"Lucky draw complete! Congratulations — you've obtained a Rare Special Item: The Cursed Love Letter (draw probability: 0.3%)!"
"Bulging eyes, pale face — from the moment she plummeted from the rooftop, she became a taboo subject on campus. The red dancing shoes, the blood-stained school uniform, even her name became something no one dared to mention. People pretended to forget, until one day, someone else received her love letter…"
"First draw results in a vengeful spirit. Unlocked Rare Title: Blessed by the Vengeful."
"Blessed by the Vengeful: While this title is equipped, there is a chance of receiving aid from a vengeful spirit."
Reading the notifications on his phone, Chen Ge felt like he was suffocating. "The Cursed Love Letter? A zero-point-three-percent probability? Blessed by the Vengeful? I haven't even figured out the monster in the mirror, and now I've drawn a vengeful spirit too?! Is heaven trying to kill me?!"
He was beginning to regret cursing himself before the draw. "Stay calm! Don't lose your head — things haven't reached their worst yet. Drawing a vengeful spirit doesn't mean it'll show up right now. There's still time to fix this. Maybe I should visit a nearby temple and draw a fortune stick."
He put his phone away, and was about to slip it into his pocket when his fingertips brushed against something.
Looking down, Chen Ge discovered a yellowed sheet of paper had appeared in his pocket at some point, though he had no idea how it got there.
A creeping sense of dread washed over him. With trembling hands, he pulled out the letter. A sentence woven from strands of hair stared back at him — I like you.
"What the hell is there to like about me?! I'll change, okay?!"
The handwriting on the paper was delicate and graceful — if it hadn't been woven from human hair, it would have been far more pleasant to look at.
Chen Ge stood in the west wing room holding the love letter, his face ashen. "It's hard to imagine that the first love letter I've ever received in my entire life appears in this form."
"Boss! Who are you muttering to out here all by yourself?" Xiao Wan came in from outside, having just finished arranging the paper dolls in the main room.
"Nothing. I was just thinking — if a person knew their days were numbered, should they let go of all their worldly attachments and do something meaningful?" Chen Ge looked up at Xiao Wan, who still wore her funeral makeup. "For example, contributing to the continuation of the human race."
He tossed the words out casually, but to his surprise,
"Xiao Wan, are you about to agree to that?! Wait — I'm not ready yet. Isn't this a bit too sudden? I mean, we have great chemistry and we've worked together for a long time, and if we really had to continue the species, it wouldn't be out of the question—" For some reason, Chen Ge suddenly felt nervous.
"No, Boss, you've got it wrong. When I walked in just now, I noticed you have two shadows, and I was curious." Xu Wan pointed behind him. "Is this another new attraction for our haunted house?"
"Two shadows?!"
Chen Ge whipped his head around. Behind him, two shadows — one large, one small — were slowly drawing closer together before finally merging into one.
"What the—"
Without another word, he grabbed Xu Wan and bolted out of the haunted house.