Der Charme einer starken Frau verbreitet sich über die ganze Welt

Kapitel 6

She drew out the last three words so long that they almost startled the people at the next table.

"It's incredible that there are such coincidental names in the world." I said with a wry smile, "Your father must have never read Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, or—he was too engrossed in reading it."

"Enough! Does it really matter what a person's name is?"

I stared at her shifty eyes and said, "Yes, it's very important. You know what? You really look like Nie Xiaoqian from the book."

“Alright, I’ll give in.” She shrugged helplessly. “If you insist that the name Nie Xiaoqian reminds you of female ghosts from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, then please just call me Xiaoqian.”

"Xiaoqian?"

"Yes, Xiaoqian from the Nie family."

I nodded quickly: "That's good, it sounds much better this way, it feels like the girl next door—Xiaoqian."

Suddenly, she became impatient: "I've already given you so much, can I leave now?"

"But I still have many questions to ask."

"I have to go to work now, I'll ask you later."

She stood up hurriedly.

I followed behind her and asked, "But who knows where to find you again?"

“I work at the ice cream shop across the street, so you can come find me anytime.”

She dashed out of the teahouse like a fawn, the torrential rain soaking her. With her head down, she ran across the crosswalk and darted into an ice cream shop across the street.

I didn't react for a moment and stood there dumbfounded at the entrance of the teahouse, unsure whether I should go across the street. A few minutes later, she appeared behind the ice cream counter, now wearing an orange work uniform, her long black hair tied in a ponytail.

"Nie Xiaoqian selling ice cream?"

I suddenly laughed, and some raindrops drifted onto the tip of my nose.

Part Two, Day Seven, Section Ten, Day Nine

When I woke up this morning, I found that the heavy rain from last night had finally stopped, but the buildings across the street were still wet, and there was a damp smell in the air. I wondered if it had rained in the deserted village.

Strange, why am I thinking about that deserted village again? A chill ran down my spine as I thought about it. I went to the bathroom, looked at myself in the mirror, and whispered, "Forget about that place."

My mood finally improved, so I gave myself a smile and started washing up.

A few minutes later, just as my mouth was full of toothpaste foam, my phone suddenly rang.

Before I could even rinse my mouth, I hurriedly picked up my phone and heard a girl's voice: "Hello, this is Han Xiaofeng."

Are you the college students who went to the deserted village? My hand trembled, then I forced myself to remain calm and said, "You're still in the deserted village? What happened this time?"

"Save us, you must save us."

Her voice was so shrill that it startled me, and it seemed like there were other people talking all around.

With my mouth full of toothpaste foam, I said, "What exactly happened? Han Xiaofeng, tell me slowly."

"I saw it! I saw it!"

Just by listening to that desperate voice, I can imagine her expression.

"What did you see?"

“Last night…at midnight…I…I saw…in the Jinshi Mansion…” she said haltingly, seemingly incoherently, “I saw…I saw…that thing.”

"What is that?"

Actually, I was a little nervous too. I was really afraid she would say that terrible word—

Han Xiaofeng's voice, half-crying, came from the phone: "You know...you must know about that thing."

I know what that is? Oh my god, what is that? I'm getting totally stumped by all these questions.

Suddenly, the voice on the other end changed to a boy's: "I'm sorry, Han Xiaofeng is fine."

"Who are you?" I asked warily.

"I am Huo Qiang."

I breathed a sigh of relief: "What exactly happened?"

"No...nothing's wrong, all four of us are fine. Everything...everything is normal."

"What happened to Han Xiaofeng?"

“She had a nightmare before she woke up this morning and still thinks it’s real. She’s calm now, so please don’t worry.” Huo Qiang’s voice sounded very hurried. “Sorry to bother you.”

Before I could even speak, the other party ended the call.

I slowly put down my phone, thinking back on the call from the deserted village, and then went back to the bathroom to brush my teeth.

No, Han Xiaofeng couldn't have been having a nightmare; she must have seen something in the Jinshi Mansion. Huo Qiang's later words were clearly a lie, but why would he hide it from me?

What exactly was discovered in the deserted village?

Part Two, Day Seven, Section Eleven, Day Ten (1)

10--

This is a special number. I feel it's more like a door. Before "10," we slowly linger before the door, either waiting or turning back. But once we step through this door, the number "10" becomes a rope around our necks, pulling us forward violently, regardless of whether heaven or hell lies ahead.

Today marks the tenth day of this story.

Exactly ten days ago, those four college students suddenly visited my home and told me about their daring adventure plan. That same evening, I received a mysterious email from a girl named "Nie Xiaoqian." From then on, they dragged me into a vortex, leading me step by step to the threshold of fear.

Should I go in?

This problem had been plaguing me all day, driving me crazy. By evening, I couldn't sit still any longer; the sounds of yesterday morning's bell from the deserted village and Han Xiaofeng's terrified screams seemed to still linger in the room. So, I hurriedly left the room and headed towards Shaanxi South Road.

—I'm going to find someone.

I finally stopped in front of that little teahouse on Shaanxi South Road. Across the rolling traffic, I saw the ice cream shop on the other side—red neon lights shone on the entrance, and several young girls, seemingly unconcerned about gaining weight, were licking their ice cream. Behind the counter, a girl in an orange uniform was busily making ice cream, her ponytail bouncing behind her head.

She is "Nie Xiaoqian who sells ice cream".

The ice cream business was unusually good tonight, and it wasn't long before the counter finally cleared out, giving her a chance to look up. I remained standing across the street, quietly watching her eyes as if observing a city street scene at night, for about a minute until she saw me too.

I'm never really comfortable making eye contact with people, especially across a busy street. Many cars whizzed past us, but strangely, the neon light on the street always illuminated her face, and her eyes always remained clearly in my line of sight.

The green light is on.

I calmly crossed the street and arrived at the ice cream counter. She looked at me quietly, showing no surprise whatsoever. There was no one else at the counter, so I deliberately acted nonchalant and said, "I'd like a strawberry ice cream."

She gave me a cold look, then turned around without a word and handed me a strawberry ice cream.

"Thanks."

I stood in front of the counter, took a bite of my ice cream, and said, "Mmm, it's been so long since I've had anything strawberry-flavored."

Finally, she spoke: "You like ice cream?"

“No, I rarely eat it,” I said, licking my ice cream. “But today is an exception.”

She maintained the same expression, calmly watching me finish my ice cream, and suddenly said, "Sorry, you haven't paid yet."

"Excuse me." I hurriedly handed her the money, then said somewhat awkwardly, "When do you get off work? I'd like to talk to you."

"Then you may have to wait a long time, because I need to wait for my successor to come."

I replied nonchalantly, "I'm fine with waiting as long as I want."

Then, I slipped to the side of the ice cream shop door and glanced at her behind the counter out of the corner of my eye.

But the replacement arrived quickly, and she looked somewhat helpless behind the counter. Two minutes later, she came out after changing her clothes.

She was still wearing that tight black dress, which accentuated her figure under the neon lights. She walked up to me with her head down and said, "Shall we go across the street?"

"Hmm—okay."

We crossed the road and went into the small teahouse.

After we sat down, she still maintained a calm expression and said, "Is this the place you wrote about in your novel?"

"What?"

“In the novel ‘The Deserted Village’—after you and Xiaozhi first met, you took her to a small teahouse near the subway and asked her to go to the deserted village.”

“Yes, although all of this is fictional, this little teahouse is real. In fact, I come here often, but I’ve never noticed you across the street.” After saying that, I looked at the ice cream shop across the street, where a queue had formed again.

“I just started working there last month.”

"You look like you're still studying, right? Which university?"

She answered noncommittally, "I guess so. But I won't tell you which school I go to."

Who exactly are you?

"Does it matter?" She avoided my gaze.

"Alright, since you won't tell me, I'll ask you a different question—do you really know about the deserted village, or is it all just your imagination?"

“Of course not.” Her expression turned unusually serious. “I swear, every word I’ve said about the deserted village is true. The deserted village is not something anyone can joke about.”

I do agree with her last sentence, so I became serious as well: "Then, please tell me about the well in the deserted village. Is it your imagination after reading the novel, or just hearsay?"

"You really saw that well?"

"Of course I saw it, right in the backyard of the old Jinshi residence. However, I sensed a peculiar smell about that well, and I dared not write it into my novel."

"A unique flavor?"

"Yes, when I faced this well, I immediately felt nauseous. Besides the peculiar smell, I could also hear some strange noises—"

Suddenly, something occurred to me, and I immediately stopped talking. How could I say such a thing in front of her?

She stared into my eyes, seemingly waiting for me to say something next, but I didn't. After a moment of silence, she finally said slowly, "I know what that peculiar smell is—the smell of the dead."

Her words pierced my heart like ice, making my heart pound inexplicably. I shook my head and said, "Are you just trying to scare me again?"