Xiao Tao's Ghost Stories (Full Version)

Chapter 9

"So I quietly followed them, and they had no idea that someone was following them. They were even flirting with each other."

"I went up to the second floor with them. In the darkness, a cherry-red spot hung in mid-air, flickering between light and shadow. The man was smoking by the toilet door, and the woman must have been inside."

"So, while the man was facing me, I suddenly rushed into the bathroom."

"The woman was in the restroom, her raincoat hanging outside. I suddenly had an idea, so I quietly put on the raincoat and went outside."

"I linked arms with the man and deliberately walked very fast, quickly drawing him away from the restroom. The man was puzzled: 'Why are you wearing a raincoat?'"

I lowered my voice and hummed, "Cold..."

"The man no longer suspected anything and put his arm around me as we walked towards the stairs."

"A strange thing happened: when we got to the corner, the stairs disappeared! There were no stairs!"

"'We must have gone to the wrong place,' the man said to me. I could only nod, but I was already starting to get scared. I remembered very clearly that we hadn't gone to the wrong place. The stairs should be in this corner! But I couldn't speak. I prayed that I was mistaken, since it was pitch black that day without any streetlights."

"So we went to the next corner of the character '回'. Still nothing!"

I glanced at the mirror again, and the more I looked, the more horrified I became. The desk lamp was dim, barely enough to see my own face; the rest of the huge live-streaming room was pitch black. This made me even more terrified. Who knew what was lurking in the darkness behind me? I felt a chill run down my spine—cold sweat. Damn Wei Wei! What a load of rubbish that mirror is; I have no idea what she's thinking.

"The man started to get anxious, and so did I, so we started jogging."

"We reached the third corner. Still no stairs! The man was still fooling himself, saying, 'Aren't we going in the wrong direction, going around in circles?' I could only nod again. Really, how can two people be wrong at the same time?"

"So we walked to the fourth corner, and the man started to feel something was wrong, because the toilet was right next to the fourth corner, so the fourth one was also the first one!"

"I felt my hand trembling as I held it. Suddenly, the man shook off my hand and sped off. So I could only silently follow behind him. Hehehehehe..."

Qiu Hong suddenly burst into a series of laughs. I suddenly felt very cold, because I sensed something strange coming from the telephone speaker. I glanced at the telephone; it was still a telephone, nothing different. But the dark, honeycomb-like holes on the speaker inexplicably frightened me.

"At the fourth corner of the track, there were still no stairs, so the man stopped in his tracks. There were large beads of sweat on his face."

"I slowly followed, intending to tell him the truth, when suddenly I heard a woman's voice—it was the girl from the restroom. The girl cried pitifully, 'Sister, give me back my raincoat. Sister, give me back my raincoat…'"

"'You! Who are you?!' The man suddenly turned to me, his face contorted beyond recognition! I was just as terrified! I quickly shouted, 'Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I'm human! I was just joking, I'm human…' The man said, 'How did you get here?' I hurriedly explained, 'I was studying, then the power went out and I was about to leave, but I didn't have any rain gear, so I had to take shelter here. I just happened to run into you guys. Don't be afraid, I was just joking. My name is Qiu Hong, a senior in journalism…'"

Suddenly, with a bang, the toilet door was pushed open, and a woman's body crawled out, writhing as she cried out, "Sister, please, give me back my raincoat, give me back my raincoat..."

Hearing this, I couldn't help but shudder, as if I could really hear the female ghost's mournful voice.

"Ah—!" Qiu Hong suddenly screamed, sending chills down my spine. She continued, "The man and I screamed at the same time. I immediately hid behind him, and he instinctively used his hands to protect me. The girl looked up, and we saw a leather belt tightly around her neck! She had already been strangled to death!"

"At that moment, the man suddenly turned around, shoved me aside, and pointed at me, saying, 'Seniors have already graduated and started their internships last month. What are you doing here studying? You're a ghost too! You killed her!'"

"Beep—" The call ended, and Qiu Hong's hoarse and terrifying voice disappeared. Clearly, just like last time, Qiu Hong had deliberately hung up because she had already said everything she needed to say. I quickly clapped my hands and said, "Great, very good. A very classic ghost story. I don't know if you listeners understood it, but this is a ghost story told from the perspective of a female ghost. It reminds me of the classic horror film 'The Others' starring Nicole Kidman from last year. Very good, very good, a very novel perspective. You all probably already know, right? This female ghost killed the woman in the couple in the toilet, and then planned to tease the man before harming him. Unexpectedly, the girl who had just died had already become a vengeful spirit, and a vengeful spirit that even ghosts fear! A very good concept, a very good idea, and it shows the theme of 'evil begets evil.' I don't even know how to express my admiration for her. Alright, listeners, that's all for today's program. Thank you, Ms. Qiu Hong, for presenting us with a classic story at the end of the program, making it an unforgettable night. I hope you all sleep well tonight, haha. This is Dadi Entertainment Channel, and this is Xiao Tao's Ghost Stories program, which airs every Monday and Thursday at 11:45 PM. I am your host, Feng Xiao Tao. See you on Thursday night at 11:45 PM!"

I barely thought about what I was saying before rattling off the words, then I turned off the microphone, plugged in the last commercial break, and rushed out of the dark, cramped, and creepy livestream room.

This story is my original work. Any alumnus from my year at the provincial university must have heard the tale of the raincoat ghost in the third teaching building. It was just a sudden burst of inspiration on my whim. However, in my story, I was the protagonist, bumping into the raincoat-stealing ghost while taking my girlfriend to the third teaching building. Qiu Hong, on the other hand, altered the story, telling it from the perspective of the raincoat ghost.

When she told this story, her tone was somber and mournful, as if the raincoat ghost had truly come back to life, making people's hearts pound.

Is she... revealing her identity?

I was still shaken when I drove out. The parking lot was deserted, except for rows of cold, lifeless cars sitting there like metallic corpses. It was already midnight, and Wei Weiwei had long since taken a taxi home. Wei Weiwei has now openly moved into my house. Ever since the boss gave us a dressing down, we've become increasingly arrogant on stage. This is convenient, at least I don't have to sit quietly in my car for five minutes every morning before I go to work so she can go up first. Before, after get off work, I'd either wander around the city waiting for her to do her show, or she'd wait somewhere for my little Tao to finish his nonsense. Neither of us dared to be openly on stage, afraid of arousing suspicion or giving others a reason to criticize us. Now that it's public, there's no point in hiding it anymore, so it's much more convenient to be out in the open. At least I don't have to listen to Wei Weiwei complaining about how late my show is or how hard it is for her to kill time alone in the city. We're both thinking the same thing: we'll just have to wait and see. The noise on stage has gradually calmed down these past couple of days. Just as I predicted, after a while, everyone's had enough of the commotion. As they say, habit becomes second nature.

It's not surprising.

Back home, Wei Weiwei was already asleep. Seeing her, I finally felt relieved. With a woman in the house, things were much tidier. Before, the floor was littered with cigarette butts and empty beer bottles, socks were never found, and the floor and kitchen were covered in grease. The air was thick with the smell of smoke, beer, and sweat. Now, the floor was spotless, clothes and socks were washed clean and neatly arranged in the closet, and the refrigerator, which had always contained only beer and cola, now had a huge pile of miscellaneous items. Although the room was almost empty with cleanliness, it didn't feel lifeless; after all, there was someone breathing in the air. There's a saying that women are like cats and men are like dogs, one argument being that women and cats are very clean; while men and dogs are incredibly filthy and messy.

Wei Weiwei was already asleep. I gently lay down beside her, watching her sleep soundly like a child, and a strange feeling welled up inside me. Everything had happened so fast, almost unbelievably fast, so fast that I could hardly believe it was real. Now I feel an increasing attachment to this house. I know it's a warm place. No matter how much pressure or unhappiness I experience, even if I'm terrified by Qiu Hong, just thinking about home, about how this place isn't just a cold bed and a pile of trash, makes all the unhappiness lessen. Even the strange thing that happened in the elevator that day, being with Wei Weiwei, I quickly forgot about it. I'm starting to wonder where all that intense fear from before has gone. Maybe it all stems from loneliness?

I had a huge fight with Wei Weiwei the day before yesterday. I kept wondering how my colleague at the next table knew I'd run into something strange again, and how she'd even brought it up with the boss. Later, she confessed that she couldn't keep it to herself anymore, so she confided in an old classmate who worked in the news department, and now the whole world knew about it. I've been feeling really down about this ever since; I don't even dare think about it normally, just hearing about it makes my heart race. And she, of all people, told everyone, and now I'm the one being ridiculed so badly. But we made up quickly. After all, people do need someone to talk to when they're going through something, especially women with weaker emotional resilience. As for me, I would absolutely never discuss these things with her.

The night was cool and still. Wei Weiwei turned over, and I reached out to hug her. She seemed to know I was back, murmured something, and then fell into a deep sleep in my arms. I held her and closed my eyes, thinking that while I was no longer afraid, I should think about the strange things that had happened recently.

Without a doubt, the strange things that happened to me are closely related to that mysterious Qiu Hong. I myself wouldn't believe it if I said it was all a coincidence. And every time Qiu Hong said something, it came true for me like a prophecy, and then evidence was found in the drawer. This can't possibly be a coincidence.

I slowly recalled each of Qiu Hong's phone calls. The first time Qiu Hong called, she expressed my feelings. At that time, I was still worried about how to maintain my listenership and ensure a certain number of listeners. Qiu Hong hinted at a feasible solution. Coincidentally, Xiao Qi encountered something strange, so Xiao Qi and I went to the hospital. What we encountered was unbelievable and terrifying. I slowly recalled the clothes hanger, the bloodstains on the operating table, and especially the corpse plaque! It later appeared in the drawer and then mysteriously disappeared. Although Xiao Qi had his own reasons, the whole thing was basically done according to Qiu Hong's advice, and it indeed yielded great results. Now that my fear has subsided, looking back and analyzing it carefully, I feel like I've fallen into a well-prepared trap.

However, Qiu Hong had absolutely no reason to guarantee that I would do as she said. So, if I didn't go, wouldn't all the effort she put into setting up this trap have been wasted? How could she possibly know what I was thinking, and say it word for word?

Perhaps she is also in my profession, facing or having faced the same predicament as me. But she has no reason to know that I would do as she says.

Unless it's someone who knows me very, very well.

Was it Xiao Qi? A chill ran down my spine. No way, what benefit would Xiao Qi gain from doing this? Xiao Qi has always been one to take advantage of others. He spent so much money, even sacrificing the company's security cameras, and what did he get in return? While theoretically Xiao Qi had the opportunity to orchestrate everything, he had no motive; it was hard to believe it was him. Besides, Qiu Hong's voice was clearly a woman's. Even if she was Xiao Qi's accomplice, remembering Xiao Qi's screams and profuse sweating in the hospital that day, his trembling lips and shaking legs—it wasn't an act; he was genuinely terrified.

So, who is it?

The second time Qiu Hong called, she only mentioned the corpse tablet in the drawer, and I was so scared that I ran away without hearing anything. So, of course, I lost all valuable clues.

The third time, Qiu Hong pointed out the Coke can in the drawer. How did she know about that Coke can? I always thought it was a nightmare, a nightmare I had in the car. But when I woke up, I found a real Coke can next to the tire, exactly the same as in the dream! Was it just a dream? Was the person crawling out from under the car Qiu Hong? Wei Weiwei said hitting someone was a joke, but how do you explain the muffled "bang" I definitely heard?

Then Qiu Hong told me the elevator story, and what Wei Weiwei and I experienced afterwards was practically a carbon copy of that story. I tried hard to recall the face of the woman standing at the elevator entrance that day, but I couldn't remember what she looked like. Maybe I didn't look closely? Then, who was the dark figure I saw on the twenty-ninth floor? Was it also that woman?

Could it be that she is Qiu Hong?

If all the above questions are inexplicable and unanswerable, or at least cannot be deduced through common sense, then only one possibility remains: the woman I saw that day was Qiu Hong, and she is not human! I once secretly checked the hotline caller ID, and every time Qiu Hong called, it was never displayed.

But even if she's not human, what would she want? Even if she's a ghost, she needs a reason to harm people, right?

"HELLO, HELLO?"

"Hello... Hello." Another little girl.

"HELLO, congratulations! You're the first caller to our hotline today, and you've been lucky enough to become a lucky listener on Xiao Tao's Ghost Stories segment. You'll receive a pair of sports sunglasses from Jin Ding Company. So, what are your thoughts?"

"Well, I think... actually, I didn't originally intend to call to say I won the lottery; I just wanted to share some of my thoughts."

"Okay, please go ahead."

"Hmm, I was thinking, what that Sister Qiu Hong said was really scary, and my classmates all say it's true..."

"Hmm," a strange, indescribable feeling welled up inside me, so I chuckled, "Ha, Qiu Hong, wouldn't you be proud if you heard that? You already have friends who enjoy listening to your stories—"

“I…think,” that damn girl interrupted me, “that Sister Qiu Hong’s stories are the best. I’ve always listened to Xiao Tao’s nonsense, but it gets boring unless Sister Qiu Hong calls. And a lot of my classmates feel the same way…”

"Oh, it seems Miss Qiu Hong has found a kindred spirit here. Congratulations, Miss Qiu Hong. I just wonder if she'll be free to call tonight. Are you waiting for her in front of the radio, my friend?"

"kindness."

“Okay,” you can wait, damn it! “Now let’s listen to the next caller. Hello.”

"Hello, Xiao Tao."

"Hello!" I greeted them with the utmost enthusiasm and in the most friendly voice, "Does this friend have any good stories to share with everyone?"

"Oh? No, I just wanted to share my thoughts. I think what that friend said earlier was absolutely right, it really hit the nail on the head. I feel exactly the same way she does. To be honest, I've always thought that Ms. Qiu Hong's stories were excellent and very engaging, I just don't know why she didn't call last time..."

Damn it! Another troublemaker. Isn't this embarrassing me?

After receiving a hotline call, I had to put on the music that I had reserved for emergency use in case of a broadcast mishap, so that I would have time to think about how to end things.

Today is truly a curse! Several phone calls came in one after another, and whether they were the same regulars or new voices, they all had the same meaning: they were looking forward to Qiu Hong!

This really bothers me. After all, I'm the host of this program; I should be the main character, the soul of the show. I should be the director, and everyone should naturally want to hear my stories. But now it seems this woman named Qiu Hong has unknowingly stolen my place. The boss once said that for a radio station, the listeners are God. Although I didn't believe it at the time, it makes perfect sense now. After all, everything we do is for the listeners, and whoever caters to their tastes best is the boss. Even when I first took Wei Weiwei home, she mentioned that Qiu Hong seemed to be a better storyteller than me, but I didn't pay attention then. If a professional, an excellent radio host, thinks this way, then there's definitely something wrong with me.

My feelings are extremely conflicted. On the one hand, I hope Qiu Hong won't disappear without a trace and that my program can continue to be engaging and maintain such high listenership. I know that on my own, it would be difficult to achieve this. But on the other hand, I am extremely unwilling to see Qiu Hong take away my position.

The music was almost over, and the hotline indicator light was flashing incessantly, making me even more irritable. What should I do? Answer it? What if it's Qiu Hong? Don't answer? Not answering is definitely not an option; the program's time is up.

What should I do? I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled bitterly.

However, as time went on, the problem was resolved; Qiu Hong never came that day.

Since the last show, Qiu Hong has become increasingly popular, stealing the spotlight and showing me absolutely no respect. Although she hasn't actually appeared many times, and only sporadically at that, everyone who listens to Xiao Tao's tales is interested in her, speculating about her true identity, predicting when she'll appear next, anticipating what she'll say, and repeatedly recounting her past stories for posterity. My feelings about this are very complicated.

There was an element of jealousy, envy, and resentment. But objectively and calmly speaking, her storytelling talent was indeed superior to mine. I even began to suspect that the reason my "Little Tao's Ghost Stories" program had higher listenership than Wei Weiwei's "Music Treasure Trove" was largely due to Qiu Hong. Could the name Qiu Hong really have such magic, attracting so many listeners? Perhaps I didn't actually surpass Wei Weiwei; it was only under Qiu Hong's guidance that I achieved this. In that case, it seems my "Little Tao's Ghost Stories" should be called "Qiu Hong's Ghost Stories." In this program, I was merely a supporting character, a minor figure whose status wasn't much higher than an ordinary listener; she was the true protagonist. For the "Little Tao's Ghost Stories" program, this should be considered a success. But for the program's founder and host, myself, it was undoubtedly a failure.

I told Wei Weiwei all this, and she comforted me, saying she believed in my abilities. She said things would get better day by day, and that Xiao Tao's lies were just that—lies. I could only respond with a bitter smile.

I'm afraid that one day all the listeners will be tuning in for Qiu Hong, waiting for her every Monday and Thursday, and completely ignoring me, the host. That would be a huge blow to me. This program is mine!

No, I'm going to take back my Xiao Tao's lies! I'm going to let everyone know, just like Wei Weiwei said, that Xiao Tao...

The lies are mine!

But how do we begin?

I've come up with a method: find Qiu Hong! And finding Qiu Hong can be done using an old method.

It's about going through the story Qiu Hong told us again! It's the story of the raincoat ghost!

I mentally planned my trip to the Third Teaching Building of the Provincial University. If this were Qiu Hong's perspective, first, it would have to be one night. I'd have to cut off the power to the Third Teaching Building and chase all those diligent bookworms out. Then I'd have to go in alone and find a place to hide. Next, I'd have to wait for a couple to arrive, follow them, and when the boy went to urinate, I'd strangle him while the girl wasn't looking, then put on a raincoat—and yes, it had to be a rainy day…

Absurd! Absolutely not true.

So, from another perspective, based on my original idea when I created this story, the first thing I'd do is create a power outage or something—that's easy. Then I'd take my girlfriend to the Third Teaching Building (of course, my girlfriend would be accompanied by Wei Wei), and she'd go to the restroom with a raincoat while I waited outside…

What if Wei Weiwei was murdered? I started imagining it: Wei Weiwei, wearing a raincoat, nervously enters the restroom, while I stand outside, waiting and smoking. When she comes out, she's no longer Wei Weiwei; perhaps she's the mysterious woman I saw at the elevator that day. And then? Wei Weiwei becomes a ghost too…

Damn it!

A sudden flash of inspiration entered my mind! I was stunned!

I understand! Oh my god, that's terrifying.

I carefully considered the whole story in my mind, and there was no mistake! I finally understood what she meant by the raincoat ghost. It must be true; she wasn't a ghost, in fact, there were no ghosts in the whole thing! She was a person! And an absolutely cunning one, one that you couldn't tell from her appearance. No, not just one person! There were more than one, at least three! If this was all a trap, I would applaud, even if I was the one framed. Because every move was perfectly timed, each step more aggressive than the last, and after every terrifying story, I would experience it again as if it were a prophecy, and this time was no exception. I knew it was a pit of fire, but I had no choice but to jump in.

I said "if," because I'd rather be wrong. I'd rather believe that Qiu Hong is a ghost from the shadows, or even that she's here to harm me.

Because all of this is so terrible, so terrible that I really don't want to believe it or accept it.

In the stillness of the night, Wei Weiwei took my hand, and we strolled through the provincial university campus like a pair of student lovers. Everything was so familiar. The lush trees remained, the damp, fragrant grass was still there. Looking at the cement ping-pong tables, the basketball hoops without nets, the dusty playground, and the teaching buildings covered in ivy, everything was still so familiar, so dear. For a moment, I felt as if I had returned to my days studying here, or as if I had only left yesterday. Everything was the same, except for myself, and I felt a pang of sadness at the transience of life.

Wei Weiwei must have felt the same way I did. "If we had met back then, would we be like this now? Holding hands on campus?" she asked, leaning her head on my shoulder.

"I don't know. Maybe." I sighed. It was summer vacation, and students were either home or working; the campus was deserted. "Perfect timing," I thought to myself. If the story of the raincoat ghost had started the program earlier, before the school holidays, the study rooms would have been packed. But now, the study rooms were definitely empty.

That saved a lot of trouble.

The three massive buildings stood like a monster in the darkness. Because it was a holiday, not a single light was on, not even the main gate was locked, let alone the study rooms. I led Wei Weiwei to the door. "What are we doing here?" Wei Weiwei asked, puzzled.

I didn't tell Wei Weiwei why we came to the provincial university; I just said we were looking for past memories to inspire or provide material for continuing to make up stories. She came without a word, but I knew she actually understood why we were there.

It was all planned out. When I got home that day, Wei Weiwei was already asleep. Later, she said she hadn't listened to my episode, but I knew she most likely had, or even if she hadn't, there was no need for her to listen again. I looked at her and sighed, "You really didn't listen to my last episode?"