Chapter 10: My House Is Haunted!
The middle-aged woman's angry curses didn't ignite anger in Yang Haoran's heart; on the contrary, he actually felt a wave of relief.
Those who hadn't experienced such bizarre things probably couldn't comprehend Yang Haoran's mood at that moment. In such circumstances, merely seeing a living person was a good thing for him, allowing his taut nerves to relax somewhat. As for whether the other party was scolding him or praising him, it didn't matter anymore.
Of course, in the dead of night, with ghost-like wails and lighters being thrown, those disturbed certainly wouldn't praise him. It was already fortunate that a beer bottle hadn't been hurled his way.
After delivering her few curses, the middle-aged woman slammed the window shut with a bang. He didn't know if she was busy with her so-called business or had other matters to attend to.
Yang Haoran exhaled heavily, licked his dry lips, and without another word, continued walking quickly towards his shop.
Back home, Yang Haoran finally felt himself relax, his previously taut nerves completely uncoiling.
“Walk the night road long enough, and you’re bound to encounter a ghost,” Yang Haoran thought to himself as he poured a glass of hot water. “I didn’t expect this day to come so soon. ”
Yang Haoran had a habit of playing on his phone for a while before bed, watching supernatural videos online and browsing some supernatural data for his own study and reference. But tonight, he didn't continue this habit. Are you kidding? He was almost scared half to death; how could he still be in the mood to look at such things?
Actually, it wasn't Yang Haoran's fault for being a coward. As the saying goes, 'skill begets courage,' and those bold individuals almost always had some real skills, a certain confidence in their abilities. But Yang Haoran was different; he was just a charlatan, only good at deceiving people, with no real ability. It would be strange if he weren't afraid.
Furthermore, the reason Yang Haoran was so thoroughly scared was precisely because of his extensive exposure to the supernatural. The more he encountered, the more he learned about various strange occurrences. Once he faced an inexplicable event, his mind would automatically fill in the blanks, conjuring the most terrifying possibilities. And since he inherently harbored a fear of the unknown, it was only natural that he would be terrified.
After drinking a cup of hot water, listening to a few cheerful songs, and finishing a few cigarettes, his overall state had finally recovered by and large.
“It’s still too desolate at home,” Yang Haoran planned inwardly. “I’ll find a chance to get a dog to raise. . . no, two dogs. With them around, I’ll have some company. ”
Why plan to raise dogs instead of cats? Heh, he’d been given such a fright by that large black cat tonight that now, whenever he saw a feline, he felt an urge to give it a good thrashing. How could he possibly keep such a pet? Besides, cats in heat were incredibly annoying, their cries like an infant’s wail, enough to make one’s hair stand on end in the dead of night.
With these thoughts and plans swirling in his mind, and still riding the lingering wave of alcohol, his brain grew hazy, and he drifted off to sleep in bed.
His sleep was not peaceful; he suffered through all sorts of nightmares throughout the night. He was even startled awake once, and after that, he remained in a semi-conscious state, which greatly troubled him.
He didn't know how much time had passed. In a daze, he seemed to hear someone knocking on the door. At first, he dismissed it as a hallucination, a trick of his mind, so he ignored it completely, pulling the thick blanket over his head to continue sleeping.
But the knocking didn't stop; instead, it grew a little louder, and the frequency became slightly more urgent. This time, even with the blanket pulled over his head, Yang Haoran heard it clearly. Someone was indeed knocking.
Once this rolling shutter door was knocked upon, it made a considerable rattling sound. Even with a little more force, the noise would grow even louder. Let alone Yang Haoran, who was currently in a state between sleep and waking; even if he were sleeping like a dead pig, he would undoubtedly be roused by the sound of that rolling shutter.
Yang Haoran was annoyed. He didn’t know who was persistently banging, but he unhappily threw off the blanket covering his head, picked up his phone from beside his pillow, and glanced at it. That glance made him freeze.
“Damn, it’s almost noon,” he muttered in disbelief. “I vaguely slept for so long. ” Yang Haoran rolled over and got up. The moment he left the warmth of his blanket, a shiver of cold ran through him.
Hastily dressed, Yang Haoran responded to the person knocking outside as he walked towards the rolling shutter door.
“Coming, coming! Who is it? ”
As his voice fell, he had already arrived at the rolling shutter door. Without hesitation, he pulled it up.
The weather outside was good today, sunny and bright. As his body met the sunlight, Yang Haoran couldn't help but close his eyes, raising both hands to shield them.
A person stood outside the rolling shutter door, but due to his eyes not having adjusted, Yang Haoran couldn't make out who the visitor was at first glance. He couldn't even distinguish if it was a human or a beast.
After closing and opening his eyes several times, Yang Haoran finally adjusted and clearly saw who had arrived.
The visitor was a girl. She had initially worn a look of profound anxiety, but upon seeing the rolling shutter door open, a faint smile appeared on her anxious face, though it was somewhat forced.
“Hello, Master Yang, I—”
The girl hadn't finished speaking when Yang Haoran, yawning, interrupted, asking, “What do you want to buy? ”
“No, no, no, I’m not here to buy anything,” the girl said, quickly waving her hand.
“Not here to buy anything? ” Yang Haoran asked, a puzzled, wry smile on his face. “If you’re not here to buy anything, why were you knocking so urgently? ”
As he spoke, Yang Haoran grabbed a bottle of soda from the shelf, twisted off the cap, and tilted his head back, gulping it down. Drinking too much alcohol made him especially parched after waking up, and he particularly craved something sweet. While doing so at this moment was undoubtedly bad for his stomach, it felt incredibly refreshing.
“I came to find Master Yang to exorcise a ghost,” she stammered. “My house seems to—seems to be haunted. ”
“Pfft! ” Upon hearing the girl’s words, Yang Haoran sprayed a mouthful of drink from his mouth, choking and getting it all over his nose and mouth.
Seeing this, the girl quickly took out a tissue and handed it to Yang Haoran. He mumbled his thanks, took the tissue, and wiped himself. Once clean, Yang Haoran finally took a careful look at the girl before him.
The girl didn't look old, perhaps sixteen or seventeen. She wasn't tall, only about 1.5 meters, with a petite build and fair skin. She had a cute, doll-like face, but it now appeared quite haggard, and her eyes sported large dark circles, clearly a result of insufficient rest.
The girl felt a wave of embarrassment under Yang Haoran’s gaze, and a forced smile appeared on her haggard face.
“What did you just say? ” Yang Haoran asked, seeking confirmation. “Your house is haunted? ”
Upon hearing Yang Haoran’s words, the forced smile on the girl’s face immediately froze. After a moment’s stunned silence, she reacted, quickly nodding at Yang Haoran and pitifully saying, “My house is truly haunted! Oh no, not my house—the apartment I rented is haunted! It’s really terrifying, Master Yang, you must help me! ”
Hearing this, Yang Haoran gave neither a definite nor a negative answer. Instead, he smiled and said, “You can sit here for a while. I’ll come out after I wash up, and then you can tell me the details. ”
The girl had intended to say something more, but hearing Yang Haoran’s words, she didn’t stop him. After all, Yang Haoran certainly looked disheveled at the moment, his hair a tangled mess, like a beggar.
To be honest, Yang Haoran’s appearance at that moment actually bore some similarities to the girl’s. The girl certainly had dark circles, but Yang Haoran, who hadn’t slept well all night, also had them, just not as pronounced as hers. After all, Yang Haoran had only missed one night of good sleep, while the girl had likely been suffering from lack of rest for a very long time.
Besides the dark circles, Yang Haoran, who hadn’t slept all night, had a fatigued look on his face. In the short time he spent with the girl, he had already yawned several times. In contrast, although the girl wasn’t yawning repeatedly, her face was utterly haggard, and she looked completely spiritless.
Yang Haoran walked behind the green curtain and began washing up with a noisy splash. The girl didn’t sit down outside; instead, she waited anxiously. Fortunately, Yang Haoran didn’t make her wait too long. In less than ten minutes, he walked out from behind the curtain.
Although his dark circles were still visible, compared to before, Yang Haoran looked much more energetic now.
“Have you eaten? ” Yang Haoran asked the girl.
Hearing this, the girl didn’t speak, merely shaking her head.
“I arrived here before dawn,” she began. “It was too early, so I didn’t knock, afraid of disturbing your rest. I waited and waited until noon. Seeing that you still hadn’t opened the door, I thought you weren’t home. The reason I knocked just now was just a hopeful attempt to confirm if you were home, so—”
“So that’s how it is,” Yang Haoran said, taking two instant noodle cups from the shelf. “I don’t have anything good here, and there’s no time to cook right now. You’ll just have to make do for a bit. ”
The girl didn’t refuse; she was indeed very hungry. Looking a bit embarrassed, she apologized, “I’ll treat Master to eat together. I’m truly sorry for disturbing you today. ”
As she spoke, the girl took out a ten New Beginning Coins bill from her bag and quickly handed it to Yang Haoran. He didn’t take it, but smiled and said, “It’s just a cup of instant noodles; you don’t need to do this. But if you want to add ham, then I’ll have to charge you. ”
A faint smile appeared on the girl’s haggard face—this time, it wasn't forced, but came from her heart. She had been truly amused by Yang Haoran’s words.
“Then I’ll add a sausage, and Master should have one too,” she said, preparing to take out money from her bag again, but Yang Haoran stopped her.
“No need, we’re out of stock,” Yang Haoran said. “We’ll just make do with what we have, and then we can get to your problem. ”
The girl had originally wanted to insist, but when she heard Yang Haoran say he would deal with her problem after they ate, her expression changed, and fear flashed in her eyes. She stopped insisting and lightly nodded.
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