The air filled with a heavy smell of blood. For some reason, the room, which had been fairly spacious, seemed to have grown cramped.
The cold light from the computer screen spilled across the room. Lan Xiaochen stood by the desk, holding an envelope as he slowly turned around.
"Who's there? Show yourself!"
Though he had always prided himself on being brave, he shouted toward the living room. Unfortunately, the only answer was the crackling of static.
The empty living room's television suddenly switched on, and black-and-white static appeared on the screen.
Lan Xiaochen picked up the badminton racket beside the desk and edged toward the living room.
He didn't know if it was his imagination or what, but the scene suddenly felt strangely familiar.
A faint sound of sobbing came from some corner of the room, and the computer suddenly began playing the horror movie he'd watched earlier.
The tacky scene Lan Xiaochen had mocked played over and over. The protagonist was watching a horror movie on his computer while scenes from that very movie unfolded in his own home.
Familiar dialogue came through the computer speakers. The protagonist's hurried breathing and tense voice kept striking at Lan Xiaochen's nerves.
You only knew a needle hurt once it pricked you.
Though he hated to admit it, he really was scared.
"Come out!"
A sense of helplessness welled up in him. Lan Xiaochen yelled toward the living room, as if raising his voice could give him courage.
With the computer's cold light at his back, he edged toward the doorway between the living room and bedroom. Then he saw a bloody handprint on the front door's handle, as if someone had opened the door from inside his home.
The horror movie on the computer had reached its most suspenseful moment.