Chapter 71: I'm Coming Out
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On the surface, Liang Xiaoyu appeared calm, but the veins on her fingers gripping the phone were already bulging. She kept telling herself, "Brave Yu Yu is not afraid of ghosts," "Sadako is actually quite cute," and so on. When a voice came through the receiver, she instinctively shuddered.
"Hello, this is Baker Realty. May I ask if you’re considering renting or selling your property at Zhongda International?" A gentle male voice spoke from the phone.
Once she understood, Liang Xiaoyu was speechless, and a little embarrassed.
"Where did you get my number?" she asked, torn between shame and anger.
"Sorry, that’s not convenient to reveal," the man said with a mild laugh. "The property market’s quite good lately. If you’re thinking about renting or selling, feel free to contact me—"
Click!
Liang Xiaoyu hung up abruptly.
After all that tension, it was only a real estate agent.
She glared at her phone screen, fuming, “Information privacy is terrible these days. Not many people know this number…”
She grumbled on, her long, crossed legs swinging absentmindedly.
[Definitely the property management’s doing.]
[Maybe it was when you bought the place. After I bought mine, all sorts of renovation companies kept calling.]
[I work in real estate sales. Had a colleague fired for secretly selling client info.]
[The legislation's not strict enough. This should be harshly punished!]
[Someone probably sold our info to his American dad.]
Liang Xiaoyu watched the stream of comments.
She was about to join the discussion when she noticed the chat was picking up pace—the tone had shifted.
[Whoa, what’s under the streamer’s foot!]
[Xiaoyu, lift your leg, quick.]
[Wow, is Sadako about to show up?]
[Yu, look behind you.]
Suddenly, Liang Xiaoyu felt her scalp tingle.
Was Sadako right behind her?
She swallowed hard, forcing herself to turn her head, inch by inch.
Cherry blossoms filled the trees, fragrant and dazzling.
Behind her, there was nothing.
Only a faint light spilling from a half-open window in the distance.
Liang Xiaoyu quickly looked away, letting out a quiet sigh of relief.
“You’re just trying to scare me, aren’t you?” she muttered, glancing down.
A streak of brilliant crimson caught her eye.
“Damn!”
She screamed, leaping from her chair.
Beneath the seat, a large pool of blood had appeared.
Had the quantity not been so alarming, she might have thought her period had come.
In the courtyard,
Liang Xiaoyu stared in disbelief, seeing that at the roots of the cherry trees, blood was bubbling up like a spring.
The blood flowed together, gathering beneath the wicker chair, bizarre and terrifying.
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Just then, Liang Xiaoyu’s phone rang again.
She took it out and saw it was the same number as before, so she hung up immediately.
The ringtone sounded again.
Annoyed, Liang Xiaoyu answered, “I’m not buying or selling property. Please stop calling me.”
“Help!” The man’s voice on the phone was now shrill and anguished. “I don’t want to die, save me!”
Click!
Liang Xiaoyu hung up.
Goosebumps prickled across her skin.
The blood in the courtyard was slowly flowing, moving in her direction.
Liang Xiaoyu clenched her fists and shouted, “Sadako, I’m Liang Xiaoyu, an unofficial staff member of Fantasy Park. Come out and let’s be friends!”
The courtyard fell silent, not a sound.
She didn’t know when, but the blood had reached her feet.
Liang Xiaoyu screamed, retreating beneath the eaves.
She looked up at the livestream, trying to distract herself, but what chilled her was that every comment was now identical.
[Do you really want to see me?]
[Do you really want to see me?]
…
Liang Xiaoyu’s scalp felt ready to explode.
She wasn’t afraid of the haunted house at Happy Valley, because she knew there were no ghosts.
But here, there were real ghosts!
She focused on breathing deeply, trying to calm herself.
“Yes,” she said loudly, “come out, let’s be friends.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she heard a creaking sound behind her.
The tightly shut door had somehow cracked open.
Liang Xiaoyu took a half step back.
She really didn’t want to enter the room.
But the blood was already at the bottom of the steps.
A light breeze stirred the courtyard.
The two cherry trees swayed as if dancing maidens twisting their waists.
Suddenly, Liang Xiaoyu saw, where the blood bubbled at the base of the trees, a dark, tangled mass slowly spreading outward.
Hair—long, black hair!
Was Sadako buried under the tree?
She remembered a frightening story a tour guide once told her at Mount Fuji: it was said that murdered girls were buried beneath cherry trees, and the more luxuriant the blossoms, the more girls lay beneath.
These two cherry trees were the most vivid and beautiful she’d ever seen.
The blood pooled at her feet, finally spilling over the steps.
Liang Xiaoyu dared not look at the hair in the distance.
She retreated, step by step, and suddenly heard a sharp snap.
Without realizing it, she’d bumped the door open as she backed up and stumbled into the room.
The light was a little dimmer there.
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She quickly adjusted, raising her head to look around.
It was a modestly decorated little house, likely the living room given its layout.
Right in front of Liang Xiaoyu was a wooden sofa.
On the wall behind it hung a painting of Tang Dynasty court ladies.
The lady’s slender eyes resembled a fox, and her slightly tilted lips looked alluring and warped, making Liang Xiaoyu shiver.
On the tea table sat a glass of water, steam still curling from its surface.
“How come this isn’t arranged like the set from ‘Ring’?” she murmured.
Her gaze swept over the LCD TV to her side, then settled on the dressing mirror on the other.
Everything seemed normal.
Liang Xiaoyu quietly let out a breath.
Just as she was about to look away, she glimpsed a shadow flicker across the dressing mirror.
Her heart skipped, and she stared intently.
There, in the mirror, was a woman doing her hair.
Her back was to Liang Xiaoyu, so her face couldn’t be seen.
Yet before the mirror, there was nothing.
Liang Xiaoyu licked her lips, approaching the mirror step by step.
The woman’s movements slowed.
By the time Liang Xiaoyu stood before the mirror, the woman had stopped entirely.
She remained rooted on the spot.
Sweat beaded in her palm, but she forced a calm smile onto her face.
The woman in the mirror slowly turned her head.
“Is Sadako about to appear?” Liang Xiaoyu’s legs trembled.
She glanced at the livestream.
All the silly viewers had vanished.
The comments were uniform…
[I’m coming out now.]
[I’m coming out now.]
…
Liang Xiaoyu’s heart was pounding in her throat, yet her eyes remained fixed on the scene.
The woman in the mirror finally turned around—and it was…
“Why is it me?” she blinked.
The other her in the mirror suddenly grinned, lips stretching wider and wider, in an instant reaching the ears, exposing blood-red gums.
Liang Xiaoyu felt icy fear.
A buzzing sound filled her ears.
The television had somehow turned on.