I didn't mean to scare you

Chapter 5

"Little sister, why are you here all alone?" Lin Han bent down, resting his hands on his knees, and asked the little girl. The little girl blinked her big, watery eyes and opened her mouth. He waited to hear her melodious voice, but no sound came out. "Little sister, what do you want to say?"

Footsteps echoed from the courtyard behind the iron gate. The little girl's eyes suddenly filled with anxiety, and her lips moved rapidly. Lin Han deduced from her lip movements that she was saying, "No..."

"Don't want? Don't want what?" The bolt on the iron gate creaked dully. Lin Han glanced at the gate, then turned his gaze back. He was startled; the little girl was gone. He turned to face the alley entrance, but saw nothing. How could a little girl run so fast? Besides, there was nowhere to hide in this alley.

The iron gate opened, letting in a dim, yellow light. Lin Han turned to face the gate, and as he opened it halfway, Chen Yan's half-lit figure appeared. A fleeting look of surprise crossed her eyes upon seeing him outside, but she habitually gave a cold, dismissive smirk and stepped aside, saying, "Come in."

Lin Han looked flattered and slipped into the courtyard. The courtyard was desolate, seemingly even colder than outside. A two-story building stood there, with an old-fashioned kerosene lamp hanging on the porch. The exposed red bricks on the walls, illuminated by the lamplight, had turned black and were covered in moss. Withered ivy vines clung tightly to the walls, with a few stubborn, dead leaves clinging to them.

Chen Yan said nothing more and walked towards the small building first, her white high-top leather boots tapping on the concrete slab with a hollow, crisp sound. Lin Han followed her anxiously, entering the small building amidst the hoarse turning of the door hinges.

Upon entering, one finds a large living room with only a rickety table and a kerosene lamp on it. On the wall opposite the entrance, a large blue mirror is covered with a thin layer of dust, and the reflection of people in the dim light is very blurry.

Another mirror? After the terrifying game last time, Lin Han had developed a vague fear of mirrors. He would never look in a mirror, even during the day, unless absolutely necessary. The door closed softly behind him, the click of the latch making his heart clench for no apparent reason.

4

"Damn! What are you doing here too?" Zhang Yiyang shouted, jumping out of the shadows and startling Lin Han.

"Everyone's here. Let me explain the rules of the game." Chen Yan's voice wasn't loud, but it was full of authority. Zhang Yiyang glared at Lin Han resentfully and remained silent. Lin Han noticed three figures huddled together in the darkness where the light didn't reach; they looked like three girls. "Anyone who's scared, leave now. Once the game starts, no one is allowed to mention leaving again."

No one raised any objections, and the three girls moved closer to the light. Lin Han recognized them as three prominent figures from the Chinese Literature Department, known as the "Three Beauties of All Time": Zhao Na, Wang Xinxin, and Qu Muxue. After a few seconds, Chen Yan slowly explained the rules of the game, her voice cold and devoid of any emotion.

This ghost-summoning game is called "Entering the Ghost," and it requires six to ten people, preferably mostly girls. Find a room that doesn't receive sunlight, and everyone enters after dark. Each person draws a number to determine their assigned number. Lights can be lit both inside and outside the room, but there shouldn't be too many people coming and going outside. Number one opens the door, goes out, closes it, faces the door, silently counts to ten, knocks three times, and then number two opens the door to let number one in, then goes out again, and closes the door. This continues in sequence. While the doors are opening and closing, those inside must not make noise and should stay at least five steps away from the door. Finally, everyone will see something appear behind someone who was outside one of the doors.

It is especially important to note that no matter what you see behind someone outside the door, never close the door, otherwise the person outside will be in danger. After seeing the object, everyone must not scatter and run away; instead, they must all blow air out the door until it is no longer visible. The person outside must not turn around, and the person opening the door must not leave the doorway.

"Did everyone hear me clearly?" Chen Yan asked coldly. A breeze stirred the lamplight on the table, casting flickering shadows on her face that contrasted sharply with her bloodless skin, creating an eerie atmosphere. No one answered; everyone simply nodded in bewilderment. She glanced at everyone and continued, "Then, let's begin the drawing of lots."

The draw resulted in Lin Han being number one, followed by Chen Yan, Qu Muxue, Wang Xinxin, Zhang Yiyang, and Zhao Na. The time was 11:44 PM. Just like last time, before the game began, Lin Han saw a sudden, bewildered look in everyone's eyes. It was that mysterious force again, driving him step by step out the door. The moment he turned to face the door, the peeling paint slowly closed before him, and a chill rose rapidly from his feet, spreading throughout his body.

Fear prevented Lin Han from looking around, and he quickly closed his eyes. After silently counting to ten, he impatiently knocked on the door. He opened his eyes as the door opened, and seeing the reactions of everyone inside, he breathed a sigh of relief. Without lingering, he slipped into the living room. Chen Yan, who followed, showed no unusual behavior, but before she entered, Lin Han had been extremely worried about her.

As Qu Muxue walked out, she timidly glanced back at everyone. The door slammed shut behind her, and Lin Han shivered, sensing that something was about to happen. "Knock, knock, knock"—three slow, rhythmic knocks sounded at the door. Wang Xinxin opened the door, and Qu Muxue stood outside, trembling and pale.

Lin Han avoided looking at Qu Muxue's face, his gaze inadvertently falling on the mirror beside him. One glance, and his face instantly filled with terror; he opened his mouth, but no sound came out. The mirror had somehow become crystal clear; behind Qu Muxue's image, a blurry white shadow floated, appearing to be a woman with disheveled long hair and wearing a white dress. He whirled around, but behind the real Qu Muxue, there was nothing but darkness.

The game continued, and Wang Xinxin was the one who left. This time, after the door opened, Lin Han consciously looked at the mirror. There was something behind Wang Xinxin, grayish-black, clinging tightly to her shoulder, wriggling extremely slowly. Then came Zhang Yiyang and Zhao Na; without exception, behind their reflections in the mirror, something appeared, each with a different shape and color. But what was utterly terrifying was that in reality, behind them were completely empty spaces.

Cold sweat trickled down Lin Han's forehead. He wasn't sure if the same inexplicable thing had appeared behind him and Chen Yan just now. A feeling of fear gnawed at his heart like a venomous snake, and from the relaxed expressions on everyone's faces, he seemed to see a layer of death faintly emerging.

The game seemed to have ended without any danger. The "Three Beauties" glanced at Chen Yan with a look of envious disdain, then raised their heads high, linked arms, and walked out of the haunted house. With the help of the two boys, Chen Yan extinguished the kerosene lamp. Zhang Yiyang caught up with her as she walked out the door, eagerly taking out his phone as a flashlight to illuminate her path: "Beautiful lady, I'll take you home."

"No need," Chen Yan coldly declined, her gaze sweeping over Lin Han, who was standing not far away.

In Chen Yan's eyes, Lin Han saw a glimmer of light, a resentful light, as if blaming him for not offering to take her home first. Lin Han put his hands in his pockets and lowered his head to avoid her gaze: "Let Zhang Yiyang take you home. It's so late, it's not safe for a girl to be alone." As soon as he said this, he immediately regretted it, wishing he could slap himself twice.

Chen Yan exhaled a heavy breath, as if sighing. She said nothing more and walked straight ahead. Zhang Yiyang turned back, winked at Lin Han, revealed a smug smile, and then jogged after her.

Walking alone back to the boys' dormitory, everything around him seemed unreal. Lin Han couldn't understand why he had said those things. Perhaps, in that situation, considering Zhang Yiyang's feelings, and more importantly, worried about Chen Yan's safety, he had said something against his conscience. He knocked loudly on the dormitory door, and amidst the dormitory supervisor's stern reprimands, silently climbed to the second floor.

Not long after, Zhang Yiyang also tiptoed into the dormitory. Lin Han, who had been tossing and turning in bed, finally let out a sigh of relief, closed his eyes, and quickly fell asleep.

5

The dream was fragmented and chaotic, filled with black mist. In the dream, Lin Han saw the little girl again in front of the haunted house. She was still trying to say something to him, gesturing wildly, her eyes full of anxiety, her thin lips moving rapidly.

"No?" Upon waking, Lin Han could only make out those two words. What was the little girl trying to express? He was completely baffled. Suddenly, he remembered the legend of the haunted house. Among the five family members who died tragically, wasn't there a little girl who had just turned five? He was deeply moved, recalling the little girl's sudden appearance and inexplicable disappearance, and a chill ran down his spine.

The weekend passed in a calm gloom, and none of the things I had worried about happened. Lin Han gradually emerged from his panic, realizing that his fear was nothing but unfounded worry, and somewhat ridiculous. What he saw in the mirror of the haunted house was probably just an illusion caused by light and dust, and as for the mysterious little girl, it was more likely just a hallucination caused by his own fear.

On Monday morning, the winter sun, a rare sight, smiled down. Qu Muxue had no classes for the first two periods and didn't wake up until almost nine o'clock. She hadn't slept well at all, plagued by nightmares all night. Everyone else in the dormitory had left, leaving her alone. She got up and went to the bathroom. Her face in the mirror looked slightly haggard, with noticeable dark circles under her puffy lower eyelids.

After washing her face with warm water, Qu Muxue didn't feel much better. Her throat was a little sore, like the onset of a cold. She swallowed a few cold medicine tablets, packed her things, and prepared to go to class. Her stomach was bloated, but she wasn't hungry at all. Perfect for dieting, she thought, picking up her textbooks and leaving the dormitory. The whole day passed in a daze, and as evening fell, darkness seemed to suddenly extinguish the light.

The four girls in the dormitory ate dinner amidst laughter and chatter. As usual, they arrived early at the teaching building to reserve seats and begin their evening self-study. The classroom quickly filled up, but everyone was very quiet. Qu Muxue found it difficult to concentrate today; her mind was a jumbled mess. Not long after, a feeling of fullness in her lower abdomen forced her to get up, leave the warm and bright classroom, and go to the restroom at the end of the corridor.

The restroom and the classroom seemed like two different worlds. A dim incandescent light bulb hung in the damp, cramped space, its light flickering in the chilly night wind. There was a dripping sound from the sink, a soft, intermittent sound. It seemed empty inside; the wind rattled the window, which was missing a pane of glass, making a constant, rattling noise.

Qu Muxue hesitated for a moment, then stepped inside. She tiptoed, carefully avoiding the dirty water on the floor, and opened the first stall door. The toilet was clogged, and the foul-smelling, black water was about to overflow. Disgusted, she closed the door and opened the second stall. It was even more filthy inside, making it impossible to step inside. Annoyed, she closed the door again. The third stall was leaking, so she had no choice but to go to the last one.

Clutching the half-broken doorknob, Qu Muxue remained motionless for a long time. For some reason, a scene from a Hong Kong ghost movie she'd seen before, "Office Ghost Story," flashed through her mind—the evil spirit in it was hiding in the last toilet stall. However, she was so desperate to hold it in that she had no other choice. Gritting her teeth and holding her breath, she yanked the door open.

Whew! Qu Muxue breathed a sigh of relief the moment she saw the cubicle. It was completely empty and surprisingly clean. She quickly went in, locked the door, and squatted down. A wave of relief washed over her, and she realized then that her earlier thought had been a bit ridiculous.

As Qu Muxue dropped her bag and was about to get up, a cold, foul-smelling wind squeezed in through the crack in the door. At the same time, three slow, rhythmic knocks sounded on the plywood door of the cubicle. Annoyed, she impatiently shouted, "Someone's here, wait a minute."

"Knock, knock, knock"—three more knocks on the door, unhurried and unhurried. The person outside ignored Qu Muxue's reply. A nameless anger rose within her. Not only was she too lazy to answer, but she also had a mischievous thought and squatted there, refusing to get up.

After waiting for a long time, the knocking stopped. Qu Muxue was secretly pleased, thinking that the guy must be getting impatient. The person outside was also strange; he didn't seem to be in a hurry and there was no sound from him. However, a woman's intuition told Qu Muxue that the person must still be waiting outside. Suddenly, she became curious and wanted to see who this extremely patient person was.

Although there was a gap of about a foot between the top of the cubicle door and the ceiling, there was only a narrow crack less than a centimeter wide between the bottom and the floor, making it impossible to see outside. Qu Muxue only noticed a jagged, circular hole above the door latch. She gently bit her lower lip, carefully peering through the small hole with her right eye, even holding her breath, afraid of disturbing the person outside.

A blinding flash of blood red startled Qu Muxue, who was utterly bewildered. She moved closer, and the red began to move. Suddenly, a black pupil turned, its gaze piercing her eyes. A scream escaped her lips; she stumbled backward, her shoes slipping, nearly falling into the toilet bowl. Thankfully, in her panic, she grabbed the water pipe behind her, regaining her balance. Her heart pounded wildly, fear raging through her body.

The plywood partition door began to rattle and sway. The fragile bolt couldn't withstand the force and bent and broke. A figure rushed in with the force of the opening. Qu Muxue's vision went black, and she fainted.

"Wake up, wake up, Xiaoxue!" Amidst the shaking of hands and anxious calls, Qu Muxue slowly opened her eyes. What came into view was the flushed face of her roommate, Gong Qian.

“The eye, that eye…” Qu Muxue looked around and found herself standing by the bathroom window, the cold wind making her face numb.

"What eyes?"

The restroom was completely open, containing only Qu Muxue and Gong Qian. The cold wind gradually calmed Qu Muxue down, and with Gong Qian's help, she straightened up: "Qianqian, when you came in just now, did you see someone leave?"

"No," Gong Qian said, looking at Qu Muxue with confusion. "I saw you'd been in the restroom for a long time and hadn't gone back, so I came to look for you. But as soon as I entered, I heard you scream. Without saying a word, I kicked open the stall door and dragged you out. There was no one else here!"

"Really? Maybe...maybe I saw it wrong," Qu Muxue murmured, the terrifying eye still flashing before her eyes. She left the restroom with Gong Qian, still feeling lingering fear.

Just as the two stepped out of the restroom, a barely audible, sinister laugh rang out. In the mercury-stained mirror in front of the sink, a disheveled white figure flashed by, like a wisp of mist drifting in the wind.

6

That crimson eyeball kept disturbing Qu Muxue's dreams. Her cold seemed to be getting worse; over the past two days, she often felt chills for no apparent reason.

Wednesday was Qu Muxue's nineteenth birthday. More than two weeks ago, her roommates had been planning her birthday party. Although she always felt exhausted, she still mustered her energy and went with them to the Blue Rain Karaoke Bar outside the school gate that evening. Her best friends Zhao Na, Wang Xinxin, and some other friends had arrived earlier and had already finished setting everything up.

The joyful atmosphere dispelled the unease that had been lingering in their hearts. After a few rounds of drinks, everyone felt a little tipsy. Without warning, the lights suddenly went out, the music stopped abruptly, and the enclosed karaoke room fell into a deathly silence. The fear that had been forgotten instantly spread wildly through Qu Muxue's body.

A flickering candlelight, casting a dim yellow glow in the darkness, slowly drew closer. Qu Muxue's eyes widened, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Just then, quite suddenly, the song "Happy Birthday" rang out amidst cheerful laughter.

"Xiaoxue, blow out the candles." In the candlelight, Wang Xinxin's sweet smile shone through the air. Qu Muxue breathed a sigh of relief, gave an awkward smile, and her face still showed traces of fear.

"Make a wish before blowing out the candles," Zhao Na said with a charming smile, reaching out to cover Qu Muxue's pouting lips. Qu Muxue closed her eyes and silently wished for everyone to be happy. Amidst everyone's cheers, she blew out all nineteen candles in one go.

Colorful lights illuminated the room with applause, and the frenetic music once again pounded in everyone's ears. Cakes covered in cream tumbled through the air, landing a hit on everyone. The cake-throwing game brought the birthday party to its climax. Qu Muxue's mood improved; she wiped a bit of cream from her nose and chuckled to herself at her overly nervous reaction.

"What the hell? You've got cream all over your hair, it's so annoying!" Wang Xinxin frowned and pulled Qu Muxue outside. "Xiaoxue, let's go wash up. These guys are crazy."

"That's what birthday parties are like, they're not fun if you don't go crazy." Qu Muxue was pulled by Wang Xinxin and walked out of the hall filled with the sounds of wild revelry.

The narrow corridor outside the door was illuminated by dim spotlights of various colors, creating a bizarre and surreal atmosphere. On the walls on both sides, two rows of funhouse mirrors were ingeniously installed, reflecting people of varying sizes and strange shapes.

Wang Xinxin stopped and looked at her and Qu Muxue's funny reflections in the mirror, then burst into laughter. Qu Muxue nudged her, urging her to hurry up, a smile of suppressed amusement also appearing on her face.

Just as Qu Muxue's gaze was about to leave the mirror, a fleeting white shadow startled her. Looking closely, she saw nothing in the mirror except for the two figures. Thinking she was seeing things, she gave her reflection a wry smile. Suddenly, something seeped from the mirror, first slowly, then faster, coalescing into countless streams that flowed gently down.

Slightly tipsy, Wang Xinxin continued walking forward, completely unaware that Qu Muxue had stopped. At that moment, Qu Muxue's attention was focused on the mirror, and a strong smell of rust assaulted her nostrils. She frowned, suddenly realizing something, her face filled with fear, and she retreated step by step. The deep red liquid on the mirror continued to overflow, gradually spreading across the ground.

In that instant, a pair of enormous red eyes appeared in the mirror, filling the entire surface. Under Qu Muxue's horrified gaze, the eyes shrank rapidly, revealing a terrifyingly pale face—a disheveled woman in white, suspended on the mirror's surface. Slowly, the woman in white floated towards Qu Muxue outside the mirror. A human figure bulged from the mirror's gelatinous surface, and with a creaking sound, the woman first extended a pair of deathly pale hands, their ten fingernails black and sharp.

A gust of foul wind swept across her face. In the blink of an eye, the woman had completely broken free of the mirror's confinement, almost face-to-face with Qu Muxue. Qu Muxue screamed, jumped up, and frantically rushed out of the corridor, desperately running up the fire escape stairs. Wang Xinxin was startled by Qu Muxue's scream and turned around to see the stairwell door opening and closing erratically. She followed in surprise, and footsteps echoed in the moonlit stairwell.

"Xiaoxue, what happened?" Wang Xinxin grabbed the stair railing and looked up. "Where are you going?" Not getting an answer, she didn't hesitate and climbed up as well, calling Qu Muxue's name as she went.

7

Blue Rain Karaoke Hall is located on the ground floor of a small commercial building. The building is only six stories high, and the top floor is a large rooftop.

Qu Muxue ran breathlessly to the rooftop, but there was nowhere left to go. Looking around, the rooftop, bathed in the bright moonlight, contained only some old junk piled up in a small heap in the corner, with nowhere to hide.

Where is that horrible woman? Hopefully, she hasn't followed. Standing at the rooftop entrance, Qu Muxue thought this, her chest tight with shortness of breath. She hesitated, unsure whether to go up to the rooftop or turn back and go down.

A few drops of warm liquid landed on her forehead, followed quickly by another. Qu Muxue's furrowed brows tightened even more. She raised her arm, dipped a finger in the liquid, and held it up to her eyes. She was very puzzled; with such beautiful moonlight, it was raining, and the raindrops were even warm.

It was that familiar smell of rust again. Qu Muxue stared at her fingers in terror for a few seconds, then slowly and stiffly raised her head. On the doorframe, strands of black, thread-like material hung down, growing longer and more numerous, as if rapidly increasing. Just as Qu Muxue realized that it might be human hair, a human head hung upside down. On its deathly pale face, two crimson eyes gripped her gaze, and a chilling smile played on its purplish-black lips.

When Wang Xinxin arrived at the rooftop, Qu Muxue was already in a state of confusion. She kept letting out short screams, retreating step by step towards the railing behind her, waving her arms wildly at the void in front of her, as if trying to drive away a swarm of wasps that were stinging her.

"Xiaoxue, Xiaoxue? What are you doing?" Wang Xinxin had fully sobered up from the effects of alcohol, but she didn't know how to help Qu Muxue.

A flash of lightning seemed to illuminate Wang Xinxin's vision. To her astonishment, she saw Qu Muxue, who had been leaning against the railing, suddenly suspended in mid-air, frozen in place, her tear-blurred eyes filled with despair. A loud cracking sound rang in her ears, followed by a scream as her left arm snapped violently backward, the blood-soaked bone protruding straight out.

A series of cracking sounds assaulted Wang Xinxin's ears; her screams mingled with Qu Muxue's agonizing cries, each broken joint a gruesome sight. Finally, with an even louder crash, Qu Muxue's neck jerked backward, the back of her head pressed against her back, her dying scream abruptly cut short. As Wang Xinxin fell, Qu Muxue's body was thrown over the railing, disappearing without a trace.

With a loud thud, a figure rose from downstairs. A disheveled woman in white slowly materialized near the railing where Qu Muxue had fallen. Her long hair covered her face, and her dirty white robe was splattered with dried, blackened blood. Her joints cracked and popped, like a clumsy marionette, yet with astonishing speed, she darted towards the terrified Wang Xinxin.

A foul stench, carried by the white-clad woman's breath, assaulted Wang Xinxin's face, bringing with it a chilling, sinister aura. Finally, unable to withstand the onslaught of fear any longer, Wang Xinxin, her face covered in cold sweat, rolled her eyes back and fainted.

Waking up groggily, Wang Xinxin felt as if her head had been filled with molten lead, burning and heavy. All around her was a bleak white expanse, and the several blurry white figures surrounding her caused her to scream again. A stinging pain came from her arm, and her agitated emotions slowly subsided. People were asking her questions, all about Qu Muxue's fall to her death.

Wang Xinxin answered the questions mechanically, completely and without missing a single detail. Then, in a daze, she drifted off to sleep again. When she awoke once more, she was still in a white house, with thick padded walls on all four sides. The door was tightly closed, and above it was a small glass window fitted with wire mesh. On the other wall was a tall window, through which sunlight streamed in.

Almost instantly, Wang Xinxin realized her predicament. Barefoot, she rushed to the door, pounding on it and screaming, "Let me out! Let me out! I'm not crazy, don't lock me up here..."