Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
Advance chapters available for patrons on Patreon. And a chapter can be sponsored by buying me a ko-fi
Da da da.
Heavy, dragging footsteps echoed in the narrow corridor. A man over fifty with a beer belly drunkenly walked up the stair railing, humming a tuneless ditty, with a red face and cloudy eyes. Everything seemed to be a blur of color to him.
He didn’t care that the dim sensor light in the corridor didn’t light up. He Zhuangsheng’s family lived on the fourth floor. It had been ten years since he moved here after his village was demolished. He could walk back home on this narrow staircase even with his eyes closed.
He Laosi passed away, and He Laosi’s family had a funeral today. He helped prepare the funeral banquet during the day and drank a lot of wine with the guests in condolence at night which did not disperse until dark.
He thought a little wildly that He Laoer also died today, and he would probably have to prepare for his funeral tomorrow. All the people living in this building were related to each other, and relatives would give money to anyone who took care of things at home. He was calculating in his mind how much favor money he should ask from the second family, so he didn’t notice that he had been going around the stairs again and again.
He Zhuangsheng’s home was at 404 on the fourth floor. He felt that the house number was unlucky, so he took off the house number and hung up a mirror to ward off evil spirits. Usually, he only needed to climb a few floors to see the familiar mirror on the door frame, then open the door and go home.
But today, it was only four floors, but it seemed like it would never end.
“What a broken-down building, and they won’t even install an elevator!”
He Zhuangsheng walked with legs that were filled with lead and cursed a few words.
This community was a resettlement compensation given by the developer when their village was demolished. It was still modern and high-end in the 2000s, but in the past ten years, it had become dilapidated. There wasn’t even an elevator, so residents had to rely on narrow stairs to get up and down.
He Zhuangsheng felt that it was damn difficult to climb the stairs today. He had been climbing for a long time and he hadn’t reached the fourth floor yet.
A drop of water dripped from the top of his head and splashed on the back of He Zhuangsheng’s neck, and a trace of chill also disappeared. He Zhuangsheng raised his head and glanced at the dark top of his head, wiped the back of his neck, and cursed again: “Whose house is flooded again?”
The community was too old, and the exterior walls had gradually cracked, especially in places like the corridors. There were signs of cracking in every corner. If someone’s water pipe broke, the water upstairs would seep through the cracks, and there would be a dripping sound downstairs, like rain.
He Zhuangsheng took a deep breath and stopped feeling a little tired. The alcohol evaporated along with his sweat, and his chaotic mind became clearer.
His paralyzed brain finally realized something was wrong.
There were seven floors in total. The climbing he just did was more than enough to reach the top of the building. But he turned around to look around, and he was still in the middle of the stairs. The sensor light was broken, and there was only a vague dim light coming from nowhere, so he could barely see. Even with this, he couldn’t tell which floor he was on.
In fact, even if the sensor light wasn’t broken, he could still not see the floor signs. The community was too old, and the floor numbers were all mottled and peeling off. Most of the residents here relied on habit and the house number to judge which floor they had climbed.
He Zhuangsheng climbed a few more steps to see what the house numbers of the residents above were.
But no matter how he looked at it, the house number seemed to be deliberately blurred, and he could not see clearly from far to near.
A cold sweat broke out on He Zhuangsheng’s back, and he rubbed his face vigorously, wondering if he had hit a ghost wall.
He stood in the dark corridor, raised his head and shouted his mother-in-law’s name. The rough voice echoed endlessly in the stairwell, but no sound responded to him.
The soundproofing of the old campus was naturally not good. Usually when he had something to do, it was common for him to stand downstairs and call the women upstairs, but now his shouts were like a mud cow drowning in the sea, without any response.
He Zhuangsheng’s legs felt a little weak, and thick cold sweat broke out on his back. He looked at the security door, which was only a few steps away. He tried to move his lead-filled legs and tried to knock on the door. There were acquaintances upstairs and downstairs, no matter who they were, it was fine as long as they were alive.
With this thought in his mind, he climbed up with difficulty holding on to the handrail of the stairs.
Da da da.
Ta da, da da, da da…
His heavy and dragging footsteps sounded again, and after his footsteps, there was the sound of another set of regular footsteps.
He Zhuangsheng’s first reaction was not joy but raising of his hackles. Like some kind of beast that sensed danger, he suddenly stopped and turned around, staring at the dark corridor behind him.
A rough voice with heavy breathing also sounded then: “Who is there? Don’t pretend to be a ghost with me!”
The clicking footsteps stopped.
He Zhuangsheng’s palms holding the armrest were stained with sweat. He overcame his fear and looked down, only to see a seven or eight-year-old girl standing there, looking up at him.
The little girl had two braids and a pink clip on her head. Her face was round, her eyes were big and black, and she had two cute blush spots on her cheeks… More importantly, He Zhuangsheng recognized her.
This was clearly Niu Niu, the granddaughter of Lao Liu’s family, who lived on the sixth floor.
His panic suddenly calmed down. He Zhuangsheng stepped back two steps, waved to Niu Niu and said, “Niu Niu, why are you alone here? Where are your grandparents?”
Niu Niu looked up at him and grinned. Her round face looked flat when viewed from the side. She looked at He Zhuangsheng and said in a crisp voice: “Grandma is at home, I went to buy ice cream.”
He Zhuangsheng actually laughed. Niu Niu’s grandma wouldn’t let her eat ice cream often. He waved and said, “Come, Master Wu will take you upstairs.”
Niu Niu ran a few steps as she was told and came to her side.
He Zhuangsheng seemed not to notice the little girl’s flat body, he just took her hand and said, “Let’s go.”
Niu Niu responded happily, turned her flat head, and looked at him with a smile on her round and blushing face.
It must be that having a living person as a companion, even though she was just a child, made He Zhuangsheng feel more at ease. He led Niu Niu up the stairs, climbed a few steps, and saw the house number that he had been unable to reach before.
The house number said 301, and they had just reached the third floor.
Just climb one more floor and he’ll be home.
He Zhuangsheng breathed a sigh of relief, holding Niu Niu’s hand, he climbed up neatly.
Niu Niu followed him step by step, humming a cheerful song:
“Sao Qingniang, Sao Qingniang, if it doesn’t rain tomorrow, I’ll give you a silver bell.
Sao Qingniang, Sao Qingniang, if it won’t rain tomorrow, I’ll give you a golden bell.
Sao Qingniang, Sao Qingniang, if it rains tomorrow, I will chop off your head.”
The little girl’s voice was ethereal, like a newborn warbler, crisp and tender, and she hummed a few lines of the nursery rhyme over and over again.
But after He Zhuangsheng heard the lyrics clearly, goose bumps crawled up from his arms to his face. He said sternly: “Where did you learn this?”
Niu Niu grinned, her eyes dark and big, but there was no light in them at all, making them look dim and unclear.
“I listened to other people singing it.”
“This song is not good. Don’t sing it again.”
He Zhuangsheng barely restrained his anger and pulled her upwards. Just walking, he felt that the little hands he was holding was becoming lighter and lighter, and the originally soft and tender hands had become a little flat and cool…
He Zhuangsheng felt a cold gaze staring at him. But he didn’t dare to explore the strange touch in his hand, or even lower his head. He looked at the familiar security door with a mirror, hurriedly shook off Niu Niu’s hand, took out the key, opened the door and rushed in…
The sweeping girl hanging upside down on the security door was blown up by the wind. The corners of its mouth suddenly curled up, and it uttered in a little girl’s crisp voice: “We’re home.”
Guys, ads are my only source of revenue, so please do not turn on the AdBlock when you are accessing this website…. Thank you, this would be a great help…
You can buy me a ko-fi and sponsor a chapter on: https://ko-fi.com/midnightrambles
Or become a Patron or access advance chapters on: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=45665005
If you support me, I would be able to provide more chapters….
Previous • Table of Contents • Next