Poupée de nuit

Chapitre 2

Suddenly, a cat meowed outside.

I focused my attention and listened intently. Sure enough, I heard a cat meowing that sounded rather shrill outside. The meows were intermittent, like the mournful cries of an injured cat, but the sound was loud and didn't sound like that of an injured cat. I've heard the chilling baby cries of cats in heat and the desperate screams of cats fighting, but I've never heard a cat meow like this before.

I hurriedly looked out the window, but the light was too dim to see clearly. I turned off the desk lamp, which made it slightly clearer. In the dim light, I seemed to see a dark shadow curled up in the grass, emitting eerie cries. Judging from its size and the sounds, it was undoubtedly a cat, its pupils occasionally flashing with a faint light. However, it was curled up in the grass, and I wasn't sure if it was because of the scene I witnessed that afternoon that led me to conclude it was a black cat. But if I wasn't mistaken, it was indeed a black cat.

Subconsciously, I always felt that the cat that was run over by the truck had come back to life and was in the Zhidanyuan residential area. But whether this is the same cat that has come back to life is still hard to say. After all, it is normal for there to be two or three stray cats in a residential area, and of course, they may be the same color.

My journalistic curiosity compelled me to go and see for myself. The moment I opened the door, with a "whoosh," the black cat darted out. Although I knew from my prime that a human couldn't catch a cat, I couldn't help but hurry after it. I saw it running towards the construction site, so I walked towards the construction site as well.

I chased the cat to the edge of the construction site, but it was nowhere to be seen. The huge construction site was unusually quiet. I stood alone in the middle of the empty road. Although I'm not a coward, I still felt very uncomfortable, so I decided to go back to sleep.

Just as I turned around, a cool breeze blew by. It should have felt pleasant in this hot weather, but I felt a bit chilly. I looked around again with some unease and was shocked to find a lone white figure near the construction site not far from me.

I was taken aback, my heart leaping into my throat. Fortunately, my curiosity at that moment replaced some of my fear, allowing me to muster the courage to take a few more steps forward.

The pale white figure slowly turned around, and only then did I see clearly that it was a long-haired woman. Immediately, I thought it was too early to call her a woman, and I stopped in my tracks, not daring to go any further.

For a moment, I stood there, stunned. In the dim light, the atmosphere was truly terrifying. I couldn't help but wonder if I should leave before she came over, whether she was a human or a ghost.

Fortunately, the woman had heard the footsteps and turned to look at me. With the light from the surrounding buildings and the dim glow of the streetlights, I could roughly make out her features. There was enough evidence to suggest she was a beautiful woman, the kind with a classical air, which lessened my fear considerably. After all, even if I encountered a ghost, it was a rather pretty one.

I observed her from a distance for a while, and I don't know if it was just wishful thinking, but she looked vaguely familiar, like I'd seen her somewhere before, but I couldn't quite place her name. Then I realized my reaction to seeing a beautiful woman was a bit ridiculous; it seemed like the most clichéd excuse for hitting on a pretty girl. This wasn't Hengshan Road's bar district, where you could strike up a conversation with any pretty woman and expect a Hiroshima romance to blossom. The environment here and the woman's attire looked more like a horror movie than a romance. I immediately decided that whether she was human or ghost, I wouldn't pay her any attention; going back to sleep was the most practical thing to do.

Lying in bed, I thought about it again. Black cats, I remember, are considered one of the most unlucky symbols. I don't know exactly how many I encountered today, but it certainly wasn't a good thing. Long-haired women in white are also a common prop in ghost movies, from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio to The Ring. All these signs seem to indicate that I'm having a run of bad luck, and I need to be extra careful these next few days.

After tossing and turning for half the night, I finally fell asleep, and when I woke up it was already noon. I lay in bed, fully conscious, but too lazy to get up. To be honest, the apartment was quite nice, fairly clean, and the bed was especially comfortable. The ceiling… well, there were quite a few water stains on the ceiling.

I lay in bed, frowning at the watermarks on the ceiling; in some places, the paint had even bubbled. I don't recall Zhidanyuan Residential Complex being very old, yet the newly built buildings are already in this state. Of course, shoddy construction and structural defects are common problems in society today, but Zhidanyuan Residential Complex should still be considered decent. If problems arise, as a journalist, I have a duty to help… Hmm?

Several watermarks near the top left corner, which were still expanding, immediately caught my attention. I looked at them more closely, and indeed, the watermarks were still growing, which was strange. Generally, leaks in buildings are caused by problems with the water pipes on the upper floors. But these watermarks seemed to lead towards the living room. If there wasn't a structural problem with the building, then something must have happened to the upstairs neighbors.

I got up immediately. I dressed quickly, without even washing up, and ran upstairs to knock on the door.

As soon as I reached the door of the apartment on the second floor, I could clearly see water overflowing from inside and spilling all over the floor. I hurriedly knocked on the door loudly, guessing that the homeowner might have forgotten to turn off the tap when they went out. But to my surprise, the door opened.

"What is it?" The person who opened the door was a long-haired woman wearing simple striped pajamas.

I froze when I saw her. In fact, I recognized her immediately—she was definitely the woman I'd bumped into last night. Looking closer, she was undeniably beautiful. Especially striking was her long, jet-black hair, a feature most women would envy, though it was slightly disheveled. She was fixing her hair with one hand, and paused briefly when she saw me, probably recognizing me as the person she'd met last night.

"Who are you? What do you need?"

She looked at me with some hostility and stepped back into the room. I guessed that based on our encounter last night, she thought I was a perverted person who was stalking her with ill intentions.

I noticed her feet, clad in slippers, were soaked, and her pants were partially wet; she looked quite disheveled. "I live downstairs from you. I just moved in yesterday, and this morning I saw that your place is leaking. My ceiling downstairs is bubbling."

I peeked out and saw that the room behind her was completely flooded.

"But now it's quite clear that your situation seems worse than mine."

"Oh... I'm so sorry." She tilted her head, looking helpless. "I fell asleep in the bath and forgot to turn off the water. The water overflowed and made a mess everywhere. I didn't even realize it, haha, look at the mess." She kicked up a small splash of water and smiled.

I looked at the woman more closely, and she seemed strangely familiar. She had a habitual gesture of running her fingers through her hair, constantly combing her hair that fell past her shoulders. Then I remembered that I did know her. At least I knew her name.

As a profession that involves frequent interaction with people, journalists need to remember many names, which is a major headache for beginners. Being unable to recall the name of someone you want to get closer to is a serious professional faux pas. I'm not the diligent type of journalist, but names that have been memorized don't easily fade from my memory. I couldn't remember them last night, but I should be able to recall them now.

"You...you're called Su Ying, right?" I asked.

"You are...?" The beautiful woman was surprised and stared at me with wide eyes.

“My name is Nado, and I’m a reporter for the Morning Star. The shampoo commercial you filmed is now a household name. We did a report on you a month ago.”

It turns out that Su Ying is a somewhat famous advertising star. Besides her long hair, her face is undeniably pretty; she looks very delicate and charming. I consider myself to have an eye for beautiful women. Later, our boss probably noticed her too, thinking this girl would definitely become famous in the future. So, he planned to do an interview with her before she became a big star, so that once she gained fame, she would thank us for our initial support and promotion, which would also show that our boss was farsighted and had exceptional vision. So, he interviewed her in a fashion news report.

“Oh, right. That time it was a reporter named Shui Sheng. He lived downstairs from me and would sometimes chat with me. So you are…” Su Ying also looked enlightened.

"He had to go out on business and temporarily lent me his house."

“Oh.” She smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Nado.”

We shook hands.

"Not at all, I am truly honored. Actually, I knew you before I met you in Shui Sheng."

"oh?"

Actually, I was originally supposed to do that interview with her, but some things came up and I couldn't get away, so I asked Shui Sheng to go in my place. It was such a coincidence that Shui Sheng and Su Ying both lived in Zhidan Garden, and were even neighbors living on different floors. That's why I was able to recognize her.

I patiently explained the whole story to Su Ying, and when I got to the last part, I couldn't help but curse myself for missing a chance to get close to a beautiful woman. And Shui Sheng didn't seem to be a fool either; usually so quiet, she didn't waste the opportunity and even had a little casual interaction with her. But then I thought about the watermark on the ceiling, and it all made sense.

In this way, Su Ying and I became acquainted. I half-jokingly told her that this was a kind of fate. She nodded in agreement.

"Then, please excuse me for a moment," Su Ying glanced around the water in the room and sighed, "I need to tidy up the room first."

"You must be having a hard time tidying up all by yourself. I'm free anyway, so let me help." Since we've already met, it wouldn't be right to just leave like this, especially since she's a pretty young lady. I volunteered to offer my help.

Unexpectedly, she invited me into the house without any hesitation.

The room was a mess; soaking wet newspapers were scattered all over the floor, and several slippers floated on the water like little boats. Many things were hastily piled on a nearby table, including tangled clumps of recently unplugged electrical cords. Of all the single women's rooms I've ever seen, this was probably the messiest.

"The boys can help mop the floor, I'm too weak." She tossed her hair and handed me a mop, which I took, secretly sticking out my tongue.

So we started cleaning while having a preliminary conversation.

Besides shooting commercials, what other jobs do you do?

"Going to class!" Su Ying replied casually.

"Oh, you're a college student?" I was slightly surprised.