Извращенная сверхъестественная академия

Глава 6

No! It's not a car part, it's a person! It must be the person I hit and couldn't find! That person has been stuck to the undercarriage of my car! They followed me all the way here, waiting for Wei Weiwei to get out of the car, waiting for this Coke can to roll onto the tire!

"Ouch—" A groan came from under the car; it was a woman's voice. I was so frightened I didn't dare move.

A soft rustling sound of clothes scraping against the ground, as if the woman was crawling out! I vaguely sensed that she had crawled out from under the car and stood up!

She started circling the car, as if looking for something. What was she looking for? Me?! I didn't dare move, closing my eyes tightly and pretending to be asleep. But I could feel her staring at the car window—no, staring at me pretending to be asleep inside!

Just then, a thought flashed into my mind like lightning: It's Qiu Hong!

Even now, I don't know why I had that thought. But at the time, I was absolutely certain that it was Qiu Hong! She had come knocking on my door!

Chou Hong, dressed in red, walked to the car door. Her clothes looked like they were stained with blood, as if she had been run over by a car… “Hehehehe…” she chuckled sinisterly. Did she see through my pretense of being asleep? She reached for the doorknob. Had I locked the door? I was sweating profusely.

"Click," the door opened, and she reached out to grab me...

"Hey! What are you sleeping here? Hehe, wake up, hey!" Was that Wei Weiwei's voice? I opened my eyes, and the intense sunlight made me feel uncomfortable.

It was Wei Weiwei. Oh my god, it was a dream. I was still at Wei Weiwei's doorstep. It was already broad daylight. Wei Weiwei had changed into a yellow business suit and was looking at me with an amused expression.

"I..." I had just woken up, and my mind wasn't quite working. I didn't know what to say.

"Never mind," Wei Weiwei shook her head with a smile, letting go of my sleeve. "I think you should come in and wash your face first. Do you want something to eat? I have some bread left..."

I shakily climbed out of the car and looked down.

I saw an empty Coke can next to the tire.

Traffic was jammed, and rows of cars were stuck in a frustrating queue, puffing out smog. I irritably lit a cigarette, but it had little to do with the traffic jam; it was Wei Weiwei sitting next to me who kept mocking me.

"Hehe, don't tell me you slept at my doorstep all night. This is the first time in my life a man has been so nice to me." While taking a break, Wei Weiwei took out her foundation to touch up her makeup.

"I am truly honored."

"Me too. You're really brave; I never would have guessed otherwise."

"That's because you're too arrogant. You're putting on an act like nobody dares to chase me. Who would dare to approach me? Your life is more important." I said casually.

"Tch, so what is this now? A fearless hero has suddenly appeared? You're not really so scared that you're afraid to go home alone, are you?"

"Of course not, I am, huh? Actually, I came specifically to pick you up for work." This statement is too unbelievable; I think I'm still terrified by that nightmare.

"And then you fell asleep waiting in front of my house?"

"I left early because I was afraid of being late."

"I'm not going to talk nonsense with you. I'm asking you, did you really stay in front of my house the whole time?"

"Maybe... is that right? Yes, I was afraid you'd be scared home alone, so I've been guarding you at the door. Yeah, that's it." I said with a serious expression.

"Come on, I'm more afraid of you being out there."

I lit a cigarette, paused for a moment, and mustered my courage to say, "I have a question for you. A serious one."

"Oh?" She looked a little surprised. "Go ahead and say it."

"I... I really did hit someone yesterday?"

"Do you really want to know?" she asked, looking at me.

I looked at her, into her eyes: "Really."

She sighed. "Okay. Really, you bumped into someone, I saw it."

"But I didn't see anything under the car. There wasn't even a trace on the bumper." I started sweating again.

“Perhaps she’s not an ordinary person,” Wei Weiwei said thoughtfully. “I saw that she was wearing a red dress…”

"Chou Hong!" The two words slipped out of my mouth, and only after I said them did I realize that they had just popped out of my mouth without any thought.

“Yes,” she said as if I had reminded her, “maybe it’s Qiu Hong. Think about it, that sign from that day…”

"Don't... say it."

"Are you scared?" she asked, looking at me. I didn't look at her or answer; I just stared straight ahead.

Are you really scared?

I took a drag of my cigarette, still ignoring her. She fell silent as well, no longer saying a word.

After a while, I suddenly heard her making soft humming sounds. I turned to look at her and found that she had turned her head to face out the window, her body trembling slightly.

"What are you doing?" I asked, puzzled. She didn't answer, but trembled even more violently. I became even more curious, so I freed one hand to press down on her head and try to turn her around.

She turned her head, a bright smile on her face: "Hehe, hehehehe..."

"What are you laughing at? What's so funny?" I couldn't help but laugh too.

"Hehe, you finally admit you're scared? Hehehe..."

"You—you're lying to me?" But I also heard a "bang," how do you explain that?

"Hehe... What an idiot, hehehehe..."

"You damn bastard! How dare you lie to me!" Oh well, maybe I misheard.

"Hey, can you hurry up? We look like we're going to be late. It's rare for us to take the bus to work, and we're still going to be late."

"Rare? You mean it happens occasionally?"

"Can't I take a taxi? Hey, what if I'm late?"

"There's no way around it. This is punishment for deceiving me! Hmph."

"Who knew you were such a scaredy-cat? I was just trying it out. Hehe."

"Still laughing? Go laugh with the boss later."

"Hey, seriously, I'll get off first when we get there, you can go up later. So they don't see us."

"I know, I know, do you think I'm a three-year-old?"

"Good to know. Couldn't you have tried to drive just a little bit faster?"

I looked enviously at the countless commuters flowing along the bike path, and with a cheerful expression, I easily overtook us and sped away amidst the ringing of the bell, saying, "What could I do? I was just waiting for you for too long, and you dragged me down with you."

"Pah! Shameless! I wonder who was it that insisted on finishing my leftover porridge before leaving..."

I tried to tell Wei Weiwei a horror story about that nightmare, and it terrified her. But apart from that, I dared not tell anyone about the nightmare; I buried it deep inside, along with my fear. Because, even while trying to tell it, I was filled with a chilling dread. Although I knew, and Wei Weiwei said, that it would be a great horror story to tell, something I could embellish in Xiao Tao's ghost tales and it would definitely be very effective, I ultimately didn't do it.

Because I'm scared. Wei Weiwei is right, I'm actually not very brave.

The last incident at the hospital left me with lingering fear. When I described it in the live stream, I only omitted the most horrifying part—the corpse tablet—but it still terrified me. Every time I recall it, my heart races and my heart trembles, to the point that I don't even dare contact Xiaoqi anymore. This time, I simply dare not speak of it aloud, because I'm afraid, because I dare not recall it, let alone describe it in detail. Especially the empty Coke can I saw when I woke up the next morning! It makes me wonder if it was a dream or if it really happened.

And what's most terrifying is that after I finished telling the story that day, concealing the corpse tablet, Qiu Hong actually called to point out that I had hidden the most important thing! Then, the tablet inexplicably appeared in the desk drawer! That's absolutely impossible and utterly illogical!

I've had this thought in my mind: that day, when we were at the hospital, Qiu Hong was right beside us! She was with us; she saw everything that happened! That sign—she was the one who put it down!

What will happen if I tell the truth this time?

I dare not say it out loud, for fear that others will think I'm crazy, and for fear that something even more terrible might happen.

"...Hello."

The shrill chatter almost made me faint. But it quickly stopped, and Qiu Hong's hoarse voice came from the other end of the phone: "...This is Qiu Hong..."

Sure enough, just as I expected! It really was Qiu Hong calling again! I frantically turned on the desk lamp, and the bright light immediately stung my eyes, bringing tears to my eyes. So, with my tearful eyes tightly shut, I hurriedly said, "So... it's our old friend, Ms. Qiu Hong. I wonder, Ms. Qiu Hong... what did you bring for everyone tonight?"

"Hehe, a Coke can..."

"What?!" I almost jumped up, my heart trembling.

Qiu Hong ignored me and started talking to herself: "I recently moved to a high-rise apartment."

What does this mean? I wondered to myself. What does her moving have to do with anything? But I didn't have the courage or the will to interrupt her. Because I knew that everything she said had an ulterior motive.

“My apartment is very tall, on the top floor of the building, the twenty-ninth floor.”

"There are four elevators in the apartment building, but after midnight, only one elevator is operational. Perhaps to save electricity, the ceiling lights are usually turned off, leaving only the dim wall lamps..."

"I was moving that day, around 2 a.m., so there was only one elevator available."

"It was too late, there was no one around, not even the building manager was asleep, and there was no one to help me. I managed to carry all my luggage up the elevator by myself."

"I had a lot of luggage, which filled the already narrow elevator to the brim. I managed to squeeze in with great difficulty, and then the elevator doors started to close slowly."

"Just as the elevator doors were about to close, a hand reached in!"

"The hand covered the elevator sensor, so the elevator doors slowly opened again, and I saw someone standing outside..."

“I was very scared. But I still told him I was sorry and asked him to wait for the next elevator because there was no room left in the elevator.”

"He looked at me and nodded without saying anything. But just as the elevator doors closed, I saw him suddenly grin, and he was giving a terrifying, sinister laugh!"

"I was terrified, but thankfully the elevator was already moving and going up. I watched the indicator lights... 5, 6, 7, 8, 9..."

"I was on tenterhooks, terrified that the elevator would suddenly stop, or even worse, that the elevator cables would snap, just like in those horror movies. Listening to the 'crackling' sound of the elevator cables, I kept silently chanting, 'No, please don't…'"

“...17, 18, 19, 20, 21…”

"As the elevator continued to ascend, my heart gradually calmed down. No matter what, no matter who that person came from, I was getting further and further away from him, and thinking of this, I felt even more relieved..."

"...26, 27, 28, 'Ding—', the elevator has arrived."

"The elevator doors opened, but I was too scared to step out. It was pitch black outside. I don't know why the lights weren't on, not even the dim wall lamps. There was only a faint moonlight shining through the window glass on the floor."

"Just as I was wondering whether I should go out, I suddenly heard someone walking over. 'Tap, tap, tap...' It was the sound of a person's leather shoes on the marble floor."

Suddenly, I saw a shadow appear in the moonlight on the floor outside. The shadow grew larger and larger with the sound of clattering footsteps. I knew that he was slowly approaching.

"I feel like my throat is blocked, just like in a nightmare, hehe, I want to shout but I can't make a sound."

As she spoke, Qiu Hong suddenly let out two cold laughs. Goosebumps rose all over my body. I knew she was laughing at me.

"I was so scared that I immediately pressed the close button, but for some reason it didn't work. I was so frightened that I crouched down in a corner of the elevator..."

"At that moment, that person flashed past the elevator door, turned his head, and gave me a sinister look!"

"That's the person on the first floor! But I took the elevator to the twenty-ninth floor, and he was just as fast as me!"

"I was so scared that I collapsed to the ground. Amidst the chaos, I vaguely heard someone using a key to open the door, and then I knew nothing more..."