Not wanting to be rude to a smiling face, the old lady couldn’t be too harsh. She grumbled, “Who knows what’s wrong with that girl? Every time around midnight, her place is so noisy, with the suona blowing so loud it could shatter the door, but no one answers. I’ve thought several times something happened to her, but when daylight comes, she’s fine. After the police came last time, she was quiet for several days, but then it started again yesterday! I scolded her this morning and saw her leave, so there’s definitely no one inside.”
This matched what Xia Xianning had said. Luo Yingbai thanked her, and the opposite door closed. Xia Xianning took out a tracking talisman, added a few strokes, and pasted it on the door, pressing his hand in the middle. The talisman disappeared, and a faint gray line appeared in the air.
Luo Yingbai said, “It’s so dark now, there’s a high chance of an accident in this neighborhood. You stay here and handle this, I’ll go chase her.”
Xia Xianning said, “You…”
Luo Yingbai, afraid something might happen, walked away after speaking. By the time he heard Xia Xianning’s words, he had already gone down several stairs and turned back: “???”
Xia Xianning paused, walked over, and touched his hair, saying, “Be careful.”
Luo Yingbai: “???”
You just wanted to say that?”
Xia Xianning: “…”
Luo Yingbai forcefully ran his hands through his hair: “You didn’t stick something to my head, did you?”
Xia Xianning, gritting his teeth: “…Just go!”
Luo Yingbai, confused by his mood swings, hurriedly left. When passing a glass window, he quickly checked his reflection, afraid Xia Xianning had played a prank on him.
On the other side, Lu Lu had just walked out of the empty subway station. By now, there were hardly any people around, and the pre-arranged DiDi driver was waiting at the station exit.
Lu Lu tiredly rubbed her temples, feeling slightly dizzy. A couple walked past her, with the woman curiously glancing at her before quickly looking away.
But Lu Lu wasn’t always like this. She remembered being very lively and outgoing just a year ago. However, after falling during an outdoor rock climbing accident and waking up after a three-month coma, it was like she had started a second life.
She could still remember past experiences clearly, but it felt like something was separating her from her current life. She always felt distant from her family and friends, with something constantly weighing heavily on her heart, an indescribable discomfort.
As a result, she appeared detached and cold towards everyone, and gradually, people stopped wanting to interact with her. Until the recent strange dream and the described suona sounds disrupted her plain life.
Lu Lu was originally a bank executive with a stable job and good pay, but that accident seemed to have left her with sequelae. The decline in her logical thinking abilities forced her to resign and work as an ordinary saleswoman at a department store.
Like today, she had worked overtime so late that her overtime pay was barely enough for a taxi. Lu Lu approached the pre-arranged car, confirmed the details, and got in, not wanting to talk, closing her eyes and leaning back, lost in thought.
The middle-aged male driver tried to make conversation: “Young lady, why are you out so late?”
Lu Lu, who rarely even chatted with her family, certainly wouldn’t engage with a stranger, so she just mumbled “Hmm” without opening her eyes.
But the man didn’t stop talking: “You can’t be working a proper job this late. Are you doing… that?”
Lu Lu was confused, having no idea what he meant, and chose to ignore him. Unexpectedly, she suddenly felt a hand on her thigh.
Lu Lu’s eyes snapped open to see the man looking at her with a creepy smile, his hand on her thigh.
Lu Lu, who already disliked physical contact, found the man’s appearance repulsive. She immediately recoiled, sharply demanding, “What are you doing!”
The driver’s hand was flung away, but he wasn’t angry. Instead, he let out a low laugh, driving with one hand while saying, “You act so proper, but I know you’re a whore. Don’t worry, I’ll pay you.”
“
Lu Lu knew jumping from the car was unrealistic, especially with hardly anyone around. She might be immediately grabbed if she tried. So she tried to stay calm: “I’ve already sent your license plate number to a friend. Someone will pick me up. I warn you, if I don’t arrive on time, they’ll call the police.”
She thought this would make the driver hesitate, but he just laughed mockingly: “License plate? I don’t even have a plate. What plate could you have photographed?”
While speaking, he reached into Lu Lu’s chest again. Lu Lu, no matter how composed, couldn’t tolerate this and immediately started struggling.
Even more terrifyingly, something seemed to be in the car. She felt dizzy and weak, soon unable to resist.
Just then, someone suddenly burst out from the roadside, charging directly at the car.
The driver, relying on the almost empty road, was originally steering with one hand, and now, greatly shocked, he quickly stepped on the brakes. The person in front was actually sent flying by the impact!
A piercing brake sound rang out with an ominous premonition.
Lu Lu, although her body was limp and leaning to the side, could still barely maintain consciousness, watching this scene.
Would that person… be dead?
Her mind was in chaos, not knowing whether she should be more worried about the other person or herself.
The driver beside her was stunned for a few seconds before immediately opening the car door and rushing out.
Panicking, he crawled to the front of the car, wanting to see how the hit person was doing.
As a result, where the person had landed just moments ago, there was nothing.
The driver was suddenly frozen.
He rubbed his eyes and looked around. The road was empty; there was no body, no blood stains, as if nothing had happened – could that have been his hallucination?
After searching several times and confirming there was no one, the driver walked back in a daze. Just as he was about to get in the car, he suddenly noticed a young man had appeared in front of the car, bending down to look into the driver’s seat.
Already on edge, this nearly scared him to death, and he let out a miserable “Ah!” scream.
The young man heard the sound and looked up at him. The streetlight illuminated his face. It was an extremely beautiful face, with delicate features and pale skin, as if carved by ice and snow. However, it looked less like a living person.
The driver took two steps back, warily staring at him and trembling.
The young man asked in confusion: “Driver, are you okay?
The driver was stunned, tentatively asking: “Are you from DiDi taxi?”
Luo Yingbai replied: “Yes, aren’t you Driver Wang Guangfa?”
The driver’s heart returned to its place, but his temper rose. He angrily said: “No! You’ve got the wrong person. Don’t you know to check the license plate number?”
Luo Yingbai looked innocent: “There’s no license plate number?”
The driver was momentarily stumped and then said impatiently: “My surname is Qi, not the person you mentioned. You can keep waiting.”
Feeling uneasy and afraid Luo Yingbai might notice something wrong with Lu Lu, he pushed him aside after speaking and opened the car door to leave.
Luo Yingbai blocked the door with his foot. Before the driver could lose his temper, he pulled out several banknotes from his wallet and stuffed them into the driver’s hand, saying: “The driver I booked hasn’t arrived, and there are no other cars this late. Could you do me a favor and give me a ride? You can drop off this lady first and then take me. I’m not far.”
He pressed the banknotes into Driver Qi’s hand: “If the money isn’t enough, I can add more. I really have an urgent matter.”
