It was midnight. This time is when people's minds are most vulnerable, and Jiang Xiaofen's state of mind at this moment confirmed this.
After much reassurance, Chu Chu finally went back to her room to sleep.
Jiang Xiaofen lay quietly in the bathtub, restlessly staring at the ceiling.
If what had just happened was an illusion, wasn't it too real? And, did both she and Chu Chu experience the same hallucination?
If it wasn't an illusion, then why did Li Tian's body disappear so suddenly?
It was all too bizarre, too incomprehensible...
The water in the bathtub was hot, but Jiang Xiaofen, submerged in it, still felt a bone-chilling cold.
She was a university graduate with a good education, yet she was still superstitious. Especially after what happened with Li Tian, she felt so much guilt and regret. Night after night, she would wake up in cold sweat from nightmares. In search of psychological comfort, she began to believe in the power of the Bodhisattva, hoping that her sincere repentance in front of the deity would alleviate her sins...
But sin is still sin, and Li Tian had come back.
Connecting everything that had happened in the past few days, she felt a chill over her whole body: the resentful Li Tian, the initial multimedia messages, and then the photo on the rooftop. It was a warning. He was saying that if she did not repent, he would really die and return as a vengeful ghost to claim her life... But she had always thought these were just his pranks. So, the eerie phenomenon just now... Oh God, did this wronged man really die and turn into a vengeful spirit to seek revenge? This would explain everything, including not sparing Chu Chu... Thinking of this, she felt the hairs on her body stand on end. The image of Li Tian hanging seemed to hover on the ceiling, under the bathtub, or hiding behind the bathrobe and towel, ready to launch a deadly attack with a scream and his claws...
The more she thought about it, the more scared she got. She hastily got out of the bathtub, dried off, put on her bathrobe, and ran back to her room as if fleeing.
Curled up under the covers, she finally felt a sense of security.
Li Tian, don't blame me... I know I was wrong... Chu, come back quickly...
Thump, thump, thump...
What was that sound?
A soft tapping, rhythmic and regular, as if... right beside her!
Her heart felt like it was about to leap out. She covered her head with the bedsheet and her hands tightly over her ears, trying to block out the sound. But it was so stubborn, so clear, as if it was not just beside her ear but knocking on her heart!
Thump, thump, thump...
Gathering courage, she suddenly threw off the bedsheet and sat up to look around!
The bedroom was brightly lit, and everything seemed normal.
Listening intently, the sound seemed to have vanished, leaving a maddening silence in the air.
She breathed a sigh of relief and lay back down.
The thumping had indeed stopped, but her sleep had fled, and fear kept spreading in her heart like relentless waves crashing onto a beach, growing more and more turbulent.
After lying awake for a while, she dressed and left her bedroom without hesitation. She crossed the brightly lit hallway and knelt before the statue of the Bodhisattva on the first floor.
"Great compassionate Guanyin Bodhisattva, forgive all that I have done..."
She lit three sticks of incense and kept kowtowing non-stop.
The room was filled with the mysterious and peaceful scent of the incense. Kneeling before the Bodhisattva, Jiang Xiaofen recounted the entire history of her and Li Tian's grievances, which took over half an hour. She felt much more relieved and at ease after speaking.
"Bodhisattva, let Li Tian forgive me. I've realized my wrongs. Please protect us..."
After a few more kowtows, she stood up, rubbing her sore legs, and walked back to her bedroom on the second floor.
Back in bed, the fear had largely dissipated, and drowsiness overcame her. She slowly drifted off to sleep...
"Li Tian, why were you so foolish to seek death?"
"In life, I lacked the strength for revenge. As a wronged spirit, I am more powerful." Li Tian's eyes bulged out, and his tongue flickered in and out as he spoke.
"But I really realize my mistake... I know I wronged you... If you want to claim a life, take mine, please spare Chu Chu and Chu Xuelin."
"Ha ha ha ha..." Li Tian suddenly burst into genuine laughter, not sinister or resentful. "So, you can be like this too? I thought you were so strong with Chu Xuelin, ha ha... Where is Chu Xuelin hiding? Why isn't he here to help you?" Li Tian suddenly turned his back, swiping his right arm over his face, then turned back. Oh, it was Li Tian's face, quite normal, without any trace of a vengeful spirit's terror, just a mocking smile. "Didn't expect this, did you? Ha ha..."
Laughing, Li Tian walked away, and she stared blankly at his lonely silhouette, a long shadow trailing behind him in the sunlight. Oh, he had a shadow...
Jiang Xiaofen shuddered and suddenly woke from her dream.
She squinted, the light stinging her eyes.
It was just a dream, just a self-comforting illusion. Li Tian... he was indeed dead...
Disappointed, she wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, then tensed up.
There was a sound downstairs!
The soft sound of someone walking across the floor!
She realized that it wasn't the dream that had woken her up, but the noise downstairs!
Her hair stood on end again.
"Chu Chu, is that you?" she whispered, tiptoeing to the bedroom door.
No response.
She mustered her courage and quietly approached Chu Chu's bedroom door, gently pushing it open.
Chu Chu was sleeping soundly in her bed.
Jiang Xiaofen's scalp tingled, her heart felt like it was going to explode. She covered her mouth to stifle any sound.
She quietly entered Chu Chu's room and hid behind the door, listening intently to the footsteps downstairs.
The footsteps became clearer...
Someone was slowly climbing the stairs, heading towards the second floor!
Jiang Xiaofen covered her mouth with one hand, her eyes scanning Chu Chu's room, and finally spotted a dumbbell Chu Chu used for exercise.
She quietly picked up the dumbbell, opened the door slightly, and listened intently to the movement outside.
The person had clearly reached the second floor and was tiptoeing towards her.
Now, he was about to reach the door; she could even hear his faint breathing!
She raised the dumbbell in her hand...