Fear Stories Were Meant to Be Read at Midnight for the Atmosphere

Lin Yue'er spoke with a pale face. "Last night... I felt like there was someone under my bed."

"Did you know? My bed has a solid base, with only a gap of seven or eight centimeters between it and the floor. There shouldn't be enough room for anyone to fit under there..."

"But I definitely heard it. I heard something scraping under the bed. I didn't dare make a sound, so I quietly crawled to the edge and looked down. I saw a hand! It quickly pulled back into the gap under the bed!"

"I was so scared that I called Yuwen Hao using the phone on my bedside table. But I pulled too hard and yanked the phone right off the table..."

"It fell into the gap beside the bed. I didn't dare pick it up... I just stayed there from last night until this morning. I waited until it was fully light before I dared get out of bed. Then I ran straight out without even looking back..."

As Lin Yue'er spoke, Qing Huan suddenly interrupted her, looking agitated. "Yes! I felt the same way last night. I also felt like there was someone else in my room!"

Gu Mian turned to look at the Chinese literature graduate. He was speaking excitedly about what had happened to him.

"As soon as I got back yesterday, I felt like something was wrong. The moment I stepped inside, I felt as if something was following me."

"I looked back, but there was nothing there. So many times, I felt like someone was right behind me, but whenever I turned around, there was nothing."

"Whenever I was near a mirror or a window, I'd sneak a sideways glance at it, hoping to see if I could catch a glimpse of whatever was behind me."

"Then... then this morning, I..."

At this point, Qing Huan's face twisted, seemingly twitching from his agitation.

As a doctor, Gu Mian offered some advice. "Relax. Take it easy."

"What happened this morning?" Yuwen Hao asked, eyes wide. He clearly wanted to know.

"This morning, on my way here, I passed a clothing store... It had gone out of business. The doors were shut, but the place hadn't been rented out yet."

"A lot of the store's things had been piled up outside. There was a huge full-length mirror inside... It was filthy and so blurry you could hardly see anything."

"When I walked past, I glanced over without thinking... and I saw—I saw... a person over two meters tall following me!"

The others all sucked in a sharp breath.

Lin Yue'er repeated in disbelief, "Over two meters tall?"

"Yes! Over two meters tall, like a wooden puppet that had been stretched out. It was completely white, and it was following right behind me!"

"I stopped in fright, but then it disappeared..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the room fell silent. It seemed everyone was lost in their own thoughts.

Gu Mian broke the silence. "How far away was it?"

That was exactly the right question. Qing Huan shuddered violently before stammering out an answer. "About... as far away as you are from me..."

They had booked a private room with a large round table. Qing Huan and Gu Mian were sitting directly across from each other.

Gu Mian estimated the distance at nearly three meters.

And according to the rules of this instance, the distance between Qing Huan and the ghost would keep shrinking.

At this point, Yuwen Hao began speaking haltingly too. "Actually... what happened to me last night was pretty similar to Qing Huan's..."

"Qing Huan felt like someone was following him, while I... felt like someone was watching me. I didn't know where he was."

"He seemed to be behind the curtains, or hiding among the clothes hanging on the rack, or under the table by the window... or crouched at the foot of my bed, staring right at me."

"I kept thinking... if I turned off the lights at night and looked over my shoulder, I'd see a deathly pale face staring right at me."

"Even now, I still feel like I'm being watched."

As he spoke, he rubbed his chest, looking uneasy.

Just then, Golden Wings, who had been silent all day, suddenly spoke up loudly. "That's nothing! You have no idea what happened to me last night. That ghost... I heard it, and I saw it!"

Yuwen Hao looked at Huang Yu in surprise.

Huang Yu's phone had been busy all night, even though none of the four of them had been talking to him. It had been incredibly strange.

Huang Yu braced both hands against the table and swallowed before continuing. "Last night, everything was fine at first. Nothing happened."

"Then, once it was completely dark—I don't even remember what time it was—I got my first phone call..."

"I thought it was one of you. I answered right away without even looking. But there was no sound on the other end. Nothing at all. I got a little scared, so I looked down at the phone's display... It said the number was unlisted."

"I was so frightened that I hung up right away and tried to call you guys. But then the phone rang again, and the caller ID said Lin Yue'er..."

Lin Yue'er looked confused. "I never called you."

"I know!"

"When I answered, there was no sound at first. Then I heard laughter... It was this... muffled laugh, a man's laugh with his mouth closed and his voice held low..."

"It sounded like it was coming straight out of his throat. I was just about to hang up in terror, but then he suddenly shouted in this really, really high voice, 'Hang up and you'll die right away!'"

"I was so scared that I panicked. I had no idea what to do, so I just held the receiver without moving a muscle."

"The man kept talking on the other end... His voice was shrill, like some dying old man screaming as loud as he could. I heard him say... I heard him say..."

"I'm downstairs from you."

Everyone shuddered violently when they heard that.

"I live in this really run-down apartment building... on the fourth floor. I was in my bedroom, and I could see the street below from the window..."

"I was so scared that I sneaked a glance over there. I saw someone standing downstairs... a dark silhouette..."

"I saw him facing my window... He held up a finger and slowly... bit by bit... counted on his fingers..."

"He was counting which floor I lived on!"

"I was so terrified that my mind went blank. I didn't dare listen to anything else..."

"All I remember is that the last thing I heard last night was..."

"I'm at your door."