Chapter 24 Verse 2

  "What did you say? It's already rented out? But the rental notice is still up... Was it just decided? Okay, never mind... Uh, that... Sorry, I don't know if I can ask, but what was the rent for this place?" Cheng Zhou pressed his phone to his ear, smiling awkwardly. His expression was as if the person he was talking to was standing right in front of him.

  "Twelve hundred? Oh, I see, thank you." Cheng Zhou hung up his phone.

  "Has it been rented out?" Hong Ye asked from the back seat of the bicycle.

  Cheng Zhou nodded, "One thousand two, considering this area and house type, it's extremely cheap, but your old man still can't afford to rent it."

  Chengzhou shrugged and got on his bicycle with his son, heading towards his snail abode.

  "Can't even look at the house?" Hong Ye stood fearlessly on the back seat of the bicycle, hugging Cheng Zhou's neck and asking.

  "Of course not. The landlord said the tenant will move in tonight. Hey, kid, sit down!"

  Hong Ye apparently took this warning as a mere rumor and even waved his hand ostentatiously when passing by the traffic police.

  And this showy behavior naturally... earned us a ten-minute lecture from our elder brother.

  The young man rented this house anyway.

  An ideal house type, convenient transportation location, plus a rent that is two-thirds cheaper than similar houses, it's hard for people not to be tempted.

  Although they had heard some rumors about the house and the house number was not very auspicious, how could three young men who had just graduated from university and were fearless of heaven and earth take such a small matter to heart. After the representative negotiated the price, the three decided to move into the new house tonight.

  The night I moved in.

  "Hey, Wu Qi, how did you negotiate with the landlord and get him to agree to lower the rent to 900?"

  Liu Liang, one of the three boys who had just found a good job and was still excited, dragged his luggage into his room while asking Wu Qi, who was carrying his luggage into the adjacent room.

  "Yes, Wu Qi, you're so awesome! 900? This house and location? It's such a great deal!" Chen Shuang was overjoyed to have grabbed a room with a balcony. The rent of 300 yuan per month was almost the same as the school dormitory, and the conditions were so good.

  Wu Qi tossed the luggage bag containing clothes into the room and patted his hands:

  "I told you, I came to see the house and met two aunts chatting, one of them told me that room 914 in building 13 is unlucky, people died there. After hearing this, I didn't want to rent it at first, but after seeing the house and hearing the price, I called you to discuss it. You agreed, so I started negotiating with the landlord about the price. At first, he refused to negotiate, saying that we wouldn't be able to find a house like this at such a price, which made sense to me, but I tried my luck and asked him: 'I heard that your house is unlucky, several people died here? Will anything happen if we move in?' Then..."

  "Then he voluntarily lowered the price?" Chen Shuang burst out laughing.

  Wu Qi nodded.

  "He told me it's a fixed price of 900, take it or leave it!"

  "Rent! Of course rent! 900 yuan for a three-bedroom, two-hall apartment, located in the city center, with electrical appliances, furniture and water heater, and it's been renovated. Where can you find such a good deal?" Chen Shuang thought to herself that it was a great bargain.

  Liu Liang moved all his luggage into the room, found the food and drinks they had bought back from the supermarket, carried them to the kitchen and stuffed them all into the refrigerator. Those that couldn't fit were taken back to the living room.

  "Here." Liu Liang distributed the drinks to the other two people.

  Sitting on a chair in the living room, Liu Liang drank mineral water while looking around.

  "The thirteen buildings are all death houses, it's really uncomfortable to hear. Wu Qi, have you heard what kind of people died in these houses originally?"

  "Hey! Liu Liang. You've all moved in, what's the point of asking these questions? Are you intentionally looking for trouble?" Chen Shuang shouted loudly.

  "Do you believe this?" Liu Liang laughed.

  "Bullshit! Wu Qi, you tell me about it." Chen Shuang also burst out laughing, he was just used to teasing Liu Liang.

  Wu Qi shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know, that aunt didn't say so much. If you want to know, ask the security guard tomorrow."

  "Wu Qi, what's wrong?" Liu Liang noticed that Wu Qi didn't seem too happy.

  Nothing. Just feel that the landlord has lowered the price too much, maybe there's something wrong with this house. Otherwise, how could a house with such conditions be rented at this price?

  "Wu Qi, you're thinking too much." Chen Shuang said carelessly.

  "Anyway, I didn't sign a long-term lease with him. I said let's try living here for a month first, and if everything is fine, then I'll sign a long-term contract with him. He agreed."

  "Impossible! Didn't you sign a long-term contract with him? If someone else offers us a higher price after the contract expires, won't we have to move out?" Chen Shuang exclaimed.

  "We'll talk about it later."

  "Wu Qi, you make it sound easy, but when the time comes..."

  "Alright, alright, Wu Qi is also thinking of our safety. If something really happens and we can't move out because of the lease, that's when it'll be a real disaster."

  "I think he's being overly cautious." Chen Shuang said with a frown, "I don't believe in all that auspicious or inauspicious nonsense. A house is still just a place to live. Watch me, I'll move in for a month and see if I die!"

  "Chen Shuang, don't talk nonsense!"

  "Shut up, Chen Shuang!"

  Wu Qi and Liu Liang shouted in unison to stop him.

  "Bang!" Chen Shuang casually threw the empty Coke can into a cardboard box they had temporarily used as a trash can.

  The room fell silent for a moment, and Chen Shuang was about to say something.

  "Knock knock."

  Who? Three people looked towards the gate at the same time.

  "Who's coming today?" Liu Liang asked Wu Qi.

  Wu Qi shook his head and looked at Chen Shuang.

  "I don't know, I didn't call anyone. Maybe it's the landlord? A salesperson? Or maybe someone from the neighborhood administration?" Chen Shuang scratched her head and walked towards the door.

  Looking at Chen Shuang's back, "Can't use the doorbell?" Liu Liang asked.

  "What? Doorbell?" Wu Qi didn't understand Liu Liang's meaning.

  "It works, I've confirmed with the landlord that all the appliances are functional. What's wrong?"

  "It's nothing, I just think it's a bit strange that there are still people who don't press the doorbell." Liu Liang withdrew his gaze and stood up to tidy up the living room.

  Chen Shuang opened the double lock and pulled open the large door, poking her head out to take a look.

  The corridor was quiet, with the doors of the opposite households tightly closed, and no sound could be heard from the stairs up and down.

  Did he hear it wrong? But it's impossible for all three of them to have heard it wrong.

  "Who is it?" Chen Shuang opened the door and stuck half of her body outside, shouting loudly.

  No one answered.

  Inside the house, Wu Qi and Liu Liang simultaneously stopped what they were doing and looked at each other.

  "Bang!" Chen Shuang slammed the door shut and stormed into the living room, "Who knows which bastard knocked on the door and ran away, not even a ghostly shadow can be seen."

  Wu Qi put down his luggage and looked a bit ugly, "Maybe some kid knew someone was moving in today and came to play a prank on purpose, forget it."

  "Hmph! Don't let me catch him next time."

  Liu Liang chuckled beside him, "I don't know why, but it sounds familiar to me. It seems like someone else also likes doing the same childish things and often gets caught red-handed."

  "Shut up, Liu Liang!" Chen Shuang yelled.

  When he heard this, Wu Qi also burst out laughing.

  The day after moving in.

  Liu Liang and Chen Shuang went out shopping, leaving Wu Qi alone at home cleaning.

  First, clean the bathroom and then tidy up the kitchen by wiping the stove. After cleaning the kitchen, it was almost noon. Wu Qi walked into the living room with a clean rag in his hand, intending to wipe the windows.

  Wu Qigang opened the window latch, "Dong Dong".

  The door was knocked on.

  "Didn't you bring the key with you when you went out? Open it yourself, I'm busy!" Wu Qi shouted back.

  Waited for a while, but didn't hear anyone respond, nor was there any sound of keys turning in the door lock.

  Wu Qi felt strange, which boring guy was it? Wasn't it that little devil who played a prank yesterday again?

  After some thought, Wu Qi grabbed a rag and walked to the door, peering out through the cat's eye.

  No one, at least within his line of sight and angle of view.

  Muttering under his breath, Wu Qi walked over to the intercom and pressed the button to ask, "Who is it?"

  No one answered.

  Loosening the key, Wu Qi walked to the front door and quietly unlocked the first lock. He was now certain that this was definitely a prank by some mischievous kid, and that kid probably lived in this building. Because the entrance and exit of the building required a resident ID card to enter and exit, outsiders had to use the intercom at the entrance to ask residents inside to open the door.

  After a while, Wu Qi seemed to be competing with someone outside in patience and did not open the big gate. He was waiting for the second knock on the door.

  "Knock knock."

  I knew it!

  As soon as the voice fell, Wu Qi quickly opened the second door lock and pushed open the big door.

  There is no one. Not even a ghost can be seen.

  Wu Qi walked out of the door and couldn't believe that the mischievous little ghosts would run so fast without making a single sound.

  "Who's so bored? Don't let me catch you next time, or I'll tell your parents!"

  Wu Qi's voice echoed in the corridor.

  "Crack."

  Wu Qi turned his head.

  The door opposite opened and a middle-aged man poked his head out.

  "What's going on?" the middle-aged man asked.

  "Nothing, sorry about that. Some kids were playing a prank and knocking on doors randomly. Did I disturb you? I'm really sorry, I just moved in."

  "Did you say someone was knocking on the door?" The middle-aged man's voice suddenly became softer, and his face also turned a bit unsightly.

  "What's wrong?" Wu Qi was startled by the middle-aged man's attitude.

  "The door is open but there's no one in sight?"

  Wu Qi nodded.

  The middle-aged man suddenly spoke up after a long silence: "I advise you to move out as soon as possible." He then tried to close the door.

  "Wait! Please wait!" Wu Qi hastily ran over and grabbed hold of the door, preventing the middle-aged man from closing it.

  "Sorry, could you tell me what's going on? I just moved here and don't know a lot of things."

  "I don't know either." The middle-aged man glared at Wu Qi discontentedly.

  "Then why are you advising me to move out early?" Wu Qi wouldn't let the middle-aged man off.

  The middle-aged man added, his voice barely audible as if he was afraid of being overheard: "The old lady who used to live there also often heard the knocking sound. She would come out to open the door but find no one there. She asked me if I knew which family in this building had a child who loved playing pranks."

  "Is that kid here?" Wu Qi's face also gradually became as ugly as the middle-aged man.

  A middle-aged man raised his head, seemingly sneering, and said: "I also specifically asked about this. I heard that this building was not sold well because of the bad floor number at the beginning. The 9-story building has 14 suites per floor, a total of 126 suites. Now, including the houses rented out by the real estate company, there are only about 30 households living in this building, and 90% of them are students and white-collar workers like you. There are only three families like us who have moved in with their whole family, and the youngest child in these three families has already gone to high school and boards at school. You say, where did the mischievous kids come from in this building?"

  Wu Qi gripped the rag in his hand more tightly, holding onto a thread of hope, and asked: "Could it be that some adult..."

  The middle-aged man was too lazy to answer his question, "Sorry, trouble you to let go of my hand, I want to close the door, there's still water boiling on the stove."

  "Ah, sorry." Wu Qi subconsciously loosened his grip.

  Before closing the big gate, the middle-aged man turned his head and said to Wu Qi: "For your own good, I advise you that if you hear a knock on the door at night, it's best to pretend you didn't hear it."