration Channel!"
Li Can cheerfully greeted the camera, "Today I'm taking you to visit the legendary abandoned warehouse in City X! It's said that many strange things have happened here!"
He turned sideways, revealing Zhui Lian standing next to him: "This is Jiujiu, my special partner today!"
In the online world, you always need a virtual name.
For some unknown reason, Zhui Lian still chose Jiujiu.
Zhui Lian smiled at the camera.
She waved her hand, her gentle voice a little tense: "Hello everyone, I'm Jiujiu, Xiao Li's partner this time."
The high dome seemed to swallow up the light, and the inside of the warehouse was even more empty and gloomy than the outside.
The camera sweeps across piles of discarded machine parts, broken wooden boxes and hanging cobwebs.
Li Can explained the layout and rumors about the warehouse while moving his phone.
The barrage began to scroll sporadically:
[Fuck, it looks so spooky! ]
[Anchor, be careful!]
[Jiujiu is so pretty, but her face is so pale. Are you scared?]
[The streamer's signal seems to be a bit weak, the picture is a bit choppy?]
"Everyone, don't worry, the host is a professional, there's nothing to be afraid of!" Li Can held up the phone stand and motioned for Zhui Lian to follow. "Come on, Jiujiu, let's go inside and see if there are any surprises deep inside this warehouse!"
As the two walked further in, the comments on the screen updated slower and slower.
"Huh?" Li Can frowned, puzzled. "Why are there fewer and fewer people posting comments?"
Zhui Lian lowered her head and looked at the upper right corner of the phone screen: "There seems to be something wrong with the signal."
The grids on her screen representing the signal strength were jumping down one by one until they turned into a bright red cross.
Almost at the same time, Li Can's phone screen went black and he automatically exited the live broadcast room.
A cold notification popped up: "Network connection disconnected." He shook his phone in disbelief and muttered, "The signal wasn't this bad last time I came!"
The darkness was thick and the dust was flying.
The depths of the warehouse were like a huge maze, with narrow and winding passages filled with all kinds of abandoned obstacles. Only the fill light carried by Li Can cast a small circle of light around it.
Tick, tick.
Apart from the sound of breathing, a second sound finally appeared here.
Following the sound of water, Zhui Lian smelled a cold and astringent smell similar to medicinal wine.
"Xiao Li."
Her heart was pounding, and her voice was tight, "Do you...do you smell anything?"
"ah?"
Li Can was constantly refreshing his phone. He looked up and sniffed when he heard this.
After a moment, his expression changed a little: "That's the smell! It makes people dizzy. Let's leave quickly, Sister Lianlian!"
There was a loud "clang" sound, and it seemed like some heavy metal object collapsed behind him.
They were both shocked at the same time.
Zhui Lian turned around suddenly and opened the flashlight in her bag to shine it over.
They saw that the corner they had just passed, which was piled with rusty oil drums and messy containers, was now filled with smoke and dust.
A huge metal shelf seemed to have collapsed due to disrepair and the vibration caused by their passing, completely blocking the relatively spacious passage they had just walked through.
"Damn!" Li Can cursed and quickly ran over to check.
"Oh no, now I can only see if there is another way to go back!" He tried to push the shelf that was blocking the road, but it didn't move.
He shone his flashlight in front of him and said, "It's too messy here. I remember there's a back door. Let's go back and look for it."
Zhui Lian nodded and followed Li Can's steps.
"good."
Without the safety net of live streaming, she just wanted to leave here as soon as possible.
"Xiao Li, be careful with your steps. It's wet and slippery here."
The two men carefully avoided the rusty pipes, and Zhui Lian shone a flashlight on the ground.
It was covered with oil and unknown water stains, reflecting the elongated figures of the two people.
Li Can also raised his flashlight, and the beam accidentally swept across the pipe pile, but penetrated the small area of ground behind it that was close to the wall.
Iron cover.
There was a red, rusty iron cover with slippery moss growing around the edges.
But it was slightly opened, revealing a dark square entrance.
"Huh? There's something here..." Li Can was a little surprised and subconsciously took a step forward to see it more clearly.
Before he could finish his words, his feet had already stepped on the thickest part of the slippery moss.
"careful!"
As Zhui Lian screamed, Li Can fell forward and fell heavily on the edge of the entrance!
“—Ouch!”
One of his legs instantly slipped into the dark entrance, and his body couldn't stop on the slippery moss. He didn't have time to grab the pipe beside him, and rolled down in an instant, leaving only a short scream.
Bang! Boom! Clang!
A series of sounds of bodies hitting metal and debris rolling came from the depths of the darkness.
Then, there was dead silence, so empty that it made people's heart palpitate.
"Xiao Li!"
Zhui Lian was afraid that he would step on the moss, so he didn't dare to run too fast. He could only carefully hold on to the edge of the iron cover and shine the flashlight downwards anxiously.
It was dark deep inside the entrance, and one could only vaguely see a staircase connected to the bottom.
Li Can's flashlight fell at the very end of the stairs. The crooked beam of light had become a little weak, stirring up the dust below.
There was no one down there.
"Xiao Li! Li Can!" Zhui Lian shouted at the dark entrance.
Echoing, over and over again.
No response.
No groaning.
only--
Tick, tick, it seemed to come more clearly from below.
Where are the people?
How come there is no sound when such a big person falls down?
The familiar sweet and bitter smell was also surging up from below more violently, almost suffocating her.
Zhui Lian wrapped her down jacket tightly around her, but the coldness seeped deeper into her bones.
She bit her lower lip and wanted to turn around and run away immediately, but Li Can's disappearance made it impossible for her to leave like that.
The steps were steep and slippery, covered with rust and moss.
Zhui Lian moved down step by step, his eyes fixed on the darkness below, and the flashlight trembled as it swept across every corner.
She picked up the flashlight that Xiao Li had dropped at the end of the stairs and walked in carefully.
The passage is not long, and at the end is a heavy iron door.
The door was half-open, but a faint light shone through the gap.
Flashing.
The cold and astringent smell of sweet and bitter was extremely strong.
Zhui Lian held her breath, walked lightly, and moved slowly to the door.
She put the flashlight through the crack of the door little by little——
Inside the door, there seems to be a storage room.
The lights flickered, on and off.
In the shaky light, a thin figure stood with his back to the door deep in the storage room.
The man was very tall and thin, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled down low. He just stood there motionless.
But under the light and shadow, he had no... shadow.
The ghost finally swayed.
He slightly tilted his body, revealing his pointed chin and skin so pale that it was almost transparent.
And the few strands of hair that appeared under the brim of the hat, in the flickering light, were... golden.
Dazzling gold.
Cold gold.
Lifeless gold.
Zhui Lian felt as if the blood in his body had frozen, and he was shivering and unable to speak.
There was only the sound of gasps, the sound of extreme fear, being squeezed out uncontrollably.
Almost at the same time, the blond figure seemed startled by the subtle sound.
His shoulders moved very slightly, as if he was about to turn around in the next second!
Zhui Lian tried her best to hold back her scream and turned around suddenly.
She threw herself on the stairs, using her hands and feet, and crawled up to escape.
Elbows, calves, palms... the exposed skin was scratched by the rust along the stairs, leaving bloody marks one after another, but she was completely unaware.
There was only one thought left in her mind - escape.
Get out of here... get out of here... get out of that devil... get out... get out... get out now!
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