Face (2)

"This is my wife, An Lifen. She just went out to throw out the trash," Song Hao said.

An Lifen was short, about 1.5 meters tall. She seemed well-maintained, and despite being middle-aged, her face was free of wrinkles and her skin was fair.

But in Zheng Ruijun's eyes at this moment, it gave off a sickly pallor.

After Song Hao spoke, An Lifen, who had been lowering her head, looked up with a smile, her gaze level. "Sorry, these shoes have soft soles, so they don't make much noise when I walk. I didn't startle you just now, did I?"

Zheng Ruijun swallowed and shook his head.

Before entering, he had heard some movement in the stairwell. Now that he thought about it, it must have been An Lifen throwing out the trash.

These two, their behavior seemed to have become abnormal.

Startled by the earlier incident, Zheng Ruijun took a few steps back, now almost in the living room. Song Hao spoke again, "Please sit. I'll pour you some tea, then go wake up Xiaoyu."

The sofa was within reach. Zheng Ruijun no longer hesitated, leaning against the edge of the sofa. The golden fountain pen he held in his hand tapped rhythmically against his knuckles.

An Lifen, standing at the living room entrance, closed the door and walked towards the bathroom, presumably to wash her hands.

"Aren't you two working?" Zheng Ruijun asked.

"We were supposed to be at work, but our daughter hasn't been feeling well these past couple of days, and my old stomach ailment has flared up again, so we took leave to rest at home," Song Hao replied.

The red light on the water dispenser went out, indicating the water was ready.

Song Hao filled a disposable paper cup, already containing tea leaves, with hot water, then brought it to the sofa and placed it on the coffee table in front of Zheng Ruijun.

"It's still a bit hot, be careful."

"Thank you!" Zheng Ruijun nodded, looking at the steaming surface of the cup. He had no intention of drinking it.

"Now, could you please let Song Xiaoyu come out?" he requested again.

As he spoke, he glanced towards the hallway leading to the bedrooms. It was also unlit, appearing dark and obscure. He couldn't tell the room layout or how many bedrooms there were.

Song Hao said nothing further, turned, and walked into the hallway, soon disappearing into the darkness.

The living room was silent. The footsteps of Song Hao entering the hallway quickly faded. No voices were heard. Zheng Ruijun remained seated on the edge of the sofa, his golden fountain pen tapping his index finger.

He could hear a faint sound of running water, likely from the bathroom. The bathroom was also in the dim hallway, but he could vaguely see its door from his position.

The sound of running water had been continuous since An Lifen entered the bathroom.

At first, Zheng Ruijun thought she was washing her hands and paid it no mind. But after sitting for a while, the water sound persisted, as if it would never stop.

Just then, Zheng Ruijun's phone vibrated. He took it out, pressed the answer button, and recognized Shen Xing's voice on the other end. "Hello?"

"Hello, Old Zheng. It's Shen Xing. Are you still at the Song family's place?"

Zheng Ruijun paused. "What's up?"

"Uh, nothing. Never mind." Shen Xing hung up.

Zheng Ruijun stared at his phone screen, bewildered. He was still wondering what Shen Xing was up to when he suddenly realized a considerable amount of time had passed.

He looked up at the exquisite wall clock directly opposite him. Song Hao had gone into the bedroom to wake Song Xiaoyu several minutes ago, yet there was no sound.

And was An Lifen washing her hands? Running the water for so long, just to throw out the trash? How obsessive would one have to be to wash that thoroughly?

Zheng Ruijun temporarily set aside his confusion about Shen Xing and stood up. He slowed his pace, walking towards the hallway and peering into the open bathroom door.

The bathroom light was off. Zheng Ruijun reached out to the wall beside the hallway and pressed the light switch.

The hallway light showed no reaction, seemingly broken. He looked up into the darkness of the hallway, seeing nothing.

After a moment's thought, Zheng Ruijun pressed the cap of his golden fountain pen. A small light immediately illuminated at the pen's tip. The beam was highly focused. Though small, the light was very bright.

He took two more steps forward with the pen, stopping at the bathroom doorway. The light shone inside.

A white toilet with a soft seat cover, a semicircular shower stall, a stylish washbasin...

Standing at the washbasin was a woman in a grey pajama, An Lifen. The faucet in front of her was on, the water flow small, but the sound persisted.

Directly in front of the washbasin was a mirror with hinged doors. The mirror was currently closed, so An Lifen's face was not visible.

But in this dark bathroom, this woman stood motionless with the faucet running. It was highly unusual.

Zheng Ruijun remained silent. He reached out and pressed the bathroom light switch again. Still no reaction. It seemed that apart from the living room light, the lights in all other rooms in the house were broken.

Zheng Ruijun still had no intention of speaking to An Lifen, lest he startle this strange woman. After a moment's deliberation, he reached for the bathroom door, intending to close it.

Based on his experience dealing with special cases, this woman was not the only abnormal target in the house. There were others in different rooms. Separating them and dealing with them one by one was the best course of action.

Just as he was about to close the door, the woman, her back to him, suddenly moved under the flashlight beam. Zheng Ruijun's eyes widened, and he looked closely, realizing she didn't seem to have moved.

While confused, his gaze suddenly sharpened. He saw that at the back of An Lifen's head, the hair covering it suddenly bulged slightly upwards, as if a force was pushing the hair in that area aside.

At that moment, from the darkness of the hallway not far behind him, came the sound of a door closing, as if a bedroom door had been opened and then shut.

Zheng Ruijun immediately stepped back, quickly closed the bathroom door, and turned, shining the pen's flashlight towards the bedroom where the door sound had come from.

In the beam of light, he saw two doors at one end of the hallway, both closed. They were likely bedrooms. However, there was nothing in front of either door; no one had come out.

Or perhaps someone had come out, but was no longer standing at the door.

As the thought crossed his mind, the living room light suddenly went out, plunging the entire Song family's home into darkness.

Zheng Ruijun reacted quickly. Almost at the same instant, he clicked the cap of his pen, turning off the flashlight, and swiftly moved along the hallway wall toward the living room.

For now, he was relatively familiar with the layout of the living room. An Lifen, with her bizarre behavior, was still in the bathroom; he couldn't go in there, and in fact, he had to prevent her from coming out. It was also impossible to head toward the bedrooms, as he was unfamiliar with their orientation and furnishings.

Just as he entered the living room, Zheng Ruijun heard two faint sounds coming from the spot where he had been standing moments ago—the sound of fingernails or some sharp object scraping against the wall.

If it were an ordinary person, the first thing they would do upon returning to the living room would be to pull open the floor-to-ceiling curtains nearby, allowing the light from outside to shine into the room.

As long as one could see the surrounding environment clearly, they would feel at ease, and it would facilitate their next move.

But Zheng Ruijun would not choose to do that. He was well aware that if he were to pull open the curtains now, while the light would dispel the darkness in the room, there was also a very high probability that the moment he did so, he would instantly become a target for whoever was in the room and be attacked.

He quickly tiptoed, moving without making a sound to the side of the sofa armrest, pressing his back against the wall so he wouldn't have to worry about an attack from behind.

A crawling sound came from the hallway near where he had just been standing, and it soon crept into the living room.

At the same moment, the bathroom door opened, and someone suspected to be An Lifen walked out. Her footsteps were slow, as if she were dragging her feet, and she likewise entered the living room.