Los secretos del cielo, temporada 4

Capítulo 8

Now she suddenly realized that she could no longer control herself tonight. If she didn't read the pile of emails that had accumulated, she would be tormented to death by a huge suspense.

She must understand the situation she is in right now. If a huge boulder is hanging over her head and she doesn't know to get out of it in time, what will be the consequences?

Now no one can help her. She has to face danger alone, experience terror alone, and seek liberation alone.

Li Hui sat absentmindedly on the sofa, forgetting to offer Da Dun a seat or pour him a glass of water. She even felt an impatience, eagerly waiting for Da Dun to take his leave on his own.

But Dadun'er showed no intention of leaving.

He stood opposite Li Hui on the sofa, looking worried and somewhat at a loss.

"Dr. Li, where do you feel unwell? Should I get you some medicine?"

"No need." Li Hui looked at Da Dun'er, unable to say anything else, such as thank you or apologize. How could she possibly send him away so soon after he had carried her upstairs, panting heavily?

Da Dun'er walked over and slowly sat down beside her. He didn't look at her, and after a moment of silence, he slowly reached out and took her hand: "I'll stay with you a little longer. Tell me what's on your mind."

Li Hui thought she would pull her right hand out of Da Dun'er's warm palm, but she didn't.

"Where were you thinking of going? Why didn't you go home?" He asked again, a question she couldn't answer.

"..."

"You don't like being home alone, right? That's okay, I can try to make time to spend with you."

"..."

"These past few days, I've been constantly worried about you while I've been away. I was afraid you'd be unhappy, afraid you'd be unwell and no one would take care of you..."

Everything happened so suddenly.

Almost instantly, Li Hui completely collapsed. She felt dizzy, her bones felt weak, and her whole body turned into a pool of water. She couldn't help but slump into Da Dun'er's arms.

Da Dun'er's hands, as if handling a fragile object about to fall to the ground, quickly cupped Li Hui's burning face. Then, her lips and tongue were eagerly and warmly enveloped by Da Dun'er's big mouth, and she didn't want to break free at all.

Da Dun'er's hands roamed over Li Hui's body like snakes. However, unlike snakes, which are said to be cold-blooded, Da Dun'er's hands were hot and tingling, stimulating Li Hui's sensory nerves and planting a "sizzling" spark in every pore of her skin.

Rather than indulging in instinct, it was more like seeking some kind of liberation. Li Hui suddenly had a desire to destroy herself.

It was as if an evil worm had crawled into her mind, scurrying around like a computer virus, causing the entire system to malfunction.

Her body, which had just been curled up in tension, now completely relaxed. Her head snapped back as if having an epileptic seizure, bracing itself for the storm that was about to pour down.

For a moment, Li Hui was startled by this unfamiliar side of herself and didn't know what to do. She wondered how she could greet a man she had only known for a few days with such a brazen attitude! Her body and Da Dun'er's movements were so coordinated and harmonious, without the slightest bit of strain.

When she saw the big man pounce on her wholeheartedly, she suddenly felt at ease. The fear that had tormented her for so many days was temporarily replaced by a surge of passion.

In the once quiet room, a series of heavy, surging breaths suddenly rose and fell, one after another, pushing the room toward climax.

In a daze, she saw the face opposite her gradually being distorted by an invisible force, looking terrifying.

When Li Hui sat up from the sofa, tears streaming down her face, she couldn't describe her feelings. The ecstasy she had felt was receding like the tide, leaving behind only a barren, desert-like beach, and she felt an even greater emptiness within herself.

The torment that "death schedule" inflicted on her mind and body finally reached its climax tonight.

She understood that she had actually been defeated by her opponent!

There was no one in the house; Dadun was taking a shower in the bathroom.

Li Hui couldn't help but think of the vast ocean in a foreign land, but strangely, she didn't feel any guilt at this moment.

Li Hui didn't have the courage to look at Da Dun'er's face again. She didn't want to say goodbye to him, so she lay down on the sofa and pretended to be asleep, hoping that he would quietly leave the room on his own.

To everyone's surprise, she actually fell asleep.

Li Hui woke up the next morning. She found herself sleeping on the sofa, covered with a blanket, and there was a note left by Da Dun on the coffee table:

"You haven't recovered yet, rest another day tomorrow, I'll come see you."

She drifted off into thought about what had happened last night, about Dadun's energetic appearance, and about how she had lost her composure in front of him. Her heart began to pound again.

It was incredible that Da Dun'er, with his seemingly clumsy body, could leap and fly as lightly as a swallow when he ran toward the fragrant door she had opened.

Thinking of this, Li Hui's body immediately reacted strangely. Startled, she hurriedly got up and went into the bathroom. The sound of rushing water filled the air. Li Hui stood under the water, motionless, fully immersed in the cleansing, as if trying to wash away some unwelcome trace.

Having thoroughly cleaned herself from head to toe, Li Hui almost instantly recalled the problem that had been troubling her for days the moment she sat down. Ignoring her intense unease, she turned around and, without thinking, switched on her computer. No matter what, she needed to know the terrible situation she was facing today.

There are four emails in the mailbox signed "SW".

The first letter, dated the sixth day as indicated in the "death timeline," reads as follows:

"Watch your mouth! It can bring unexpected disaster."

"Watch your mouth," could it mean "trouble comes from the mouth"? Li Hui didn't understand what it meant. Thinking back to the sixth day, she had spent almost the entire day in bed. In the evenings, Zhang Lili kept her company, chatting and watching TV. She only spoke a few words to Lili and had no contact with anyone else.

She tried hard to recall what she had said to Zhang Lili that night. It was nothing more than topics about men and women. Of course, she also mentioned Wang Yang; she really missed him.

When Zhang Lili asked how Wang Yang pursued Li Hui in college, she recounted how he waited for her under the bushes by the artificial lake during evening self-study; how he went to the girls' dormitory and placed a rose on her bedside; and how he asked Li Hui's female classmates to change their seats to sit next to Li Hui when Hollywood romance movies were shown at school.

Oh, and she also told Zhang Lili what Da Dun'er had said, that Wang Yang was quite clever and mischievous as a child, and full of bad intentions: "Hmph! That guy never mentions his bad behavior when he was little!"

What's wrong with her discussing her husband with her best friend?

She also told Zhang Lili about Dadun'er visiting her and having dinner with her, and even said things like, "You don't need to come tomorrow, Dadun'er will come to keep me company."

Li Hui is now truly regretting it, because everything that happened between her and Da Dun last night might have been guessed by the incredibly clever Zhang Lili on the day of the incident! Zhang Lili and Wang Yang are classmates in the same grade; could she have accidentally revealed this matter in a joke?

Could this be the so-called "unexpected disaster"? But how did this guy know that she and Zhang Lili had such a conversation?

However, she knew that Zhang Lili wasn't the boring housewife type; she just liked to listen to other people's private affairs because she was single and psychologically hungry.

Besides, the sixth day has long passed, so there's no need to pay attention to it.

The email on the seventh day contained another cartoon drawing: a ferocious old wolf carrying a bloody heart.

Upon closer inspection, she saw a small line of text: "The tribulations you face each day will change at any time depending on the circumstances. Failure to check your emails promptly will hasten your death!"

Li Hui felt that this guy was very insidious. He must be getting anxious because he hadn't seen the expected accident happen to Li Hui these past few days! So he changed the schedule at the last minute, intending to create a mystery and scare Li Hui into continuing to follow his arrangements!

Thinking this through, Li Hui made up her mind that she would never fall for his tricks!

Now, she is particularly eager to know what the mystery of the eighth day is. The eighth day was yesterday. She went to work and met Mr. Yang with Zhang Lili. Most importantly, the night... The night is the most unbearable thing for her to recall now. She and Dadun'er couldn't control themselves and did the thing that she regretted the moment she woke up this morning.

Upon opening it, I saw the message: "Day 8, your beautiful skin is in trouble!"

She suddenly felt a burning pain in her buttocks; it turned out that the blister from the burn she had suffered yesterday had been accidentally broken. Li Hui was stunned for a long time, repeatedly pondering the meaning of this warning. At one moment, she thought it meant that she would be left with unsightly scars on her face, and at the next moment, she thought it was a reminder to be careful of being sexually assaulted, since the sign for the STD clinic in the hospital read "Dermatology Clinic".

So, what about Da Dun'er and her affair? Would it be considered sexual assault? Li Hui was still blushing as she recalled the incident. She couldn't possibly call it "assault," could she?

And the cartoon on the seventh day with the old wolf carrying a bloody heart—does it mean her heart was taken away by the wolf on that day? Could it be referring to that night with Dadun in the Western restaurant, when her feelings had already been possessed by him?

Just as she thought of this, Li Hui was startled by her own wild thoughts. She knew it was impossible, but what reasonable explanation could she offer? Unable to control her wandering thoughts, what could she do besides speculate wildly?

How does Ning Kun know so much about everything about her?

Li Hui was completely bewildered by this cryptic email. She felt like a headless fly, bumping around aimlessly.

Frustrated, Li Hui subconsciously tapped the screen, opening the email sent that morning. A line of bold text, larger than ever before, popped up: "Today is the ninth day. Your ears are about to witness a tragicomedy!"

Almost simultaneously, she heard a soft knock on the door.

Death Timetable (Part 2)

Invisible Visitor

Hearing the knock on the door, Li Hui thought it was Da Dun'er coming to see her; he had promised in the note he left, but she hadn't expected him to come so early. She checked her watch; it was only a little past nine.

Li Hui was momentarily stunned, then hurriedly shut down the computer before going to the peephole to check.

She used to never look at people through the peephole; the distorted effect would twist every visitor into a grotesque, inhuman figure, which she found unacceptable. But now, she found herself unconsciously peering through it. Because of the unusual circumstances these past few days, her inner terror had unknowingly influenced her every move, and she often subconsciously did things that she found unbelievable once she realized it.

At this moment, she peered out through the small peephole. Apart from the door opposite, all she could see in the mirror was a stair railing that had turned into an arc. The person who had been knocking had suddenly vanished without a trace.

Li Hui felt that Da Dun was playing hide-and-seek with her. He must be hiding somewhere she couldn't see him, trying to scare her.

She squinted again, peering through the peephole, waiting for Dadun to suddenly jump out from some corner. But even as her eyes grew too sore to continue, Dadun didn't appear.

It might have been someone else knocking on the door? Maybe the person knocking had already gone into the room across the hall. But she didn't hear the door open or close from across the hall.

Wait a minute! The people across the street would have been at work by now, there's nobody here! At this hour, apart from one or two elderly people living in the building, there's nobody else in the entire building.

Li Hui hesitated for a moment before walking back to the sofa and sitting down. She grabbed a banana that Da Dun'er had bought for her that day and slowly peeled it.

Just then, there was another knock on the door, the same soft, cautious sound, very much like the careful and scheming knocker of an adulterer on their lover's door.

"It's here!" Li Hui responded excitedly, then threw the banana on the coffee table. This time it must be Da Dun'er!

Her hand grasped the doorknob, about to open it, but then she hesitated, deciding to check first. She suddenly remembered that Da Dun knew she had a doorbell; why was he knocking instead of ringing it today?

To her surprise, Li Hui's heart started racing: she still couldn't see anything; all she could see was the deformed stair railing!

Li Hui, standing behind the peephole, was unable to move and felt her head buzzing.

Just as she turned to walk back to the sofa, the third knock sounded. "Knock knock! Knock knock!" It was soft, almost imperceptible, yet like a cool worm stubbornly burrowing into her ear.

Her legs went weak, and she simply walked back to the sofa and sat down. She simply didn't have the courage to look at that damned peephole again!

Sitting on the sofa, Li Hui felt weak all over. She wondered who could have knocked on the door and run away? Even if Da Dun was joking, he wouldn't be so bored as to repeat this little trick over and over again and again!

The knocking paused briefly, then stubbornly resumed.

It was clearly a knock on her own door, but Li Hui dared not go to the door again. Her heart was pounding in her throat, and countless terrifying thoughts surged up.

The creator of that "death timetable" has finally made his move on her! He intends to toy with her like an old cat playing with a mouse before launching a vicious attack on his defenseless opponent...

Waves of hot sweat stubbornly poured out from every pore of her body. Li Hui felt unbearably hot and restless, wishing she could strip off her clothes and throw them aside.

The knocking subsided, but it continued eerily.

She could picture the grotesque expression on the knocker's face, contorted with smugness and satisfaction, like the face of a man contorted by orgasm.

Remembering the ghost stories she'd heard before, about how some ghosts would disguise themselves as kind-hearted people like the "Big Bad Wolf," knocking on doors to eat people. Li Hui thought the creature outside was far more terrifying than the so-called Big Bad Wolf. An animal driven solely by the instinct to eat when hungry was far more innocent and endearing than someone who deliberately harmed others for some ulterior motive.

After a terrifying wave swept over her, Li Hui struggled to the surface. She looked around; surely he couldn't possibly break through the wall? The door wouldn't open anytime soon either. As long as he didn't knock, she would remain silent. She was inside, he was outside—let's see who could outlast whom.

Once Li Hui made up her mind, she covered her ears tightly with her hands, refusing to listen to the rising and falling, high and low, death-like knocking on the door.

After an unknown amount of time, the sound outside the door disappeared. Li Hui waited anxiously for the sound to reappear. She looked at her watch, one minute... two minutes... no sound.

Another minute passed! Still no sound...

Did that guy leave?