Outside, there is still a woman wearing a red dress.
Why didn't I see it when I closed the door just now?
The viewers in the live broadcast room do not know each other, and it's impossible for them to collude to deceive me. Their statements are surprisingly consistent; there must be something outside.
Standing at the door, my scalp tingles.
This is the most terrifying part—everyone says there is someone outside, yet I can't see anything myself.
I bravely put my eyes back to the peephole. In the distorted view, the corridor is dim, with no figures or sounds.
The red-dressed woman mentioned by the viewers seems not to have come.
Withdrawing my gaze, I turn back, re-examining the woman on the bed with confusion.
Although she's no longer screaming, she still stares fixedly at the door, cowering in the corner of the bed, shivering. Her long, slender legs are exposed from under the skirt, completely unaware that her actions reveal more than intended.
Her fearful demeanor indicates that there is indeed something outside. I wonder if what she fears is the same red-dressed woman seen by the viewers.
Thinking about it, I cautiously walk to the bedside.
"Can we talk?" I can be sure she's a human, and I'm not too concerned about sharing a room with her. After all, she's just a vulnerable woman.
The phone she gave me appeared in the baozi shop's Room 4. This can't be a coincidence; she must know something. I need to extract information from her.
"Don't open the door; it's outside," the woman raises her head, her red eyes piercing through the messy black hair, her voice chilling.
"Don't worry; I won't open it." There's only one bed in the room. I sit on the other side, forcing a smile, trying to appear friendly.
To prevent her from being objectified by the lecherous viewers in the broadcast room, I switch the camera, eliciting dissatisfaction from them.
"Why did the broadcaster change the angle? The benefits should be shared among everyone."
"The broadcaster is trying to take advantage of the girl; he's worse than an animal."
"Let go of that girl and let me handle it."
Ignoring them, I continue to smile at the woman.
"Although it's our second meeting, I haven't introduced myself. My last name is Livai; you can call me Boss Li. And you, what's your name?"
The woman's eyes flicker with confusion as she shakes her head, "I don't know."
I'm not sure if she's pretending or if she truly doesn't remember. She said the same thing when she was in my shop.
"Then let's call you Red Sister for now. Red Sister, is there something terrifying outside?"
"I don't know," Red Sister shakes her head again.
"Uh..." I'm at a loss for words. "If you don't know, what are you afraid of?"
"I don't know."
Red Sister keeps repeating this sentence. If it were any other time, I would think she's mentally challenged, but now I'm convinced she's intentionally playing dumb.
"Why did you come here? Don't you know what kind of place Baxian Baozi Shop is?"
"I don't know how I got here, but I know I must stay here tonight, or something terrible will happen..." Red Sister stops abruptly.
"Staying here is what's terrible," I frown. "Do you know what happened in Room 4 before?"
"I don't know. The boss asked me to stay in this room." Red Sister yawns, looking tired and exhausted, leaning her head against the wall.
"The boss asked you to stay in Room 4?" I furrow my brows even deeper. Knowing the room has problems, he still rents it out. That old man isn't a good person.
Red Sister falls silent, looking like she wants to sleep but dares not. Her eyes remain vigilant, staring at the door as if something terrifying might rush in at any moment.
It seems pointless to ask her anything more for now.
I hesitate, abandoning the idea of threatening her with a knife; with so many viewers watching, they'd surely see me as the villain.
Better to wait until the livestream ends to confront her slowly.
The room falls silent.
A man and a woman alone in a room; the atmosphere is not ambiguous but rather peculiar.
The tightly shut doors and windows make the small room stuffy and hot.
The barely discernible scent of blood seems to remind us that a gruesome tragedy occurred in this room not long ago, making it impossible for anyone to relax.
I loosen my shirt collar, feeling agitated, and light a cigarette. I start to contemplate why the viewers can see the red-dressed woman outside while I cannot.
If I can't figure this out, danger might come without me realizing it—definitely not good.
"Why isn't the broadcaster taking action yet? I've been waiting forever."
"The broadcaster is worse than an animal."
"Does the broadcaster really not know what he's doing? He's wasting my bandwidth."
People in the livestream room have decreased again. Looking at the barrage on the screen, a thought suddenly strikes me.
The viewers see the footage captured by the phone, while I see things with my eyes. To be precise, these are two different perspectives... Could it be that the phone can capture things that are invisible to the naked eye?
Excited by this idea, I can't wait to verify it. Holding the phone, I scan the entire room, not sparing even the bathroom. However, the video shows the room exactly as it is, without revealing anything extra.
"What is the broadcaster doing? I'm getting dizzy from these camera changes."
"Could the broadcaster be checking for hidden cameras with such rich experience? A real veteran."
"Upstairs, he's already livestreaming; does he care about hidden cameras?"
Ignoring their confusion, I breathe a slight sigh of relief. At least, I've proven the safety of the room. I then shift my focus to the door, hesitating about whether to open it to confirm the existence of the red-dressed woman outside.
Regardless of whether ghosts are real or not, it's better to detect them as soon as possible.
"It's here." Suddenly, Red Sister's trembling voice comes from behind.
I turn around and see her huddled in the corner, her wide eyes filled with fear.
"Who is the woman outside?" Her frightened expression makes me uneasy too.
"It's coming, it's coming!" Red Sister's shriek is louder and higher, her body desperately shrinking backward, almost squeezing herself into the wall.
It
He
Or she
Before I can react, the light bulb above flickers twice, then suddenly goes out.
The room plunges into darkness.
Red Sister's screaming abruptly stops.
Inside and outside the room, it becomes eerily silent.
"Red Sister," I call out, but there's no response.
My heart races nervously. Not sure if it's an illusion, although I can't see anything, I can distinctly feel that something is right at the door.
Forcing myself to stay calm, I turn on the flashlight on my phone, pointing it at the door, while simultaneously glancing at the screen.
A cold, white light shines on the old door. The viewers in the livestream room are confused.
"This lousy acting, this shitty plot, one-star rating."
"So boring; I'm starting to regret why I watched this till now."
"Is there really a ghost? The atmosphere is a bit scary."
I don't care about their thoughts; I keep my eyes fixed on the screen, afraid that something might sneak in.
My only trump card is the talisman that Wang Lamezi gave me. I don't know if it's real or fake, but in case there's a ghost, should I use the knife first or the talisman?
Click
The lock clicks softly.
Then, the locked room door is pushed open again.
Creak, creak
The door slowly swings open, the wooden hinge's friction sounding especially harsh in the silence.
A faint, chilling air seeps in.
Eyes wide open, I hold my breath, hands in my pockets, gripping both the Swiss knife and the talisman.
In the black-and-white screen, the room's door gradually opens a crack. A pale, slender hand reaches in, grasping the door frame