Facultad de Humanidades

Capítulo 3

My son, don't blame your mother, don't hurt your mother.

I read it silently.

He was babbling at me, who knows what he was trying to say. But his outstretched arms probably meant he wanted a hug.

I was terrified he would eat me up, so I had no choice but to let him hold me in my arms.

He was still as dirty as when he was born, like a little monkey. He was very well-behaved in my arms and didn't pounce on my neck and bite open my veins as I had expected.

By the way, it's just a baby, it doesn't have teeth yet.

He giggled... He must have felt really comfortable being held, because he laughed happily and then put his right thumb in his mouth and sucked on it.

At that moment, I suddenly felt a warm current flow to my eyes, and my nose instantly stung with tears. He was so adorable, how could I... have done it?

As the saying goes, a mother and child are connected at heart; he seemed to sense it and scratched my chin with his little hand.

Motherhood is truly one of the most magical instincts in the world. At this moment, I no longer thought that he was just a ghost. I gently placed a kiss, the most sincere yet apologetic kiss, on his forehead.

He smiled again.

Once inside, I washed him thoroughly with water and then wrapped him in a silk scarf. I was worried that cotton or wool might irritate his delicate skin. For some reason, an overwhelming surge of love welled up within me.

“Honey, I’ll take you to meet your daddy tonight.” I realized that I should share this happiness with others.

That evening, when I felt less pain in my genitals, I took my child to school.

Several police cars were parked on campus, and an ambulance passed by me.

Which unlucky soul got into trouble again? Thankfully, I didn't throw my child's body in the toilet. Otherwise, this police car would be coming for me. I stuck my tongue out at my baby in my arms. He was still smiling at me as always.

I walked past the group of college students who were watching. Could someone have jumped off a building? I looked at the ground but there were no traces.

Who cares!

The elevator was empty and moved quickly.

Soon I arrived at the 22nd floor, where Zheng Jun's office was located.

Strange, why are the police questioning him? Director Xiao is also there, his face grave.

I hid around the corner and waited for a long time before the group of police officers left.

A little while later, Director Xiao also left.

I saw Zheng Jun sitting at his desk with a troubled expression, his feet propped up on the chair, his hands tucked into his hair.

"Teacher Zheng..." I originally wanted to make a sarcastic remark, but it seemed something serious had happened, and I'm a pragmatic person. "What happened?"

When Zheng Jun heard my question, he said weakly, "It's nothing, you should go back to your dorm..."

He seemed to recognize my voice halfway through his sentence and abruptly looked up. His eyes were bloodshot, and his pupils were filled with doubt.

"Ah! You...it's you...what are you doing!" He was unusually frightened, reacting so violently that he actually stood on the desk. He was hardly befitting a teacher.

I felt a surge of disdain. Then I suddenly realized why he was so afraid. It was probably because he saw the child in my arms.

"Look at you, you coward! Are you scared...? This is your child, I gave birth to him. Alone, in the women's restroom on the 16th floor. I...gave...him...born...alone!" I deliberately dragged out the words and emphasized the tone.

"Ah...no...I don't know what you're talking about...don't come any closer!"

Hmph, it's just a child, and you're so scared. If you bit me and told me it was a ghost baby, I bet you'd pee your pants right there. Aha! I thought to myself, secretly pleased with myself.

I slowly walked towards him: "Don't you want to see what your own flesh and blood looks like... just take one look."

The child in her arms seemed to realize that the man in front of him was his father, and turned his head away.

However, he turned his head a little too far... 180 degrees. Then he revealed a sinister smile, and I could clearly see the sharp teeth gleaming coldly in his mouth!

That startled me too. I almost lost my grip on him.

Upon witnessing this scene, Zheng Jun completely broke down. He took two steps back from his desk... and stepped on the lid of a teacup. He slipped and fell headfirst out of the window.

My instinctive reaction was to pull him away.

But... my hand passed right through his body...

I was moving too fast and crashed into the windowsill, then rushed straight out of the house.

What happened? I passed through the wall.

Moreover... it floats in mid-air.

Zheng Jun's body landed right on the police car, his empty eyes staring straight at where I was.

Looking down from this spot, I could see doctors and nurses in the women's restroom on the 16th floor carrying a pale-faced, swollen-abdomen female corpse onto a stretcher.

Hehehe...

A child's voice rang out in my arms.

Neighbor

Lucky me! I found a new place so quickly. The price is cheap, and the neighborhood has nice landscaping. Most importantly, the landlord provided a refrigerator and a freezer, so I don't have to keep going to the supermarket. Lü Fei thought to herself as she dragged her large black suitcase up the stairs.

It's just a bit high up, six floors, and there's no elevator. Sigh... thinking so much, at this price, you can't expect to have it all.

Before I knew it, I had reached the third floor. It was 3 pm on Tuesday, and everyone must have gone to work. There was no one in the hallway. The old-fashioned, open staircase was bright and airy, much like the red brick buildings in the factory residential area when I was a child, exuding a unique sense of belonging.

Tired. Xiao Fei put down her suitcase and stretched.

As soon as I put my arm down, I saw a thin, middle-aged man standing next to me. His eyes were cloudy, and his stubble covered his chin.

This really startled Xiaofei. Where did it come from?!

"Miss, you must have just moved in. I live on the 6th floor, apartment 27. My surname is Zhou." The middle-aged man's tone was gentle and polite, which lessened the sudden discomfort. "Would you like me to help you with your suitcase?"

Seeing that he meant no harm, Xiao Fei smiled politely and said, "What a coincidence, I live on the 6th floor, number 28, right next to you."

“I heard from the landlord that the room next door has been rented out. I saw you when you came to see the apartment the other day.” Mr. Zhou squinted, forcing a smile that looked like a forced grin, but it was clearly just a tug on his aged face. His smile made Lü Fei very uncomfortable.

"Did you rent the apartment directly from the landlord? That should be cheaper than mine. I found it through an agency. By the way, my surname is Lü, and my given name is Fei. I just started working here, so I'll have to trouble you to take care of me in the future." Lü Fei extended her right hand and politely shook hands with Mr. Zhou, feeling a strange discomfort from the calluses on his hand.

"My name is Zhou Jun, you can call me Lao Zhou." Zhou Jun didn't give Xiao Fei a chance to refuse and directly picked up her suitcase and went upstairs.

This was Lü Fei's first time meeting Zhou Jun, and it was also the best impression she had of him.

What puzzled Lü Fei later was: why didn't she hear Zhou Jun's footsteps at all that day?

After living there for over a month, Xiao Fei began to find the building rather strange. For example, she rarely saw anyone walking around inside. Occasionally, she would see a few older women doing housework with their doors half-closed, but they would quickly close the doors as soon as they saw Xiao Fei walk by. Also, she often saw ashes floating in the hallways, which upon closer inspection turned out to be paper money burned for the dead. This discovery made Xiao Fei extremely uncomfortable. It wasn't Qingming Festival or Ghost Festival; who would burn this stuff normally? Several households never opened their doors, but when she passed by, she could always smell the carbon monoxide from burning honeycomb briquettes, which irritated her respiratory tract. After a while, even the sunlight, which she had initially found pleasant, became a harsh, piercing beam.

Sigh... It's because my mindset has changed.

As for the neighbors on the 6th floor, Lü Fei had only seen Zhou Jun since moving in. Occasionally, she would hear banging sounds coming from next door, which at least indicated that Zhou Jun didn't live alone, but his partner had never shown up. As for the other three households, they were never seen. Apart from the mailboxes and milk boxes at the door being either empty or full, which indicated that someone lived there, there was really no sign of habitation.

That day, Xiaofei worked the night shift and didn't get home until almost midnight. When she got to the fifth floor, she noticed the streetlight on the sixth floor was broken. She didn't think much of it and hurried up. After taking a few steps, she noticed a pair of feet at the end of the stairs—a pair of bare feet standing there. With the help of the fifth-floor streetlight, she could only see the person's feet and ankles; it looked like a woman's. But she wasn't sure.

Lu Fei couldn't help but slow her pace, her steps becoming gentle and hesitant.

Those feet remained motionless, seemingly waiting quietly for Xiao Fei to approach step by step. It was like a provocation, yet also like an invitation.

Getting closer and closer.

Just then, the voice-activated light, which had been silent for a long time, went out.

The entire corridor was immersed in the tide of night.

The stark contrast caused Lü Fei to temporarily lose her sight. Startled, she screamed.

The streetlights turned on immediately.

Those bare feet were gone.

Just then, light shone through from the sixth floor. It was Zhou Jun's door that had opened.

Zhou Jun poked his head out from the stair railing: "Miss Lü, you're back so late. Is something the matter?"

"Hello Mr. Zhou, you're still awake?" Although we don't interact much, it's like grabbing a straw when you're drowning; seeing someone you know at a time like this always makes you feel more at ease.

"I went to bed, but I just went to the bathroom and suddenly heard you scream, so I came out to see what was wrong."

"Thank you!" Lü Fei went upstairs and opened her own door using the light from the Zhou family's lamp. "When did this streetlight break? I'll buy a light bulb tomorrow, could you please replace it for me, Mr. Zhou?"

"No problem! See you tomorrow."

Just as Zhou Jun closed the door, Xiao Fei felt a dark shadow flash behind him. But before she could see clearly, the light from Zhou Jun's house was swallowed up by the crack in the door.

Still shaken, Xiaofei sat down, her intuition telling her that something had just gone wrong. But she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

It wasn't until I was half asleep in bed that a sudden inspiration struck me.

She remembered that after she screamed, the lights in Zhou Jun's house suddenly turned on, instead of slowly opening like a fan through the crack in the door. What did that mean? Was Zhou Jun's door already open, and the lights just suddenly turned on?

Thinking of this, Lü Fei felt a chill spreading from the mat, enveloping her layer by layer, as if she were lying in an ice coffin.

Why... is the door open in the middle of the night? Is someone waiting for me? But those feet don't seem like a man's...

What exactly is he doing with the door open?

Perhaps she was too tired. Despite being frightened, Lü Fei drifted off to sleep.

The next day was another night shift, but when Xiaofei got home, the hallway light on the sixth floor had been repaired. This made Xiaofei feel somewhat relieved.

Just as she took out her keys to open the door, and bent down to look for the keyhole, she suddenly noticed two shadows on the ground. One was hers, and the other was long and drawn out.

Xiao Fei quickly turned around, but saw no one. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a dark figure darting towards the rooftop. The movement was unhurried, almost as if it were floating.

Could it be a thief? Lü Fei wasn't a timid little girl, so she grabbed a wooden stick and quietly followed them.

Whatever it is, I have to find out. Otherwise, I won't sleep soundly at night. If it really is a thief, then I'll lock the door leading to the rooftop.

There were no streetlights on the staircase leading to the rooftop. The evening breeze made the wooden rooftop door creak and bang against the walls, bang, bang…

As she stepped into the darkness, her eyes gradually adjusted. By the moonlight, she could see abandoned chicken coops and some cardboard boxes piled up beside the door, and a faint smell of chicken droppings wafted from them. Passing through the doorway, Xiaofei saw a light-colored dress fluttering in the wind on the rooftop. The dress belonged to a woman with skin as white as snow. Beneath the hem were bare feet—could they be the same pair she had seen yesterday? Strangely, this woman was bald. Her bald head gleamed in the moonlight.

It's probably because it has no hair that it's active at night. It's best not to disturb others to avoid causing unnecessary embarrassment.

So Lü Fei turned around and tried to go downstairs. The wind gradually picked up.

Suddenly she heard a loud thud behind her. Turning around, she saw the bald woman lying on the ground. She didn't get up for a while. Could she have hurt herself?

Xiao Fei quickly went up to help her.

Upon closer inspection, she could clearly see what the woman looked like, which startled her so much that she took a few steps back.

After calming himself down, he stepped forward again.

This isn't a woman at all; it's clearly a plastic mannequin.