That night, Wei Jiangyan didn't rest. She went to the old lady's house on the first floor in advance to borrow a bowl of black dog blood, just in case something happened to Xiao Lei the next morning.
His hunch was right. Although he didn't know what terrible thing Xiao Lei had seen in his house last night, Xiao Lei slept soundly until evening. When he woke up, he was listless and started rummaging through his wardrobe, muttering incessantly, insisting on finding women's clothes to wear.
Wei Jiangyan: "...If you really find women's clothing in my house, I will kill you right now."
He tried the old method, hoping to throw a bowl of dog blood at Xiao Lei to wake him up, but Xiao Lei rushed out the door in a flash.
He had no choice but to rush after him, hoping to catch Xiao Lei and splash the black dog blood on his head.
He'd lived here for so many years, and in his memory, if any resident went crazy, this was always what everyone did. As for what the crazy one had gone through... the neighbors knew perfectly well and would never ask.
The person was eventually caught, and the dog blood was splashed on him, but Wei Jiangyan didn't expect that he would accidentally injure a passerby.
The person stood there, their features obscured by the dim light. Wei Jiangyan noticed the suitcase in the man's hand and deduced that he was a tenant about to move in.
I've really embarrassed myself for splashing dog blood all over the new residents.
Thinking this, Wei Jiangyan walked over and tried to wipe the blood off, completely forgetting that it couldn't be wiped off and had to be washed off.
Opposite him, the man, his face flushed, said:
Have you touched me enough?
Wei Jiangyan immediately flicked her hand back and stood at attention:
"I've touched enough."
You know what, the flesh on my belly is soft and actually feels quite nice to touch.
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To express his apology, Wei Jiangyan grabbed the new tenant's suitcase and ran upstairs. When he was almost on the second floor, he turned back, looked at Xiao Lei still lying on the floor, and the new tenant standing there, and asked:
"What floor do you live on again?"
"No need, I'll go up myself. You take care of your friend first."
As he spoke, the man came over, took his suitcase, and went upstairs.
When Wei Jiangyan carried Xiao Lei, who was covered in blood, to the third floor, he found that the door to the house opposite his own was open, and he could hear the sound of things being packed inside.
With a mixture of curiosity and doubt, Wei Jiangyan stopped in front of the house.
The person who was coughing incessantly from being choked by the dust turned around and smiled at him:
"Hello, Lu Mingran."
It was none other than the person he had splashed with dog blood.
Chapter 17 Want to know the formation? No way (3)
Since the neighbor had already introduced himself, Wei Jiangyan smiled and said, "I am Wei Jiangyan, and I live right across from you."
After saying that, he pointed to Xiao Lei, who was still drowsy behind him, and said, "I have something to do, so I'll be going now?"
"Um."
Lu Mingran nodded, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Wei Jiangyan leave and then come back, leaving him with a message: "I'm really sorry about what happened earlier. I'll come and get your clothes later."
After he finished speaking, Wei Jiangyan thoughtfully closed the door for him.
Lu Mingran stopped what she was doing.
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Lu Mingran didn't actually need to pack anything; the system had prepared everything for him. He straightened up, intending to first check the layout of the house and the surrounding environment.
The living room walls were an unusually white, and there was still a lingering smell of paint. Clearly, the landlord had done this before he moved in, in an attempt to cover something up.
Lu Mingran tried her best not to imagine what was under the white wall. She walked to the window and, by the light of the street lamp, saw a very thick and sturdy heating pipe wrapped in tattered black cloth.
The story of this residential building is based on the family compound where the author lived as a child, and one of the strange tales that happened there is related to these heating pipes.
Back in the 1990s, things weren't as strict as they are now, and some people would always find loopholes. A woman in one of the households in Unit 3 used her connections and influence to get someone take the exam for her daughter and get her into a top high school.
The matter did not end there.
She got into the school smoothly, but her daughter quickly became the focus of all the students' attention. After all, she had achieved the highest score in the entire school, which undoubtedly made many people curious about what this academic star was like.
At first, many people swarmed around this little girl. They brought her treats, competed to walk home with her after school, and even students from other classes would come to see this genius who got perfect scores in math and English. But over time, the girl's true colors were revealed.
A student who ranked first in the entire grade when entering the school can't answer questions in class, always makes mistakes in homework, and doesn't even make the top 30 in the class in the monthly exam?
The rumors grew louder, and the gazes directed at her were no longer filled with admiration, but with suspicion and sarcasm. Every time she went to school, the girl felt as if many knives were being plunged into her back.
Upon hearing the system's explanation, Lu Mingran couldn't help but interject, saying that if it were now, those privileged second-generation rich kids who relied on connections would likely post a selfie online with a caption saying, "If you're not convinced, why don't you do the same thing?"
"Yes, some people these days are not ashamed at all, but rather proud of it. But that girl is still very vulnerable."
She committed suicide.
One winter day, a girl in a daze opened her window and jumped out.
Fortunately, the heating pipes stopped the fall, and the girl only broke her leg.
But ever since that girl jumped off the building, every winter, residents can hear the sound of something heavy falling on the heating pipes, thud, thud. Some brave people have gone to look with flashlights at night, but they can't see anything, yet they can still hear the sound.
Seeing Lu Mingran staring so intently at the heating pipe, the system reminded her:
"Don't worry, the one that caused the problem isn't the one outside your room, it's the one on Wei Jiangyan's side. He's the male lead, so all the ghost stories will prioritize finding him."
That sounds a little bit tragic.
Lu Mingran was chatting idly with the system when he suddenly heard an angry slam of a door from across the hall. He opened the door a crack and saw the person who had been unconscious moments before was now full of energy, vigorously wiping his face with a towel while shouting at the door:
"Wei Jiangyan, no wonder you're so unpopular. Anyone who's with you is bound to be unlucky!"
After he finished cursing, Wei Jiangyan, who was standing at the door, calmly stretched out her hand, palm up.
"...What are you doing?"
Wei Jiangyan answered frankly:
“You’ll have to pay. Do you think the black dog blood I used to save you was free? Also, I broke Grandma’s bowl while chasing you, so I have to pay for it.”
Xiao Lei was even angrier now: "If you hadn't brought me to your house, would I...would I be like this?"
"Then we need to have a good talk."
Wei Jiangyan stood there with her arms crossed, a cold expression on her face:
"Last night, when your girlfriend was looking at your phone, I happened to be there too. What bad luck, I saw some of the contents."
It was from a WeChat chat group. Apparently, the people who had gathered that night had created a chat group behind Wei Jiangyan's back. They said they had heard that strange things were happening around Wei Jiangyan, and some even said that Wei Jiangyan was mentally ill, that he would get up at night to put on makeup and comb his hair in front of the mirror, and asked if anyone was brave enough to sneak into his house to take a look.
They used a lottery system where everyone received red envelopes. Xiao Lei got the most money, so he accepted his loss and pretended to be drunk to stick to Wei Jiangyan and go back home.
This is utterly ridiculous and idiotic; no wonder his girlfriend was furious when she saw it.
After being exposed, Xiao Lei's expression was far more interesting than his girlfriend's at that moment.
Xiao Lei walked away with blood still on his face. Lu Mingran couldn't stop laughing. When she came to her senses, she realized that Wei Jiangyan across from her was looking in her direction, as if he had noticed her peeking.
However, Wei Jiangyan didn't say much, but simply went back home and closed the door.
"Very smart," Lu Mingran exclaimed.
Moreover, he did an impeccable job. People were in trouble, but he did his best to save them. He was smart and knew how to leave himself some leeway.
The system said, "If he weren't smart, he wouldn't have discovered the connection between those strange tales."
As the system spoke, it showed Lu Mingran the progress bar from Wei Jiangyan's side:
Ten percent.
Damn, I started with 10%.
"How far has he progressed?"
The system replied with a statement that Lu Mingran didn't quite understand:
"You can tell a woman's character by her scent."
Chapter 18 Want to know the formation? No way (4)
To put it simply, there was a woman by Zhang Tianshi's side who wasn't very efficient at her work.
This woman was designed according to the standard villainous lover in many ghost stories. When Lu Mingran checked her profile, she was almost blinded by the screen full of "big and soft little white rabbits" and had a slight craving for White Rabbit candy.
If the villains were truly flawless in their actions, the story would be impossible to continue. The author uses this Miss Xiao as an example, saying that she carries a sachet specially made for her by Zhang Tianshi, so that she always leaves a fragrance at the scene after she finishes her business.
That's right. Miss Xiao is the key figure. Following the scent and suspecting her can indeed advance the progress bar by 10%.
After gaining a better understanding of the current situation, Lu Mingran realized how awful he smelled; the black dog blood covered him, making him reek.
So Lu Mingran took off her clothes and rolled them up, just in time remembering that Wei Jiangyan across from her had said he would help her wash her clothes.
But he sat on the sofa at home, waiting and waiting. As it grew darker and the stray cats outside started meowing, Wei Jiangyan still didn't come. Finally, Lu Mingran couldn't hold back any longer, rushed out, and knocked on Wei Jiangyan's door.
Wei Jiangyan quickly opened the door and saw not only her neighbor's resentful face, but also heard the loud rumbling of her neighbor's stomach due to hunger.
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Lu Mingran's first meal after arriving in this neighborhood was at Wei Jiangyan's house.
At Wei Jiangyan's house, Lu Mingran saw an old-fashioned washing machine, the kind that required manually filling it with water using a hose. Wei Jiangyan held the rubber hose in one hand, pouring water into the rumbling washing machine, while pressing it down with the other, tilting his head to talk to Lu Mingran, who was eating.
"I thought you wouldn't let me do your laundry."
"Huh? Why?" Lu Mingran paused, his hand holding the chopsticks still. He thought, someone is offering to wash my clothes for free, how could anyone refuse such a good thing?
Wei Jiangyan replied, "Seeing me chasing people around with a bowl of dog's blood...aren't you scared?"
And I also saw him scheming against his college classmates—even though they were in the wrong first.
Wei Jiangyan was a little afraid that if he went to see Lu Mingran again, she would look at him with that strange gaze.
At this point, perhaps to check on the washing machine, Wei Jiangyan lowered his head. Strands of black hair fell in front of his eyebrows, obscuring his eyes and making it difficult for others to see his expression.
There it is... there it is, the classic male protagonist of a ghost story novel, a character known for his loneliness and lack of love.