Volume 1: Days Moving Bricks at the Construction Site
Curtain
Who is~ knocking on my window~
They live in a relatively simple and crude place. Upon entering the door, there is a large shared bed made of wooden planks. To save materials, this “bed” is not very high, only reaching Shen Maomao’s calf. The bed is covered with foam and has four clean and tidy quilts. Besides this, a clock, the same as in the cafeteria, hangs on the wall. It is the only electronic product in the dormitory besides the electric light.
In the open space in front of the bed, some daily necessities are placed, basins and jars are messy.
Yan Nan and Xuehua sleep on the left side, and Xiaolou left the right side against the wall for her. All four people sleep with their heads facing the door.
From a Feng Shui perspective, people should not sleep with their heads toward the door because only dead people placed in the spirit hall have their heads directly facing the door. Treating living people like dead people will bring disaster to the living; from a psychological perspective, a bed facing the door gives people a sense of insecurity, as if someone is always about to come in, so they cannot sleep soundly…
Compared to the psychological perspective, Shen Maomao feels the Feng Shui perspective is more appropriate. This dormitory is square and rectangular, looking just like a coffin.
The other two people are lying in their positions, not knowing whether they are asleep or not; Yan Nan is spreading the quilt. She quietly walked over and sat on the bed’s edge, taking off her work clothes.
The work clothes are sticky and damp, and her body is also sticky. But there is no place to shower at the construction site, and they have been busy all day with no time to wash clothes—let alone dare to go to the washbasin.
How can one sleep like this…
Shen Maomao is a bit worried.
Just at that moment, Xiaolou suddenly said: “The basin of cool water on the ground is left for you, use a towel to wipe yourself.”
Shen Maomao was so moved she almost cried, leaning close to Xiaolou’s ear and softly saying: “Wow! Sister Lou, you are so kind!”
Xiaolou disdainfully turned her head: “Stay away from me! You smell of sweat.”
Shen Maomao: “…” So it’s because she dislikes the smell that she left water for her…
She aggrievedly lifted her shirt, unfastened her bra clasp, and used a towel dipped in cool water to wipe her body. The cheap white towel quickly showed strips of gray marks.
Luckily, there was Sister Lou’s thoughtful cool water; otherwise, sleeping with so much dust on her, she would certainly stink the next day.
While she was playing with water, Xiaolou said again: “The corpse is gone.”
Shen Maomao: “?”
Xiaolou: “The one in the pool, when I went to fetch water, I didn’t see the corpse, but there were still bloodstains in the pool.”
Shen Maomao looked at the basin of water, already a bit gray: “…” So this basin of water flowed out from the faucet that passed through the back of the aunt’s head?
The towel, wet with water, made a “splat” sound as it fell back into the basin, splashing a spray of water.
The skin wiped with a wet towel now felt as if tiny bugs were crawling over it, and she couldn’t help but rub her arm, unable to continue wiping.
Xiaolou turned over, lay on the bed, propping her chin while watching her: “At this time, still being so picky?”
Indeed. Water is flowing, so this basin of water definitely has nothing to do with the aunt hahaha.
Couldn’t laugh at all.
Shen Maomao maintained an expression of having no love for life yet unwilling to die, randomly wiped with the towel, and finally even washed a foot.
While washing, she kept recalling the scene Yan Nan described to her, combined with their experience from last night, vividly replaying the situation in her mind.
As she thought about it, she grew numb. Finally, she stood at the door, poured out the basin of dirty water, and then returned to the room to sit on the bed, drying her feet.
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Yan Nan and Xuehua actually had their eyes open; normally, none of them were early-to-bed, early-to-rise people. But now, without mobile phones, they could only stare blankly at the ceiling.
Xiaolou reached out and pulled the lamp cord, turning the lamp off.
The small house fell into darkness, yet it wasn’t so dark that one couldn’t see their hand in front of their face. The street lamp outside the window was still shining, casting the shadow of a flower pot on the warm yellow curtain.
Shen Maomao asked Xiaolou: “Sister Lou, have you found any clues?”
They hardly had any time alone together, so Shen Maomao never had the chance to tell Xiaolou about the conversation between Yan Nan and the foreman.
Xiaolou said: “Does it count that at night there will be strangely shaped things catching people?”
Shen Maomao: “…” What kind of clue is that? She had even been caught herself.
But—exactly how strange can this strange shape be?
Forget it, better not to ask, the more you know, the quicker you die.
Speaking of last night’s incident, Yan Nan suddenly asked: “Why did that thing let you go yesterday?”
She was referring to Shen Maomao, but her gaze was on Xiaolou. After all, Shen Maomao is a complete newcomer, and Yan Nan understood that she wouldn’t get any answers from her.
But Shen Maomao herself didn’t realize this and cheekily rushed to answer: “Maybe because I am too pitiful. Who wouldn’t have sympathy for a beautiful girl like me?”
Yan Nan: “…” Shameless.
Xiaolou: “Yes, maybe it’s because she is too beautiful.”
Yan Nan was almost furious: “I’m not joking with you. If you know a way to stop the ghosts from killing, please say it immediately. Are other people’s lives not valuable?”
Shen Maomao looked confused: “Ah? Didn’t you say ghosts are irresistible? Weren’t those your husband’s words? I really don’t know what’s going on…”
Yan Nan directly turned her body to face the wall, refusing to communicate with her.
A rustling sound came, and Shen Maomao climbed onto the bed, preparing to sleep and face tomorrow’s new day of brick-moving life.
Before closing her eyes, she habitually glanced out the window, and with just one glance, she felt a chill run down her spine.
She saw the reflection of a pitch-black human shadow on the curtain, standing quietly outside the window, motionless, with no idea how long it had been there, and they had been completely unaware.
Shen Maomao felt a chill all over her body, not daring to move at all.
After a long time, she finally suppressed her inner fear and gently raised her hand to poke Xiaolou beside her.
Xiaolou opened her eyes and looked at her, her pitch-black pupils like two deep bottomless pools.
Shen Maomao carefully pointed outside the window.
Xiaolou raised her head to look outside, then calmly glanced at her watch, and finally said: “It seems my guess was correct, strange things happen outside after nine o’clock.”
Shen Maomao, a bit panicked, nervously asked: “What should we do?”
Xiaolou: “Sleep.”
Shen Maomao: “?” Are you teasing me?
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After finishing speaking, Xiaolou turned over to face away from her and closed her eyes again.
Shen Maomao: “??” With such an unknown thing outside, whether human or ghost, staring at us, who can sleep?
However, Xiaolou was already ignoring her, and shortly after, the sound of her heavy breathing could be heard.
Shen Maomao: “???” Already asleep?
So scared, so tired, so mentally exhausted…
She covered herself with the quilt, not allowing any part of her body except her head to be exposed, even though she was sweating, she did not dare to uncover.
Beside her were the rising and falling sounds of three breaths; except for her, the other three people were all asleep. But having people beside her did not bring her any sense of security. She did not dare to move, her body stiff, and she did not know if that guy outside had left or not…
The time awake felt particularly long, Shen Maomao’s vision was blurry, too sleepy to open her eyes.
The hour hand on the clock had already moved to eleven o’clock, and suddenly the wind started outside.
The wind was very loud, deafening, not like it was outside the window, but rather exploding beside her ear.
She twisted her stiff neck and looked toward the three people on the left.
Those three people still appeared to be sound asleep, as if they hadn’t heard the sudden wind sound at all.
Accompanied by the strong wind, there came a dull “tap” from the window, one after another, like a polite person persistently knocking on the window, waiting for someone to open the door and welcome him inside.
Shen Maomao was almost scared silly; the earlier blurry sleepiness had long disappeared, and her entire body was uncontrollably trembling.
Why are they still not awake? Can’t they hear such a loud sound? Or… are “they” not really them at all?
“Why are you shaking?” Xiaolou suddenly said.
Shen Maomao was startled, almost cried out: “Sister Lou! Listen!”
Xiaolou: “The sound of the sea crying?”
Shen Maomao: “…?” Xiaolou’s singing is actually quite good?
No, now is not the time to think about this!
She wished she could frantically shake this woman’s shoulders, to let her properly listen to the wind and the knocking on the window outside.
Xiaolou said: “Isn’t it just the wind? Are you sleeping or not? If you’re not sleeping, others still are, otherwise should I knock you out?”
Shen Maomao said in collapse: “I agree!”
Xiaolou raised her hand and delivered a hand chop, Shen Maomao only felt a pain at the back of her neck, her vision went black, and then she completely lost consciousness.
Xiaolou’s technique for knocking people out is very professional…
After fainting to the next day, Shen Maomao rubbed her sore neck and sighed.
Gentle sunlight penetrated the thick curtains, shining on her body. She raised her head to look at the watch; it was already almost six thirty.
Yesterday, before being knocked out, she was covered with a quilt, and naturally, after being knocked out, no one helped her lift it. After sleeping for the whole night, Shen Maomao felt as if she had taken a bath, with everything from her clothes to the quilt soaked through.
She yawned, turned over, and the yawn froze on her face.
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“Damn!” How is that thing still here?!!
A whole night passed, and that shadow is actually still there!
Shen Maomao suspected she was in a dream.
But the daylight gave her immense courage, and she loudly called out the names of the other three people.
Yan Nan and Xuehua were very alert, and as soon as they heard her voice, they sat up, their alertness making them look nothing like they had just woken up. Only Xiaolou turned over, riding the quilt, smacked her lips, and was completely not awake.
The two people were not at all surprised by the figure outside the window; Yan Nan even dressed properly, put on her shoes, and planned to go out to take a look.
Shen Maomao understood that when the shadow appeared last night, these two people simply had not been asleep. The heavy breathing she heard was just them pretending to sleep.
She looked at Xiaolou, who was sleeping soundly, feeling quite a bit of “hating iron for not becoming steel.”
“Ah—!”
Yan Nan, who had walked outside, suddenly let out a scream. Shen Maomao was stunned for a second, then quickly put on her shoes and got up. The originally sleeping Xiaolou got up cleanly and swiftly, even faster than her, and rushed out directly.
—A person was hanging outside their window, their suspended feet gently swaying with the cool morning breeze, toes lightly tapping the glass, leaving a gray mark on it, and facing the window, staring at them all night.
