Chapter 21: The Haunted House (Part 1)

  "Tianqi, why aren't you eating? What are you thinking about?" Fatso noticed Tianqi staring off into space while holding his chopsticks during dinner.

  "Never mind, let's just eat," Tian Qi came back to his senses.

  "You don't have to say it, I already know, you're thinking of that teacher's daughter," said the fatty with a sly grin.

  It turns out that what the fatty said was true, originally a few days ago the teacher said they would be returning to their home country soon, but then said there were things that hadn't been dealt with and the return date had been postponed, still no news.

  Tian Qi has been thinking of traveling abroad when he is less busy.

  But this new order he just received immediately got him busy again.

  The client is a real estate developer known to Fatso, and the first phase of the project was selling well with a high occupancy rate. However, due to rumors that some houses in the first phase were haunted, this news was exploited by competitors and affected the sales of the second phase houses.

  Generally, real estate developers who engage in construction believe in Feng Shui, including site selection and the layout and orientation of buildings, which are all examined by specialized Feng Shui masters. It is rare for such rumors to appear.

  He met the deputy manager in charge of this building, who was also the contact person for Fatso, named Cui Hui. He was not very tall, about the same height as Fatso, with a square head and big ears, a bit of a beer belly, wearing a suit and leather shoes, over 40 years old, looking like he was doing quite well.

  "This is Tianqi brothers and Chou Shen brothers, really young and promising! This time you must help me a lot!" Cui Xuan was very enthusiastic.

  Tian Qi gave a friendly handshake, while Chou Shen just nodded slightly.

  Before meeting, the fat man had already said that his relationship with this person was just acquaintances, not too much friendship. The few times they met left a bad impression on him. This person is very shrewd, seemingly enthusiastic towards people, but actually very stingy.

  Tian Qi didn't mind this too much. Business is business, and whether or not they can become friends after the deal is done depends on fate.

  "Is this the room? It looks very clean, is anyone still living here?" Chui Xuan led them to the rumored haunted room, Tian Qi went in and found that the furniture and bed inside were all brand new, and not very old.

  "Ah!" Cui Wei patted his somewhat protruding belly with his right hand, let out a sigh, "This house is mine now."

  Cui Xing then told Tian Qi and the others about the whole story.

  This house was bought by a couple who were about to get married when it was first put on the market. However, soon after they got married, the wife committed suicide. The husband was overcome with emotion and moved into his company's dormitory, renting out the house to others. But after a few rentals, nobody dared to rent it again, saying that the house was not clean.

  Cui Hui knew about this and bought the house at a very low price. The building was built after consulting with feng shui masters, so he thought there should be no major problems. He felt that if he found someone who understood the business to take a look, he would definitely be able to sell it for a high price.

  However, his calculations were wrong. Relying on his connections, he found a few so-called masters to come and take a look for free. As a result, they all said that the house was fine. Having no other choice, he then contacted Fatso.

  "It's like that, you can rest assured, as long as the problem can be solved, money is definitely not a problem," Cui said, looking at Tian Qi who was sitting there without saying a word.

  Upon hearing Director Cui say this, Tian Qi looked down on him. This Cui Hui was indeed not famous for nothing. Didn't his words mean that if the problem couldn't be solved, he wouldn't give a single cent?

  If things really can't be done, Tian Qi will naturally not take the money. When he told his mentor about his plan to start a company, his mentor said that a gentleman makes money in a proper way. If things can't be done, it's absolutely impossible to take the money, and even more so, one cannot use deceitful tactics to cheat people for the sake of money.

  The house is not very big, two bedrooms and one living room, over 80 square meters, with good ventilation from south to north. It's on the 8th floor, with windows at both front and back that can be opened, making the indoor air quality also very good. Moreover, it faces the highway directly, without any obstructions. If such a house were still haunted, it would be unreasonable. Besides, Cui Xi himself said he had already found someone to check it out, and they all said there was no problem.

  "Could he have framed us on purpose?" Tianqi thought to himself, but immediately dismissed the idea. The three of them, except for Pàngzi and him having some acquaintance, Tianqi and Chóu Shēn were meeting for the first time, there was no reason for that.

  "I think I've found some problems, but I'm not quite sure yet. We'll be staying in this house for a few days, don't know if it's convenient or not," Tianqi said.

  "Go ahead, no problem, you won't have to spend your own money on food. There's a cafeteria at the sales office, just go there and eat, I'll make arrangements in advance." Cui Xi spoke as if he thought he was being very generous.

  "What's wrong?" Chui Xuan asked Tian Qi after Cui Xuan left. He didn't find anything wrong with this house.

  "Damn it, it's really too stingy! I think we'd better not bother, let's go!" Fatso yelled in the bathroom, originally this house had no water and no electricity.

  It's normal that no one has lived here for a long time and hasn't paid water and electricity bills, but Tian Qi said he would live here for a few days, and Cui Xi pretended to be stupid and didn't mention this matter, which is quite weird. The fat man came out and wanted to call Cui Xi, but was stopped by Tian Qi.

  "I didn't find any problems actually, but it's a bit unsatisfying to go back without investigating," Tian Qi said, expressing his thoughts.

  It's still early, not yet noon. Tian Qi asked Pangzi to call Cui Xiang, he wanted to see the person who originally bought this house, maybe he knew something.

  An hour later, in a coffee shop, Tian Qi met the original owner of the house, a 29-year-old young man.

  The conversation was very short, just over half an hour.

  He had known his deceased wife for three years, and their relationship was always good, with no conflicts. His wife's personality was also very good in daily life. After getting married, the couple planned to have children. After a hospital check-up, the doctor suggested that his wife should rest for a while before having children, as some physical indicators were not up to standard. Later, his wife resigned from her job, and after he got promoted at work with a pretty high salary, there was no problem in supporting the family.

  Every day after work, there is ready-made food at home. After dinner, the two of us chat and watch TV together, living a very happy life.

  "It was just one day when I came home and found that she had cut her wrist and killed herself," the man said, his face filled with sorrow, it's clear that he and his wife had a very deep emotional bond.

  "I'm really sorry for bringing up the past, but did you ever find out why your wife committed suicide?"

  The man shook his head, he also wanted to know why his wife had committed suicide, a perfectly fine person was suddenly gone.

  Actually, Tian Qi wanted to ask more questions, but seeing the man's state was unbearable, so he let him leave, saying that if there was a need in the future, please don't hesitate to ask for help. The man was quite decent and agreed that if anything came up, just look for him.

  Tian Qi still had no clue. If there was a problem with the house, why were all the men living in it fine, but the woman would commit suicide?

  "Is it possible that the problem with this house will only affect women and not men?" Qiu Shen said.

  Qiu Shen's words reminded Tian Qi, and he immediately picked up the phone and called the man.

  But the problem is not here, later renters were once a man renting alone, once two men co-renting together, and even a family of three rented before, but none of them continued to rent.

  Now there is only one way left, which is to stay here for a few days and see what problems will occur.

  Tian Qi didn't sleep in the beds of the two rooms, instead he asked Fatso to buy three simple single beds. He was afraid that something unexpected would happen if they slept on those beds at night, so it's better to be cautious.

  But three days passed, and Tianqi and his family had been living in the house for three days without anything unusual happening. The fat kid even gained a few pounds. Tianqi didn't want to go to the sales office cafeteria anymore. Every time he saw Manager Cui Hui, he would ask how things were going and if they had found any problems. On the third day when they went to the cafeteria for lunch, Cui Hui became less polite, although he didn't say it outright, Tianqi understood that his meaning was that if they couldn't find any problems, they should leave as soon as possible.

  Tian Qi had also thought it through, today was the last day, if he couldn't find any problems, he would give up. He couldn't just waste time here and let customers point fingers at him, after all, he was a postdoctoral researcher who had studied abroad. In fact, insisting on eating in the sales office canteen every day wasn't really about saving money for Tian Qi, but to see if he could discover any problems. After all, the people eating in the sales office were all staff members of this building project, and it was possible that someone might know something.

  At dinner time, Tian Qi and the other two didn't eat at the sales office. Pàngzi insisted on going out to eat noodles, and Tian Qi didn't stop him. I guess there won't be any gains tonight either, and they'll leave tomorrow.

  Back from dinner, the three returned to their room, but unfortunately caught up with the elevator being out of order and under repair. Fortunately, it was on the 8th floor, so climbing up wasn't too tiring; those on higher floors were in a tougher spot.

  "Wait," Tian Qi suddenly stopped on the seventh floor.

  "Why aren't you leaving?" asked the fatty.

  Tian Qi looked at the door of the 7th floor, he was walking in front, Chou Shen and Pang Zi were behind him. Just now when he just arrived at the 7th floor, the door of the 7th floor opened a little, then closed immediately.

  The yin energy that emerged from the door made him shiver, this room was definitely not normal, and that yin energy was only emitted by dead people.

  Tian Qi hesitated about whether or not to go knock on the door and remind this family that their house was unclean.

  "Let's talk about it tomorrow instead. I have a feeling that there is something hidden here, and it doesn't seem as simple as it looks. Why don't we investigate further tomorrow during the day?" Qiu Shen said.

  Tian Qi thought for a moment, indeed it should be done this way. If he knocked on the door and said someone had a ghost, even if he wasn't considered crazy, he would still scare people. If something else happened later, it would be even worse. The yin energy from earlier was very strong, it seemed like it had been in this room for a long time. If there were any issues, they should have appeared already. Since someone is still living inside now, the person here tonight should be fine.

  Tian Qi didn't think at this time, this 7-story house would have a relationship with the ghost on the 8th floor.