The rain was still falling, sometimes heavy, sometimes light. The canopy outside the door was filled with water, looking like it was about to collapse at any second.
Liu Wu watched for a while and couldn’t help pointing at it. “Can that thing drain water automatically?”
“Yeah,” Chen Jian responded.
“Huh?” Liu Wu was stunned. “It’s really automatic?”
“Voice-controlled,” Chen Jian said.
“Huh?” Liu Wu looked even more confused.
Shan Yu sighed and turned his head away.
Chen Jian stood up, took a fork from beside the door, walked under the canopy, and jabbed at the top twice. The accumulated rainwater gushed down, and the canopy returned to normal.
“The moment you mentioned it, it drained the water,” Chen Jian sat back down. “Voice-controlled.”
“That’s what you meant by voice-controlled?” Liu Wu was stunned for two seconds, then leaned back against his chair and laughed loudly. “Damn, you’re pretty funny.”
Chen Jian looked at Liu Wu, who was laughing like a wind-up toy. “How old are you?”
“Just turned eighteen,” Liu Wu said. “I even got my driver’s license.”
“Oh,” Chen Jian responded.
“You don’t seem eighteen—you look like a middle schooler,” Chen Xiaohu chuckled from the side.
“I just look young,” Liu Wu said.
Shan Yu glanced at him helplessly.
“You’re not in school anymore?” Chen Xiaohu asked with a smile. “Came over to start a business with your brother?”
“I’m still in school, just started college,” Liu Wu said. “I just came to drop my brother off. He took over that guesthouse, planning to fix it up before opening. But I think it’ll take a while—mainly because he doesn’t want to…”
“Do you have any ice cream?” Shan Yu interrupted him.
“Probably,” Chen Jian got up, opened the freezer, and took out an ice cream bar. “Four coins.”
“Alright.” Shan Yu nodded.
“It expired about three months ago,” Chen Jian added.
Shan Yu fell silent.
Chen Jian also stared at him silently.
“This is the only one?” Shan Yu couldn’t believe it. “There’s nothing else?”
“Nope,” Chen Jian said. “This one’s from before. I bought it and never ate it.”
“…Forget it.” Shan Yu waved his hand. “There’s only this one shop selling food and drinks within a few kilometers—why isn’t anyone doing business here?”
“Can’t make a profit.” Chen Jian smiled, tore open the ice cream wrapper, and took a bite.
“Is it still edible?” Liu Wu asked.
“Yeah,” Chen Jian said. “Expired doesn’t mean spoiled.”
Liu Wu turned to Shan Yu and whispered, “Want some?”
“Want some…? There’s only one, what am I supposed to eat?” Shan Yu couldn’t take it anymore. “Did you even take your entrance exam yourself?”
Chen Jian chuckled as he ate the ice cream.
“This kid’s a real fool,” Chen Xiaohu couldn’t help but laugh.
Ten minutes later than expected, Tang Rui and his apprentice, Xiao Pan, drove back from town.
“Rui-ge,” Chen Jian greeted.
“You still came in this heavy rain?” Xiao Pan asked.
“It wasn’t raining when I left,” Chen Jian said.
“Perfect timing, want to play a couple rounds later?” Xiao Pan leaned over.
“Patch the tire,” Chen Jian pointed at the tire by the door.
“Is Shifu back?” Liu Wu asked eagerly.
“Yeah,” Tang Rui nodded and walked over to the tire. “Got a puncture?”
“Yeah,” Liu Wu gestured emphatically. “A triangle nail. Triangle. Nail.”
Tang Rui glanced at him but didn’t say much. He called over Xiao Pan and started working. Chen Jian couldn’t help much, so he got up and went into the back room.
That room was supposed to be a kitchen, but it was cluttered with all sorts of stuff.
“You’re not leaving?” Chen Xiaohu asked in a low voice. “Once they fix the tire, they’re heading straight to the haunted house.”
“I’ll wait for Rui-ge to fix my car before I go,” Chen Jian said.
“But what if they’ve already moved in? What are you going to do then?” Chen Xiaohu glanced outside. “That Boss Shan looks pretty refined, but he gives off a vibe… Doesn’t seem like an easy person to deal with.”
“They probably won’t stay there overnight,” Chen Jian said. “They’ll get scared stiff.”
“Isn’t his leg already stiff?” Chen Xiaohu lowered her voice. “Is that leg of his fake?”
“No idea. Probably broken. If it were a prosthetic leg, he wouldn’t be moving around so awkwardly,” Chen Jian said as he bit into his ice cream. “People with prosthetic legs can still run like crazy.”
“Are you eating here?” Chen Xiaohu asked again.
“No,” Chen Jian said. “I still have leftovers from yesterday.”
“Alright then,” Chen Xiaohu said. “Make sure you head back soon. Don’t make it awkward if you run into them. You’ll be seeing them often in the future.”
“Not that often. This kind of business is all output, no input,” Chen Jian turned to walk outside. “How long do you think they can last?”
The boss only seemed to do tire repairs and was quite skilled at it. In no time, he finished patching up the tire, reinstalled it, and patted the car roof. “It’s good to go. You can make it to town.”
“And then?” Liu Wu asked.
“You’ll need to replace this tire,” the boss said. “It’s too old. I patched it up for now, but it could blow out again soon.”
“Boss, even if you don’t jinx our car, we’d still come to you for repairs,” Liu Wu said.
“I don’t sell tires, and I can’t fix this car either,” the boss said. “You’ll have to go to the repair shop in town.”
“The town up ahead?” Shan Yu asked, opening the car door.
“The old town,” the boss said. “The new town doesn’t have a repair shop. That place is useless.”
Liu Wu helped Shan Yu into the car slowly, making sure his leg was properly positioned, then waved at the people in the shop. “We’re off. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Drive slow,” the boss said. “If you hit another pothole, that tire might actually blow.”
“Got it.” Liu Wu nodded and got in.
The car drove off for a while without speeding up. Liu Wu was surprisingly obedient, keeping the speed under 40 km/h.
“Bro,” he glanced back at Shan Yu. “Do you think they threw that nail on purpose?”
“No idea. With that nearly worn-out spare tire, even if no one planted a nail, it probably wouldn’t have made it anyway. Might as well have someone puncture it and get it fixed,” Shan Yu said. “Why are you overthinking this?”
“It’s suspicious!” Liu Wu frowned. “What else am I supposed to think about? What are you thinking about? You haven’t said a word.”
“I’m thinking about whether there’s something shady about that guesthouse,” Shan Yu said.
“Huh? What do you mean?” Liu Wu immediately nodded. “Now that you mention it, Chen Jian and the boss lady were acting a little strange.”
“Qian Yu is probably hiding something from me,” Shan Yu pressed his fingers against his temple. His leg hurt, and now his head was starting to ache too.
“Call him and ask,” Liu Wu suggested.
“Ask my ass,” Shan Yu propped his leg up on the backseat. “I don’t believe a single word he says right now. I’ll see for myself.”
“Fair point. Seeing is believing.” Liu Wu nodded.
And not only was seeing believing—it was shocking.
As they approached the town, they saw road signs every so often, all advertising the place as a “mountain resort town.” The design was quite modern, clearly aimed at attracting young visitors.
But the moment they drove in, Shan Yu started feeling uneasy.
Earlier, when he asked why they didn’t sell drinks, Chen Jian had said, “It’s not worth it.” Back then, he didn’t get what that meant.
Now, he understood.
There was no one here.
They had been driving through the town for ten minutes, and they had barely seen ten people—some of whom were just shop owners standing inside their stores, watching them.
“You’ve been here before?” Shan Yu looked at the empty streets and the shopkeepers staring at them.
“Yeah, even stayed two nights,” Liu Wu nodded.
“You call this ‘business is definitely good’?” Shan Yu stared at the back of his head.
“I meant once the ski resort opens, business will be good,” Liu Wu said, his voice lacking confidence.
“So when does the ski resort open?” Shan Yu pulled out his phone from between the seat cushions and glanced at the time. It was almost dinnertime, yet none of the restaurants—whether Chinese, Western, or Southeast Asian—had any customers inside.
“I heard it’s soon,” Liu Wu said.
“When did you hear that?” Shan Yu pressed further.
“Well…” Liu Wu hesitated. “Last time I was here.”
“When was that?” Shan Yu asked again.
Liu Wu didn’t respond immediately. He kept driving forward for a bit before finally muttering, “Back in my second year of high school.”
Shan Yu was speechless. He chuckled.
“I told you not to take over this place!” Liu Wu got embarrassed by the laugh and smacked the steering wheel.
“Like I had a fu-cking choice!” Shan Yu kicked the seatback.
“We’re going in circles,” Liu Wu sighed.
“Let’s check out the guesthouse first,” Shan Yu leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “Whether the business is good or bad, it’s ours now. No other options.”
“Bro, you’ve got such a great attitude. People who do big things all think like you,” Liu Wu said immediately.
“You should pick up a book on flattery, freshman,” Shan Yu said.
“Those exist? There’s really a book like that?” Liu Wu asked.
“You should’ve repeated a year,” Shan Yu said. “I’m worried you’ll get bullied in college.”
“No way. Everyone says college students are dumb,” Liu Wu replied confidently.
The guesthouse was at the very end of the road. After the asphalt ended, there was a stretch of gravel road—clearly designed to match the aesthetic, with flower beds and greenery along the sides.
It did have a certain charm.
But it was also clearly neglected, with an air of decay.
And for their already run-down car, this road was brutal.
Liu Wu was practically lying on the steering wheel, terrified that a particularly sharp piece of gravel would puncture the tires.
The tires held up. The car made it into Zhenxi’s courtyard without blowing out.
Liu Wu didn’t stop immediately. He kept adjusting the car, backing up and pulling forward repeatedly.
“What the hell are you doing?” Shan Yu asked.
“Parking in the designated spot,” Liu Wu said. “There are lines for parking spaces.”
“Parking space my ass,” Shan Yu opened the door. “You could take the whole damn car apart and lay it out neatly here, and the only thing that’ll notice you is a ghost!”
Liu Wu sighed, parked the car, and jogged to the trunk to get the wheelchair.
Qian Yu must have spent a lot on this guesthouse. The four-story white building had a stylish design. But like the rest of the town, it was falling into disrepair, overgrown with weeds.
“The interior design is pretty nice too. There’s a fireplace, a gym,” Liu Wu said as he took out the key and opened the front door of the guesthouse, pushing Shan Yu inside. “There’s even a library, so you can drink coffee while reading.”
The windows and doors were shut. It was relatively clean inside, but there was still a faint, stale smell from being sealed up for half a year.
Liu Wu pushed him to the elevator. “The elevator’s out.”
“No shit,” Shan Yu said. “You turned on the lights when we came in, and nothing happened. There’s no electricity here.”
“Bro,” Liu Wu looked distressed. “We’re not staying here tonight, right?”
“Let’s go upstairs and check it out,” Shan Yu didn’t answer directly.
“Should I carry you?” Liu Wu asked.
“I should carry you,” Shan Yu said.
Liu Wu wasn’t too bright, but at least he had the strength for it. He carried Shan Yu up to the second floor, took a look around, then carried him up to the third floor.
Shan Yu held a flashlight and briefly checked each room.
The guesthouse was indeed well-renovated, probably aiming to be a high-end boutique stay. But it seemed like they never even recouped their investment.
On the third floor, they first saw the gym, which was surprisingly well-equipped. As they were about to head into the hallway, Liu Wu suddenly stopped.
“Bro,” his voice was filled with hesitation and fear. “Am I seeing things?”
“Seeing a ghost?” Shan Yu shone his flashlight across the room. The guest rooms had decent lighting, but since the curtains were drawn and there wasn’t much outside light, everything looked a bit blurry.
“The hallway over there,” Liu Wu stopped walking and even took two steps back. Keeping his voice low like he was in a horror movie, he whispered, “Why is there police tape?”
“Hm?” That made Shan Yu uneasy. He quickly swung his flashlight toward the hallway.
Liu Wu hadn’t imagined it. At the very end of the corridor, in front of one of the rooms, there was yellow police tape.
It was old and partially torn, but it was definitely police tape.
“Holy shit,” Liu Wu’s voice trembled. “What the hell is this?”
“Let’s go check it out,” Shan Yu said.
“What?” Liu Wu’s voice jumped in pitch. “Go over there? Seriously? Are you out of your mind, bro?”
“Let’s take a look,” Shan Yu said. “Even if someone was murdered, the case is closed by now.”
“That’s not the point—” Liu Wu was on the verge of tears. “This isn’t about whether the case is closed or not…”
“Put me down,” Shan Yu said, pulling out a folding cane from behind his waist and flicking it open. “You can stay here and cry. I’ll go see.”
Liu Wu might have been scared, but he was still Shan Yu’s cousin. Despite his fear, he didn’t leave Shan Yu behind and instead carried him, step by step, toward the room.
“You can put me down now.” Shan Yu shone his flashlight inside. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. “It’s fine. No ghosts, no bodies, no blood on the floor.”
“Stop talking, stop talking…” Liu Wu quickly set him down and turned away from the door, leaning against the hallway wall.
Shan Yu propped himself up with his cane and hopped into the room, making his way to the window to pull back the curtains.
The room immediately brightened up, and the previously blurry furniture became clear.
It was a deluxe room, with a large bed, a shelf lined with various bottles and containers, and a tea table by the window with a complete tea set still on it. There were also some broken pieces of glass on the floor, likely from a shattered cup.
Aside from the remnants of police tape outside, nothing seemed different from the other rooms.
“Shan Yu?” Liu Wu peeked his head inside, then quickly pulled it back out. “You okay? Do you need me to come in?”
Shan Yu didn’t notice anything unusual at first and was about to call Liu Wu inside to ease his fear. But then he spotted something—a dark stain peeking out from under a pile of bedding on the bed. He quickly changed his mind. “No need.”
“Oh.” Liu Wu sounded relieved.
Shan Yu hopped over to the bed, frowned, and lifted the blanket to take a closer look. It was definitely a bloodstain.
Unbelievable. Someone had died here, and Qian Yu hadn’t even bothered to get the place cleaned up—just left it sitting like this.
“All done.” Tang Rui patted the seat of his motorcycle. “Good as new.”
“It was new,” Chen Jian said. “Bought it just this spring.”
“You heading back to town now?” Tang Rui lit a cigarette.
“Yeah,” Chen Jian nodded as he swung a leg over his bike. “I still need to grab my stuff from the haunted house.”
“If it’s nothing important, just leave it,” Tang Rui said. “You run into the new owner, and he’ll think you’re a thief.”
“My bag’s there,” Chen Jian didn’t care. “It’s fine. Those two won’t dare stay there overnight. Besides, there’s no electricity. If they don’t run off tonight, they’ve got guts.”
“What’s his name?” Xiao Pan, squatting nearby with a cigarette in his mouth, asked. “One of Qian Yu’s friends?”
“Who knows? Didn’t ask.” Chen Jian said.
“He looks loaded,” Xiao Pan clicked his tongue. “Car’s beat-up, but his clothes look expensive.”
“You think everyone looks rich. Even Qian Yu—last time you thought he was rich, and now he can’t even pay his utility bills.” Chen Jian started his bike.
“Come on, he looks rich! He’s got that vibe! Plus, his last name is Qian (Qian means money)!” Xiao Pan shouted.
“Yeah, Lao Qian at that,” Chen Jian called back as he rode off. Then he added, “Tell your guys not to cause trouble for the next couple of days!”
“Got it,” Xiao Pan waved. “We’ll check things out first.”
Chen Jian finished dinner before heading to the haunted house.
He parked his motorcycle at the entrance and walked in along the narrow path. Though he was certain Shan Yu and Liu Wu wouldn’t stay the night, he still moved as quietly as possible—just in case.
When he saw the car still parked in the courtyard, he hesitated.
The cripple didn’t drive off?
He looked up at the windows on the second floor. They were pitch dark—no sign of light anywhere.
Maybe he left in a wheelchair. The place was definitely empty. If someone were inside, there’d at least be some candlelight flickering.
Chen Jian circled around to the back of the building and eyed a small platform on the second floor. He took a few steps back, then sprinted forward, kicking off the edge of a flowerbed. As he jumped, his right hand grabbed the edge of the platform, while his left foot scraped against the rough wall for leverage. With fluid momentum, he landed silently on the second floor and slipped through a half-open window.
___
Author’s Note:
Shan Yu: The brace I’m using for my broken leg is not a prosthetic ﹁_﹁.
