It was clear the people gathered in front of the house weren’t going to disperse anytime soon.
Suo Tian and I were quickly spotted, and with no choice, we joined their discussion.
The moment he found an opening, though, Suo Tian quietly slipped away.
The topic they were discussing was exactly the same one Xiao Jie and the others had been talking about earlier in the building—the rumors about the haunting.
Han Xue was timid, and at the moment she was huddled together with Taozi.
Everyone was sitting in a circle on the grass, but the two of them were practically squeezed into one, wearing identical expressions of fear.
Third Sister-in-law said that an elderly woman she had chatted with yesterday told her about a family known by a neighbor of that woman—whose child had supposedly seen a ghostly figure.
It happened at night: the child was playing outside when, at the intersection, they saw someone whose feet were barely touching the ground dart past at incredible speed.
At the time, the child didn’t see it clearly and didn’t think much of it.
But when the child turned around to head back home, they saw a terrifying “strange person” standing right at their own doorstep.
The child was so frightened that, even now, they couldn’t even properly recognize their own parents.
Frankly, this example from Third Sister-in-law wasn’t very convincing.
Not to mention how many people the story had passed through before reaching us—just the vague description of the so-called ghost as a “strange person” or a “shadow” already made it hard to believe.
But everyone continued discussing it with great enthusiasm.
Life in the headquarters was, after all, rather dull for people like us who spent our days idling around.
We had energy to spare, but nowhere to use it except eating and sleeping.
Now that something new had happened, no one was going to let the opportunity slip—they did their best to stir the topic into something even more sensational.
In truth, only a handful of people probably actually believed it.
At noon, Wenwen and Third Sister-in-law and Second Sister-in-law stayed for lunch, while the other neighbors returned to their homes.
With children around, no one brought up the topic during the meal.
Afterward, Chen Pu, Yangyang, and Jundi took Xiao Hu and Tingyun to the backyard to help Uncle Gazi tend to the vegetable patch.
Only then did Shen Feng—who had no idea what had been going on—ask us what we had been talking about for so long outside.
Xu Shu looked at him and replied, “They say this place is haunted.”
Hearing that, Shen Feng froze for a moment, then burst out laughing along with Zhou Wen.
“Haunted? And you actually believe something so obviously made up?”
Third Sister-in-law immediately got upset.
She had done most of the talking earlier, and Shen Feng’s words felt like he was accusing her of lying.
She spoke seriously to Shen Feng and Zhou Wen, “Don’t be so quick to dismiss it. Some things really can’t be explained. Even back then, who could say with absolute certainty that such things didn’t exist? If you ask me, with so many people dying these days, the world’s yang energy is fading while yin energy is increasing. That makes it even harder to say what might exist in realms we don’t understand.”
Seeing that she was genuinely upset, Shen Feng didn’t continue arguing and could only chuckle awkwardly. “What you said does make some sense, Third Sister-in-law.”
Only then did her expression soften a little.
She said to Shen Feng, “Exactly. I never lie—if something exists, it exists; if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. If no one had told me about it, why would I make something up to fool you?”
Only then did Shen Feng realize the misunderstanding and quickly explained, “Of course you’re an honest person, Third Sister-in-law. I didn’t mean anything about you—I just meant that maybe some bored people are stirring things up.”
Wenwen chimed in, “No, Brother Shen Feng, it’s not fake. You don’t know—lots of families have seen it.”
I nodded as well. “When I took Xiao Hu for his checkup today, people there were talking about it too.”
Hearing that, Han Xue shrank back slightly and said nervously, “I mean… even if it’s just a rumor, isn’t this wind a bit too strong? How did it even spread all the way to the medical building?”
Xu Shu glanced at her. “Most of the people working there live in the villa district. It’s not strange that the rumors reached them.”
“But…” Han Xue swallowed before continuing, “Do you think… it’s possible… that there really are ghosts?”
For the last few words, she put on a frightened expression and deliberately lowered her voice, actually creating a chilling atmosphere for a moment.
Rubbing my arms, I stood up. “You all keep talking—I’m going upstairs to sleep.”
I carefully went upstairs right after that.
Suo Tian had already gone back to the second floor during dinner—there were too many people in the living room, noisy and chatter-filled, and he didn’t like that kind of environment.
I went up to the third floor quietly and opened the door, only to find Suo Tian sitting on the sofa, focusing intently on wiping several steel knives placed beside him.
Walking over to his side, I casually picked one up and thought for a moment before saying, “Before I met you, the only person I associated with flying knives was one guy.”
“Hm? Who?” Suo Tian clearly wasn’t very interested in the topic, continuing to wipe the steel blade without pause, only asking in a light tone.
“Li Xunhuan,” I said, putting the knife back down, then turned around and collapsed onto the bed. *fictional WuXia novel Mc that was known for his flying dagger skill
I stretched lazily and let out a satisfied hum before rolling myself into the blanket.
Suo Tian raised an eyebrow and glanced at me twice, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
After thinking for a moment, he asked, “You went for your checkup today?”
I poked my head out from under the blanket and looked at him.
“Yeah. I pushed it back a few days so it lined up with Xiao Hu’s physical exam. We could go together.”
“Mm.” He nodded. “How was it?”
Hearing that, I sighed and crawled out of the blanket again.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I thought for a moment before continuing, “Still the same—my weight isn’t up to standard.”
After a pause, I added, “Bruno said that if it continues like this, the baby’s weight might end up lagging behind too.”
“You still aren’t eating properly?” Suo Tian’s brows furrowed again.
Seeing that, I quickly crouched down beside him and tapped his forehead.
“Don’t frown, don’t frown… it’s really not my fault. I’m already trying my best to eat. Look at the food—Uncle Gazi is doing everything he can to help me build strength, but your kid just keeps throwing up everything I eat… maybe once this phase passes in a month or so, things will improve.”
Suo Tian took my hand, pulled me up, and then looked down at my slightly rounded belly.
After a moment, he suddenly leaned in and pressed his ear against it.
I couldn’t help but laugh at how childish that was, but at the same time, looking down at him like that, a wave of emotion rose in me.
This guy—he was finally starting to have some awareness of being a father.
To be fair, if I thought about it honestly, I, as the mother, probably wasn’t any more conscious than he was.
……
Because I had walked quite a lot with Xiao Hu in the morning, I ended up sleeping almost the entire afternoon.
Suo Tian didn’t disturb me, and unlike before, he didn’t disappear the moment I woke up.
Every time I opened my eyes, he was there nearby, either sitting or doing something.
Even just staring at him absentmindedly made me feel incredibly satisfied.
Under that happiness, I quickly forgot all about the haunting rumors.
Actually, even if I still had those thoughts lingering in my mind, I would never bring them up to Suo Tian.
He had once asked me the same question twice before.
Even though the two things had nothing to do with each other, I didn’t want him to show that kind of hurt expression again.
It was too heartbreaking—and there was nothing I could do to help him.
In truth, privately, it was impossible not to let my imagination wander.
Many times my thoughts had gone to absurd extremes.
I even wondered if Suo Tian might be like those characters in novels—someone who came out of an ancient tomb somewhere.
Or maybe, like in Dragon Ball, he was some kind of alien left behind on Earth.
But in the end, I always rejected those ideas.
No matter how strange the stories were, I could never force them onto him.
The consequence of sleeping too much in the afternoon was that I couldn’t fall asleep after dinner.
After the incident with Aunt Qing last time, none of us dared to go out for evening walks anymore.
As soon as night fell, Han Xue and Lili didn’t even dare step outside.
Zhou Wen kept a much tighter watch over Taozi.
Even when he was with us, he absolutely wouldn’t allow him to go too far.
Taozi complained verbally, but from that sly expression on his face, it was obvious he was secretly enjoying it.
Shen Feng and Xu Shu were assigned to night duty together, and their relationship didn’t develop as dramatically as we had expected.
Still, everyone knew Xu Shu’s intentions, and people often joked about them.
As the saying goes, many couples who never had a chance to be together are pushed into it by everyone else teasing them.
Han Xue was on duty with Jundi.
Although they weren’t very familiar at first, both of them were quite talkative.
After only a few interactions, Han Xue was already shouting about wanting to become sworn siblings with him by cutting their fingers and drinking blood.
Tonight happened to be their shift.
Because Han Xue had heard too many rumors during the day, she didn’t dare sleep alone at all.
So she and Jundi were in the living room, and she was actually more than happy about it.
Each of them lay on a sofa, chatting idly.
The kitchen was right nearby, so if they got hungry they could even make a late-night snack.
Compared to sleeping alone in a room while being on guard against mirrors, wardrobes, or the terrifying thought of something appearing on top of the cabinet, this was infinitely more comfortable.
I don’t know if others feel the same, but once fear takes hold, everything around you suddenly starts to look strange.
The most terrifying part is always the unseen space behind you.
Your subconscious keeps reminding you that someone might be standing there, watching you… someone might already be reaching out to touch you from behind…
Then those large storage spaces become even more frightening.
Could someone be hiding inside the wardrobe?
Could a pale face suddenly pop up from on top of the cabinet and stare at you?
Under the bed… could someone be lying there, staring through the floorboards with wide, angry eyes?
The sofa was placed against a glass wall.
On the first floor, the entire outer side was made of glass, usually covered by curtains.
While Han Xue and Jundi were chatting casually, a dark shadow slowly began to appear outside the window…
— The end of the Chapter–
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