A Male Model

"Could it be the abused girl?" the girl speculated. "She was tormented until she died, and her resentment turned her into a vengeful spirit. She was the one who killed the Middle-aged man at dawn."

So far, her theory seemed reasonable.

"That might be it, but we still need evidence." After coming out of the bathroom, the burly man seemed much less confident. Fine beads of cold sweat even dotted his forehead.

Jiang Cheng knew he wasn't as calm as he looked.

Lunch was left to the fat man, while the girl helped wash the vegetables.

Before long, a delicious meal was ready. Even in such an environment, everyone ate every last bite, which showed just how good the fat man's cooking was.

"Are you a chef?" The burly man took a sip of hot soup. He found the fat man's big face much more agreeable afterward.

"No." The fat man scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "I just take odd jobs wherever I go. I've done all kinds of work, so I know a bit of everything."

"What do you all do? It's fate that brought us together here." The burly man set down his bowl, his expression softening. "I'm Fan Li, a bodyguard."

"M-my name is Xie Yu. I work at an insurance company," the male office worker said quietly.

"I'm Chen Xiaomeng. I'm studying law at university," the girl introduced herself.

It was the woman with a mole on her lip's turn. They had expected her to brush them off, but she spoke in an unhurried voice. "You can call me Sister Nuan. I'm older than all of you. As for my line of work..." She smiled cryptically. "I sell things."

Everyone looked at her with an indescribable expression. The aura she gave off was nothing like that of an ordinary shopkeeper, and there was likely more to the "things" she sold than met the eye.

But no one pressed the issue. They all turned to Jiang Cheng, even more curious about him than about the woman who called herself Sister Nuan.

Jiang Cheng straightened up and said solemnly, "My name is Hao Shuai. I'm a male model."

"You're a model?" The girl seemed doubtful. "For a film company?"

Jiang Cheng slowly turned his head and gave her a meaningful glance. "I work the night shift at a KTV."

Everyone stared at him in surprise, but no one commented. Everyone had the right to choose their own profession, and besides, they thought Jiang Cheng had the physique for it.

The days in their world seemed unusually short. After they chatted for a while, darkness fell once again.

The burly man went to the window to look outside, then returned. "It's not about to rain. It's really getting dark."

Just as he said, night fell again half an hour later.

They gathered around the living-room fireplace, warming themselves as they discussed the clues they'd found so far.

To be safe, they'd carried some firewood from the storeroom into the living room during the day. That way, they wouldn't have to go fetch more in the middle of the night if they ran out.

The fat man sat closest to the woodpile and tossed another log into the fire every so often.

The fire blazed brightly, casting a rosy glow across everyone's faces.

Chen Xiaomeng still stood by her earlier theory. She believed the other members of the family had abused the girl, eventually causing her death, and that the ghost in the villa was the girl from the family of four.

She seemed fixated on the idea. Whenever she brought it up, she became agitated, a far cry from her usually gentle demeanor.

Given that she was studying law, Jiang Cheng suspected she might have an interesting story of her own.

After several rounds of discussion, they made no new progress. Someone yawned, proving Jiang Cheng wasn't the only one who'd slept poorly the night before.

Fan Li stood and stretched his slightly numb legs. "Let's get some sleep first."

The others quickly agreed.

Since the Middle-aged man had died under mysterious circumstances on the first floor, they decided to sleep on the second floor that night.

Xie Yu quietly asked if they could all stay in the same room for safety, but Sister Nuan immediately rejected the idea. She said they might miss something that way.

Xie Yu's eyes widened in fear, but no one asked what Sister Nuan meant by "something."

Even so, they all tacitly avoided the girl's bedroom.

They planned to split into two groups, one sleeping in the boy's bedroom and the other in the master bedroom.

Since Sister Nuan and Chen Xiaomeng were both women, they naturally roomed together. They chose the second-floor master bedroom, where the husband and wife had slept. They had stayed there the previous night, too.

The fat man insisted on sharing a room with Jiang Cheng, so the two of them went into the boy's bedroom.

That left Fan Li and Xie Yu. It was obvious they both wanted to room with Sister Nuan and Chen Xiaomeng. The two women had more experience, and staying with them would give them a better chance of surviving.

In the end, after discussing it with Chen Xiaomeng, Sister Nuan chose Fan Li. The three of them entered the room and closed the door.

Xie Yu was left alone in the hallway.

A gust of cold wind made him hug himself involuntarily, raising goose bumps on his arms.

He hurried to the bedroom Jiang Cheng was in and knocked rapidly.

Bang, bang, bang!

"It's me! Open the door!"

Jiang Cheng inspected the room at a leisurely pace and replied unconcernedly, "Weren't you going to leave me in the bathroom by myself earlier? Go stay next door."

Xie Yu stared at the neighboring door, which stood ajar. It trembled gently in the breeze, as though something might burst out at any moment.

That was the girl's bedroom.

Xie Yu shuddered and turned around, begging in a tearful voice, "I'm sorry, I was wrong! I shouldn't have said that. Please forgive me!"

Only after checking the entire room did Jiang Cheng sit down, reassured. He casually opened a new bottle of mineral water and took a small sip. "What did you call me?"

"Hao Shuai! Hao Shuai!"

Jiang Cheng contentedly narrowed his eyes.

"Hao Shuai! Hao Shuai!"

The fat man: "..."

"Ahh..." Jiang Cheng let out a satisfied breath, then waved for the fat man behind the door to open it.

As soon as the door opened, Xie Yu darted inside like a gust of wind, then slammed it shut.

After what had just happened, Xie Yu didn't dare make a sound. He obediently huddled in the corner of the bedroom, afraid Jiang Cheng would get annoyed and throw him out.

Jiang Cheng found a quilt and glanced around the floor, as if looking for a place to bed down.

"Bro..." Xie Yu looked at him in disbelief. "You're not sleeping in the bed?"

"No." Jiang Cheng didn't even look at him as he answered casually. "I'm not used to it. I sleep on the floor at home."

"Is it because your sister-in-law is mean to you?" Xie Yu asked quietly.

"None of your damn business!"