Geisterbestattung

Kapitel 9

But Li Hui still felt he was still there; at least, since he had stubbornly persisted for so long, he wouldn't give up so easily. She waited and waited, and time seemed to pass slowly. Only five minutes had passed, but it felt like a year had gone by. Her temples began to throb with pain, and her ears were ringing as if a thousand flies were buzzing around her.

Just then, a strange rustling sound drifted into her ears from outside the door. The sound was like a stiff wedding dress dragging on the ground or brushing against the metal security door bars, or like two thieves whispering about how to break in.

Li Hui dared not move a muscle, but her ears were perked up as if they wanted to stretch all the way to the door. Her neck also stretched out involuntarily, but when she turned her head to listen carefully again, there was no sound at all.

Cold sweat had soaked her clothes again. Suppressing her urge to gasp for breath, Li Hui stood up quietly and moved step by step toward the door. This time, she was determined to see what was going on!

Halfway there, Li Hui hesitated and stopped. Perhaps that guy could see her every move from outside? Otherwise, why would everything disappear without a trace every time she reached the door?

This thought almost knocked her to the ground. She understood that once someone schemed against her, the one in the open was destined to suffer!

Just as she turned to give up, the doorbell suddenly rang loudly in the quiet room, making Li Hui tremble all over and involuntarily scream, "Ah--!"

"Li Hui! Li Hui!" Da Dun'er's voice came from outside the door, "Are you alright? Open the door! Open the door quickly!"

"Who are you?" Li Hui could no longer believe her ears. She shouted sharply, her voice trembling with extreme terror.

"It's me, Dadun'er, open the door!"

After opening the door with trembling hands, Li Hui saw through her teary eyes that there were two or three plastic bags of various sizes at Da Dun'er's feet, filled with all sorts of food and household items. He was also carrying a heavy watermelon in his right hand. She immediately realized that the rustling sound was real, not a ghost or her hallucination.

Ignoring the huge pile of things Dadun brought that was still tripping them up at the door, Li Hui suddenly pounced on him and hugged Dadun's neck.

That night, Da Dun'er made an exception and did not go home to be with his wife, but instead spent the night with Li Hui.

When he hid in the bathroom and called his wife, lying that he had to go to Hangzhou and wouldn't be back that night, Li Hui realized for the first time that men didn't hesitate at all when lying to their wives. She suddenly felt that they were a little scary.

But after all, Da Dun did it for her sake, so she didn't dislike him; in fact, she was quite touched.

After a period of frenzied activity, things gradually calmed down. The two lay in bed, silent for a moment.

This was the first time they had shared a bed, even though they had already had physical contact on the sofa that night. Li Hui felt she was going further and further down a terrible path. She couldn't accept the drastic changes in herself over the past few days; she couldn't believe she had done something so easily. How could she face Wang Yang when he returned?

She was drinking poison to quench her thirst! Every time she thought of this, Li Hui felt a chill run down her spine.

Now, with Dadun'er lying warmly beside her, Li Hui felt a temporary sense of security, but she was still preoccupied. She only briefly mentioned hearing the knocking on the door that afternoon. Dadun'er assumed Li Hui's recent health issues were causing her stress and emotional instability, so he simply comforted her and didn't ask any further questions.

Only Li Hui herself knew that there must be a mysterious person repeatedly knocking on her door for some purpose, and this person was definitely not Da Dun'er.

Who exactly is "he"?

Thinking of this, Li Hui, feeling completely lost and confused, could only sigh deeply and snuggle closer to Da Dun'er. Da Dun'er, thinking Li Hui was lamenting their situation, also hugged her tighter: "Don't think so much. Once your injuries are healed, you'll feel different."

"Um."

"Wang Yang will be back soon, right?"

"Um."

"Let's have Zhang Lili come over tomorrow. She's single anyway, so she can stay with you for a few more days. I have too many things to do at home, so I can't come over every day..."

Li Hui felt a little uncomfortable, and she resented Da Dun'er's stammering. His words were all reasonable, and he hadn't wronged her in any way, but his attitude gave her the illusion that Da Dun'er had caused her a great injustice.

Thinking about it again, I realized I was being rather selfish. His wife was about to give birth, wasn't it immoral of me to do this?

She left his embrace, feeling bored and utterly exhausted. She adjusted her sleeping position and reached out to turn off the bedside lamp: "Sleep, I'm tired."

Li Hui was taking a shower in the bathroom.

The kitchen and bathroom windows of this building all face a long, narrow courtyard. Only one household on each floor has a window facing the courtyard in both its kitchen and bathroom.

Steam and fumes drifted upwards from the courtyard, making the narrow courtyard resemble a large chimney, perpetually smoky and dark inside.

Li Hui's home is on the sixth floor, the top floor. Standing under the showerhead in front of the bathroom window, she can see the skylight on the rooftop with just a glance. It is covered by a rough safety net made of thin iron bars.

She sometimes thought that anyone who was annoying could easily peek at her naked body from here. So, she always made sure to draw the Venetian blinds on the window when she took a bath.

For some reason, she forgot to put down the Venetian blinds this time. It was pitch black outside the window, as if it was already very late.

Li Hui was thoroughly enjoying her shower; it had been a long time since she had taken such a refreshing bath since her injury. She was applying Six God Bath Lotion all over her body, lathering it up with a towel until it was covered in white foam, and then turning on the tap, ready for a good rinse!

The tap was turned on, but not a drop of water came out.

What happened? She hurriedly tried again and found that all the faucets in the bathroom had stopped supplying water.

She rushed to the kitchen to check the water heater. The ignition was still burning, so there was no problem. Li Hui ran back to the bathroom and tried again. Suddenly, the water came out so violently that it startled her. When it came down from above, it felt like a high-pressure water gun hitting her back, and it hurt terribly.

She quickly finished rinsing and turned off the tap so she could catch her breath. The torrent of water had almost suffocated her.

Li Hui wrapped her hair in a large white towel and rubbed it for a long time before shaking her head a few times and habitually looking at her naked body in the mirror.

To her surprise, the reflection in the mirror was of a snarling monster, which startled Li Hui. She paused for a moment before realizing that it was the view outside the window behind her.

When she suddenly turned around, she saw a person hanging upside down outside the window. His hair was hanging down, looking like a dead ghost who had been electrocuted, with each hair standing upright!

The monster grinned, showing off its white teeth, and looked at her with a grotesque smile.

Li Hui was woken up by being pushed. In her sleep, she screamed and kicked wildly, disturbing Da Dun'er.

"What kind of nightmare did you have?" Da Dun asked, pulling her into his arms. "Your emotions have been too volatile lately. Go see a doctor tomorrow and take some tranquilizers."

She trembled in his arms, the scene from her dream as if it had just happened, the deep-seated fear making Li Hui feel cold all over.

Da Dun'er quickly drifted off to sleep again, but Li Hui couldn't fall asleep anymore.

How did that upside-down monster manage to hang itself from her window? Did it grab the wire mesh with its hind paws like a monkey? And how did it get in? She desperately wanted to get up and go to the bathroom to see for herself. If the safety net wasn't sturdy, something terrible might really happen!

I'll definitely have Dadun take a look at it tomorrow.

Li Hui couldn't help but think back to what had happened during the day. The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became: the person who kept knocking on the door must have been deliberately trying to make things difficult for her, and he knew she was home resting today. He might have been hiding on the stairs, but Li Hui's apartment was on the top floor, and the stairs ended at her door. If he had been hiding, he could only have been downstairs. He must have been young, strong, and agile; he was definitely a man. For a big guy like Da Dun'er, running up and down the stairs without making a sound would be impossible, even if it meant taking his life.

Ning Kun.

The man with unusually large feet?

His dull and dazed appearance didn't seem like that of someone who was agile.

"Your ears are about to become a tragedy!" The email notification today was quite a shock to her. Could it be that she really had a neurological problem with her ears?

All around was quiet. Only Dadun'er's heavy breathing rose and fell evenly in her ear.

Listen closely, and you can hear cars occasionally speeding by on the road outside. Drivers rushing home late at night are stepping on the gas pedal like super bumblebees, buzzing as they fly by in the distance.

Suddenly, she heard a faint, ethereal sound, like the wind blowing by. She listened again, but it was gone.

"Sigh! You're going to be paranoid again." She thought to herself, and simply covered her head with the blanket and stuffed her ears: "To hell with it, I'm not listening! I'd rather not torture myself."

Li Hui buried herself completely in the warm quilt, snuggling close to Da Dun'er. She was so tired that she fell asleep without realizing it.

Daylight broke. When Li Hui woke up, she found Da Dun sitting on the sofa, staring at her blankly.

"Why are you up so early?" Li Hui rubbed her eyes and turned over. She hadn't slept well last night and felt incredibly sleepy. She wanted to hear Da Dun'er say considerately, "I'm leaving now, you can go back to sleep," but he didn't.

He sat there without making a sound, as if something was amiss.

With great effort, Li Hui managed to stay awake. She forced her eyes open and sat up: "I'm so sleepy... What time is it?"

Dadun remained silent.

"What's wrong with you?" When Li Hui looked closely at Da Dun'er, she found the room quite strange. Why was everything such a mess? The bedside table, the computer desk, the dressing table—all the drawers were gaping with black grime, and one or two pieces of her underwear were lying on the floor. Da Dun'er looked dejected, holding his wallet, which was completely empty.

"A thief has broken in!"

"What?" Li Hui didn't understand him at first. After thinking for a moment, she realized she was suddenly startled and hurriedly asked, "How did you get in?"

"From the bathroom window."

Oh my god! I clearly had a dream last night, and I even heard that voice afterwards, but I covered my ears and fell asleep!

Li Hui remembered that terrible dream. She had originally planned to have Da Dun fix the window today, but she was too late...

Suddenly, with a surge of strength from who-knows-where, Li Hui sprang to her feet and jumped out of bed to frantically check her belongings. She discovered that her cash and bankbook were gone, along with the watch Wang Yang had given her and all her jewelry.

Her hands didn't stop; she kept rummaging through the drawer until the white printed paper appeared at the bottom. Only then did she feel relieved.

This thing cannot be lost! She absolutely cannot let anyone see it! For Li Hui, apart from her affair with Da Dun'er, this thing was practically her entire privacy.

Li Hui quietly buried the paper under something else and discreetly closed the drawer. She noticed Da Dun was looking at her with a strange expression; he was probably wondering: this woman, having lost so many valuable things, hadn't made a sound at all!

Everything he owned was gone, including his phone, driver's license, several credit cards, and a considerable amount of cash. What could he do? Now he was even deprived of the right to report the theft!

Simply because he slept in a place he shouldn't have.

Li Hui and Da Dun'er thought of this problem at almost the same time. At this point, she finally had a profound understanding of the advice that "the ears will be the stage for a tragedy and comedy".

Disaster struck from the sky

Li Hui felt as if she had been dealt another heavy blow.

If it were just her own things that were stolen, it wouldn't be so bad, but it just so happened that this happened to Dadun at her house one night. Li Hui felt so sorry for Dadun; now he had no one to confide in, and he could only swallow his bitterness.

Before noon, the bathroom window was repaired, and the security grilles on the rooftop exit were replaced. The installation happened right after work hours, so nobody noticed; otherwise, I really wouldn't know how to explain it to others.

Da Dun didn't go to the company this morning; he's been here supervising the work. But from morning until now, they've barely exchanged five sentences, each sentence containing no more than five characters.

"The security bars are here?"

"Okay. Installing it right away."

"Go to work."

"It's alright."

Then he directed the workers to install new security grilles and replace the glass in the windows, which had a corner cut off, through which the thieves reached to open the windows.

Li Hui was busy pouring water for them and cleaning up the dirty floor.

After seeing the two workers off, she and Dadun sat in silence for a while, both of them deep in thought.

She didn't mention reporting the incident to the police, and neither did he. Both of them carefully avoided this sensitive topic, as if afraid of hurting each other.

In fact, they were well aware that if they had reported the case, their losses might have been even greater than they are now.

Li Hui didn't know what Da Dun'er was thinking. He wouldn't say, and she didn't have the courage to ask. But her guilt was written all over her face, while Da Dun'er seemed to pretend not to see it.

She understood Da Dun'er's worries. What if that driver's license and credit card were one day treated as stolen goods and placed in the police station for him to claim? How would he explain that he had slept in another woman's bed?

The only man who could give her a sense of security had been hurt in such an unexpected way. Li Hui felt a deep and overwhelming sense of frustration, like the stinking water of the Suzhou River, about to drown her.

She was terrified that Dadun would never come to see her again; she needed him more than ever!

Da Dun finally said he had to go back: "I have to go back and check things out. I'll give you my number when I get a new phone."

Li Hui chased after him to the door, but she couldn't think of any way to stop him. She felt an emptiness in her heart, like a bottomless pit. But Da Dun'er's figure still disappeared at the top of the stairs.