Chapter 1: The Cemetery Encounter

  At the end of August, summer in B city was as hot as ever. The scorching sunlight filtered through the leaves, cut into countless lights and shadows, casting on the ground, constantly flickering. The cicadas were extremely noisy, making a loud din. However, these lively sounds seemed to be filtered out in this special place, the cemetery, leaving only the soft rustling of leaves.

  The girl walked slowly on the gravel road, wearing simple jeans and a white T-shirt. The girl was very fair-skinned, with black hair that reached her waist, somewhat disheveled, and a small chin. Only a pair of brown glasses and thick bangs blocked half of her face, making her look extremely ordinary and even a bit strange.

  A pair of white hands gently placed a bouquet of white roses, stroking the photo on the marble tombstone. Ji Su's voice smiled and spoke softly, as if chatting with someone. "Mom... I got into A University, leaving tomorrow, can't come to see you often anymore, will you be lonely? But! Yinyin will always be very good, thinking of you every day! Hehe... by the way, Dad has been busy entertaining lately, always drinking, high blood pressure doesn't know how many degrees it's gone up, really..." The girl's gentle words gradually dispersed into the wind.

  Ji Su-yin is 19 years old, single-parented, and her father often doesn't have time to take care of her, but she has always been very obedient. As for her mother Ye Man-sheng, Ji Su-yin's impression of her is limited to what her father told her and the photos, as Ye Man-sheng passed away due to illness when Ji Su-yin was still very young.

  Ji Su had never felt that she lacked motherly love or anything like that, because her father Ji Shaoan was very good to her and she was content with having a good father. Ji Su stood there for a long time, saying many things, as the twilight gathered and the orange-yellow light cast a nostalgic glow.

  Ji Su-yin patted her clothes, stood up, and bid farewell to the tombstone: "Mom, I should head home now. If I don't leave soon, I'll miss the last bus, and then I'll have to stay here overnight with you! I'm leaving, goodbye!" She slowly walked down the tiered steps, passing through the pale forest of tombstones and the slanting sunset glow. The sun-kissed side of her face felt the lingering warmth of summer. Ji Su-yin curved up the corners of her mouth, tilted her head back, gazed into the distance, and smiled with an ambiguous meaning.

  The next moment, Ji Su's sound was stunned, and a boy walked towards her in front of her eyes. He was wearing all black, looked about the same age as Ji Su, tall and thin, with sharp facial features, and his jet-black eyes were very attractive, cold and cool, really a handsome face.

  Ji Su's voice would never admit that she was stunned, she wasn't a flower idiot! She just thought this person wasn't afraid of the heat, wearing all black in the scorching summer. Okay! This was just an appreciation for beauty, absolutely no improper thoughts. As she gazed straight at the boy walking closer and closer, then brushing past her, stirring up a faint breeze that rustled the bangs on her cheeks, Ji Su blinked her eyes, feeling a bit strange, an extremely peculiar sensation! "Ah!"

  In an instant, Ji Su's breathing stopped, her brain ached, and her vision blurred. Panting, she pressed her chest, feeling dizzy, shaking her head, and suddenly a cold, eerie voice whispered in her ear, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. What was going on?

  Ji Suoyu walked forward with a swagger, when suddenly he was pushed hard from behind. Ji Suoyu subconsciously hugged his head and rolled down. Fortunately, there were only a few more steps left, so the fall didn't hurt much, just ripped pants and scraped knees. Thanks to this fall, Ji Suoyu immediately woke up, hurriedly got up and looked back, but there was no one. A gust of wind blew over, and Ji Suoyu's neck felt cool, and cold sweat broke out instantly, oh my!

  Ji Suoyu turned around and ran. Rushing back home, she didn't even wash her bath, lifted up the quilt and stuffed herself inside. Tonight Ji Shaoyan would come back very late, at home there was only Ji Suoyu alone. The cold feeling from daytime still lingered. In the middle of summer, Suoyu covered herself with the quilt, but soon she was sweating profusely, yet she could still feel that chill rising up from the soles of her feet, as if...as if something was staring at her coldly through the thin quilt.

  "Ah~" She seemed to hear a sigh, very close, Ji Su's voice was frightened, closing her eyes tightly, curling up into a shrimp shape, trembling with fear, praying in her heart that Ji Shao'an would come back soon. After an unknown amount of time, Ji Su heard the sound of movement downstairs and thought Ji Shao'an had returned. She lifted the quilt to find it was already morning, the light around her was a warm yellow color, like an old photograph, giving off a very outdated feeling.

  "Ding-dong~ding-dong~" The gentle breeze blew the wind chime hung under the window frame, swaying it back and forth. A few pages of the book on the old red wooden desk were blown over. It was so quiet. Ji Suoyu sat dazedly on the edge of the bed, her mind foggy, unable to think clearly about anything. She slowly got up, barefoot, stepping onto the wooden floorboards, one step at a time, walking towards the door, with dull "thud~thud~" sounds echoing.

  She gently opened the door, "creak" sounded, so hard to hear! Ji Su Yin looked at the quiet corridor, the other doors on the second floor were all closed, the paintings on the wall and the potted plants in the corner, all gave off an old smell under the warm yellow light, just like the old doomsday century.

  Standing alone in the corridor, Ji Su-yin looked around and slowly walked down the stairs. Stopping in front of the stairs, Ji Su-yin stared blankly at the door at the end of the corridor, which was not closed tightly, and through the gap, she could see the scene inside. Slowly walking towards it, Ji Su-yin grasped the doorknob and looked inside from the gap. The room was very warm and cozy, with oil paintings on the walls, toys piled up on the floor, like a nursery.

  "Creeping..." Ji Su's voice slowly pushed open the door, and her field of vision gradually broadened. Against the wall was a crib, and a woman with long hair wearing a white cambric skirt was gently rocking it back and forth. From the angle of the doorway, only the woman's slender back could be seen.

  The room was extremely quiet, with only the crib swaying and the toys above making a sound. For some reason, Ji Su wanted to see what the woman looked like, so she slowly took a few steps forward, stood behind the woman, and slowly stretched out her arm, just as her fingertips were about to touch the woman's shoulder. Suddenly, the woman turned around!