Fan Hai slumped on the ground, gasping for breath. Then he laughed, his whole body shaking. Song Xinxue, you won't get away.
Song Xinxue walked out through the gates of Treasure Sky City and hailed a taxi by the roadside. Instead of going straight home that day, she first stopped at a parcel pickup station to collect a package sent from her hometown.
The package was small, packed in a foam box wrapped in several layers of tape. She opened it for a look. Inside were vacuum-packed fish balls, white and plump, arranged in neat rows.
A note lay on top, written in her grandmother's crooked handwriting: "Xinxue, these are the fish balls I just made this year, your favorites. Don't skimp while you're away from home. Eat them whenever you want. Grandma."
Song Xinxue's eyes stung. She sealed the foam box again and carried it toward Treasure Sky City.
After only a few steps, she suddenly shivered. It wasn't the cold, but an indescribable feeling, as though someone were watching her from behind.
She glanced back. There was nothing behind her. The streetlights stretched her shadow out long, but nothing else was there.
She pulled her coat tighter and kept walking. A few steps later, the feeling grew stronger. It wasn't someone watching her. Something was following her. She couldn't explain what it was, but a chill ran down her back, and her hair stood on end.
She spun around. There was still nothing behind her. Beneath the streetlight, her shadow lay alone on the ground, while the shadows of nearby trees swayed in the wind.
"What's going on?" Song Xinxue's heart lurched, and she instinctively whipped her head around.
Behind her, the corridor was empty, its lights glowing quietly. There wasn't a soul in sight.
"Is anyone there?"